Our first Prophet of the latter days was a simple man. He
worked in the farms of his family and lived a happy simple life. However he had
some bothers in his life as a kid. He was desiring some answers to some life
questions. That of "Why are we here?" "What is going on?"
"Of all the churches here, which one is the true church?" "Why
do each of these churches that believe in the same God and Jesus Christ have
different views of his gospel?" as a 14 year old kid, he simply listened
to the Pastors and Preachers of the different churches in his small town of Palmyra, New York.
Since none of them could give him the desired answer that he
wanted, he went to the Bible to find his answer. Reading in James 1:5, It says:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
He was struck by the verse inspired to asked of God, his
Heavenly Father, for an answer to his questions. Before he got his answers in the
sacred grove, he struggled. Satan was afraid of him, of what could come from
him getting an answer. So it happened that he:
was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me,
and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I
could not speak.Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a
time as if I were doomed to sudden
destruction.
But....
Blessed is the man
that endureth temptation: for when he is tried,he shall receive the crown of
life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
He endured the trial and temptation from Satan and asked
with all his faith, might, and power within him. And he got his answer after
the trial of his faith (yet another scripture ref to Ether 12:6 :) )
From this I was able to understand how to always have a
guaranteed answer from God no matter what the question is you have for him.
1: Be Patient! (Pumasensya ka!)
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (
God (our Heavenly Father) is perfect. He knows the best time for your answer, how you need to receive it, and why that is what you need to know or do. BE PATIENT!!!
2: Ask in Faith! Have no doubt or fear! He will answer you!
(James 1:5-6 again)
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that
wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
If you have pride within you desiring the answer you want,
don't expect the answer. Your question will be discarded. If you are humble you
will receive it, if you have pride you will miss it.
(James 1:7-11)
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing
of the Lord.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is
exalted:
But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the
flower of the grass he shall pass away.
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but
it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the
fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
(James 1: 12 - 16)
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he
is tried,he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised
to them that love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his
own lust,and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Satan DOES NOT want you to know. Know that God Loves you, He
is there for you, and that he will answer you. Satan will try to give you other
answers that aren't true, or things that distract you from the truth. But we
are given the power through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his Atonement to
overcome all temptation and you will be blessed greatly for using your agency
to Chose the Right!!!
-This past week I have been sick. Had a sore throat, coughing
all night long, a bad fever, but of all the things I was bothered about, I
couldn't speak! As a missionary I am here to teach the Gospel and the Truth
that has been restored to the earth and my testimony that Jesus is the Christ
and our redeemer. Why? What did I deserve to have this happen to me? I then
read in James chapter one and learned, I need to have PATIENCE: So I waited
and worked regardless of my sickness. I'll get my answer as to why. This is the
Lord's time I'm working on anyways! FAITH: I need to put all my trust and Faith
in him. I will learn why soon. Be HUMBLE Elder! Pride is a sin! (what went
through my head a lot). RESIST the TEMPTATIONS that Satan put in my mind! There
were times in which I was told by him that I don't need to pray or share my
testimony. He told me I wasn't good enough to be a missionary and that is why I
am mute. However the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that we CAN! We need
faith. to Repent. Be obedient. Patient. Worthy of the Holy Ghost in our lives
at all times with our promises made to God. Be like Jesus Christ.
My Fellow Brothers and Sisters, I know this is truth coming
from God. I have learned this through my faith in him and have had a personal
witness that he loves us, answers us, and has the greatest gift of all just
for us. Nothing in the world can compare to him and the blessings he gives us.
I invite all to receive this wonderful blessing too! Pray to your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, go to his church, read his scriptures given
to us by prophets old and new, and follow his example in which I live this with
you in Jesus Name, Amen
That was my talk. It was long and the branch president gave me a wild note saying "TIME NA" it was kinda funny but yeah.
Love you all!
-Elder Powell
P.S. If I were fluent in every language in the world, I
would only speak to the elephants of New Zealand about their politics.
P.P.S. PICTURES!!!!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FWsm6MmYVvugW7nN9
P.P.P.S. small explanation,
Sometimes when you go grocery shopping and buy a lot of
stuff they put your groceries in a cardboard box for you to carry around.
This is our pathway to church every Sunday we walk. also involved in the walk, giving high 5's (or they say "up here") to 23 kids
PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! IT RAINED!
The Barangay Captain in the barangay we work in every day where our investigators are progressing, said thanks for the service you do and gave us a huge meal. We were in a rush to our appointment (which we ended up missing) but the Barangay Captain was persistent as well as the Nanay/wife. so we stayed and ate......
This is what we take to go to our working area. you can
fit 14 people in one of those... and they put 14 people in there.... every...
time.... little cramped.
selfie and a cool tree
FABRO FAMILY! We're teaching the tatay and when we came last week the oldest of the family came back from the Batanas Islands (where she is living with her husband) and we taught the whole family and got a cool picture with them. Part member families are great because then you get to unify the family :)
A gas station with a pump from somewhere? I think Taiwan
or Korea. Not sure
Got picked up by an ambulance on our way back to head
home at the end of the day. it was great :) first time it's happened for Elder
Drake :)
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