Why does repentance work?

What a week!! I have absolutely loved being an imperfect and improving missionary and a full-time representative of Jesus Christ. 

Here's a few deep thoughts. I more fully learned some cool stuff about how exactly Christ makes repentance possible for us. Before Wednesday, if someone had asked me that question: "Why does repentance work; how is it that Christ takes upon Himself our sins, and why can that rid us of our guilt?", my response would have been something along the lines of the following:

     There is a great law of justice that is incontrovertible. We as humanity have committed an unfathomable amount of sin, and in order for us to be freed from the guilt of it, someone without sin had to suffer a correspondingly unfathomable price to balance the heavenly scale.

I still love that way of answering the question, but I learned a different way of thinking about it that I hope may be of benefit to you. Same question, second answer:

     We are eternal beings of light and truth. Although we may not recognize it consciously, our spirit understands perfectly when it is unclean, which we experience as guilt whenever we act inconsistently with the natural principles of intelligence, correctness, and truth outlined in the commandments of God. We understand that for every sin there is a price, and our guilt is alleviated by the *knowledge* that that price has been paid, rather than through the balancing of a celestial ledger. 

The difference between the two is slight, but for me it was very thought-provoking. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well! 

Here's a few of the milagros that went down in the Great Republic of Texas this week.

Saturday night, Hermana Anzora had a dream about Raiza and Eduardo, a couple of her friends that we taught for the last time in January. She invited them Sunday morning to hop onto zoom church and... they did!! Then, the last speaker closed his talk with Psalms 23:4, a scripture that randomly turned out to be super personally significant for Eduardo and he was super touched. Little miracles, God is in the details :) 

Jairo is progressing well towards his baptismal date of April 10! He came to church for the second time yesterday, and he had a really positive experience. I really loved seeing how he and some other friends of ours, including some new members that just moved in, were just welcomed so enthusiastically by the ward. It's pretty incredible how much the gospel and the Church can create community and turn people into loving neighbors and caring friends.

We hadn't heard a peep from Alexi for two weeks till fifteen minutes into Sacrament Meeting when he just walked in. Said he hadn't been planning on coming to church that day but kinda just did.

I'm loving learning, growing, serving, and changing here in the mission! I feel so incredibly blessed. Life is wonderful. Difficulties and imperfections are part of growth. 

Until next week! 

Elder Child

Just Beyond Blessed

Hey all!

This week was so great! I've learned a ton about the Plan of Salvation, hope, forgiveness, and effective missionary work. I'm so grateful for my life and for my Savior Jesus Christ.

One cool insight from studies this week. We are so blessed to have bodies! I've often taught the necessity of bodies in the Plan of Salvation somewhat like this: God is our Father, and He has a body; therefore to become perfect and like Him, we also need perfect, glorified, resurrected bodies. All true, but our bodies, more than just being part of mortality, are in many ways the vehicle by which our perfection is achieved. It's through our bodies that we are able to be tempted and tried, have weakness, experience pain, and put forth effort. It's through our miraculous brains that our spirit and the Spirit are able to even interact with our body. In so many ways, our bodies are like perfectly designed little learn-to-progress kits that were perfectly prepared for us by our loving Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. So cool! 

We could use prayers this week for Hector and Jairo. Both have circumstances that need to be overcome and testimony that needs to be gained in order for them to make covenants with God through baptism. Thank you for all your prayers and support. Miracles are being worked out here, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

I love my life! This is Christ's church. I feel so blessed to be able to share the message of the Restoration of His gospel with everyone I meet, and I learn more about that message and its importance every day. I could not be in a better place right now. 

Love you all :) 

Elder Child

Miracles are being worked

Hey all!

What a joy it is to be a part of this miraculous work! The past two weeks, I've been so grateful for the evidences I've seen that miracles are being worked: according to our faith, by the Lord's power, and through revelation. I can testify that God is always willing, through the Spirit, to dispense the knowledge and wisdom we need to work the miracles necessary for the blessing of those around us. These past couple weeks, I've been especially impressed by how much that's carried out through our studies. The Lord is ready and waiting to guide us, through revelation, to work miracles, and if we have the faith, they will be.

Elder Price and I saw that in action this week in our first visit with Sendy. She had been going through some really difficult things. We were just getting to know her, and Elder Price, led by the Spirit, started talking about the Footsteps in the Sand poem. She disappeared into her house and came out not two seconds later with a framed copy of it. She doesn't speak English. Apparently she had owned that poem for years but only that afternoon, after getting back from something very difficult, did she feel prompted to Google translate it. That was when she told us God had sent us.

Another instance where we felt an extreme measure of the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost was in a lesson with Hector and Anthony. Hector has been attending church unbaptized for 20+ years, and Anthony, his son, is working on his mission papers. We felt directed to share Chapter 1 of Preach My Gospel as a lesson directed towards Anthony, and we invited Hector to receive missionary lessons taught by his son, discussing his genuine concerns and doubts, as a way of helping his son prepare for his mission. The Spirit was felt powerfully in that room as we testified about the importance of missionary work. The next day, Hector accepted. We NEED your prayers for both of them. 

I'm so grateful to be a missionary!!! I love my life and know that this is the work of exaltation. Some incredible things have been worked by the Lord this week through His servants. What a privilege it is to represent the prophets and Apostles working out here :) 

For all those that have been following the situation down here in Texas, thanks for your thoughts and prayers. It was a little crazy last week, but we were fine (I just got a little caught up playing basketball to send a weekly out 😂). The worst that happened to us was a night where it got a bit chilly and going two or three days without a shower. Prayers were definitely answered on that front, and the Lord protects the missionaries. Some other folks have gone through crazy things though, I've never seen the food bank line as long as it was on Thursday, and Walmart is still rationing milk and water sales. 

I love you all! Thanks for your prayers and for the work you're doing. Please pray for the revelation that YOU need to work the miracles God's preparing for those around you, through you.

Happy, grateful, lucky, and blessed,

Elder Child