President Anderson’s Letter – June 23, 2013

Sorry I was a little slow in getting these wonderful experiences into the blog. I would like to use the excuse that I was too busy, but the truth is that I forgot until just now.

“Your sacred calling as representatives of Jesus Christ will bless you with joy and many blessings as well as those you bare testimony to:

“Our recent convert  that just got baptized is so incredible. I pray that each of my converts are just like her. She is truly converted to this gospel. I have never seen someone be changed by the Gospel more in my life. She has a constant smile on her face and each time we see her she says how grateful she is for us and how she couldn’t imagine her life without the church. She said the other day ‘I know that I have to keep praying, reading my scriptures and going to church and increase my faith each day’ our mouths dropped! We thought ‘how much more amazing could this woman be??’ She then asked how it made us feel to be able to be a part of this change in people’s lives. I was a little shocked by the question and I couldn’t even put it into words. We both shared our testimonies with her and it was such a spiritual experience. There are no words to describe the joy that being here on a mission has brought to me.”

Magnifying your calling is the opportunity to show forth faith that God is in this work and will bless you for your diligence:

“On Thursday we had her interview. She was excited to be baptized. We then tried to see her Friday, but was unable to. Saturday comes and still nothing. We were planning on you (President Anderson) being there at 4, and then she called us at 1, saying ‘I don’t know about baptism’ (I knew that she was really nervous by the sound of her voice.) We then told her to just be there at 4 and she could talk to you. Well 4 comes around and it was only us. As we waited and waited and waited, she wasn’t  picking up the phone.  I didn’t know what to do, so that’s when we said that we would go get her. Right before we left the church, my companion and I knelt in prayer and offered up the desires of our hearts. We got in the car and started to drive. Within minutes we get a phone call, it is her. God does answer prayers! She said she was on her way and that she was running late. We went back to the church and while she was in the interview with you, we were talking about how we can show our faith. I looked at Elder Thompson and said, ‘Go get in white’ !! We then had a prayer … and within the Hour, Megan was baptized. I’m grateful for that opportunity that God gave me and that I was able to have patience in my afflictions. She came the next day and was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Magnifying your calling gives them everything that the Gospel has to offer that they didn’t have before:

“Our investigator was baptized on Sunday! He is also a gift from Heavenly Father. I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant about him at the beginning, but as we were teaching him about Joseph Smith and his first vision, I pictured him in white, walking into the baptism font. It completely changed my attitude. He was so prepared to change his life. Then on Sunday, I was able to actually see him dressed in white, walking into the baptism font!! He was one hundred percent accepting to everything we taught him and was even excited to keep the commandments. He has shared so many experiences since we met him, and he is readily admitting that God’s hand has been in his life. The most amazing thing is the day we met him, he lost his job and exactly a week later, he landed a job on the temple site.  He is so excited for what is to come. His baptism brought a lot of ward unity. We really tried to involve different members for each aspect of the work concerning him and it is really neat to see how everyone steps up to the challenge of befriending these new members.”

An hour before this man was baptized, he was in Priesthood meeting. The lesson was on tithing and a member told me that this wonderful non-member raised his hand and said:

“A week ago I didn’t have a job. Now I have a job, the gospel and friends. Tithing is nothing compared to the blessings I have received. And this was just one week. Imagine all the blessings I will receive in a life time.”

Isn’t it amazing as we magnify our callings to represent Christ, we magnify the blessings to both us and those we invite, not just now, but for the eternities. President Eyring taught:

“You are called to represent the Savior. Your voice to testify becomes the same as His voice, your hands to lift the same as His hands. His work is to bless His Father’s spirit children with the opportunity to choose eternal life. So, your calling is to bless lives. That will be true even in the most ordinary tasks you are assigned and in moments when you might be doing something not apparently connected to your call. Just the way you smile or the way you offer to help someone can build their faith. And should you forget who you are, just the way you speak and the way you behave can destroy faith. Your call has eternal consequences for others and for you. In the world to come, thousands may call your name blessed, even more than the people you serve here. They will be the ancestors and the descendants of those who chose eternal life because of something you said or did, or even what you were. If someone rejects the Savior’s invitation because you did not do all you could have done, their sorrow will be yours. You see, there are no small callings to represent the Lord. Your call carries grave responsibility. But you need not fear, because with your call come great promises.” (2002 October General Conference, Henry B. Eyring)



One thought on “President Anderson’s Letter – June 23, 2013

  1. Vicki Judkins

    We have sure missed your blog, and especially the surprise photos we’d find. Is anyone planning to take over the blog? We keep checking for updates. Thanks for what you did!

    Reply

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