Miracles - June 23

HELLO LOVED ONES!!! This past week was incredible - we literally saw so many miracles here in the work.

We have been teaching someone here for the past three months. His name is Joseph and he was baptized into the Universal Church. For those of you who don´t know, the Universal Church is very popular here in Brazil. They are known for two main things - asking for a lot of money, and doing miracles in front of the congregation every week. Joseph was a very active member in this church when we started teaching him. We started teaching him because he is engaged to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (our church! :)). On the first visit, we invited him to pray about the Book of Mormon, and to be baptized when he received an answer. The incredible part is that he had already dreamed that he found a golden book in his closet, and then a week later, he heard the lesson of the Restoration from other missionaries and the story of Joseph Smith and the gold plates. He therefore ALREADY KNEW that the Book of Mormon is true. Whoa.

Well, the lesson was a CRASH AND BURN when we explained about the one true baptism... It was terrible. I think it was the second lesson that Sister Saavedra had taught in the field, and it was the first time that she invited someone to be baptized. Basically, we almost offended his whole entire family and told them (very gently but firmly) that the only true baptism is in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because it is the only church with the Priesthood authority of God. Even though it made the situation super uncomfortable, it is truth and had to be said... It was the most tense lesson that I have ever been a part of!!! Fortunately, we didn´t get into an argument or anything, but the results of that first lesson were not great.

After that lesson, every lesson we had with Joseph was either without results or turned into a debate... The last time that we taught Joseph was about three weeks ago, and it ended in the same tense manner, with everyone walking away a bit disheartened. Sister Saavedra and I felt very sad because we have grown to care about him a lot, and the member that he is engaged to. However, we never stopped praying for him. We just kept praying that one day, he would open his heart and feel the Spirit. In the meantime, it seemed as though he would never leave the Universal Church, EVER, and his heart was officially closed.

We left our house early last Sunday morning in order to walk to church with one of our investigators. All went well, and we brought her to the right classroom when we got to the church. On our way to the classroom, the second couselor in the bishopric said to us, ``Sisters, there is going to be a baptism this week?´´ And we said, ``Maybe next week!´´ talking about the investigator that was with us at the time. Then he said, ``No, Joseph is going to be baptized this week! On Saturday!´´ WHAT!?!?!?

Then, ten minutes later, Joseph walked up to us and said, ``Sisters, my baptism is going to be this Saturday at 2, okay?´´...... ``OKAY! CONGRATULATIONS, JOSEPH!!!!´´

So what happened!? What changed!? Apparently, the bishop had talked to Joseph a week or so ago for TWO HOURS. The bishop talked about what goals we have for the future with our families. He said that, if Joseph really wanted to marry in the temple and have an eternal family, he would have to be baptized into the true church of Jesus Christ. Only faithful members of the church can enter into the temple and be sealed as a family. This made Joseph think, and he decided to be baptized!!! After faithfully attending our church and institute for the past three months, I think that he slowly started to see the truth.

This was just the first miracle! The other miracles are that Joseph invited his family to attend his baptism! Whoa. That surprised me a lot. His parents are even more firm in the Universal Church. However, they came! They came to the baptism and everything went so well!!! I was really nervous that someone would say something on accident that would offend them, but they had a great experience. Joseph´s mom even bore her testimony after the baptism. One more miracle is that she told Joseph that, now that he was baptized into this church, he should ONLY go to this church. Whoa! Another thing that we did not expect! Joseph will be so blessed as he continues on this path. He is the most faithful person that I have met on my mission so far.

One of the most tender parts of Joseph´s baptismal service was that one of our recent converts, Marcos, bore his testimony. Marcos was baptized just three months ago, but he talked about how his family is going to be eternal now! (background info - his son just got back from his mission four months ago and is our ward mission leader). And so, Sister Saavedra and I were overflowing with the Spirit and happiness, because we have seen in this area at least two families that will have mother and father sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. Wow. Like I said for all of the other baptisms, any trial that we go through on our missions is worth it in order to be a part of these moments when we can see a family stepping closer to eternity together.

I am so grateful to be here, as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a representative of Jesus Christ, and among the amazing people of Brazil. All of your prayers help us so much every day. :) I love you all!

Sister Williams

The Witness After the Faith - June 9

Ether 12:6: ``I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.´´

Yes. This scripture describes perfectly the situation that my companion and I find ourselves in this transfer! Fortunately, we are in the part of ``receiving a witness.´´ Sister Saavedra and I have spent three transfers together, which is a long time, in my opinion. We have seen a lot together.

When we first got to the area together, there were SEVEN people that the other sisters had been teaching who ALL had a baptismal date! So, our first transfer was spent getting them ready and teaching them everything that they needed to know before their baptisms! It was an amazing and busy transfer, and we were so blessed to see families growing closer to becoming eternal ones.

Our second transfer = NOTHING. We didn´t even find anyone who wanted to visit the church on Sunday! We spent a month without any progressing investigators, even though we were doing contacts ALL DAY and doing all that we could to find new investigators.

I did have some moments of discouragement, since it seemed as though so many people were just rejecting our message. I spent a long time wondering what I or we were doing wrong. Then, I remembered that Heavenly Father is in control, and that we can only do our part. I remembered the scripture in Ether, and I also remembered that I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY and that we can ALWAYS be doing good, even when we have no investigators to teach. I also remembered to humble myself and trust that this is the Lord´s work, and that for sure He is preparing people for us to teach. I also read many chapters in Alma in the Book of Mormon when the missionaries suffer through trials that are way worse than anything that I have had to experience here!

Alma 26:27: ``Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy bretheren, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.´´

SO! The exciting part of this past week was when we taught only a part of the message of the Restoration to the girlfriend (Viviane) of a recent convert (Rafael). We didn´t get to the end of the lesson to the invite to baptism since we were short on time. After the lesson, Rafael said, ``So how is her baptism going to be?´´ And we said to Viviane, ``Do you want to be baptized?´´ (We didn´t even have to invite her!?!?) and she said, ``Yes!´´ WOO HOO!!! Now I understand why during the lesson, we said, ``You can read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true!´´ and Viviane said, ``I am going to pray TODAY!´´ Usually, we have to convince people of the urgency to know for themselves, but Viviane is already dying to know for herself! WHAT A GEM!

This is a MIRACLE that came after WEEKS of working tirelessly, talking to hundreds of people, teaching tons of first lessons that didn´t go anywhere afterwards, and being dropped by many investigators. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL that we never stopped working, and that Heavenly Father blessed us with someone that we can truly help, and who will listen to our testimonies that we have always been bearing with so much heart.

Alma 26:5: ``Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, ALL THE DAY LONG DID YE LABOR; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.´´

Serving a mission is the best decision that I have ever made in my life, but there were so many tiny decisions that led up to this big decision. Missionaries have the best job in the whole world. :) I could explode sometimes with the happiness that I feel in sharing the Gospel with others every single day. I still feel the Spirit so strongly when testifying of the Book of Mormon and the reality of God´s love for us. I know that Christ is our Savior, and that all of our beliefs center around this fact. I am so happy that my brother is doing the exact same thing as I am right now! Wow. There is so much to be happy and grateful for. I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week full of your own tiny miracles.

Love,

Sister Williams

Hi family! - June 2

I just want to share one of my favorite moments from this past week! There were so many tiny miracles.

First of all, this is my THIRD transfer with my companion, Sister Saavedra! I have never stayed with the same companion for so long! Fortunately, we are able to use this to our advantage in the area, and are really working to have good relationships with the members.

My favorite moment of this past week was teaching a man named Aparecido. We talked to him in front of his house one day. He was holding a really cute dog. Dogs have been my best friend on the mission! They are a perfect conversation starter! :) So I said, ``YOUR DOG IS SO CUTE!´´ And that was the beginning of it all! Normally, he would have been a grumpy man, but everyone likes being told that their dog is cute. :)

We invited Aparecido to church, and he went! Woo hoo!!! It is always an amazing happy missionary moment when one of your investigators goes to church! YAY! He said to me during Sacrament meeting, ``I have no idea why I am here! I have never let someone bring me somewhere in my life! But it is really peaceful here, I like it!´´ He kept saying things like this, which to us, shows us that he is OBVIOUSLY feeling the Spirit and letting God guide him! But we didn´t tell him that because we don´t want to freak him out too much ha ha.

Anwyay, teaching him the first lesson (the Restoration) after church was amazing. After we told him the story of Joseph Smith and the first vision, we asked him how he felt about it. He said, ``I feel the same as I feel when I am walking somewhere where I have never been before, but recognize EVERYTHING... It´s that same feeling of familiarity.´´ WHOA! SO COOL!!! It is amazing how the Spirit testifies to people in a way that they understand perfectly! These things are true, Aparecido!

We were so excited to leave a Book of Mormon with him and invite him to pray about these things!

This is the first time in a long time that we have found an investigator who is really willing to search and progress with the lessons, so we are very grateful to Heavenly Father. :) We fasted TWICE this week, and we are seeing the miracles. I hope that Aparecido can keep following the Spirit like he has been!

Have a wonderful week, and don´t forget to read the scriptures and pray!

Love,

Sister Williams

One Little Insight - May 19

I just want to share one little insight that I had from this past week.

This past week was very challenging for me. I had a cold, which basically took all of my energy, which in turn made everything more difficult! However, I learned something very valuable. I learned that our ``best´´ is always relative to our current circumstances. I spent a long time this past week feeling sad about how I wasn't as effective as I could have been, or that I wasn´t working at the same level that I had in past times on my mission so far.

Two important things happened to help me move on and keep working to spread the Gospel. The first was that I talked to my trainer here on the mission and she reminded me about this idea of ``best´´ and how our best changes. Even though what we have to offer is different at different times in our lives, we are always better off than we were, with more knowledge of our Savior, and more experiences to help us grow. I am so grateful that God inspires our family and friends to help us remember Gospel truths.  

Also, I remembered some very important truths that the Book of Mormon teaches us. First of all, from Ether 12:27, we know that we will see our weaknesses if we come unto Christ. Therefore, we should not be discouraged if we are seeing all of our shortcomings all at once. I think that our awareness of our shortcomings shows that we are striving to become more like our Savior, to close the gap between our character and His. The Lord will bless us for this humility.

Second of all, I remembered Moroni 10:32. My bishop from my home ward showed this scripture to me, and highlighted the fact that Moroni says, ``Come unto Christ, and be perfected in HIM.´´ We can never be perfect on our own, but as long as we are accessing the Atonement in our lives, we are becoming perfect in Christ. To access the Atonement of Christ, we need to have faith, repent, be baptized (OR take the sacrament WEEKLY), receive the Holy Ghost, and perservere until the end. I feel a sense of my Heavenly Father´s love when I think about how He gave us His Son so that we don´t have to feel so weak and helpless all of the time. We can feel a hope and a strength knowing that we can become better because of Him.

I went to a conference for the mission this past week and we watched an amazing video that the church made. ***WATCH THE VIDEO NOW https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng *** When I watched this video, I thought, wow. Christ didn´t suffer, die, and ressurrect so that we could repent ONCE... The cycle of His Atonement is the cycle that we should apply in our lives every single day. We can and should repent over and over again. Because of Him, we truly do have hope for progression and to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father once more.

I love being a missionary. I love sharing this Gospel with everyone, whether they accept it or reject it. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet called of God.

Have a great week!

Sister Williams

Amazing Experiences with the First Vision - April 28

This past week was wonderful! It was a lot of hard work because Sister Saavedra and I have a lot of high goals. First of all, our mission president wants us to get ten addresses every day. TEN ADDRESSES. This means that we have to do AT LEAST ten contacts in order to find ten people who will give us their address and let us visit them! We have to talk to EVERYONE that we pass on the street and sometimes it takes almost our whole day to reach this goal. We are becoming better and better and contacting though, so that´s good. The other day I was thinking about how open and receptive Brazil is. We can actually find ten people a day who are willing to listen to us. What a blessing! It was definitely not like that when I was in California, where my companion and I talked to more than 600 people (yes, I literally did the math!) in order to find ONE person who was willing to meet us at a PARK. So yes, I am grateful to be serving in such a receptive culture.

One of the women that we talked to invited us into her home in the same moment that we did a contact with her. She and her family take care of her mother, who has alzheimer´s disease and is bedridden. When sharing the message of how Christ´s church has been restored upon the earth and that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, I felt completely overwhelmed by the Spirit. I don´t know if Marcia felt that our message was true, but I felt it. I was tearing up as I bore my testimony of Joseph Smith. The first vision means everything to me. I know that these things are true, with all of my heart. Since I feel it in my heart, I know that others will as well. This moment gave me more incentive to teach the first lesson as much as possible. It really is something to celebrate and proclaim to the world!

The other cool experience we had this past week was when we were looking for a store that sells clothing imported from America. I was waiting in line at the grocery store one day when I saw that the woman in front of me had a tatoo in English. So, I just started a conversation with her (the easiest way to approach a contact!) and asked her if she speaks English. She said no, but that she travels to the states a lot to buy clothing to sell here in Brazil. So, we got the address of her store to go visit someday.

The store was on the outskirts of our area and it took us a really long time to find it! When we found the right building, we had to climb up a couple of flights of stairs, and then ring a doorbell for someone to give us access to the floor. Someone came to answer the door. He looked at us and said, ``Sisters?´´ We said, ``SIM!!!!´´ because we get really excited when someone recognizes us!

His name is Anderson and he is a member who actually served his mission in Michigan! He is a lawyer and works with one other man in that office that is on the same floor as the clothing store that we had been looking for. When we arrived, he had been explaining things about the church to Edson! He had just given him a pamphlet about the Restoration! So the timing was just amazing! We invited Edson to read the pamphlet of the Restoration (since he was working we couldn´t really teach a lesson) and pray about what he read. Anderson knows that we showed up when we did and that it was meant to be!

We went back to talk to Edson a couple of days later. He hadn´t had a chance to read the pamphlet since he had been super busy with work. However, he stopped working to listen to us and we taught him the first lesson. It was one of the most guided lessons that I have ever taught. I felt like everything that I was saying, that my companion was saying, and even that Edson was saying was guided by the Spirit. It was so exciting! I am grateful that the Spirit was guiding us because Edson is extremely intelligent (a very established lawyer) and with our limited Portuguese we wouldn´t have been able to teach him effectively on our own. When we read and explained James 1:5 with Edson, we told him that he could ask God for wisdom as well. Edson said, ``The only thing I ever ask of God is wisdom! I ask him to show me a light, to show me the right path.´´ When he said that, the Spirit hit my heart so strongly. I just felt in that moment that Edson would hear the first vision that my companion would recite by heart, and that he would accept it (if not in the moment then later for sure). Yes! We will tell you a story now of a boy who literally saw a light, and who was shown the right path!!! I had never felt so thrilled to tell someone what happened to Joseph Smith when he so sincerely prayed.  

Everyone was getting so excited! Anderson bore his testimony of how he knows that these things are true, and that the first vision was a moment in history that changed the world! Wow. It was incredible. So we left Edson with the invite to read a part of the Book of Mormon, and ask God for the wisdom that he promises us when we ask in faith. I know that he will read and pray and ask because of how powerful the Spirit was during the lesson. I know that he could see that what we had to say was different, and special.

It is moments like these that make me feel like it is worth it to walk for MILES every day, be rejected in various manners, and be so far away from family and friends for so long. This is God´s work! We have the precious gift of the restoration in our lives. We have one more testament of Jesus Christ, our Savior. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY FOR THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, and most importantly, for our Father in Heaven.

ABOUT BRAZIL... - April 28

Answers to the questions about Brazil!

Aunt Jen:

1. Biggest difference between where you are now and where you are from?

- The biggest difference (besides the language, obviously) is that the people are a lot more open and receptive. They are really friendly, even when they don´t know you at all. It is rare to encounter someone who won´t stop and converse with you at least a little bit.

2. Something you will miss eating from your mission when you go home?

- I will miss açaí. It´s a small purple fruit and we don´t have it in the states. Here, everyone eats it in a frozen form with toppings like bananas, granola, sweetened condensed milk, and other amazing fruits and things. During the summer, I ate it THREE TIMES A WEEK because it is so delicous and refreshing!

3. What do you wish you had done BEFORE your mission that would have been really helpful? (I have a son who will leave in just over a year for his mission - help a mom out will ya?)

- I wish that I had printed out photos to bring. On the spiritual side of things, it would have helped me to have studied the New Testament more, or at least the references that are in Preach My Gospel Chapter 3. The biggest thing that I DID do that helped a lot was read the Book of Mormon all the way through on my own right before my mission.

4. The most amazing thing you have seen on your mission so far?

- The most amazing thing that I have seen is how people have faith as big as mountains when it comes to overcoming trials or taking the next step in coming unto Christ. I am amazed at how much faith people can have, and the miracles that happen as a result of it. Faith in Christ has power, and anyone can change and become a better person because of it.  

Aunt Kerinda:  How has Brazil changed you?

- I am much more openly loving! I look for more opportunities to laugh and joke with people. I love hugs even more! Also, I am less scared of bugs. :)

Gabby:  What do you use to get from one place to another?  (travel)

- We use the ``ônibus,´´ which is just the bus system that goes EVERYWHERE in the big city. We also use the metro sometimes. We can travel pretty quickly! Sometimes the bus is so crowded though that you have no choice but to hug your neighbor or be hugged by a stranger. I am used to it though!

Gabby:  What does it say on your name tag?

- SISTER WILLIAMS

A IGREJA DE

JESUS CRISTO

DOS SANTOS

DOS ÚLTIMOS DIAS

Gabby:  What do you do for fun?

- We eat good food, walk around at the fairs, try new foods (there is just a lot to do with food!), go to the mountains (if we are in the country), play volleyball, and email our families!

Corban:  Do you have tables?

- Yes, we have tables, and we always eat at the table for lunch. It is the same as in the states. :)

Corban:  How do you count to 10 in Brazil?

- Um, dois, três, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito, nove, dez!

Quincy:  Do you like Brazil?  Is it fun?

- Brazil is AMAZING! It is so fun. The people here LOVE parties (because they work really hard during the week). There is always good food to eat and a happy feeling when families are gathered together.

Quincy:  How do you say 100?

- cem (``sang´´)

Quincy:  Is it hot or cold?

- Right now, the weather is PERFECT!!! In the summer, it gets as hot as Utah, but much more humid. In the winter, it gets as cold as Utah in the fall. It doesn´t snow here. At night we get pretty cold because our houses are made of cement and we don´t have heaters. I have to use lots os blankets and sweaters!

Quincy:  Do you eat bugs?

- No one eats bugs on purpose, but sometimes we eat bugs on accident... Ha ha. I have already eaten lots of ants. There was only that one time that was on purpose. The other times, I didn´t notice the ants until after... It´s no big deal now!

Bump:  Do ninjas really come from Brazil?

- Yes.

Erin:  What is your favorite portuguese word to say?

- I love saying what I have written on my nametag! ``Sou missionária da Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias!´´

Dad: Have you seen any of the giant avocados that Jody Dulberg raved about when visiting Paula's family in Brazil?

- See photo! After I took this picture, I actually found ones that were bigger... Ha ha!

Mom:

What is it like going to church in Brazil?

- All of the women greet each other with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Everyone is very friendly. I would say that it is pretty much the same where I am serving right now as it is in the states. However, when I was serving in a small branch, there was no microphone or air conditioning, and so it was a little bit different. Also, during fast and testimony meetings in the branch, EVERYONE had to bear their testimony or the meeting would end after ten minutes! But really, the chapels are really nice in many areas here in Brazil because they were built within the past ten years. They are very beautiful inside and out.

What hymns do they like to sing?

- The Brazilian´s favorite hymns are ``Count Your Many Blessings,´´ ``Now Let Us Rejoice,´´ and ``Choose the Right.´´

What type of music do the youth like to listen to, when they're not listening to church music?

- They listen to forró, pop music from America, any vareity of music from America, and Brazilian pop music. They also like Samba, and other fun dance music like that.

What activities do they like to do?

- Most people like to play soccer. Other people like to go to movies, listen to music, go to the beach, go to church dances.  

What do they grow in their gardens?

- I think that I have only seen one or two gardens here in São Paulo... People don´t really have gardens because the yards are really small, without open earth, and you can buy any fresh produce at the fairs at a very low price. When I was serving in a more country part of the state, there were so many fresh fruit trees that you could just eat a mango or guava whenever you wanted. YUM!

What's it like to go grocery shopping?

- It is almost exactly the same. There are just differences in the kinds of things that they have more or less of, and things that don´t exist here or there. For example, here, there are three whole shelves of sweetened condensed milk, but no peanut butter. Here, there are mountains of rice, but very few canned vegetables like we have in the states. Also, there is a TON of meat that is NOT refrigertated, and that threw me off a little bit. But no one gets sick, so I don´t really know how that works. Oh, the eggs aren´t refrigerated either. Really, I don´t know what the difference is here, but I have never gotten sick.

Does everyone have a computer?

- Most everyone that I have met has a computer. Even if their house is not very nice, they have a computer or laptop.

What does demora mean?

- delay

What is something that surprises you, yet is hum drum to the natives?

- There are random fires on the side of the streets that people start to burn trash. There are tons of amazing fruits that you can just pick off the trees anywhere. Cockroaches. The thousands of different colors of houses. How amazing the food is!

Did your mission president serve a Portuguese speaking mission?

- Yes, he served in Rio de Janeiro.

Have you seen any missionaries from your MTC district lately?

- I am in the same zone as three elders from my MTC district and they are all my buddies! It´s really fun. As far of the sisters go, two of the sisters from my district went home, two of them are here with me, and my companion never got her visa, so she is still serving in CA.

What is something you didn't appreciate until you got to Brazil?

- I didn´t appreciate carpet. Actually, no, I always loved carpet. I just miss it now. Ha ha.

What animals are considered pets?

- DOGS, CATS, AND BIRDS. People think that Americans are super weird for having snakes or spiders. They really do think that those people are crazy. They ask why we don´t just like dogs. Ha ha.

How do Brazilians celebrate Easter?

- Instead of making special foods, they just make MORE food, TONS of food. Since their food is already amazing, they don´t even need to cook anything special. They just make a larger amount and have everyone in the family over. :) Also, they give HUGE chocolate eggs as presents. The eggs are about the size of a football or a little smaller, and have presents or more chocolate inside. It´s pretty cool!

What is a unique Christmas tradition?

- Christmas Eve is the day to exchange presents! The party starts really late at night as well. Close to midnight. One good food they eat is a special kind of french toast called ``rabanada.´´ I will make it when I get home! On Christmas day, we just hung out with a family here and everyone ate good food and played cards and things like that. Very laid back!

Nicole:

What are the roads like in Brazil? Like, are they paved very well or not so awesome?

- The roads for cars are paved pretty well, but often have potholes. There are tons of speed bumps. In older parts of the city, the roads are all cobblestones. It´s really cool. The sidewalks are anything but level when they are in front of houses. Everyone paves their own sidewalk in front of their house, and so it is really uneven! You have to look where you are going when you are walking. It makes things more of an adventure, but every missionary suffers some kind of muscle pain in the beginning because it takes some getting used to.

How many new people do you talk to on average each day?

- At the least, one, at the most.... twenty or more!

On a scale of 1-10, how good is your Portuguese now?

- It is probably a 7. I can speak fairly well now, but I am sure that I still have an accent. I am working really hard to improve though. I can understand 95% of what I hear now, which is a blessing!! Heavenly Father has helped me so much.

Did you know that I still cannot spell Portuguese without autocorrect?

- Come on, Nicole. Ha ha.

Photos:

- Huge avocados at the street fair (they are delicous!)

- ``pé de boi´´ - COW FOOT, which I ate for dinner on Saturday. It´s not a common every day thing to eat though ha ha. It was actually pretty good. I wouldn´t have even known that it was cow foot if someone didn´t tell me. :)

THE BOOK OF MORMON - March 17

Today, I just want to talk about how the Book of Mormon has answered my prayers this week.

1 Nephi 2:19 - ``Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.´´ Starting on March 4th, I have been going through the hardest part of my mission so far. I have been battling some of the strongest feelings of inadequacy, discouragement, and fear that I have ever been confronted with in my life. But! Just look at this scripture! I noticed this scripture one day during companion study. When I read it, I knew that the Lord was telling me that I have been blessed for my faith! I felt as though He was telling me that I never truly gave up, and that I was going to be blessed because of that. And, even though I have felt so humbled this week, I feel the peace of God´s love for me, and I know that it is right to feel humble like I do, as long as I keep the Lord as the center of my life.

Mosiah 4:27- ``And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.´´ I love this scripture, especially right now! The Lord does expect our best, but He does not expect too much. I read this scripture this week and will ponder more on its meaning. I think that one of the secrets will be doing the little things that matter first. For example, loving the people that I see every day before I try to go out and talk to everyone in the world and help every single person I ever talk to. Small steps. Start in the home.

Alma 7:11-12 - ``And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.´´ I have been thinking a lot lately about the Atonement and the fact that God gave us His only Begotten Son. He sent His Son to this earth to suffer for OUR pains and sins. He loves us so much that He gave us His Son. I feel a burning in my heart when I really think about what this means, and I am sure that I don´t even understand 1% of how profound this truly is. It makes me want to work so much harder to bring people unto Christ.

2 Nephi 5:27 - ``And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.´´ My good friend and ex-companion wrote me a letter and put this reference on the envelope. It hit me super hard - WHOA! I need to be happy!!!! I have the choice to be happy! Sometimes we just forget, don´t we? This verse is so short and simple, but it made me realize that there are always blessings to see, always bright moments in our lives! If it takes a little bit of work to recognize and remember them, then I will do it! :)

I was blessed with the opportunity this past week to bear my testimony to an investigator about how the Book of Mormon has changed my life. I told her that I have the testimony of the Savior that I do because of this book. The Book of Mormon is true, and it has power to change our lives if we read it in the spirit of prayer. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers through the scriptures.

Thank you all for the prayers and support. I feel the blessings. :)

Love,

Sister Williams