"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." ~John 14:26
What a touching, inspirational, and uplifting week this has been. I have felt an assurance and divine witness of the Savior's personal love for myself. Along with this testimony, I know that The Lord desires of each of you to reach out and partake of His goodness and of the eternal life that has been made possible through His Atonement, the Ultimate love and sacrifice, that no one else could have performed BUT the Son of God. I am so grateful for General Conference and for the opportunity that I had to sit in the Conference Center and witness the Prophet of God enter into the room. I couldn't help but to have been overwhelmed with the presence of the Spirit and to know that through this man, Jesus Christ is able to lead His Church in these Latter-Days.
I share this beautiful scripture with you today because it has been what has touched my heart the most over this past week.
We all face times where we feel alone. We all face times where we may be discouraged. We all face times where we wonder why we have to go through such a hard trial. We all face times where we think, "do I really have a purpose here on the Earth?" And lastly, we all face times where we think, "Does God really know what we are going through since there are a large number of people all over the world?"
This scripture has brought divine assurance into my heart and has allowed me to have a stronger testimony of the Godhead. Of Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. This scripture that I share from the 14th Chapter of John is one of the most comforting scriptures that I've found thus far as a missionary.
1)The Holy Ghost's purpose is the be a teacher. This is why we are called to remain worthy of it's presence because through the Spirit, we too can receive that divine witness of our Father in Heaven and His Son. For the Spirit is what testifies of the two. In Conference we were encouraged, well invited, to get to know the Savior more and His Atonement. The ONLY way that that is possible is if we are worthy of it's presence in our lives. What is it that we are doing that may make the Holy Ghost not as present in our lives as it could be?
2)The Holy Ghost also brings all things unto our remembrance. If we did not know once before about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, why would we need to remember it? It's just like the scriptures that talk about returning home to the God that gave us life.. Home is a place we once were, or else it wouldn't be home. Same thing with remembrance, if we didn't know about the things the Spirit can teach us now, before, there would be no need for the word "remembrance" to be used. To me, John is testifying of the Plan of Salvation. Since we passed through the Veil before coming here to Earth, we no longer remember who we were and what we knew before we came here. And this scripture brings me great comfort in my afflictions or trials. It's comforting to know about the Plan of Salvation and then to see it even in the New Testament, this was a witness to me that the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon don't contradict one another, but they are a compliment to one another.
3)The Holy Ghost was chosen the name "Comforter" in this verse. Of all of the names the Spirt could have been described as, John chose this one. Why do you think that? I know that "The Comforter" was used because in the midst of our heart aches and pains, what comfort does the Spirit bring to us with bringing to our remembrance the knowledge that we once had prior to being here on Earth. What comfort does it bring to know that we are not alone when we learn of the things that The Savior also suffered, yet endured, in this life. Elder Bednar shared a scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 100, verse 12, in His talk in the Sunday Morning Session...it says: "Therefore, continue your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end."
Even though the Savior cannot truly come walk alongside us, physically, until the end.. Our Father has offered us the Holy Spirit to walk alongside us as an aide, a healer, a comforter, a teacher, and a guide. So no, we are not alone in this life. We are promised the Spirit to be with us at all times as long as we are doing things that are pleasing in the sight of God. So follow His commandments, reread the talks from General Conference both this past weekend and times before. I know that the Prophet's, Seer's, and Revelator's are truly called and inspired of God. They work hard to live a worthy life to have that companionship of the Holy Ghost in their lives. So that they may receive revelation through the Spirit for The Father's children all over the world, not just in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
I know that our Savior and Redeemer lives, I know my Father in Heaven loves me and each of you SO MUCH that He provided His only Begotten Son as a sacrifice so that we all may return to live with Him again some day.
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For some miracles and good news in the area! Just to update you :)
We found a new investigator! Her name is Rose-Marie. She is the mother to a former investigator we were once teaching. A couple weeks ago we actually were going by to drop the former investigator, Glenn (her son), and instead of him being home, SHE was home. We stood at the doorstep, shared a scripture with her, asked if she would be interested in hearing more about The Message of The Restoration. She said she didn't think her husband would be okay with that because he is a devowed Catholic. She did express to us though her thoughts and said, "I wish I had stronger faith, like you girls do." The scripture we shared was on faith and trials (Alma 36:27). She then went on talking about how she might be losing the home they are currently living in.. Well, we left her with a prayer. She greatly appreciated it. We said we'd come back to see her and then to also try and see Glenn again. So we came back last week to try and drop Glenn again, and sure enough he wasn't home. But! She opened the door and said happily, "Come in! Come in! I have good news to tell you!" We went inside and she said that right after we left the house last time that she immediately looked up lawyers in some book. The first one she called ended up working with her and she just found out that they are keeping the house! She was so overwhlemed with joy and she said that it was because of the prayer we left with her that allowed them to keep the home. We were joyous for her too and for this opportunity to serve one of Heavenly Father's daughters. We helped her understand the power of the Spirit (in conversion). Then she had some questions regarding cremation...so that allowed for us to share some thoughts on the Plan of Salvation! How perfect. Able to bear testimony of the truthfulness of this glorious plan. We said a prayer and she invited us back! BOOM! Picked up a new investigator :) we are inviting her to be baptized tomorrow! Keep her and her family in your prayers.
Also, a nonmember named Wanda came with us to Conference yesterday! She wants to be baptized, but her husband won't let her right now.. Pray pray pray for her as well, please! :) Pray for his heart to be softeneded too. She comes to church weekly and has a calling, just isn't a baptized member. She's amazing and has blessed my life a ton. We cannot teach her because of him, the sister's before had to stop, but I KNOW that they prayers of many will help to soften his heart.
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I am so very grateful to serve here in the Salt Lake Valley! What great joy fills my heart to have a front row seat of watching the Savior's Atonement touch and change the hearts of many people here. Thank you for all of the love and encouragement you all gave to me to help me get here. I promise I am working so hard!
My 2 years of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is tomorrow, April 8th! I am so excited! This time has flown by so fast, it's incredible. And I can't extend to you enough the gratitude I have for all the love you guys have given me to help me get to where I am today, serving God's children.
I love each and every one of you! Have a blessed and beautiful week!
Love eternally,
Sister Garretson
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