This week was pretty amazing. As I have said before, Chile was the host of the Copa America this year….well, we made it to the finals! It was on the fourth of July. We got permission from President Cook to watch it! It was a GREAT game! They went into penalty kicks and WE WON! We beat Argentina. (Who is like the arch rival of Chile.) We came back to the house and had an asado. (Barbecue) It was super good. Our house is like 2 miles from the Estadio Nacional, so we got to see the fireworks after the game! So I got to see big fireworks for the fourth of July in Chile! It was literally THE BEST 4TH OF JULY EVER!!!
Elder Miller made a bet with the Chavez family about who would win between Chile and Peru, and Chile won, so they had to cook us cachangas…it is like fried bread with a sweet cream in the middle...Peruvian Heaven.
Another cool experience, I did my first baptismal interview. It was with an elderly woman named Exxxxx. She was super nice! :) It was kinda weird being on the other side of things because I still remember my baptismal interview like it was yesterday.
We had a bunch of service this week. We painted an elderly lady`s room for her. We cut down a tree with a saw. (I had to climb up in it to get up high enough...made me feel like I was back in the South a little! XD ) Then we started trying to pull up the stump, but it`s got a ton of roots, so it`s a work in progress. It was fun to get my hands a little dirty this week. ;)
On another note, Elder Dueñas and I have started doing boxing in the mornings three times a week. He did it before the mission, so he is training me! I`m super excited for it! Something I`ve always wanted to work on and it`s GREAT exercise! :)
This week, I was thinking a ton about the power of conversion in the gospel. I decided to do an indepth study of this conversion power in the scriptures. I did a study of two of the most influential people in the scriptures...Paul and the son of Alma. Here is what I found.
Saul-Paul
1)Made havoc of the church (Acts 8:3)
2)Threw Christians in prison ((Acts 8:3)
3) Had a marvelous experience
- Pillar of light from Heaven (Acts 9:3)
- Saul fell to the Earth trembling and was astonished (Acts 9:6)
- "Why persecutest thou me?" Jesus (Acts 9:4)
- "Go into the city and it shall be given what thou must do." (Acts 9:6)
- "Great things will he suffer for my name`s sake." (Acts 9:16)
- Saul received his sight and was baptized by the laying of of hands (Acts 9:18)
- Spent time with the disciples (Acts 9:19)
- Preached Christ in the synagogues (Acts 9:20)
- Jews wanted to kill him (Acts 9:23)
- Name changed to Paul (Acts 13:9)
- Was a missionary (Acts 13:1-14:26
- Imprisoned for two years (Acts 24:1-26:32
Son of Alma
- very wicked and idolatrous man (Mosiah 27:8)
- Led many eople to do much iniquity (Mosiah 27:8)
- "Great hinderment to the prosperity of the church (Mosiah 27:9)
- Much dissension
- Stealing away their hearts contrary to the commandments (Mosiah 27:10)
- Giving the enemy of God a chance to exercise his power (Mosiah 27:9
- Seeking to destroy the church
- Marvelous experience
- Angel of the Lord appeared (Mosiah 27:11)
- Fell to the Earth astonished (Mosiah 27:12)
- "Why persecutest thou the church of God?" (Mosiah 27:13)
- Happened because of the prayers of others (Mosiah 27:14)
- Lost his strength and couldn`t speak (Mosiah 27:19)
- was restored after much prayer and fasting (Mosiah 27:23)
- Born of the Spirit (Mosiah 27:24)-after wading through much tribulation and repenting (Mosiah 27:28) Soul was pained no more (Mosiah 27:29)
- Preached through all of the land )Mosiah 27:32)
- was "greatly persecuted" by nonbelievers (Mosiah 27:32)
- Imparted much consolation to the church (Mosiah 27:33)
- Strived zelously to repair the injuries that he had caused (Mosiah 27:35
- Instrument in the hands of the Lord (Mosiah 27:36)
- Was blessed-published peace, good tidings, and that the Lord reigneth (Mosiah 27:37)
- Desired that salvation was published to every creature (Mosiah 28:3)
As I read these conversion stories, I started to think much about my own conversion. It is apparent that I didn`t have a marvelous experience, but the conversion in itself is a marvelous experience.
- None of the three of us PLANNED on being converted
- We all did some bad things before the conversion
- We all fell to the Earth for a reason
- We were all told what to do from that point onward
- We have all been born of the Spirit and had a change of heart
- We have all served as missionaries of the Lord
- We have all been hated
- We all publisht he good tidings of the gospel of Christ
- We have all been instruments in the hands of the Lord
- We all desire the salvation of all souls
I`m not saying that I`ve experienced the same level of conversion of Paul or the Son of Alma, because I haven`t, but it IS apparent that Heavenly Father is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That the results of living the gospel are the same. That the power of true conversion completely changes a person...that they turn to a life of service. Not that any of us are perfect, but that we have the desire to serve the Lord with our lives.
It is such a blessing for me to have this gospel in my life. The more I study the scriptures, the more of a testimony I have. The more I know that the Book of Mormon is true...that it is another testimony of Jesus Christ and that with both the Book of Mormon and the Bible, we can learn such small things in the gospel that make the biggest differences. I love the gospel. It has made me into the man that I am and it will make me into the man that Heavenly Father wants me to be...a leader, a servant, and example to all of mankind that the power of the love of the gospel is real. That God has reached out and given us this light or knowledge to guide us back into his presence.
My prayer is this, that each of you would think about how converted you are to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That you would seek light and understanding in this matter. I testify to each of you that the power of prayer is real...and that if you prayer about the validity of the Book of Mormon, Heavenly Father will show you that it is true and what you must do. I challenge each of you to pray to Heavenly Father and ask him if what I say is true...I know it is.
I love you all, and thank you for all of your prayers. This act on your part brings me not only comfort, but also the strength to do His work that I have been called and set apart to do.
Con amor,
Elder Jackson
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