...Wow...this is my last email as a full-time missionary.
It's hard to believe that my time has come to an end. It's hard to accept, I
want to stay here longer; participating in the Lord's work is one of the
greatest blessings I have been able to experience in my life so
far.
Last week was another good week. We were blessed
with a ton of referrals and we have been trying to contact them. We picked up a
new investigator named Brad from a Spanish referral that was given to us, and
he had a lot of questions/concerns about the Book of Mormon and the prophet
Joseph Smith. He doubted most of what we said, but he committed himself to read
the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true, if it is the word of God!
General Conference was great! I was
inspired and uplifted, and had questions answered. Much focus was put on the
Book of Mormon. I liked that. We have a planned Church tour this Saturday that
the whole local community is invited to. We've made flyers for the event,
passing them out and have been trying to work with the members to get this to
work. We hope it goes well.
Well, being that this is my last email, I'll
leave you with my testimony. My testimony, my beliefs, have been put to the
test many times over the course of my mission. Because of opposition and
trials, my personal testimony of this gospel has been strengthened and has
grown. Our conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ increases as we act on what
we know to be true. One thing I cannot and will never deny, is that I, and all
of us, have a loving Heavenly Father, who knows us and wants to bless us. He
loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth to live a
perfect life and be a perfect example to us of how we should live our lives.
Most of all, he willingly took upon himself our sins, pains, afflictions and
sicknesses, to provide a way for us to overcome our sins and imperfections in
our lives, and to enable to us to become better people, to reach our divine
potential. The power of Christ's Atonement is real. I have felt it in my life,
and I have recognized more as I have come to personally know my Savior more
during my mission. Repentance is an amazing blessing that we have as mortal
beings. Through repentance and relying on our Savior, Jesus Christ, and his
Atonement, we can not only receive forgiveness of sins, but we can be relieved
from the burden of guilt and shame that results from the decisions we make in
our lives. It is through sincere repentance that our nature is changed, meaning
that who we are can be changed for the better. I am so grateful for Jesus
Christ and His atoning sacrifice that he made on our behalf. I am
grateful to a loving God, who loves us so much that He has restored the Gospel
of Jesus Christ in its entirety through a man that was called of God, Joseph
Smith, to restore Christ's church on the earth. I bear my witness, and I know
of a surety, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that He did see God and
Jesus Christ in a vision, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints is the Lord's church on the earth, with God's authority to administer in
the ordinances of the Gospel. I know that we have a living prophet on the earth
today, President Thomas S. Monson, who receives direct revelation from the Lord
to direct the Lord's church here on the earth. All these things I know to be
true because I have read, and continue to read every day, the Book of Mormon. I
want you all to know that I know with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is
indeed the word of God, that it contains the doctrines of salvation, and it is,
as the prophet Joseph Smith said, "the most correct of any book on earth,
and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding
by its precepts, than by any other book." It really is! As you study,
ponder, and apply daily the teachings found in the Book of Mormon, you will be
so blessed! Your life will change, and you will be a better person. I know that
to be true because I have experienced it myself, and continue to experience a
change in my life for the better! I have grown closer to our Heavenly
Father and our Savior Jesus Christ because of the Book of Mormon. I love this
Gospel, and I love you all. Never forget that God loves you! I'll be seeing
some of you next week and in the near future! Have a good week!
Love,
Elder
Haven Ruiz
No comments:
Post a Comment