Sister Syd: Canada Week 30: Faith, Hope & Charity

What a week! It began with an emergency transfer for me from Edmonton to Drayton Valley. I then spent a few days adjusting to being in a whole new area with a new companion, but I am happy to say all is well! It was such a blessing to end the crazy week with GENERAL CONFERENCE! How amazing was conference?! I was so overwhelmed with joy, peace, love and excitement for the gospel and everything to come! So many emotions! I am beyond grateful for our Prophet, President Russel M. Nelson! He is completely inspiring! He has such a strong genuine love for each and every one of us. I know that his love gives us a glimpse of how much love our Father in Heaven has for us!

This week was full of some adventures despite quarantine. My companion and I have been trying to come up with ways to make the most of our time inside...although sometimes it gets pretty tricky! We have started to come up with some ideas and goals during this time. We were also able to get out and go on walks this week when it wasn't snowing....yay Canadian April! We also had the wonderful privilege to watch conference in member's homes. I was able to meet a few of the members here which was so nice. It is hard being new to an area where we can't be around people, but I am trying my best to stay positive!

This week we were able to teach a couple lessons over video chat. It was the best and I was grateful to meet the people the sisters have been teaching. We taught one of them the lesson of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a neat experience to share our testimonies of the restoration and the steps to take to continually follow and endure to the end! His frustration came with understanding what makes our church different than other churches. We were able to share about priesthood authority and the Book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong and I was so grateful for the opportunity to teach him. Another lesson we had was on service and learning in the church! We taught about the many opportunities there are within the church to serve and learn! We taught him about the different church positions and how having these opportunities to serve allows for us to become like our Savior. Learning how to love and serve as He did is one of the most important things we all can do! He also had a question about making mistakes after baptism. He thought that if you make a mistake after you had made covenants with God that there was no hope for you and that you would be "cut off" from God. We were able to share our testimonies of the atonement that opens the way for another chance in Christ! Again the spirit testified through us that we are never too far off of the path. We always have the chance to begin again, to come back to God through repentance and realigning our will with His! We also are blessed with infinite opportunities to do so. I shared a scripture with him from Moroni 6:8, "But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness with real intent they were forgiven." What an amazing promise that is! It fills my soul with peace knowing as oft as we repent with real intent that we will be forgiven and I am so grateful for that. I testify that God used us as instruments in His Hands to teach His children these principles!

Some things I wanted to share from my studies this week are about FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY. I was reading in the last few chapters of Moroni and was reminded of the importance of these three simple words in our lives. Not long ago I studied a talk by Elder Uchtdorf called, "The Infinite Power of Hope." In that talk he expresses the importance of these three words, stating, "These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we encounter." I think that is so beautiful especially regarding our circumstances today! As I was reading Moroni chapters 7-10 I was reminded again of the power that faith, hope, and charity can have in our lives. Moroni 7:33 states that if we have faith in Christ we will have the power to do whatever He needs us to! My other favorite verse is Moroni 8:16, "....perfect love casteth out all fear." The perfect love that God and His Son Jesus Christ have for us is perfect and can cast out all fear!!

GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! Wow! It was just amazing! I loved the focus on the restoration and gospel of Jesus Christ! I loved the new proclamation! How incredible! This work is moving forward! "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing!" I was so full of gratitude for the messages shared. Another big focus I found throughout the conference was love and how each of us have a part to play here. We are all important! I loved Elder Uchtdorf's address in the Sunday afternoon session! "There is NO threshold of perfection to attain Gods grace." God does not exhibit favoritism. It was exactly what I needed to be reminded of. We are all favored in God's eyes! He just wants us to try our best and attain Christlike charity! Honestly there were so many precious and amazing words shared - I could go on forever.....

I just want to express how grateful I am to still be a part of this glorious work - even when it is hard and sometimes feels like stopping would be easier. I think different experiences in life have similar effects. We need to choose to hang on and keep going when anything gets difficult. With God on our side we can do all things. He has the power to bring about mighty miracles! I am so grateful for the messages shared and for a prophet who leads and guides us today. I am so grateful for second chances with my Savior and for the opportunity I still have to share these messages as a missionary of peace and hope with others.

Love and miss you all! Keep the faith and keep going! "This too shall pass"

Love, Sister Merrill