God is easy to please and hard to satisfy.

well hello it's pday again and it's a new transfer! 

Nothing too crazy happened this week except we talked to SO many people.  It was awesome. 

We didn't teach as much as we would like, but we got to do a TON of finding.  And we probably gave away like a bajillion copies of the Book of Mormon...okay not that many but a lot.  The spirit that I feel when I can tell people that God has a plan for them, or that God has called a prophet today, or that they have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who made it possible for us to live again, temporally and spiritually......that spirit is priceless.
 

we also got told again by another bus driver that we can't proselyte on the bus......so we asked President Manion about it, and he told us to "tell them politely that you have the right to talk to anyone you want to as long as it isn't creating a safety hazard." #HOLLA we just keep preaching...hahah it's an adventure. 
   

 We met sooooooo many people and taught so many on the streets and on the buses and on their lawns and in their garages..definitely felt like an original disciple of Christ.  I read in D&C 33:9 during studies one morning,
"Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you."

 

I just kept thinking about it, we can't spare anyone from this message of the restored gospel!  We really can't.  I have been called to declare the gospel to everyone I meet, so that's exactly what I will do.

 

I've also been thinking a TON lately about the concept of satisfying God, not just pleasing Him.  He is pleased with our efforts as we do what we're supposed to, but I think to satisfy him, we really have to humble and submit ourselves fully and completely to His will, thus allowing our natures to be changed. 

 

"Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." [Mosiah 27:25-26]
my studies this morning were SO enlightening.  I read my most favourite story in the whole Book of Mormon about the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's. 

In short, this group of Lamanites who were previously a very wicked people, who delighted in bloodshed and war and all that stuff, were taught by some missionaries, and then decided to  change and apply what they learned of Christ.  They became CONVERTED.  They not only decided to change, but they actually made a covenant with God that they would not take up their weapons of war ever again. 

Some of their brethren, who weren't converted, were angry with them and wanted to kill them all and take over their land.  They made preparations for war to come against the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's. 

The Anti-Nephi-Lehi's were so converted that all they did was praise the Lord and continue to stay true to the covenant they made with God. 

 "Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.  16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved." [alma 24:15-16]

"and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.
 19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace." [alma 24:18-19]

y'all just need to go read the story...but in the end, lots of them end up being slain by their brethren, but in the process, the lamanites who were killing them were converted as well and they even "threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again"!!!  Many more were converted unto Christ. 

there is just SO much i learn from this story.  I can't even say it all.  Ultimately though, i just want to be able to satisfy my Heavenly Father.  I want to be so changed that i "would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin"...
what can i even say, besides how grateful i am for this gospel?!!  Really.  I know that we can all be changed through the atonement of Christ if we humble ourselves and allow it to change us.  I love you all and I love the Lord. 

Onward, ever onward. 

Sister Jones

this lady gave us some flowers from her garden as we were talking with her....she was so sweet.  We then went and gave them to all the people we talked to! :)