It was a great week here in South Philly, we saw Thianxu and An Hua a few times. Taught about the life of Jesus Christ the first time, then we waited around for a Comcast guy the second time (to translate) then the third time is when the Su family had them over for dinner and invited us. It was awesome! Good Chinese food and listening to everyone around us speak mandarin is fun. Then Thianxu played songs out of the children's song book, the spirit was really strong the whole time, they should be at general conference this week.
We started teaching a woman named Pricilla this week, she has a baptismal date for in November and she came to church this week. We still have a long ways to go with her, but it looks promising.
Seems like everyone else is still at about the same place, we get to do service this week for a less active, we are washing their cat.... Yay.
Should be a great week with General Conference and all, always a good time of the year.
Forgot to frankly state that both Elder Pintor and I are staying for 6 more weeks. So there it is.
I will now try to put some thoughts I have had recently into text...
I have had some pretty good studies recently, I hope it all makes sense.
12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.
-1 Nephi 8:12
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.
6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.
-Alma 41:5-6
4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
-Alma 29:4
9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
-D&C 137:9
By now you have probably put the pieces together, DESIRE. It’s so important that we have righteous desires. I find it interesting though that Lehi says that the fruit was the most desirable, why then would we desire anything else?
Satan desires that we are miserable like he is. (2 Nephi 2:27)
This quote from a talk by Elder Maxwell, (Which I encourage everyone to read) talks about how we can slowly change our desires.
“Do you,” President Young asked, “think that people will obey the truth because it is true, unless they love it? No, they will not” (in Journal of Discourses, 7:55). Thus knowing gospel truths and doctrines is profoundly important, but we must also come to love them. When we love them, they will move us and help our desires and outward works to become more holy.
Each assertion of a righteous desire, each act of service, and each act of worship, however small and incremental, adds to our spiritual momentum. Like Newton’s Second Law, there is a transmitting of acceleration as well as a contagiousness associated with even the small acts of goodness.
“According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts”
http://www.lds.org/ensign/1996/11/according-to-the-desire-of-our-hearts?lang=eng
Thank you for everything you do! Love you all!
Love,
Elder Parker
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