Preach My Gospel Missionary

Area: Valley Hi/Heritage
Companion: Sister Riley Powell

What does it mean to be a Preach My Gospel missionary? I have been learning so much about that recently. I remember studying chapter 3 before my mission and attempting to teach the lessons in family home evening and struggling through it. I think I barely made it through one principle. I had known these truths all my life, yet I had no idea how to explain and articulate them. I felt as though my words were rocks. I didn't know how to teach things simply. I was grateful for those family home evenings where I was taught much more than I was actually teaching. Mom and Dad gently gave me some pointers on how I might explain that concept to someone who had never heard it before. My brothers powered through with amazing patience. They were probably itching to get out and do something else. I know I was. Those painful practices helped set a foundation for me that I have never forgotten.

During that time I received a priesthood blessing. I was told that I would be able to teach the message of the restoration with power. That was a comforting reassurance. I still felt it was somewhat far-reaching. Now, more than a year later, I have felt the power of the restoration again and again coming out of the mouths of my companion and I. It now comes out like silky sand, rather than rocks. Going back to the question I started with, what does it mean to be a preach my gospel missionary? Maybe we can answer that with another question. What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ?

It means that we follow him with all of our hearts. We are obedient to his commandments, and trust his promises. By trusting his promises, we are trusting the words of his chosen servants. Their words are within the scriptures, and we receive continued guidance through living prophets. Preach My Gospel is from living prophets. The reason I can now speak with power is because they are not my words.

D&C 68:4-5
"And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation. Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants."

That is an amazing promise! I have been studying chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel more in depth with the intent of seeing how the chosen servants of God have phrased the teachings in each principle. I often quote phrases from chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel in teaching, and it has proven to be very powerful. To learn and know the doctrine is to follow Christ. I just cannot believe that it has taken me up to this point in my mission to fully trust Preach My Gospel. To do the study activities knowing that I will learn what it says I'll learn, and being willing to immediately apply it in companion study and throughout the day. Studying is one thing, but applying it is a much more important part of the equation. The conclusion That has sunk deep into my heart is to trust what is written, and allow what it to become written on my heart. That is faithfulness to God.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to teach a fantastic family of 6. The Dad is not a member, and the older son was baptized about a year ago. We opened by asking them what evidence they have seen of Gods love. It sparked a great discussion. The 8 year old had some profound answers. It was amazing how powerful the spirit was there. The spirit taught the message of the restoration on such an individual level for that family. In the middle of our lesson we asked the Dad if he has ever considered being baptized by one holding the priesthood of God. His response was somewhat surprising. He said that he has thought about it quite a bit. The one thing holding him back is that his parents are devout in their faith and he's afraid of what they might think. We talked about the end goal of having an eternal family and how that could be a reality for them as they become united in the restored gospel. We already love them!

Also this week I had the privilege of going on an exchange with Sister Greenwood. They live in the same apartment as Sister Pito and her companion, so we loved seeing each other again and had so many things to laugh about. The exchange was incredible. I learned so much about inspiring rather than merely motivating, or dictating. We met a man who is well acquainted with members of our church and had a lot of questions. When we approached him he excitedly said, "Are you Mormons?". We affirmed that we are. He had a lot of questions about things like why we don't drink coffee, etc. Ha ha. He was really nice, and of a very inquiring nature. He claimed to be a scientist. We taught about the restoration as much as we could with his questions. At one point he asked a question about why bad things happen. A scripture from the Book of Mormon came to mind. The moment I pulled it out, he stopped me and said that he wants to hear what I really thought. He wanted to know what my opinion was, not just what someone told me. I started looking at the scripture again, but he stopped me again saying, "Is that what you think?" The spirit confirmed to me that I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and I trust in its words with all my heart, because they are the words of God. I did not back down. I stated with confidence that this is exactly what I know and believe and that is how I will answer his question. He listened, and seemed to feel the sincerity. I had no response of my own, just the words of the prophets in The Book of Mormon. Which is more correct than any opinion on Earth. How grateful I am for this holy volume of scripture that is the convincing evidence that Joseph Smith is a true prophet. If one wants to be sure that he is not a false prophet, read the Boom of Mormon with a sincere heart and real intent. (See Moroni 10:3-5)

Sister Powell departs a week from Wednesday. This week is going to be an amazing week of miracles. I am so grateful for Sister Powell. Her and I have become great friends. We have become very unified.

I love you all. I love this work. All in!

Sincerely,
Sister Record

Pictures

I have discovered Chik-Fi-le. We all went spontaneously last Monday for some frozen lemonade. Left to right: Sister Powell, Sister Smith, me, Sister Martin

This is after an exchange with Sister Greenwood. She is one of those
people that I just became best friends with the moment we met. I don't
know how we never knew each other on the mission until recently. She
and Sister Clawson (the one photo bombing in the back) are the lead
Sister training leaders, which is much like an assistant to the
President. It was an AMAZING exchange!

Sister Clawson and Sister Powell after exchanges. :)

I must face the fact that I am horrible at awkward angle selfies. But I had to share this picture. Sister Powell is getting her hair dyed at a members home today and this is our silly attempt at washing her hair in the bath tub. She did great! :) (Sister Powell and Sister Record)

This is a much better one. Taken by Sister Powell. Ha ha!