He was a good man, he lived a good life, and he had a nice collection of russian nesting dolls....

I sent the email before I was even finished. Que friggin chato.

 

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Howdy
 
That feels good to say. I cant say that anymore because nobody understands it. It´ll feel weird to say that again I think.
 
This week was quite trying. And, from the emails that I´ve recieved, the same thing for everyone. It seems like Heavenly Father wants us all to learn something. I personally have been praying for patience and humility to accept God´s will. It has not been easy. I have had to bite my tongue. I have had to just deal with stuff. That´s one of the hardest things for me, is to just have patience with the situations that I cannot change. Presidente Uchtdorf "learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort."
 
I like that. Patience isnt sitting by. That is called just wasting the precious time that we have. We have to keep going. Keep plodding forward. One foot, in front of the other. That is why we need hope. The word nowadays seems to connotate doubt. But, in the scriptures Hope has a different meaning. We find that in the language of the gospel the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active. Prophets speak of having a "firm hope" (Alma 34:41) and a "lively hope" (1 Peter 1:3). The prophet Moroni taught, "Whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God" (Ether 12:4).

 

We have to make sure that we are doing the basics. In the day to day life we can very easily forget the promises or the blessings that come from the Gospel. We can forget about the simple things. I have learned personally, that the simple things are truly what will save us. Alma teaches us that God will bring to pass the salvation of MANY souls through the small and simple things (Alma 37:7). Do NOT forget to read your sciptures, say your prayers, or go to church. Do NOT forget to keep the commandments.

 

We read in Doctrine and Covenants -

 20 There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—

 21 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by ^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

If you keep the commandments, then you WILL recieve the blessings. Do we not believe in God? Do we not have trust, or faith in Him? I too need to be reminded sometimes that God will bless me. I have been recieving answers to questions that I´ve had since the MTC! Does that mean that my prayer finally made it pass Kolob and into the ears of the Almighty? No, He heard it immediately. But, like Robet D Hales taught in the recent General Conferance - "In my life I have learned that sometimes I do not receive an answer to a prayer because the Lord knows I am not ready. When He does answer, it is often "here a little and there a little"³³ because that is all that I can bear or all I am willing to do."

We need not question God, but instead, we should do as Brother Brigham once said -  "God, give me the patience to wait until I can understand it for myself." 

My time is gone, I have to go. I love you all, and I hope that you have a better week this time around than last week. Make sure you are doing everything that you can to recieve the blessings of the Lord.

Elder Standard
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Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

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