the Book of Mormon.

The whole world's talking about it.
It's probably become a household name by now.
Why not figure out why it's so important.
I promise it will change your life.
Because it's changed mine.

My story is a simple and fairly common one.
I was 7 when my family met the missionaries. They'd met them many times before, but this particular set of meetings led to us eventually all being baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I grew up in the Church. I always thought that I knew it was true because of how I felt when those missionaries taught us. As little as I was, I felt the truthfulness of the message they brought. I remember them sitting on the couch in our living room with my sister and I teaching us how to pray. And I received answers.
But when I was in high school, like for so many others I know, there came a point when I needed to know if it really was the church that my Heavenly Father needed me to be a part of. I could only listen to what other people told me was true for so long. I had to find out for myself.
So I set out on a quest for the truth.

And as part of this quest, I read the Book of Mormon.
Cover to cover.
I prayed every day to find answers.
I went to church.

And one day, after praying to know if the Book of Mormon was true, I got my answer. The answer that I knew in my heart the whole time. It was an answer that came from the Spirit directly from my Heavenly Father in special "Hermana Jordan" packaging. It was an answer that helped me to know that my Heavenly Father knows me. He is aware of me. And He loves me.
I promise that this type of answer can come to all of us. We just have to read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and keep the commandments of God, like coming to His church.

So I invite you to set out on your own quest for the truth of the Book of Mormon.

If you live in Graves County, Kentucky, come to church with us at
1036 Coplen Rd, Mayfield, KY

Or find a church building near you here!

It will change you life for the better!
I promise.

"Whatever comes, comes."

Good line right?
I thought so too.
It came in a letter that I received today from my friend Alex.
He was telling me some funny stories about how, more often than not, life seems to take us by surprise. Now these surprises can be good, bad, ugly, exciting, funny, nerve-wracking, sad, happy, beautiful or any other adjective you can think of.

An example:
When I found out that I was coming here to McMinnville, you can bet that I was super surprised! Excited to be going to a town that I've spent the last year hearing nothing but good about, scared that we were both going to be new in the area, sad to leave the members and friends that I had grown to love in Hermitage, nervous for the unknown.

An example:
When I found out that I had been called to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Nashville, Tennessee, I was surprised.
Excited. Nervous. At peace.
When I found out that I was going to be learning Spanish there, the surprise doubled. [And the peace went away..]

An example:
When the spirit told me that I needed to serve a mission, I was surprised. [And reluctant.] It wasn't in the plan. I was supposed to go back to school. I didn't like that surprise. So I took the easy way out-- I didn't listen. I kept on going on with life as if the Spirit hadn't told me anything.

But surprise! Here I am! Full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Some days I think that it would have been easier if I had just kept ignoring those promptings to serve. But then I remember that Heavenly Father is a whole lot smarter than me. He knows what I needed then and He knows what I need now. He knew exactly who I needed to meet and what experiences I needed to have. He knew the person that I was, and He knew that I needed to be

better.

braver.

more humble.

more patient.

more loving.

more accepting.

more Christ-like.

He knew that I needed to be all of these things so that I would one day be accepted into His presence. He knew that I wasn't good enough then, and trust me, I'm still not good enough yet, but if I had never accepted His will in the first place, I wouldn't be the tiny bit closer that I am right now. That's what brings us back to Alex's thought: "Whatever comes, comes." I know that when we accept the plans that Heavely Father has for us we'll also receive the blessings that He has for us.

So I say, "Follow the path that Heavenly Father has for you."

Alex says, "Whatever comes, comes."

And Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, apostle of the Lord, says,

"Come what may, and love it."

I'd say we're in pretty good company :)

a dialogue of my indecisiveness. [soy indecisa.]

Bueno. Por lo general, soy una persona bien indecisa.
De verdad.
Yo soy el tipo de persona que desea que la unica decision que ha tenido que tomar es que tipo de preparacion para poner en su ensalada.
[...a veces esto es tan importante...]

Pero aqui estoy. En la mision.

Entonces, si tengo el tiempo mas dificil del mundo la toma de decisiones,
¿Como llegue aqui?
Confie en mi, a veces me pregunto la misma pregunta.
Cada dia.
Porque me sorprende.

Le podria decir que siempre era un plan que tenia.
Pero no fue asi.
Le podria decir que era porque habia misioneros que ensenaron a mi familia.
Pero eso no es todo.
Le podria decir un millon de razones diferentes--falsa o verdadera.
Pero todo realmente se reduce a una sola respuesta.
Estoy aqui porque yo confio en el plan que mi Padre Celestial tiene para mi personalmente. Y que el plan incluye que yo este aqui. Exactamente donde El me necesita.
Vamos a ser honestos.
A veces pienso que es sin duda una prueba de fe para dar todos los pasos que se requiere.
Pero una vez alguien me dijo que debiamos esperar el milagro. No la prueba de nuestra fe.
Ser sorprendido cuando las cosas van mal. No cuando van bien.
Y luego, cuando van mal, podemos tener confianza en que, de todos modos, todo es parte del Plan.

Estaba leyendo este discourso, de la Conferencia General mas reciente, por el Elder Robert D. Hales del quorum de los doce apostoles. Y esta parte me llamo la atencion. [Yo se que esta largo, pero tambien yo se que es bien bonita.]

Yo se que nuestro Padre Celestial tiene un plan para mi. Y se que El tiene un plan para usted. Y para cada uno de Sus hijos.
A veces solo nos toma un tiempo para averiguar lo que es. O aceptar su voluntad sobre la nuestra. O creer que nuestras pruebas nos hacen mas fuertes.
Pero se que se puede hacer.
Y confie en mi, no soy perfecta. Pero he llegado a saber que vivendo con sus imperfecciones es mucho mas facil cuando usted sabe el cuadro grande.
[... o si no lo puedo ver, al menos, sabemos que si, hay uno. Le prometo.]

__________________________________________________________________________


Ok. So I'm generally an indecisive person.
But really.
I'm the kind of person who wishes that the only decision they ever had to make is what kind of dressing to put on their salad.
[..because sometimes that's a big deal...]

But here I am, on a mission.

So, if I have the world's hardest time making decisions,
how did I get here?
Trust me, sometimes I ask myself that same question.
Multiple times a day.
Because it amazes me so much.

I could tell you that it was always a plan I had.
But it wasn't.
I could tell you that it was because missionaries taught my family.
But that's not all of it.
I could tell you a million different reasons--fake or true.
But it all really comes down to one answer.
I'm here because I trust in the plan that my Heavenly Father has for me personally. And that plan includes me being here. Exactly where He needs me.
Let's be honest.
Sometimes I think that it's definitely a trial of faith to take every step that's required.
But someone once told me that we should expect the miracle. Not the trial of our faith.
Be suprised when things go wrong. Not when they go right.
And then, when they do go wrong, we can have confidence that it's all part of The Plan anyway.

I was reading this talk from this past General Conference by Elder Robert D. Hales of the quorum of the twelve apostles and this part called my attention. [I know it's long. But it's great.]

I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for me. And I know that He has a plan for you. And for every single one of His children.
Sometimes it just takes us a while to figure out what it is. Or to accept His will over ours. Or believe that our trials will make us stronger.
But I know that it can be done.
And trust me, I'm not perfect. But I've come to find that living with your imperfections is a lot easier when you know the big picture.
[...or if you can't quite see it, at least know that there is one. I promise.]

I have often pondered, Why is it that the Son of God and His holy prophets and all the faithful Saints have trials and tribulations, even when they are trying to do Heavenly Father’s will? Why is it so hard, especially for them?

I think about Joseph Smith, who suffered illness as a boy and persecution throughout his life. Like the Savior, he cried out, “O God, where art thou?”¹¹ Yet even when he was seemingly alone, he exercised his agency to wait upon the Lord and carry out his Heavenly Father’s will.

I think of our pioneer forebears, driven from Nauvoo and crossing the plains, exercising their agency to follow a prophet even as they suffered sickness, privation, and some even death. Why such terrible tribulation? To what end? For what purpose?

As we ask these questions, we realize that the purpose of our life on earth is to grow, develop, and be strengthened through our own experiences. How do we do this? The scriptures give us an answer in one simple phrase: we “wait upon the Lord.”¹² Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son. He already knows, and we have the opportunity to learn, that no matter how difficult our circumstances, “all these things shall [be for our] experience, and … [our] good.”¹³

Does this mean we will always understand our challenges? Won’t all of us, sometime, have reason to ask, “O God, where art thou?”¹⁴ Yes! When a spouse dies, a companion will wonder. When financial hardship befalls a family, a father will ask. When children wander from the path, a mother and father will cry out in sorrow. Yes, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”¹⁵ Then, in the dawn of our increased faith and understanding, we arise and choose to wait upon the Lord, saying, “Thy will be done.”¹⁶

What, then, does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end.

To wait upon the Lord means planting the seed of faith and nourishing it “with great diligence, and … patience.”¹⁷

It means praying as the Savior did—to God, our Heavenly Father—saying: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.”¹⁸ It is a prayer we offer with our whole souls in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Waiting upon the Lord means pondering in our hearts and “receiv[ing] the Holy Ghost” so that we can know “all things what [we] should do.”¹⁹

As we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we discover that “tribulation worketh patience”²⁰ and we learn to “continue in patience until [we] are perfected.”²¹

Muchas veces he reflexionado preguntándome: ¿Por qué tienen pruebas y tribulaciones el Hijo de Dios, Sus santos profetas y todos los santos fieles aun cuando tratan de hacer la voluntad del Padre Celestial? ¿Por qué es tan difícil, especialmente para ellos?
Pienso en José Smith, que sufrió enfermedades cuando era niño y persecución durante toda su vida. Igual que el Salvador, él también exclamó: “Oh Dios, ¿en dónde estás?”¹¹. Sin embargo, aun cuando parecía estar solo, ejerció su albedrío para esperar en el Señor y llevar a cabo la voluntad de su Padre Celestial.
Pienso en nuestros antepasados pioneros, expulsados de Nauvoo y atravesando las praderas, ejerciendo su albedrío para seguir a un profeta a pesar de sufrir enfermedades, privaciones e incluso, algunos, la muerte. ¿Por qué tan terrible tribulación? ¿Con qué fin? ¿Con qué propósito?

Al hacernos esas preguntas, nos damos cuenta de que el propósito de nuestra vida terrenal es crecer, desarrollarnos y fortalecernos por medio de nuestras propias experiencias. ¿Y cómo lo hacemos? Las Escrituras nos dan la respuesta en una sencilla frase: nosotros “espera[mos] en Jehovᔹ². A todos se nos dan pruebas y aflicciones; estas dificultades del ser mortal nos demuestran, a nosotros y a nuestro Padre Celestial, si somos o no capaces de ejercer el albedrío para seguir a Su Hijo. Él ya lo sabe y nosotros tenemos la oportunidad de aprender que, no obstante lo difícil de nuestras circunstancias, “todas estas cosas [nos] servirán de experiencia, y serán para [nuestro] bien”¹³.
¿Quiere decir que siempre entenderemos nuestras dificultades? ¿No tendremos todos, de vez en cuando, razón para preguntar: “Oh Dios, ¿en dónde estás?”¹⁴. ¡Sí! Cuando muere un cónyuge, su compañero se hará la pregunta; cuando una familia sufre privación económica, el jefe de familia se la hará también; cuando los hijos se apartan del camino, la madre y el padre la exclamarán con dolor. Sí, “Por la noche durará el llanto, y a la mañana vendrá la alegría”¹⁵. Entonces, en el amanecer de mayor fe y entendimiento, nos levantaremos para esperar en el Señor diciendo: “Hágase tu voluntad”¹⁶.
Entonces, ¿qué quiere decir esperar en el Señor? En las Escrituras, la palabra esperar significa tener esperanza, aguardar y confiar. Tener esperanza y confianza en el Señor requiere fe, paciencia, humildad, mansedumbre, conformidad, guardar los mandamientos y perseverar hasta el fin.
Esperar en el Señor significa plantar la semilla de la fe y nutrirla “con gran diligencia y paciencia”¹⁷.
Significa orar como lo hizo el Salvador, a Dios, nuestro Padre Celestial, diciendo: “Venga tu reino. Hágase tu voluntad”¹⁸. Es una oración que ofrecemos con toda nuestra alma, en el nombre de nuestro Salvador Jesucristo.
Esperar en el Señor significa meditarlo en nuestro corazón y “reci[bir] el Espíritu Santo para saber “todas las cosas que deb[emos] hacer”¹⁹.
Al seguir las impresiones del Espíritu, descubrimos que “la tribulación produce paciencia”²⁰ y aprendemos a “continua[r] con paciencia hasta perfeccionar[nos]”²¹.

thoughts of a friend. [pensamientos de un amigo.]

Today I got a letter from a friend of mine who is also serving a mission. Except he's in Botswana.
[Don't know where Botswana is? It's ok. I didn't either. It's the country north of South Africa.]

This letter really hit me a lot and I know that it could have the same affect on some of you.
So I'm going to share with you the thoughts of a friend.

"With all these trials going on with me in the mission, I know that I'm not the same as when I left. The mission is so hard! If my parents promised to buy me a car if I went of a mission and that's all I was doing it for, I wouldn't go. Because even if I did, I wouldn't stay! It's not about that. And it's worth way more. Way more than anything with a price tag. The mission is changing my life because I'm letting it! And that's worth it! I'm slowly becoming the man I want to be, and it's all because I'm serving the Lord."

I realized a lot of things when I read that.
The most obvious being that missions change our lives. If we let them. And even if you're not a missionary, or even a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you have a mission to fulfill. We all do. Because we're all children of God. And He has placed us where He needs us so we can do what He needs us to do. I've come to notice, like this friend of mine, that when we serve the Lord and we do His will, we become who we're supposed to be.

I've also been really blessed in my life to have really incredible friends. Friends who love and respect me as a person and my beliefs. Friends who help me be a better person. Friends who help me be the person I'm supposed to be. Friends who say things like this

"Heavenly Father's plan is perfect! We were so silly to doubt so much." -bff ashley.

and make me realize how blessed I am to know the truth that I know.

And friends with thoughts like this that help others know that they have a Heavenly Father that loves them too.

Lucky huh?

I also remembered that it's when we're faced with trials and challenging times that we grow. As hard as it may be to endure or to wait, there is always a blessing that comes just around the corner. And we have a loving Heavenly Father who is always willing to help us out if we look to Him and if we do our part.

“When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer—no matter how eloquent the oration.” -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Point is, when we look to the Lord in all that we do, let Him mold us, remember our blessings, our friends, and that there is always a miracle that comes after the trial of our faith, we can always have the strength to smile.

_______________________________________________________________________

Hoy recibi una carta de uno de mis amigos que esta serviendo una mision ahora tambien. Pero el esta en Botswana.
[No sabe donde esta Botswana? Esta bien. Yo no sabia tampoco. Esta norte de Sur Africa.]

Esta carta me pego bien fuerte y se que podria tener el mismo efecto en usted.
Entonces, voy a compartir con usted los pensamientos de un amigo.

"Con todas estas pruebas, pasando conmigo en la mision, yo se que no soy el mismo que cuando me fui. La mision es tan difícil! Si mis padres prometieron que me compre un coche si me fui de una mision y eso es todo lo que estaba haciendo para, yo no iria. Porque incluso si lo hiciera, no me quedaria! No se trata de eso. Y vale la pena muchisimo mas. Mucho mas que cualquier cosa con una etiqueta de precio. La mision es cambiar mi vida porque lo estoy dejando! Y que vale la pena! Estoy convirtiendo en el hombre que quiero ser, y todo porque estoy sirviendo al Senor."

Me di cuenta de muchas cosas cuando lei eso.
La mas obvia es que las misiones cambian nuestras vidas. Si los permitimos. E incluso si no es un miembro de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias, tiene un mision para cumplir. Todos de nosotros lo tenemos. Porque todos somos hijos de Dios y El nos ha colocado donde El nos necesita para que podamos hacer lo que El necesita que hagamos. He llegado a notar, como este amigo mio, que cuando servimos al Senor y hacer su voluntad, nos convertimos en lo que se supone que debemos ser.
Tambien he sido muy bendecida en mi vida para tener amigos que realmente son increible. Amigos que se que me quieren y me respetan como persona. Y que respetan mis creencias tambien. Amigos que me ayudan a ser una persona mejor. Amigos que me ayudan a ser la persona que se supone que soy. Amigos que dicen cosas como asi,

"El plan de nuestro Padre Celestial es perfecto! Estabamos bien tontas para dudar tanto." -bff ashley.

y ayudar me realizar que estoy super bendicida porque tengo la verdad de este evangelio.

Y amigos con pensamientos como este que ayudan a los demas sepan  que tienen un Padre Celestial que los ama.

Suerte eh?

Tambien recorde que cuando nos enfrentamos a pruebas y momentos dificiles, que estamos creciendo. Puede ser dificil para esperar, pero siempre hay una bendicion que viene a la vuelta de la esquina. Y tenemos un amoroso Padre Celestial que esta siempre dispuesto a ayudarnos si nos fijamos en el, y si nosotros hacemos nuestra parte.

"Cuando nuestro vagon se queda atascado en el barro, Dios es mucho mas probable para ayudar al hombre que sale para empujar que el hombre que solo levanta su voz en oracion, no importa cuan elocuente la oracion." -Presidente Dieter F. Uchtdorf

El punto es, cuando miramos al Senor en todo lo que hacemos, dejar que El nos molde, recordar nuestras bendiciones, nuestros amigos, y que siempre hay un milagro que se produce despues de la prueba de nuestra fe, siempre podemos tener la fuerza para sonreirnos.

disciple.

"He aqui, soy discipulo do Jesucristo, el Hijo de dios. He sido llamado por el para declarar su palabra entre los de su pueblo, a fin de que alcancen la vida eterna."

-3 Nefi 5:13

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."

-3 Nephi 5:13

Last night we set our second baptismal date of the week.

It was basically amazing.

Diana is amazing.

I wish that I had as much trust and faith at 16 as she does.
It's been a long road, but she got there.
Her and her little sister are getting baptized in a month.
And a week later her family is getting sealed in the temple.

That's what this is all about.

Eternity.

Families.

Covenants with God.

Happiness.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
And how great is my calling.

why we do what we do.

It's simple.

As missionaries, we do what we do [teach the restored gospel, pray, study, ride some bikes, have some fun, bring people unto Christ] because we know the truth. It makes us happy.We want other people to be happy like we are. We want them to have the same opportunity to return to our Heavenly Father that we have. And the more of our brothers and sisters have that, the happier we'll all be.

It's that simple.

Everything worth it in life has to be worked for. Trust me when I say that there is no harder work than this, but also, that there is no more important work than this.
Joseph Smith was just a man, but he was called to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And I'm just a girl, but i've been called to preach it.

Christ lived a perfect life, he died for us, and he lives again.
That is why our message matters.

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is a special book. A book truer than anything else. A book that can change more lives than any other single thing. That is why we share it.

My testimony is simple. But,
I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that he suffered and died for the trials, sadnesses, illnesses and sins for everyone that has lived, lives and will ever live. And I know that also rings true for me personally.
I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet called of God and I know that he translated the Book of Mormon by power from Him.
I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know it because I've read it. And I know it because I've prayed and asked. I know it's true and I love it.

That is why we're missionaries.