Farewell my Nauvoo

Wow, I can't believe it's already over. Two years have never gone by so fast. This Thursday, June 7th, I complete my mission and fly home to Idaho. These past two years have been some of the greatest and hardest years of my whole life. The way I feel right now is, i'm sure, similar to the way the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints felt when they had to leave the great city of Nauvoo. Its hard to leave something you have grown to love, but we can always have a firm hope and trust in God that great blessings, opportunities, and happiness lie ahead when were trying to be faithful.
When the early Saints headed north up the Mississippi river they came to an area with large swamps. There they drained the swamps and began to build the city of Nauvoo. This was no easy task for them. Many of them became ill with ague, an infectious disease that includes fever and chills. Everyone made tremendous sacrifices, giving almost everything they had to help establish this great city. Although it was a hard time for everyone, for more than six years those Saints displayed a remarkable degree of unity, faith, and happiness. And because of their faith the Lord poured out His blessings on them. Miracles were wrought by the Prophet Joseph Smith and many other righteous men who held the true authority of Jesus Christ. They went around healing those who were sick and restored them back to their proper health. The Lord also gave the Saints more scripture and revelation during this time, as well as a commandment to build a Temple. The Saints built the Temple and then entered in and became sealed to their families for all eternity never to be separated at death. The Lord had truly extended his tender mercies and prospered His people. However, due to mob violence, Joseph Smith was martyred and the Saints were driven out of their beloved city. This is when they decided to travel west and settle in the Salt Lake valley. I'm sure it was hard for those Saints to leave Nauvoo, but I know they had a firm trust in God that He would take care of them and that everything was going to be alright.

I truly testify, from experience, that no matter how hard life may be, hope and happiness can always be found. I know the Lord never forsakes those who are striving to do whats right. I know God, our loving Heavenly Father, and His son, Jesus Christ, are real. I love them and I know they love us. They are watching over each of us from Heaven and they bless us everyday. The Atonement is real. It happened and we can be cleansed and strengthened from it even today. I loved serving this mission! I loved serving around so many great people here whether they were members, missionaries, or those not of our faith. I pray the Lords choicest blessings will be poured out on all of them, and may God be with you 'till we meet again.

mormon.org/jesus-christ/

Click here to watch  Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration a video that shows the early Saints building Nauvoo and the life of Joseph Smith.

We Trust God the Eternal Father

We had a mini miracle last week! So this is a testimony to me about planning by the Spirit. Every night when we get back to the apartment we always set goals and make plans, as guided by the Spirit, for the next days activities. Wednesday night as we were planning we were going to try to see a member of our church later in the day, because we knew she worked, but we felt prompted to try to see her earlier in the day. So thats what we planned. On our way to see this member, up ahead on the road we saw what looked like a pickup with a trailer and a bunch of big barrels all over the road. As we got closer we noticed a car parked behind it. As we got even closer we saw that the car parked behind it was other members of our ward here in Branford. We pulled up to the scene and parked the car than got out to offer our assistance. Apparently the guy driving the truck took a turn a little to fast and 8 out of 12 barrels fell off the trailer. The barrels were full of horse feed and each one weighed 220 pounds. The man had been trying for an hour to put the 8 barrels back on the trailer, but wasn't able to. Then, about 5 min before we came, the members of our church came upon the scene and tried to help as well, but they too were not able to do it. Two of the members of our church went off to pray for more help, and as soon as they ended their prayer guess who showed up? Us! Thats when we pulled up and offered our assistance. We were than able to put all the barrels back on the trailer. Its amazing to see how God orchestrated that whole ordeal! He made sure people were placed right where the needed to be to help another one of His children who was in need. 

I know God the Father is the Supreme Being in whom I believe and whom I worship. He is the ultimate Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things. He is perfect, has all power, and knows all things. He “has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's” (D&C 130:22). I know we are all literally children of God, spiritually begotten in the premortal life. As His children, we can be assured that we have divine, eternal potential and that He will help us in our sincere efforts to reach that potential (see lds.org to learn more).  I know God loves each of us personally. He has a plan for each of us! I've seen how much trusting in God can bless our lives. The mini miracle that I shared above is one example. I have also seen it in making difficult decisions in life. Elder Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was faced with a financial challenge that wasn’t resolved for years. “The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years, taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer, and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God,” he said. “I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve.” In making decisions day by day, we can slowly but surely draw closer to the Lord and avoid distasteful influences from becoming a part of our lives. Being consistent in seemingly small, daily steps is a key principle in achieving any great work, including faith in and obedience to the Lord. “And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33).

  

Seeking the Light

Last Saturday Elder Lang (the missionary that has been assigned to serve with me), and I wanted to visit one last person before we called it a day. It was almost 8:30pm and holy moley it was pretty dark! Especially out in the sticks where we were located at the time. It was overcast, so the clouds covered any light that the moon or stars would've made for us. To get to this persons house we had to cross through a long field. In the distance we could see a little square light from the living room window of the persons house we were headed to, but right in front of us we couldn't see anything. We walked quietly trying to focus and see what was in front of us. After walking some distance we became concerned that we might step in a hole or on a snake or be attacked by possums or a homeless bearded man or who knows what. At that moment, however, I remembered we had a small flashlight back at our car. I suggested to Elder Lang that we should go get it, and he agreed. So we went back and got our flashlight then quickly turned it on. As soon as it was on our vision expanded and we were able to see what was in front us. Because we now had light our concerns of holes and snakes disappeared and we walked confidently to our appointment, cracking jokes and laughing along the way.

Some people today feel they are walking in spiritual darkness. They have concerns about their family, job, and even religion. Some dont know whats a head of them or how to get where they want in life safely. The Lord, however, has given us a flashlight. Our loving Father in Heaven has revealed truths about our purpose in life, where were going, and how to return to Him safely. He revealed this through a modern prophet. In the spring of 1820 a young boy stepped into a grove of trees to pray for guidance. His name is Joseph Smith. In answer to his prayer our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, appeared to him. In time They called Joseph to be a prophet whom They used to restore the Saviors church back to the earth. Because of this Restoration we know Gods plan for our happiness. In just a few weeks on March 31st and April 1st 2012 Gods living Prophets and Apostles will be speaking to us and to the world. Here we will have a chance to hear the mind and will of the Lord for us personally. I know the Lord is leading his children today to safety through divine guidance.  

http://mormon.org/restoration/