Alma 26
So, I was reading in Alma 26, and I realized that this chapter is basically just Ammon talking about his mission, and how grateful he was for that experience, and how amazing it was that he was able to help so many of the Lamanites come unto Christ.
When he started talking about the some of the people he helped to convert to the gospel, he said this: "They shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; neither shall they they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds withersoever the enemy listeth to carry them."
I think that, even though I have grown up in the church, I still have the responsibility to become converted, and when I do, I can have this same confidence and assurance.
Also, Grandma and Grandpa, I was wondering if you two could share some missionary stories in the comments? I just thought of you guys and how you have served a mission, and I like to compare the scriptures with my life... that would just be really cool.
-McKenna
McKenna, you are SO right! Even growing up in the Church each of us needs to be converted. Being converted is more than just having a testimony. A testimony is necessary to become converted. A testimony is knowing certain things are true. To me, being converted means that a person strives hard everyday to LIVE the way our Father and Savior would have us live, keeping the commandments, loving and serving others, following the example of Jesus Christ etc. We are not perfect at it, but everyday we try and we sincerely repent when we fall short. Elder Bednar gave a great talk called "Converted Unto the Lord". I think it was October 2012. I will think about stories from our mission and I will post them sometime this week. Thanks for sharing McKenna
ReplyDeleteWe LOVED our mission! And we LOVED the people of the Philippines! A lot of our responsibility was helping the young elders. (We didn't have any young sister missionaries in the Narra District because the mission president (I guess) thought it was unsafe because in the evening there really weren't really any street lights. Working with the young elders was awesome, and we came to love them and appreciate their hard work and sacrifice. I remember one missionary talked about how when he joined the Church his grandmother beat him. But he said it was ok because he knew that the Church was true and it was the right thing to do. There were so many awesome missionaries. We did also have many opportunities to go out with the elders to teach investigators. We loved that! There was a family that we started to work with as soon as we got to Narra - Edwin and Annabelle Magsino and their 3 kids. We were able to see them get baptized, all except Wendell because he was too young, and then the day before we flew home we were able to see them sealed as a family!! It was wonderful! Not many missionaries get to experience that! We felt really blessed that we were able to stay in the same area our whole mission. We really got to know the people really well, and loved them so much!I think we gained a greater understanding of how they really live and the struggles they have. Most are very poor, but they are happy, loving people! A couple of funny things that happened, we were teaching a family, helping them prepare to go to the temple, and this BIG scorpion crawls out from under the bed. Brother Palo grabs his machete and chops it to pieces. No big deal! There homes are not like our homes. They are Nepa huts. (Not sure that is how you spell Nepa.) The walls are woven bamboo and they have a thatched roof. There's open area between the walls and roof so air can circulate, but it also allows in many "creatures". Many people have dirt floors. Another time we were visiting a less active family. As we were talking there were 2 huge rats climbing all over the walls! And of course, there were the geckos. Not sure they were geckos but they were big lizards that EVERYONE had in their homes, including us. We loved the people! And even though sometimes we couldn't understand the language, we could feel their spirits. There was one man in our ward who I don't think he spoke any English, but when he would talk about the Book of Mormon and how much he loved it and how thankful he was for it the Spirit was so strong. He was a great man! We were blessed and protected while we were there and are SO thankful we were able to serve. I hope to go back there someday!
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