Well this week went by really fast and all is well in Zion (if you can even call Utah that). Lilian is doing very well and is progressing nicely. Her boss did not change the schedule to give her Sundays off work at least until 4 so she was not able to come to church with us. Although she has a friend that goes to the Union Park Spanish Branch and that service begins at 9am so we went with her to that Branch and helped her around. We haven't been able to meet with her since then so tomorrow when we have our appointment with her we will find out how it goes.
In one of the lessons with her this week she said something that strengthened my testimony that the Lord and His angels are preparing people to accept this gospel. Lilian told us of how the missionaries had knocked her door several times before when she was living with her mother. She said her mom would always say she is not interested but the missionaries would persist and set an appointment. When the appointment time would arrive her mom would say "Lilian lets go to the store". Lilian would remind her mom of the fact that the missionaries were going to be arriving soon to which the mom would reply "I know and I don't want to be here". When we knocked on her door a few weeks ago she had been prepared and was listening when the Spirit told her "you need to listen to them". Later in the lesson she told us of how her mom noticed that Lilian had been changing she seemed much happier. She told her mom that it was because she is getting closer to God. Her mothers boyfriend did not like this answer and told her that she was being silly and she was making it up. Lilian snapped back at him one day he would understand because one day he will need God and he will be ready to listen. The senior missionaries (The Birds) are teaching her English and man are they loving her to death and it is great. Lilian is a lot happier now than she was the first time we met her. The gospel changes lives.
We have really been trying to solidify the testimonies of Rafael and Socorro. They are the parents of two girls that were recently baptized. They have listened to the missionaries before and liked it a lot. I believe the baptism of their daughter was the push they needed in order to get them more interested in acting and being baptized. We taught them the first half of the Plan of Salvation focusing on Adam and Eve and The Fall because they believed we were all born with the original sin from Adam and Eve and that's why babies need to be baptized. I have always struggled to teach the Fall of Adam and Eve but for some reason this lesson flowed really well as we worked as a companionship to resolve their doubt. We pulled from 2Nephi 2 and the articles of faith to explain that God knew Adam and Eve would eat of the fruit and that it was all part of the plan. I think a good analogy for this situation is a parents with their kids. Many times because parents know their kids so well they know exactly what their kid would do if they were placed in a certain situation. If the parents put a candy bar on the table and leave the room and then the kid eats the candy bar the parents are not normally surprised because well that's what a kid would do in that situation. Heavenly Father knows us so well that he knew Adam and Eve when placed in the garden would eat of the forbidden fruit. The lesson was spirit filled and they told us they are ready for baptism on Feb 23.
On Saturday night one of our stakes had the adult session of stake conference so we attended. They had 2 guest speakers one of which was Elder Franco from the seventy and the other was Elder Anderson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He spoke on how we are living in enemy territory and how we are living in the great and spacious building. He spoke of how the Twelve and the First Presidency often speak of the next generation and how to help them grow up strong in the church. He mentioned that one of the most important things to do is to keep our homes and what enters them very sacred. We must also have a wakening unto God, or come to the point where we realize how much we really need him. He told us of how he taped the Super Bowl so he could watch it the next day when it was no longer Sunday. He said the half time show was full of glamour and things that he realized brought no eternal value. The things that now entertain the people of this world are things you would find in the great and spacious building. The key to avoiding all this he said was to have a deep and lasting conversion. The 10 virgins had lamps which are a representation of their testimonies and the oil was a sign of deep conversion. Our testimony must be so deep and rich that our children will not be able to deny the words of our testimony because the spirit will leave a lasting impact. The spirit will take the words unto the heart but there we must act and bring the words into our hearts. He truly is a Special Witness of Christ.
I have come to realize and realize more and more the truthfulness of this gospel. I can firmly testify that it is true and is the key to eternal happiness. Faith is where it all begins and I have come to understand that faith is a purifying principle. As we exercise our faith we are purified through the Atonement of Christ. I know this is true!
Love,
Elder Jolly
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