Dear Brethren,
Jake Williams was baptized last Saturday, and confirmed yesterday (Feb. 13th)!!! He is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and has the Gift of the Holy Ghost! How wonderful! We've added another soul to the fold, and great will be our joy with him in the kingdom of our Father!
He actually just took off to Utah today, quite suddenly. He will be attending UVU in Orem soon, so maybe you people in Utah should look out for him. He is really cool! He will definitely not only be added to Christ' true church on the earth, but also to the Sons of Mosiah and the League of Unextraordinary Gentlemen that we so proudly call ourselves. He is awesome, and will be an awesome addition to our friendships, and to God's work. I confirmed him yesterday, and it said he would be mighty in the work. j
Well, I am sorry this email is short, but I have to go. I love you all!
Love, Elder Christopher Petersen
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Miracles Still Happen . . .
Dear Brethren,
This scripture I submit to the world: "And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yeah, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God? Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought? And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles. And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles. And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust. Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth."--Mormon 9:15-21
I confirm this scripture true, today. We have been witnessing many miracles from the hand of God, because of our belief in Him--not that ours is perfect, but that he makes up the rest. Did not a man in the scriptures say to Jesus, "help thou mine unbelief"? Surely we can say the same, but we should learn not to doubt our living God. It is a hard thing--and I fall short often--but there are blessings for those who strive to conform their lives with the will of the Father, and keep the commandments of God. The commandments of God are not a burden--for God does not force us to obey them--but they are directions back to His presence. How can one make it to a destination unless he is willing to follow the directions which he is given? It is the same with the commandments. We are given blessings for obedience, and when we choose to follow the commandments of God and follow the Savior, we are given the directions in which we should travel to the kingdom of our Father.
My companion and I have been striving to become even better missionaries, and as God is aware of our efforts, He suddenly poured out blessings upon our heads. A few weeks ago a young man walked into church, and found us. We began to teach him, but he knows a lot already. He has been studiying the LDS religion online for some time, and has some LDS friends in Utah. He wanted to be baptized, and Jake Williams will be getting baptized this Saturday! Truly a miracle. Also another woman got on mormon.org, and requested a visit with us missionaries. We are now teaching her and her husband, and they are amazing. They took us to a really fancy resturant, but there is much more to be excited about than where the took us. I just thought that was awesome. Made my day.
So I have an experience to share with you brethren, that goes to confirm the scripture above. It happened to me and my companion, and is a true witness that God answers the prayers of His servants. He loves His children, and wants to answer our prayers. This is a story about an investigator of mine. I will refer to her as K, and to her boyfriend as J:
K has wanted for some time to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we have been meeting with her for a while now. Eventually, it got to the point in our teaching her, that she needed to make some decisions. You see, she has one thing yet to do, and that is to live the Law of Chastity by either moving out (because she lives with J), or by marrying J. She wants to marry J, but J "is not ready for that step". Well, I guess she was just in a bad mood one day, because she had promised us previously that she would be coming to church that week, then we talked on the phone, and she told us that basically she might not keep her promise. Now, really she didn't promise US--that is an error--we actually asked her, "Will you commit to your Savior, Jesus Christ, to come to church and remember Him during the sacrament?" She had said yes, and was now going to back out. She did back out.
On the phone call, she was grumpy. I told her that we cannot force her to do anything, but unless a person is progressing in the gospel, we cannot teach them and need to spend our time elsewhere. I told her we had been trying to do all that we can to help her, and have been putting an amazing amount of effort into her--and if she wasn't going to progress, I didn't know what more we could do for her. I asked her if there was more we could do for her. She said no, and said "J and I aren't ready to take that step yet". And I said, "Ok, talk to you later". Then later, she text us saying she didn't want to meet with us anymore. She was mad at us, and at another member who told her not to meet with us unless she was going to do something about her newfound belief in the gospel.
Elder Pauni (my companion), and I, decided there was only two things we could do. Pray, and then wait. We were confident that she would come back, and I knelt down to offer up a request to my Heavenly Father. I asked him to bring K back, and do whatever is necessary to help her know that she needs to act on her belief in the gospel. I even requested a few possiblities saying I didn't care how it was done--whether it be by her feeling the lack of the Spirit in her life, by vision, or a dream, or anything really that God willed to be done--I just wanted it done.
A few days later, she sent us a text, asking us if we needed a ride anywhere because it was cold outside, and our cars were grounded. The Spanish Missionaries decided to take her up on it, and gave her a call. After saying she would give them a ride, she asked to talk to me. They gave me the phone, and she asked us what our plans were for that day. I replied that we didn't have much going on, and she asked if we could come over. I said, "To do what?" She replied, "Umm...I don't know, to read from the Book of Mormon or something". It was her way of asking us to come back and teach her. We went back, and she asked us if we wanted to know why she had chosen to invite us back. We said yes, and she went on to tell us a story.
She said that she had a dream earlier that day, and when the Spanish Elders called, she awoke from that dream. She told us that in the dream she was walking down a path, and eventually she came to fork in the path. She told us that down one of those paths, she saw us missionaries, and down the other, she saw "her friends". She told us that in the dream, she decided to go down the path with "her friends". She told us that she soon regreted her mistake, because as she was with "her friends" they got wild, and soon they all suffered an accident. She broke her leg in the accident. Wisely, she decided to then come over to our path, and found happiness there with us. She told us that she then looked back over to the path with "her friends" to see that they had been in yet another accident that this time, took all of their lives.
She then laughed a little and said that the funny part was that in the dream, she didn't even recognize any of the people she knew to be "her friends". She just somehow thought them to be her friends. We then interpreted the dream for her--it was very simple, and in fact, the member told her some of the interpretation before we did. "Her friends" represented the world, and the things of the world. The path with the missionaries (us), was the path that would lead to happiness and eternal life. It was the right path to choose, that wouldn't end in "death". We told her that even though in the dream the physical death she saw was a tragedy, even more tragic is that of spiritual death which it represented. We told her that she needs to act, and that even inviting us back will do no good unless she is willing to act, and rid herself of the things of the world that she holds on to so desperately. Those are "her friends", and we saw what would have happened has she stayed with "her friends".
God gave her a dream, and to add to it, her boyfriend J also had a dream. He woke up from his dream at the same time that K woke up from hers, and the spanish missionaries called. His dream was that he was being held down in darkness, suffocating, and he could not move. He told us that he had had this dream before, but K pointed out that the last time he had this reoccuring dream, was before he started taking lessons with us and now that he was no longer taking lessons with us, he was having this dream again.
Jesus is the Christ, brethren. He lives, and God our Father is also aware of the things that His children need. If we ask, he will give them to us, as long as we ask not amiss. If we ask with faith, and in righteousness, he will grant unto us according to our desires. He answered my prayer, and the prayer(s) of my companion. This is His work. Let us not doubt it ever, and let us remain faithful. I love you all! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Christopher D. Petersen
This scripture I submit to the world: "And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yeah, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God? Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought? And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles. And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles. And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust. Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth."--Mormon 9:15-21
I confirm this scripture true, today. We have been witnessing many miracles from the hand of God, because of our belief in Him--not that ours is perfect, but that he makes up the rest. Did not a man in the scriptures say to Jesus, "help thou mine unbelief"? Surely we can say the same, but we should learn not to doubt our living God. It is a hard thing--and I fall short often--but there are blessings for those who strive to conform their lives with the will of the Father, and keep the commandments of God. The commandments of God are not a burden--for God does not force us to obey them--but they are directions back to His presence. How can one make it to a destination unless he is willing to follow the directions which he is given? It is the same with the commandments. We are given blessings for obedience, and when we choose to follow the commandments of God and follow the Savior, we are given the directions in which we should travel to the kingdom of our Father.
My companion and I have been striving to become even better missionaries, and as God is aware of our efforts, He suddenly poured out blessings upon our heads. A few weeks ago a young man walked into church, and found us. We began to teach him, but he knows a lot already. He has been studiying the LDS religion online for some time, and has some LDS friends in Utah. He wanted to be baptized, and Jake Williams will be getting baptized this Saturday! Truly a miracle. Also another woman got on mormon.org, and requested a visit with us missionaries. We are now teaching her and her husband, and they are amazing. They took us to a really fancy resturant, but there is much more to be excited about than where the took us. I just thought that was awesome. Made my day.
So I have an experience to share with you brethren, that goes to confirm the scripture above. It happened to me and my companion, and is a true witness that God answers the prayers of His servants. He loves His children, and wants to answer our prayers. This is a story about an investigator of mine. I will refer to her as K, and to her boyfriend as J:
K has wanted for some time to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we have been meeting with her for a while now. Eventually, it got to the point in our teaching her, that she needed to make some decisions. You see, she has one thing yet to do, and that is to live the Law of Chastity by either moving out (because she lives with J), or by marrying J. She wants to marry J, but J "is not ready for that step". Well, I guess she was just in a bad mood one day, because she had promised us previously that she would be coming to church that week, then we talked on the phone, and she told us that basically she might not keep her promise. Now, really she didn't promise US--that is an error--we actually asked her, "Will you commit to your Savior, Jesus Christ, to come to church and remember Him during the sacrament?" She had said yes, and was now going to back out. She did back out.
On the phone call, she was grumpy. I told her that we cannot force her to do anything, but unless a person is progressing in the gospel, we cannot teach them and need to spend our time elsewhere. I told her we had been trying to do all that we can to help her, and have been putting an amazing amount of effort into her--and if she wasn't going to progress, I didn't know what more we could do for her. I asked her if there was more we could do for her. She said no, and said "J and I aren't ready to take that step yet". And I said, "Ok, talk to you later". Then later, she text us saying she didn't want to meet with us anymore. She was mad at us, and at another member who told her not to meet with us unless she was going to do something about her newfound belief in the gospel.
Elder Pauni (my companion), and I, decided there was only two things we could do. Pray, and then wait. We were confident that she would come back, and I knelt down to offer up a request to my Heavenly Father. I asked him to bring K back, and do whatever is necessary to help her know that she needs to act on her belief in the gospel. I even requested a few possiblities saying I didn't care how it was done--whether it be by her feeling the lack of the Spirit in her life, by vision, or a dream, or anything really that God willed to be done--I just wanted it done.
A few days later, she sent us a text, asking us if we needed a ride anywhere because it was cold outside, and our cars were grounded. The Spanish Missionaries decided to take her up on it, and gave her a call. After saying she would give them a ride, she asked to talk to me. They gave me the phone, and she asked us what our plans were for that day. I replied that we didn't have much going on, and she asked if we could come over. I said, "To do what?" She replied, "Umm...I don't know, to read from the Book of Mormon or something". It was her way of asking us to come back and teach her. We went back, and she asked us if we wanted to know why she had chosen to invite us back. We said yes, and she went on to tell us a story.
She said that she had a dream earlier that day, and when the Spanish Elders called, she awoke from that dream. She told us that in the dream she was walking down a path, and eventually she came to fork in the path. She told us that down one of those paths, she saw us missionaries, and down the other, she saw "her friends". She told us that in the dream, she decided to go down the path with "her friends". She told us that she soon regreted her mistake, because as she was with "her friends" they got wild, and soon they all suffered an accident. She broke her leg in the accident. Wisely, she decided to then come over to our path, and found happiness there with us. She told us that she then looked back over to the path with "her friends" to see that they had been in yet another accident that this time, took all of their lives.
She then laughed a little and said that the funny part was that in the dream, she didn't even recognize any of the people she knew to be "her friends". She just somehow thought them to be her friends. We then interpreted the dream for her--it was very simple, and in fact, the member told her some of the interpretation before we did. "Her friends" represented the world, and the things of the world. The path with the missionaries (us), was the path that would lead to happiness and eternal life. It was the right path to choose, that wouldn't end in "death". We told her that even though in the dream the physical death she saw was a tragedy, even more tragic is that of spiritual death which it represented. We told her that she needs to act, and that even inviting us back will do no good unless she is willing to act, and rid herself of the things of the world that she holds on to so desperately. Those are "her friends", and we saw what would have happened has she stayed with "her friends".
God gave her a dream, and to add to it, her boyfriend J also had a dream. He woke up from his dream at the same time that K woke up from hers, and the spanish missionaries called. His dream was that he was being held down in darkness, suffocating, and he could not move. He told us that he had had this dream before, but K pointed out that the last time he had this reoccuring dream, was before he started taking lessons with us and now that he was no longer taking lessons with us, he was having this dream again.
Jesus is the Christ, brethren. He lives, and God our Father is also aware of the things that His children need. If we ask, he will give them to us, as long as we ask not amiss. If we ask with faith, and in righteousness, he will grant unto us according to our desires. He answered my prayer, and the prayer(s) of my companion. This is His work. Let us not doubt it ever, and let us remain faithful. I love you all! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Christopher D. Petersen
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