Jan 5, 2020 BofM Intro

2020

Kayla is visiting!   It's such a treat for us to spend time with her a figure out how to actually play a little.  She asked what day we write in our blog.  Sadly, we're not consistent, and Elder Despain  has some great pictures to come .....

Christmas was great.   We had the missionaries from our district over on Christmas Eve and we spent most of the day with a nice family here and their children and grandchildren.   We missed our own family, but called nice and early the next day to watch them enjoy their gifts and goodies.



Missionaries had a lot of stomach problems the week after Christmas .... and I asked them what they ate for Christmas.   Most of them had an extraordinary amount of food that was full of fat and sugar beyond any normal diet.  We need to be kind to our bodies.  It's funny that we wonder why we react to such intake!


I also spent a majority of time helping a missionary with anxiety beyond what I had seen in the past.   After a month of visiting doctors and trying to get it under control, the best option was to return home.   Anytime that amount of time is invested with an individual it tugs at my heartstrings a little more than usual.   We really love these missionaries and pray for them and their individual struggles.

New Years was uneventful.   A LOT of neighborhood fireworks and noise.   Now we're looking forward to 2020 with an ENTIRE year as missionaries.   We're so grateful for the opportunity to serve and learn from many talented individuals.  An Elder asked me if we ever get a "holiday" with our assignments.   My reply is that EVERY day is a holiday .... we're in New Zealand!   I still can't believe we're lucky enough to be part of these devoted and beautiful people whom we love and learn from.

May 2020 be full of JOY and a focus on the Savior Jesus Christ.  We acknowledge his hand in our lives and know the peace we feel from following his teachings.
The book of Mormon is the Keystone of our Religion and we're blessed to study it during our Gospel Study in Church this year.  The Book of Mormon will lift us, inspire us, and lighten our load. I'm grateful for another year to focus on Christ and his teachings.

As you read the introduction to the Book of Mormon, Try this brief teaching lesson used by some of our missionaries.   Read just the first line of each paragraph as an intro to your friends.  Perk their interest and see if they're willing to read a little more.

• The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible.
• The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation.
• The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection.
• After Mormon completed his writings, he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the Hill Cumorah.
• In due course the plates were delivered to Joseph Smith, who translated them by the gift and power of God.
• Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”
• In addition to Joseph Smith, the Lord provided for eleven others to see the gold plates for themselves and to be special witnesses of the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon.
• We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true.
• Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah.

May you find peace as you ponder and renew yourselves for the year that lies ahead.
Love,  The Despains