You Know Enough Elder Neil L. Andersen

Our spiritual journey is the process of a lifetime. We do not know everything in the beginning or even along the way. Our conversion comes step-by-step, line upon line. We first build a foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We treasure the principles and ordinances of repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We include a continuing commitment to prayer, a willingness to be obedient, and an ongoing witness of the Book of Mormon. (The Book of Mormon is powerful spiritual nourishment.)

We then remain steady and patient as we progress through mortality. At times, the Lord’s answer will be, “You don’t know everything, but you know enough”—enough to keep the commandments and to do what is right. Remember Nephi’s words: “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” 2

I once visited a mission in southern Europe. I arrived on the day a new missionary was preparing to return home at his own insistence. He had his ticket to leave the next day.

We sat together in the mission president’s home. The missionary told me about his challenging childhood, of learning disorders, of moving from one family to another. He spoke sincerely of his inability to learn a new language and adapt to a new culture. Then he added, “Brother Andersen, I don’t even know if God loves me.” As he said those words, I felt a sure and forceful feeling come into my spirit: “He does know I love him. He knows it.”

I let him continue for a few more minutes, and then I said, “Elder, I’m sympathetic to much of what you’ve said, but I must correct you on one thing: you do know God loves you. You know He does.”

As I said those words to him, the same Spirit that had spoken to me spoke to him. He bowed his head and began to cry. He apologized. “Brother Andersen,” he said, “I do know God loves me; I do know it.” He didn’t know everything, but he knew enough. He knew God loved him. That priceless piece of spiritual knowledge was sufficient for his doubt to be replaced with faith. He found the strength to stay on his mission.

" I promise you that all who faithfully attend to temple work will be blessed beyond measure. Your families will draw closer to the Lord, unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when satanic forces tempt them, the veil will be thin and great spiritual experiences will distill upon this people".

Vaughn J Featherstone

Faith is for the Future

Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ is the "high priest of good things to come." I pray you will have a wonderful semester, a wonderful life all filled with faith and hope and charity. Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant, and live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, trust and divine love transform your life today, tomorrow and forever. I ask you to keep and leave a blessing on you to be able to do, in the name of Him who makes it all possible, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Jeffery R. Holland

Small and Simple Things

Elder Cook Said that "It's more heroic to live righteously, by doing the small and simple things rather than doing some great thing".

Elder Quintin L. Cook

"Drop A Pebble In The Water"

Drop a pebble in the water:
just a splash, and it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
Circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center,
flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling
where the end is going to be.

Drop a pebble in the water:
in a minute you forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing
to a great big wave have grown;
You've disturbed a mighty river
just by dropping in a stone.

Drop an unkind word, or careless:
in a minute it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
circling on and on and on.
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading
from the center as they go,
And there is no way to stop them,
once you've started them to flow.

Drop an unkind word, or careless:
in a minute you forget;
But there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart
a mighty wave of tears you've stirred,
And disturbed a life was happy
ere you dropped that unkind word.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
just a flash and it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort
on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn't believe the volume
of the one kind word you gave.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
in a minute you forget;
But there's gladness still a-swelling,
and there's joy circling yet,
And you've rolled a wave of comfort
whose sweet music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water
just by dropping one kind word.

Conversion Story
of
Tokerchuk Nadyazhda Valentinavna

It began when I was 7 years old. My parents decided to baptize me into the Orthodox Church. We came to Apsheronsk church (Krasnodar krai) accidentally met the young couple that were supposed to become the godparents. Talked to the priest and agreed on the ordinance. We didn't have to wait long, the priest called me and my parents to do the ordinance. We walked in circles, and he sprinkled the holy water on us, and was saying a prayer. At that moment my grandmother opened the door and asked him something, he got very mad and yelled at her with uncensored language. That's how I was baptized in the Orthodox Church.
A woman named Vera came into our life very suddenly. She came from Moscow, accidentally met with my mom, they became friends, and she talked to my mom a lot about God, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, baptism by immersion. Our grandfather became very interested in it, and he started to read the Bible very actively. Sometime later when he realized everything, he had a revelation come to him in a dream, that he can baptize with the Holy Ghost. When I was 8, grandpa asked me do I want to be baptized, I said yes, so he laid his hands upon my head and said a prayer. I felt very happy at that moment.
My grandfather taught us about some of the signs of the true church of Jesus Christ and encouraged me to look for that church.
Walking on in my life with the word of God, I had many difficulties, some of which I managed, some didn't, but everything with me was turning out the way God wanted. He knows better where we need to go, and what we need to do. You just need to trust Him with your whole life, give Him all your problems, and you'll see how everything is working out fast and great. And remember, that whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall also reap. This law works perfectly.
I found the Church of Jesus Christ in a very interesting way. I lived in Krasnodar, in a rented apartment, and as I was cleaning up, I found a book that had so much dust on it, that I couldn't read the cover. I cleaned off the dust and read – the Book of Mormon. I started to read it, and couldn't come back to my senses. It astonished me so much, especially the vision of the Angel to Joseph Smith. I was motivated to read this book and I did set a goal to find the true Church of Christ. I received a revelation in a dream that I must look for the church, and not back down. How do I find it? Where is this place, and how do I find it? A year passed by, and I happened to be in Krasnodar again. I had a dream, where I saw the church and the people and came to the service and I liked it. This gave me more motivation to search. I thought maybe there was a branch of the church in Krasnodar, so I looked on the Krasnodar web site, and I saw the address right away. That day I went to that address, and I found the church. You can't imagine my feelings when I saw the building and The Church of Jesus Christ (the plaque), and I saw the name Joseph Smith in a window. I was so happy, but I came in a week day, and I couldn't talk to anyone, I just got to pet the church cat.
I came to church on Sunday, and I was more astonished when among the speakers that day I saw the Holy Ghost, and he didn't disappear, and I still see him. When I saw Elder Patterson sitting on the stand, I thought I knew him, but I couldn't remember where I could have seen him. So I was even more motivated to learn more about everything that was going on. The Church of Jesus Christ is great power, when everything is according to God's laws, and all laws are kept – it is a great amount of blessings!
I was baptized on January 22, 2011 in the Krasnodar Branch by Elder Clark Lynn Patterson and the next day I was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of Holy Ghost.

Water to Wine

Being a stay at home mom has taught me a lot about myself and about God’s love. For example, the other day I was telling Leila about how Jesus turned water to wine. I’ve always wondered why this is the first miracle. In comparison to raising the daughter of Jarius or healing 10 lepers this one seems small and somewhat insignificant. But as I looked into my daughter’s sweet face and remembered how often I have received divine help in raising my children I realized how very important this miracle truly is to me.

In that moment I learned that possibly Jesus was trying to show us that though he truly can do grand miracles still in our day, like healing an illness or raising the dead, he also performs simple miracles in our everyday lives. He has helped me to know what my crying baby needed. He has given me strength to finish my degree while being sick with pregnancy and raising a toddler. He has given me courage to smile and face the day even when my heart is troubled. He has healed my heartaches, and replaced fear with hope. All of these things seem simple, but to me in the moment they were nothing short of a miracle. The miracle of turning water to wine is now a very significant scriptural event to me, and I have resolved to try to see more of the simple miracles that God does for me every day, and thank Him for them.