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