Hello Friend & Family,
If you haven't already listened to this past session of conference, do so as ASAP !!
Heavenly Father truly loves us and provides to us modern day Prophets and Apostles. They lead and guide this church today! Even though some procedures change, the doctrine we teach is the same!
Truth NEVER changes, no matter how hard you try!
God has given us leaders in the past and will continue to do so until Christ Himself comes to rule the earth.
1 Nephi 10:18
"For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him."
Even though all the talks were amazing, there was one in particular that stood out.
If you know me, I'm sure you can guess why
"For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him."
Even though all the talks were amazing, there was one in particular that stood out.
If you know me, I'm sure you can guess why
Elder Uchtdorfs talk in which the story of Bilbo Baggins was heavily referenced was my favorite!
It was so funny to hear an apostle talk about one of my favorite stories, in addition to the inspired lesson he taught.
If for some reason there is a Gospel themed hobbit movie(s) being made, I would like to submit a few titles of my own design;
The Prophet: a expected journey
The Lord of all things: the Tower of Babel
(More titles pending)
If anyone has ever had the privilege of having a religious discussion with my Dad, I'm sure you have realized how often he references Star Wars in relation to the Gospel. Both he and myself thoroughly enjoy using Yoda's teachings about the force and apply them to how we can exercise faith.
The Hobbit reference, even though in my opinion, is not the pinnacle of analogies, was very happily accepted!
One theme I saw this conference was that the Lord prepares A way, not THE way.
The Prophet: a expected journey
The Lord of all things: the Tower of Babel
(More titles pending)
If anyone has ever had the privilege of having a religious discussion with my Dad, I'm sure you have realized how often he references Star Wars in relation to the Gospel. Both he and myself thoroughly enjoy using Yoda's teachings about the force and apply them to how we can exercise faith.
The Hobbit reference, even though in my opinion, is not the pinnacle of analogies, was very happily accepted!
One theme I saw this conference was that the Lord prepares A way, not THE way.
There is not 1 single way that Heavenly Father prepares for us. The example used was that of Nephi, Moses, and the Brother of Jared. All had the same task, to cross a large body of water to a promised land. Yet all of them handled the situation uniquely. We all have the same goal (I hope) of returning to Live with God again, but everyone has different lives to live, different problems to deal with, and a different path to the celestial kingdom.
Even though we may go our separate ways, the covenant path is the same. We can still help others no matter where they are, so long as we ourselves are in good standing with the Lord.
Another Emphasis was largely on the Youth of the church. Whether the policy change on the age/gender of baptismal witnesses, or the leadership changes among YM and YW alike, the Lord has some big plans for the youngsters.
I however am no longer considered a youth, so I feel left out.
I am joking, but am anxiously awaiting more info that will be given in these upcoming months.
To explain the latter title of my letter, I will begin with my day last Friday. We had another "Trainer/trainee" meeting, and President Hammon gave us all an invitation to pray that our image (personal appearance or church buildings) may be seen and motivate people to talk to us, and not vice versa.
Even though we may go our separate ways, the covenant path is the same. We can still help others no matter where they are, so long as we ourselves are in good standing with the Lord.
Another Emphasis was largely on the Youth of the church. Whether the policy change on the age/gender of baptismal witnesses, or the leadership changes among YM and YW alike, the Lord has some big plans for the youngsters.
I however am no longer considered a youth, so I feel left out.
I am joking, but am anxiously awaiting more info that will be given in these upcoming months.
To explain the latter title of my letter, I will begin with my day last Friday. We had another "Trainer/trainee" meeting, and President Hammon gave us all an invitation to pray that our image (personal appearance or church buildings) may be seen and motivate people to talk to us, and not vice versa.
I took up the challenge and prayed that I might find someone who sought us out. Nothing happened that day, until at 9:30 pm we got a call on our video phone (VP) from what we determined to be a "Golden Investigator". She said she had been waiting 5 years to be baptized and was 21 years old, had recently moved out (her mom wouldn't let her be baptized) and was ready now. Needless to say, we were all very excited to get this call! I wrote hurridley in my journal about this miracle we had witnessed!Then the bad news came...
Elder Larsen recognized the name that appeared on our VP. He searched through his old emails and found her name, it was attached to a warning from other ASL missionaries about how this lady pretended to be a interested person and how she would waste missionaries time and eventually try to get them to meet in person, only to have her never show up and ultimately con the missionaries out of their time.
We found this out, and were quite frustrated and frankly irritated. We concocted a plan to see if she truly was lying, and put it in action the very next day.
Without going into detail, she failed every one of our "lie detecting tests" and we determined to tell her how we felt.
I hope she can learn from her experience and understand that it really is rude to give people false hope.
If you want more details about that story, feel free to Email me.
It has been a good week, with quite a bit of success. We recently got a Legitimate referral from other ASL missionaries that we will investigate tomorrow. Fingers crossed it isn't the same deciteful lady.
A few invitations from me:
Listen or Re-listen to Michelle Craig's conference talk
(All recent talks are on "churchofjesuschrist.org")
Also Elder Uchtdorf's talk
Please email me your takeaways!
Know that you have a Father in Heaven who truly loves you! He wants you to be happy, not sad. He gives us guidance so we can be happy! He knows what will protect us from the adversary.
Thankyou for all the support!
🤟
-Elder Vance
