6/28/2012
Thanks
for all the care packages that you have been sending me. Before I leave I will
be sending you some stuff that I don't need to take with me, like extra books
and what not. So there was a mishap at the engraving office for my scriptures
and I now am the proud owner of a new set of English scriptures haha SWEET! so
I was just wondering if you would send me a case for them, Preferably since
they Bible and Book of Mormon are separate, a case for each one. Understand?
like so that the cover of the scripture can slip inside a flap of the case so it like becomes part
of the scriptures. Sorry if that is confusing, I would just like to keep them separate.
if you guys could find a nice wire bound study journal type thing that would be nice. i have a
notebook but
they get torn up to easy and I am afraid it will not last that long. Oh and in McAllen we do a lot of service so could you ship
another pair of jeans, a few more pairs of socks, some old tee shirts, a belt,
gloves and a pair of my shoes that i can do work in. I would also like a
calling card so I can call you guys when I get to the Airport in SLC. Also next
week sometime I will send you a package of stuff that I don't need to take to Texas.
Que Tal
mi Familia!
So the
New Mission President Seminar went so great! Sweet story, so I was just sitting
in the hallway because Elder Barth was getting an interview for our Branch
President. Just reading the Book of Mormon when Elder Packer comes and sits on the chair directly across the hall from
me. I
looked up not knowing
what to say to him as he started going through some notes. Then he must have
felt a
set of eyes on him and looked up. He raised is eyebrows and said, "Do you know its
true?"motioning towards the Book of Mormon. haha we both laughed and I answered, "Well of course!" He smiled and
said that I should
be an excellent missionary then haha and then went back to his notes. I was
having a small anxiety attack with one of the brethren so close and then out of
no where Elder Nelson comes as sits right next to me. He asked where I was
going and where I was
from and then Elder Barth and President Wing came out of his office. I
guess President Wing and Elder Nelson are good buddies because they began to
talk about how
work was going (they are both doctors) and then President Wing mentioned that I
wanted to be doctor. Elder Nelson then gave me some advice about how I should go about
doing that. So
grateful for that opportunity to see the brethren like that. So I don't know what happened
but only L.Tom Perry was able to speak to us this past week because of
something that was gong on in SLC that required the First Presidency's attention.
He gave a statistical review of the church that should be available to the
public in a few months so look out for that, it was pretty neat to see all the physical
and worldly benefits of being a follower of Christ. But there were 10 of the twelve present for that devotional and so
that was
pretty awesome.
So not a
lot has been really happening this week because well...its the MTC haha. Being
a Zone Leader
isn't too bad, you just take all the punishment when Missionaries do stupid
things. We
had one missionary sneak out and go and flip the breaker boxes for all the
other rooms in
the building except his (he isn't too bright). Anyways I had to wake up at 3 am and
talk to a security guard and sort everything out. But other than that it hasn't
been too bad. There have been many miracles with the Language and I know that
the gift of tongues is real. So as of June 27, 2012 it has been exactly 166
years since the Prophet Joseph Smith was killed at Carthage. Here is a
wonderful testimony of the prophet given by Elder Holland who is quoting one of Joseph's dear friends and
companions Elder John Taylor
"I testify that Joseph Smith, the
Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation
of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. … [He] left a fame and name
that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and
his people; and like most of the Lord‘s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his
works with his own blood. … [His] innocent blood on the floor of Carthage jail is a
broad seal affixed to 'Mormonism' that cannot be rejected by any court on
earth. … [It
is] a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel that all the world cannot
impeach. … [It
is] an ambassador for the religion of Jesus Christ, that will touch the hearts
of honest men among all nations" (D&C 135:3, 7) until the great
Jehovah Himself shall declare the work is done.
Presidents
and sisters, at this season in this latter-day work, we are not called upon to
seal our testimony with our blood, and surely your missionaries are not. We go
to great lengths to make sure that that does not happen. But we are called upon
to seal it with our devotion, with our energy, with our love, and with our
loyalty—loyalty
to the miracle that God has wrought in this last and greatest of all
dispensations.
I testify
that God is our Father, and I testify that He has not left His children without
hope or happiness or a chance to return to Him in heaven.
I testify
that Jesus Christ is God‘s own Son in the flesh as well as in the Spirit, Himself a
God and the son of a God—the Only Begotten of the Father, the Savior of all mankind.
I testify that the Father and the Son chose young Joseph Smith before the
foundation of the world to be a prophet, a seer, a revelator, and the bearer of
the keys of the kingdom for this last time in the eternal plan for the
salvation of the children of men.
I testify
that Joseph beheld the Father and the Son in vision and that that vision was
but a preface to the remarkable rhapsody of events that would restore saving
principles and authoritative priesthood to the earth—those principles and
essentials and ordinances for the salvation of all humankind.
I testify
that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and the keystone of our religion. I
testify that it is a new witness, another witness, another testament of the
Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel, and the most correct book on earth—undeniable, unassailable,
unrelenting evidence of the truthfulness of the Restoration of this gospel.
I testify
that 15 men have succeeded Joseph Smith as prophets and Presidents of this
Church, leading in this day to our own beloved Thomas S. Monson. In one hour‘s time, in the same meeting
where we will partake of the sacrament of the Lord‘s Supper, we will be in the
presence of a living prophet called to pre-side over 14 other prophets. His
life has been a legacy of service and sacrifice. He‘s aging, but you‘d never know and you‘d never be able to tell it. I
testify that he, his predecessors, and his successors always will be
authoritative and apostolic in every full and glorious sense of those words.
I declare
that this is my personal witness. It is the truth that I share in the spirit
that Alma declared his: "Do ye not suppose that I know of these things
myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things … are true. … I [do] know of myself … that Jesus Christ … the Only Begotten of the
Father …
cometh to take away the sins of the world, [and I] steadfastly [believe in] his
name" (Alma5:45-46, 48).
Love you
all so much and thank you for the continual support, you are all in my prayers
:)
-Elder
Sanderson
No comments:
Post a Comment