My Temple Square Mission: Our Paths are Guided!

Hi everyone!!

The happiest thing ever happened this week!!!!

I had the opportunity to teach James and he was baptized in March. However, he fell away from the church after a month of being a member, BUT the good news is that I emailed him at the beginning of October and asked how he was doing, shared my testimony about Conference, and invited him to watch it. He emailed back talking about the new church he was going to and his experiences over the past 3-4 months. Then, last week, he told me he really felt he should go back to his LDS ward on Sunday and make amends with his friends there. He then explained that when he got there he felt so much peace and that the Spirit so strong that he knew he had to go back! And then yesterday, I received another email from him that he had met a wonderful woman (in the church that he had been going to) and brought her to the LDS church and how she felt the Spirit and wants to keep going. He then testified to me that he knows that he has been on this path so that he could know without a doubt that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that he knows Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I teared up as I read it! He struggled so much, but now his testimony is so firm. God truly does have His hand in the details of our lives and James is a wonderful example of that! Ah, so happy, happy!!

Another desk assignment miracle this week!!! Sister Hansen and I covered the NVC desk for the AP's the other day and while we were on desk assignment, this elderly lady came up to me asking for a Book of Mormon. I gave one to her and then asked her how she has come to know about our church. She then explained to me how she had taught Ken Jennings (the Mormon guy who won Jeopardy) and how she was so impressed with him. Ken has kept in touch with her over the years and he has talked about his religion with her before. She REALLY wants to read the Book of Mormon and said "I have to read this book". Her determination was impressive and I invited her to stay in touch with me so that I could help her with any questions that she has while reading. She agreed and we set up an appointment for Wednesday. It was funny because her daughter said, "Mom, what are you committing to over there?" And Margaret, the elderly lady, firmly held her Book of Mormon and said, "None of your business!". Haha. Turns out the daughter was just making sure that her mom wasn't going to commit to something that she wouldn't be in town for (since Margaret was only in town for a few days). I explained that it would just be a phone call, haha. Margaret has got some spunk!

I have been reading the book "Our Search For Happiness" by Elder M. Russell Ballard and it has been such a good read!! It's hard for me to put it down. I love it because it talks about the basic principles and also the history of this Gospel. A few days ago, I read about the Reformation and how it prepared the world for the Restoration of Christ's Gospel. It talked about how religious doctrine was decided by popular opinion at the conference in Nicea in 325 AD (I think that's the right year), and how those decisions were applied for hundreds of years afterwards. Then, people like Martin Luther, John Calvin, etc came into the picture and wanted to reform those beliefs because, they realized, especially Luther, how much it varied from actual Biblical doctrine. Over time, many people moved to America and many churches sprang up. It was the first time in over a thousand years where people were free to voice their opinion about religion and search for truth without intense persecution. Elder M. Russell Ballard then talks about how those men of the Reformation were definitely guided by Heavenly Father and that, because of their courageous efforts, this country was "ripe" for the restoring of Christ's full Gospel on the earth once again. Reading this, I reflected on the progression of the world and how there were the Dark ages and then from that time on, there continued to be more and more religious light in the world. And I know that that "more and more" religious light has progressed to full and complete light.

I know this Gospel is true and that it's the exact teachings of Jesus Christ when he was on the earth. We are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us and who prepared the way for us to have complete light in our life.

I love you all! Enjoy every day!

Sister Asay