The Spirit of Christmas

Merry Christmas,

This week has been really interesting. There has been a lot going on since Christmastime is nearing. I have been getting packages from both the family and others. I have not unwrapped any of them unless I have been told to. Thank you so much for the plate of treats. Everyone loved them. Also thank you for the candy cane socks, I thought those were really cool.

A lot of people have been asking about Christmas on Chat so there have been lots of opportunities to talk about Jesus Christ with everyone. And the Light The World initiative has been very helpful.

Today I wanted to talk about faith and share some scriptures. Faith grows the more we exercise it. We exercise our faith by doing the things that we have been commanded to do. We are given the commandments because God loves us and wants us to be happy, so when we put our trust in Him and follow what He has asked us to do, we show our love and appreciation to God for what He has given us. Something else that builds our faith is when we see the miracles He is performing for us. Read Enos 1:9,11. This is what Enos is feeling right after he has been told that he is forgiven of his sins.

9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.

11 And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.

Enos calls both the Nephites and the Lamanites his brethren. He also starts to feel his faith becoming unshaken in the Lord. Because of the peace and what he experienced Enos wants to help others feel those same feelings he had. I invite you all to read the chapter of Enos and see what sticks out to you about faith.

I know that as we put our trust in the Lord, He will help our faith to grow. I know that my faith has grown as I have put my faith in Him. I know that He is there when we need him most. He comforts us when we stand in need of comfort. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He loves me. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loved me enough to send me here. I know we are all children of God. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sunday 12/17/2017

We learned something special at church today. Someone talked about the benefits of staying positive. She talked about writing a few positive things that happened each day, and it will really change your attitude.

Monday 12/18/2017

I had exchanges again today. I was with Elder West again, but this time we did not have and extra companion, it was just me and him. We taught Teresita who is a women in El Salvador. She is actually Ana's mom. For those who don't remember Ana was a recent convert I was teaching when I was with Elder Savoie. When I was with Elder Savoie Teresita wasn't very accepting of the gospel, but now things have changed a lot. She is not sure whether she should get baptized or not. Teresita told us that she wants to get her answer before she commits to baptism. But she's listening and keeping commitments, which is just awesome.

Tuesday 12/19/2017

For the Tuesday night devotional Elder Taylor of the seventy came and spoke to us. He talked about having our own sacred garden experiences. Elder Taylor said that Joseph Smith's first vision wasn't the only sacred garden experience he had. he was talking about how he thought that being in Liberty Jail could have been a sacred garden experience for Joseph Smith. He then invited us to try and have our own sacred garden experience.

Wednesday 12/20/2017

We talked with two potentials today. Their names are Kenyatta and Denise. They both were just really excited hearing about the message of the restoration and they accepted our invitation to start reading The Book Of Mormon.

Thursday 12/21/2017

We had been having a hard day yesterday with chats. We told Keidi this to talk about how we can still serve our neighbor even if they are mean to us. This is a message she sent us after the video lesson.

"In relation to what y'all shared today about talking to someone on mormon.org who wasn't very nice to you I remembered something. I don't know if I've ever told y'all, but things like that happening in a way brought me to y'all in the first place. Back in the day when I was confused, distant from the church and reading everything anti mormon that I could find I happened to stumble on a post that was scolding people for going on mormon.org and giving the missionaries on there a hard time. To be honest I was actually looking for posts that were about exposing things in the temple. But that post led me to talking with Elder Stevenson and Elder Savoie. And eventually going back to church.

"It just reminded me of how things that can just feel and be terrible at some point can have a way of ending up resulting in something really good. So thank you for doing the Lord's work, even if it sometimes can bring about some painful moments."

Friday 12/22/2017

We had a talk with Gene today. This lesson was actually really unique because what we did was we all read 1 Nephi 12 together and talked about what the verses were saying.

I am so grateful for you all. I can't wait to see you on Christmas, and I hope you have a good holiday weekend.

Love,

Elder Stevenson