Semana 64

Dear Elder Lutze,

We hope your week has gone extremely well! Keep up the work of change in yourself and others! 

This week was unusually busy. Our new furnace and AC are in…. Thank goodness! It’s getting cold. 

I met up with a few different friends throughout the week… Jill, Suzy, Tricia, and Sherrene and later with Lisa. I enjoyed connecting with all of them. 

Dad and I went to see Elf: The Musical. We loved it! I really enjoyed the temple this week. I went to the Draper Temple since Mt Timpanogos is closed for 2 weeks. 

I’ve been working on my blog and enjoying the re-read of all my notes from Israel. I’m so grateful Dad and I had that opportunity to see Israel  together. 

I love you!

 Mom

I hope you like these quotes!

Change their hearts… Gerald Lund said we could exchange the word “heart” for “The real or inward person”    The power of the word… their souls were illuminated (v 7), and their souls did expand. (v 9)  Conversion is changing… changing over and over again.    Alma talks about this mighty change in v 11-12. The change in the heart of his father.  What was required for change? The word of God – Scripture, the word of God meaning Prophetic. Faith and belief in Jesus Christ.     He goes through a list of questions with his people…     President Benson… Born of God – November 1985 

Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world.  Men changed for Christ will be captained by Christ. Like Paul they will be asking, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6.) Peter stated, they will “follow his steps.” (1 Pet. 2:21.) John said they will “walk, even as he walked.” (1 Jn. 2:6.)  Finally, men captained by Christ will be consumed in Christ. To paraphrase President Harold B. Lee, they set fire in others because they are on fire. (Stand Ye in Holy Places, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974, p. 192.)  Their will is swallowed up in His will. (See John 5:30.)  They do always those things that please the Lord. (See John 8:29.)  Not only would they die for the Lord, but more important they want to live for Him.  Enter their homes, and the pictures on their walls, the books on their shelves, the music in the air, their words and acts reveal them as Christians.  They stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places. (See Mosiah 18:9.)  They have Christ on their minds, as they look unto Him in every thought. (See D&C 6:36.)  They have Christ in their hearts as their affections are placed on Him forever. (See Alma 37:36.)  Almost every week they partake of the sacrament and witness anew to their Eternal Father that they are willing to take upon them the name of His Son, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. (See Moro. 4:3.)

Alma 5:7 ​Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the ​​​bands​ of death, and the ​​​chains​ of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them. 

1 Thessalonians 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

Be of Good Cheer~Be a Cork If we are entirely dependent upon God, then He can take our limitations and our weaknesses and magnify them into strengths useful for His divine purposes. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles encouraged us to cheerfully rely on the Lord when we face the challenges of mortality: “Problems or trials in our lives need to be viewed in the perspective of scriptural doctrine. Otherwise they can easily overtake our vision, absorb our energy, and deprive us of the joy and beauty the Lord intends us to receive here on earth. Some people are like rocks thrown into a sea of problems. They are drowned by them. Be a cork. When submerged in a problem, fight to be free to bob up to serve again with happiness. … “The Lord is intent on your personal growth and development. That progress is accelerated when you willingly allow Him to lead you through every growth experience you encounter, whether initially it be to your individual liking or not. When you trust in the Lord, when you are willing to let your heart and your mind be centered in His will, when you ask to be led by the Spirit to do His will, you are assured of the greatest happiness along the way and the most fulfilling attainment from this mortal experience. If you question everything you are asked to do, or dig in your heels at every unpleasant challenge, you make it harder for the Lord to bless you [see 1 Nephi 3:7]” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1996, 32–33; or Ensign, May 1996, 24–25). 

Mosiah 24:13 ​And it ​​​came​ to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up ​​your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.