Elder Josh Mortensen: I Came To Know More Of The Perfect Love Christ Has For Me

WOW!!! Lots of pictures!! it for sure looks like it was a great week! It looks like it was a fun wedding! for sure nothing you will ever be able to forget. its too bad that i wasnt able to be there but lucky for you all, you could still see me there. That was a blessing, also probably that i couldnt say anything or bug anyone with my hands in my pockets. it sounds like it was a fun mini vacation to Kanaraville falls to start it all out! I am sure that it was a really fun time to have everyone around!! thats one things that is always the best, just to be around people that you know and can have a great time with. i hope the food was all great! i decided because you would all be eating great food that i would go out and do something special also! so Little Caesars it was!! it was great! That day we also had Zone Council. That was really cool. It was mostly about how us as missionaries can stay motivated to always act in faith and how we can grow our faith to always see miracles. Faith is soooo important. It reminds me of something that i read today in 3 nephi 7, or something close to that. It was because of the faith nephi had that the wicked nephites were mad because they couldnt disbelieve his words. Also it caused angles to minister unto him daily. It is for sure faith that runs this work. It is the first part of the gospel of Christ for a reason. it is there so we will never forget it.

We have for sure seen a lot of little miracles this week. it seems that that is how most of them come, just in little ways. One of the biggest things that we are working on this week was talking to everyone. We are getting better and better everyday to really share what they personally need to hear, not just to hear something about the Gospel that might help. It is for sure something that we have felt we should work on. One things that stands out to me in Preach my Gospel is when it teaches us that everything we do in missionary work is to help us become Christ like teachers. That has been on my mind as we have been finding. We know for sure that we cant teach with rote repetition so we also need to not try to find with it either. Its hard but its working. We had a really good lesson with L-- this week. She wanted to have the Book of Mormon so she could read and learn if it was true. We had a plan to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was awesome to focus on what she needed. She needed to know that the book of Mormon isnt just a history but it teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We read in the Book of Mormon where she ended last. We taught how in everything we read there is something to learn about Christ. It helped her understand. We had a cool lesson with a less active couple, the R-- family. in planning for it, it was more following the spirit. Elder Tirado read in Alma 49 that day and we decided to read part of it and talk how they personally could fortify themselves against the battle that they are facing. They came to the decision to come to all three hours of church and not just Sacrament. So that is what we invited her to do. The spirit was for sure there. Bro R-- works and said that he wouldn't be able to come. This Sunday she didn't end up coming but she knows that it is something that she needs to do. Here soon she for sure will be coming. We have found as we focus on the needs of each person more and more, that it helps us to follow the spirit more and more in the lessons. It was good to see happen.

One things i learned about this week was about charity. I have always thought a little about it but as i was walking around in the 98 degree weather before dinner for a few hours, fasting, that is when it made me wonder. I wondered why we are told to do things that are hard and sometimes a little miserable. Why would Christ tell us to do that? It is for sure so we can grow in our personal faith and dedication. But as we go through these times, we always pray. We pray to receive those blessing made possible by the Atonement of Christ. so every time that we do something hard that Christ needs us to do, that our Father needs us to do, it had to have pained Christ in the Garden, as much as it is us now. I was thinking why would that be why we do that. Why does it have to be that way. In my prayer that night i was thinking about that. That is when i could imagine Christ saying to me, I don't care, i love you. I just was there kneeling crying. almost crying as i write this also. I came to know more of the perfect Love Christ has for me. That he is willing to go all the way under me in those hard times, just so he can lift me up. i know that he is always there and that he will always be there. For me and for each one of you. I would hope that we can always remember that and learn that in our hearts. Because as we understand the Atonement with our hearts, not just our minds, that is when we receive strength.

This was a great week full of times to learn. I love being out here! i love you all and hope you have a great week this week! i am glad that you all had a great week with the wedding this last week!

love, Elder Mortensen