I was able to attend the temple on Thursday! YAY! After getting a call Wednesday afternoon at about 3pm, "Hey, Sister Gubler, are you ready for the temple trip tomorrow at noon?" WHAT?! TOMORROW?! haha! But going to the temple was the BEST DAY EVER. Of course, after not having attended in 9 months, I was worried and a bit anxious for the experience... but once I entered the doors, I felt that I had just been there and done a session yesterday! It was a confirmation to me that I'm living that way that I should be. As I sat in the temple, I couldn't help but reflect on my mission so far and think about all that's happened. I just kept having the overwhelming feeling that my life was going to be blessed after I get home. The Lord was proud of me- that I'm sure of. And my entire week has been different since being in the temple. I feel 100% better about my missionary work and about myself. I've been spiritually and physically rejuvenated! I'm ready to take on the next 9 months with full power and strength!
Update on Angel and Matthew: Angel is still progressing well. For the last little bit, Matthew has been... not progressing. The hard part is that he comes from a difficult family life and has close to no religious background. He's knowledgable about religion, but doesn't really have any strong core beliefs. (Other than that there is a God- which is a GREAT start!) Well, being a young parent (only 18, was supposed to have graduated this year in 2015)... Matthew has been trying to search for a job. (Let me just add in here- it's so sad to see so many young people have to get married soooo young and unprepared for life because of one mistake.) Well, good news! Matthew was accepted in the Job Core in Nampa! Hopefully this will give him a good job afterwards- he hopes to join the Army. And, the bad part... He'll have to live in the dorms there for 8-12 months while he goes to school, while Angel is still living here in Parma. Talk about a rough situation! But she'll be able to visit him on the weekends and during visiting hours. (At least he's not too far away.) But for a young, young, young couple with a little baby... that could be a hard time. I have come to the conclusion that this will be a time that Angel really progresses in the gospel, or really digresses. We're praying that the ward will really fellowship her during this next year of her life. Matthew leaves on November 18th (yeah, short notice right?) so we've been going over and trying to visit them as much as possible before he leaves. Last night we watched "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" with them and we've been reading scriptures with them often. Hopefully Matthew will progress as he is away.
At a Relief Society activity on Tuesday night, we made gratitude charts to hang on our fridges. (I must say, mine looks adorable. Not to brag or anything.) Honestly, I thought it was the cheesiest thing ever and I really didn't even want to make one.... (I'm lame.) But after putting it on the fridge, it's been SO GOOD for me to write down several things that I'm grateful for each day! I'm going to continue doing that- even past Thanksgiving.
This week, I've been learning more and more how to cope with people that flat out object the gospel. First it was an investigator, then it was a less active.... I've been reflecting a lot on Boyd K. Packer's talk "The Candle of the Lord", as well as David A. Bednar's talk "Seek Learning by Faith". In Bednar's talk, he talks about how the learner (investigator, less active, whoever) can only feel the witness of truth from the Holy Ghost if they allow it. And even if they feel it, they have to be the ones to act on the witness that they've received. No one can do it for them. Lately, we've had people saying to us, "Prove it to me! I don't believe it! You can't prove it, so it's not true!" And when you bear testimony to them, they take your testimony and throw it on the ground and stomp on it. They still say, "How can you know that?! You don't know that! Prove it!" President Packer addresses that topic with relating an encounter that he had with an Athiest man on a plane:
I (President Packer) said to the Athiest, "Let me ask you if you know what salt tastes like?"
"Of course I do," was his reply.
"When did you last taste salt?"
"I just had dinner on the plane."
"You just think you know what salt tastes like," I said.
He insisted, "I know what salt tastes like as well as I know anything."
"If I give you a cup of salt and a cup of sugar and let you taste them both, could you tell the salt from the sugar?"
"Now you are getting juvenile," was his reply. "Of course I could tell the difference. I know what salt tastes like. It is an every day experience. I know if as well as I know anything."
"Then," I said, "assuming that I have never tasted salt, explain to me just what it tastes like."
After some thought, he ventured, "Well-I-uh, it is not sweet, and it is not sour..."
"You've told me what it isn't, not what it is."
After several attempts, of course, he could not do it. He could not convey, in words alone, so ordinary an experience as tasting salt. I bore testimony to him once again and said, "I know there is a God. You ridiculed that testimony and said that if I did know, I would be able to tell you exactly how I know. My friend, spiritually speaking, I have tasted salt. I am no more able to convey this to you in words how this knowledge has come than you are to me what salt tastes like. But I say to you again, there is a God! He does live! And just because you don't know, don't try to tell me that I don't know, for I do!"
President Packer describes his experience perfectly. You can invite them to feel of the spirit- to know of truth- but if they don't have the desire to know, then they don't have to.
A funny moment that happened this week: We worked at the local Senior Center again and a lady walked up to Sister Miller and said, "Are you nuns?" Hahaha! S.Miller was kind and responded with, "No, we are missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We talk to people about Jesus Christ." But yeah... I guess it's not that funny... but it was funny at the time. hahaha
Our mission president has given us the challenge to challenge 2 people from our ward council to hand out a Book of Mormon in the month of November. So, we decided to step it up a notch and we extended the invitation to the entire ward council! Hopefully they will all take the challenge and will be able to share their experiences with us! We're excited for it!
We had stake conference this weekend. The Saturday evening session was centered on hastening the work (a missionaries favorite topic) and the Sunday session was a telecast to all of the stakes in Oregon. It was fabulous! The speakers were Kent F. Richards, Jean A Stevens, Neil L. Andersen, and Thomas S. Monson!!! Talk about a spiritual meeting!!
Elder Richards talked about how we need to be children of light and how we need to have opposition so that we can know and love the good in life. Elder Richard's also said, "Trust the miracle that He had already sent the light and He is just waiting for us to act in faith." We also need to follow the pattern of prayer, humility, and obedience in order to always be protected spiritually.
(He also shared a story of how his family when and hiked up to the Y in Provo, had a devotional at the top, and sang "Choose the Right" for all of the young couples there at the top. hahahaha Funny.)
Sister Stevens talked about how God's purpose is to save each one of his children and how we are the search and rescue crew helping in the effort. (Once again tying in hastening the work.) She also said, "Little by little, love changes hearts. And little by little, God's work is accomplished with His divine help." Our efforts will have eternal significance.
Elder Andersen spoke on how we need to have FAITH, DILIGENCE, PATIENCE! (Repeated over 10 times during his talk, while holding up his fingers "1, 2, 3"- must've been important or something ;)) He talked about how the Lord doesn't always bless us immediately, making the joke, "The Lord doesn't balance his books in October". haha! (Maybe that won't make sense unless I told the whole story... but oh well.
President Monson told us that we need to awaken the desire to rescue and to save. If we don't try, then we don't DO. And if we don't DO, then why are we here? He talked about how if we don't magnify our callings, we will be held accountable! (Scary! but true!) And how we need to help others by 1. helping them see their eternal possibilities, 2. acting as the Savior would and loving all people, 3. knowing people can change and 4. using the language of the spirit.
I just want to close this letter by quoting my mission president, President Cannon... This is something he says to me EVERY. TIME. I have an interview/meeting with him.
"Anyone with a name like 'Molly Gubler' has got to be pretty fantastic!"
Amen. Amen to that.
Sister Gubler
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