Preach My Gospel is for Your Conversion!

For training this week, my mission president made the comment that Preach My Gospel is for the missionary's conversion. He also told us that if we are studying it everyday then no matter what storms come our way we will never even flinch! That is a very large promise! I know it's true though. 

Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. However, in order to do that effectively, we must be headed  toward Him ourselves. As we refine ourselves we are serving those around us. We are providing them with an example of someone who is diligently working to follow the path that Christ has laid for us. You increase your light which will draw others closer to the fold of our Savior. People are watching you. I promise.

Do you love your friends,family, co-workers, teachers, and peers? Then show it! Draw closer to Christ. Missionary work is the work of love! Be a little better every single day. Do what you know to be right and bring others with you.

I know as I have striven to do this,  my happiness and energy has increased. The work of Christ is energizing. Saying you don't have time is not an excuse. You do have time. You have 24 hours every single day. What is your priority? A book, television, the Internet, or the invaluable worth of the soul of the individual right next to you? We need to prioritize what is really important. I have learned that this is not the time to be timid. Be bold because you are right. You have the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the greatest gift you could give someone. Go and share it!

I invite you all to bring up your beliefs with someone this week. Share a simple testimony about the truthfulness of this gospel. Maybe even invite them to come to your home. The Spirit that resides there will stick out to them and they will desire to learn more about what is so different about you and the Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I would also invite you to read Doctrine and Covenants 4.

I love you all. I testify that you are a precious child of God and that He knows and loves you! 

Go and Bear your testimony!!!

I'm finally put in the field! I can't believe I'm a real missionary
now! I have been so blessed to be in North Carolina in the Charlotte
mission for about a week now.

The week has been amazing so far. I've really learned a lot. I think
the most important thing though is being bold with my faith. Never be
scared to bear your testimony on simple truths. I think I used to get
nervous that I would offend someone if I were to talk about religion.
In all actuality, people are pretty open to talk to you about your
beliefs.

I invite you all to go help the missionaries this week. They love all
the help they can get and you will be blessed beyond belief for your
service. You will feel the Spirit so strongly and you will be a help in
bringing to pass the greatest work on this Earth today. Missionary
work is the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I testify that
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church
on the earth today. It brings happiness and joy to all. God loves you
and hears your prayers!

Temple Cleaning on P-Day

So the Provo temple has been closed for the next couple weeks for cleaning. Since it's my p-day today, two of the districts in my branch got to go and help clean the temple for some service. It was pretty great! I was excited before we even got there! When we found out what we were doing it was even better! The sisters were going to help with a chandelier and the elders got to clean lockers. There are some perks to being a sister missionary!

The sisters got to clean the huge chandelier in the celestial room! It was awesome! Each individual crystal was taken off and cleaned then placed back on the frame. I got to help with the reassembling process. It was so incredible to see the fine details on it! The crystals are all chained together by small gold bows. They are so delicate and you can tell the attention to the details that had to go into it. 

Temples truly are the house of our Heavenly Father on earth!

When we were just about to leave, the workers told us that they were going to light the chandelier up for us. All 5 of us laid on the ground directly under the chandler when it lit up. It was beyond beautiful. 

We joked that putting it back together was like decorating a Christmas tree. I would take that experience over a tree any day! I loved that I got to serve my Father in Heaven so directly by cleaning His house. 

​ When everything was said and done the workers surprised us by taking us into the bride's room. It was sooo beautiful. That experience made me so excited about my decision to be married in the temple. There is no place on earth that I would settle for besides my Father's house. I won't because I know that I cannot get back to Him with any other venue. His path is straight and narrow and I'm sticking to it always. 

This was the best way I could have spent my time today. My Father in Heaven has given me everything and I was able to give a little bit of it back today. I have the next 17 months to continue to try to show Him my gratitude because I know there is no way I could ever fully repay Him. ​

Strength from Prayer

I read about prayer in the Bible dictionary today in class. The part that stuck out the most was "Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of pray is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them."

​ I have learned for myself the power of prayer. I have gained so much strength through pleading with my Father in Heaven for aid. I have learned that asking for help is not showing weakness. Weakness comes from not admitting its presence. Those who are truly strong are those who admit their weaknesses and bring them to the Lord to be made strong. The strength that comes from our Father in Heaven cannot be obtained any other way. ​

Our Father wants to helps us. Let Him!

Charity: The pure love of Christ

When I think of something being pure I think of completeness, whole, unblemished, and perfect. That is how Christ's love is. It is in no way conditional on our situations, obedience, or wholeness. Christ's love in infinite. Christ always wants to, and will be, there for us. He is the ultimate example of Charity. 

Moroni 7:47-48 "...pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ..."

What a beautiful blessing! I am not expected to develop charity on my own. I just need to strive to follow Christ, then I will receive Christ. Even in my endeavor to follow Christ I will be aided. All I have to do is my best and accept the aid of my Savior. 

Attributes of Charity:

-suffereth long

-envieth not

-seeketh not her own

-kind

-not puffed up

-not easily provoked

-thinketh no evil

-rejoiceth in truth not evil

-beareth all things

-hopeth all things 

-endureth all things

I've been trying to work on all of this attributes daily. I invite you all to make daily goals to work on one or two of these attributes. I know that the blessing you will receive from following our Savoir's example will bring you more happiness than you can imagine. 

Amou Vocês!!!

Sister Wright

Moving Day at the MTC

So yesterday we found out that we were being kicked out of our room. Apparently, the MTC is closing down our building so they can do construction for next semester. We had to be out of our room by noon today. With six sisters packing up everything they own and moving it clear to the other side of campus, you can imagine the chaos.

Last night we were all a hot mess! We were packing like crazy trying to fit everything into our suitcases. It's inevitable that you will accumulate stuff here. Care packages take up quite a bit of space. It was a reality check for us because we realized how much space we really don't have to haul all our stuff down to Brazil or wherever the heck we're serving. At this point, none of us know because well... visas. Also we didn't even have any of our books because we leave them in our classroom since that is really where we live.

We received a great blessing this morning. Some of the Elders from our district came to help us with the trek to the other side of campus. I am so glad that they did! It would have taken forever without them! We  ended up having to take two trips and we had 11 people helping. Unfortunately, I don't think all of our stuff is going to make it out into the field.

I love the atmosphere of service here at the MTC. I wish it was something that would be cultivated more. There is always more that we can be doing to lightened others' loads. As we are in tune with the Spirit, we can more easily recognize those instances. I know we are where we are because our Father in Heaven designed it that way. We are meant to meet the people we do for a reason. One of the purposes our Elders are here was to help us with that not so pleasant move. They are also here to teach us about true, selfless service. We can learn and help each other so much. I know that and our Father in Heaven knows that. He's pretty smart. He knows what we need, always.

I know that one of the best things that we can do with our time is serve others. Look at Christ's mortal ministry. He was constantly serving others. I know that in order to follow Christ's perfect example we must continually serve others. As the Holiday Season approaches, I invite you all to find ways to serve others. The best present that we could give Christ as we celebrate His birth is to serve others. Get out there and be the Lord's hands!

I think my favorite part of this experience was seeing one of the Elders carry my dirty laundry. What a stud! haha

Be Faithful: Full of Faith

"Faith is a principle of power." ~Preach my Gospel pg 116

Faith allows us to return back to our Father in Heaven. It is an enabling power. We cannot obtain the highest degree of glory in God's kingdom on faith alone, but it's the first step toward it. Through faith, we are inspired to take action to become more like our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. It's faith that leads us to taking advantage of the Atonement, thus enabling us to return to God's presence. 

In Mark 4:35-41, it tells the story of Christ sleeping on a boat caught in a storm. Beforehand, He had told the men on the boat "let us pass over unto the other side." It was His will that they went out to sea. Even though it was the Lord's will, and He was physically with them, the men began to panic when the storm came. In the end Christ calmed the storm. 

How many times do we panic when on the Lord's errand? I know I have more times than I care to admit, just in the MTC!

As a missionary, I am doing Christ's work daily. However, though it is less obvious, we are all here on His errand. We are here to follow God's plan, the Plan of Salvation. While here, we have the opportunity to be the Savior's hands. How cool is that?! He trust us, imperfect beings, to do His work. To do the work that He would do if He were in our position. This is what it means to be a representative of Christ; to take His name upon us. That is the covenant that is made at baptism. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we do our best to follow our Redeemer's perfect example in our daily lives. 

So why do we feel discouraged when we do His work? I know I do because I feel inadequate. However, I know feelings of inadequacy and fear are not from my Father in Heaven. They are from the adversary. He does not want me to do my Father's and Lord's work. Whomever the Lord calls, He will qualify! What a beautiful promise! I know that I can avoid these feelings completely by accepting the help of Jesus Christ. I am just like the men on that boat. I can always have my Savior right here with me as long as I live worthily of His Spirit. He is waiting to help all of us. 

I invite you to be full of faith for our Savior, Jesus Christ. Eu sei que ele é nosso Salvador e ele ama todos pessoas! Seu evanglho é verdaderai. Seguire seu perfecto examplo. Ele vai ajudar voce!