(Mom) Aug 27 2023

Hey, thanks for sharing that google photos memory. That was fun to see all those pics of us together biking and hiking. Bike rides are definitely less adventurous without you here.


So we got a new bishopric today. That was sad and exciting at the same time. The new bishop is Bishop Egan (was one of Logan's deacon's quorum leaders). Brother Serrano is his first councilor and Brother Juber is his second counselor. We had a great sacrament meeting where the old bishopric and new bishopric talked. It was pretty cool to feel the confirmation from the Spirit that the changes came through revelation. I'm super sad to see Bishop Tranter and his councilors get released, but it will be a good change and I am excited for the new bishopric.


I took ballroom team photos yesterday. That was less stressful than last year when I just got thrown into it, but it was definitely, tiring anyway. There are 12 seniors on the team this year, and I took their photos for the senior banners, so that was fun.


We have the traveling Tabernacle in Eagle Mountain for a bit. It's a pretty cool thing. we haven't gotten to see it yet, but it's a replica of the Tabernacle from the scriptures that you can walk around and see. I'll tell you more about it after we go with the youth on Wednesday.


Austyn's boyfriend got set apart today. Talked to Amber earlier this week and she said Austyn was pretty sad. I'm sure Arika knows how she feels. Exciting to have another missionary out there though.


I was thinking about what you said about people in your mission not seeing the purpose behind our church versus any other church. I remembered this talk given by Elder Christofferson. Maybe it will be helpful. There is a lot of good stuff in there. Here are 3 quotes I liked from this talk :
1: In this discussion of the Church as the body of Christ, we must always bear in mind two things. One, we do not strive for conversion to the Church but to Christ and His gospel, a conversion that is facilitated by the Church.21 The Book of Mormon expresses it best when it says that the people “were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto the church of Christ.”22

2:If one believes that all roads lead to heaven or that there are no particular requirements for salvation, he or she will see no need for proclaiming the gospel or for ordinances and covenants in redeeming either the living or the dead. But we speak not just of immortality but also of eternal life, and for that the gospel path and gospel covenants are essential. And the Savior needs a church to make them available to all of God’s children—both the living and the dead.
3:As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was being established in the 1830s, the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Lift up your hearts and rejoice, for unto you the kingdom, or in other words, the keys of the church have been given.”28 In the authority of these keys, the Church’s priesthood officers preserve the purity of the Savior’s doctrine and the integrity of His saving ordinances.29 They help prepare those who wish to receive them, judge the qualification and worthiness of those who apply, and then perform them.

With the keys of the kingdom, the Lord’s servants can identify both truth and falsehood and once again authoritatively state, “Thus saith the Lord.” Regrettably, some resent the Church because they want to define their own truth, but in reality it is a surpassing blessing to receive a “knowledge of things as they [truly] are, and as they were, and as they are to come”30 insofar as the Lord wills to reveal it. The Church safeguards and publishes God’s revelations—the canon of scripture.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/10/why-the-church?lang=eng



Hope your week has been good. Can't wait to talk to you tomorrow. Love you!
~Mom