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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Week 16.5 The Book of Mormon is True! 10/24/2016

Monday, October 17, 2016

Week 15.5 The Plan of Salvation 10/17/2016

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Week 14.5 General Conference (a week later) 10/10/2016

Ok Yes Hong Kong is special and didn't have conference until yesterday sorry haha :)
General conference was great so here I go!
I. we all have emptiness within us
we have the capacity to feel but we have not yet felt infinity. What makes us empty and want to fill it with something?We naturally desire for something to fill us, to love us, to lift us, and to trust us, to feel important in some way.
II. How do we then fill the void?
1. Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!!!!!
This is what this whole church is about, is that if we keep his commandments we can be made whole and we can have the ability to be filled with light and happiness!
i. Faith
Faith is so important because it starts it all. It is that because someone loved us and did things for us, we can achieve eternal potential. when we wax "firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ" we can fill that emptiness that there is someone that does love us. Some things are hard to accept but "some things can only be learned by faith" (W. Mark Basset)
ii. Repentance
We often look to the wrong to fill our emptiness thinking that we can become important to satan, but that is a lie. Satan doesn't care about us and sin makes us emptier and drains what light we have out of us. We cannot be saved in our sin. God gave us the gift of repentance to fill us again with the gift of love and peace. Elder 
Renlund said "repentance is not only possible but also joyful." May we be joyful in fulfilling our potential. Change is difficult but if we change into what the lord wants us to be, it will be completely worth it. "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" (alma 5:26). I know that if we use repentance like it is suppose to be used that we can be swept from our guilt and we can fill our emptiness with light and knowledge and testimony that Christ is our savior.
iii. Baptism
it shows the full power of the atonement and gives us promises that if we keep we can be happy in Christ. The lord expects perfection. If we strive for it, we will get as close as we can, and he will carry us the rest of the way. (not in this life, but we need to try as hard as we can).
iv. Gift of The holy Ghost
The gift of the Holy Ghost is so important because it can give us peace and comfort and fill us and make us feel special. It can fill us up to the capacity to make it so we no longer seek things of no value to fill our souls. It helps us know what is correct to help us to be happy and that there is a divine being that loves us even if we are not perfect.
v. Enduring to the End
Yes enduring seems kind of not fun but it is more fun that. It is more being faithful to the end. It is enduring trials, and struggles and turning to the lord at all times. Enduring to the end is not to be grudgingly don it is to be cheerfully done! if you do this you can be filled and happy now and be filled to have eternal happiness
III. It will be hard
Nothing worthwhile is easy. The people who make it big quickly also loose it all quickly. "Things that grow slowly lasts longer." having "treasures in heaven (Hel 8:25)" is not easy. It is a process. Elder bender said in General Conference that if we serve him and deny ourselves of ungodliness, gradually his will becomes our will. like it says in Heleman 10:5 are we seeking his will? Elder Eyering said the work "matters because we are serving others for our master."
IV.We are to have Joy
Most important of all, if you are doing all you can be happy! Elder Nelson said that saints are to have Joy because they are patient with their afflictions. The ultimate gift and proof of our emptiness being filled is joy no matter what happens in our life.

You touch more people then you think. Fruit takes year to grow, but when it blossoms you then see that it was all worth it. God wants us to be happy! he sees the capacity and potential of our souls and bases his love off of that because he has served us for all eternity. The plan of salvation is his ultimate gift and service for us because it required the ultimate sacrifice of someone who didn't deserve to be sacrificed but Christ willingly did so because he loved us. We are all worth loving to him. If we see ourselves through God's Eyes we will be filled. This is The truth and glad tithings of the Gospel. In the name of his beloved son, even Jesus Christ my redeemer, Amen.


Monday, October 3, 2016

Week 13.5 Preparing for Conference & Working with Members 10/3/2016

This week has been absolutely awesome!!!
We met some new friends and they seem pretty cool. Working with members is the best!!!!!!

I. The blessings of God
So general conference is coming up (for me anyway) and I am reading all the conference talks from last year. One of the talks I read this week was "that I may draw all men unto me" In this talk Elder Renlund quotes Elder Wilford W. Anderson. He says "The greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement." He talks about how we must make it so we are like Nephi who has the attitude of thanks 
1. Humility to become closer to God
The most important thing we can do is to be humble before God
1.1 Alma 51:17 Pull down their pride
we must pull down our pride if we want to see the blessings and tender mercies of God
1.2 Alma 56:46are we worthy to be called his sons (daughters) like the 2000 strippling warriors?
1.3 Alma 48:20 example of drawing unto Christ and being blessedAnd thus they went forth, and the people did humble themselves because of their words , insomuch that they were highly favored of the Lord, and thus they were free from wars and contentions among themselves, yea, even for the space of four years.
1.4 God of our fathers whose almighty hand being humble is we will follow god and do what HE wants, and not what we want
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
Our grateful songs before thy throne arise.
In this free land by thee our lot is cast.
Be thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide, and Stay,
Thy word our law, thy paths our chosen way.
Be thy strong arm our ever-sure defense.
Thy true religion in our hearts increase.
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.
1. God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
2. Thy love divine hath led us in the past;
3. From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence,
I know if we do let him lead us, we will never go astray and we will always have his spirit to guide us
2. Act Like he would
our thoughts are not the only thing we must change, we must also change our actions
2.1 To the Rescue we can do it
Don't delay because you never know when it is too late, but be patient with your efforts.
3. When you have done all you can Trust
This is something that is very tender and dear to my heart because it is one of the principals that I have always tried to work on. Trust is so important because we have to trust that when things don't work out, God is behind it, that when we don't get what we want, that there is something better that he wants to bless us with. We have to be patient with his timing and patient with what his will is to be.

II. I realize I talk a lot about what has to be done
don't worry I am working on all these things too. I have come to realize that 
1. by small and simple things
nothing ever will come immediately, if it looks like it has in someone else life that is because they have been honing in on that specific aspect of their life for longer then you know. Don't be discouraged if it comes slowly. We are Children of an eternal being. We are to be learning forever and to progress forever. That is why we must be patient and that is why that is a Christ-like attribute
2. God and Christ are with you
They know exactly what you have been through. They are not ahead of you when you ask for help. he is exactly where you are and is there to nourish you. That is the great thing about the Gospel. Just because he is perfect doesn't mean he sees himself above us. He is perfect for us so that we can learn.
3. Moses 6:31
Why have you chose me enoch asks. It is not because we are perfect but it is because heavenly father and Jesus Christ want us to grow, they want us to fulfill our potential and to have the great joy and happiness that they have! it is a truth of the gospel that we are chose to try not to be perfect in this life, but to try to be perfect, and then achieve it later in the eternities.

III. If we are worthy
we will have the spirit to be with us. That is part of the greatest gift that God has given us. by using the spirit we can always make the right choice. God loves us all perfectly. He knows you individually, Don't you ever forget that there is a god waiting for you to call on him. In the name of His beloved son, Amen

Elders Chou & McGrath and view from apartment

BBQ with members