Mitch in Monterrey: Thanks for all the Birthday Wishes!!!

2/25/14

So these last two weeks have been pretty good! We have done a ton of work! It is pretty awesome. What isn't awesome is having to battle Satan at pretty much every turn. We have this really awesome family who are really ready and have definitely been prepared by the Lord to receive this message. The Familia C. Long story short, they are a family of 4 adults and 4 little ones. They all have received answers that the church is true and the book of Mormon is true also. The 8 year old told his grandma he doesn't want to go to school because he thinks it would be better to go with us all day to learn this stuff because he feels it is important. They took a pamphlet about the plan of salvation that we had given them and gave it to someone else that had someone die and explained a little bit about it. So pretty much they are the highest quality of golden investigators there is. The only problem is that Satan knows that too and is working against them pretty hard. For every time we have scheduled a lesson or on Sundays, something bad happens. First was the daughter-in-law dislocated her knee Saturday night, then sometimes on the weekend one of the daughters (adult) has to work extra for someone else and doesn't get home until 6 in the morning on Sunday. So right now we are just trying to keep encouraging them and helping them the most we can. But it is only a matter of time before they are baptized because nothing can stop this work or the will of God. (1 Nephi 9:6) I have a testimony that even with all the inadequacies of humans and the efforts of Satan God's plan will always come out on top. Love ya all! Have a great week!!

-Élder Morris

3/3/14

¿Que tal? ¿Como están? Well I am doing great! This week we had 5 investigators in our sacrament meeting. So you could say that that is pretty awesome. Also those investigators are all a family and they all have been super prepared and are all progressing like they are already members. Freak, the abuela asked to sign up on the calendar to feed us!! They are already asking what the Relief Society president wants them to bring for activities and everything!!! They are all super awesome and are super excited for their baptisms!

Also this week we had a Zone conference. It was awesome. I don't really have more than that to say. It was just plain awesome. President Bird talked about the sacrament, the importance of it for us and for our investigators. We talked about why it was important and the things it stood for and how we all need to be preparing ourselves for it during the week, not just when we walk into the sacrament meeting. Also that every time we partake of the sacrament, it should be a spiritual experience. It is not just a piece of bread or a swallow of water. When we think about what they represent, why we do it, and what that means for us personally, we are prepared to receive revelation, forgiveness, direction, and just all around blessings. We also talked about prayer, why we need to pray, and what we need to pray for. President Hinckley said that too often our prayers are like ordering a pizza. We place our demands and hang up. Our prayers, like the sacrament, should be an experience where we feel close to our Heavenly Father. He is the most powerful being in all of the universe and yet He listens to each of us individually, to our personal needs. And to our righteous desires He gives to us freely. And when we don't want to pray or we don't feel like praying, we should pray until we feel like praying. It is Satan that teaches a person not to pray. (Sometimes it is just hard to teach that when it is their mother-in-law that says not to pray.... "Your mother-in-law is Satan." But then again, many times the mother-in-law IS Satan, but that is another story entirely. Mine won’t be of course. (Obviously coming from someone not married) LOL

I know that this Church is the Church of Jesus Christ. No other church has His name, nor the right to it, because no other church is His. I know that when we align our will with His, there is nothing that will happen that is not in the plan. And that plan is the Plan of Happiness, the Plan of Salvation, and the Plan of God. I know that each of us have the right of agency and that through our choices we can bring eternal joy to us and those around us. There is no book truer than The Book of Mormon, nor will there ever be. We are in the last days of the last days. The time is now to come to Christ. Don't put anything off until tomorrow because there might not be one. Live your life in a way that you would proudly have Christ accompanying you daily. I love my family, I love the gospel, and I love the Lord.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and cards!! They really are something special when you feel cut off from everything of your past life. So thank you SO much!!!! I hope you all have a fantastic week!!

-Élder Morris

Gabe and I on P-day