Ciao tutti!
I hope that everything is going well for everyone this week and that you are continuing to enjoy the holiday season. We had a great week and were able to really enjoy everything that we accomplished together. We had a some great moments and we hope that we can continue to be able to see a ton of miracles together and really see the work move forward at a quick rate!
We had a great lesson with one of our simps this week and he is doing super well! He has been reading the Book of Mormon and he is really sharp so he remembers a lot of what we teach him. It makes it really nice because he is super receptive and it’s great that he is always paying very close attention, as shown by his knowledge of being able to recollect, with detail, the lessons that we have together. He is a great kid and we both really feel that we are going to be able to accomplish a ton with him as we continue to help him draw close to the Lord.
We had an interesting lesson with the lady that was a referral. Having the first lesson going really well we expected to have extremely fast progress with this simp, but we unfortunately ran into some problems and issues that she had with the Book of Mormon. It was really sad because she really didn’t feel like the Book of Mormon was something that she could read. She was hung up on the fact that the Bible is not perfect standing alone. We can see evidences that there are things that are missing, some having to do with the nature of scriptural translations and others being corrupted by people going down the ages. We explained, though, that this doesn’t degrade the divinity of the Holy Bible and the absolute importance that it plays in our testimonies of Christ and knowledge and wisdom that God has given us. At the end we aren’t able to change and alter the agency of others because we are all free to choose. It is just hard when you know that a book can work such great and marvelous miracles in the lives of others. That is our simple invitation to the world, to open the book and see how many blessings will pour into the life of the sincere reader. I am thankful for the Book of Mormon and the truth that it contains as well as verifying the very things that we read in the Holy Bible helping us to receive a stronger witness of Christ and know what our Heavenly Father would have us do.
It is interesting to see the two differences with someone that is so willing to try and attempt to read the Book of Mormon with the interest of coming out knowing if it contains the truth or not. For instance with a family that I was working with in Catania we were able to see that the girl (who is my age) at the beginning seemed a little skeptical you could say, or questioning whether this could be a blessing in her life But through diligence and a desire she kept reading. I was able to witness the power of the Book of Mormon work in her life as she continued to grow spiritually, which spiritual growth is something that is really hard to see within ourselves, but something that I know happens as we continually strive to draw nearer to God and our Savior. I saw this in her life and she continues to see the blessings of living the gospel and its something that is amazing to see. I know that is how we can come to know whether the message we bring is true or now. It is through a study of the Book of Mormon and praying to our Heavenly Father in the name of Christ and asking if it is true or not.
We are continuing to share the Christmas video with all those around us and I am so thankful that this is helping me continue to reflect on the Savior’s earthly ministry and all the acts of service that he did for us. I really love the message it brings and how much good this initiative is bringing into the world. I hope that you all have been able to visit it and check out all the things that we can do each day to serve! We were sharing this video and we were having trouble finding people that were willing to watch it and after walking to one of the piazzas we met some guy that started talking to us and we ended up talking to him for a long time that evening. We were walking with him and he was just saying hello to everyone and he knew them all by name. I asked him how he knew everyone not really ever meeting that many people that know all these people by name. He said that he was a priest and it was a super cool conversation that we were able to have with him and we made great friends with him and were able to share a few things about our mission and he was able to very politely and kindly able to explain some things that we didn’t know either about the church and the city of Sciacca. It was a very amazing experience and we thoroughly enjoyed being able to have that experience.
I am thankful for the study that we are able to do each morning and so often, almost always, as we are ready we can receive that personal revelation that Heavenly Father needs for us to receive. I really enjoyed part of my study this morning in Philippians. Here is a verse that I really liked that goes with the #LIGHTtheWORLD initiative that we are doing this month!
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
We can truly be these lights in the world that can shine forth to other to help them bring them to the Light of the World, our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that this season is perfect for us reflect on the spirit of Christmas that is to celebrate his birth, which we should do constantly, and really be able to remember it is better to give than to receive and we can truly give in so many ways! I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Anziano Garrett
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