I never thought I wanted to live in a mansion.... Repentance

Transfer news came.. and went and this girl is staying put! and so is my companion! Yahoo for being in star heights for another round! We are excited to be here and still working! I have a ttached a picture of all the sisters in the zone prior to transfers- 3 of them will be leaving. sad - but exciting for them. new friendships are formed each and every day - that is one thing I am so very thankful for in being a missionary. We have the unique opportunity to meet new people and create long and lasting relationships with a number of people. Companions. investigators. members. and most importantly, with my Fathe in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ.

In really trying to develop the final relationship I mentioned, I have come closer to them more in the last year thatn I have in the previous 20! ANd I am not kidding - probably becasue I have gained a greater knowledge and understanding of their love for me which is deep and abiding and unfailing. The best way, i have found thus far, to strengthen and nurture this realtionship is through repentance- yep. the second key point in the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. 

True faith, as I mentioned last week, always leads us to an action. That action, often times is repentance. 

Repentance simply means to change. To change your mind and your will to the mind and will of God. NOw that is really the ultimate goal- but we all sin and we all fall short of god's glory. We know that we must be totally clean in order to return and live with our Father in the Celestial Kingdom - and how is that possible? Through repentance. I learned something today as I was studying this basic principle of the gospel (maybe it isn't so simple as I am still learning more! But I think that is where the true beauty in the gospel lies..)but I will get to that in a second.. My thoughts are very unorganized today so bear with me.. it is another stream of conciousness day today... and it is scattered! but back to repentance. In PMG it teaches that as we repent we will see our lives changing and improving! how wonderful is that?? I think we all want our lives to improve? or am I crazy for wanting mine to? nah.. We all do. and becasue of that, we should find JOY in repenting daily! When I first read that I was thinking no way. that is crazy. repentance is not a joyful thing. I had a seriously skewed perception of repentance before my mission.. We should have been required to pass the baptismal interview that we give to investigators ( question 3: What does it mean to you to repent?) But oh have my ideas changed! Repentance is one of the greatest gifts we have been given- and it is made possible through the atonement of Christ which enables us to have Eternal life which IS the greatest gifts of all the gifts of God! 

One of my very favorite things to study concerning repentance is the law of Justice and mercy. I don't know why this thrills me so much -but it does. I seem to learn something new everytime I study it! Which brings me to the thing I learned this morning! I was studying in Alma 42and in verses 13, 21-24 it explains this law quite nicely. and I have read those verses planty of times - and that is the beauty of the scriptures! you learn something new everytime you read them! so anyway- back to what I learned today (my goodness, I am sorry about this one...) Our dear, sweet and loving Father in Heaven presented a plan - a plan for our happiness, redemption and salvation - that we all accepted before we came to this life. According to the law of Justice - this plan could not be brought about. Why is that? becasue no unclean thing can be exhalted and saved in the kingdom of the father - and we all sin! If we say we do not then we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. and that is why the Atonement was performed - to provide for us a way to become clean through the suffering and death of our savior. But even with the Atonement performed, the plan could still not be brought to fruition, UNLESS we repent. unless we come unto Christ, submit our will to His, and try, each and every day, to be a little better and to stand a little taller. Without repentance, mercy cannot take affect unless it were to rob justice. and it cannot. The law of justice must be fulfilled - if not, God would cease to be God. He is a God of justice. and he has not ceased to be God - nor will He ever. There is a law given, and a punishment affixed which we are all subject to- according to the demands of justice - UNLESS we repent!. We then let the Atonement take affect in our lives and allow mercy to be extended towards us so we can be redeemed from our sins (but not in them) and then we receive the fullness of joy and we are saved and exhalted in the many mansions which Father has prepared for us. What an incredible gift repentance is. 

This email turned out maybe a little more solemn than I had hoped becasue if there is one thing I have learned on myu mission (I have learned many so that was a silly thing to say) it is that I LOVE REPENTING! I mess up every day. sometimes I get angry. sometimes I get annoyed (is anyone surprised?) and those things pull me away from the people I want to be the closetst to - and that is my Father and my Brother. so how do I overcome both my minor and major imperfections? you guessed it- repentance!

Oh how I love this work and being able to learn something new everyday- even if I have studyed it for so many years. I love this gospel and I am so thankful to have it in my life. I love my Savior and I will be eternally indebted to Him for what He did for ME! becasue of that, I will find the joy of repenting DAILY and lettting Him help me to be better and to let Him improve my life as I draw closer to Him. you know what I just realized goes right in hand with repentance? humility. hmmmmm.. I will rattle off on that one another time. (speaking of - whatever happened to your musings dad?) but in the mean time- Know that I love all of you!

Do you know someone who is feeling weighed down with the burden of guilt and maybe shame? Help them relieve it- share with them the eternal principle of repentance. \

Love to all,

Sister TSuart

oh and if you want an AWESOME visual about the law of justice and mercy - check out this video!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2007-01-0005-the-mediator?lang=eng

The Water is Fine

Which of my important nothings shall I tell you first? Well, I did promise a really good note this week so I guess I will try to live up to my rpomise (that should teach me to promise anything huh?) 

I hope you all took the opportunity I extended you to read 2 Nephi 31. Were you all as spiritually fed as I was? I hope so - if not, you may find this note somewhat lacking..

The first point of Doctrine as taught by the Savior asnd revealed to His prophets that we must learn is Faith. Everything builds on faith. I am learning that more and more every single day as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without faith, nothing can be done. When our faith becomes unshaken, we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees will obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea (Jacob4:6). whoa. what a powerful description. and all this by faith- even faith as small as a little mustard seed. Alma teaches us that we must experiment upon the word to first see if it will take root in us - that is acting in faith. Not really knowing the outcome, but acting regardless. When that little seed starts to swell within us, we know it is good and we can carry on. How wonderful is it that we know in whom to put our trust and our faith - even in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is what leads to miracles happening. Even Jacob knew this.

But really, what is faith? Faith is having a hope for things which are not seen which are true (Alma 32:21).  It is having trust and confidence in something or someone - and MUST be centered in Jesus Christ to produce salvation. The Lord has revealed Himself and His perfect character, possessing all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable us to place confidence in Him without reservation(BD). But what does that mean?? It means we can trust Him with anything - and everything. He wil not fail us. But it is more than just a belief -true faith always, ALWAYS, leads us to act, to move forward. It is moving forward knowing and trusting He will provide for you.

We have been blessed in the last couple weeks to have participated in some incredible conferences. Just this last Sunday, the Rio Rancho stake was graced with the presence of Elder Alonso of the First Quorum of the Seventy - and my goodness, that man is inspired! He truly is a witness of our Savior Jesus Christ. He shared with the stake his vision for the city of Rio Rancho (Rio Rancho's city motto is City of Vision FYI). he said one day there would be 5 stakes in this city. FIVE! we have one right now. How incredible is that. How does this apply to faith? Well - the only way for 5 stakes to develop out of this one is for growth to happen. How does growth happen? By people being baptized into the true church of God. How do they get to that point? They are taught by the missionaries. How do they get there? They are found and introduced to the misisonaries. How are they found? by FAITH!! He gave the missionaries an incredible promise. He promised us we would find new people to share this glorious gospel with this month, people who would be ready to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ - as long as we did three things. Can you guess what the first is? Yes. have FAITH. TRUST that God will lead us to HIs children who are looking, or that He will lead them to us. Second is to hearken and follow the counsel of our dear Misison President Miller, for he speaks the mind and will of the Lord. and third is to recognize the great tool the Book of Mormon is - and to study it daily. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me! and it all starts with faith. We need to trust in God - and lean not unto our own understanding- He will direct us. And that faith will move us to ACT! to follow the counsel of President Miller and do the things he asks of us for we have faith that he is a servant of God acting in behalf of his missionaries. It was just a very neat trainig - and it all stems from faith. Where there is true faith there are miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God that He gives to His saints(BD). These are things we will be expecting here in the Star Heights ward of RIo Rancho.

I will get off my soap box now... I don't really know if this all even made sense - I don't want to read over it again and find out.. so enjoy my stream of consiousness :)

and now for a parable - that you should understand, you have all (mostly) experienced this.

A father and his children live just 8 minutes from a lake and they LOVE water skiing! Whenever they get the opportunity to get out on the lake, they take it! and oftentimes, they try to be the very first on the water of the day - so they can experience the glass. It is here where the most joy is had, cutting in and out of the wake, gliding over the crystal water, and experiencing the joy and excitement of being out of the boat. In recent years, being the first people on the water of the day wasn't quite the thrill anymore- it wasn't enough -so they decided to be the first on the lake of the season! After the 8 inches of ice had thawed, they loaded up blankets and dry suits, the skis and the kids. In 8 minutes they are at the lake and on the water. The wind is bit chilly- but one can only imagine the water- a balmy 33 degrees farenheit. It may seem nice to stay in the boat, wrapped in a nice warm blanket, but where is the joy in that? One son suits up - puts the skis on while still in the boat, takes a deep breath and jumps in! in an instant he ha popped back up and is ready to go! As soon as the roap is taught and he is hoisted up you can see the joy! There is nothing like it. That could not be experienced while still in the boat. The secret is to get our of the boat!

And so it is with missionary work. It is hard. It is scary. But you cannot experience the joy of bringing others to the gospel while you are comfortably sitting in the boat. You must take a deep breath and jump. Look at Peter - He got out of the boat, and what did he do? He walked on water. He only began to sink when he took his eyes off the Savior. the Lord lifted him up - saying ye of little faith, But he did not let Peter sink. and if you find your faith lacking, I will take the words of a dear friend and example, Sister Boman, and admonish you to be obedient. Obedience and righteous living is how one can increase in faith.

So my family- the moral of the story is GET OUT OF THE BOAT! and have faith in the Savior continuously. It is only when you take your eyes off Him that you will sink. Get out of the boat and true joy and happiness will be yours. Who will you invite to experience eternal happiness this week?

This is the greatest work ever! and I want you to experience it too - becasue I LOVE YOU!

Love,

Sister Stuart

A Quick Note

I don't have much time today.. sorry! But expect a really good one next week, (maybe it is too soon to be making that promise.. eep) but it will take some prepareation on your part. Read 2 Nephi 31 and also 3 Nephi 11. Yep- the Doctrine of Christ. We had an INCREDIBLE zone conference yesterday and that was the focus- being converted to the doctrine. So neat. 

We also had car inspections - and we passed! She is a beauty really she is - Betsy is her name. 

Also- We made pizzas with a Less Active this week- gluten free variety. The crust was made from cauliflower! YUCK! only - it wasn't. it was DELICIOUS! weird. I know. but we made them just how we make them at home- each person gets their own section to decorate! do you decorate a pizza? I apparently do- with my straight line of embellishments right down the middle. I am weird. its okay. 

Also- the work is going well! sort-of.. one of our investigators flew to West Virginia suddenly and we didn't even know it. That was a bummer. Oh- she moved there. not just for vacation. We missionary purposed another one becasue he is not taking things seriously and he continues to smoke like a chimney and drink like alcohol is the new water - did you know you should drink 1 ounce of water for every 2 pounds that you weigh? I learned that yesterday. 

But for the good news! We taught Rico the plan of salvation and he loved it! He just kept saying it made so much sense how Adam was not a bad guy and that the fall had to happen. it was so neat! also- we taught Shariy and Geno the gospel of Jesus Christ and Shariy KNOWS the church is true without a dounbt in her mind! now we just have to help Geno come to that same knowledge so they can get married finally and get baptized together! we invited hime to do so last night - and he didn't say no! yay! he maybe didn't say yes either... but that is okay! He will! We are so excited for them!

have a splendid week- and remember always - CHIN UP WILBUR!

 Sister Stuart'

Also- HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! to all those dad's and soon to be dad's (that is you Michael and Aaron.. I am ready for a nephew and another neice) and most especially to my dad- who is the greatest! I love you!

How Beautiful Are My Feet

Welcome to June! and with June comes the summer heat - and I just cannot seem to give up my scarves... maybe once we hit 103 I will have to retire them.. but until then, my neck will forever be ornamented in rich tapestries woven of silk and cotton and polyester and probably rayon. And how lucky we are to be sharing that ornamentation - sort of.. We are teaching this woman named Shariy - who one would almost classify as an eternigator - but she is making some awesome progress right now! and her son Gordon said to her the other day that he wants tocome to church with her! what up! but he is worried that he won't fit in becaue he does not have a tie - but lucky for him, we have a nice red silk one kicking around our apartment (thanks elders!) and it is even loaded with scriptures on the back- so he will get extra spiritual boost when he wears it! yay for sharing the gospel through any means possible!

Like walking for hours and hours and hours - but that is the best becasue you can talk to more people! we were forced to put our soles to the pavement this week as the zone leaders called on thursday and asked how many miles we would be willing to sacrifice for the month of june (we have mileage limitations if you didn't know...) we told them we could do without 100 miles. We would be able to get by with only 800. Then they said - wait a minute.. how many miles do you have? Oh- we have 900! oh- ou rpaper says that you only have 700. problem. we are already at 780. eek! so we walked. and walked.and rested on a bench. and walked and mosiah 12:21 and talked to people and I got sunburned! yahoo! 

Speakikng of - can I just tell you how awesome pass along cards are? I didn't know their true valuse before I left on my mission.. but now - those things are irreplaceable! I love them. We are supposed to be talking to twenty new people each and every day- and sometimes that is not easy, but if you have something to give them it is heaps easier! so hey can I give you a card? sure? okay! on this card is a fantastic website that can change your life! chack it out! and then call us - our number is on it. you won't be sorry! okay okay, so I don't quite use that approach- but I just might. It could work. But still - pass along cards are an awesome, simple way to share the gospel. they even come in all shapes and sizes - go to your local distribution center and see what you can find. How can you share the gospel today? (Do I sound like an ad? that is what I was going for....) 

and while you are on that website (mormon.org) don't forget to check out the tab VISIT and request a visit with the missionaries! I don't know if I told you about Jenny already- if I did -pretend I didn't becasue I am going to tell you again... when people request missionary visits from online they go straight to the missionaries inthat area (neat eh?) and we are to contact them within 24 hours. Anyway, we got one a few weeks ago for michael and jenny and the only information it had said "these are my best friends - take care of them" no name or anything else. Cryptic. but promising! so we went and met michael and jenny - we told them why we were there and that their best friend sent us -although we don't know who it is. They knew. It was Josh. Josh happens to be serving a mission in mongolia right now - how awesome that he trusts us with his best friends! anyway - Michael is a little bit apprehensive when it comes to organized religion -catholicism was FORCED on him when he was younger - so he didn't really want to join in (yet!!!) but we were able to teach Jenny the Restoration of the Gospel of HJesus Christ and she really liked it. She even accepted baptism if she finds out it is true for herself! wahoo! we are so excited for them - and her gaining a testimony of the truth will just lead michael right into the font after her. then they will be married in the temple and have thier little baby boy sealed to them. cute.

Well someone just walked in behind me wearing WAY TOO MUCH cologne - so I am going to sign outta here before I get a headache - it is time to go anyway.. we have to wax our car to get it ready for inspections this week at ZONE CONFERENCE! yay! I love zone conference. 

I love you all!

Sister Stuart