"How is everyone this week?? October is here! Holiday season is beginning!! :)
I hope most if not all of you were able to get a chance to listen to our Prophet, apostles, and leaders of the church speak this weekend in general conference!! It was SO AMAZING! If you didn't go watch it on lds.org RIGHT NOW.
I just want to take a few moments to share a few of the things I learned from general conference :)
I want to start out with a thought I LOVED from Von G. Keetch's talk.. he starts to talk about a group of surfers who were super upset because a big barrier/net was placed over the area they planned to go surfing on their vacation.. well, as they continue to complain an older man comes up and gives them his binoculars, and to their astonishment, the see a bunch of dorsal fins of sharks and quickly learn that the area is not safe. The man walks away and says, "Don't be too critical of the barrier--it's the only thing keeping you from being devoured." THIS IS SO TRUE, and can be applied to the gospel.. there is a scripture in the Book of Mormon in Helaman 15:7-8 that says:
"And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them--Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free."
The words of our prophets are RIGHT before us. In the scriptures, RIGHT in front of our faces, as well as the words of our modern-day prophets and apostles, whom we were able to hear from this past weekend!! :) Going back to the part italicized in the scripture, that is the beauty of this gospel. It may seem like a restriction at first, but once you come to have more experiences you will realize how blessed you are from the decisions you have made, and will literally be made free from the bonds of despair and guilt as you come to know your Savior and draw closer unto him. So going back to the quote, "DON'T BE TOO CRITICAL OF THE BARRIER--IT'S THE ONLY THING KEEPING YOU FROM BEING DEVOURED." We need to look closer and realize WHY the "barriers," so to speak, or the laws and commandments are there. And if we don't quite understand why that is a certain commandment or law at first or why we have to keep it, it is better to just not go past the barrier, and to just obey it--it will protect us.
Second of all, we need to not be ashamed in doing this. Like Gregory A. Switzer said in general conference we must not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because this is what brings the means of salvation. We live in an ever-changing world in which its popular things are getting further and further away from the true purpose that we were sent here to fulfill. Often it is not comfortable or convenient to stand up for Christ, but it is a CRUCIAL point--when we stand up for him and what we believe in at those moments, that is when the Holy Spirit enters into the hearts of those we are speaking to, and gives them the desire to change. We can be such examples of followers of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives through action and through example!!
Well, I could go on and on about general conference, because really, those people who speak to us and give us messages are INSPIRED human beings!! I love this gospel and I know that we have a living Prophet, whose name is Thomas S Monson, who leads and guides this church along with the help of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the 12 apostles. If you haven't had the opportunity to listen to all of conference yet, please do!! You will receive so much guidance for your life! I promise!!
Well I love you all, sorry this is so long, but take care and have an awesome week!! :)
Hermana Riddle :)"
Comp Shirts!! :)
Below are some other pictures we received this week. Looks like the Hermanas are ready for Halloween! Also, at one point Hurricane Joquin was projected to be headed toward Virginia so the missionaries were gearing up for a big storm. The path of the hurricane changed- thank goodness, and the storm didn't turn out to be as bad as anticipated. Check out the attached video that Mariah sent regarding the storm:)
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