Week 49... Here is a Song You can Sing Along

                                                                 October, 9 2016

I would like to take an opportunity to share some thoughts from this week that I hope will benefit each of you. I am grateful as I am each week to be serving the Lord. I know that He lives and loves each of us eternally and mightily. As all of us continue to live our lives, we may struggle, we will face opposition and we will have burdens placed upon us, but we can look forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men. It is because of Christ that each day I feel joy. It is because of Him that I know I may have the opportunity to return with my Father in Heaven and eternally dwell with Him and with my family. 

I wanted to share a quote from Elder Renlund's talk in the Sunday afternoon Session of General Conference:

“The Atonement, which can reclaim each one of us, bears no scars. That means that no matter what we have done or where we have been or how something happened, if we truly repent, [the Savior] has promised that He would atone. And when He atoned, that settled that. …

“… The Atonement … can wash clean every stain no matter how difficult or how long or how many times repeated.”

The reach of the Savior’s Atonement is infinite in breadth and depth, for you and for me. But it will never be imposed on us. As the prophet Lehi explained, after we “are instructed sufficiently” to “know good from evil,” we “are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death.” In other words, repentance is a choice."

I love that doctrine! Come unto Christ. Allow Him to help you and then work harder to make a difference. Another thing that I also enjoyed was correcting the consequential results of our sinful behavior. I must admit, I have asked the Lord for forgiveness on a number of things but have I made the effort to correct what I disrupted? Have I gone back in my life to those times and made things right? If not, what can I do now to make a difference? I am so grateful for the Savior and His infinite atoning sacrifice that He has freely given me. 

Conference was just amazing and I have learned so much from the prophets and apostles. Each of them are amazing and so in tune with the Spirit. One particular message that I received from Conference this past weekend was to count my blessings. 

(Here is the song so you can sing along...)

"When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings; name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Count your blessings;

Name them one by one.

Count your blessings;

See what God hath done. …

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings; ev’ry doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by."

How often do we express to the Lord our gratitude for His blessings? For me, it is something I wish to improve on. I feel sometimes my prayers may be repetitious and vain. What am I grateful for? How can I improve? One blessing that I have seen while serving in Singapore is the blessing of patience and charity. It will not matter what people say or do for I am a representative of Christ. I bear His name and share His gospel. I know that this church us true. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is not enough to study by learning, but to also study by faith, acting on what has been presented and searching for the blessing that come because of our obedience to the principles given.

For those who are members, but have not had the opportunity to go with the missionaries to help teach others, please do so. There is a powerful Spirit that comes into a lesson when a member or friend of the investigator is also present. I promise you that doing so will help you become the missionary that the Lord needs you to become. I had such an experience when two of our Chinese members came and helped us teach a lesson. We taught to young women in there 20's from China. They shared with us that they knew a little bit about God but had no idea. We were able to share with them a little bit more about God. Who He is and how we are able to talk with Him. We testified, our members testified and all of us felt the Spirit. How grateful I am for members being able to help us. One, because I can not speak Chinese to save my life :) but second because their testimonies are incredible and motivational. Pray to know whom to speak to. We are all missionaries in these last days. Just as President Monson has said, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."

I know the Church is true! If you feel your testimony isn't where it needs to be, please read the Book of Mormon, heed the counsel of Moroni:

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

I know that as we learn not only by study, but also by faith, the Lord through the power of the Holy will reveal unto us the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Elder Shirley