2 Down, 13 More to Go

Hi!

This week we had a wonderful mission conference with Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Halestrom from the seventy. We got to shake his hand so that is what the subject line is for. I only have 13 more apostles to meet. I loved both of their talks. I would like to share some notes from the conference.
Elder Halestrom's talk:
-There is no other organization that can turn young people, who are in the most selfish part of their life, into unselfish people.
-Your mission will be your foundation, your spiritual foundation for the rest of your life. You will KNOW who you are; you will know your relationship with God and that faith and trust will be so grounded into your very being.
-He talked about how we can be taught by the spirit. He said that we need to follow Moroni's advice in chapter 10:3-5. First we need to have real intent which means that we will act upon any answer or direction that God gives us. He asked us the question: "When we learn something, do we have the intent that we will follow what we learn? Second, we need to have faith in Christ. Third, we need to have a sincere heart. So we need to do these three things if we are to be taught by the spirit. We need to have this mentality when we go to church, when we go to general conference, when we read our scriptures, etc.
-He said that the greatest thing that we can give to the Lord is our WILL. Actually that is the only thing that he hasn't given to us. Everything he ask from us (time, money, etc.), he has already given to us. He tied this back to learning by the spirit. When need to be saying, "Whatever you ask Lord, I WILL DO!" if we are to be taught by the Spirit.

Elder L. Tom Perry's talk:
-He said that as members of Christ church, it is OUR responsibility to declare to the world that the power of God (the priesthood) is again on the earth.
-He talked alot about how it is essential that Christ church be set up as an organization. He shared some scriptures with us. Luke 6:12-13; Matt 17:1-4; Eph. 4:11-15; Articles of Faith #5; D&C 13; D&C 110
-He mentioned that if someone sends in a letter to the apostles that is asking a doctrinal question and it can't be answered by pointing to the scriptures or a church manual, they send the question to the prophet who takes it to the Lord in prayer. I thought that it was really cool that the only person who can receive revelation that clarifies doctrine and can find out the true interpertation of scripture is the prophet.
-I love seeing apostles not in conference because they are so much more relaxed. Elder Perry is the third in line to be the prophet after Elder Packer and he joked around that he is checking Elder Packer's blood pressure everyday. He said that he doesn't care how long he lives as long as Elder Packer lives one day longer than him. It was great to see that these men aren't aspiring to be the prophet. In fact, they would rather not have that responsibility on their shoulders. I come across alot of people who think that the leaders of our church are power hungry.

Cool miracle for the week: We went tracting in a small town called Las Animas. After 10 minutes of tracting we were let in by a woman named Joan whose niece had just died and she seemed very depressed about it. We talked alot about the Atonement and the Restoration and how this church can bring her more peace than anything else because it's Christ Church. She accepted a date to be baptized and has read from the Book of Mormon since then. She told us, when we asked about baptism a few days later, that she knew that this was the right thing and she knows that it will bring her peace. Now we just have to get her to church.
So after leaving Joan's house, we were in awe because so few people let us in and let us teach them a lesson. We went back to tracting. Both of us felt like we should no longer be on that street so we picked another street that we felt good about. Within five minutes of tracting, we street contacted a younger lady outside her house. She, Katie, also let us in and we taught her a 1st lesson too. She also accepted a date! Never has that happened where we got two new investigators within five minutes of each other! It was crazy! We had Katie pray before we left, about the BofM. She told us that she felt like this could be true and would bring her closer to God. After leaving Katie's house we looked at each other and said how awesome God is and the miracles we get to experience in his behalf.

I love my Heavenly Father and the power of faith! For without faith, miracles could not be. Miracles can and do happen everyday as long as we turn to the Lord and have the faith to trust him and his will. Give the Lord the one gift you can give, your will and many miracles will happen.

Remember the church is true so keep the FAITH!

Love Sister Sumsion