Oi família!
Well, things are going well.
In general I´m as happy as a clam.
It would be a lie to say that this week has been a bed of roses, though
we´re working for that. We had a number
of difficulties, but we´ve also been very blessed. We headed back to Canindé this week and once
again, it was like the road to St. George.
I got to observe some awesome missionary work by the élderes in Canindé
and in general, I´m thrilled with how the zone is progressing. Being a zone leader is a taxing experience,
but we´re seeing some awesome miracles.
I´m learning a bunch and we´re having an awesome time.
We´ve been having some super cool experiences with teachig
over the past few days. I remember one
lesson in particular where I had the opportunity to feel the Spirit very
powerfully. I particulary felt so during
one time when we were teaching the resotration to a family. I always like to explain very carefully about
the Joseph Smith story using our own surroundings to tell the story. Here in Ceará, churches are more common than
churches in Utah. But the difference is
that they´re of all sorts of denominations.
Every single one teaches something different and every single one claims
to have the way back to our Heavenly Father.
So, as we explained this we put them in the moment. We talked about how this young man, Joseph
Smith was confused because of the many churches that he had seen, all claiming
the authority of God, but not knowing which one was the true church that Jesus
Christ had restored. We explained how
Joseph Smith turned to the Bible looking for answers and found scriptures that
indicated to him the organization and structure of the church of Jesus
Christ. "One Lord, One faith, One
baptism" (Ephesians 4:5) "that
upon this rock I will build my church" (Mathew 16:18) and finally "If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God..." (James 1:5). I remember keenly the feeling I had as I explained
the first vision using the Prophet Joseph´s own words. "I saw a pillar of light, exactly over
my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it
fell upon me. When the light rested upon
me, I saw two Personagens, whose brightness and glory defied all description
standing above me in the air. One of
them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other,
"This is my Beloved Son, Hear Him"" Wow. How are you feeling right now? As I was explaining this the Spirit filled me
with the conviction that this is reality.
God and our Savior really did appear to the boy prophet Joseph and it
was by him and through him that the gospel was restored. I was filled with such profound joy and
gratitude to Father in Heaven for this profound gift and I know that the
investigators felt it as well.
The Book of Mormon is the proof of this in these our
days. We watched "The
Restoration" with Vitória´s family (the young woman we baptized last week)
and afterwards we asked her to explain how she knows that the Restoration is
true. She explained, "Well, He
translated the Book of Mormon so it must be true!" It was a very powerful moment. The Book of Mormon is the powerful and living
witness we have that these things are true.
I know that it is true and that it will help anyone "draw closer to
God...than any other book"
I invite each of you to ponder on the message of the
Restoration, and the profound happiness that it brings in our lives. Think about the blessings that you all have
received because of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you struggle to think of some, I invite
each of you to pray and talk with Father in Heaven. He will help you see.
Amo vocês. Fiquem
firmes!
Élder Evans
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