My dear wonderful friends and family,
THIS IS IT. I'm checking off week 9 here and head out to Taiwan in T-15 hours. I COULD NOT BE MORE STOKED. My time here at the MTC has been some of the best! Sister Bernhardt and I have deemed that we must be the lucky charms of the MTC because since we've been here, we've had FOUR apostles come and speak to us, plus many other members of the 70, plus National Tribute Band came and did a devotional, plus Vocal Point just did one too, plus general conference, plus SINGING in the conference choir. Yes we are #blessed. Seriously, our time has been amazing, but I am ready to be out there and really start my mission! There is a message that I need to share! SEND ME TO ASIA ALREADY.
This past week has been incredible, and the biggest part of that was with General Conference! As I have mentioned, I had the incredible opportunity to sing in the MTC Choir at general conference! What an experience. I have been to conference many times throughout my life, but there is absolutely NOTHING like sitting on the stand, and getting to bare your personal testimony to the entirety of the church through song. I also loved seeing so many familiar faces there, and receiving so many sweet notes and emails about it! You are all incredible.
Conference was unreal, and I loved all of the sessions so much, and could go ON and ON about all the things that I loved, but I will spare you all that and keep it to just a few main take aways.
There were two main things that I really got out of conference that I want to share with you all, and these are that of joy and the love of the Savior.
Russell M. Nelson focused his entire message on joy. He reminded us that our purpose here on the earth is to prepare to meet God, but also to have joy. Nephi teaches us that "Men are that they might have joy." But how do we experience this joy? Where does it come from? Elder Renlund answered this question. He said that it is repentance that brings joy. We know that as we repent, we become clean of our wrong doings and anything that pushes us away from our Savior. Truly, the good news of the gospel is that we have a Savior that loves us and has provided a way for us to be cleansed from our sins and saved from our infirmities so we can return to live with God again in a state of everlasting happiness. This sounds pretty joyful to me! The message of the gospel is one of true joy.
This is the message that we are taking to the world. This is why I am serving a mission. The gospel of Jesus Christ has brought me more joy and happiness in my life than anything else. It has brought me comfort and peace in times of affliction and sorrow, and has strengthened me in my time of need. There are SO many people in the world that have not experienced this joy...this peace. People who suffer from the burden of their sins. People who have so many questions, but don't know where to find answers. People who feel alone, unloved, and hopeless. We are taking them Christ's message of love, hope, and joy. We are helping them to feel the love that their Savior has for them, and let them experience the joy that the gospel brings.
Our Heavenly Father has created a plan for us, literally called the plan of happiness, BECAUSE He loves us. He wants us to return to live with Him again, and we have mortality to be able to do this. Amazingly enough, when we are working hard to live righteously so we can return to God, that is when we are the most happy. As we live righteously, we come to better know our Savior, Jesus Christ. Elder Bednar shared with us four steps to better come to know our Redeemer.
1- exercise faith in Him
2- follow Him
3- serve Him
4- believe Him
Exercising faith in Him- Is relying on His grace. This means using his atonement. Not just believing in it or appreciating that it is there, but constantly utilizing it and becoming more like our Savior through it. We have the faith in Him, but now it is time to act on it. Show Him you have the faith and that you believe it will work for you.
Following Him- Christ was our perfect example. As His followers and disciples, we need to emulate His example and strive to be as much like Him as we can be. Leave behind anything that keeps you from being like our Savior! We all have different things blocking us from this, but let them go! If it is not helping you become like Christ, it is not worth it.
Serving Him- I loved the story Elder Bednar shared here about us coming to know our master as we serve Him. As we serve God's children and in doing so serve God, we will come to know our master, and He will bless us more than we could ever know. He has promised us that He will be there for us at our right hand. Serve Him. Rely on Him. and give your heart to Him. This is one that I really took to heart as I am out here serving 24/7. My personal goals have been related to serving God more fully with my whole heart, might, mind, and strength. I know that as I give my all to the Lord and serve Him with everything that I have, that He will bless me to be able to do His work, to touch the hearts of those that need to hear this message, and grow closer to my Savior.
Believe Him- I loved this last point, because I think this is one that we can all grow in. We cannot just believe in Christ and His doctrine, but we have to BELIEVE HIM. Believe Him when He says His doctrines will help you, and apply them to your lives! Believe that this gospel can heal you in whatever way you need it and can help you personally.
My dear loved ones, I want you to know that I know that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, and it is only through His grace that we can be saved. That we can be cleansed, and that we can obtain eternal joy and happiness. I know that as we come to better know Jesus Christ, that He can change our hearts and help us to reach our full potentials. I know that as we do these things that Elder Bednar has highlighted for us, we WILL be able to feel Christ's love for us even greater, and will be able to feel more joy as we learn to more fully rely on His atonement.
I want all of you to think about these four principles and how you can greater apply His council in your life. How can you better exercise faith in Jesus? How can you be a better follower? What are ways you can serve those around you more? How can you gain a stronger belief in Christ? I promise you all that as you strive to improve, as you strive to keep an eye single to our Savior, you will feel happiness that you have never felt before. I testify with my whole heart that our Savior loves each and every one of us. He knows us personally. He knows our trials, our struggles, our imperfections, and He loves us still. He atoned for us to be able to bear our burdens and to strengthen us in time of need. Let Him. As Elder Nattress stated, "Not withstanding our imperfections, WE are worth saving." You are all worth saving. I know it. The Lord knows it. Now you need to act on it. Show Him that you believe He can save you and let His love and mercy bring joy and happiness to your life.
I love this work so much. I think I would be a missionary the rest of my life if I could. (ok maybe ask me how I feel about that in 16 months hah) But I know this gospel is true and I cannot wait to share its sweet message of love and joy with the people of Taiwan. I challenge you all to look for opportunities to share this truth. We have been blessed to know it, and so we have the responsibility of helping others to know it too. They need what we have.
Have such a wonderful week and remember your savior in all that you do! See you in 16 months America!
xoxo
Sister Richards
李姐妹
Lǐ Jiéměi
p.s. thank you all for the sweet notes and packages! I wish I could write you all nice letters back and express my appreciation, but I really just have zero time! So, I am so so sorry for this small thank you, but really you have all made my days here so wonderful and I cannot thank you enough! ya'll are being blessed.
1- cuz
2- the best moment (and the only boy im hugging for the next 16 months haha)
3- sistas
4- the second best part of the week- CAFE RIO
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