I Have Seen the Blessings of the Church

Working hard and loving it with Elder D

Hey Everybody,

I am doing well. You guys are the best and have been on my mind a lot this week. We have such an amazing family and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.

This week I have had a lot of tender thoughts go through my mind as I think about the gospel and how it blesses our lives. We are teaching some very great people right now and their questions often make me think. Last night we were teaching a guy who had been in a serious car accident a few months ago. It was a fantastic lesson. I really felt the spirit as we taught him and Elder D felt it as well. He asked us if we were born in the Church. Sometimes when people ask me that I worry that they won’t take me seriously, because they figure this is all I have ever known. When I answered “yes” his answer surprised me. He said it was interesting that we had such conviction, especially as young men to what we believe. He talked about how the youth today aren’t usually prone to be so strongly rooted in the gospel. He talked about how people in general need some tramatic event to bring them to the gospel. He was astounded that we were so devoted. He asked us “why?” The first thing that came to my mind was... Because I have seen the blessings of the Church and I am so happy here! That is why we do it!

I love being a missionary. It is such a great experience to get to know and talk to so many wonderful people each day. I have developed a lot this week as I have really strived to be more personal. We had stake conference and the stake high counselor, who is over missionary work, talked about how important it is for us to be sincere and how through the smallest actions we can share the gospel. Another sister who spoke talked about how through a small message in twitter or some other social networking program her brother-in-law came to know the gospel. What can we do each day to share the gospel in some small way? I have come to the realization that in every moment we have the chance to affect someone else’s life, as well as our own, for good or bad. It is our responsibility to affect it for the good. The small decisions do matter! Every moment we have the opportunity to do something just a little better. We just need to identify what it is we need to work on in that moment. If we just made a mistake we can do just a little bit better getting back up the next time.

Another thing that has astonished me is the importance of being humble. I talk with so many people everyday who miss the chance of the eternities to hear the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They miss it because they do not want to open their ears to hear. It has made me think. What do I miss because of my pride? We must humble ourselves so that we are receptive to the promptings of the spirit. We cannot afford to miss them.

I know that I make mistakes every day and I am overwhelmed when I realize how blessed I am. I am so grateful for the example of the pioneers and I hope that I can follow their example every day. I hope that I can humble myself sufficiently to receive the promptings and guidance of the spirit more clearly. I know the Church is true. It can’t not be true!

I love you all so much and hope I can be more like you!

Have a great Thanksgiving and ponder how blessed we are to have the fullness of the gospel in our lives!!!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Christensen