June 19, 2017: Just a few thoughts

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great week. I love being here in Ely, and with transfers coming up this next week, and this being the longest I have ever stayed in 1 area, (6 months, my next longest is 4.5 months) there is a high likelihood that this is my last week here. I'm so grateful for the people that have shaped my life while I've been here. Ely is a wonderful place, and there are a lot of really humble people who are ready to hear the message of the restoration. I love being a missionary because of how close you can get to the Spirit. As a missionary, we aren't concerned with all the hustle and business of everyday life, we are cut off form the distractions of the media, and so we can hone in a lot easier that the average person to the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. I know that anyone anywhere can have the same level of connection with the Holy Ghost, it's just so much easier as a missionary. I invite everyone reading this to take a couple minutes every day to unplug yourself from the world and to try to connect with the Holy Ghost. Pray, ask your Father in Heaven for the peace of Christ to fill your heart. I know that as each of us do this for just 5 minutes each day, we will find that we will be much more receptive to the Holy Ghost. Many of us are confused as to how the Holy Ghost speaks to us. How do we know if we receive inspiration? in Mororni 10:6 we read:

"And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is." 

And in Moroni 7:16:

"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God."

I know that every good thing we feel to do is a message from the Holy Ghost trying to get us to do good, And so it doesn't matter whether or not we know for sure that a specific thought is inspiration or not. The only question we have to ask ourselves is "Will this thing bring me closer to, or farther away from Christ?" If the answer is closer, then we know with a perfect knowledge that it is from God, if the answer is farther away, then we know with a perfect knowledge that it is from the devil.

Jesse is starting to come to church regularly! He's still working on quitting smoking. How true it is that every time we try to make a good decision, like what Jesse is trying to do, namely baptism, and ultimately full activity in the Church, Satan, (or as Heber J Grant called him, Old Nick, don't ask me why...) rears his fat-ugly head to try and stop us. I won't go into detail much, but the whole world seems to be combining against Jesse and Becky. They are SO close! Their kids got baptized the end of last month. I admire how they are handling this terrible opposition, they know who it is that's causing it. I love their faith and confidence they have in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Savior. He lived for us, died for us, and lived for us again. He is the Creator of the universe. All that we are, or hope to become, we owe to Him. He had the Love and compassion necessary to rescue us from our fallen state. I hope that each of us will try to become more like Him every day. 

Stay Righteous Y'all!

Elder Stotts