Hope all is well with you. I have had a good week, and I mostly want to report on some insights I had during study this morning:
I have nearly completed The Book of Mormon yet again. It is an exciting and joyous experience. This morning as I came across Ether 6 where the Jaredites travel across the sea, new insights arose. Their travels are comparable to a mission. As their travels begin, the “furious wind[s] blow” (v. 6). These winds have a purpose: to get them to the promised land. At the same time, they are furious and cause them to be “tossed” (v. 6) and “buried in the depths of the sea” (v. 7). We too face challenges, trials, and growing experiences that often seem like furious winds. They may have a purpose: to help us become who the Lord would have us be, yet they toss and bury us. There are even instances where we feel buried beneath the depths of the sea. However, in those instances our “vessels [are] tight like unto a dish” (v. 8). The vessels can be compared to our testimonies that are fortified by companions, leaders, the scriptures, the Spirit, etc. Our testimonies remain strong and unbroken by the temptations of the world around us until we are able to reach the promised land (v. 12) or the moment when we are released. At which point, we have cause to rejoice and “shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them” (v. 12). I too feel like the Jaredites and am grateful for the tender mercies I have been afforded. I want to share just a few of them with you from this week:
Even though Joanne had some concerns about attending the temple, we were able to clarify things and she is excited to go. She received a temple recommend yesterday and is going to the temple on Wednesday. The best part is when she is there she will do the work for her mother as well as her grandparents. She is excited, and I know this will be a memorable experience for the rest of her life. It is simply one mark of her conversion.
My dad always said that I would find the only Red Sox fan in the UK and convert him. Unfortunately that has not been the case, but I did meet a basketball player on the way home from an AUF on Saturday. We had a good conversation, and my knowledge about basketball finally came into use. His name is Chris, and he has that sincere desire to increase his faith. He wasn't able to come to church, but he texted to let us know and said “if I’m truthful, I’m interested.” It was cute and shows that there are sincere people in the world today that each of us are meant to friendship for specific reasons.
As part of the weekly focus, we were role playing applying different methods of finding and then applying them through the day. Yesterday, we role played addressing the importance of family. While the role play was in the back of my mind, our conversations were not quite playing out as expected. On the bus ride home, I was able to talk with a young man named Ryan. We discussed about faith, goals, and aspirations. It soon became evident that he was not interested in the gospel of Jesus Christ and politely declined my invitation to learn more. However, we then got to talking about our families. As we discussed our ancestors, he said, “My friends call me a hill-billy” because I have a mixture of it all. I then asked, “Would you be interested in learning more about your family history?” He said, “Yes,” and I was able to give him a pass along card that contains the church’s family history website/information. As he got off the bus, he proactively told me that he would visit the website to learn more.
Have a lovely week! Know that I am enjoying my last moments in Manchester.
Love, Becca
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