Date: April 3, 2017
Area: Bloemfontein, South Africa
Companion: Elder Mbangi
Well sort of! Because of the time difference we can not really watch conference live. for example the Sunday pm session started at 10pm our time and would end at midnight, but we have been able to watch the Saturday session and boy was it grand!!
I loved the very first talk I heard by president Eyring about how "the best technology can never replace revelation" I have noticed this on my mission. We don't have a lot of access to technology like other missions because of safety issues so we do not use ipads or tablets of any kind.
I have noticed that people these days don't want to study and find answers for themselves. we simply google, yahoo and bing our way through. I think this causes a bit of a problem. When you really search for something by turning page after page. book after book, person after person, looking, searching, discovering and ultimately finding, you actually come to ingrain into you very soul the truths of life you have been searching for. thus The best things always come out from the hard things. We find more our selves as we dig deep and keep digging. We gain an answer and understanding that will never fade a way. We allow the spirit of revelation to fill our minds eye as we seek for the direction and council of the Lord on who we should proceed. We are becoming a lazy generation "smart phones and dumb people" People who don't know how to find answers from God anymore because the alternative is easier, quicker, and mostly reliable. but is that good enough for you? only being mostly reliable. who has ever heard of a company slogan like that? Choose us, we wont let you down.... most of the time! Have you ever heard a coach say its okay, we gave it 80 percent. NO! almost, and mostly and sometimes is not good enough, at least not for me! I constantly tell people, I may lie, but do you know who will never lie to you? Only God! at the end of the day, He is the truth and the light! If we are looking for truth or light in our life then we should turn to the source of all truth and of all light.
I also learned something this week while teaching! Its cool when you are asked a question and you know the answer to something you never thought about.
We were asked this week if you could change the mind of God, it was an interesting question and we wanted to understand more. so we said, why do you ask? Their is a story the the book of Kings in the old Testament of the bible of a man who is told by the prophet that he will soon die. The dying man prays to God that he might live longer, God grants the prayer and extends the life of the man. Thus the question, was the man able to change the mind of God? My answer was no, we can not change Gods mind. God is bound by law though. laws that even govern us. for example. every action has a reaction. one of newtons laws (slightly shorted)
God wants to bless us, we are his children and He wants to give us all He has. but according to law He can not just give us blessings. we first need to act so that God can then re-act. We learn through the scriptures that to every act their is an affixed punishment or blessing. It is only upon the action of faith in which God can bestow us blessings from on high. He wishes to flood our lives with the showers of heaven but is held back by the lack of acting faith on our part. without us acting God can do no work. (Ether 12:12) We know that Faith is an action word. We can just say we have faith we need to show it (James 2:17)
The man did not change Gods mind but simply allowed God the opportunity to give Him blessings He was already prepared and wanting to give. "Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." (LDS Bible dictionary- Prayer)
To check out conference or more about our church click below.
Wow prayer is important right! just a cool thought to me though that God is bound by law of action and reaction God never punishes unless we act against his will. He is always watching and waiting to pour blessing upon us as we choose to follow Him.
This week we put a women named Thuli on a baptismal day, we are hopeful for her to progress and start coming to church. After we taught the restoration of the gospel she was eager to accept her own copy of the book of Mormon.
Auspicious was able to come to conference this week which was awesome. We talked about how we would be guided by modern day prophets and apostles. We should prepare ourselves to receive guidance in our lives and get answers the questions. She prepared a list of 10 questions that she wants answered. sadly I am not allowed to see her list and they are questions pertaining to her personal life. She received on answer and I pray she gets more through the coming sessions of conference.
Have a wonderful week, and beautiful Easter!!!
Love,
Elder North
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