My thoughts have been focused on having a testimony of Jesus Christ. At stake conference yesterday, we sang very powerfully the hymn, "How Firm a Foundation". Elder Lawrence spoke at the conference. Having triumphed over "mormon standard time", my roommates snagged great seats. I will never forget how I felt while singing the last few lines of the seventh verse and witnessing Elder Lawrence's reaction. "I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, no never forsake!" I looked up to see the emotion and strongest conviction in Elder Lawrence's eyes. I felt it. And I know that he felt it. It was so sweet to see this leader of the church truly feel the power of those words. It strengthened my testimony of who Christ is and that I would never deny Him as my Savior.
I read a beautiful verse from the visiting teaching message that references Isaiah 49:16 and Christ's inability to forget us: "Christ has 'graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands". I love what these words mean literally and symbolically. He allowed His scars to remain as a reminder to us, to God, to Himself of the great love He has for us. His sacrifice is so much a part of Him and His love so eternal, that He will never forsake us!
I think it's important that we remind ourselves of the love that Christ has for each of us! It's a love that is real and powerful. I think that we can do our part to graven Christ upon ourselves figuratively. Our relationship with Christ is so precious, but there is always more we can do to better make Him a part of our lives. I'm so grateful for Him. I know that He lives. I know that He knows and loves me more than I can comprehend. I know that if we actively come unto Christ, we will strengthen our relationship with Him and feel more joy because of it!
Monday, February 27, 2017
Monday, February 13, 2017
The most desirable above all things..
I've been jumping a bit around the Book of Mormon in my daily reading. I read in 3 Nephi 19:9 about the disciples praying to God for that which they most desired, i.e. the Holy Ghost. That is such a profound and beautiful gift that the Lord can give us. This weekend I was just thinking about how truly amazing the gift of the Holy Ghost is. We literally have the companionship of a personage of the godhead. Isn't that incredible? I had an amazing gospel chat with my roommates last night. We philosophized and talked about our questions and testimonies of the gospel. The Spirit filled the room. I don't think I realized how strong it was until we had finished and I sat there thinking about how happy and peaceful I felt.
For a reading assignment in my religion class, I came across 1 Nephi 11:22-23. Nephi discovers the meaning of the fruit of the tree of life: "yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things....Yea and the most joyous to the soul".
I then made the connection between the two scriptures. It is through the Holy Ghost, that we TRULY feel of God's love. The disciples desired the companionship of the Holy Ghost because it was HOW God shows His love to them. I was very touched to be reminded of the importance and beauty of this gift that God has given me.
On another note, we have the privilege to share the LOVE of God with others around us through missionary efforts, home/visiting teaching efforts...etc. When we speak with the power of the Holy Ghost, we are essentially manifesting God's love unto these people. It's an amazing process! I know that God can speak to us, but we must not only pray for it but DESIRE it.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Choose Christ
Recently I have been thinking about the power of the adversary in our lives. Several focused their thoughts on Satan's influence in fast and testimony meeting yesterday. It was a very timely reminder to me as I have felt contention arise in my heart over a few things. Someone said something that really stood out to me. He said how we do not have the power alone to rid ourselves of Satan. It reminded me of Moses and how Satan NEVER departs until he says "through the authority of Jesus Christ". It was a reminder to me that Satan's power is real AND even more so, Jesus Christ's power is very real. It is through His Atonement, that we can rid ourselves of Satan and withstand temptation.
In chapter 7 of Moroni, Mormon talks of the importance of faith, hope and charity and how they are all connected. It's a beautiful chapter that brings to focus the power of the adversary. I specifically liked verse 19 "Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ."
The way by which we can discern good from evil is to seek Christ and search Him diligently. The closer we come to Christ and understanding His Atonement, the greater our faith will be. We will be more filled with the Spirit as we come unto Christ. Our resistance to temptations will be stronger. Christ is the KEY source to overcoming Satan's power. It's quite a simple, yet profound thought. I know that Jesus Christ is our true Savior. He is THE light to our eternal happiness. If we become a child of Christ, we will "lay hold upon every good thing". That is such a beautiful promise!!
In chapter 7 of Moroni, Mormon talks of the importance of faith, hope and charity and how they are all connected. It's a beautiful chapter that brings to focus the power of the adversary. I specifically liked verse 19 "Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ."
The way by which we can discern good from evil is to seek Christ and search Him diligently. The closer we come to Christ and understanding His Atonement, the greater our faith will be. We will be more filled with the Spirit as we come unto Christ. Our resistance to temptations will be stronger. Christ is the KEY source to overcoming Satan's power. It's quite a simple, yet profound thought. I know that Jesus Christ is our true Savior. He is THE light to our eternal happiness. If we become a child of Christ, we will "lay hold upon every good thing". That is such a beautiful promise!!
Monday, January 30, 2017
The Power of Change
The Power of Change
When we think of change, we should think of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have been pondering on the idea of change lately. I have my own weaknesses and oftentimes I find myself succumbing to those weaknesses again and again. It is a very frustrating process. I often question whether I will ever be able to conquer this weakness. I am reminded of the infamous verse in Ether 12:27. We read of the prophet Ether prophesying to the people to come to know and believe in God. He shares a powerful verse,
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
The purpose for our weaknesses is that we may humbles ourselves before God and ask for help/forgiveness in humility. We were INTENDED to have weaknesses. It is only when we humble ourselves and have enduring faith, that the Lord will bless us. Our weaknesses may not become PERFECT in this life, but they can be stronger. We can have a stronger ability to resist temptation. That is an empowering thought.
I was speaking to a woman the other day about the Atonement. She paraphrased a talk of one of her stake leaders. She said, "Our faithfulness to the commandments unlocks the powers of the Atonement of Christ." It is only when we are faithful and ACTING by keeping the commandments/covenants that we can experience the power of the Atonement in our lives. I think that the biggest thing is consistency. I know that if we make a consistent effort to pray for humility, to be more Christ-like, that we will see great things come to pass!
When we think of change, we should think of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have been pondering on the idea of change lately. I have my own weaknesses and oftentimes I find myself succumbing to those weaknesses again and again. It is a very frustrating process. I often question whether I will ever be able to conquer this weakness. I am reminded of the infamous verse in Ether 12:27. We read of the prophet Ether prophesying to the people to come to know and believe in God. He shares a powerful verse,
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
The purpose for our weaknesses is that we may humbles ourselves before God and ask for help/forgiveness in humility. We were INTENDED to have weaknesses. It is only when we humble ourselves and have enduring faith, that the Lord will bless us. Our weaknesses may not become PERFECT in this life, but they can be stronger. We can have a stronger ability to resist temptation. That is an empowering thought.
I was speaking to a woman the other day about the Atonement. She paraphrased a talk of one of her stake leaders. She said, "Our faithfulness to the commandments unlocks the powers of the Atonement of Christ." It is only when we are faithful and ACTING by keeping the commandments/covenants that we can experience the power of the Atonement in our lives. I think that the biggest thing is consistency. I know that if we make a consistent effort to pray for humility, to be more Christ-like, that we will see great things come to pass!
Monday, January 23, 2017
Miracle of Miracles
The other day I read from Mormon 9 about how God continues to be a god of miracles. Moroni delivers a powerful sermon to those who are unbelieving. Afterward, I seemed to notice the beautiful miracles of nature all around me, e.g. the breathtaking mountains, the perfectly fallen snow. I thought about how a new born baby is the greatest miracle that happens every single day. These are just reminders to me that God is real!
There was one verse that particularly struck me as I was reading. Vese 20 says, "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." I immediately thought of the people I met in Italy who refused to believe that miracles exist today. I explained and testified to them that God does indeed answer prayers. Miracles do not have to be this massive healing experience that Christ performs. It can be something as simple as being protected while driving that day. However, often as a faithful people we dwindle in unbelief. At times, our faith can be weaker. We have to do our part to nourish the faith we do have. We have to develop a strong trust in God EVERY day. We do this by EXPECTING a miracle, coming unto Christ through prayer and scripture study. The more that we believe and develop trust in God, the more miracles we will recognize and be blessed with. That is a simple, but profound thought. It is essentially saying that God will bless those who believe. God will bring miracles as we come to know God!
Monday, June 16, 2014
I'm so glad when Daddy comes home
Yep, thats right. I sang with the american primary kids in sacrament meeting like a big 22 yr old fool. Hahaha just kidding!!! Well I felt a little foolish at the beginning but all balanced out when I realized how proud I was to sing for my dad! Dad Happy Fathers day! Apparently I did have some trouble with the words and blurted out "climb upon a tree" (instead of, climb upon his knee) sorry dad. Good thing two thirds of the congregation didnt even understand my english:)
We called Shirley to follow up with her about her reading and confirm our appointment with her. Her words: "IT IS FOR ME" HAhaha she loved the chapter that we left her. When we saw her last week we asked her what she liked about it and she opened up to Alma31:30 (we were a bit confused because we left her with alma 32 actually) HAhaha I guess she misunderstood. Well whatever works! She really liked this verse. Hahah she is so faithful and her daughter Melody sat in on the discussion!!! They are so so prepared!!
Conversion stories. Filming conversion stories. Totally started doing that and it is the coolest thing. There are so little members here in Italy, so it is the coolest thing to here a conversion story from an italian. THERE ARE ALWAYS DREAMS INVOLVED IN THEIR STORIES!
We passed our african friend on the street the other day and he said, "Are you ready for tuesday??"
Whats tuesday??
"Ghana versus America!"
Without even thinking I shouted out "FORZA AMERICA!!!!""
(soccer is HUGE here in Napoli and the italians always say "FORZA NAPOLI")
HAhah it was great!!
LOVE YOU ALLL: REAlly gootatta goo§!! THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!! SO RRRY FOR THE LAME SHORT LETTER! WE ARE LATE!!!
sorella clyde
We called Shirley to follow up with her about her reading and confirm our appointment with her. Her words: "IT IS FOR ME" HAhaha she loved the chapter that we left her. When we saw her last week we asked her what she liked about it and she opened up to Alma31:30 (we were a bit confused because we left her with alma 32 actually) HAhaha I guess she misunderstood. Well whatever works! She really liked this verse. Hahah she is so faithful and her daughter Melody sat in on the discussion!!! They are so so prepared!!
Conversion stories. Filming conversion stories. Totally started doing that and it is the coolest thing. There are so little members here in Italy, so it is the coolest thing to here a conversion story from an italian. THERE ARE ALWAYS DREAMS INVOLVED IN THEIR STORIES!
We passed our african friend on the street the other day and he said, "Are you ready for tuesday??"
Whats tuesday??
"Ghana versus America!"
Without even thinking I shouted out "FORZA AMERICA!!!!""
(soccer is HUGE here in Napoli and the italians always say "FORZA NAPOLI")
HAhah it was great!!
LOVE YOU ALLL: REAlly gootatta goo§!! THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!! SO RRRY FOR THE LAME SHORT LETTER! WE ARE LATE!!!
sorella clyde
Monday, June 9, 2014
è stato reale
So sorella Baker and I gave each other goals for the week. Her goal was to talk to everyone that sat next to turn on the train. My goal was to only talk to the elders in italian. The longer I have been on the mission, the more I have tried to not let italian hold me back in showing my personality. As I said farewell to the anziani the other day I shouted out "è stato reale!" Or (its been real!) I dont think it really translates but the american elders got it.
We saw the Garofalos this last week. They are one of my favorite families. Just before we went over their house for dinner, we did some knocking doors in an apartment building. This one man showed us his badge and said that it was illegal that we were in there, then kicked us out. We told the Garofalos about it and Sorella Garofalo said, "Hes probably atheist!" HAHA anyway, the garofalos are just this crazy, fUN, loud italian family. The parents shared stories the whole time, inserting their english words every so often:). Fratello Garofalo is so hilarious as he acted out his stories, making fun of his wife. HAHA
So many miracles this week! First of all, Sorella Baker and I did a companionship fast this last fast sunday to get more investigators- as we were in great need. We decided to recontact some contacts that Sorella Viazzo and I met and call all the potentials on our potential sheet. It was so productive! We got 5 new investigators this week!!We are so thrilled and we feel like God has blessed us so much! We have felt SO GRATEFUL to the Lord this whole week! One night while we were lying in bed, we just expressed our GREAT joy for the mission. "It just gets better and better!"
We saw Sandra again this week. She is golden. She had not read the previous week because she had been dealing with some struggles in her life, but is planning to read and even ended the lesson with a prayer asking HEavenly Father if the things we teach are true. We will meet with her tomorrow! Apparently she is leaving to Spain for the summer and wants to have the 5 lessons before she leaves. She even wants to study with the missionaries in Spain while she is there. I secretly home she can go find Emily there:) She is so cute though, she cries so easily and she always always prays for us by name.
We saw Peppe, new member Peppe! He is doing great. He had some questions about tithing and if the church would ever ask him to pay more than 10 percent. Once we got that straightened up, he made a comment about the blessings he has seen from the commandments. He has to pay 50euro in tithing every month (10%) but used to pay 90euro a month for his coffee. So in reality, the Lord is blessing him with 40euro. (90-50) He is doing really well! During the lesson peppe said something like "So in our church....I can say OUR church, because now Im a member... can we do this?? It was said so nonchalantly but pretty sure he had been planning the little input his whole life. HAHA
We contacted Yuri, a guy that Sorella Viazzo and I met one time. He was very open and sincere with us. He agreed to read and take the lessons!
We finally met with Shirley, the filipina we met on the bus. She is so wonderful and faithful and loves to gigle. She deals with a lot of struggles like separation from her husband and cancer, but she is still so faithful. She even has read a little bit in her Tagolog book of mormon since then. She also has two daughters that we hope to teach next time! It was THE COOLEST THING to hear her read the introduction in Tagolog as we read along in italian. She was so happy to see the book in her native language. WE HAVE A FILIPINA investigator- that is like my dream come true. So many italian missionaries have raved about the filipinos here in italy!
2 Nephi 2:25 We are here to have JOY! So have it. What a beautiful scripture. Like most missionaries, we dont get to teach the Plan of Salvation as much as we would like, but when we do it is my favorite! Wow is so beautiful and perfect. God really is our loving Heavenly FAther and has created a plan of JOY for us. I am so so grateful that I know who I am and why I am here. We taught this lesson to the cutest couple investigators last night. It was a powerful lesson. I know it is true.
Have a wonderful week! keep spreading the word of God! Vi voglio bene!!
Sorella Clyde
We saw the Garofalos this last week. They are one of my favorite families. Just before we went over their house for dinner, we did some knocking doors in an apartment building. This one man showed us his badge and said that it was illegal that we were in there, then kicked us out. We told the Garofalos about it and Sorella Garofalo said, "Hes probably atheist!" HAHA anyway, the garofalos are just this crazy, fUN, loud italian family. The parents shared stories the whole time, inserting their english words every so often:). Fratello Garofalo is so hilarious as he acted out his stories, making fun of his wife. HAHA
So many miracles this week! First of all, Sorella Baker and I did a companionship fast this last fast sunday to get more investigators- as we were in great need. We decided to recontact some contacts that Sorella Viazzo and I met and call all the potentials on our potential sheet. It was so productive! We got 5 new investigators this week!!We are so thrilled and we feel like God has blessed us so much! We have felt SO GRATEFUL to the Lord this whole week! One night while we were lying in bed, we just expressed our GREAT joy for the mission. "It just gets better and better!"
We saw Sandra again this week. She is golden. She had not read the previous week because she had been dealing with some struggles in her life, but is planning to read and even ended the lesson with a prayer asking HEavenly Father if the things we teach are true. We will meet with her tomorrow! Apparently she is leaving to Spain for the summer and wants to have the 5 lessons before she leaves. She even wants to study with the missionaries in Spain while she is there. I secretly home she can go find Emily there:) She is so cute though, she cries so easily and she always always prays for us by name.
We saw Peppe, new member Peppe! He is doing great. He had some questions about tithing and if the church would ever ask him to pay more than 10 percent. Once we got that straightened up, he made a comment about the blessings he has seen from the commandments. He has to pay 50euro in tithing every month (10%) but used to pay 90euro a month for his coffee. So in reality, the Lord is blessing him with 40euro. (90-50) He is doing really well! During the lesson peppe said something like "So in our church....I can say OUR church, because now Im a member... can we do this?? It was said so nonchalantly but pretty sure he had been planning the little input his whole life. HAHA
We contacted Yuri, a guy that Sorella Viazzo and I met one time. He was very open and sincere with us. He agreed to read and take the lessons!
We finally met with Shirley, the filipina we met on the bus. She is so wonderful and faithful and loves to gigle. She deals with a lot of struggles like separation from her husband and cancer, but she is still so faithful. She even has read a little bit in her Tagolog book of mormon since then. She also has two daughters that we hope to teach next time! It was THE COOLEST THING to hear her read the introduction in Tagolog as we read along in italian. She was so happy to see the book in her native language. WE HAVE A FILIPINA investigator- that is like my dream come true. So many italian missionaries have raved about the filipinos here in italy!
2 Nephi 2:25 We are here to have JOY! So have it. What a beautiful scripture. Like most missionaries, we dont get to teach the Plan of Salvation as much as we would like, but when we do it is my favorite! Wow is so beautiful and perfect. God really is our loving Heavenly FAther and has created a plan of JOY for us. I am so so grateful that I know who I am and why I am here. We taught this lesson to the cutest couple investigators last night. It was a powerful lesson. I know it is true.
Have a wonderful week! keep spreading the word of God! Vi voglio bene!!
Sorella Clyde
 |
| Our 74 yr old investigator was finally baptized this last week!!! LOOK AT THE PURE JOY IN HIS FACE!!!! We were so worried about him but our prayers were answered and his was down in ONLY ONE TRY!!!! WE LOVE OUR PEPP! |
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