Well this transfer is in full swing and I can already tell it is going to be a good one. We have already seen so many little miracles this week.
One such miracle happened in McDonald's of all places. Wednesday we had been out street contacting all afternoon after about 3 hours I need to use the restroom and we needed a little change of pace so we decided to go to McDonald's, use the restroom and get an ice cream cone. As we walk out of the restroom to get in line, Hermana Water's yells "Socorro!" I turn around and there is our investigator sitting there finishing up her meal and studying English. But wait, that is not all. I also then see this guy in the background waving at us like he knows us (I had no idea who he was). He comes up and talks to us and it turns out that he is a member that hasn't been to church in years. He had been through a lot but told us that he wanted to change his life around and he knew that he needed to go back to church. He asked if we could help him out. We got his information and told him that that missionaries in his area would be contacting him shortly. He left McDonald's quite happy. We then were able to have a little lesson with Socorro and get on our way.
There were a lot of little things like that hat happened throughout the week. We added a lot of new investigators as well as received A LOT of referrals. I think we got more referrals this week than we got all of last transfer. The Lord is blessing us.
We then ended the week with a wonderful stake conference that was Presided by Elder Gary Sabin. It was just one of those conferences where I felt like I received answer after answer after answer. The spirit was so strong. I know I wasn't the only one to feel it either. After the conference we went over to ask Al how he liked the conference, he was glowing. He was smiling and he said that it was so good. Knowing that he had been able to feel the spirit made me so happy.
Now I have been to a lot of stake conferences, some that I thought were great, like this one, and others that I walked out of pretty much the same as I went in. As I was thinking about this stake conference in comparison to many of the other stake conferences I asked myself what made this one different than the not so good ones. Was it the speakers? Maybe, but I'm sure many of those other stake conferences had good speakers as well. While I pondered on it I was thinking about when I actually have the most spiritual experiences and it came down to that I almost always have those experiences when I go into my studies, church, conference, whatever it may be, with a specific question or concern in mind. Whenever that happens I feel the spirit and the revelation flows.
What I am talking about here is the difference between being a passive participant and an active participant in any spiritual experience. Moroni 10:4 says "and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." The key thing in here if we want truth, or spiritual knowledge is that we have to do something. We have to ask, with a sincere desire to receive and act upon the answer. Joseph Smith did not just happen upon God the Father and Jesus Christ while taking a nice nature walk through the forest. He prepared, he studied, he wanted to know, he went to the forest, he asked. then he received an answer.
How often do we find ourselves bored in church or while reading the scriptures? If it is often might we pose ourselves the question, "What am I bringing to this meeting, or this study in form of my desire to know something?" I know that the more I bring to the table the more I receive. The spirit gives to us based off of our righteous desires, not just simply because we are doing the right thing or in the right place. This is something I am constantly trying to improve. I want to learn and grow but it takes work.
I hope you will all think about how you can better your spiritual experiences by thinking about what more you can bring.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Hermana Carpenter
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