Hey everybody. I hope everyone is doing well there. I hear the weather is heating up a little bit, so things should be starting to appear a little bit more lively. It was another really good week here in San Bernardo. Thursday, we found a new family. It´s a guy named Yordan and his wife Daniella. They´re super awesome. They´re both around 25 years old, very nice, very open, and they have family in the church. They´re both members of the church who were baptized young and have since then gone inactive because of the lack of support from their families. Some of their families actually preached out against the church. We had a great lesson with them. They commited to coming to a stake relief society activity today and to church on Sunday, so we´re very excited about that. Yesterday was Elder Martinez´s birthday, so we ate a bunch of cake.lol He got like two cakes and a loaf of banana bread from people. Of course the rest of us were very thankful for that as well.
Wednesday we took a trip to a ski resort in the Andes Mountains with President and Hermana Cook. Everybody from the office went. It was super amazing! The view is to do for. We rode a ski lift up part of the way so that we could hike higher, so we got up to a little over 12000 feet. That was amazing. We could see a glacier that´s in the mountains sooo clearly. It was literally right in front of us. It was a very humbling experience. Just being in the midst of some of the greatest creations on earth. It made me feel very at one with Heavenly Father.
While I was standing at 12,000 ft in the middle of the Andes Mountains, I started to reflect and meditate on the greatness of Heavenly Father. I started to wonder how it is possible that objects of such great beauty,power, and force could have been made by a being of flesh and bones. I felt much like Jacob in 2 Nephi 9 where he is exclaiming about the greatness of Heavenly Father, Christ, and the Great Plan of Redemption. How it is that Heavenly Father is such a perfect being, I don´t even begin to comprehend,however, thanks to the wonders that are the scriptures, Heavenly Father has revealed to us in part the answer to this question. We go through experiences, falls, and triumphs to make up what we know as "life". The objective of life is to continually develop faith in Christ as to allow us to make proper decisions that deem us worthy to live with our Heavenly Family at the completion of this Great Plan. Now, that being said, Faith is a principle of power. To have faith, is to have power. Not power as in strength, not power as in influence, but power as in the ability to make very worlds. We know from the scriptures that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have perfect faith, in the which, granting them unlimited power. It is by this power that they are able to do "all things". It was through this same power that the heavens and the earth were created. It was through this very power that the human race was created. In the moment that I meditated these principles, I became eternally desirous that I could someday achieve the same level of faith and power. Not to have power, but to witness another side of creation. To be able to understand my Heavenly Father and my role in the universe better. Since then, I have been meditating in ways that I can achieve this goal and make my dreams a reality. I feel very much life Nefi felt when he heard the things that his father spoke unto him, 2 Nephi 10:17
"And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all thewords of my father, concerning the things which he saw ina vision, and also the things which he spake by the powerof the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith onthe Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah whoshould come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see,and hear, and know of these things, by the power of theHoly Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those whodiligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the timethat he should manifest himself unto the children of men.
I testify that this is a reachable goal. That any goal worth acheiving must push you...mentally, physically, and spiritually. This is the only way that greatness is obtained. It isn`t something you`re born into...it isn`t something you buy...it`s something you develop through many small expressions of faith, which develop into a perfect faith through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This will require much effot on our part, but as long as we show our dedication and desire unto the Lord, He will "manifest himself" or the way "unto us". Of this I testify with all of the conviction of my heart, in the name of Jesus Christ,Amen.
Con Amor,
Elder Jackson
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