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| Last Zone Conference with President and Sister Maucotel |
This past week was truly humbling as we began to teach a less active family with the youngest son, Arnold, not being a member because he was two years old the last time he went to church and his older brothers and mother were baptized but he never came to know about the church. They are really talented youth that are able to play guitar, accordion, and a few other instruments and as well they are all very dedicated to various styles of martial arts, which is really awesome! But it was a very interesting experience because as we began teaching these youth about our purpose to invite everyone to come unto Christ, the oldest son began telling us that he couldn´t believe in God because of all of the horrible occurrences that are happening and have happened in the world. He told us about how could there be terrorism, large scale, starvation, and so much economic inequality if there really was an all-loving God? How could there be so many youth in the streets that are involved in drug warfare and all other sorts of things , and after we listened patiently and lovingly to his concerns, I paused for a solid 10 seconds and then I felt the scripture from Alma 30:44 come into my mind and with that idea I opened my mouth with one question of ¨Do you truly believe that everything of this earth, from the smallest of microbes to the grand cosmos of the planets and stars exists by sheer circumstance?¨ And then he said, honestly, I hope that there would be a divine creator behind it all, but it is just so hard to see from my perspective. Then I shared one comment with Kevin that truly changed the atmosphere of the room, and I felt the Spirit testify to Him as I said ¨The Lord can take that hope and make it a sure belief, if you can truly humble yourself before Him and just ask to feel His Love for you.¨ He began to become teary-eyed and with a very subdued tone of voice accepted our invitation. We then invited him to take a moment to pray to God if He really existed, and I could feel God´s love for Kevin as he began to offer up in his halting way, his desires to see if God truly knew who he was. This experience left me feeling the Spirit testify that truly God is our loving Heavenly Father, that he knows us personally, and even though Satan can deceive us into thinking falsely about our divine origins and potential, the Spirit sends the adversaries forces fleeing every time! I know that God created a plan so that the families can be eternal, and that it does not matter where we have been in this life, but only where we are right now, and where we are willing to go with the assistance of God to return to His presence! I can firmly testify that because HE Lives, He sent His Son to the earth to redeem us from every flaw and misstep that we make, and that if we can have these personal one-on-one conversations with the Father of our Spirits, He will never leave us without the guidance we seek!
I truly love this opportunity to serve in the Lord´s Army! I truly love seeing the Grace of God working in people´s lives as they sincerely repent, and most importantly seeing how God truly communicates with His Children in every age, and in every place where we may find ourselves!
Sometimes, it is just wonderful to let go of our concerns and let God hold us and let us know that we are His! It is like the words to one of my favorite songs which is written from the perspective of God speaking to every one of us!
"So when you´re on your knees and answers seem so far away
You´re not alone, stop holding on, and just be held
Your world is not falling apart it´s falling into place
I´m on the throne, stop holding on, and just be held"
I hope you know that God loves you and is ever aware of the mountains that you have been called to climb!
Love,
Elder Raven
