Dear Family,
I couldn't think of anything to get you all for Christmas that was actually affordable and would mean something ... so I had an idea. here's a 12-day countdown to Christmas with some experiences I've had and some of my favorite scriptures. It's kind of stupid but maybe you'll enjoy it, kind of.
Instructions: read one a day, each night before family scriptures study. Each person takes a turn reading, then looking up the scripture. Some days will have a challenge, too! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Love you all,
Heidi
Day One: FAITH - Alma 32:19, 21, 26-27, 43
So when I was teaching Amanda in Layton, she really wanted to be baptized and knew the church was true, but couldn't commit to baptism because of her boyfriend Bryce. He lived with his parents but was paying for Amanda's apartment. Bryce's parents were moving, so Bryce would be homeless unless Amanda let him move in with her. This was a problem (obviously) because they aren't married and she can't be baptized while he's living with her. My companion, Sister H, felt really strongly that we should PROMISE her that if she refused to let Bryce move in with her, Heavenly Father would bless her with a job so she could pay for her apartment. I kept telling her, I seriously could not even imagine being in that situation, but I knew if she did the right thing everything would work out. As time went one, me and Sister H knew that if she just took that leap of faith, somehow things would be okay. In Alma 32:27 it says to "arouse your faculties" - faculties, meaning power and ability. Acting on faith isn't easy, but worth it. Amanda ended up letting Bryce move in with her and it broke my heart. She was back at ground zero and pretty much lost the testimony she had. Sister H and I were so sad because we still know it would have worked out if she had exercised her ability and made the harder choice. In Alma 32:19 it answers the question of why we need faith and why answers and explanations aren't just handed to us. Faith without works is dead! Don't be an Amanda.
Day Two: MISSIONARY WORK - Alma 8:14-16
it is so easy to get discouraged when doing missionary work. In these scriptures, Alma tries to go preach to the city of Ammonihah and they were just too wicked and prideful to listen. The angel tells Alma to rejoice because he tried to keep God's commandments. When encouraging members to do missionary work, sometimes it's hard because they've been rejected before. I like to share this with them because it's 100% true - by making that effort to invite, that's keeping God's commandment to share the gospel. In "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" it says to count your success in "No's" instead of "Yes's." I try to have that attitude every day. 10 "No's" is better than zero attempts. Plus, that way when a "yes" does come along, it will be a pleasant surprise! Plus, it's good to keep in mind that some people are really slow moving. Butch (in Layton) had been going to church and working with missionaries for 2+ years before he was baptized. I've learned that you never know who you planted a seed with, and where it will go years down the line. Challenge: make a list of all the friends you know who are less active or not members. Put the list by your bed and pray for them, by name, to know what you should do to prepare them to hear the gospel.
Day Three: TESTIMONY - 1 Nephi 2:16
The story behind this scripture: My, Sister H and Sister P had been working with Nate and Marcela A. Nate was a less-active trying to come back, and Marcela was not a member. She was from Romania and was open to the church, but if she did anything like come to church, read the scriptures, etc. she only did it because she knew how much it meant to Nate. We were getting frustrated with her because we'd taught all the lessons, plus like 5 additional lessons and she just wasn't progressing. So one night we decided to try and get her into scripture reading by starting the Book of Mormon with her. We went around the room, each taking a verse. She read this verse, stopped, looked up and said, "So ... Lehi's testimony wasn't good enough for Nephi ... he wanted to know for himself." I looked at Sister P and she goes, "Uhh ... yeah, that's why we're reading this!" It was so not what we got out of 1 Nephi chapter one, but 100% what she needed. It helped me realize how powerful the scriptures can be and how they can always relate to what we're going through.
Day Four: VIRTUE - Proverbs 31:25-31
Story behind this scripture: So this is Lauren's favorite scripture. She wants to get verse 25 tattooed on her ... Anyways, it's her favorite and now one of my favorites. I don't know why; I just like it. There was a lady named Nikki who was in her early 20's, single mom with a baby. She was really strong Catholic and we worked really hard to get into her home. When we finally got in, she let us share a scripture with her and I shared this one because it's in the Bible and she's familiar with the Bible. She really really liked it, and said she felt like that summed up the Mormon mother role, and she really wants that some day. And now it's one of my favorite scriptures! I want it in my living room on the wall or something.
Day Five: APPLY - James 1:22-25
"Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only." President Hansen always says in trainings and meetings that the things we learn are pointless if we don't apply them. It's one thing to go to church, learn something cool, and then go home and forget it. it really makes a difference when changes are made. In the mission, people say, "if we do what we've always done then things will be the way they've always been." Kinda common sense, but not, ya know?
Day Six: PRAYER - D&C 112:10; BD Prayer (last 2 paragraphs)
"Prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves the blessings that God is already willing to grant." Since being on my mission ... I've learned to be careful what I pray for because it comes true .. haha! We have this joke with some of the other sisters that only stupid missionaries pray for patience or humility because then you get stuck with a terrible companion or in Rose Park (ghetto area) with food poisoning. When Elder Bednar came and talked to us, he said, "the real question is, do you have the faith NOT to be healed?" It kinda makes you think ... but I think that's what prayer does, it brings you closer to Heavenly Father so if your will isn't God's will, you'll get closer and closer to His will and be okay with it.
Day Seven: OBEDIENCE - Alma 47:8-19
This is a kind of hard story to follow ... but when you get it, it's really cool. So Amalickiah was trying to get Lehonti to come down off the mountain so he could overthrow his army, right? Lehonti's not stupid though ... he doesn't fall for it. Then Amalickiah tries two more times. Lehonti's still not falling for it. Then Amalikiah's like, okay, come down, but bring your guards with you . Lehonti agrees, that should be safe, right? Wrong. Poisoned. Boom, dead. Anna, this story's for you. So what can we learn from this? Satan works the same way Amalickiah does - a little bit at a time, trying different ways to bring us down.
Day Eight: MISSIONARY WORK - 1 Nephi 8:10-12
My favorite Book of Mormon story is the tree of life. I don't know why; I just love it and use it for everything. Verses 8-12 talk about how wonderful the fruit was and how the first thing he did after he ate it was wanting to share it with his family, or the people he cared most about. That's how sharing the gospel should be for us. A couple of months ago I was having a really hard time enjoying the mission, and was counting down the time I had left instead. I said something in an email to Jamison about that and in reply he said, "you have 18 months to be really led and guided by the spirit. Most people don't have that opportunity. You get to learn to love hundreds of people like Jesus does. The only thing I worry about is not finding everyone I'm supposed to in time I have left." It was like a reality check, haha, and since then I've been okay.
Day Nine: REPENTANCE - Enos 1:2-10
This is the chapter we always use to teach prayer and repentance. Enos is a great example of having "real intent." I love the word choice used here, like, "soul hungered," "pour out my whole soul unto God," "faith unshaken in the Lord." It's just a cool story.
Day Ten: HOLY GHOST/LIAHONA - Alma 37:38-47
These scriptures are talking about the Liahona. While reading this, try to replace "Liahona" with "words of Christ," "Christ," or "the Holy Ghost." I like it when it talks about not being slothful or getting lazy. I think we are given trials to make sure we don't get slothful and so we can be brought back closer to Heavenly Father again and be worthy of the spirit. I might have told you this, but I'll tell you again. When we were teaching Amanda, we were trying to get her to pray about multiple different things. We challenged her to take her questions and pray about them during the sacrament at church that week. She was really looking forward to it! One thing she was having issues with was accepting and obeying the Word of Wisdom. She showed up to church that week and told me she's had a rough night out drinking and partying, but forced herself to come to church so she could get answers. The talks and meeting was absolutely perfect for her. She leaned over to me at the end and said, "I don't feel anything ... I guess that's why you keep the Word of Wisdom, isn't it? The Holy Ghost can't talk to you otherwise."
Day Eleven: CHRIST LIFTS OUR BURDENS - Alma 7:11-13; Mosiah 34:13-15
Christ suffered for our sins. He also felt all our pains and afflictions. When we teach people about the atonement, I like to compare it to car insurance. If you get in a really bad car wreck and your car is totaled, are you going to pay for the repairs all by yourself, or take advantage of the insurance you have and let them pay for it? The atonement's the same way . We don't have to suffer the grief that comes from making wrong decisions. We don't have to suffer worldly pains and temptations or sicknesses alone. Christ has already felt those; let him take it. I really like the Mosiah scripture because it explains that Heavenly Father eases the burdens we have through Christ. he doesn't always take them away, but gives us the strength to get through hard things. Just like sometimes car insurance won't pay for everything. Maybe we still have to pay a little bit to learn to be a better driver or something. When Elder Bednar was doing a question/answer session with our mission, someone asked what advice he would give missionaries. He said to use the atonement for everything, every day.
Day Twelve: CHRIST - Moroni 10:32-33
Merry Christmas!! Here's one of my favorite scriptures about Christ. Christ is a wonderful gift we have been given. Through Him we can be perfected, sanctified, made holy; all those other good words it uses ... I've really learned the importance of the Savior, the atonement and Heavenly Father's love for us. Hope you all have a great day and remember the true meaning of Christmas! Love you all,
Heidi
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