Know. Live. Love.

A Testimony of Following the Counsel Received From the Prophet and Apostles

First, the big transfer news - WE'RE STAYING!!!! Yet again, Hna Cedeño and I get to be companions in Gilbert!! We're SO excited! Also, Sisters Young and Sorenson are BOTH staying in Gilbert as well!! We've all gotten so close as a house, and we're thrilled to be staying together!

Next big news - LAURA'S ON DATE!!!! That's right, the cute little abuelita that we just started teaching last week is on date for baptism the 29th of October! Also, SHE CAME TO CONFERENCE!!! She came to the Sunday afternoon session (which I watched in Spanish!!) and absolutely loved it! We're really excited to continue teaching her.

We met a bunch of new potentials this week, and have one new investigator - Andres Dias. He's going through some hard times in his life, and he was receptive to the quick lesson we gave on the restoration. We're seeing him again tomorrow and are going to teach him more about it. Both of us have a strong feeling that he's been prepared, and can't wait to see the light of the gospel come into his life.

 Luis has stopped progressing a bit. He keeps saying he'll read and pray about the Book of Mormon, but never does. Pray to help him understand the importance of this step and start to take action for himself.

All right, on to conference! It really was sooo amazing! Of course it always is, but there's something special about being a missionary. People always said that to me, but I never understood it until this weekend. The spirit's with you in a different way than before, and also, every time someone talks about the missionaries or missionary work, there's a sense of pride - as well as humility - knowing that you're a part of that small group striving to make a difference in the world.

I took SOOOO many notes from conference. I'll basically just share the highlights of what I wrote in my notebook - quotes and thoughts! 

President Uchtdorf "What shall we give in return for so much?"

Carol F. McConkie "If we expect to receive we must ask, seek, and knock."

Craig C. Christensen "Joseph did not let his questions paralyze his faith."

Elder Neil L. Andersen"When you share the love of the Savior with another ... your grade is always an A+."

Elder Quentin L. Cook"...we need to avoid the philosophies of men that lessen our commitment to the Savior." 

Elder Gary E. Stevenson"One is never too young to seek and receive a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon."

D. Todd Christofferson"Learn to abide the law of a Celestial Kingdom, so we can abide the law of a Celestial Glory!"

W. Mark BassettMy note: Trust in the Lord! His wisdom is greater than your own!

Kazuhiko Yamashita"Be ambitious - be ambitious for Christ!"

Elder Dallin H. Oaks"People learn when they are ready to learn, not when we are ready to teach them."

President Monson "We need to know God's laws, and live them."

President Russell M. Nelson "Our joy has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."

Elder M. Russell Ballard"The restoration is not an event, but it continues to unfold." 

Dean M. DaviesMy note: Spiritual experiences have everything to do with what is happening within our hearts.

I have such a strong testimony of the power of following the counsel we receive from the living prophets and apostles! I'm still waiting to hear from ALL of you (minus the parents) about your favorite things about conference, or most poignant thoughts!

One thing I wanted to share was a thought that Hna Cedeño shared with me this morning during our companionship study. Every zone or district meeting that we have, they ask if anyone had a miracle, and everyone raises their hand. We all get to share some of our miracles from the week. Hna Cedeño said that when she has FHE with her family, she wants to ask the same thing. We really can see miracles every day in our lives, though sometimes we don't recognize them as such. I want to encourage all of you to look for those every-day miracles, and share them with others!

I almost forgot about this story!!! So, Elder Reynolds goes home tomorrow early in the morning, so last Tuesday was his last District Meeting. He wanted to go to Red Robin as a zone, and even though we were all super poor since it was the end of the month, we decided to go. We sat down, made our orders, and were chatting. Then, after we'd been sitting for a bit, our server comes over and says, "Hey, just so you all know, the man who was sitting right behind you with his family paid for your whole order. So once you're done eating, you're good to go." We were all SHOCKED! It was a huge miracle, and we wish we could thank him, but know he will be blessed for his generosity! We were seriously so thankful!

Les quiero muchisimo!!!!!!!Hna Garner​