Hello Family!
What a wonderful week! It was filled with the Spirit and great things to come. Here are some highlights and a gospel discourse for you.
On Tuesday we had specialized training and boy was it fun! We got to watch the movie Meet the Mormons before it came out. I cried most the movie. I know I am such a girl when it comes to church movies! But I am a sucker for good spiritual movies. It is incredible and I invite everyone to watch it if they have the chance!
Friday we had a well.... interesting day. So we went out to a small town called Nellie. We had a return appointment for the lady that asked for the Book of Mormon last week. We got there and she was sick! She was so sad that she could not talk with us cause she did not want to get us sick! But we invited her to conference she said she would love to come! She is very interested. Well since she cancelled and another one of out lessons in the middle of no where cancelled we decided to drink our sorrows away with amish, fresh pressed, non-pastureized apple cider! It is the best for feeling happy again!
Well Conference was amazing! The missionary miracle for conference was again Sonja (the media referral that was sick on Friday). We called and texted her on Saturday to see if she was still planning coming to conference on Sunday. Well we did not hear back from her. Well in the middle of the 1st session I felt impressed to texted her again and invite her to the second session. She text back and said she was till sick and she was so sad she could not watch it. Then she asked if it was on tape. Well I left the conference and called her and got her set up to watch it online! She started to watch the sunday morning session live. Then at about 3:30 I sent her a text inviting her to watch the next session. Her reply was thank you I am watching the first session right now. We were so happy!
Again conference was amazing! I hoped everyone found something they can do a little bit better. I sure did find a lot! Many times as members we try to seek out and label a theme or themes for each conference. Well the theme I got from this conference was prophets! Prophets have been the way God has spoken to his people in all dispensations. Prophets all began with Adam as the first prophet. Then the role of a prophet continued for the ages with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others throughout the Bible. We can easily see that "surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). We also see within the Bible times of Apostasy or when revealed truths are taken away from people because they reject the Lord and his servants the prophets. When this happens the Lord calls another prophet to restore those revealed truths that were lost. Well after Christ, the greatest prophet, was crucified, the apostles went about preaching the gospel. Within the Bible we see some of their travels and the doctrines they taught. All the doctrines they taught were doctrines of Christ's one true chruch that was on the Earth at that time. Sadly the apostles too were killed and the truths began to be lost and ignored (for my deeper understanding of the apostasy read the past email on it). But most people do not realize that this is the pattern that has happened in the world. A prophet, then the people reject him and the word of God, then there is an apostasy, then there is a restoration. Well the Apostasy that happened after Christ's ministry was the great apostasy, so a great apostasy need a great restoration. This is where the Prophet Joseph Smith comes into play as he restores the lost truths. Some of these truths are: setting apart for callings (Acts 6:6), gift of the Holy Ghost given by laying on of hands (Acts 8:17-18), baptism by immersion (Acts 8: 37-39), revelation to church leaders (Acts 10:9-19), counsel of apostles to decide doctrinal matters (Acts 15:6), spiritual divine heritage as offspring of God (Acts 17:28-29), symbolism of baptism (Romans 6:3-4), and many more! There was a need for a restoration! There was need for a prophet! Now today we have a prophet. What does that mean to us? It means that God speaks today! Not that God spake but that He speaks and will continue to speak to us. We learn in Ephesians that Christ church is, "built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" Paul tells us that Christ church has prophets and apostles! Oh how we need them! This life is hard and the world is in so much turmoil that having a prophet on the earth is not just a luxury it is a necessity to get through this life. I know that the Lord has called prophets in the past and called a prophet restore the holy priesthood office of apostleship to this earth. That today there is a man called of God to speak on his behalf. Why would He not do this? He loves us so he gave us prophets. Listen and follow their council and it will be for your benefit in the eternities.
Love,
Elder Baird
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