The Light of Christ

As we look at the Doctrine of Christ, What is the relationship between the ordinance of baptism and the tandem gifts of the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost?


I am so grateful to know that we are each children of a Loving Heavenly Father and because of that, we have each been given the light of Christ to direct our path and lead the way. We each naturally know what is right and what is wrong because of the Light of Christ. The ordinance of baptism helps us receive the Holy Ghost which gives us even more direction than the light of Christ.

What is the role of the Holy Ghost, how does it differ from the Light of Christ? What can you do to increase the Holy Ghost's ability to be a constant companion to you. 

The role of the Holy Ghost is to guide, prompt, and warn and is the third member of the Godhead. The Holy Ghost is different because He is a literal being that can dwell inside of each of us and helps us be cleansed from sin. The best way to ensure that the Holy Ghost is our constant companion is through staying on the Lord's side through simple acts like reading the scriptures, prayer, going to church, and resisting temptation.


The light of Christ is there to help us make good decisions in order to receive the Holy Ghost.




What role does enduring to the end play in your ability to be lead by the Holy Ghost?
Enduring to the end encompasses why we do everything in this church. Without enduring to the end, we would be considered lazy and without the spirit because the spirit can only strive with those who are striving for perfection. Enduring to the end doesn't just mean to simply make it by, but it means to fight on the Lord's side and never give up no matter how rough the road may seem.

Lesson 6: Putting it All Together

         Infidelity: It may be in our genes

     I have found this article in the time magazine to be somewhat disturbing as it proves the point that our world is becoming more and more numb to the idea of a lasting marriage and the hopes of obtaining one. Satan is a genius when it comes to knowing how to make people feel miserable and hopeless. We simply cannot believe such a magazine title as this one shown in Time Magazine.

        The Book of Mormon is a great resource for finding examples of truth or light and also examples of wickedness or abomination.  There are some evil people in The Book of Mormon and I would like to review one of them with you today. His name was Korihor.

        This man did not believe in Jesus Christ and tried to convince others to go against Him. He was seeking for signs and even tempted God to show unto Him a sign. Robert D. Hales said the following about Korihor:

 "Korihor was not content merely to reject God and quietly go his own way. He mocked the believers and demanded that the prophet Alma convince him with a sign of God’s existence and power."

(https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/seeking-to-know-god-our-heavenly-father-and-his-son-jesus-christ?lang=eng)

 After feeling Godly sorrow towards this evil man, Alma, a wonderful missionary in The Book of Mormon said the following to Korihor:

 "But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction, by thy lying and by thy flattering words; therefore if thou shalt deny again, behold God shall smite thee, that thou shalt become dumb, that thou shalt never open thy mouth any more, that thou shalt not deceive this people any more" (Alma 30:47).

 God surely did by making it so Korihor could no longer speak. It was only after this rude (and much needed) awakening that Korihor admitted that he was wrong and said:

"...I know that nothing save it were the power of God could bring this upon me; yea, and I always knew that there was a God.  But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say..." (Alma 30:52-53)

Now, can we see a similarity between a man like Korihor and our media that we have today? The Time Magazine title is a perfect example of how Satan can make bad things look good and good things look bad. He tries to convince us that marriage is not worth it and that husbands and wives are never loyal to one another. Korihor was deceived and we need to be careful to not fall into that trap. 

May we each take the time every day to realize what is important. We need to put God first in all that we do and pray for the ability to resist temptation. We need to stand tall and never shrink. As it says in Romans 8:31, "If God be for us, WHO can be against us?" (Emphasis added) 

The answer to that scripture? 

 NO ONE!!!! WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE HIM ON OUR SIDE.

 

 

Sweet HOME Alabama

I don't even know how to begin this email. This has been the fastest year and a half of my whole life. Where did it all go? I was going to begin and end my email  by typing the scripture found in 2 John 1:12 which says, "Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full." and have that be it....

HAHAHA isn't that scripture hilarious????? I figured that would be enough to say, but then again, it's my last time writing an email to y'all so I guess I better try to make it good. :) 

This past week was pretty grand. It was a mix of emotions and I stressed myself out too much that I am now not feeling well.Sore throat. Headache. Stuffy nose. YUM.  I will just blame it on the bipolar weather.... So grateful it has been only my SECOND time ever getting sick on the mission. What a blessing! 

 We continued to work hard and not stay inside our house because that would be silly. 

I will just tell y'all all the sweet tender mercies that happened: 

-Beverly took us out on a team up. Beverly is the sweetest woman on this planet and is 30 and has never been married. After meeting with one of our investigators named Reid, we got back in the car and she said, "Y'all needa convert him." IT WAS HILARIOUS. WE WERE LAUGHING SO HARD!!!!! 

-We made pecan pie with a less active lady in our ward. Oh. It turned out AMAZING! It was so cute because the lady kept showing us all of these tricks and she was very excited for us to come over and learn from her. Pecan pie is SO easy to make. So excited to make it all the time with y'all!!!! I have been wanting to make it my whole mission so yes, it was a tender mercy. 

-Rosemary is a less active lady in our ward who is less active because of her poor health. We had the opportunity to make her dinner one night and the look in her eyes when she saw us was priceless. She was so excited and it was the cutest thing ever. She kept saying to us, "y'all need to fix ya some puddin to eat so we can all eat together!" We were able to read some scriptures with her and she was so grateful. Even though she lies in a bed all day long, she still serves those around her and is still happy. What a great example!!!!

-Church yesterday was simply AMAZING!!!!! Wanna know something cool? CONNIE CAME TO CHURCH!!! She is our investigator who just moved here to wetumpka from Clanton. How fun is that? It's a full circle!!! She loved it. During fast and testimony meeting, Joe got up to bear his testimony. Joe's mom recently passed away (the judge of wetumpka's wife). I looked over at Joe's dads face and his jaw was dropped as he listened intently to what Joe was about to say. Joe got up and said, "I never get up here. I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for my mom. I am representing her today because she can't be here right now. I miss her so much. I know God lives and that Jesus Christ lives. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." The bishop then stood up on the pulpit and embraced Joe with tears strolling down his cheeks. I started bawling and I looked over at Sister Calamity and she said, "look around. There isn't a dry eye in this chapel." EVERYONE WAS CRYING. Oh my goodness. It was such a tender mercy. 

-while tracting, Sister Calamity and I shared some scriptures from The Book of Mormon with a lady named Becky. As Sister Calamity was reading the scripture, I quickly gazed up at Becky's face and saw her face drastically change from a smile to tears. After Sister Calamity was done, Becky said, "Oh my goodness. You two are sent from God! I really needed that today. Thank you. How did y'all know I needed that? Will y'all come back please?" Ah. Heavenly Father is so aware!!! 

-This past week, I prayed to have at least one more experience of a classic southern encounter with someone about religion. We tracted into a Jehovah's Witness lady and that was my answered prayer. hahahah The lady sat us down and talked with us for 40 minutes straight about how God is Jehovah and how Eve is evil for partaking of the fruit and how we would have lived in a perfect world if it wasn't for Eve. Ha. Moments like that just strengthen my testimony so much!!!!! I finally just said, "That is why I am so grateful for this book right here. The Book of Mormon. It helps us know the answers of why it was important for Eve to partake of the fruit and what our true purpose is here on earth." After I said that, Sister Calamity bore a strong testimony and the lady just changed the subject and read a random story with us from the book of Judges. SO FUNNY!!!! 

-We taught people at a laundry mat at 8 at night. We walked in and said, "HEY! We are sharing uplifting messages with everyone!!!! What do y'all feel like your purpose is in life?" They blankly stared at us and then said, "Shouldn't y'all be inside? Isn't it a bit late for y'all to be going around and doing this?" We laughed and said no and then had a discussion with them about scriptures and their purpose in life. So wonderful. Missionary work is the best!!!! 

And now for the unfortunate event... (there is only 1). 

-Remember the cool story about Matt and the rain in my last email???? Well... We went over there again and he didn't answer. So we kept trying with him and finally he answered and he was completely wasted. It was SO SAD!!!! He told us that we didn't need to come back and that he wasn't interested anymore. ONE DAY HE WILL MEET MISSIONARIES AGAIN AND CHANGE HIS LIFE!!! 

 All I know is that I am SO grateful for this mission. So grateful for Alabama. I love these people so much and I truly didn't come to teach them, they taught me. It still hasn't quite hit me that I am going home. I still feel like I will be here for another 6 months. I hope that I don't come home being a missionary, but I hope that I come home being a DISCIPLE of Jesus Christ. 

I'm so grateful for my awesome companions that I have had. I have learned SO much from each one of them and they will each be lifelong friends of mine. 

Heavenly Father is SO amazing and I would need a good week to tell y'all what I have learned on my mission. Get ready for me to talk about it for the next year or so. Yes. I will probably be one of those annoying RM's that can't stop talking about their mission. I NOW understand them. 

In my studies this morning, I was pondering about the major things I have learned on my mission/needed to learn. A big theme that kept coming to mind was that of Jesus Christ and how He wants to make us WHOLE. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." 

We must let our old bad habits pass away and allow new, better habits to shape us into what Heavenly Father wants us to be. 

I also like the scripture found in Alma 23:7. What "weapons" are we willing to put down for the Lord and for our fellow men? What are we willing to do to allow the Lord to be in our lives more? Only by consecrating ourselves, will we be made WHOLE. 

I love the story of Jesus healing an "impotent" man on the sabbath near the pool of water. Jesus went up to the man who had an infirmity 38 years and said, "Wilt thou be made whole?" The man replied saying, "when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me." So basically, the man is saying, "AH! I can't do it!!! There are people who beat me to the water every time and only the first person to reach the water can be healed." Jesus Christ doesn't care about who is first, he just cares that we all become whole. Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." 

"Immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked." (John 5:5-9)

I have felt the cleansing and enabling power of the Atonement on this mission. I have felt the touch of our Saviors hand lift me up and gently tell me to walk and keep moving forward. There have been times where I just want to scream and times where I just wanted to talk to my family and times where I just wanted a hug and times where I felt completely alone. I caught myself saying, "why me?" or "why is this happening?" on my mission a lot, but as I have looked back on those experiences, I can now say the answer to all of the "why's" I had. How grateful I am for the opportunity to walk side by side with the Savior and to know that He wants us to rise up every time we fall. Jesus Christ's atonement is there for us whether we think we are worthy of it or not. It's simply always there. 

 I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who wants to make us better each day. He wants to bind up our broken hearts and heal each one of us. 

We always read in the scriptures how Jesus stands at the door and knocks. Are we willing to open and let Him in? HOW do we let Him in? Jesus Christ also always invites us to abide in Him and the Father. That is another thing I have learned on my mission; how to truly let Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ into my life and let them stay. I have learned that the best way to pray is on your knees. EVERY chance you get to do so. Heavenly Father wants to hear from us and He wants to know how we are doing. Even if it's just to hear about the yummy cookie that you ate. We need to also read the scriptures and learn more of Him to let Him in. 

 I have learned that this gospel is for everyone; no matter what you look like or what you've been through or how much money you have. Being in the south is truly a whole other world. I have had the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and education. It is such a humbling experience to see how the gospel can bless each of them in such different ways. It's great to see that the gospel can help one who can't even read as much as it helps a rocket scientist. 

I have learned that obedience and sacrifice brings forth miracles. Why go on a mission to mess around and slack off? I'm grateful to know that I served an honorable mission. Obedience is the first law of heaven and we promised we would do our best to be obedient. 

I have learned the importance of MEMBER missionary work. My mission will not end here. It will continue on and I'm so happy for that. We don't need badges to be missionaries and my family is a great example of that. 

I have learned how important my family is. I'm so grateful for each of y'all so much. I have the best family ever. I really really do. We get along so well. There are so many broken up families and it is quite depressing to see how they treat one another. WE ARE SO BLESSED! 

I have learned to look for the positive things in life and stop focusing on the bad. There is so much evil in this world that people try to focus on, but why not just focus on the good? I have learned this lesson from the people here in Alabama. They are all God fearing people and each one of them will humbly tell us that they are just glad to be alive and see another day that God has blessed them with. :) 

I could go on and on!!!! SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS MISSION AND FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!!!!! 

I love y'all so much and I can't wait to see each of you and your smiling faces soon :) so crazy. I am going to be very awkward. It's just a warning. 

In other news...

-***After telling a less active family that I was leaving**** the teenage girl says, "I expect three kids by the end of next year from you." #nonono

-That moment when we have breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner appointments tomorrow because I'm leaving. 

-Did y'all share your testimony yesterday? 

-You betcha the first music I'm going to listen to is T-swifts new album. Some things never change. 

-WE HAVE TO GO EAT AT PANDA EXPRESS AS WELL. THEY DON'T HAVE ANY IN ALABAMA. THEY ONLY HAVE MCDONALDS AND KFC HERE. 

-I don't want to click the "send" button on this email. SO SAD. ugh. I will make a blog. NOT the "wholoveshilaryduff" one. hahaha 

SEE Y'ALL IN 3 DAYS. WHAAAAAAATTT????? so excited :) 

MYKY, 

Sister Platt

Testimony+Spirit=Power

I really can't put into words how I feel right now. It is the strangest thing to think that I will be going home in a little over a week. I hate it, but just like my mother says, "God puts limitations on time for a reason". It's hard to explain how much us missionaries just grow to love a place. I never thought I would love a place like Alabama as much as I do. I am obsessed with every bit of it. It's so funny because when we meet people, they say, "why are you serving here in boring ole' alabama and not in Africa?" In which we respond saying, "WE LOVE IT HERE AND WOULDN'T BE ANYWHERE ELSE." 

It's also hard to put into words how difficult this mission has been. Oh, it has been SO HARD, but oh my goodness, it has been the best 18 months of my life. I have learned that discouragement is one of the devils BIG tools. I have learned that the only secret to missionary work IS work. We can only be happy if we are doing God's will without wrestling with Him about His will. He knows us best!!!! So grateful for Alabama. ROLL TIDE. 

This past week was wonderful! Ah. Life is so good. So grateful for the testimony we gain as members of the church. I have seen my testimony grow in leaps and bounds!!!! This week, I would like to focus on testimony and how it can bring a big change of heart. That was definitely the "theme" for us this past week :) We are working so hard and I'm so grateful for that. I want to come home on a stretcher. I really do. 

Brother Russell: We met Brother Russell for the FIRST time this past week. He is less active and hasn't been back to church since he was a teenager. The address next to his name on the roster is wrong, but we felt like he lived on a street that had a different spelling than the one on the roster. if that makes sense. ANYWAY. We drove up next to the home that we thought was his and HE WAS OUTSIDE! We talked to him for a good 30 minutes!! He told us that he wants to get his daughter to a church and asked us where the nearest mormon church was. When we told him where it was, he said, "you've got to be kidding me. It's right down the street??? SO CRAZY! yeah. I'm interested in going again once I learn more about it. I have forgotten a lot about it's teachings." We gave him a copy of The BOM and he said he would read it!!! :) yay!!!! 

Pansy: We had another lesson with Pansy and taught her the Plan of Salvation. We felt inspired to focus on the spirit world and where her husband is who just passed away. We read 1 Peter 4:6 with her and after reading it, she said, "WHOA. Read that again! So many people have been trying to comfort me during this time in my life and all of the scriptures that they send me are great, but that one brings me the most comfort! To just know what he is doing right now!!!!" yup. This gospel is so perfect. It has the answers!!!! Pansy goes to a church in Prattville and she refuses to leave it because that is the church she went to for the first time with her husband and the preacher told her that God led her to his church, but I think as we continue to meet with her and as she realizes what this gospel will do for her, she will change :) 

Joe and Sharee: We met them while tracting and they let us right in. As we sat down, Joe says to us, "Just so y'all know, I am strong in my beliefs as a Catholic and grew up in the Catholic faith my whole life." We just smiled and asked him more about what he believed. As the conversation went forward, Joe started to inch his way closer and closer to the couch and then said, "Well, I guess I will listen to what y'all have to say. I've heard a lot about mormons, but never from actual mormons so go for it." We taught them the restoration and they both agreed on everything and kept saying, "well yeah. that makes sense." and then they asked us for a copy of The Book of Mormon!!! So exciting!!!! We are meeting with them again tonight! 

Keke: We went on exchanges with the Millbrook sisters and I went on an exchange with Sister Downs in Millbrook (fun fact: I went on my FIRST exchange on my mission in Millbrook while serving in Clanton. FULL CIRCLE EH?)

We went tracting in a huge trailer park and met Keke. Keke told us that her niece is Mormon, but that she wasn't going to change/wasn't interested because she has been raised Baptist her whole life. We didn't know what to say at first, and then we just decided to bare testimony to her of how the gospel has blessed our lives. After we were done bearing testimony to her, she said, "well. I guess I will take one of y'alls books." IT WAS SO COOL. THE SPIRIT WORKS IN CONVERSION Y'ALL. 

Les: Sister Calamity and I were at a gas station filling up our car. The machine at the gas pump told us that we needed to go inside to get our receipt. We saw this as an opportunity that Heavenly Father gave us to find someone at the gas station to teach. No one was inside the actual store, but as we were walking out, we saw a guy walking in and we said, "HEY! We are representatives of Jesus Christ. Can we share an uplifting message with you right quick?" He laughed because we were super enthusiastic and it was 8:30 at night and he probably thought we were crazy. No. Not probably. He did think we were crazy. He said, "Y'all seem very happy. yes. I will listen to y'alls message. Let's go inside and get out of this cold!" (It was a very freezing day. Humidity kills.) AND GUESS WHAT?? THERE WAS A TABLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAS STATION STORE. HOW CONVENIENT, RIGHT??? We sat down and started talking to Les and he said, "Hey. Don't you think we should get something to drink? Y'all want some carrot juice?" After saying "no thank you" a couple of times, he insisted that he would buy us a drink. Gotta love southern hospitality. Well. I had some carrot juice while sister Calamity had some apple juice. I LOVED IT. I am still craving it right now as I type. Les converted me to carrot juice. 

Anyway, we taught him the restoration and the lesson went really really well!! Les is super funny and went off on random tangents, but we were able to control the lesson which was nice and he even asked us for a copy of The Book of Mormon! He lives out in the middle of nowhere and works A LOT which is kind of a bummer, but he said to come see him whenever we are in the area! BOOYAH. Heavenly Father blessed us so much that night. We were struggling with finding new areas to tract/finding new people to teach, but He just gave us Les to teach for the last 30 minutes of the night!!!! :) HE IS SO AWARE OF US!!!! 

Matt: Are y'all ready for the BEST experience ever that happened yesterday? Experiences like this make the hard times worth it. Experiences like this make me never want to come home. On saturday night, while sister Calamity and I were planning our day for Sunday, I said, "Sister! This may sound weird, but I have been thinking a lot about how we need to go tract the oaks apartments again. I feel like someone needs us there." Sister Calamity then responded, "I WAS JUST THINKING THE SAME THING!!!!!" (Sidenote: This apartment complex has been tracted out by missionaries a good million times and when we went tracting there before, everyone was mean to us.) So. There we were on Sunday in the POURING rain. Tracting the oaks apartments. Our shoes where soaked and my eyes were all blurred from the mascara getting into them. It was not a pretty sight, but we knew we needed to be there. I love rainy days because I feel like that is when the Lord blesses you most because it is awful to be outside. So there we were. Walking up and down several flights of stairs and just knocking and knocking. We saw two guys outside on their balcony and when we waved and said hello, they just started laughing and kinda mocked us as they went back inside. TALK ABOUT A GREAT AND SPACIOUS BUILDING SCENARIO. (1 Nephi 8:27) It made us a little upset, but more motivated. We kept knocking and then we saw the two guys who were outside before come outside again. They started yelling at us and said, "HEY! Why are y'all out in the rain? Go home!" We told them that we were out sharing a message that was worth the sacrifice of being out in the rain. The two men got a little quiet as they looked at one another and then back at us. They then said, "well. We would love to hear what you have to say!" We thought they were going to just be mean to us, but we went anyway and walked up the flight of stairs to meet them outside. The conversation we had with them about the gospel flowed VERY naturally and was totally guided and directed by the spirit. So grateful. One of the men was named Matt. He totally looked like GARY!!!! It was really weird to look him in the face because he looked so much like him. He was more interested in it than his friend kacey. the conversation we had with them was amazing and I wish it could have been recorded. It was totally the spirit who did all of the teaching. Here is basically how it went....

Matt: "So. What do you girls have to say about John Smith?"

Sister Calamity: "You mean Joseph Smith?"

Sister Platt: (jokingly) "yeah. We don't really talk about pocohantas's boyfriend that much, but we do talk about Joseph Smith!" 

Matt: "Well. What made him so special?"

We then started to explain the apostasy and the first vision/the need for a restoration.

Matt: "Why do y'all have another Bible?"

Sister Calamity: "We don't. We believe in the King James Version of the Bible, but we also believe in The Book of Mormon which is ANOTHER testament of Jesus Christ."

Sister Platt: "Yeah! The Book of Mormon is AMAZING! It helps us draw even closer to Jesus Christ and provides so much peace and so many answers to questions that we have about life." 

Matt: "Where are the gold plates then? Why are they not here anymore?" 

Sister Platt: "Where would faith exist if we could see the gold plates? God has always worked by faith throughout the scriptures. Would you agree?"

Matt: "Yes. That does make sense. But why did Joseph Smith claim he was a prophet?"

Sister Calamity: "We know that men don't choose to be prophets. A random guy on the street can't just decide one day that he wants to be a prophet. Joseph Smith was called by God."

Sister Platt: "Do you believe that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever?" 

Matt: "yes. The Bible does say that." 

Sister Platt: "Yes. Exactly. We believe that as well. If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, why wouldn't He call Joseph Smith to be a prophet?" 

Matt: "Where is y'alls church located? I really am interested in going." 

We then bore testimony to him even more of how the gospel can bless his life. HE WAS SO INTO IT. He literally just ate up everything that we said. The spirit was strong and we have a return appointment with him for this week!!! It was a BIG change of heart!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED! 

He asked us for a copy of The Book of Mormon before we left and he started to read it as we were writing down his information in our planners!!! :) SO COOL. I KNOW THAT THE SPIRIT IS THE MOST POWERFUL TOOL WE HAVE AS MISSIONARIES AND THAT IT CHANGES PEOPLES HEARTS!!!! 

"And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the (baptists) Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name." 

So how can y'all use the spirit and your testimonies more? 

-Read the scriptures

-Pray

-Go to church AND BEAR your testimony AT church. DO IT!!!! I would like to invite y'all to just bear your testimony this upcoming fast and testimony meeting. I KNOW that you will be blessed for doing so. I will follow up with y'all next week to see how it went!!!!! DO IT. DO IT RIGHT. DO IT RIGHT NOW. 

I love y'all so much and I love this work. It is all SO WORTH IT. Holy cow, I have learned so so so so so so so much! SO MANY LIFE LESSONS!!!!!! 

In other news...

-Met a lady and her daughter... The moms name was MAMIE and the daughters name was ANNIE! I was freaking out. That never happens

-Sister Calamity and I made a promise with each other that we would stay away from walmart this week. It's my dying wish. 

-You know you're a missionary in the south when a lady in the ward cancels an appointment with you because she is too busy celebrating her dogs birthday. 

-So we went back to a lady's house who said we could come back right? We knock on her door. She answers and says, "Hey girls! Can you come back in an hour when my kids are home so you can teach them as well?" we excitingly say sure! we go back. We knock on the door three times and hear kids running, BUT NO ONE CAME TO THE DOOR. ugh. If you don't want us back, just TELL US!

-Sister Downs and I tracted into a sweet hispanic woman who didn't know any english! She motioned for us to come in. Sister Downs took french in high school and I took ASL so It was HILARIOUS. The lady kept talking to us in spanish and she went a million miles an hour with her talking and she thought we could understand. I kept saying, "lo siento" which is the only thing I have learned in spanish which just means, "sorry" hahahahah The hispanic lady was laughing soooo hard and tears started to flow from her face because she was laughing so hard. Oh my. it was so awkward. We gave her an El libro de mormon!!! 

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYDON ON THE 27TH WOOT WOOT. THANKS FOR YOUR LETTER. I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW IT IN THE MAIL. My first reaction was, "what boy is writing me? this is boy hand writing and no boys ever write me!" and then I saw your name and squealed like a little girl. Thanks bro. 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND GO BARE/BEAR (DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE IT IS. OOPS.) Y'ALLS TESTIMONY. YOU CAN DO IT. GO OUT WITH THE MISSIONARIES. SHARE IT ON FACEBOOK. ON INSTA. ON TWITTER. ON WHATEVER PEOPLE ARE DOING THESE DAYS!!!!! AND SHARE IT AT CHURCH THIS SUNDAY! I BELIEVE IN Y'ALL!!!!!! 

MYKY,

Sister Platt

The Power of Deliverance

Deliver: verb de·liv·er.  to do what you say you will do or what people expect you to do : to produce the promised, wanted, or expected results

This past week was a little bit rough. And when I say a little bit, I mean a lot!!! BUT HEAVENLY FATHER WAS ABLE TO DELIVER US JUST AS HE ALWAYS DOES. (Alma 36:27) <---One of my favorites.

I will just lay out all of the things that went wrong. It is honestly quite hilarious now to think about what happened. Sister Calamity just kept telling me, "It's because of my last name that all of these things are happening! It's a curse Sister Platt." hahahahahahah It was great.

1.) I will first start by talking about how I got pulled over for the FIRST time in my life. Reason? Because our bike rack is covering the license plate. Just so y'all know, EVERY CAR in our mission has a bike rack that covers the license plate numbers. Luckily, we only got a warning. Right after, we took the bike rack off and placed it in the trunk. I scratched my finger and now I have a gnarly scab on it. yum. SO ROUGH. AND to make it even better, a member (sister Robinson) totally drove and stopped right next to us while we were waiting for the cop to write out a form and she was just laughing hysterically and asked us what we did wrong. WE WERE INNOCENT.

2.) Sister Calamity has been having some problems with sleeping at night and has other health problems. (bless her heart). She is such a stud and works through it, but one night, it was bugging her a lot and she just didn't look good. Her eyes were drooped and she refused to stop working. I finally just said, "WE HAVE TO GO TO THE DOCTOR. Let's go!!!!" So we did just that. I waited in the waiting room for over an hour and a half and just read The BOM because there was no one in there to talk with :( Poor Sister Calamity...

3.) All of our investigators that we thought were promising are not keeping their commitments. It is just so comical now. For example, one of our investigators said that she would be available at 8 pm on Friday night. We go over there. Her brother answers the door and says, "Oh. She just started her job and just barely left."

We had made an appointment with another guy for Saturday. We knock on the door. His mom answers and says, "He is never home on Saturdays! He spends Saturdays in Montgomery with his girlfriend!"

AND remember when I talked about Kris in my last email? We went over to her house for our appointment and no one was there. We called her as we were standing outside of her home and said, "Hey Kris! We thought we had an appointment with you, but no one is answering the door." All we could hear in the background was loud music and she couldn't hear us and she told us she would call us back. She never did. It is just so crazy to see how flakey people can be. THERE IS DANDRUFF EVERYWHERE. If you don't want us to stop by and share a message, please, just let us know!!!!

4.) We got our phone stolen on Saturday night. Couldn't find it anywhere. Very very stressful.

Alma 29:12 "Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of bondage."

As we took a step back and looked at our week, we were truly able to see that God delivered us out of bondage!!!!!

AT LEAST we didn't get a ticket when we got pulled over.

AT LEAST sister Calamity was able to get the help she needed. Thank goodness for doctors. We found out today from the doctors that she is allergic to strawberries and raspberries. #random

AT LEAST we are sifting through our investigators to find those that are WILLING to keep commitments and ACT.

AT LEAST we had a spare phone that we found on top of our fridge and activated that one instead.

AT LEAST we have an AMAZING mission President who always knows what to say to make you feel like a million bucks. Literally, I am so grateful for President and Sister Hanks. I have heard from missionaries before that we are sometimes "called to the mission president" instead of called to a certain area that is perfect for you. Luckily, I was blessed with both a wonderful mission president AND a WONDERFUL SOUTHERN MISSION that I am obsessed with. SO GRATEFUL TO CLAIM THE SOUTH AS A PLACE THAT I LIVED IN FOR 7 AND A HALF YEARS.

"Sister Platt,

You will always be one of my heroes!

Keep searching for the elect.
You are making such an important difference in people's lives, (including your own.)

With all our Love,

President Hanks
Steadfast in Christ!"

What an answered prayer!!!! He is way too kind to us missionaries. God is a God of miracles and knows where to put us!!!! HE KNOWS HOW TO DELIVER US!!!!

Anyway, let's continue on to what else happened this past week....we were able to have a couple "Emmaus" experiences that have shaped our testimonies. So grateful.

We felt like we needed to go see a lady named Pansy who was a former investigator that the Elders told us to go see sometime. We went over there and she let us right in! Pansy is my inspiration. She is the strongest person I know. She is younger and has 2 kids and is pregnant with her 3rd. Her husband randomly passed away in his sleep just 3 weeks ago and she woke up during the middle of the night and she saw it all happen. She told us that she now just forces a smile on her face for her kids. It was the saddest story ever. I can't even imagine what she is going through. Especially being pregnant with their baby!!! She told us how she doesn't know what to believe in anymore and how she didn't see God's hand in her life. We mainly just listened to her and the spirit was SO THICK in that room. OH my goodness. Pansy started crying and said, "I can feel him here." I looked over at Sister Calamity and mouthed the words, "She needs a priesthood blessing." Sister Calamity mouthed back, "I know. That is what I was thinking too!" We told Pansy about the priesthood and how it can bless her. We are hopefully going to have the elders come by this upcoming week to give her one. We also talked with her about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how God is our LOVING Heavenly Father. How grateful we should be for the opportunity that we have to refer to God as Father. He knows us so well! We could just feel His love and concern for her and it was a beautiful experience. As we were about to leave, I was looking through my scriptures and found a bookmark that my mom gave me that had a quote about trials. It was absolutely perfect for her and so I gave it to her. YOU ARE SO INSPIRED MOM!!!!

We also went tracting in a really really really pretty area with houses all around a lake. Ah. It was wonderful. We felt like we were walking through a thick forest. Because we were. We walked down a random dirt road to a couple houses near the lake. We jokingly said to one another, "I bet these people have never had missionaries knock on their door." We met a man named Gene who had seen missionaries a couple of years ago. He reminded me SO much of Tom!!!! Oh. It made me so happy to talk with him. We said, "Hello! We are missionaries and we are out sharing a message that changes peoples lives." Gene was super open and said, "Well. It's a nice day outside so let's sit out here and I will listen to what y'all have to say." We began by asking him questions which later turned into a conversation about how Jesus Christ came to the America's. Gene said, "I always wondered about where y'all came up with that fascinating idea of Jesus coming to the Americas." We read 3 Nephi 11 with him which is a WONDERFUL chapter. Oh. It was so great to read it with him. We felt like little kids getting so excited about a candy bar or something. The spirit was really strong as we read from The Book of Mormon. Again, the spirit confirmed to me the truthfulness of that amazing book. At the end, we asked him what he thought of it and he said, "That was beautiful! Can I keep this?" SO GOLDEN!!! Only problem is: He goes out of town for work on the weekends so he can't make it to church, but once he starts to learn more and more, we are convinced that he will start coming :) As Sister Calamity and I were walking away from his home, the joy we beheld on our faces was priceless.

We are also teaching a lady named Connie who is FROM CLANTON!!! yes. yes. yes!!! She just moved here to Wetumpka about a month ago and is still looking for a church!!!! We have taught her a couple of lessons this past week which have been grand. She is so cute and so humble and can't read very well so we read to her and she asks a lot of good questions :) I am OBSESSED with her accent because it reminds me of good ole clanton.  She wanted to come to church yesterday, but she called right before and told us that she had the flu and she sounded awful on the phone so we know she wasn't lying!!! HOORAY!!!!

Alma 29: 10 "when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me."

Even if it is just the "few" who will listen at the end of the day, we are filled with JOY. I have learned SO much about noticing and remembering the little miracles throughout each day. I wish y'all could see what we go through every day here; the good and the bad. I am currently keeping a calendar that I write a miracle for each day. If we didn't, we would go crazy as missionaries. Not every week or day on the mission is going to be filled with golden people that are waiting for you to baptize them. Not every day is going to be filled with people answering their doors. Not every day is going to be filled with people who treat you respectively. Not every day will people accept what you have to say even after they have felt the spirit. Not every day will you find a new person to teach. BUT every day CAN BE filled with JOY if we look for the tender mercies of the Lord.

1 Nephi 1:20 basically sums up what The Book of Mormon is all about and also what OUR lives are all about.... "...I, Nephi, will showunto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

Do we see the tender mercies? Do we see how He has delivered us?

I love the people in the South because they understand this. It is so great because 90% of the people give the same answer to the question of "How has God blessed you in your life?" The answer? "He blesses me every day by just waking me up and letting me live another day."

Let us all have that attitude as we approach this week. I will do it as well. Life is such a beautiful thing. The Lord is able to deliver us through ANYTHING! Through the lost of a loved one, through getting pulled over, through catching the flu, through having investigators drop you, through ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!

. “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). INFORM YOUR FACE! <---- This is what President Hanks always says after reading this scripture. It's so true. WE are meant to have joy! SHOW IT BY SMILING!

In other news...

-We found a new neighborhood to tract behind the casino!!!!! We accidentally made a wrong turn and found it!!! MIRACLE!

-Found a new favorite scripture this morning in my studies... Philippians 3:2. Just the first line. Basically describes my whole mission. #bewareofthem #theyaresoannoying #especiallypitbulls

-I gave a talk yesterday! It went well! It's crazy how my nerves have calmed down A LOT when it comes to speaking. So grateful for the mission. #blessesyouinsomanyways

-Read about the "Casa De Macho" in dad's journal writings last night before bed. DAD IS SO HILARIOUS!!!! OH MY GOODNESS. HAHAHAHHAHA

-Our less active neighbor is coming to church again!!! yay!!!

-We called Dana on the phone (she is the less active who was in a tornado and lost her family) to ask her advice on how to give my talk and what I should say. It was the cutest thing ever because she got really excited and started to search for scriptures that I could use. oh. I love her so much. She has not been doing well (health wise) so she hasn't been able to make it to church, but she had us download all the lessons on her phone. She is so precious and such a good example to me!!!!

-Got a letter from Sister Stark in the mail who is from Russellville. LOVE HER.

-We knock on a door. A guy comes to the door. Looks at our badges and says, "Look. I'm a firmly rooted Presbyterian and have been going to that church down the street for over 40 years and y'all have just as good of a chance to change me as I do you. I don't mean to sound ugly, but I'm just not changing. okay?" SO CLASSIC. I LOVE IT. #thesouth

-We found a cute girl last night while tracting who said we could come back whenever this upcoming week! hooray!!!

-There was a Mardi Gras parade on Valentines day. What is Mardi Gras anyway? Still confused... THEY WERE SELLING FRIED ALLIGATOR TAILS for 8 bucks. Should've gone for it, but I didn't.

I LOVE EACH OF Y'ALL SO MUCH AND JUST WANT Y'ALL TO KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT THIS GOSPEL IS REAL. IT BRINGS PEACE. IT BRINGS COMFORT. IT BRINGS KNOWLEDGE. IT BRINGS CHANGE. IT BRINGS HAPPINESS. IT BRINGS DELIVERANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MYKY,

Sister Platt

As I have loved you, love one another

So sorry that I wasn't able to email yesterday. We had Zone Conference which WAS AMAZING!!!! So today is our pday!!!!!! 

Let's talk about zone conference first. Oh my goodness. I am obsessed with this mission and the people in it! I love President and Sister Hanks SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!! I had my first little break down during a musical number because I realized it would be my last zone meeting. Ugh. I hate it so much, but life goes on... 

ANYWAY, this is what we learned....

-Acts 5:29;38-42 Suffer shame for His name! Obey God rather than man.

-There is power in our name tags!!! People DO notice.

-"Assume the sale" Assume that members are just dying to go out with you on team ups!!! Don't let them say no!!!!! (y'all. Please work with the missionaries in your home ward. Show them you care and that you want to help them out! Give them rides. Feed them dinners. Go to lessons with them!)

-If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you.

-Real deep penetrating prayers are important. Missions are supposed to be tough.

-Create a personal brand! What is the first word people think of when they hear our name? Have a personal legacy

-Tell the baptists that there is MORE to what they already know. Grow a polite spine and tell them what we have to offer!!!!!

-You can't help but love the ones you serve and the ones you serve, you will love fiercely.

-One of the gutsiest things you can do as a parent is let your children fall. Heavenly Father was gutsy because He loves us!!!! 

-How to make the atonement effective? 2 Nephi 31 

It was just a really good meeting and the spirit was really strong the entire time. We are so blessed to be serving here :) 

This past week was a little "off". Everything just kept going wrong. People were never home when they said they would be. No one was answering our calls/texts, but we did have some tender mercies that make me smile. The Lord is so good. 

-While contacting at walmart, I felt like we needed to be somewhere else, but didn't know where to go. We got a call from the Elders while we were contacting and they told us to come over to a certain home and meet someone that they were with. WE WERE SO EXCITED TO LEAVE WALMART. We hopped in our car and drove over to the home. An adorable girl named Kris opened the door and let us right in!!! She told us that she had been praying that night for help on moving all of her stuff in her home and then the Elders just knocked on her door after she was done saying her prayer. She told us that she took it as a sign that God was aware of her. We were able to help her fold laundry and clean up her room. While cleaning, we talked to her about religion and about how she had met missionaries all growing up and how she never really listened to the lessons. She told us that she is really confused about her purpose in life and is even confused about who God is. She said, "I don't even know what God is. A boy? A girl? or just an it? I have no idea. It all confuses me so much, but maybe y'all can help me?" UM. YEAH WE CAN. She is so excited to learn more and we are going over to her home tonight to mainly focus on who Heavenly Father is. We are so excited because this is the first time on our missions that we have taught someone about Heavenly Father. Everyone here knows who He is. I feel so blessed for this opportunity to help Kris draw closer to her Father in Heaven and let her know of His love for her. :) 

-We visited with Erica and her sweet boys again. I love them so much. Erica and her boys all got baptized last November!  we played football with them because we thought it would tire them out.... It didn't....and then went inside for a lesson and asked "trivia" questions. Before meeting with the missionaries, these boys didn't even know how to pray. THEY ANSWERED ALL OF THE QUESTIONS RIGHT!!!! After they got it right, we would give them a piece of candy. Erica joined in on the fun and felt so confident in all of her answers. It was the cutest thing ever. They are so eager to learn and so excited when they get things right! We then reviewed the lessons with them and asked them who the prophet was who split the red sea. They all confidently yelled, "LEHI! LEMUEL! NEHI!!!" They were naming all of The Book of Mormon prophets that they had heard of before. It was the cutest thing of my life. 

-We have been striving to work with the members more on their missionary efforts because the members truly are the ultimate source for finding people who are ready for the gospel. We have presented a Family mission plan with most of the families in our ward and it has been such a great experience for us as missionaries to just be in the members homes and feel of the spirit that is present there. We had a little "testimony meeting" with one of the families and we went around and shared reasons why we loved Jesus Christ. We then all knelt down in prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help this family find people who are in need of the gospel. The hastening of the work is such a beautiful thing to be a part of!!!!! PRAY FOR MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITIES Y'ALL!!!! 

-There is an ADORABLE lady in our ward named Mable. She is absolutely hilarious. She got baptized a good minute ago, but no one in the ward can find her records and she doesn't even remember what day she was baptized or where she was. haha she is the most precious human being ever. We went over to her home to bring her a bible because she has been wanting one for the longest time. She sang to us a song about John 3:16 and mumbled things she loved about Jesus. She faithfully comes to church every Sunday and participates in all of the discussions. She is the first one to get up EVERY fast and testimony meeting. She is striving to go to the temple, but she can't until they find her records!!! Poor poor Mable. She makes me smile! Heavenly Father always gives us such amazing people in our lives to make us happy. If they can't find her records, we might have the opportunity to teach her all of the lessons again!!! WOOT WOOT.

-I got a text from the Gadsden Sisters telling me that the homeless guy that Sister Bailey and I found on exchanges has been coming to church for the past month and has a job and a baptismal date this month!!!!!!!!!! Do y'all remember the story I told of him? ah. Definitely one of the best experiences on my mission :) WHAT A BLESSING TO SEE GOD'S HAND IN THIS WORK!!!!!!!!!!!! 

-We tracted out in the middle of the country and it was BEAUTIFUL WEATHER ALL WEEK. SO MANY PRETTY SUNSETS. Ah. It was simply breathtaking and I was screaming with joy the whole time. I couldn't help but smile as we taught people out on their porches and people who were sitting outside with their dogs who wanted to kill us. I couldn't help but smile when we tracted homes near a beautiful lake. I couldn't help but smile when we drove past a huge field of cotton. Oh. I love  this place so much. It is breathtaking. The people. The weather. The sound of the frogs at night. The humidity. The porch swings. The sweet tea everywhere you go. Ah. It's so much happiness bottled up in my soul!!!!!!! 

-A girl from the ward came up to me and said, "Are you ever not happy?" I just laughed and said "sometimes". But honestly, how can we NOT be happy? Heavenly Father has created such a beautiful world with such beautiful people!!!! I have realized how much happiness I have gained on my mission. It's so crazy to see how much Heavenly Father molds us missionaries. Holy cow. I still feel like the same person, but I know I'm not. What a blessing!!!!!!!!! 

I would LOVE to talk about LOVE right quick because Valentines Day is coming up so I thought it would be appropriate. 

Everyone here in the south LOVES John 3:16. It's the scripture that everyone says is their favorite. I love it as well. God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten son. What a beautiful thing. Ah. Heavenly Father's love is amazing!!!! 

President Uchtdorf said:

"God does not look on the outward appearance.  I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked. What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us. "

obsessed with this quote. Heavenly Father loves us no matter what. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and yet, He still wants to bless us!!!!!

How grateful we should be to Jesus Christ. He just makes all things possible. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I still don't know/ can't comprehend how He did what He did. All I know is that He did it because He LOVES us. It's pretty amazing to think that as He was suffering on the cross, He still pointed His arrows out and was concerned for the thief next to Him. What an act of LOVE.

I would like to invite y'all to think of the Love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have offered you so freely and how you can show that love back to them. How do we show our love to them daily? Monthly? Yearly? Do we think of them as our Father and older brother? Do we TRULY rely on them??? 

 Moroni 7:48 helps us know how to show that pure love. Read it. Live it. Let it change you!!!! 

This past week, I have truly learned that Heavenly Father has given us SOOOOOOO many things to love that there shouldn't even be room for hatred in our hearts as long as we focus on the good. (Matthew 5:14). 

I LOVE each of you so much. 

I LOVE my family.

I LOVE my friends.

I LOVE Alabama.

I LOVE our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I LOVE Heavenly Father.

I LOVE The Plan of Salvation.

I LOVE the scriptures.

I LOVE the knowledge I have gained.

I LOVE the temple.

I LOVE pecan pie.

I LOVE sunsets.

I LOVE puppies.

I LOVE how we can be forgiven for our wrongdoings.

I LOVE being happy.

I LOVE the beach.

I LOVE school.

I LOVE going to church.

I LOVE scrapbooking.

I LOVE teaching.

What things do y'all love? Who do you love? HOW do you love? LET ME KNOW WHAT Y'ALL LOVE!!!! 

In other news....

-If you can drive in Montgomery, you can drive ANYWHERE. (Scariest drivers/busiest roads ever)

-We tracted a neighborhood last night at 8 pm. EVERYONE went to the same baptist church. One of the guys who answered said, "Just to warn y'all. My preacher lives down the street from here." Our response? ..."PERFECT!!! We will go meet him! We love everyone!" (the preachers wife answered the door and was REALLY RUDE)

-Giving a talk this sunday. The topic (for the first time on my mission) is NOT on missionary work!!!!! #mixingthingsup I got assigned the topic of Following Jesus Christ. So excited!!!!! 

-We have literally knocked on every door in Wetumpka.... 

-Braydon. You still have time to write me. YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!!! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!!!! ;) 

-Our bishop here is 36 years old. His name is Troy. #crazy #soyoung

-I am not coming home. I made an arrangement with a girl in the ward to stay in the extra room in her home. Sorry y'all. #onlyinmydreams

-MOM! Last night, I had a dream that you came here and I wanted you to go tracting with me and you did!!!! You hated it. hahahahaha 

LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!! GO OUT AND SHOW SOME LOVE TO YOUR FELLOW MEN. 

BE STEADFAST IN CHRIST :) 

MYKY,

SISTER PLATT. 

Point your arrows out

This past week was just beautiful. We have learned so many things :)

The top three things I have learned: Fasting works, Heavenly Father is aware of us, and BE SELFLESS!

 Heavenly Father is so aware. 

I know I say that a lot, but we just keep seeing His hand more and more every single day. At the beginning of last week, Sister Calamity and I decided to fast together to petition for Heavenly Father's help and guidance to truly find those people that He has prepared. There were SOOOOOOOOOO many miracles!!!!!

I will be honest, I started off the week just feeling bummed because I felt like nothing was happening and that our hard work wasn't shown by our outward results. 

People who promise to come to church don't. People say they are comfortable and satisfied with the church they are going to. People tell us that they already have the gospel.

 People literally quote a scripture from The Book of Mormon without knowing it. "A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible." (2 Nephi 29:7) 

But ya know what? I LOVE THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! 

They are all so faithful and love our Savior, Jesus Christ. How grateful I am to be serving in such a place as Alabama where the people are "few" who will truly listen. (Alma 21:12) "And they did preach the word unto many, and few believed on the words which they taught." 

To give ya an example of how it is here: we invited 179 people this past week to learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ (through tracting/contacting) and received 6 new investigators from it. Was it worth the hard work? OF COURSE!!!!!!!!! We were able to meet some pretty amazing people this past week and I know it's because of Heavenly Father. 

Missionary work is SO HARD, but so worth it. We are serving in the Bible belt, not The Book of Mormon belt so we just have to accept how hard it is here and LOVE IT. 

We really do just have to look at all the tiny miracles that happen and stop thinking of ourselves for things to start happening. 

POINT YOUR ARROWS OUT. DON'T TURN INWARD.  

In Preach My Gospel, there is an amazing quote that is one of my favorites about missionary work...I have read it hundreds of times on my mission, but it really stuck out to me this week after I prayed for guidance.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland states: "More important than speaking is listening. These people are not lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic. They are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do THEY cherish, and what do THEY hold dear? And then listen... I promos you that something in what they say will always highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear testimony and about which you can then offer more... If we listen with love, we won't need to wonder what to say."
During Companionship study, I shared this quote with Sister Calamity and we both decided to really really REALLY focus on the people we contact every day and truly focus on their needs more than ever before.
It was beautiful weather this whole past week and so we walked EVERYWHERE and met SO MANY amazing people. I will just make a list of some of the sweetest moments of this past week...
Destiny: We met Destiny while tracting and she let us right in. We got to know her and found out that she is struggling because her brother has cancer. We asked her what she thought her purpose was in life and she told us she had no idea. Our hearts sank for her. Ah. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was super strong. She told us that she knew that we were an answered prayer for her because she had been praying for direction in her life.
Paula: We met Paula outside and she acted like she knew us. She is 18 years old and told us that she met with missionaries for 6 months when she was living in Connecticut, but hadn't seen any more after she moved to Alabama. MIRACLE. She told us that she is still super interested in learning!!! We invited her to church, but she couldn't come, but promised she would come next week! We shall see!!! We are seeing her again tonight :)
Helen: Helen was taught by missionaries before and found her information in the Area Book. She attended a ward in another city for 6 months with her friend, but was never baptized. We decided to go try and see her again and she let us right in. We felt inspired to read 2 Nephi 31 with her and invited her to be baptized. She said, "you know what's weird? I was just thinking about how I need to be baptized again and start a new life. It is so crazy that y'all showed up."
SO COOL. She said she would come to church, but she didn't come yesterday and won't return our calls. :( ugh. We shall see if she is still interested!! It was still a great experience!
Charles: We were walking and tracting at night time and saw Charles going out of his home to check the mail. We stopped by and started talking with him. We asked him the typical questions that every missionary asks.. ("where are you originally from?" or "Have you lived here your whole life?") He told us that he had just moved there 4 years ago to take care of his 36 year old mom who was dying of cancer. We asked him how he got through the trial of losing his mom and tears started to well up in his eyes as he said, "I honestly still haven't been able to get through it. 4 years later and I'm still not over it." Talking with him flashed back memories to me of losing my dad and I started to cry as I heard Charles desperate call for comfort. We felt prompted to talk to him about the Spirit world. After we explained where his mother is, he said, "wow. I never thought of it like that, but that would be amazing if that was true." We testified to him that it was true and the spirit was very strong. Gah. This gospel is so amazing y'all!!!!
Dakota: Right after meeting Charles, we met Dakota!! A 17 year old boy who told us he was living with his grandparents. We got to know him and he told us that his dad died while fighting for our country 4 years ago and then his mom died from cancer just this past year. He told us that he holds a weekly Bible study class with his friends from high school and he has found great comfort from that. WOW. The people here truly AMAZE me. He wasn't too interested in what we had to say because he is "very happy with the church he goes to", but we were able to bear testimony to him and give him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet.
Clint: While trying to contact a referral from the Elders, we got lost and Sister Calamity and I both jokingly agreed that Heavenly Father was just leading us to someone else. Well, Heavenly Father totally did. Clint was just about to get into his car when we quickly shouted over to him and asked him if we could share a message. He agreed and said that he had just moved to Wetumpka and is looking for a church home. He just said all of the golden words that every missionary LOVES hearing. He said that he also is confused by all of the churches and just wants to know of perfect truth from God. Yup. We shared the Restoration with him and he was SO excited!!!! It was awesome! We handed him over to the elders and hopefully they will go and teach him again tonight!!!!!
Shannon: So we share the car with the elders, right? right. So we gave them the car basically all last week and decided to go on foot this past week. We had an hour left of the night and it is dark EVERYWHERE in this small town. We said a prayer and told Heavenly Father that we wanted to use His time wisely and asked Him to lead us because we had no idea where to go. He answered our prayer by meeting Shannon. Shannon is the sweetest woman ever. We met her outside as she was taking a break from her job. She doesn't live in our area, but works part time in Wetumpka. She told us her whole life story about her rough past and we were able to share some scriptures with her from The Book of Mormon. The whole time, I felt a HUGE prompting to give her The Book of Mormon and invite her to read it. We were able to give her one and as we walked away, Sister Calamity said, "I am so glad you gave her The Book of Mormon! I felt really strongly that we needed to give it to her!" Ah. So grateful for the spirit. :)
Sister Rhodes: We felt like we really needed to go see Sister Rhodes yesterday. She is a lady in our ward. We went over and she just started to bawl as she said, "Heavenly Father is so aware of me!!!! How did y'all know to come over?" After listening to her talk, we found out that yesterday was her and her husbands anniversary. Her husband died in 2004 and she is still grieving over it. She said, "I don't get how some people act like it's okay after they lose a loved one. I know the gospel is true and I know the plan of salvation, but it really doesn't make anything better!!!!" Seriously, Heavenly Father is SO SO SO AWARE!!!!!!! Sister Rhodes is so lonely and so it was a blessing to help her. Little did she know that she totally helped strengthen us!!!!!!
Sister Davis: Sister Davis is a less active member who just got put in the rehab center because she fell and broke her leg. It was crazy because we were wanting to go visit her, but the rehab center wouldn't pull up in our GPS and we had no clue where it was. WELL, Heavenly Father came to the rescue again and led us to it! We were just on our way to an appointment with an investigator and saw it as we drove by! Tender mercy! We were able to visit with her and she was so excited. We read some scriptures with her and she asked us to randomly open the Bible and point to a scripture and start reading. Sister Davis just loved it and totally applied it to her life and said it was the perfect scripture for her. So grand. :)
Sister Mann: Sister Mann is a recent convert of about 3 months. After she got baptized, she has dealt with a HUGE load of trials. She texted us this past week and told us to just pray for her family. We went over to her place and listened to her. We read Alma 36:27 with her and asked her cute son Hayden why he thought bad things happened to good people. Sister Mann got frustrated as she said, "well. I'd like to know that as well. Why am I going through so many hard times when I'm trying to do everything right?" We explained to her of Alma and Amulek's story of seeing the women and children burning in the fire and how they were imprisoned and smitten. The spirit was strong and man, the Book of Mormon is TRUE. It can answer ANY question!!!!!!!!
It was just a very powerful week and Sister Calamity and I learned a lot of life lessons. It was wonderful. I know that as we focus on the NEEDS of others and stop focusing on ourselves, Heavenly Father will bless us with people who are in need of this gospel. This gospel can literally help and change everyone if they are willing to let it. So, I would like to invite y'all to pray for a missionary experience this week and ask Heavenly Father to help you focus on the needs of others and point your arrows out!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO IT. DO IT RIGHT. DO IT RIGHT NOW. Remember, the amount of those who will truly accept are FEW, but that is okay. It will be worth it :)
In other news....
-We had a return appointment to see this family. As we were walking down the hill, the family was all sitting outside. when they saw us, they all SPRINTED inside their home and even the grandma sprinted inside. They locked the door and the next thing we heard was yelling from the mom as she said, "EVERYONE! THEY ARE HERE. GET TO THE BACK OF THE HOME RIGHT NOW. COME HERE RIGHT NOW!!!" She was clapping her hands to the beat of her voice and it was hilarious because we could totally hear everything they were saying. We decided it would be comical to knock anyway just to act oblivious. So we did. And no one answered. hahahahhahaha We could hear hushes of whispering the whole time. We kept walking along the street and saw a little boy from that home peep his head out of the door and yell back to his mom, "Hey momma! they be gone!!!!!" They then went back outside and we just laughed and laughed. WE HAVE THE PLAGUE.
-Tracted during the super bowl...#"whyareyouknockingonmydoorduringthegame???" ***SLAM****
-There was an annoying dog named Rocky who followed us for 2 MILES. He would come up to all the doors with us and at first it was cute, but then it got really really frustrating. He would chase after all of the cars on the road and everyone would honk and think we were dumb for not watching "our dog". WE COULDN'T get rid of him!!! Finally, we ran around a corner and he couldn't see us because he got tired of running after cars. BOOYAH. Success.
-Old man who answered the door: "come back next year!"
me: "I won't be here next year!!!"
Old man: "neither will I!!!"
Sister Calamity: "where will you be?"
Old man: ***Points up towards heaven**** "with the good Lord"
hahahahhahahahah

I love y'all so much! have a great week and go share the gospel with EVERYONE!!!!
MYKY,

Sister Platt