Conference was amazing, definitely something worth going
back and reading/studying the talks.
I know we probably shouldn't pick favorite apostles, but I
think my favorites would have to be Elder Bednar and Elder Christofferson. And
I was not disappointed by their talks! I loved Elder Bednar's talk about the
Atonement and our real part in it in relation to Christ. Elder Christofferson's
was amazing, definitely a great way to end the conference. I love how he said
the resurrection is a FACT, and therefore all things related to Christ must've
happened. My favorite line from his talk was "Faith is more than mere
imagination".
Those of course were just my favorites, we heard amazing
talks by all the apostles and leaders that spoke. As always, Jeffery R. Holland
delivered. Elder Zwick and Elder Aidukaitis from the 70 had the best
"stage presence" I guess is a good word for it. Did you Elder Zwick
is from here? He used to be a baptist preacher, that's way he did such a good
job speaking. He actually came to our mission like a month before I got here
(kind of a bummer). He did a really great job.
I invite all of you to look up Elder Oaks' talk he gave at
the priesthood session as soon as it's available. It was by far one of the most
intense talks given this last weekend. Let's just say if he didn't completely
abolish it, he certainly shut up the protest about women getting the priesthood
for a while. Very much worth going back.
If there's a certain theme I could pick out of conference,
it's in the form of a scripture.
Alma 7:22 "And now my beloved brethren, I have said
these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God,
that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of
God, after which ye have been received."
A lot of the talks were about standing up for what you
believe in as the world around us starts to crumble. We need to either
"awaken" to a sense of our duty to God or get worthy to the point
where we can "awaken". These are the last days, so we either need to
jump on the bus or get out of the way.
Moving on to some investigator news:
We had an appointment scheduled with Tedarreus, the first
one in like a week and a half, and he cancelled WHILE WE WERE ON THE DOORSTEP
ABOUT TO KNOCK.He still shows a lot of potential, but when things like this happen I just want to leave him behind and move on. But again, he still has a lot of potential. I don't really know what to do. Yes he cancelled, but let's look at why. He got kicked out of his girlfriend's house. Meaning he is (currently) living the law of chastity. Since he used her car, he can't go across town to do his smoking job. So he is (currently) living the word of wisdom. Those were the only two things keeping him back, but at the same time we don't really know where he is. *sigh* I just don't know what to do.
On a brighter note, we met someone named Q a few days ago. Q is a 22 year old guy who wants to get his life right, and we had one of the best lessons ever with him. We started by just talking to him and finding relevance for him, then did the usual lesson stuff. After we talked about Joseph Smith and the first vision, he said it sounded like poetry and gave him a warm fuzzy feeling (which was weird hearing those words out of a black guy's mouth). We assured him that was the spirit which helped him recognize it during his prayer. He gave probably the simplest prayer ever but at the end he literally prayed and said "... and I can't stop smiling. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." Then he looked up and asked us why. Well why what? "Why can't I stop smiling?" We again assured him that was the spirit and we planned to see him again tomorrow night. It was a really great experience and we're excited about Q.
Now on to my testimony this month.
It's about patience. We studied patience a couple weeks ago
as part of our Christ like attribute study where we study an attribute for a
week for 9 weeks until Easter. Since then I've been thinking about different
things that have been happening/ have already happened in my life when a little
patience has paid off. One example is my mission in general. If you were to ask
me back in July, I would've said that I would never have the opportunity to go
on my mission. A month later I got my call! Another is my experience with Elder
Leishman, my trainer. Don't get me wrong, he is a good missionary and I learned
a lot, but we didn't have the best relationship. Now I have a companion that I
can call a true friend. In those and many other situations just a little
patience has paid off. Patience doesn't mean to sit back reserved until
something good comes out of the bad, it's about moving on and pressing forward
regardless about what's happening around you (kind of similar to the theme I
got out of conference). Progress requires patience. We can't have either
without diligence (this week's attribute), meaning we keep going. So keep going
friends! Just as my favorite hymn "Be Still My Soul" says, "with
patience bear thy cross of grief or pain..." and always remember Christ
has been there before and is waiting to help you, you just have to ask.
Until next week,
-Elder Gardner
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