I was so blessed this week
to be able to watch General Conference! I had heard that conference is
like the Superbowl for missionaries, and I can tell you that it isn't.
It's BETTER! We got to watch every session on both Saturday and Sunday,
and I learned so much from every single talk! The most important thing
that the Spirit taught me, though, was a reaffirmation that Thomas S.
Monson really is a prophet of God, and that the apostles are chosen men
ordained of God. Their words are vital scripture for us today! They are
our outlet to hear exactly what God wants us to hear, in language that
we can understand in our day! I am so grateful that God loves us so much
to give us this direction through prophets.
One of my favorite themes I noticed throughout
conference was the theme of obedience. As a missionary, you have heaps
and heaps of rules and you're told to be exactly obedient to all of
them. As disciples of Christ, missionary or civilian, we have
commandments to be obedient to as well. A lot of times I think people
think of obedience as a chore, or submission, or a degrading thing that
admits that we don't have power. But obedience to God's laws is not. As
L. Tom Perry said in his talk on Sunday,
obedience is not weakness; it is what qualifies us to receive the power
of heaven. Being obedient is choosing to access the infinite wisdom and
power of God. All the things he commands us to do are for our own good,
will bring us blessings, and will help us come closer to Christ. As we
obey our Heavenly Father, we become more like Him. We become qualified
to receive the blessings and divine assistance that he yearns to give
us. Jesus Christ, as in all things, is our prime exemplar of obedience.
He didn't have to suffer in the garden. He didn't have to be nailed on
the cross. He was not killed by His crucifiers; He chose to die for us. He had all power to deliver Himself, yet He chose to
be obedient to His Father's commandments and complete the atonement.
The atonement was made possible by the obedience of our Savior. And if
the Savior has such need and such willingness to be obedient to His
Father, how much more need have to to be obedient as well. Obedience is
not weakness.
And that's my sermon for the week! ;) On another
note, we gave our sweet Mercedes a copy of the Book of Mormon this week
and she is excited to start reading! She shared an experience that she
had while reading her Bible. She said she felt like God was talking to
her through the scriptures and telling her that she should listen to the
message we have to teach her! So cool! We love her so much, and we know
Heavenly Father does too!
Big thanks to everyone who has written me letters
and emails! I promise I will get back to all of you as soon as I can! I
even bought stamps to send real letters home, but I stuck them in a Book
of Mormon and forgot about them and I'm pretty sure I gave that Book to
Mercedes. So I'll have to ask for them back soon.
I love you all! The church is true!!
xoxox Sister Larsen
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