"Recently, I was looking at a box of crayola markers when I noticed that the slogan on the box reads: "Washability You Can Trust" in big bubbly letters. In small print on the back, it says: "Wash promptly in hot wash cycle. Repeat laundering may be required."
In Moroni 10:32-33 it reads [paraphrased a bit]
Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him and deny yourselves of all ungodliness. If ye, by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not His power, then ye are sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins that ye become holy, without spot."
So, how can we know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ offers the same promise of "Washibility You Can Trust?" We know that our Good Shepherd and Brother, Jesus Christ, finds joy in seeing His sheep progress toward healing. The slogan is clearly stated in the scriptures that we will become "holy, without spot" through Christ's grace. However, the path to perfection might require some "repeat laundering" before we reach it. Here in church, we celebrate victory; we celebrate the completion of our own search for peace. But, we didn't simply read a slogan, repent, and become perfect overnight. We learned from experience that becoming is a lifelong process. I don't know about you, but I've had to have my own experiences with ink stains to know that it can, with a little effort, be washed away.
The Lord has asked us to "Go forth from Babylon. Flee from the Chaldeans and with a voice of singing, declare: the Lord hath redeemed His servant." Heavenly Father doesn't speak in secret. He has spoken to all. I know that if you sacrifice the time and effort to pay the price of revelation and to know with a surety that the Lord hath redeemed you, then others around you will begin to trust the power of the Atonement to wash away their fear, doubt, shortcomings, guilt, and regret.
Missionary work beings with our own conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that greater light has entered my life through testifying of Christ. To become a shining star in the kingdom of God, we must first allow our own light that is inside of us to shine. As we try to repent daily and purify ourselves, we can trust that the Lord will be there when we don't know what to do or what to say. President Nelson said: "When you reach up for the Lord's power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him-when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw power into your life-you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do. When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done beofre, His power will flow into you."
Sister Anderson, I and the WML all gave talks in sacrament meeting yesterday. We all left the ward with the commitment to "share goodness." It was a cool experience to talk in church. I actually haven't given a formal talk in church my whole mission. I've borne my testimony, but that's not the same. It's interesting how much I have changed when it comes to talking to a group of people. The goal is more to actually help the audience FEEL something, rather than just fill time.
We had a miracle this week! We met a man a few weeks back who was interested, but he was going to move to Bothell. But, he texted us and told us that he's probably going to be staying in Duvall. We took a walk with him yesterday and we talked about the Book of Mormon and what it would mean to him to become Mormon. It was such an interesting conversation. He is concerned for his son's future, and he wants to make sure that he has answers to his questions when he grows up. I feel like he is sufficiently humble, and I'm sooo excited to see that these people with whom Sister Anderson and I have made relationships are starting to be more solid. I love being here in Duvall!
I had my second Pioneer Day on the mission. This time last year, I was in the MTC. This year, I'm trying to memorize the Rapstoration. I've come so far. Yes, we do have a recording of someone rapping the message of the Restoration.
We met a man who told us he ws a preacher and doesn't agree with us and then sat there, pouting with his back to us while we made friends with the rest of his family, but we could tell that he was listening the whole time...intently.
We were having a lesson with a Finnish man who was embarrassed that his house wasn't "neat," so he and a member sat on the porch steps while we sat on the concrete in the hot sun, in skirts. I'm really glad that I shaved my legs. As we were discussing the beauty of the Restoration of Jesus Christ, he would suddenly ask questions like "So where are the gold plates now?" "Do you believe in aliens?" "What do you do if you pray and the answer that you get contradicts the prophet?" "What if someone does something that hurts someone else and then they say that God told them to?" "Can't I just find revelation on my own, in my own house?" "Why didn't God just let Laban drown instead of asking Nephi to kill him?" "What happens if a prophet is disobedient?" In moments like these, we missionaries like to do something that blows minds. We find their answers in the Book of Mormon. This guy has already read through 1st Nephi, and he definitely has a questioning soul. It's a good thing that the Book of Mormon answers questions of the soul.
I got called a racist by my district leader because I told him that we grow cotton in the south. I need someone to send me a list of cool things about Alabama because everything that I say ends up being used against me.
That's about it folks. Love,
Sister Jenne"
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