Hey everyone!
So yesterday I had my final Zone Conference and just as
usual, it was amazing. Exactly what I needed to hear to keep me
pushing strong these last 5 weeks. We also were able to watch the "Meet
the Mormons" movie before it comes out and let me just tell you all....................I
LOVE BEING A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS! That
movie is so powerful and truly shows how much the Restored Gospel of Jesus
Christ will bless anyone's life no matter who they are
or where they came from! Go check out meetthemormons.com
to watch the trailer and to learn more about the movie!
This week we honestly had one of the coolest lessons
I've ever had on my mission. If you all remember our super awesome Member
Missionary, Sis. Dixon (a.k.a "How's that working out for ya?") she
set up ANOTHER appointment with us to teach another one of her coworkers. She
gave us a little bit of background on him and said that he doesn't believe in
God, he's been going through a super difficult time lately, and is just
gradually watching his life crumble to pieces. So we went in & just truly
listened to the Spirit to know what we needed to teach him. We started
talking about God and asked him why he has never believed in God. He talked
about some difficult experiences he had and how those are proof that God
doesn't exist because God would never allow those things to happen.
Again, Sis Dixon brought up another "How is that working out for
you?!" point, but stated it in a more "scientific" way for him
so that he would understand better. Basically, she asked him if he has never
known there was a God & has never put forth the effort to "test the
theory", then how can he truly prove that there is no God? And again, I
just sat there with my jaw on the ground. I love that lady!
But as each of us shared our testimonies about God and how
we have come to know Him through prayer, you could literally watch his
countenance change. The major turning point though was when we watched the
"Hope of God's Light" mormon message with him.
(/video/mormon-messages?v=3701964025001) After the video I asked him what his
thoughts were as he watched it. He said that basically that guys story is
exactly the same as his. So then I asked him, "Then what is the
main difference between you and him at the end of his story?" He sat
there for a minute thinking about it and then had a major lightbulb moment.
"Happiness......he's truly happy & I'm not". Then we asked him
what he needs to do then so that he can have that same happiness and he
immediately replied, "Pray".
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSLIUDSFLIUSDFYHISDJHLSDIHF At that moment
my heart almost exploded out of my chest the Spirit that was in that room was
SO powerful! It was amazing to see his whole countenance change as we taught
him the importance of having a relationship with his Heavenly Father. He
commited to pray and and according to Sis Dixon, when he says he's going to do
something, he means it. It was truly an amazing experience to help someone
discover the True source of happiness that will completely change his life.
I love being a Missionary and helping God's children to come
back into His arms! It really is the most amazing feeling in the world. I love
it with all of my heart & I love this Gospel!
xoxo Sister Morgan
Sister Mekena Morgan's adventures in the California San Diego Mission
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
How's that working out for you?!
Hey everyone!
I think I just realized that I start most of my emails by saying something along the lines of: "Well, this week has been another miracle filled week!" I think I'm just running out of creative juices and I don't know how to say it in any other way after 17 months of miracle filled weeks.... Sooo since I AM a Missionary, looks like the only other creative way that I can think of is by using the scriptures! :)
"25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.
26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying:Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.
27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men." -Moroni 7:25-29
So there you go! Christ LIVES. Angles still minister unto the children of men. [a.k.a Missionaries :)] And Miracles still happen! But ONLY through faith and by asking, seeking, and knocking. There's that phrase again. Heavenly Father MUST be telling me something because I see that phrase over and over and over again every single day as I study out of the scriptures. Looks like I need to apply it even more so then we can continue to see even MORE miracles every day :)
So this week we had some really amazing lessons! On Tuesday as we were emailing last week, one of our Members called us and told us about these amazing experiences that she has been having as she has been opening her mouth and sharing the Gospel! As she's talking to us she's like, "Sooo Super Sisters, do you think you could swing by my office tonight at 6:30 and have a lesson with one of my friends?" OH YEAH! It was way cool. Definitely SUCH a spirit filled lesson.
This woman had been struggling a lot with her marriage and stress from work and realized that she had been completely leaving God out of the picture. As we were teaching her we kept talking about how she can strengthen her relationship again with God. As we talked about prayer she seemed really iffy about it. When we asked why she said that if she started praying then her Husband will look at her and say that he doesn't know who she is anymore. It kind of took me back for a second because I didn't quite understand what she meant by that. But then I realized that she was viewing prayer as just an outward action to be seen by the eyes of man. But as we taught her we helped her to realize that prayer is just a HEART to HEART conversation with God. That it's not a show that we put on so other people will think that we are being religious. And because it comes from our hearts, it doesn't CHANGE who we are, because that is already who we are! (and her husband should love her because of her heart NOT because of what kind of stuff she does. but that's a whole 'nother conversation).
As she expressed other concerns about prayer our Member said the most insightful and simple thing I think I've ever heard in a lesson. As her friend was trying to justify not praying she said, "Well, how's that working out for you?!" Boom. Roasted! It was seriously this huge light bulb moment where she realized the things she has been trying to do to help save her marriage and the little faith she does have in God, really just weren't working well at ALL for her. She realized that she actually does need to change in order for things to get better or else it will just continue to go down the tubes in a negative cycle.
It was amazing! And to top it off, this same member set up ANOTHER appointment for us to teach ANOTHER one of her friends this week :) LOVE IT.
We also had our lesson with our fasting miracle family who came to Church and that was again, AMAZING. I love when Members friendship and invite their friends to learn more. It makes everything SO much easier to help their friend develop a stronger foundation with Christ. It is so humbling to see how God is truly furthering HIS WORK and that He is placing all of these people in our paths for a reason. That was one of the main things we kept testifying to Adrian as we met with her at her friends house. That it was NOT by accident that they randomly met each other at LA Fitness and became friends. God places specific people in our paths for a reason. And that reason is because He trusts US to help them to learn more about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I'll end my email this week with a quote that has been keeping me pushing strong my mission. He is talking about Nephi, one of the first prophets in the Book of Mormon. We always think of Nephi as "I will GO, I will DO" & someone who was so obedient and faithful to the Lord's commandments. As you read it, think about how you can develop stronger faith in the Lord and strengthen God's trust in you.
"Faith did not come in the moment when Nephi needed it, nor did God's trust in Nephi. He earned that great faith in God's confidence by courages and sustained labor in the Lord's service" -Henry B. Eyring "Be Ready" 2009
Opening our mouths and sharing the Gospel is a commandment from the Lord! As you show the Lord that you are willing to keep that commandment and open your mouth, even if someone doesn't accept your message, YOU are building God's trust in you. So then when someone who is ready to hear and act upon your message comes across your path, God will trust that you will open your mouth and share "the good news" with them :)
xoxo Sister Morgan
I think I just realized that I start most of my emails by saying something along the lines of: "Well, this week has been another miracle filled week!" I think I'm just running out of creative juices and I don't know how to say it in any other way after 17 months of miracle filled weeks.... Sooo since I AM a Missionary, looks like the only other creative way that I can think of is by using the scriptures! :)
"25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.
26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying:Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.
27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men." -Moroni 7:25-29
So there you go! Christ LIVES. Angles still minister unto the children of men. [a.k.a Missionaries :)] And Miracles still happen! But ONLY through faith and by asking, seeking, and knocking. There's that phrase again. Heavenly Father MUST be telling me something because I see that phrase over and over and over again every single day as I study out of the scriptures. Looks like I need to apply it even more so then we can continue to see even MORE miracles every day :)
So this week we had some really amazing lessons! On Tuesday as we were emailing last week, one of our Members called us and told us about these amazing experiences that she has been having as she has been opening her mouth and sharing the Gospel! As she's talking to us she's like, "Sooo Super Sisters, do you think you could swing by my office tonight at 6:30 and have a lesson with one of my friends?" OH YEAH! It was way cool. Definitely SUCH a spirit filled lesson.
This woman had been struggling a lot with her marriage and stress from work and realized that she had been completely leaving God out of the picture. As we were teaching her we kept talking about how she can strengthen her relationship again with God. As we talked about prayer she seemed really iffy about it. When we asked why she said that if she started praying then her Husband will look at her and say that he doesn't know who she is anymore. It kind of took me back for a second because I didn't quite understand what she meant by that. But then I realized that she was viewing prayer as just an outward action to be seen by the eyes of man. But as we taught her we helped her to realize that prayer is just a HEART to HEART conversation with God. That it's not a show that we put on so other people will think that we are being religious. And because it comes from our hearts, it doesn't CHANGE who we are, because that is already who we are! (and her husband should love her because of her heart NOT because of what kind of stuff she does. but that's a whole 'nother conversation).
As she expressed other concerns about prayer our Member said the most insightful and simple thing I think I've ever heard in a lesson. As her friend was trying to justify not praying she said, "Well, how's that working out for you?!" Boom. Roasted! It was seriously this huge light bulb moment where she realized the things she has been trying to do to help save her marriage and the little faith she does have in God, really just weren't working well at ALL for her. She realized that she actually does need to change in order for things to get better or else it will just continue to go down the tubes in a negative cycle.
It was amazing! And to top it off, this same member set up ANOTHER appointment for us to teach ANOTHER one of her friends this week :) LOVE IT.
We also had our lesson with our fasting miracle family who came to Church and that was again, AMAZING. I love when Members friendship and invite their friends to learn more. It makes everything SO much easier to help their friend develop a stronger foundation with Christ. It is so humbling to see how God is truly furthering HIS WORK and that He is placing all of these people in our paths for a reason. That was one of the main things we kept testifying to Adrian as we met with her at her friends house. That it was NOT by accident that they randomly met each other at LA Fitness and became friends. God places specific people in our paths for a reason. And that reason is because He trusts US to help them to learn more about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I'll end my email this week with a quote that has been keeping me pushing strong my mission. He is talking about Nephi, one of the first prophets in the Book of Mormon. We always think of Nephi as "I will GO, I will DO" & someone who was so obedient and faithful to the Lord's commandments. As you read it, think about how you can develop stronger faith in the Lord and strengthen God's trust in you.
"Faith did not come in the moment when Nephi needed it, nor did God's trust in Nephi. He earned that great faith in God's confidence by courages and sustained labor in the Lord's service" -Henry B. Eyring "Be Ready" 2009
Opening our mouths and sharing the Gospel is a commandment from the Lord! As you show the Lord that you are willing to keep that commandment and open your mouth, even if someone doesn't accept your message, YOU are building God's trust in you. So then when someone who is ready to hear and act upon your message comes across your path, God will trust that you will open your mouth and share "the good news" with them :)
xoxo Sister Morgan
Pic 1: Sometimes the sound of my voice put's people to sleep
during our lessons....Must be because we are helping them to strengthen their
relationships with God and they become overwhelmed by the Spirit! :)
Friday, September 12, 2014
Keeping Our Eyes Open
Hey everyone!
Wow, can I just say that I LOVE being a Missionary?! Everyday is always filled with so many miracles. & I am so grateful that God is still a God of Miracles! This past week I was reading in Mormon chapter 9 & that seriously has to be one of the most powerful chapters EVER. But there were a few verses that really stood out to me this week and I KNOW they are true because I put them to the test and truly saw miracles.
As recently I have been learning a lot about how to "ask, seek, & knock", these verses just solidified everything that I had been pondering about! Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He will ALWAYS answer our prayers according to His will. But the reason why I loved verse 22 is because they related that aspect of prayer & miracles to MISSIONARY WORK. We are commanded to go and preach the word, and if we ASK Heavenly Father in the name of Christ for those specific missionary opportunities, with nothing doubting, then Heavenly Father will truly bless us with those opportunities as we SEEK out His Children and invite them to come unto Christ.
So during our weekly planning session on Thursday where we set goals and make plans for our upcoming week, Sis Saedan and I really made some more specific goals and plans to meet our Mission's Standard of Excellence of adding 3 new investigators a week. After our planning session, in every single one of our prayers, we asked Heavenly Father to help us reach that Standard. As we did that and would go out opening our mouths to everyone, Heavenly Father blessed us with so many opportunities to share the Gospel.
The first happened on Friday. We got up and started exercising at 6:30 AM. Sis Saedan wasn't feeling too good so we just decided to walk in a giant loop around our neighborhood. As we were walking down the street still half asleep & with our eyes struggling to stay open, we saw a lady unloading some stuff out of her car. As we get closer we can see that she is unloading some empty boxes. (Side note: Since my companion is Asian I always joke around with her that she needs to 'open her eyes' more & on Monday she even got a fortune cookie that told her she needed to open her eyes) As we walk by Sis. Saedan's eyes "opened" and she was able to see an opportunity for us to do some service! So she asked the lady "Do you need any help?" & the lady turned to us & was like, "Oh my goodness, that would help SO much!" She then looked at us and saw our name tags and was like, "Wow, you are seriously an answer to a prayer!" So we helped her & she just kept thanking us and told us that she had JUST been praying to God and asking Him for help because she was super stressed out and was running late to work. It was cool to see how we were an immediate answer to her prayer! But since we were only in our workout clothes and didn't have anything to give to her we just offered our help if she saw us around & then watched her drive away to work. After studies that day I felt really prompted to go back to her house and leave her a note w/ our number and thanking her for letting us help her.
Then
on Sunday we decided to fast for 3 new investigators and continued to pray for
our goals. Saturday night one of our members texted us telling us that one of
her friends was going to come to church and that we should come say Hi to her
afterwards! So on Sunday we were sitting there during Sacrament meeting and a
lady and her 2 daughters walk in right before the Sacrament and sat down in the
closest seats, which just so happened to be right next to us :) Turns out, that
they were our members friend! We talked with her afterwards and her 2 daughters
are 11 & 9 and they are just the sweetest girls! We explained what we do as
Missionaries and set up an appointment to go and teach her at our member's
house on Wednesday! They stayed for all 3 hrs and it was seriously the PERFECT
Sunday for them to come. All of our Members were just bearing the strongest
testimonies about how the Gospel has blessed their families during all aspects
of life. In Relief Society the Member who invited her friend to Church even
bore a very powerful testimony and by the end, both her AND her friend (and
quite a few of us....) were in tears. It was SO amazing to see how Heavenly
Father truly answered our prayer almost immediately to help us add 3 new
investigators!
IT GETS BETTER. Then RIGHT after church our phone goes crazy and we have 8 messages from a number we don't know. We read them and guess who it was from.....the lady we helped with on Friday! She was still SO grateful and truly recognizes us as Representatives of Christ! She asked us to come back and helped her pack her stuff to move and said that she would be willing to do ANYTHING to repay us for our kindness. So hopefully we will be able to teach her the Restoration and then invite her to meet with Missionaries in San Francisco once she moves :)
I love this work so much and I truly know that GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS. I hope that all of you will never forget that. Heavenly Father is always there for us and always wants to hear from us, even when we feel like we aren't worthy to talk to Him. Don't let Satan blind you! Heavenly Father will always be merciful and loving and forgiving as long as we turn to Him.
I love you all!
xoxo Sister Morgan
Wow, can I just say that I LOVE being a Missionary?! Everyday is always filled with so many miracles. & I am so grateful that God is still a God of Miracles! This past week I was reading in Mormon chapter 9 & that seriously has to be one of the most powerful chapters EVER. But there were a few verses that really stood out to me this week and I KNOW they are true because I put them to the test and truly saw miracles.
9 For do we not read that God is
the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is
no variableness neither shadow of changing?
10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.
19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;
10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.
19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;
As recently I have been learning a lot about how to "ask, seek, & knock", these verses just solidified everything that I had been pondering about! Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He will ALWAYS answer our prayers according to His will. But the reason why I loved verse 22 is because they related that aspect of prayer & miracles to MISSIONARY WORK. We are commanded to go and preach the word, and if we ASK Heavenly Father in the name of Christ for those specific missionary opportunities, with nothing doubting, then Heavenly Father will truly bless us with those opportunities as we SEEK out His Children and invite them to come unto Christ.
So during our weekly planning session on Thursday where we set goals and make plans for our upcoming week, Sis Saedan and I really made some more specific goals and plans to meet our Mission's Standard of Excellence of adding 3 new investigators a week. After our planning session, in every single one of our prayers, we asked Heavenly Father to help us reach that Standard. As we did that and would go out opening our mouths to everyone, Heavenly Father blessed us with so many opportunities to share the Gospel.
The first happened on Friday. We got up and started exercising at 6:30 AM. Sis Saedan wasn't feeling too good so we just decided to walk in a giant loop around our neighborhood. As we were walking down the street still half asleep & with our eyes struggling to stay open, we saw a lady unloading some stuff out of her car. As we get closer we can see that she is unloading some empty boxes. (Side note: Since my companion is Asian I always joke around with her that she needs to 'open her eyes' more & on Monday she even got a fortune cookie that told her she needed to open her eyes) As we walk by Sis. Saedan's eyes "opened" and she was able to see an opportunity for us to do some service! So she asked the lady "Do you need any help?" & the lady turned to us & was like, "Oh my goodness, that would help SO much!" She then looked at us and saw our name tags and was like, "Wow, you are seriously an answer to a prayer!" So we helped her & she just kept thanking us and told us that she had JUST been praying to God and asking Him for help because she was super stressed out and was running late to work. It was cool to see how we were an immediate answer to her prayer! But since we were only in our workout clothes and didn't have anything to give to her we just offered our help if she saw us around & then watched her drive away to work. After studies that day I felt really prompted to go back to her house and leave her a note w/ our number and thanking her for letting us help her.
 |
| Keeping our "eyes open" for opportunities to share the Gospel! ;) |
IT GETS BETTER. Then RIGHT after church our phone goes crazy and we have 8 messages from a number we don't know. We read them and guess who it was from.....the lady we helped with on Friday! She was still SO grateful and truly recognizes us as Representatives of Christ! She asked us to come back and helped her pack her stuff to move and said that she would be willing to do ANYTHING to repay us for our kindness. So hopefully we will be able to teach her the Restoration and then invite her to meet with Missionaries in San Francisco once she moves :)
I love this work so much and I truly know that GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS. I hope that all of you will never forget that. Heavenly Father is always there for us and always wants to hear from us, even when we feel like we aren't worthy to talk to Him. Don't let Satan blind you! Heavenly Father will always be merciful and loving and forgiving as long as we turn to Him.
I love you all!
xoxo Sister Morgan
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Puzzle Pieces
Hey Everyone!
Can you believe that it is already SEPTEMBER!?! This is unreal how fast time is flying! I feel like I was just sitting at this computer yesterday emailing you all. My Mission brain is definitely getting worse and worse and WORSE! I can't remember any song titles or friends last names, let alone usernames & passwords as I'm having to apply back to school....yuck.
Yesterday my lovely companion and I went and ate some good 'ol Asian food at Pei-Wei and I'm almost a little freaked out about how inspired my fortune cookie was......."All the puzzles in your life will be understood within the next year" But in order to explain why it freaked me out, let me back track a little bit.
On Wednesday and Thursday we did MTE's (Missionary Training Exchanges). We spent 3 1/2 hrs each day listening to instruction from our Mission President and his Assistants. One of the main topics they discussed and taught us was about how to "ask, seek, and knock". We see that phrase SO many times in the scriptures & it makes you wonder why it is so important to Heavenly Father that He has to keep repeating it over & over again? President Schmitt related it back to receiving personal revelation. The only way for us to know of spiritual truths is through the Holy Ghost. But in order for the Holy Ghost to confirm something in our hearts, we have to have a question or a solution in our hearts for Him to even confirm & guide us! So the only way for us to receive personal revelation (the only way to receive answers from God) is by ASKING Him through prayer, SEEKING for His answers through the scriptures or in our day to day lives, and KNOCKING by acting on the answer through diligent obedience & faith.
As I was sitting there soaking it all in, I had SO many "light bulb!" moments that illuminated my mind. But I know it was because I went to that meeting with questions in my heart! I realized how often I only halfheartedly ask Heavenly Father questions. My prayers used to be more like "Please help us to know what to do at this time" "Please help me to be better". But now I've seen God's hand even more in my life as I instead say in my prayers things like: "Father, what would Thou have us to do at this time? Would Thou have us to go see_____?" "What do I need to work on so that I can be more Christ-like?" "How can I better teach ____ about faith?"
As I have started doing that I have truly gained SUCH a strong testimony about how Heavenly Father is just WAITING for us to ask Him things & how sooo many blessings are dependent on us asking, seeking, and knocking. I feel like Heavenly Father is putting so many of the "Puzzle Pieces" of my life in order. On top of that, we even taught the Mia Maids this past Sunday about how our lives are like "Puzzles" but how Heavenly Father has provided us with a road map that helps us to put the right pieces in place (i.e, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, having a Modern Day Prophet, etc)
I just LOVE how Heavenly Father connects all of the dots together in my mind! I honestly have no idea what I would do with out! As I'm digging my heels into the ground trying to slow down these last 2 months, Heavenly Father is teaching me a lot about how I need to better trust in His plan & in His timing. I need to trust that He knows EXACTLY where each puzzle piece belongs & that at some point in the future, I will have a better understanding of why each piece has it's certain place.
I hope all of this makes sense, I feel like I just had a mind explosion on the computer haha But at least I know it makes sense in my mind and that Heavenly Father is truly teaching me so much!
I love you all!
xoxo Sister Morgan
Can you believe that it is already SEPTEMBER!?! This is unreal how fast time is flying! I feel like I was just sitting at this computer yesterday emailing you all. My Mission brain is definitely getting worse and worse and WORSE! I can't remember any song titles or friends last names, let alone usernames & passwords as I'm having to apply back to school....yuck.
Yesterday my lovely companion and I went and ate some good 'ol Asian food at Pei-Wei and I'm almost a little freaked out about how inspired my fortune cookie was......."All the puzzles in your life will be understood within the next year" But in order to explain why it freaked me out, let me back track a little bit.
On Wednesday and Thursday we did MTE's (Missionary Training Exchanges). We spent 3 1/2 hrs each day listening to instruction from our Mission President and his Assistants. One of the main topics they discussed and taught us was about how to "ask, seek, and knock". We see that phrase SO many times in the scriptures & it makes you wonder why it is so important to Heavenly Father that He has to keep repeating it over & over again? President Schmitt related it back to receiving personal revelation. The only way for us to know of spiritual truths is through the Holy Ghost. But in order for the Holy Ghost to confirm something in our hearts, we have to have a question or a solution in our hearts for Him to even confirm & guide us! So the only way for us to receive personal revelation (the only way to receive answers from God) is by ASKING Him through prayer, SEEKING for His answers through the scriptures or in our day to day lives, and KNOCKING by acting on the answer through diligent obedience & faith.
As I was sitting there soaking it all in, I had SO many "light bulb!" moments that illuminated my mind. But I know it was because I went to that meeting with questions in my heart! I realized how often I only halfheartedly ask Heavenly Father questions. My prayers used to be more like "Please help us to know what to do at this time" "Please help me to be better". But now I've seen God's hand even more in my life as I instead say in my prayers things like: "Father, what would Thou have us to do at this time? Would Thou have us to go see_____?" "What do I need to work on so that I can be more Christ-like?" "How can I better teach ____ about faith?"
As I have started doing that I have truly gained SUCH a strong testimony about how Heavenly Father is just WAITING for us to ask Him things & how sooo many blessings are dependent on us asking, seeking, and knocking. I feel like Heavenly Father is putting so many of the "Puzzle Pieces" of my life in order. On top of that, we even taught the Mia Maids this past Sunday about how our lives are like "Puzzles" but how Heavenly Father has provided us with a road map that helps us to put the right pieces in place (i.e, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, having a Modern Day Prophet, etc)
I just LOVE how Heavenly Father connects all of the dots together in my mind! I honestly have no idea what I would do with out! As I'm digging my heels into the ground trying to slow down these last 2 months, Heavenly Father is teaching me a lot about how I need to better trust in His plan & in His timing. I need to trust that He knows EXACTLY where each puzzle piece belongs & that at some point in the future, I will have a better understanding of why each piece has it's certain place.
I hope all of this makes sense, I feel like I just had a mind explosion on the computer haha But at least I know it makes sense in my mind and that Heavenly Father is truly teaching me so much!
I love you all!
xoxo Sister Morgan
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