This past Sunday was just amazing!\u00a0 I felt the spirit so strong all day and I just love Sundays.\u00a0 It’s especially nice to be able to get out of the class for a whole day. It was fast and testimony week for us and so we had a 2 hour mission conference with everyone in the MTC.\u00a0 That was really awesome.\u00a0 I gained a lot of insights and learned a lot as we listened to all the speakers we had.\u00a0 The second speaker, Brother Daniels, talked about how we need to not just eat out of the scriptures but feast out of them.\u00a0 Not just snorkel over them, but scuba dive into them.\u00a0 I know that things like this have been said before but it is so true.\u00a0 We really can gain so much more when we dive into them and try our hardest to find answers and gain insights every single time that we read.<\/p>\n
He also had a first edition of the Book of Mormon and so that was really awesome as he brought that to show everyone.\u00a0 He talked about how the 3 witnesses saw the physical evidence of the artifacts in the Book of Mormon to testify of the truthfulness of the things contained within the Book of Mormon, such as the sword of Laban, the Liahona, and so on.\u00a0 It was a really good talk.<\/p>\n
We heard many other good things, such as how we have the responsibility to help those we teach and to endure to the end for the rest of their lives.\u00a0 I love how I will be able to develop a deep love for the people in Italy and be able to stay in contact with them and continue to be a part of their lives.\u00a0 That to me is so special.\u00a0 One thing that I thought was really neat was that there was an Elder here at the MTC that was challenged to give a Book of Mormon away on the way to the MTC and he was nervous to do it but accepted.\u00a0 While he was on the plane to Salt Lake City he talked to the guy sitting next to him and they had some small chat of where they were going and once he said he was reporting to the MTC the guy said “Oh i served a misison.”\u00a0 So the elder thought how will I ever give this thing away now.\u00a0 He found out the man had been inactive for awhile now.\u00a0 The Elder talked about how he wouldn’t know what he was going to say and after every time he would have to say something or ask a question the words would just come.\u00a0 He gave him the book and invited him to read Moroni 10 and the guy accepted!<\/p>\n
Well what got really interesting was that the chorus director, who directs the songs for the devotionals sometimes, was then invited to come tell the rest of the story.\u00a0 It was her son that the Elder had chatted with.\u00a0 She said that she and her husband have been praying for a long time that their son will realize the importance of the gospel in his life.\u00a0 It was super awesome that her prayers were answered through that new missionary.\u00a0 Our prayers are often answered in various different ways such as the scriptures, our thoughts, feelings, and through other people.<\/p>\n
My testimony of prayer has strengthened this past week.\u00a0 God does answer our prayers and he listens to us.\u00a0 We have to be patient for the answers to come sometimes, but in His time He will answer them.<\/p>\n
We watched an awesome video of Elder Bednar’s talk “Recognizing the Spirit” and I hope that you guys will be able to find that one online because it was so good.\u00a0 [I couldn’t find it online.\u00a0 Apparently, it is a talk he gave at the MTC in 2009 and those aren’t posted online<\/span>] He told 3 stories about how there were times in his life that he was being prompted by the spirit without even realizing it.\u00a0 The stories are awesome and I hope you guys will be able to find it and read it because I could have sworn I had heard one of his stories before.<\/p>\n I forgot to mention that the “Character of Christ” talk was a BYUI speech<\/a> and I read it before my mission so it is out there!<\/p>\n I am so thankful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost in my life to help guide me through and do the things that I need to do.\u00a0 We are blessed to have the light of Christ and being able to go and give people an opportunity to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through baptism is super special.\u00a0 In my life I know that the Holy Ghost is guiding me in ways that I don’t even realize.\u00a0 He is consistently helping me do all I need to do to be able to do what is right in life.<\/p>\n Life as a missionary is wonderful!\u00a0 It is the hardest thing I have done in my life.\u00a0 No doubt about that it isn’t meant to be easy though.\u00a0 If everything was easy in life, and we never had trials, how would we grow?\u00a0 The lord truly does bless us with opposition in life.<\/p>\n For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.\u00a0 (2 Nephi 2:11) If we didn’t have that opposition in all things how would we be able to taste the sweetness and the joys in life.\u00a0 Il progresso<\/span> \u00e8 un<\/span> processo<\/span><\/span><\/em>.\u00a0 Our teacher talked about that with us earlier. He explained how we don’t countinuously progress constantly.\u00a0 Rather, we go up and down, but we should never fall down further than where we progressed the last time.\u00a0 We can constantly strive to set new goals and push ourselves further.\u00a0 It’s like running.\u00a0 Honestly, you see progress when you truly push yourself.\u00a0 When you think that you can’t go any further you just have to know you can, because we have The Savior to bear us up and help us along the way.\u00a0 From Matthew 11:28-30:<\/p>\n 28 <\/span>Come unto me, all ye<\/span> that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.<\/em><\/p>\n 29\u00a0<\/span>Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.<\/em><\/p>\n 30\u00a0<\/span>For my yoke is<\/span> easy, and my burden is light.<\/em><\/p>\n We are yoked with Him and He truly does carry more weight than we do.\u00a0 That doesn’t mean we can’t try, but when we put all our efforts forward He will not leave us.\u00a0 He never does.<\/p>\n Last night at the devotional we read the story of Ammon with the speaker, Elder Michael John U. Teh of the Seventy from the Philippines, and he has been called to be here in Utah for the past 22 months I think.\u00a0 He really gave me something new to think about that story.\u00a0 Ammon is definitely one of the best missionaries, but we talked about how he was young during King Benjamin’s address to the people, so he really didn’t understand it at the time.\u00a0 And then when he was older he went out actively destroying the Church with Alma the Younger and his brothers.\u00a0 Once Alma was struck dumb they all had a change of heart and really desired to do what is right in their lives.\u00a0 They then had a strong desire to serve a mission.\u00a0 And they all turned down the kingdom because they wanted to serve a mission.\u00a0 Ammon was bound and captured when they decided to go preach to the Lamanites.\u00a0 Sorry I am running out of time.\u00a0 A turning point for his mission and his life was when King Lamoni asked what he was doing and he responded with wanting to reside and live with them serve him.\u00a0 King Lamoni offered him a daughter to wife which could have eventually lead him being to possibly inheriting that kingdom and he turned that down and said he just wanted to serve him.\u00a0 We right now as missionaries are on Par with Ammon and it it is our choice to write the rest of our story. I loved that.<\/p>\n I’m so excited for conference this week!!\u00a0 It is going to be amazing.\u00a0 We get to watch all the sessions here and we don’t have class at at all, so that means even more study time which I am looking forward to.\u00a0 I encourage you all to pray about questions you may have and that you will be able to be prepared and ready for conference this weekend.\u00a0 We can receive those answers through the prophets. I am so excited and I hope that you all will be able to watch it this weekend.\u00a0 [BYU TV on Dish or Direct TV, or live via Internet feed from lds.org<\/span>]<\/p>\n Well I have to get going.\u00a0 I love you all and am thankful for being able to hear from you guys.\u00a0 Keep reading the Book of Mormon.\u00a0 Keep praying because Heavenly Father wants to hear from you.\u00a0 And go to church because we can gain so much spiritual insight and knowledge from that.<\/p>\n Until next week!<\/p>\n Ci Vediamo!!<\/p>\n Anziano Taylor Garrett<\/p>\n
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