Oi família!
Wow. Who loved
conference? I did! On the mission, conference is one of the
greatest experiences you can have. We
call it the "mission superbowl" or because I´m in Brazil "O Copo
do Mundo da Missão" (the world cup of the mission). I feel that in every way I arrived and left
the conference as two completely different people. The Spirit has begun to speak to me more
through my heart lately and I feel a fire burining there that hasn´t gone out
since yesterday. I felt like I received
revelation upon revelation and I cannot wait to review what I learned again and
again in the Ensign.
While the experience of the week will relate to conference,
I will begin with something that happened earlier in the week. We had the opportunity to do exchanges
again. As I talked with one elder in particular
about his experiences as a missionary he said "well, I´ve prayed a number
of times about the church and every time I´ve had one of those feelings you
just can´t deny. I know it´s true." But yet, there was a lack of excitement. There was a lack of action that I saw as I
observed throughout the day. So, that´s
the real question. What is the
difference between testimony and conversion?
As we study the words of Elder Bednar from the October 2012
general conference we find that "knowing the gospel is true is the essence
of a testimony. Consistently being true
to the gospel is the essence of conversion." Therefore, a testimony should not simply be a
knowldge of things as they really are, but a driving force to act in such a
manner. This is where the introspection
comes into play. Do I act according to
the testimony I have of the gospel?
We had the opportunity this past week to hear the words of
the prophet of God. He and the other men
we ordain as prophets, seers, and revelators, gave us inspired instruction and
direction for our lives. We heard a
number of talks about obedience.
President Uchtdorf spoke about gratitude in all things. President
Monson, the prophet of God himself, spoke about increased kindness towards our
bretheren. The list continues on and
on. But here´s the key. We can know that these men are called and
ordained of God and Jesus Christ themselves to lead and guide Their church
today. We can know that the messages
that they share are true by the power of the Holy Ghost. We can know where Kolob is and how to hie
there. But how will any of these things
help us if we don´t do anything with them?
Do we simply have a testimony? Or
are we truly convereted to the point that we act according to that testimony?
I, personally, received a very powerful witness of the
truthfulness of the message that I share on a daily basis. More important Who, truly, is in charge of this
church. And as I consider this fire
burning in my heart, the real question that rings in my ears is "What am I
going to do about it?" So we study,
we read, and then we apply. Don´t just
let conference pass by as a reason to watch church on TV. Use this in every way, shape, and form, to
become better, greater, and happier than ever before. Turly, miracles occur in our lives when we
follow the words of the living prophets.
I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ lives and is the
head of His one true and living church upon the earth, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Thomos S.
Monson is His chosen prophet in this day and age as were other prophets in
generations of old. Joseph Smith saw
Jesus Christ and God the Father in that grove in the Spring of 1820 and they
have brought forth miracles in the land since that day by means of their chosen
prophets. I know all this because the
Book of Mormon is true. This is the
knowledge which sustains me. But what
will I do with it? I guess we´ll begin
finding out this week.
Até o próximo!
Élder Evans
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