Week 66: More Temple Miracles!

MLC

Yoooooo

What's up everyone, pretty chill week... finally haha

This week was actually so awesome. The temple is continuing to provide more and more miracles in the work of the Lord.

I had the privilege to go on a couple of exchanges this week. One with Elder Alvarenga, he's from El Salvador and is quite possibly the funniest guy I have ever met. His assignment is to contact and filter all of the references that the mission receives from social media. We spent all of our time together making calls and talking and laughing a tonnnn and although it is a very different side of missionary work, we were able to talk with many people who appeared to be very interested in the Restored Gospel and ready to meet with the missionaries.

The next day, I went to an area called La Lopez with Elder Wallace, a missionary who goes home in 2 days. It was amazing to learn from him and all of the experience he has and we experienced one of the many temple miracles. A 22 year-old woman visited church last Sunday in a different ward than the one where she lives and her information was sent to La Lopez. When I was there was the first day the Elders were able to meet up with her and I don't know if I have ever met someone more prepared than her to receive the Restored Gospel.

We asked her how she found the church and, you guessed it, the temple. She was invited to the open house and she told us that the moment she entered she felt an overwhelming peace that she had never felt before, but had been looking for. When she sat down in the Celestial Room, her eyes filled up with tears and could not stop crying as she felt a warmth and love that she could not comprehend. She told us that she knew that those feelings were God calling her. She asked us what she needed to do to become a member of the church and how to do it in the best way possible, in the way of the Lord. In La Lopez, church starts at 8am and she told us that she will from now on always wake up early, set apart that time, and go to church every single Sunday. My testimony of the Spirit, the hand of the Lord preparing His people, and the power of the temples grew that evening under a tin roof.

We had MLC this week and I spoke of the pioneers and the courage they had. Thanks to that courage, we have the beautiful gospel and church that exists today. Today, with that same courage we can help grow the Church, just as they did and we can feel the hope and peace in the storms of life just as they did as they gave their lives for the glorious cause of truth.

This week we had our transfer meeting and President McClellan mentioned something that I loved. "To receive revelation, worthiness is required." I took that to heart with General Conference approaching the following day. Daily repentance is a gift and one of the most effective ways to be humble and to be worthy to receive personalized guidance and love from the Lord.

All of General Conference was incredible and one of the strongest impressions I received was the importance of taking a step back, and then another, and then analyzing our situation. In this life, we have many free moments every day and endless opportunities to serve and progress. One of my new favorite scriptures that was on repeat in my head during General Conference was 3 Nephi 12:6 "And blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost." Taking a step back and looking for ways to help others and love God is how we can grow to have this hunger and thirst for righteousness, for true happiness.

With much love,

Élder Snyder