My Dad—My Hero (Father’s Day Sacrament Meeting Talk)

I had the privilege of speaking in church on Father’s Day. I love and admire my dad!

The thing that impressed me the most when I was studying and preparing my talk was the way Apostle D. Todd Christofferson likened Jesus Christ’s teaching that “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Elder Christofferson said:

Fathers manifest that love as they lay down their lives day by day, laboring in the service and support of their families.

I had always thought about Jesus’ quote in terms of being willing to die for someone. Elder Christofferson’s words helped me realize that it can also mean living for someone. Parents sacrifice so much for their children, and in that way, they are very Christlike.

The following is an approximate transcript of my talk yesterday:

I am honored and excited to speak about fathers today.

In my talk, I will be quoting parts of Apostle D. Todd Christofferson’s sermon entitled “Fathers,” which he gave in the April 2016 Church general conference. But first, I’d like to quote a paragraph from the Gospel Topics essay entitled “Family”:

The Lord has designated the family to be the basic unit of the Church and of society. As used in the scriptures, a family consists of a husband and wife, children, and sometimes other relatives living in the same house or under one family head. A family can also be a single person living alone, a single parent with children, or a husband and wife without children. …

fathers and mothers today are equal partners in the family.

One of the things Elder D. Todd Christofferson said in his talk was, “We believe that far from being superfluous, fathers are unique and irreplaceable.”

What does “superfluous” mean? It means “extra or unnecessary.” So, fathers are far from being extra or unnecessary—they are unique and irreplaceable.

Of course, we are all part of a Heavenly Family. Elder Christofferson said,

The role of father is of divine origin, beginning with a Father in Heaven and, in this mortal sphere, with Father Adam.

There are different types of fathers. There are married fathers, single fathers, adopted fathers, foster fathers, stepfathers. There are also men who don’t have children of their own but are still father figures. If there are children in your life who look up to you, you play a fatherly role.

According to Elder Christofferson, husband and father are “the highest of masculine roles.” 

Some of the characteristics I appreciate in my dad are:

1) He likes to have fun—When I was growing up, he’d take me on “daddy-daughter dates” all the time. One of my favorite memories is the time my best friend and I went go kart racing together with our dads. On the way home, my dad was still driving like a go kart driver. He took a corner a little too fast and wiped out a pedestrian crossing sign. He also ripped the muffler off the car, causing it to drag on the road. He and my friend’s dad found an old pair of jeans in the trunk and tied them around the muffler. Then my friend’s dad leaned out the window holding up the muffler while my dad drove home. The scariest part was getting over the railroad tracks, but we made it! After we dropped off my friend and her dad and pulled into our driveway, my dad turned around and looked at me. He gave a little laugh and said, “Jess, if I don’t laugh I’m going to cry, because I have to explain this to your mother.”

2) He prioritizes our family—My dad double majored in Russian and international relations. He’s never worked in that field. After his college graduation, he had an opportunity to do some work in Russia, but he turned it down because he wasn’t going to be able to bring his family along. To me, that’s an amazing example of sacrificing for us.

3) My dad cries easily—He cries when he gives me blessings, he cried when I told him we were expecting a baby girl, and he cries when he shares his feelings about the gospel.

4) Most important of all, I know my dad cares—When my brother had severe depression, he prayed to know what it was like so he could understand. He told me it felt like a thick, heavy, black feeling weighing on him. That experience helped him understand better what my brother was going through. Dad also has a gift for caring about other people; it comes naturally to him. He’s always been a good example to me of including others and talking to people I don’t know well at church.

If I had only one word to describe my dad, it would be “tender.”

Some characteristics I appreciate in my father-in-law are:

1) His sense of humor—He and his wife are always playing practical jokes on each other and some of them can get pretty elaborate. It’s pretty funny.

2) He’s hardworking—He always has a project and he’s always willing to help his children with their projects.

3) He’s also a crier, which I think is sweet. Now, if Clay is listening closely, no doubt he’s feeling guilty for NOT being a crier, so let me say clearly that it’s not necessary to cry for people to feel the sincerity of your testimony.

4) My father-in-law frequently tells his children he loves them and that he’s proud of them.

5) He diligently seeks opportunities to share his feelings about the gospel with his family, even the family members who are not currently participating in church.

My husband, Clayton, shares many of these same characteristics. That’s a big part of what attracted me to him and why I love him.

Other father figures in my life have been:

1) Rod Hill was one of my neighbors growing up. He was an ex-Marine and taught 6th grade. I thought he was the coolest “old” man ever.

2) Kris White was one of my Primary teachers. I think he gave me my first Book of Mormon. It had his testimony written in the front.

3) Brother Shock and Brother Southard were two of our family’s home teachers when I was growing up.

4) My grandfathers have been father figures to me.

5) I served a mission under two mission presidents, David Glazier and Bruno Vasquez. I look up to them a lot.

Ideally, one of a father’s defining traits is love.

In one of the Church’s Father’s Day tribute videos, someone says, “A dad means love that never goes away.”

I once heard someone say that you love what you sacrifice for and you sacrifice for what you love.

Elder Christofferson said:

Fatherhood requires sacrifice, but it is a source of incomparable satisfaction, even joy. Again, the ultimate model is our Heavenly Father, who so loved us, His spirit children, that He gave us His Only Begotten Son for our salvation and exaltation. Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Fathers manifest that love as they lay down their lives day by day, laboring in the service and support of their families.

Elder Christofferson went on to say:

Perhaps the most essential of a father’s work is to turn the hearts of his children to their Heavenly Father.

Certainly teaching the gospel is a shared duty between fathers and mothers, but the Lord is clear that He expects fathers to lead out in making it a high priority. … The Lord expects fathers to help shape their children, and children want and need a model.

My dad has always been a great role model for me. I mentioned one thing I love about my dad is how he puts our family first.

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 was a difficult year for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My family had an additional trial. In May 2020, my dad was hit by an impaired driver. It was a bad accident and he really should have died. Miraculously, he survived, although he did lose his left leg below the knee. He now has a prosthetic and suffers from chronic pain.

As he was recovering, one of his biggest concerns was to preserve his family relationships by not becoming bitter.

He and my mom have been extraordinary examples to me of forgiveness, trusting the Lord, leaning on Him for strength and guidance, and keeping an eternal perspective. My mom said when they made the decision to do the amputation, one thing that gave her a lot of comfort was the doctrine of the Resurrection. In the Resurrection, my dad will have a perfect body. Because of Jesus Christ, none of our physical imperfections are permanent.

My parents regularly share the things they’ve learned through this trial with youth groups and other groups.

I’d like to finish with my testimony that fathers really are unique and irreplaceable. I feel blessed to have wonderful father figures in my life. We also all have a loving, perfect Father in Heaven who does so much for us—much of which we probably don’t recognize. I’m grateful for my fathers.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Triangle of Faith

It's the first Sunday of May. Traditionally in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the first Sunday of every month is fast and testimony meeting.

For the fasting part, church members are basically invited to skip two meals and donate what they would have spent to the poor and needy. It's a good opportunity to pray for divine inspiration or help. It's also a private, personal experience and nobody is going to ask you if you did it.

Conversely, testimony meeting is public. During the first hour of church, members are invited to share their thoughts and feelings, or "testimonies," of Jesus Christ. Anyone can walk up to the microphone at the front of the room and share.

Recently, all church meetings have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clayton and I hold our own meetings at home.

I felt the desire to share my testimony today. It's different writing it down instead of talking about it, but that's okay. I've sometimes thought it's easier to express myself in writing anyway.

This week I was reading an article in Ensign magazine that mentioned the "triangle of faith." The author explains the points in the triangle as 1) the Spirit, 2) the scriptures, and 3) the prophets, "especially living ones." A triangle is a strong shape, and working on our personal triangle of faith helps keep us spiritually strong. (Benjamin Hyrum White, "Sherem's Skepticism: The Tactics of a Faith Shaker," Ensign, April 2020)

The triangle of faith imagery appealed to me. But I adapted it a little because I feel the scriptures and the prophets are sort of the same. After all, what are scriptures but the words of prophets written down? To me, it makes more sense for the points in the triangle to be prayer, scriptures (including the words of living prophets), and the Spirit.

As I thought about my personal triangle of faith, I realized that each point has played a significant role in my own relationship with God.

Prayer
I first began to be aware of God at a young age. My parents taught me to pray and took me to Church. I had numerous experiences as a child praying for God's help. Sometimes I was praying for help finding something I'd lost; other times I prayed for help going back to sleep after a bad dream. One time when I was 12 or 13, I remember my bishop asking me how often I prayed and I replied, "Pretty much all the time. I need a lot of help." (If only 12-year-old me knew how much help 27-year-old me was going to need. Nothing has changed, haha.)

These experiences going to a loving Heavenly Father in prayer became a crucial part of the foundation of my relationship with Him.

Scriptures (words of God's prophets, including living ones)
The scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, also played a huge role in helping me form a relationship with God. I read it by myself for the first time in 2005, when President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged all church members to read it all the way through by the end of the year.

I've had questions and doubts over the years about certain aspects of the gospel, but there's always one thing I cannot deny: I know the Book of Mormon came from God. I've read it numerous times and prayed to know the truth about its origins. Every time I read it, I feel the Spirit. And the Book of Mormon played such a central role in the formation of my particular religion that if it's true, so is everything else: Joseph Smith was actually a prophet of God, and this is Jesus Christ's New Testament church restored to Earth.

That thought has brought me a lot of peace. I may not understand everything perfectly, but I do know the Book of Mormon is true, which means at least I'm looking for answers in the right place.

The Spirit
Of course, the Spirit is the key to anyone's relationship with God. He often acts as a messenger from God, and one of his many responsibilities is to testify of truth.

The Spirit is sort of like the glue that holds my testimony together; it's how I know the Book of Mormon is true and there is a living prophet of God today. When I pray, the answers or comfort I seek typically come from the Spirit.

I've written about how my testimony has been fundamentally shaped by the Spirit before, and I don't plan to go into it all again. Suffice it to say, I agree with President Harold B. Lee when he said the witness of the Holy Spirit is more powerful than any physical witness humankind could have that there is a loving God in heaven; a Heavenly Father who cares about us and wants us to be happy.

Everyone feels the Spirit differently. For me, I know something is true when it just makes sense; there's just a feeling that it's right. I sometimes also get a tingling warm feeling confirming that it's right.

One of the best things about God is He is no respecter of persons. That means that no matter who you are, He loves you and He will make Himself and His will known to you if you sincerely seek for it. It doesn't always come right away---actually in my experience, it almost never comes right away. God likes it when we take a few actions on our own because that demonstrates our willingness to believe in Him and trust Him. But in His perfect timing, He will eventually answer you. I know because it happened to me.

Because life is hard and inevitably wears me down, I have to continually seek Him through prayer, the scriptures, and the Spirit. I have to remember the experiences I've had with Him in the past as well as have new ones. I think that's the key to keeping our triangle of faith---and our relationship with God---strong.

"Be of Good Cheer"

I teach the four-year-olds at church.

I didn't always love it---trying to teach a bunch of little kids can be like herding cats sometimes---but I've learned that I can be a good teacher even if I don't get through my whole lesson. My most important job is to help these kids feel the love of their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sometimes that means sitting in a circle telling stories of Jesus. Other times, it means listening to a child talk about how she fell off her bike that week and banged her knee. And there are times it means folding six paper airplanes and having an airplane-throwing contest.

Usually, it means doing a bit of all three.

Today I was supposed to teach about Paul the Apostle's journey to Rome. The lesson manual suggested several excellent principles I could share with the class. There's the fact Paul was a faithful missionary despite being thrown in jail for teaching about Jesus; Jesus' visit to Paul in jail to comfort him; Paul's warning to the Roman centurion not to try sailing to Rome at the late time of year and, when the centurion cast off anyway, the resulting shipwreck; Paul's subsequent instructions to the centurion and soldiers to get everyone to safety and how the Romans' obedience saved their lives.

My normal tactic is to prepare a story or activity about every principle recommended by the manual. But today, I felt impressed to focus only on one: Jesus' visit to Paul.

It's interesting to note that Paul had already suffered many trials while preaching of Jesus. He had been stoned, beaten and imprisoned. Up until this point, each time Paul entered into dangerous circumstances he was delivered in some way. In other words, God took him out of the dangerous circumstance.

But this time was different. When Paul made the decision to return to Jerusalem, he seemed to know his days of freedom were numbered. If I understand correctly, Paul remained in Roman custody until his execution around 64 A.D.

This time, Paul wasn't going to be delivered from danger. Instead, his role was to testify of Jesus Christ in Rome, just as he had testified in many other places. While he was imprisoned in Jerusalem, Jesus visited him during the night. He told Paul, "Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." (Acts 23:11)

That phrase, "Be of good cheer," stuck in my mind. I realized I'd read it multiple times in the scriptures:

• When Jesus healed a man sick of the palsy, He said: "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. ... Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." (Matthew 9:2 and 6)
• When Jesus walked on water, He said: "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." (Matthew 14:27)
• When Jesus was explaining to His apostles that He was about to die, He said: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
• When Nephi (of Third Nephi) was praying the night before all the Christians were scheduled to be executed by the unbelievers, Jesus told him: "Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets." (3 Nephi 1:13)
• In 1831, when missionaries were called to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus told them, "And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you." (D&C 61:36)
• In 1832, when Joseph Smith was praying about how to run certain affairs in the church, Jesus told him, "Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along." (D&C 78:18)

I felt I needed to focus on those words in my class, so I put information about each "Be of good cheer" story into a bag and had each child pick a paper one by one. I summarized each story and had the children say the words "Be of good cheer" with me. They seemed to like holding up their pictures of smiley faces and saying, "Be of good cheer!"

I love being with those little kids. They help me to be of good cheer, with their happy smiles, energy, and cute comments.

There are hard things in the world. There's a lot of confusion and sometimes even willful rebellion. But even when things seem dark, we can remember the gospel of Jesus Christ and be of good cheer. As Jesus told the Nephites when He visited them as our resurrected Savior:

Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me ... 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

--- 3 Nephi 27:13-14, 21-22

My friend Casey

It was one of the first days of January 2018 when I found out that my childhood friend Casey passed away on December 31, 2017. I couldn't bring myself to blog about it then, but I always meant to write a post about him someday.

Casey was a great friend. We grew up across the street from each other. He was five months older than me, but we were in the same grade at school. He was a Christmas baby---his birthday is December 25.

We played together a lot as kids. One of our favorite things to do was make believe we were characters from Star Wars. I was usually the voice, narrating the story as we jumped on his trampoline. We built snow forts together in winter and rode bikes together in summer. He invited me to go fishing and four-wheeling with his family several times. He wanted to be a chef when he grew up, and we cooked together a few times. I still remember the look on his face when I showed him he could bake a potato in the microwave. We were in a few community plays together, took a drawing class together, and played together in the junior high school band for one year.

I have so many good memories of us when we were younger. In junior high school, we started to hang out with different people and began drifting apart. We still hung out occasionally, but not nearly as often. Casey had ADHD, and he struggled in school more than I did. Since I was taking as many honors classes as I could, that meant we weren't in the same classes at school anymore. Pretty soon, the only time I knew I could count on seeing him was on our walk to and from the bus stop.

I don't like losing touch with people, and I remember being upset that we were growing apart but not really knowing what to do about it. It was so much easier to just hang out with my other friends. It seemed like we had more in common and they were more available. I still tried to hang out with Casey sometimes, but we'd grown out of make-believe and it felt harder to find things to do.

Going to high school made it even harder to maintain our friendship. He went to the local high school. I went to a public charter school that gave me an opportunity to earn my associate's degree and my high school diploma simultaneously. Our schedules were radically different, and we lost that precious time walking to and from the bus stop. I still cared about him, but we rarely spent time together.

Finally, I came up with what seemed like the perfect excuse to hang out, and in our junior year, I asked him if he would take me to my school prom. He said yes.

I looked forward to that night so much. We went out to dinner and then got on the freeway to go to the dance. He asked if I'd ever broken 100 mph in a car before. I said no, and with a wide smile, he gave me that experience. When we arrived at the dance, however, he started to feel sick to his stomach. We never even went in; we had to turn around and go home. As he stopped in my driveway, he turned to me and said regretfully, "Let's do this again sometime---but next time, let's maybe not go to prom."

We never did go on another date. That was the year Casey dropped out of school. The next years of his life included a pattern of drug abuse. He'd be drug-free for a while, then relapse. He was booked into the county jail a few times on charges of possession of illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia. The first time he was incarcerated, he tried to call me. At the time, I was on my way to a college class. When I heard that an inmate wanted to talk to me, I got kind of freaked out and hung up before the voice recording could tell me who it was. I didn't realize until later that the call was probably from Casey.

He never tried to call me again, but we wrote letters. My roommates were a little alarmed the first time I got a letter postmarked from the county jail, but they got used to it.

I wanted to help Casey, but I didn't know how. His mom was already sending him to rehab. The only thing I could think of to do was share my beliefs with him. He grew up Catholic, so we had a lot of beliefs in common. The most important one was a belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.

When Casey's older brother Jake died, my heart broke for him. Casey worshipped Jake, and because he was in jail at the time I don't think he was allowed to go to Jake's funeral.

Casey came to visit me once after he got out of jail. We talked for a few minutes about life. He told me about his girlfriend at the time. We promised each other we'd stay in touch, but it was hard to follow through on that promise when I went on my mission.

We didn't talk at all while I was in El Salvador. I don't think I had his email address, and he probably didn't have mine. After my mission, I wrote him a couple times when he was in jail. I watched his house, hoping he would come home. I asked his mom how he was doing whenever I saw her outside. Once, I ran joyfully across the street, only to realize I had mistaken his younger brother Ryan for him.

By December 2017, it had been a long time since I'd talked with Casey, or even any of his family members. Clayton and I had just had our first wedding anniversary. Life was busy, and I no longer lived near Casey's house. I regret that we grew so far apart during junior high school, but find some comfort in knowing how I tried to keep our friendship alive. At the very least, Casey knew I cared.

I think about him often. He was a wonderful person who faced devastating challenges in life. I blame addiction for the overdose that took his life. My heart goes out to anyone who struggles with addiction or who loves someone struggling with addiction.

I don't believe this life is the end. I'll see Casey again. And when I see him, I believe he'll be free from his addiction. Jesus Christ is his Savior, just like He is mine. And just like He is yours.

Starting Again

It's been a while since I felt compelled to add to my blog. There's plenty I could have said, but nothing seemed worth the effort until now. Writing comes from inspiration, and part of inspiration is work--actually sitting down to write and then listening to that inner voice that helps you know what to say.

For the better part of two years, the majority of my mental energy has been tapped to meet the challenges of a difficult job. But ever since I found a new job in November, my reservoir of mental energy has been filling again. Giving me a desire to resume writing, and resume sharing some of that writing here.

As I sit here in my quiet apartment, listening to Paul Cardall's beautiful, serene piano music on Pandora, it occurs to me that "starting again" is the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the great Mediator between us and God.

When Christ suffered and died for our sins, He was meeting the demands of justice and creating an opportunity for mercy. Thanks to that act, each day we can start again fresh.

My mom has a saying. "Thanks to Jesus Christ, no bad thing is permanent and all good things can last forever." The bad thing could be an event, like the death of someone we love, or a character weakness, like the inner pride that makes it so hard to change. The good things I usually think of are my family, my friendships, and life's perfect moments.

Christ has redeemed us, and He invites everyone to use His gift to be a little bit better each day--bit by bit until we can actually feel comfortable in the presence of God. That's the ultimate goal of existence--to learn to live in such a way that we are truly Christlike, and can return with our loved ones to the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Choosing Clayton

It’s funny. I had a secret crush on Clayton for a year before he finally asked me out, but after we became boyfriend and girlfriend, my nerves were suddenly wound so tight it was hard to really enjoy dating him. Doubts seemed to flood over me at the most inconvenient moments. Weeks passed before I let him kiss me again. Some days, I felt like I was on cloud nine with him. Other days, I was convinced breaking off the relationship would be better for both of us. I rarely mentioned details of my internal battle because Clayton seemed to have completely fallen for me and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. My decision to marry him evolved through weeks of serious, near-constant reflection.

One night six weeks after our first kiss, we decided to go to a few classes at BYU’s Education Week. There, I learned a principle that changed my life: Love is a choice.

"People talk about love like it's an accident sometimes," said our teacher, Justin Top. "We say, 'I fell in love,' as if we were walking along, tripped and faceplanted into love. But love isn't an accident; it's a choice. It takes effort and sacrifice."

Two days later on Sunday morning, one of the talks in church was about receiving personal revelation. For weeks, I had been praying, asking God if advancing my relationship with Clayton would be a good choice, and it suddenly hit me: God had already answered my prayer. His answer was: “Love is a choice.”

I felt amazing that day. I recognized God had given me an incredible gift: an opportunity to love and be loved by one of the best men I’d ever met. But Sunday passed and doubts crept back in. By Tuesday, I was trudging to the first day of my autumn institute of religion class, thinking once again it would be best to break up. There was only one problem: I couldn’t bear the thought of letting Clayton go. But didn’t he deserve someone who was totally sure she could marry him?

Happily, my inspired religion teacher came to my rescue that day. At the beginning of class, he asked everyone to say their name and one attribute they admired about themselves. I said my name was Jessica and I was an optimist. My teacher smiled at me and commented, “Just like President Hinckley. That’s a good quality.”

It probably didn’t seem like much to him, but to me that remark made a world of difference. As I thought of President Gordon B. Hinckley, I remembered some of his teachings and his optimistic, faith-filled attitude toward life. I realized the fear and anxiety I’d been experiencing as I contemplated marrying Clayton did not come from God, but the strong spiritual experience I’d had on Sunday did. That night I wrote in my class notes, “If I chose optimism, I’d choose Clay.” Since then, I’ve never reconsidered my decision to marry him.

What is love?

I went to a class about finding true happiness at BYU on Aug. 19. The teacher, Justin Top, is a chaplain in the U.S. Navy, and the first thing he talked that day was love.

"People talk about love like it's an accident sometimes," he said. "We say, 'I fell in love,' as if we were walking along, tripped and faceplanted into love. But love isn't an accident; it's a choice. It takes effort and sacrifice."

As my mission president David Glazier once said, "You love what you sacrifice for and you sacrifice for what you love."

Chaplain Top's words have echoed in my ears since I heard them. What is love? Love isn't an accident; it's a choice.

We choose to love. Of course, there will be traits that initially attract us to another person, but since we're all imperfect human beings, inevitably one person will do or say something to upset or annoy the other. The only way love can possibly last is if both people are willing to forgive and work at getting along and improving.

This concept applies to all different kinds of love. Consider the love between a parent and their child, two close friends, or even a pet owner and their animal. Work and sacrifice are both very important parts of the love equation.

Romantic love is even more special because it is one of the primary reasons God created the human race. Consider what the late prophet Howard W. Hunter said:

Life’s greatest partnership is in marriage—that relationship which has lasting and eternal significance. ... It is not good for man nor for woman to be alone. Man is not complete without woman. Neither can fill the measure of their creation without the other (see 1 Cor. 11:11; Moses 3:18). Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God (see D&C 49:15–17). Only through the new and everlasting covenant of marriage can they realize the fulness of eternal blessings (see D&C 131:1–4; 132:15–19).

I believe love should be eternal. That's why God also commands men and women to be faithful to their spouses and why he goes to such effort to teach us how work and sacrifice help make love last for eternity.

After all, what better example do we have of love than Jesus Christ, who out of love for humankind suffered for our sins and sacrificed his life, that we might find mercy and one day live with God again? Jesus' love is eternal, offered to people from every walk of life forever. God's love is also eternal, for he sacrificed his own son so that humankind could find mercy for their sins.

Why I believe in God

For the past several months, I've been reflecting on my beliefs. I grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a long time, I went to church because my parents did. In my early teenage years, I decided if I was going to continue going to church, I'd better learn for myself whether it was true. So I read the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, and prayed. I started paying more attention to what was being taught in church, and found it was helpful and applicable to my daily life. I kept going to church.

When I moved away for college, my faith wavered again. In this new environment, my parents weren't around to remind me to read my scriptures and say my prayers. Not all my roommates went to church, and I learned it takes a lot of courage and determination to attend on your own. I did my best to keep up the habits I'd formed in childhood. I gained a better understanding that one does not attend church to hang out with friends; one attends church to get closer to God. I kept going to church.

On my mission, I was immersed 24/7 in church things. My companion and I dedicated two hours each day to scripture study. We prayed constantly. We shared our beliefs constantly. I felt the Spirit testify of our words.

And yet, even still my faith was not perfect. It wavered every time an investigator or less-active member asked the hard questions. Most of them were "why" questions: "If God really exists, why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?" "If God really loves everyone unconditionally, why do we have to follow the commandments to be saved in the kingdom of heaven?" "Why do you say there's only one true church - don't we all worship the same God?"

I studied. I prayed. I had deep discussions with my mission companions. I learned I did not have all the answers. But the amount of things I did know far exceeded the amount of things I did not know. I knew God was real. I knew He loved me. And I knew that through the grace of Jesus Christ, everything would work out. As the saying goes: Because of Jesus Christ, all bad things are temporary and all good things are eternal. Additionally, one day we will have all the answers.

Long story short...I kept going to church.

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday. The first day of the last week of Jesus' mortal life. As I sat in church, my thoughts turned again to self reflection. Why do I believe in God?

I pondered the experiences I've had with prayer and scripture study. I thought about my mission. Then I realized the answer to my question could be explained much more simply than by going through all that.

I believe in God because of the Spirit. I have felt the Holy Spirit testify to me, soul to soul, on many occasions that God exists, and that He loves His children. The late prophet Harold B. Lee once said:

I bear you my testimony that I know the Savior lives, that the most powerful witness you can have that He lives comes when the power of the Holy Spirit bears witness to your soul that He does live. More powerful than sight, more powerful than walking and talking with Him, is that witness of the Spirit... ("Chapter 5: Walking in the Light of Testimony." TEACHINGS OF PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCH: HAROLD B. LEE. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2000. 37-46. Print.)

Easter is approaching. It's one of my favorite holidays because of the hope it instills in me. Jesus suffered greatly during His last week of life, but He overcame it all. His perfect example of obedience and faith are inspiring, and His sacrifices in Gesthemane and at Golgotha enable me - and all mankind - to be forgiven for our past mistakes and become better disciples. They also enable me - and all mankind - to one day live again as resurrected beings.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

Hallelujah!

Today is El Salvador's Independence Day

¡Feliz día de independencia, mi querido país de El Salvador!

I still remember my first Independence Day in El Salvador. I had just arrived in the country and was in my first area in la colonia Santa Lucía, Ilopango. September 15 was a Sunday, and before church started, members of the Relief Society passed out blue and white flowers to all the women. To start off sacrament meeting, the bishopric had everyone stand and sing the national anthem. There was also a parade passing right in front of the chapel. (However, we were too busy having church inside to watch it.)

At the time, all of these events went over my head. I didn't understand much Spanish and was still a little bit in shock, trying to adjust living in a foreign country. I remember thinking, It's cool how patriotic they are here, but funny... I don't remember us singing the national anthem last Sunday. I wonder how often they do that?

It wasn't until the following year, when my second Independence Day rolled around, that I understood what the occasion was. My second Independence Day was a Monday, usually the missionaries' "preparation day" - a day dedicated to cleaning the house, writing our families, going grocery shopping, and running errands so that we could focus 100 percent the rest of the week on the Lord's work. I was excited because I thought my companion and I might be able to watch part of the parade, but then the mission president dictated that p-day would be moved to Tuesday that week, and required all missionaries to stay inside and do extra scripture study during the parade. I was a little disappointed, but we obeyed President. I know the decision was probably made for our own protection.

88 degrees

Hna Fuentes and I are feeling the holiday spirit. :)

Hola, According to the thermostat on MyLDSMail, it`s 88 degrees and I`m feeling mighty fine. :)

I. LOVE. San Miguel.

We had a great week. A couple things that happened were... Yesterday afternoon, the ward mission leader accompanied us to show us a part of our area that we aren`t familiar with, which was a lot of fun. As Hno Edgar said, `Today we`re going to abrir area!`

...We had a POWERFUL lesson with an investigador on Saturday. Hno Ricardo, who was visiting with us, and also my companion Hna Fuentes both shared their conversion stories. It was very neat. I loved Ricardo`s comment that when he was with his member friends, he always heard the comment that `I know this church is true,` and he always wondered how those people knew. His desire to receive his own divine answer led him to ask God and skip a soccer game in favor of going to church, and he felt a powerful peace, unmistakably the Spirit of God telling him the answer.

I hope you all are doing well. Take care. Remember that everything God does is for our benefit. There`s a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that says that with our mortal eyes, we can`t see the complete design God is making of our lives. Trust Him, and carry on!

Love,

Hna Henrie

Christmas in the mission rocks.

El volcàn Chaparrastique, a.k.a. el volcàn de San Miguel!

Still loving San Miguel

Dear family and friends, We had a funny experience this week. Hna Fuentes and I were sitting in the bus and a man got on waving bookmarks with Bible verses on one side and a prayer you can say to `accept Christ and be saved` on the other. He passed out his bookmarks and we didn`t accept them in the first go-around. As he was talking, Hna Fuentes (in the aisle seat) was fanning herself with a folleto of la Restauraciòn. I wasn`t really paying attention until the man stopped by our seats, snatched the folleto from Hna Fuentes` surprised hand, and offered us bookmarks again with a smile, saying, `Sabidurìa por sabidurìa. ¿Està bien?` (`Wisdom for wisdom. Okay?`)

It was hilarious, and well played. We accepted the bookmarks, stuck them in our mochilas, and laughed between ourselves.

San Miguel is great! My favorite feature of the landscape is the volcano sitting just west of our area. (Don`t worry, it`s not currently active. And if there were any doubts about an eruption, President would take us out of here, like he did way back in January with the missionaries when it looked like the volcano was going to erupt.) My favorite part of the area is the humility of the people. There are lots of things that remind me of Apopa.

My companion is great as well. Hna Fuentes had a very spiritual experience where she KNEW she needed to serve a mission. She`s a little older than the typical missionaries (she`s 25) but I really admire and respect her. She`s about to finish her mission in December, but she`s not in the least bit baggy, as we say here. We`re working hard together. I love her.

I know this Church is true. I know that when trials come, and challenges arise, God is right there by our side. He knows we`re strong enough to handle the hurdles that life throws our way. But there`s a catch--we`re only strong enough if we have Him to help us through. I think the biggest reason God allows us to be tried is to help us learn to trust more in Him.

Ohh, how could I forget? We had a BAPTISM this Saturday!!! It was beautiful. I felt the Spirit very strongly. The hermana that was baptized is my age. Her name is Saraì. She will be the first member of the Church in her family. She has a boyfriend who`s a member that came from San Salvador to support her in her baptism. We`re so excited for her!

I love you all!


Hna Henrie

Rainstorms :)

We´ve been having some intense rainstorms. In El Salvador, it typically rains hard for 30-40 minutes at a time, then drizzles for a while or stops raining for a while. This is how it looked on Thursday as we headed out to work after lunch.

Dear family and friends,

How great to hear from you! Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to send me a note. Or a picture. (shout out to Aunt Connie, who always sends lots of pictures :D)

This week, it´s been raining a lot. People tell us we´re nearing the end of ´winter,´ meaning the rain will stop soon, so I´m enjoying it while I can. It´s funny, because technically we´ve been in ´winter´ time for months now, and it hasn´t rained nearly as much in all that time as it did in this past week. I love the rain. It cools everything down and calls down the fog from the top of the mountain.

Man oh man, but Cojutepeque is beautiful.

Funny moments of the week: when I went on intercambios with Hna Huamani (I served with her in Apopa), we got to talking about Apopa and missed the bus stop to Hna Huamani´s new area. We basically just jumped out of the bus while it was at a stoplight and ran back to where we were supposed to be. :) Then the next day, on our way to change companions again, the same exact thing happened. Only this time we were on the freeway. Luckily, buses make stops on the side of the freeway all the time here, no biggie, we just made the bus stop and walked alllll the way back up the hill toward our meeting place.

Other than that, and the rain, it was a very normal missionary working week. I love love LOVE being a missionary. I also have new respect and love for my companion. Hna Merrell did many small acts of service for me this week. I´m grateful to be serving with her, in Cojute, El Salvador! As my friend Hna Boren often said in her letters home: God is good.

Love you all!
Hna Henrie

I had an intercambio with Hna Huamani!!! (I served with her in Apopa) She finally got transferred out of Apopa and is now one of my Hermanas Líderes! It was one of the best days. I love and admire Hna Huamani a lot.

Our cocinera gave me a dress. I chose to wear it today.

General Conference

Dear family and friends,

The big event this week was General Conference. Five wonderful sessions of soaking up the timely advice God has for our lives. Some of my favorite themes were: 1) stand up for what you believe in. Do you fear man more than God? 2) Don`t jump out of the ship of Zion (a metaphor for the Church of Jesus Christ). If we stay strong, she will carry us safely into the harbor. 3) Actively `come unto Christ` by making time to pray, study the scriptures, teach and strengthen your family, and attend the temple. As we develop these habits, peace will fill our lives. There is NOTHING we can`t overcome with the Savior`s help.

Hna Merrell and I also experienced many tender mercies of the Lord this week. Here`s one of my favorite stories:

We met Hno. Jaime and his wife purely by chance. They`re an older couple (probably in their sixties or seventies) and we found them when we contacted the wrong house by mistake. As we attempted to explain lesson one (as typical señores, they had many comments that didn`t have anything to do with the lesson), we were stunned when Hermana Rosalinda said out of nowhere, `Josè Smith was a prophet of God. Mirad, vos, in this picture, Josè Smith is receiving the Priesthood.`

It turns out, Rosalinda is a member of the Church! It`s just been a while (years) since she last attended. Jaime, on the other hand, is not a member, but he readily accepted our baptismal invitation. Then they committed to attend Conference with us.

At the end of the second visit, we asked if they were ready for tomorrow. We meant to attend the Conference, but Jaime said, `Yeah, for the baptism, right?`

`No, la Conferencia,` we replied.

He said: `Oh good. I was kind of worried. Baptism is serious stuff, and I wanted to be more prepared!`

My jaw almost literally dropped. This man has so much faith he was willing to be baptized the same weekend in which we met him. He felt the Spirit strongly during the Conference (they attended the Sunday morning session) and is moving forward con todo.

Needless to say, we feel really blessed to have found him and we look forward to more miracles in this coming week.

I hope you all have seen miracles in your lives this week! I love you!

Take care,

Hna Henrie

Sigo en Cojute (Still in Cojute)

Dear family and friends,

As the subject line says, I continue in Cojutepeque! Meaning I didn`t have cambios. (And neither did Hna Merrell, so we`re still together. We`re both happy about that. :) )

We had an awesome lesson about the Libro de Mormon with our miracle investigator Yoana (pronounced JO-anna). She did everything she could to get Sunday morning off work to be able to come to church, but unfortunately it didn`t work out for yesterday. Hna Merrell and I hope she`ll be able to come this week. She is so prepared in every other way, I know the Lord will provide a way for her to keep the commandment of dìa de reposo (keeping the Sabbath day holy). She (and we, as missionaries,) just need to have faith and patience.

We had to stop visiting some investigators this week because they didn`t have the desire to progress to baptism. It`s always a little sad when you have to explain to an investigator that you won`t be visiting them anymore (or vice versa, when an investigator asks you to please stop coming by), but we must continue in faith that we will find other investigators that the Lord has prepared to hear our message.

Sometimes that`s how the mission goes. There`s a lesson in this for life: sometimes life just doesn`t go our way. Things don`t work out, or we face difficult challenges and problems. But I have learned over and over again every time I start to feel a little burdened down by our sinful world, that the only person who can make things all right is our Savior Jesus Christ. If we can truly humble ourselves in prayer and ask God what He would have us do, we will receive the strength and/or the guidance we need to carry on.

As the Mormon pioneers once sang, as they walked a thousand miles to a place none of them knew: All is well, all is well!

Love,

Hna Henrie

Miracles of the week

Making pizza with Hna Ramirez, our cocinera

Dear family:

This week we had a zone conference, where the zone leaders Elder Cardoza (Honduras) and Elder Tabango (Ecuador) taught us to be more direct when we teach the message of the Restoration. They also asked us to start presenting ourselves as authorized servants of God before we even begin teaching, from the moment we contact someone on the street. It was truly inspired counsel, because as we applied it in our area, we saw some immediate results.

One miracle happened yesterday evening. We were visiting a Catholic family for the second time, and when we asked if they had read the pamphlet about the Restoration or prayed to know if our message was true, they said no. So we started over with lesson one, explaining in a very direct manner how Christ had restored His true and complete Gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith. Hna Merrell concluded, `Hoy en dìa, la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es la ùnica que tiene esta autoridad para enseñar y bautizar. Es la ùnica iglesia verdadera de Dios.` (Today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church that has this authority to teach and baptize. It is the only true church of God.)

That got their attention. The husband of the family, Edgar, asked us, `Are you saying that the baptism I received in the Catholic Church wasn`t done by someone with God`s priesthood authority?`

We answered: `Your baptism was great because you were showing your faith in God. But showing faith isn`t the only reason we need to be baptized. We need to be baptized so that we can be cleansed from sin and start new lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. The only way you can be cleansed from sin and born again is by being baptized by someone holding the restored priesthood authority of God. The only church that has that authority today is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.`

He was left thinking. After the closing prayer, he followed us to the door and said, `Look hermanas, several years ago I had a classmate that goes to your church. Right now he`s serving a mission, like you, in Panama. Before he left he gave me a Book of Mormon. But until now I didn`t really understand what it meant, or that I could pray and ask God if your church is true.`

It was a great experience. It strengthened my testimony and my faith. Earlier this week, I had been feeling a little down because even though we`ve been contacting like crazy, we hadn`t found very many people that were really interested in listening. But when we taught that very direct lesson to Edgar and his family, the Spirit testified to me (at the same time it testified to them) that what I was saying was true.

I know it is true! God has confirmed it to me, time and time again, through the power of the Holy Ghost. I know it`s true, and you can know, too, when you ask Him. Matthew 7:7-8. It will make all the difference in your life.

In other news, WE HAD A BAPTISM! Gilberto, Jr. (I may have mentioned him) was baptized Saturday night by his younger brother, Edwin. Then his mother shared her testimony. It was a beautiful service. This Gospel is such a blessing to families! The family truly is ordained of God.

I hope you all have great weeks!

Much love,
Hermana Henrie

Last p day we de-iced the fridge with a hair dryer, a knife, warm water, and our fingers. haha :) It is now a beautiful, very clean fridge.

We found a beautiful family

Dear family and friends,

I have seen many blessings this week as Hermana Merrell and I hit the streets hard, talking to as many people as we could. We visited 36 new houses this week, following up on prior contacts and inviting them to listen to the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the many people we found this week was the Ventura family. They live in a messon, which is basically like an apartment building, where many different people live together in rented rooms. We knocked on the door looking for a different contact, but we ended up teaching them instead because the other person wasn`t at home. The parents are young, they don`t look much older than 25 to me, and they have three wonderful children of 9, 5, and not-quite-one years.

It just so happened that the father is the nephew of Concepcion, the member who was working with us that day. Yesterday Concepcion went by their house on her way to church and brought the two older children to church. They were very well behaved in sacrament meeting and thoroughly enjoyed the following two hours of Primary class. Kevin (the oldest) said his favorite part of Primary was when everyone sang.

We shared the Book of Mormon with them yesterday afternoon. Hermano Ventura was a bit familiar with it already, and helped us teach his wife that it is sacred scripture and complements the teachings in the Holy Bible. We talked about how reading the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, will strengthen their love and family unity and invite the Spirit to their home. They committed to read at least one page of the Book of Mormon together as a family every day this week.

I hope you are all staying healthy and happy! Remember when we put God first in our lives, He blesses us grandemente! In what ways can you remember Him throughout your day?

I sure love you, each and every one of you. THIS MEANS YOU! Take care!



Hna Henrie

oh, p.s., a big thank you to all my family members who wrote me letters from the family reunion at Snowbird! I got them this week and really enjoyed them! Keep on being great!

Aprendizaje de Elder Ochoa

Hna Merrell and I at the monument Salvador del Mundo (the back side)

Hola, buenas dìas, familia y amigos!!!

This week we went to a GREAT multi-zone conference with Elder Ochoa (a member of the Central America Area Presidency), our mission president and his wife. Hna Merrell and I received so many new ideas to put into practice in Cojutepeque. Personally, I learned a ton that will help me be more converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as well. We talked a lot about the Atonement (the sacrifice Jesus Christ performed for every single person on earth), a lot about diligence, and a lot about faith.

I left the meeting really buoyed up by the Spirit, and that evening and the following days in Cojutepeque we had some of the best, most spiritual lessons I`ve ever had in the mission. We`re excited to keep going strong this week, despite a sad phone call when one of our most `golden` investigators suddenly told us he doesn`t want us to come teach him anymore. We will respect his wishes, trusting him to God, and continue in our ever-going search for the people God has prepared for us to teach.

I love being a missionary. I`ve learned so much about myself, and about the Savior, in the time I`ve been here in El Salvador. I know I`ll continue learning a lot throughout my whole life, because I`m only just beginning to understand how much I still don`t understand. I don`t understand God`s perfect love. He loves His children even when we make terrible mistakes, or do awful things to one another. He sees us as works in progress, and He will give us every possible chance to change our lives and draw closer to Him.

God is real. I know He is there. He continues to work miracles in our daily lives. His Son Jesus Christ is actively directing my mission, and this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fulness of His gospel, as well as His divine authority, are found only here. I invite you to learn more, and ask God for yourself. If you really desire to know and do His will, He will be more than happy to give you the answers you seek. I`ve seen it happen not only in my life, but time and time again with my brothers and sisters in El Salvador. Just ask Him.

In what ways have you seen God`s hand touch your life this week?

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Henrie

Making pancakes for dinner last night

Hna Garcìa and Hna Cano were also at migraciòn! Our thumbs are blue because they take fingerprints. :)

We asked permission to take photos in front of the government immigration building.

In front of the statue Salvador del Mundo (the front side)

Bendiciones

My new companion, Hna Merrell! We took this foto in the mission president´s house because we had another conferencia de hermanas this past week. It was GREAT.

Dear family and friends,

Wow, have I been blessed this week. Top of the list is the following news:

THE LAST MEMBER OF THE ROMERO FAMILY IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!

To remind you, the Romero family is from Apopa. I had the privilege of teaching them, and seeing Hna Rosa and her daughter Hna Celina enter the waters of baptism. While we were together for a conferencia de hermanas misioneras this week, Hna Infanzon told me Rosa´s husband Ismael has accepted a baptismal date, too. (Mom, prepare yourself now, because we will be attending a temple sealing in El Salvador in approximately September 2015!) I love this family dearly. I am grateful beyond words for the privilege to have been one of their missionaries. They are making important steps that are bringing them closer to God, and qualifying them to return to our heavenly home.

This news renewed my determination to share this beautiful, restored Gospel with everyone I come in contact with. Stay strong, family. It is hard sometimes to make consistent correct choices, but with our Savior Jesus Christ on our side, it is very possible. And when we make mistakes, because nobody is perfect (last of all me), He gives us hope for forgiveness.

I love being a missionary because it´s so easy to remember what life is all about. I remember that before the mission, all the tasks I had to do every day often distracted me. But I now understand that true strength to press forward comes when we remember who we are: children of a loving God. Every time we sin, it´s because we´ve forgotten that divine nature. I promise the only way we can find true peace and lasting happiness in this crazy world is by holding tightly to the values and teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love you all! Take care!

Hna Henrie

Rainstorm in Cojutepeque, there was hail too, we helped bail out the house we were in. Fun stuff! :D

Cambios in Cojutepeque

Notice the subject of the email is NOT `Cambios FROM Cojutepeque.` Read on.

Dear family and friends!

I can hardly believe another week has passed and it`s Monday again. I`m sitting here in Ilobasco (we`re having another activity as a zone) writing you all with a brand new companion sitting by my side. Hna Abadillo was transferred out of Cojutepeque on Wednesday (she wound up in my first area, Montecristo 2!) and I am now with an hermana I knew from the CCM... Hna Merrell! She was in Graig`s district in the CCM, so I don`t know if I`ve mentioned her before. Maybe he has. She`s 21, from Idaho, and I`m really excited to be working with her. In less than a week, she`s transformed the area by upping our finding efforts a lot. We feel really blessed because, although several important teaching appointments fell through this week, we found more very prepared people. It`s funny how a new companion helps you see your old, familiar area with new eyes. I know she`s going to help me reach my potential in some ways that I was lacking a bit, and I feel I have some things I can teach her as well, so we`re going to be a great team!

News from investigadores: Edwin finished the entire first book of Nephi and is starting Second Nephi. He wasn`t able to come to church yesterday but has committed to attend a church activity on Friday and also the church meetings this coming Sunday.

One of our most positive new investigadores from this week is a young woman in her twenties named Graciela. She has several friends who are members of the Church and says she has noticed something different about them. She was on the edge of her seat when Hna Merrell asked if she wanted to know what`s different about her LDS friends. We explained that after we`re baptized we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and this gift helps us live good, clean lives as we strive to follow the Savior Jesus Christ. She accepted a baptismal invitation and will prepare for a date in September. She was really excited to start reading the Book of Mormon.

Also, our investigator Gilberto, jr., is all set for his baptism at the end of this month! His testimony has grown so much since the first time I met him six weeks ago. It`s incredible. It`s come from his efforts to read the Book of Mormon every day, from praying every day, and from attending church faithfully every Sunday. While I was studying for him the other day, I came across a part of Preach My Gospel that I LOVED. It was basically a testimony that as we each strive to keep our baptismal covenants and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, we grow in our understanding of Christ`s Atonement, which gives us faith, hope and happiness even during the trials of life.

The Church is true! It is directed by Jesus Christ Himself, through a modern prophet. It contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its teachings are pure and divine, because they were restored by God.

I love you,
Hna Henrie

I am a happy missionary :)

Last p day with Hna Abadillo

Dear family and friends,

We had a great finding week. Last week when Hna Abadillo and I were on splits (meaning we worked with members in different sides of our area, her in Concepciòn and me in San Nicolàs) she found an incredible new investigador and I got to meet him this week. His name is Edwin, and in less than 24 hours after we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon he had read all the introductory pages (which include an explanation of what the book is, where it came from, what it`s about and who wrote it) and the first two chapters of Nephi. He is very interested in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and wants to be baptized when he receives a confirmation from the Holy Spirit that this Church really is the true Church of Jesus Christ here on earth.

During this same week we also met two new, young families who were also very impressed by the message of the Restoration. We are focusing on working with the members to help these new investigators realize that ´Mormons´ (the correct name is Latter day Saints) are normal people just like them, and to learn more about the Church.

I love being a missionary. I love the people of El Salvador. I love all my companions, current and past. I`m so grateful for the privilege God has granted me to serve Him here, full time. As Hna Boren often says, God is good. :) He truly is guiding every one of our lives so that we have every possible opportunity to grow, to find peace in this life and to have eternal happiness in the next.

I know that what I teach every day is true, because I feel the Spirit testifying to me of its truthfulness every time I teach. Let us carry on in faith!

Con mucho amor,
Hna Henrie