“I have often said that one of the greatest secrets to missionary work is work. If a missionary works he will get the Spirit, if he gets the Spirit he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. There will be no home sickness, no worrying about family for all time and talents and interests will be centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work- there is no satisfactory substitute especially in missionary work.” Ezra Taft Benson (one of our recitations)
This week we went on leadership exchanges. Which basically just means that senior companions go with senior companions and junior companions go with junior companions. Well I got to drive which was cool. Also I definitely learned how grateful I am to have Sister Marsh as my companion because well we get along and she is patient with me however not all missionaries are created equal and well the day was rough. It made me a little more nervous for transfer calls coming up on Saturday (they would normally have been this past Saturday but it’s a 7 week transfer) but I don’t think Sister Marsh is going anywhere at least I really hope not. It is interesting however to see different areas however and get ideas for your area.
While on exchanges we had a stake correlation meeting and the High counselor over missionary work is a member of the Idaho Supreme Court so he told us a little bit about Idaho’s history with the church. Well did you know it’s written into the Idaho State Constitution that Mormons were not citizens and that they couldn’t vote? well it was and it wasn’t amended until 1982! I thought that was pretty crazy.
Well the weather this week was pretty crazy and well without an iPhone to give you an hour by hour forecast sometimes it’s difficult to plan the day. One day this week we were walking and our car was on the other side of our area (which admittedly isn’t that big but it’s a few miles) and it started hailing! Well that was pretty fun. And then yesterday it was in the 70’s. Come on Idaho make up your mind. (preferably to be in the 70’s).
We had kind of a weird week for numbers. We had a bunch of less active lessons and nothing else. Like ALL zeros so that was a bit unfortunate because we worked so hard but it happens. This coming week might be interesting because it’s Spring Break and everyone is leaving so pretty much all of our normal appointments have already been canceled. So send prayers that we find new people to teach this week. One of our big efforts this week was to make a list of all the people who have moved out of the ward and try to find out were they went so we can determine where to send records. There are 43 families on our records who have moved so that;s a pretty big job.
We also had a number of recent move ins that we have been trying to contact. One family missionaries have been trying to contact since before I got here. Well last night we knocked on the door and they answered. She said “Oh yeah we haven’t been to church yet, we didn’t know where the church building was or when we meet.” Well Sister Marsh and I very quickly wrote down the address and the time, shared Hallelujah and left. We had to chuckle a bit as we left because from their porch you could see the church building. Well I’m hopeful they will come next week.
This week I finished the Book of Mormon. I started it when I got to Boise so it took me 6 weeks. Other than the time we sped read it in young women’s all night that’s the fastest I’ve ever read the Book of Mormon so that was pretty neat. I decided I’m gonna try to read it once a transfer and each time pick something different to look for and mark it in a 2 dollar Book of Mormon. This time I marked the Doctrine of Christ, each principle in a different color. Which is simply faith (green), repentance (orange), baptism (blue), the Gift of the Holy Ghost (purple) and enduring to the end (yellow). I also marked Christ and his attributes (red). I found that the Doctrine of Christ was on every page. Every single one! It was an awesome exercise and I totally recommend it for anyone planning on serving a mission since the missionary purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. (basically exactly the doctrine of Christ)
Something I found is that the gospel is simple and profound all at the same time. These 5 principles are the foundation of the gospel and they really are all you need to get back to Heavenly Father. Repentance is so key in that process. I love you all!
Sister Smith
sistersmithinboise 