This is what happens when elders have too much time on their hands
Monday, September 8, 2014
If ye love me...keep my commandments (John 14:15)
Hello again!
This week has been so much better health wise. I was finally able to stop the headaches that I have been having with a "magic pill." Really it is a crazy pill that makes you super tired and drowsy, but luckily I only had to take one. I have a follow up appointment with my neurologist next month to see how things are going. This next week I am going to see my diabetic doctor for the first time, so that she can see how I am doing. I am not too worried I have been doing fine and I have been checking my blood sugar regularly and it is pretty normal. Just going to go because that's what you do when your body needs some help from the doctors. I also finally got over the flu that I had, which was great because being in the house was miserable. :) So health wise I am doing good. Just thought I would clear things up there since Mom has been worried. :)
This past week I have really been focusing on studying the blessings that come along with keeping the commandments of the Lord. My favorite verse I found was in John 14:15, which says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." What else do we need but love for our Savior and what he did for us to to want to obey the commandments of the Lord.
One things that I learned though (well always knew) is that we have different levels of obedience. Elder Robert D. Hales, has said: "As we live the gospel, we progress in our understanding of obedience. At times we may be tempted to practice what I call "natural man's obedience," in which we disobediently reject God's law in favor of our wisdom or our desires or even popularity. Because this is widely practiced by so many, this perversion of obedience diminishes God's standards in our culture and in our laws.
At times members may participate in "selective obedience," claiming to love God and honor God while picking and choosing which of His commandments and teachings—and the teachings and counsel of His prophets—they will fully follow.
Some obey selectively because they cannot perceive all the reasons for a commandment, just as children do not always understand the reasons for their parents' counsel and rules. But we always know the reason we follow the prophets, for this is the Church of Jesus Christ, and it is the Savior who directs His prophets in all dispensations.
As our understanding of obedience deepens, we recognize the essential role of agency. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed three times to His Father in Heaven, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."8 God would not override the Savior's agency, yet He mercifully sent an angel to strengthen His Beloved Son.
The Savior met another test on Golgotha, where He could have called upon legions of angels to take Him down from the cross, but He made His own choice to obediently endure to the end and complete His atoning sacrifice, even though it meant great suffering, even death.
Spiritually mature obedience is "the Savior's obedience." It is motivated by true love for Heavenly Father and His Son. When we willingly obey, as our Savior did, we cherish the words of our Heavenly Father: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."9 And we look forward to hearing, upon entering our Heavenly Father's presence, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: … enter … into the joy of thy lord."10
Using our agency to obey means choosing to "do what is right [and letting] the consequence follow."11 It requires self-mastery and brings confidence, eternal happiness, and a sense of fulfillment to us and, by example, to those around us; and it always includes a deep personal commitment to sustain priesthood leaders and follow their teachings and counsel."
I can just say that one thing I learned this week is that we have the ability to chose not only to obey but also what level of obedience and dedication we want to show our Savior, because obedience is inward and outward. Inward obedience is our dedication to wanting to live the gospel so we can have Eternal Life. Outward obedience, is an expression of our love for the Savior.
This week the Lord has blessed us for being obedient and dedicated to his work because this past Sunday we had 5 investigators at church again! Some were new people we started teaching and some where people that I taught back in May that went to church for the first time this past weekend. The ward has been so great here too. They have been praying for some of our investigators that they would have the faith to go to church.
One of the families is the M family, we started teaching them the week I got to this mission back in April, we taught them and the mother had a baptismal date for June but at the last minute things were super crazy with their family situation and they decided to take a break from our lessons. The Lord truly blessed us though because we were out the other day and me and Sister B both looked at each other and said let's go visit them and just see how they are doing. So we stopped by and they opened the door and were happy to see us again! We started to see them and we had the 1st counselor in the Bishopric go and see them last Wednesday to give them a blessing. After that we visited every day with a member and on Sunday when they came to church everyone was so happy to see them there. It was super awesome! The Lord has been so great to us.
I love you all a ton and hope you have such a good week!
Love, Hermana Weller
P.S. I'll take more photos next week I promise.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Sept 1- September 2014 Already!!!
This week was crazy, I got a fever and we stayed at home for 3 days this past week. I am happy to say that being SICK in 100 degree weather is miserable. Luckily my body just needed to rest so I slept for 2 days and then on the 3rd day we got up and went to our appointments we had. I am doing much better now, just dealing with a cough and mucus. When I laugh I have this really bad raspy sound in my throat.
The Lord has been blessing us so much through all of this. Last week we received a referral from someone who is investigating the church in San Bernadino (have no idea how to spell that), she gave his name to the missionaries and we got it. We started visiting A this last week. He is 75 years old and says he is 100% his religion but he hasn't been to church in over 20 years. We went to visit him and we taught him the Restoration. We then asked him to pray and he said he wanted to memorize the prayer first. So we explained how to pray to him and then send a small prayer as an example. Afterwards he PRAYED. The Lord has been blessing us with all of these little miracles.
Prayer is something that I have been studying recently because we have a few people we are teaching who:
1) Have never prayed before
2) Never prayed out loud
3) Never prayed from their heart
4) Never prayed outside of church
It seems like that is all our investigators are talking about and so that is what I have been studying and I thought I would share a few things that I learned. First, prayer is a commandments, we can pray anytime and in any setting and as individuals or as families. We also need to pray daily so that we can receive guidance and blessings and as we pray daily we can learn to recognize the HOLY GHOST in our lives and his influence. One of the things that I learned as I studied prayer and tried to deepen my personal prayers is that we only learn how to gain answers through our experiences with prayer.
In 1 Nephi 15:11, it says, " Do ye not remember the thing
So we really have to have Faith, Ask, and KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS so that we can receive an answer.
I also realized as I read the 1st vision, which is when Joseph Smith prayed for an answer of what church he should join that it was the FIRST TIME HE HAD PRAYED that way! It says in Joseph Smith History 1:14, " So, in accordance with this,
Joseph Smith who was later the first prophet of this time, had to overcome anxieties to pray out loud! I had never realized that. He was determined and had the FAITH to pray to his loving Heavenly Father. I shared that with one of our investigators and she said that she would continue to try to pray out loud. She is working on it. One of our other investigators is now praying each time we leave on her knees.
Prayer is our way to communicate with our loving Heavenly Father, so when was the last time you inquired of the Lord? (1 Nephi 15:8) I plead with each and every one of you, use your faith and pray tonight to your Heavenly Father. He wants to hear you.
I love you all so much, I hope you have a great day today and are prepared for school in just a few days. Love you to the moon and back!
Hermana Weller
Monday, August 25, 2014
Aug 18- Sick...Headaches...and seeing stars....
I have heard that you are trying to make plans go and have FUN. Did you all go camping this weekend? I hope you did and that you are having fun while doing it. Please make sure to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory and get some delicious ice cream and cheese for me. Just saying if you are there, make sure you do it. How else has everyone been? How are you families doing? Is everyone ready for school yet? (School started here last week...)
This week has been so not what I expected. Sister B and I got sick with the flu and also headaches. I went to the doctor this past week and got an MRI, that machine was so LOUD and make me not like rides that don't move. I had to hold still for 25 minutes and almost jumped off the bed when she had the MRI stop. I wouldn't last if I was a Navy Seal and had to be in the same exact place for longer than 20 minutes. So that is the good news. I won't ever be in the military. :) The MRI came back fine, they were worried that I had maybe got a parasite when I was in Ecuador and that might have been what was causing the headaches. The doctor diagnosed me with migraines (as I had been seeing stars) and gave me these pills to take. I took one and the migraine was gone. The side affect was that I was super tired and then sleep for hours. I will be going back to the doctor in 2 months to talk with her again and so she can do a check up.
Other than that, I finished 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon in Spanish and understood most of it, that is miracle number 1.
#2 One of our neighbors, came and knocked on our door during lunch and told us that she needed a ride because her boyfriend was in a car accident. While we waited we talked about what we did as missionaries and we shared a scripture with her D&C 121:7, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;" She then asked us what book we shared that from, we told her the Book of Mormon. She said she grew up Catholic and did that for her mom but that she wanted to find something that would make her happy. We setup an appointment tonight at 7:30 pm to meet with her again.
#3 M who was baptized a month ago, received the priesthood on Sunday. He got up so early so that he could meet with the Bishop before church. He is working on going to the temple in the next few weeks.
Last week was a little off, but this week will be so much better. I can't wait to be out in the area full time and touching the hearts of the people. We are taking with everyone so that we can find the people who are prepared to accept the Lord in their lives. One thing that I have been studying this week is about Obedience I read a talk by Robert D. Hales called, If you love me, keep my commandments. It said that their are three types of obedience, the natural mans obedience, where we reject the Lord, selective obedience, where we pick and choose what commandments we want to follow, and the Savior's obedience, where we obey because we LOVE HIM. It reminded me why I choose to follow God at this time in my life, and why I choose for myself to be a missionary at this time. I just want to share it with everyone.
Well I think that is pretty much it. I can't think of what else to share.
Love, Sister Weller
This week has been so not what I expected. Sister B and I got sick with the flu and also headaches. I went to the doctor this past week and got an MRI, that machine was so LOUD and make me not like rides that don't move. I had to hold still for 25 minutes and almost jumped off the bed when she had the MRI stop. I wouldn't last if I was a Navy Seal and had to be in the same exact place for longer than 20 minutes. So that is the good news. I won't ever be in the military. :) The MRI came back fine, they were worried that I had maybe got a parasite when I was in Ecuador and that might have been what was causing the headaches. The doctor diagnosed me with migraines (as I had been seeing stars) and gave me these pills to take. I took one and the migraine was gone. The side affect was that I was super tired and then sleep for hours. I will be going back to the doctor in 2 months to talk with her again and so she can do a check up.
Other than that, I finished 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon in Spanish and understood most of it, that is miracle number 1.
#2 One of our neighbors, came and knocked on our door during lunch and told us that she needed a ride because her boyfriend was in a car accident. While we waited we talked about what we did as missionaries and we shared a scripture with her D&C 121:7, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;" She then asked us what book we shared that from, we told her the Book of Mormon. She said she grew up Catholic and did that for her mom but that she wanted to find something that would make her happy. We setup an appointment tonight at 7:30 pm to meet with her again.
#3 M who was baptized a month ago, received the priesthood on Sunday. He got up so early so that he could meet with the Bishop before church. He is working on going to the temple in the next few weeks.
Last week was a little off, but this week will be so much better. I can't wait to be out in the area full time and touching the hearts of the people. We are taking with everyone so that we can find the people who are prepared to accept the Lord in their lives. One thing that I have been studying this week is about Obedience I read a talk by Robert D. Hales called, If you love me, keep my commandments. It said that their are three types of obedience, the natural mans obedience, where we reject the Lord, selective obedience, where we pick and choose what commandments we want to follow, and the Savior's obedience, where we obey because we LOVE HIM. It reminded me why I choose to follow God at this time in my life, and why I choose for myself to be a missionary at this time. I just want to share it with everyone.
Well I think that is pretty much it. I can't think of what else to share.
Love, Sister Weller
Aug 11- The Lord is pouring blessings on our area
This week has been great I just love being a missionary and waking up every morning to put on my name badge. I would even wear it to bed if it wasn't for the fact that it would fall off. Having a name badge that says I am a representative of Jesus Christ is amazing. It gives me the strength I need each day when we go out to share the gospel and gives me the knowledge that the Savior loves me and he wants me to know it. When I think that I can't do this anymore or that I don't feel prepared enough, I remember who I represent and just go to work. I am the happiest when I am working .
This week the Lord has truly blessed Sister B and I in all the miracles he is pouring down on our area. This past week we ran into a man named M who we have talked to little by little for the last month. We meet with him on Thursday afternoon and talked with him about what we do as missionaries and that we help people prepare for baptism. We told him the Lord loves him and that he sent his son to forgive us for our sins. He gave us the perfect example of how we can overcome our sins by asking for forgiveness and enter into the waters of baptism. He then asked us how old he needed to be to be baptized. We told him that we believe that people who are 8 and older have the ability to chose and act for themselves. We then invited him to prepare to be baptized on the 31st of August. We also stopped by yesterday to see if we could talk to him with the Elder's Quorum President, he wasn't home but his wife was. She said that she has been praying for so that she can go to church again, to find a church. We have an appointment with M and his wife tonight. We are super excited to commit them to be baptized together and to CHANGE.
On Saturday we also went to the Visitor's Center with D and her parents. The sisters that were at the Visitor's Center were amazing. They really focused on our investigators parents concern which was about prophets and revelation. I could feel the power of the Holy Ghost so strong. It was because of the Holy Ghost that we could feel that we were able to see how we have the ability to be sealed in the temple and why we have this gospel on the earth again.
The other night we were looking for one our investigators, who we were not able to see for weeks. We were in a trailer park that had a swimming pool and my companion joked and said, let's ask the people in the pool to see if they know where our investigator might be. He wasn't there but I felt the strong impression to speak with the people in the pool. So we did, and one of the younger men that was there was someone I had spoken too, two months ago. We found him at the trailer park that was blocks from where we talked to him. We talked to him and then set a return appointment for this Wednesday night.
I read a quote today from the prophet Thomas S. Monson that said, "Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives." So serve one another this week. Show someone that you love them. Invite someone to talk with the missionaries! We don't bite I promise.
Love always, Sister Weller
This week the Lord has truly blessed Sister B and I in all the miracles he is pouring down on our area. This past week we ran into a man named M who we have talked to little by little for the last month. We meet with him on Thursday afternoon and talked with him about what we do as missionaries and that we help people prepare for baptism. We told him the Lord loves him and that he sent his son to forgive us for our sins. He gave us the perfect example of how we can overcome our sins by asking for forgiveness and enter into the waters of baptism. He then asked us how old he needed to be to be baptized. We told him that we believe that people who are 8 and older have the ability to chose and act for themselves. We then invited him to prepare to be baptized on the 31st of August. We also stopped by yesterday to see if we could talk to him with the Elder's Quorum President, he wasn't home but his wife was. She said that she has been praying for so that she can go to church again, to find a church. We have an appointment with M and his wife tonight. We are super excited to commit them to be baptized together and to CHANGE.
On Saturday we also went to the Visitor's Center with D and her parents. The sisters that were at the Visitor's Center were amazing. They really focused on our investigators parents concern which was about prophets and revelation. I could feel the power of the Holy Ghost so strong. It was because of the Holy Ghost that we could feel that we were able to see how we have the ability to be sealed in the temple and why we have this gospel on the earth again.
The other night we were looking for one our investigators, who we were not able to see for weeks. We were in a trailer park that had a swimming pool and my companion joked and said, let's ask the people in the pool to see if they know where our investigator might be. He wasn't there but I felt the strong impression to speak with the people in the pool. So we did, and one of the younger men that was there was someone I had spoken too, two months ago. We found him at the trailer park that was blocks from where we talked to him. We talked to him and then set a return appointment for this Wednesday night.
I read a quote today from the prophet Thomas S. Monson that said, "Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives." So serve one another this week. Show someone that you love them. Invite someone to talk with the missionaries! We don't bite I promise.
Love always, Sister Weller
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