The Wedding Makers

This week was a busy one.

     To start things off, we had a really good lesson with the Elberts. As our conversation developed, we bore some very powerful testimony, most of which I won't go into detail about, but we testified not only of the Book of Mormon, but of the spiritual witness we both have received that it is true. In the end, it all comes down to what's we really want. If you really want to know if the Book of Mormon is true, you should read it, ponder on the words you have read, and then ask your Heavenly Father to know if what you have read is true or not. I testify that the Lord will answer your heartfelt prayers, and He wants you to know of His love for you. Swinging it back to the Elberts, making invitations in the past has been a little intimidating. They both attended the university of Utah and have a ton of friends that are members. They have had the missionary discussions multiple times, and are pretty knowledgeable on Mormon Doctrine. However, even with this knowledge, I felt prompted to invite them to read ponder, and sincerely pray about the Book of Mormon. To all those who read my emails (first of all thank you), I invite you to read the Book of Mormon. I invite you to sincerely ponder on what you read, and ask God, the Eternal Father, if what you read is true. Who better to ask than God Himself? 

     Speaking of prayer, a lot of it went into our preparation for zone training this past Thursday, where we were tasked with preparing the entire thing. Normally we receive a template that includes the overall message that our mission president wants us to take to heart, but this time we got to do that, yay (totally not sarcastic at all)!! At MLC a couple weeks ago, there was a lot of emphasis on planning, and how we as a mission can be better planners. And thus, we find the theme for our meeting. Some really cool insight I received as we were learning from President Bingham has to do with our individual efforts as human beings. The note I wrote really doesn't have anything to do with what he had said, but it was a thought I felt prompted to record. It says, "We are all links in a chain, meant to bear the load that Heavenly Father has prepared for us." As I was typing this out, I was reminded of the worth that we have to Heavenly Father, and how we all have divine potential. All that we experience has the potential to help us grow. In the refiners fire that is the mission field, we need to be unified in our purpose and vision, and as the Lord works on us, we can help one another in doing the work that the Lord wants us to do.

     Last but not least, we had the opportunity to help prepare and run a wedding. We helped with the setup in the days leading up to the actual event, but Saturday was where the real work came in. We helped cook, prepare, and serve the food, and then we also helped usher. Needless to say it was a very long day, and we got a few member referrals from it. This wedding taught me a valuable lesson on the importance of being married for time AND all eternity. This couple was only married for this life, with the final words of the ceremony being, "till death do you part." When you are married in the temple, and sealed to your family, those ties last into the eternities. 

I love you all, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Fa'afetai Phipps