QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Driving to watch Conference at a members house on Saturday and we were talking about how amazing it is that we have a living Prophet! I say to Sister Shell,
"Gah! Who else in our phone can we text and tell to watch Conference! EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW!"
*Sister Shell ROLLS DOWN HER WINDOW*
"ATTENTION EVERYONE! WE HAVE A LIVING PROPHET ON THE EARTH TODAY!...*trying to stifle her laughter* WE CAN TEACH YOU MORE! WE ARE MISSIONARIES! COME TO CHURCH AND GET BAPTIZED!...etc..."
It was SO funny. We weren't really in ear-shot of anyone but it was still hilarious.
But really. If everyone knew that we had a Prophet. NOT ONE business would be open, not one car would be on the road and every broadband and pixel all across the world would be tuned to hear Thomas S. Monson's voice. THAT is how important this work is.
FRANK
Well.. Let me just start off by saying that Frank LOVED conference. He loves President Monson "Even though he has huge ears." -His words, not mine. I asked Frank how he knew that he was a true Prophet and he paused and then said, "You can just hear it in his voice... I can't explain it." The first session that he watched was the Priesthood Session. Sister Shell and I watched it with a member so we could address any concerns that Frank had. It was really good. As we watched it Sister Shell and I looked at each other and we were like, "HE'S TALKING TO FRANK!" Everything that we had addressed in our lesson earlier in the week was addressed by THE PROPHET OF GOD. How cool.
He showed up to the Priesthood Session in a t-shirt, just like he always does. He always just wears whatever to church. But when we called him on Saturday night he was like, "I felt so dumb wearing a t-shirt everyone was dressed up but me!" So... part of me wasn't surprised when we got a text on Sunday morning saying, "I think I will dress up for church today." When he walked into the chapel in a suit I almost started crying. It was such a sweet little moment. Frank was all bashful and he even wore cologne! It was cool that he recognized the importance of the occasion and he loved it.
In-between sessions, we decided to just do a little picnic with Frank at the park since he loves to be outside. Sister Shell and I made sandwiches and walked around in the rain. Frank was so funny we made him take a bunch of pictures of us because it was GORGEOUS. I felt like I was back in Utah! It was great to feel surrounded by nature again. Almost like I was in the mountains!
When we got back for the second session Frank randomly opened up by bag and grabbed my Book of Mormon, he started flipping through it and reading all my notes and the things that I have underlined. It was cool. It made me realize how neat it will be to have my kids read my mission scriptures one day. It really is like my testimony written in the margins. Frank started reading and at one point I had to say, "Frank! Put that down :) You can read the Book of Mormon later!" NEVER thought that I would tell someone NOT to read the Book of Mormon BUT he was missing MODERN-DAY Scripture! It was kinda funny. He just rolled his eyes and put the book down. He really is like our little brother.
HIGHLIGHTS
K I KNOW this isn't the Oscars... But as a missionary it kinda feels like it. And y'all know how much I love the Oscars. Don't worry. I know who won all the awards and everything. I had a member fill me in on the deets.... anyway. Back to Conference. I just have to say... Jean A. Stevens deserves a personal shout-out in my email for demonstrating courage, spirituality and STYLE! SO happy to see someone wearing a beautiful DRESS and not a jacket blouse combo. I cannot tell you how refreshing that was. She wins the award for best dressed ever. Hands DOWN.
Sister Shell and I then went home, got out of the car and walked to our apartment. As we rounded the corner, we noticed some hoodlums smoking pot at the door of the apartment right below ours. We were walking towards our stairs on the sidewalk, and the hoodlums said "Heyyyyy" We, of course, said hi back but did not stop to talk. As we got closer to our stairs, I just kept walking and hoped that Sister Shell would too. I felt the spirit pushing me to not let them know where we lived. It was strange. I didn't even look at the stairs up to our door I just kept walking and so did Sister Shell!
This is from her blog : "We turned the corner and Sister King and I looked at each other and I told her that as we were walking I got a distinct and strong impression from the Holy Ghost; "Keep on walking!"It startled me a bit inside. I didn't turn towards our stairs, I didn't tell Sister King that we needed to keep going, I only kept walking, hoping that she would keep walking too. And she did! We walked around the corner together. We both got the same prompting and we both did not hesitate to follow it. We walked around the building back to our car and sat in it, staking out our apartment. When the hoodlums were finally gone we quickly booked it inside.
I know that Heavenly Father was protecting us, and I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost. I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't listened, perhaps nothing, but I'm glad that we didn't have to find out. Just another testimony to me that Heavenly Father protects his missionaries. I know that we were escorted by angels as we walked past our apartment. "
It was pretty cool.
SPIDER-MAN REVELATION
I don't want to bore all of you with my Conference notes because hopefully most of you were also listening to the same Conference I was! It was amazing. I will just highlight a few of my favorite things...
I have been thinking a lot about the law of chastity lately especially after teaching about it in Zone Meeting and it's just kinda funny because I am as chaste as I ever will be out here on a mission but perhaps that is why I have learned so much about it! Because I see the importance and the blessing from that. I LOVED Linda K. Reeves talk about pornography and virtue! And I remember when I was preparing to teach in Zone Meeting about chastity I kept thinking about how amazing it is that God has given us a portion of his power to CREATE! How amazing is that? What is more God like than creating? It really is an amazing gift. The line from Spider-man came into my mind, "With great power, comes great responsibility."
This doesn't just align with being chaste! But it is the same with every aspect of the gospel. Be responsible for your actions, thoughts, words, and choices. It is power. Agency is POWER. But with it comes responsibility.
ATONEMENT
Elder Robert D. Hales talked about the amazing power of agency that the SAVIOR had. I think that we scarcely think about the Saviors choice in performing the atonement. Elder Hales talked about Christ in Gethsemane and Golgotha, he said, "God would not override the Savior's agency." He goes on to say that Christ could have called on Heavenly Fathers angels to get him down from the cross... BUT
HE DIDN'T.
WHY?
Because he loves us. EACH of us.
I have been thinking a lot about this talk called "The Very Root of Christian Doctrine" By Thomas B. Griffith. It is amazing. Here is an excerpt that has CONSUMED my mind lately.
"In a revelation Joseph Smith received which is now Doctrine and Covenants 19, the Lord Jesus Christ gave the only first-person detailed account of the suffering He endured so that we would not need to suffer the full effects of our disobedience:
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; . . .
Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— [D&C 19:16, 18]
There is something curious about this narrative. Verse 18 ends with a dash. The Savior did not complete His thought. Why? I don’t know, but I am persuaded by the explanation that the Savior might have cut short His description of what He suffered because it was too painful for Him—some 1,800 years after the event—to complete the description. Now what kind of a God do we worship? An awesome God who wants us to know that His love for us is infinite and eternal. A God who wants us to know that His love for us gave Him the strength to suffer for us. Knowing this ought to be enough to move us to submit our lives to Him in obedience and gratitude."
WOW. 'Nuff said.
I love that SO much. Just think about that for a minute. Sure does make you want to be better doesn't it?
HE LIVES
I just want to end with the amazing thoughts that I had during Boyd K. Packers testimony:
If you are thinking of turning away from the gospel or are questioning things, I LOVE this scripture "To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." I remember my dad emailing me or writing me a letter talking about this very thing- John 6 (Sorry if I embarrass you, Dad!)
“Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
As bad as things may seem, as difficult as the gospel can be to live, as challenging as it may be to put our self defeating behavior behind us, as demanding as it is to be led by imperfect leaders, as hard as it is to accept certain aspects of church history, there are really no good other options. There is nowhere else to turn in terms of providing answers to the basic questions of our lives such as where did we come from and why are we here and where are we going. Nothing else is as effective in giving us a reason to live up to our potential and be the best people we can be. That’s something I have a testimony of."
-Brian S. King
I LOVED when President Packer quoted D&C 76:22-23
"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the bright hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—"
What a testimony. He has a PERFECT knowledge of Christ. He lives.
I haven't seen Christ but I know that he has the words to eternal life. I know that he loves us each with a PERFECT love and that he suffered for us because of that love. And I KNOW that the Priesthood has been restored on the earth today. I had the neat opportunity to recite Joseph Smith's first vision to a young man at Lone Star Campus. I was a bit nervous because it had been a while since I had recited it but the spirit spoke THROUGH me and the spirit was so strong. I locked eyes with Sean as I recited Joseph Smith's words to him. It was powerful. Why is the first vision so powerful? Because it is a testimony! Just as Boyd K. Packers talk was so powerful, it was a testimony. Sister Shell and I both got the feeling that maybe that was his last testimony at General Conference. What an amazing man. He is so close to God. You can just hear it in his voice.
CHURCH IS TRUE.
I have SO many more notes to share but I don't think I have time. Let me leave with one last thing from D. Todd Christofferson...
When Christ appeared to Mary after his resurrection, she didn't recognize him until he said her NAME.
"Mary..."
"One word from his living lips called her back to repentance"
When he calls YOUR name. Will you know him?
Which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Ezra Taft Benson....
Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar His face is to us.
Food for thought.
xoxoxoxoxo
-Sister King
FRANK IN HIS SUIT!!!
Saw Sister Loo at MLC! So happy that she is joining me in the ranks as a Sister Training Leader!
On exchanges with Sister Bonner! I got to ride a bike! So fun! And guess who we had dinner with? Remember that adorable little 8 year old that I sat next to at the Womens conference that made me cry? yup. we ate dinner at her house. SO cute. I told her that she made it into my journal and she was so cute. She reminds me a lot of Alexandra as a little girl. :)
Frank is a GREAT photographer haha
an artsy shot of our lesson with frank at the temple. Can you tell that I miss instagram?
Dancin' in the rain. It made me miss London SO bad. I have been thinking about London a TON lately. It is so cool to know how the lord prepared me to serve a mission. London was a HUGE reason why I decided to serve and looking back, it was one of the best things EVER. Well besides my mission of course :)
Forgot something in the car after we were already in our pajamas... So yeah... I ventured out in THIS. Don't I look like a disciple of Jesus Christ? VERY professional in my cat pants.
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