happened and get to the meat of what I wanted to tell you all this
week:
We had an amazing lesson with Sherry! She is doing really well. While she was reading the Book of Mormon this week, she received personal revelation through the scriptures that she needed to come to church!
So we had everything set up, and she did cancel, but that's the closest she's come. For her, church is facing down a huge fear for her- it's a big obstacle. And she is working so hard to overcome it!
She is a strong woman. We're hoping to go to the temple visitors center with her this week!
We also helped the Bowens with their family history- we got Brother Bowen set up on FamilySearch and we managed to get his line connected to work someone else had done, and so it shot back! We found some Scottish pioneers even, which is awesome.
Sister Lamont came to church!! She is so cute. She made it through all
three hours too. We've been trying to get her to church for a while
but it's been hard for her since she just had her hip replaced. But
she is doing amazing, and she loves the Book of Mormon! She's halfway
through Alma now.
We also had interviews with President McAteer- that was awesome. They are really amazing. They "borrowed" the candy jar from the mission office and brought it with them to interviews as well, and Sister McAteer showed us pictures of her family. They to,d us something cool-when a new mission president comes in, the old one isn't allowed to tell him anything about any of the missionaries. So it's a completely fresh start! It's probably crazy for President McAteer but I think it's really cool that the church does that. It gives every missionary
the chance to start fresh and be whoever they wanted to be. It's
awesome!
This week I've seen so much how the Lord has blessed me. I've felt His strength in my life. This past year has felt like climbing a spiritual
mountain- sore legs, out of breath, the works- just struggling to make it to the top. Hitting my year mark felt like one of the viewpoints,
being able to stop, look back, catch my breath a bit. But then of course I realized that life is entirely like that spiritual trek up a great mountain to the celestial kingdom. So the trek isn't going to get any easier! But I feel like I have gotten stronger- I didn't
realize it in the moment, but looking back I can see a difference.
The Lord has also prepared and fortified me with extra spiritual strength throughout my mission- a lot of the best spiritual experiences have come before the hardest moments. He has taught me so much about the plan of salvation and what part I am playing in that.
He's taught me more about who I am and who I can become, and given me
so much more perspective on my journey there. Yesterday I was studying
The Infinite Atonement by Tad R Callister during breakfast and the
topic kinda carried over into my studies. Brother Callister describes,
in one of the last chapters (I think it's about justice and mercy) our
premortal existence. He describes how we were active participants
there. Our Heavenly Father told us His plan and we wanted to
understand it. That was the great Council in Heaven- we discussed,
debated, asked questions, and bore testimony in an effort to
understand our Father's plan. Sadly, Lucifer and his followers
rejected the plan and were cast out of heaven for it - 1/3 of God's
children rejected Him. He let them- because He loves us each enough to
allow us to make our own choices. As I thought about that, I
remembered a conversation we had a few weeks ago with a member. They
asked us if we thought the celestial kingdom would be crowded or not.
Then the wife talked about how she hoped it would be crowded and how
if her sister couldn't be there she didn't want to go, period- if her
sister didn't get a chance (she's made some less than ideal choices).
So that made me think, in the premortal life when those who followed
Lucifer/Satan left, how much did we grieve for them? Did we plead with
them to stay? I'm sure we missed them- these were our brothers and
sisters and our friends, swayed by the insidious whispers of
rebellion. I wonder if some who followed Satan followed him because
they didn't want to come to earth without the ones who had left. Then
I thought about this life. I thought about how sometimes the ones that
we love die, and sometimes we don't want to go on without them but we
do, because we have to. We mourn them, but we keep going because there
are still things we must do. I think it will be the same at the final
judgment. Some will not have lived up to a celestial law and will
inherit a lesser glory. And we will be sad! But we can still see them.
And I think, if we choose to move on, to live to the highest glory our
Father offers us, we will still be able to have joy. This is hard to
explain in words, but I know that if I take responsibility to do all
my Father has asked me to do, then He will make up the difference for
my mortal frailties and I can reach the celestial kingdom, and of
course I want to bring as many as I can with me, but if they do not
come by their own choice, I am going anyway because that is the
deepest desire of my heart, to dwell with my Father and with my
Savior. Someone told us yesterday they thought the church should be
more worldly and I thought, it never has been. It always has been
different, unusual, looked down on by the world. Since the days of
Adam, of Noah, the prophets and the righteous have been persecuted,
mocked, and cast out, and that will not change until He comes again.
Then, not even an hour later, I found out my cousin had passed away
unexpectedly. She's the same age as I am- her birthday and wedding
were both planned for this month. We're still not sure what happened.
This year, I've seen a lot of people pass away, from the old to the
young. And I can testify to you that God's plan is real. I can tell
you truly that death is just a gateway to the next stage in our lives,
that my family and friends are busy on the other side, working to save
souls like I am now. The plan is not over at death! And I will see
them again.
So I wanted to invite each of you to study God's plan this week. Go to
the scriptures, to the words of modern prophets, to friends and
family. And tell me what sticks out to you if you want to! It will
give you added strength in the craziness that will surely come (each
of us gets it at some point).
I love you all. Have a wonderful week!
Sister Erin Jacobs
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