Let There Be Light

June 8, 2015

Hello! 

Well this week was absolutely amazing!!!! I LOVE being a missionary. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. 

To start off concilio (council) was fantastic. We talked a lot about the doctrine and how it is the only way to happiness and eternal life 2 Nephi 31 20-21. Then President surprised us and he took us all to the temple!! We did a session. There were 2 groups of us. Hermana Bond and I were in the session with Hermana Lunt and Elder Lunt they are the couple that is in the office and does the finances etc. But all I have to say is I love Hermanas Bond, Bailey and Rush. They are amazing. It was really good to be in the temple with them. There is a reason we all came here together. 

 

Hermana's Bailey, Bott, Bond, Rush

So our investigators are doing really good!! We have had some powerful lessons. One really powerful one was with Ariela as we were learning about the plan of salvation. The spirit speaks to her, really. She had read her commitment and then as we got to the spirit world she said well the people in prison do they have the chance to accept the gospel? She just understands so well. She has truly been prepared. Then as we talked about the word of wisdom she said before you came I’ve just realized I shouldn’t drink coffee or alcohol. She is recognizing the spirit and putting off the natural man through the Atonement as she repents. Mosiah 3:19. That is one thing we have learned this week with Ariela, Gabriel and Iris. All about the doctrine and the Atonement. 

In John 3:16-21 it talks about why Christ came here to earth. When He came light came to the earth, there was a star. When He died the light was taken for 3 days. Luckily God didn’t take all the light off because they still had the gospel and Christ had accomplished the Atonement to give us hope. But, as the people grew in wickedness and the apostles died, God had to take the gospel from the earth, this is called the apostasy. This period of time in history is called the Dark Ages. Which I find very interesting because darkness= the absence of light. So, the gospel or the doctrine= light. But, thanks to a loving Heavenly Father he restored this light to the world through Joseph Smith. All the doctrine has been restored. In the bible dictionary it says that the word gospel= good news. Good news to me means happiness. When we come to know Christ our being changes. We literally change. You can see it in a person’s eyes and in their face. They SHINE with the light of Christ. As we come to know Him and His doctrine we change and become happy even though there are still trials. D&C 19:23. As we follow Christ we can have true peace in this world. I know we can find peace in this world through the doctrine of Christ and His Atonement. What hope we have that we can start over and that its a new day today without any mistakes. I love the talk from elder Dale G Renlund from conference in April 2015 called Latter-day Saints keep on trying. In it he quotes:

“I’m no saint-- that is, unless you think a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.”

Our perfection (Moroni 10:32) is a process. but we have to constantly read and apply Christ’s Doctrine he goes on to say- we may be perfected by repeatedly and iteratively relying wholly upon the doctrine of Christ: exercising faith in Him, repenting, partaking of the sacrament to renew the covenants and blessings of Baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost as a constant companion to a great degree. As we do so we become more like Christ and are able to endure to the end, with all that that entails.

Then he says one of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final. The Savior’s infinite Atonement can heal. 

I know that the doctrine and the atonement of Christ heal us and they leave no scars. They heal us perfectly. I know that through repentance we can feel peace and happiness. DC 19 16-17. HE is the LIGHT! Mosiah 16:9. Thanks to Him we have a new beginning again and again. Go share that light! 3 Nephi 18:24. 

Love you!

Hermana Bott