have you ever heard or read a testimony that left you speechless?me too.
my awesome cousin, christopher, is serving his 2-year lds mission in australia. he's doing great things. we are so impressed with him and treasure his weekly letters.
this one, is really something. left me in tears and wow, did i feel the SPIRIT.
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"Things here in Australia are going GREAT! Me and my companion are just trying to work hard and do all that we can. There is only one more week left in this transfer!! Time is flying by. Last Tuesday we got a car but we only get to use it until the end of the transfer. It has been pretty nice because we have been able to see a lot more people and give our legs a bit of a rest. I had to remember which side of the road to drive on. My companion doesn't have a license so I do all the driving.
We got to watch general conference over the weekend and it was amazing! How lucky are we to have Prophets and apostles to lead and guide us through this crazy world. My three favorite talks were Richard G. Scott, Tad Callister, and Elder Holland. Elder Holland opened the heavens and the spirit was pouring down onto the saints. It was such an amazing feeling. I liked how a couple talks were about relying on the spirit. That is crucial as a missionary. You WILL fail if you don't. But they weren't talking about missionaries but just everyday life. The spirit can help guide our life in so many different ways and help us make those big decisions. We can not just expect the spirit to help us, we need to do all that we can to be worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. We have to continually exercise our faith in Jesus Christ and constantly repent. We all need to activate the Atonement in our lives so that we are worthy. It is because of the Atonement that we are able to repent and to be made clean again. I know through personal experiences that when the load of burdens gets too heavy for me to carry by myself the only person that I can turn to is my Savior, Jesus Christ. Someone talked in conference about how sometimes we do all that we can to repent and we completely CHANGE ourselves and yet sometimes we still feel guilty but I stand as a personal Witness that if you Change yourself and conduct your life as Jesus Christ did you will be worthy to have the spirit guide you in all of your choices. The scriptures state that God will forget about all our sins. Sometimes the hardest part can be forgiving ourselves but I know it is possible. I know that it is because of the Atonement that made it possible for me to come to Australia and teach these wonderful people. Right now in the world there are so many bad things surrounding us. It seems like every corner that we turn Satan is trying to pull us in to a trap and tempt us with our weaknesses. We need to live in the world but not of the world!! How easy is it to smoke, drink, do drugs, pornography, not get married, not attend church or the temple. As disciples of Jesus Christ we all need to stand a little taller, we need to reach a little farther. I know that if we can all do this that our lives will be easier and that as we draw closer to our Heavenly Father, He also will draw closer to us. I know everyone that receives this email has the gospel at their finger tips. We need to fully embrace this with everything we have. We need to hold to the iron rod and never let go. We need to FEAST on the words of Christ and of the Prophets. We have learned that if we have gotten off the straight and narrow and we are lost and confused that it is possible to get back on. I was lost in my life! I was OF the world. I promise each and every one of you that I will not make that mistake again. Jesus Christ has such a great love for each and everyone of us. He knows all of us on a personal level but the real question is do we know Him? As a living witness of Jesus Christ I challenge each of you stand a little taller! To go above and beyond expectation and come unto Christ. For those of you who are all ready on track and feel that you have a good relationship with our Savior, I call upon you to pull someone up. There is somebody out there that is stuck in a hole and can't get out. They are surrounded by the evils in this world and need YOUR help to get them out. Let me create an image for you: there is a bucket full of crabs and they are all trying to get out; if one starts to make progress it will always get pulled down by the other crabs. DON'T BE A CRAB. We are always getting pulled down and lots of the time it is by our family and our good friends. We need to lift each other up and do all that we can to help them. Go out of your way to find someone who is in need. Don't wait for them to come to you because it may be too late by time that happens. I know that as you do these things that you will truly bless someones life and may end up saving their soul. I would greatly love to hear about the experiences that you will have as you do these things. Please send me a letter and tell me how someone has helped change your life and tell me about who you are helping. I know that as you do these things you will be a happier person and that you will be coming unto Christ.
I know that I have often been the crab that has pulled someone down. I was in the bottom of the bucket and I didn't know how to get out. It was so easy to pull people down. I will be eternally greatful for the individual who went above and beyond and did everything they possibly could do to help me get out. How easily could that person have just given up on me? I promise that I wasn't the easiest person to work with but they knew they knew by life was at stake.
I want to express my love to each and everyone of you. I know that I am not a man of great words but I hope that you can feel my love. I know that everyone who comes across this email has had an impact on my life and I am indeed greatful for your help.
I testify to all of you as a representative of Jesus Christ that the Atonement is real and that if you activate it in your life that you will be blessed and will receive eternal life with your Father in Heaven. I testify to all of you that the Book of Mormon is TRUE! Not in this life time or in any other life time will I deny it. I will stand as a witness in front of any living soul on this earth and testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. It is the word of God. And I say all of these things in the Sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
P.S. Please get a copy of the email to Bishop Miller and have him read it out to the Yale ward. Please forward it to all the regular people that you do and anyone else that you might feel inspired to send it to. I love you so much mom and dad. I am so greatful for the things that you do for me. Just like Nephi, I have been born of goodly parents!"
