This was a hard week. We had an "Open Capilla" this Saturday, so we spent a ton of time this week trying to get stuff ready for that. Cordinating things with the leaders of the church, printing and cutting things, CUTTING THE YARD AND CLEANING THE CHURCH SATURDAY MORNING. It is always a great event here, but it is the one day that it rains, so it was rainey and super cold, so not as many people came. Elder Peck and I stood out in the rain to invite people to the capilla. Although the odds and mother nature were against us, we had a decent turnout and the members worked super hard to make it a success. :)
Other than the open capilla, not a lot happened this week. We taught less than normal because of the open house, but we had some good lessons. We invited two people to be baptized, and they both agreed. As cool as that is, the challenge is just starting...now we get to see what they are made of. Satan is going to be working hard this month. We commited ourselves to them that we would give it everything we have that they´d be ready by their dates, but they have to do their parts too. One of those people, Lucia, had an experience. We quit going by pretty much because her daughter in law told us that she didn´t want us to come by anymore. We went by randomly the other day. She told us that she´d really been having a hard time lately and had prayed about an hour before we got there that something or someone would come to help relieve her of this pain...an hour later we show up. It is so amazing to see the power of prayer in action.
Temptation is a challenge that stares all of us in the eyes each and every day...just as it did Coriantom with the temptress. It is one of the greatest tools in the arsenal of Satan.
What is temptation? The Bible Dictionary says that "tempt" is "to test,try, or prove. To seduce or leads to evil. To provoke to anger." Sok, the definition of "temptation" is "To test, try,prove, provoke to anger, and to lead to evil" That being said, I think it´s safe to say that the world is FULL of temptation.
These are, as Paul said, "perilous times". (2 Timothy 3:1) Satan is in almost every place on the Earth in some manner for he "seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27) With this omnipresent power in this land, it is often very difficult for us to focus on what´s important, which is Christ and righteousness. Luckily, we have been given the gift of "agency" or "the ability to choose good or evil for ourselves". With this gift, we have several ways to avoid the temptations of this world.
1) Center your life on the Savior-When we center our lives on the Savior, promised blessings are fulfilled in our lives. With this focus, we can fulfill our potential here on the Earth and become Children of Christ. (Helamen 5:12)
2)Pray for strength- Our greatest source of strength comes through our Heavenly Father. With this communication co0mes a better relation with our Heavenly Father and a better understanding of his will in our lives. He will always help us to make the right decisions if we earnestly seek his guidence. (3Nephi20:1 We should always be praying in our heart to be closer to the Savior.
3) Study the scriptures dailey-Ass we study and apply the truths that we learn from the gospel in our lives, we find that we´re better prepared to confront the advesary when he attempts to begile us. (Helamen 3:29-30)
4)Fill your life with goodness-When we focus on filling our time with goodness, we have no time to even ponder the wicked things of the world. When you fill up a cup 100% with water, there´s no room for calories. ;)
5)Avoid tempting places and situations-When we put ourselves in bad situations, we are just asking for trouble. It´s like jumping head-first into quicksand...we have 0 control of what happens.
6)Strie to infrluence others to do good-As Latter-Day Saints, it is our duty and our obligation to help others. To help them realize their worth and their potential...to be examples. We have the ultimate example of this int eh Lord Jesus Christ. (John 17:14-18)
It should always be our goal to overcome the evil of the world and to follow the Savior. We should be firm and quick as Jesus was. (Luke 4:8) Through rightous thoughts, prayers, actions, and desires, you WILL overcome the world...just as our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that this is easier said than done, but it is something that we are all OBLIGED to do as sons/daughters of God. Through the power of the Atonement, we can do all things and will become who we are ordained to be. (James 4:7-8) I have a short video. It´s a play that I saw once growing up. I´ve seen it several times since then, and every time that I see it...I can´t help but crying and thanking my Savior on the spot for what he does for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkzNjA5Rt2o or search obra de teatro cristiana
I pray that each of you would do your best to always overcome temptation, choose the right, and be forever thankful to our Lord and Savior. That you would feel his hands guiding you. And that you always feel the warmth of his love forever embracing you. This is my humble prayer. (3Nephi 22:17) In the holy name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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