Holy moly I hit my 8 month mark yesterday. Time has flown by. I was sick ALL week last week. I caught some type of cold that lasted forever. Probably didn't help that I was biking in 30 degree weather facing the wind. It snowed twice this week! WOOHOO! Snowed for almost a full afternoon, I loved it.
Tuesday's institute was so sweet. Preston, our ward mission leader, taught and we were studying 2 Nephi 9, probably my all time favorite chapter. And also because Jacob is the one giving the sermon ;) Leah, the girl that has been coming to institute and is an archaeologist, asked me a few questions afterward about 2 Nephi 9:18...my plaque scripture! She had some reaqlly good questions aabout judgement and the afterlife :)
Wednesday we cleaned out the baptismal font because it is really old and probably hasn't been cleaned in years. In preparation for Mario's baptism this Saturday, we scrubbed it, washed it, rinsed it, etc. Took about an hour to clean because that font is huge! Splits was that night and I was fortunate enough to go with Preston and Wade (a ward missionary) to visit Chelsea, one of our less-actives. We decided beforehand, that we only wanted to do a gospel discussion. And that's how it turned out! The Spirit was so strong. We discussed what she believed and she said everything happens for a reason. That triggered my memory of the very first time I met Chelsea...Elder Bonaro and I had been in Billings for less than 6weeks and she was one of the 900 names we needed to find out about. That day, EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong on the way to her house. GPS was making up roads, construction, detours, everything. We finally found her house and no one was home. Walking away from her porch, she just happened to drive up and we shared a message right on her driveway about faith. THAT does not just happen. Since then we have visited almost every week. She agreed that that may have been for a reason. *Back to the appointment we had this week* Preston asked an inspired question. He asked her what she felt her purpose was. She said she hadn't found it yet. He asked, on a scale of 1-10, how bad do you want to know. She paused, and said "8." We made her a promise. If she would read even 1 scripture a day for 1 week...on that last day she would receive that revelation. She's going to try it!
Mario is so golden! We taught him Tithing this week and have the Word of Wisdom, as well as the Law of Chastity to teach him before Saturday. He invited friends to come to his baptism!
Friday was so exciting, as Leah (see Tuesday ^) met with us. We planned on teaching the Plan of Salvation because she had questions about it. However, we started off by asking her if she had questions right off the bat. She said yes:
Question 1: Why do we not drink wine, if culturally and historically it is accepted and Jesus Drank wine?
Ans: Luckily, Preston was there ,who got this question all the time in Mexico. It is scientifically proven that one glass of Red Wine a day is healthy for you (she expressed this). It is true that Christ drank wine. Preston addressed this question, in relation to history. In that day, there was not pure water. Wine was probably the most pure thing they had. The water could make you very sick (she studied history, so this was perfect). We also explained, that most people who drink, abuse it and it becomes harmful. We are given commandments over time. I brought up Moses. The children of Israel had been in the bondage of the Egyptians for years. Moses left them for only a few days and they went RIGHT BACK to idol worshiping. SHE made the connection, that Moses destroyed the first tablets because they weren't ready for them. It made sense to her, as now, we are held to a higher law of health :)
Question 2: Why is it, that women cannot go to Heaven without a husband?
Ans: We explained that this was false. Women can reach the Celestial Kingdom without being married. HOWEVER, there is a difference between Salvation and Exaltation. We were placed here in families fro the time of Adam. The very first commandment God gave, was to have a family. In order to reach the highest degree of glory and happiness, it is in the Plan of Happiness to be married in the Temple to a spouse for eternity. For those who have not had the opportunity to marry, they will get a fair chance like everyone else, hereafter. The same goes for a man. He cannot be EXALTED without marrying. She understood :)
WOW! Hard questions or what! Luckily the Spirit led the conversation and she left with a smile. We told her just to pray about it, and God will confirm the truth through the Holy Ghost.
I cannot even begin to describe how amazing conference was. This email would go on forever. I loved the two main themes though: Families and overcoming adversity. It was made very clear that God does not change. I loved how they stated that just because Civil Law will claim something as moral, that does not change God's law of it being immoral. It is not a law for us to change. It can't be changed! Dallin H. Oaks laid down the law haha I loved it. Have a great week! I love you all and the church is true!
P.S. This week, I will be starting a spiritual blog in addition to Facebook. If you would like, "Follow" my Facebook, and be looking for my blog posts!