Dear Glo,
Hope you are doing great! We hope Evert had a great baptism. I wish we could be there for these events that are so exciting and important for you. To see your investigators get baptized is such and exciting day and event and we are so happy for Evert and for you and Hermana Whitney. Congratulations to all!
We are doing pretty well. We are relaxing today. We had fasting since yesterday and mommy made chicken pasta casserole and it was delicious. We watched the movie The Terminal while we were eating and it is a good movie. I had forgotten much of it but enjoyed it today very much.
This week has been good. On Monday baby got the diagnosis that her hip dysplasia is improving and that she does not need surgery. That is so great! It is a miracle. She had a blessing the day before and in the blessing I felt to promise that her doctor would know what to do and she would have a healthy and strong body. I did not get the impression I should bless her that she would heal well from surgery, but the blessing was about health and being strong and it is a real thing. Her body is growing strong and healthy and she is doing so well she does not need surgery.
This week as in all weeks as I listen to the Book of Mormon it gives me such great comfort and hope. I listed to Alma this week and literally every chapter has words that give me so much hope and comfort. In Alma 36:
1 My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.
2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself—not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God.
and later on:
13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelledagainst my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am inthe gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
While I don't feel like I have been trying to destroy the Lord's people or trying to sin in extreme I am being criticized for things that happened on my watch, and it is hard to think about them and consider them. But just today, I was feeling really bad and worried about what the witnesses against me will say and how it feels impossible for me to win, and I thought that with Jesus all things are possible. "I can do all things through Christ which strentheneth me." and I need to not let doubt and fear take over.
I cannot let fear and despair win. That is the trap of the adversary. I need to doubt my doubts, not my faith. I keep trying to remember this but when you are having a hard time it is hard to always have faith.
Finally in verses 27 and 28:
27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.
28 And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time.
29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity.
It is like every chapter of the Book of Mormon is written to me and to give me hope and comfort. I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon. I have read it so many times, in 3 different languages and yet when I am in dire straits and suffering it comes to mean something completely different and gives me hope and comfort. I am so thankful. I bore my testimony today about reading the Book of Mormon and going to the temple and I know it does not do my love for the Book of Mormon justice. I am so thankful for it. Mommy, the Book of Mormon, the Temple and you children have been my saving grace through all of this.
In chapter 34 some more beautiful scriptures:
15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.
17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.
So many scriptures talking about asking God for help in faith and asking him to save us from our afflictions and help us and deliver us. Like I said, so much of this did not mean much before and now it means so much.
I am thankful for Jesus.
Another quick thing. I am reading the Lord of the Rings. It is such a pure book and inspires me and makes me feel happy. So you know the part where Galadriel gives Frodo a gift. She says to Frodo:
“And you, Ring-bearer,’ she said, turning to Frodo. ‘I come to you last who are not last in my thoughts. For you I have prepared this.’ She held up a small crystal phial: it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light sprang from her hand. ‘In this phial,’ she said, ‘is caught the light of Eärendil’s star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out. Remember Galadriel and her Mirror!’
I have to say Glo, when I consider my life right now sometimes I feel as if all is dark around me. I cannot see the end from the beginning of how to get through this. But I know Jesus is my light and my life. He is the light that shineth in dark and the dark comprehendeth it now. He is the way of truth and righteousness.
I feel like no matter what Jesus is shining in my life - the atonement, the scriptures, the Book of Mormon, the Temple, my family. All things I have because of my Savior Jesus Christ.
Always remember, no matter how dark or hard things seem, you always have Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. A light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.
I love you Glo!
Tell Evert we are so happy for him.
Con amor,
Papá
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