Week 35: Are You Ready for Revelation Weedend?

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a super fantastic week! I hear that the weather out west is super nice! It's been getting warmer here, but the nicest it's been has been like 50s. I'm ready for some warmer weather!

Okay, so I can't believe that last week I forgot to tell you guys this! We got 2 new investigators last week! There names are Leah and Raj. I think I told you guys about Leah a couple weeks ago, but I can't remember. They are so awesome! They're from India and they have this cute little girl named Maya. And they gave us homemade Indian food! It was so good! So anyways, we taught them the Restoration and it was seriously the coolest lesson ever! The spirit was there in abundance! After the lesson, Leah said that earlier she had a lot on her mind before, but after the lesson she felt very calm and peaceful. Yes that's the spirit! Oh my goodness, seriously it was such an awesome lesson! 

One day this week Sis. Bee and I were out tracting and she said that there was a less active named Naomi that lived nearby, so we decided to stop by and see how she was doing. We had a great visit with her! We showed the "Mountains to Climb" Mormon Message and she loved it!  http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/mountains-to-climb-2 

Then before we left she said that God works in mysterious ways and that we were basically an answer to her prayers. That was so sweet! And it really just strengthens my testimony of how important it is to follow spiritual promptings, because by doing so we can really help bless the lives of others.

This past week the church came out with an awesome new Easter video called "He Lives." It's so good and I love it! Please watch it and share it with others! http://www.mormon.org/easter

I love this video because it shows that Christ is with us every step of the way in our lives. I know that that is so true! Christ really is in the details of our lives. I hope you all will really take some time this week to ponder about the Savior Jesus Christ and your personal relationship with him. And please share your testimony of the Savior this week! It doesn't matter if it's in person or through social media, just share your testimony of the living Christ! Help spread his light and his love! I know that Jesus Christ lives and the he lives for you and me! And he is always there, every step of the way with us!

I hope everyone's getting excited for General Conference this weekend! Please take the time to watch it! And this week start thinking of questions to ask during conference. The things that will be spoken this weekend are inspired, and are specifically for you directly from your Heavenly Father! 

Lately I've been studying in 3 Nephi where Christ is ministering among the Nephites. I love 3 Nephi 13:31-33 which says,"31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The Lord is aware of our needs, but promises to take care of us when we seek him first. I know that this is so true! Once I made the decision to serve a mission, then everything with BYU fell into place. I know that that was the Lord blessing me for seeking the kingdom of heaven first. Remember to always put your trust in the Lord and put him first! Have an eternal perspective in mind and I know he will bless you!

I gotta get going, but I hope you all have a fabulous week! Happy General Conference and Happy Easter! Love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

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Week 34: Embrace Divine Chastening!

Hey everybody!

Happy spring! Saturday was officially the first day of spring, but it's still freezing here in Maine so it doesn't feel like spring at all! There's huge snow banks everywhere and they probably won't melt until like July haha!

Wednesday we had Zone Conference! It was so so good! Here are some of my notes!

-focus on who you're serving and you will lose all fear

-how can I increase in love for those around me? 1) pray for them 2) recognize that they're sons and daughters of God 3) ask questions about them 4) remember why you love them 5) smile and be happy!

-include the Savior in your planning and decision making

-D&C 20:37 we do not have the authority to baptize those who are not ready or are not prepared

-decisions lead to priorities, priorities lead to choices, choices lead to actions

-"a successful person makes a habit of what a failing person doesn't like to do" Thomas Eddison

-goals reflect your desire and vision

-your patriarchal blessing is Heavenly Father's long term vision for you

-goals need to be believable, attainable, challenging, and based on need

-"it is in doing, not thinking, that we achieve our goals" Pres. Monson

-life without goals is trivia

-accountability is fundamental to God's plan

-the only measure of success is what you're doing compared to your true potential

-when you're being obedient, you'll be able to fulfill your goals

-embrace divine chastening

-"we have been commanded to be a record keeping people" Wilford Woodruff

-information precedes inspiration 

-we don't receive blessings when we are ungrateful or disobedient 

-if you want blessings, live the commandment that's linked with that blessing

-planning combines vision and effort

-pure desires help us endure opposition 

-it's okay to stop and pray!

-when you come to a meeting and the Lord doesn't chasten you, then you're not listening

-come=sacrifice, follow me=consecration

I love Zone Conferences! It was so spiritually uplifting, but I also learned that there are a lot of things that I can improve on. I love what Pres. Stoker said, that if we don't feel chastened after meetings, then it means we weren't listening. Heavenly Father wants us to learn, grow and progress. And sometimes He kinda gets in our face a chastens us, but it's because He loves us so much and He wants to bless us for our progress. I did a Topical Guide study on chastening this week and I found some super cool scriptures!

Job 5:17

Proverbs 3:11

Psalm 94:12

Hebrews 12:6

Revelations 3:19

Mosiah 23:21

Helaman 15:3 

D&C 1:27

D&C 61:8

D&C 101:5

D&C 105:6

D&C 121:43

D&C 136:31

These scriptures are so awesome! Also there's a new Mormon Message about the 10 commandments that is so cool! Here's the link, make sure and watch it! 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/obedience-to-the-ten-commandments

Okay one quick tender mercy that happened yesterday! We were out tracting and the wind was blowing like crazy! It was so cold! We both thought about just getting our 10 ITLs (invitation to learn) and then going in the car and making phone calls or doing something warm before our dinner appointment. But then we both decided to embrace the cold and keep tracting until we needed to leave for dinner. And shortly after we decided to keep working the wind stopped blowing! I know that that was the Lord blessing us for working hard and being obedient!

Sorry I'm out of time! I love you all and hope you have a great week! And sisters! Don't forget to watch the General Women's Broadcast on Saturday! 

Love, Sister Harper

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

So New Englanders have the most random customized license plates! We found on that said "Tis True" and we're like you know what's true? The Book of Mormon!!!

Look at this cute dog!!! His name is Peanut and he literally fits in the palm of my hand!

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Week 33: I'm in Maine!!!

Hey everyone!

Transfers were last Tuesday and now I'm in Augusta, ME! Our area is Augusta and a couple neighboring towns, but we're actually part of the Farmingdale Ward. My new companion is Sis. Bee! She is from Tremonton, UT and has been out for almost 5 months. She is so awesome and so cute! We work so well together and I just love her! She is seriously an answer to my prayers and I feel so blessed to get to serve with her!

So I remembered my notebook today yay! And I want to share with you my notes from the big mission conference a couple weeks ago cause it was just too awesome!

Elder Grant Bennett 

-the church is a lifelong leadership training program

-we all have the Holy Ghost as our tutor and the scriptures are our textbook

-you can't fail if you're built on the rock of the gospel

Bishop Causse

-when you've made covenants, then an invitation from the Lord becomes a command (Alma 5:62)

-a covenant is an eternal yes to the Lord

-transformation happens when we benefit from the Atonement

Elder Donald L. Hallstrom

-the Holy Ghost is the ultimate teacher

-church meetings are for instruction and edification on how we should act (D&C 43:8)

-teach so that people have a desire to be lifted up

-when you are humble enough to change, then the spirit can be the true teacher

-"faith is a principle of action and power" Joseph Smith

-you can receive answers during church meetings if you are faithful (D&C 44:2)

-you can know that you are feeling the spirit if you have the desire to repent

-always sings hymns in church so that you don't deny yourself from feeling the spirit

-do not miss opportunities to feel the spirit!

-the Lord will love you forever

-when you know who you are, you will never think about quitting

-don't let anything conflict with you ability to receive revelation

-we all have access to the Atonement and can be whole

So yeah mission conference was pretty awesome! And then this weekend we had stake conference so I want to share some of my notes from that too!

-the best way to teach the gospel is by example

-we all can be angels to help bear others up (D&C 84:88)

-trials bring conversion

-if you haven't felt the Holy Ghost is your life, then you're not applying the Atonement

-the strength of the church starts in the home

-you don't have to be a full-time missionary to receive full-time blessings from the Lord

-conversion=the desire to do good continually

-conversion is not just a change of belief, but a change of attitude

-those that are truly converted to the Savior and His gospel will never fall away

-a testimony is to know and feel, conversion is to do and become

-as we come to know the Savior, we will have the desire to change and to share it with others

-the Book of Mormon 1) helps us know Christ 2) gives us hope 3) helps us be wise 4) teaches us of God's love and patience 5) gives us a knowledge of the Restoration

Yay stake conference! Okay so Sis. Bee and I had some really sweet miracles yesterday! We saw this couple, Elizabeth and Brandon. The sisters before me have stopped by their apartment multiple times, but haven't been able to have a lesson with both of them. So last night we showed them the "Because of Him" video, and then the rest of the lesson was totally by the spirit! We started talking about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and the spirit was just so strong! Elizabeth and Brandon are so prepared to receive the gospel, it's so awesome! We invited them to read the Book of Mormon and they accepted! We're seeing them again in a couple weeks and I'm super excited! I'm not doing a very good job at describing this awesome lesson with them haha, but it's times like those that make me love being a missionary and help me know that this really is the Lord's work. 

After Elizabeth and Brandon, we decided to tract for a little bit. We did a few houses and then it was getting late and kinda dark. But we decided that we would do one more house. A man answered the door and he was on the phone. He knew that we were Mormons and he said that his girlfriend is a Mormon. Turns out that his girlfriend (Peggy) is a less-active in the ward and he was on the phone with her when we tracted into him! Sis. Bee talked to Peggy on the phone for a minute, and Peggy said that her boyfriend needs the gospel and she wants him to meet with the missionaries! Holy cow! I am so grateful that we knocked on his door! We're going to talk with Peggy this week and see if we can meet with her and her boyfriend soon. I feel like huge miracles are on their way!

Well we gotta get going! I hope you all are doing well and have a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

 

Week 32: I'm Getting Transfered!

Hello everybody!

Oh my goodness! This last week was super crazy but super awesome too! We got to see a lot of people and we had some really good lessons this week! Probably my favorite lesson this week was with our investigator, Gigi. We taught the Restoration and the member that came with us, Sis. Spencer, bore such powerful testimony! Oh my goodness the spirit was so strong! 

Definitely the highlight of the week was the mission conference on Saturday! It was so much fun to see all of the missionaries! I'm so mad, I forgot my notebook today, so I can't share with you my notes from the conference. Pres. Stoker asked us to come to the conference with a question, and mine was which Christlike attribute should I work on next transfer. And I got my answer and my answer is humility! Elder Hallstrom talked a lot about how humility and the ability to feel the spirit go hand in hand. The thing that he said that stuck out the most to me was, "When we are humble enough to change, then the Spirit can really teach us." In Moroni 10:5 we learn that we can know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost. But we have to be willing to act on the things that we learn and have the desire to change. 

This morning I was reading in Alma 32 and here Alma is teaching the Zoramites. The Zoramites had experienced a lot of afflictions. But Alma knew that their afflictions were for their good. Verse 6 says, "And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word." I love this verse! The times when we are truly humble are the times when we are the most prepared to receive instruction from Heavenly Father. 

Elder Hallstrom talked about Joseph Smith's experience and how he was truly prepared to receive his answer. Joseph Smith wanted to know spiritual truth, but he was prepared to act on the answer he received. He was willing to change based on the knowledge that he received. JSH 1:18 says, "My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join." There have been a lot of times in my life where I've asked the Lord questions and expected to receive an answer. But the times when my prayers were truly answered have been the times when I have been humble and have had the desire to change. And I have been so blessed for acting on the answers that I've received! They've truly changed me and helped me to be a much better person! 

Well, we got transfer calls on Saturday night, and I am getting transferred. I'm really sad to leave Manchester, because I love it here and the people are so awesome! But I am very excited to serve in a new area! I'll let you know next week where I end up! 

Thank you everyone for all of your love, support, and prayers! I love you and miss you all! Have a great week!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 31: Winter's Almost Over

Hello!

Oh my goodness can you believe that it's March already?! Time goes by way too fast! But yay only one more month until General Conference! And yay winter's almost over! We haven't gotten snow for a while now and it's starting to warm up, which makes me super happy!

Well, not a whole lot of excited stuff happened this week. Wednesday to Thursday we had exchanges! I went to Canterbury, NH for the day with Sis. Boyce and it was such a good exchange! We tracted on dirt roads! It's been so long since I've done that! There was one lady who let us in and we got to teach her the Restoration! It was super cool and the spirit was so strong! 

​me and Sis. Boyce on exchange in Canterbury

On Friday we got to do service at New Horizons again and that was a lot of fun! Then Friday evening we had a ward activity and it was a lot of fun! It was Manchester and Bedford wards and we had hot chocolate and treats and games! 

​at the ward activity (R to L: Sis. Young, me, Sis. Marquis, Bro. Young)

Saturday evening we got to go to a baptism for the Bedford ward. The sister that got baptized is named Sherry and she's been investigating  the church for like 8 years or something! And her younger sister and her family (the Reischer's) are in the Manchester ward. It was so cool to see Sis. Reishcer and Sherry sit next to each other at the baptism! They both looked so happy! And oh my goodness the spirit was so strong there! I love baptisms! 

Yesterday we saw one of our investigator families and we read 3 Nephi 11 with them. 3 Nephi 11 is super awesome because it's the beginning of Christ's ministry to the Nephites after his resurrection. At the end of the chapter Christ is telling them his doctrine, which is simply have faith, repent and be baptized. One of the family members made a super awesome comment on this that I love! He said that Christ didn't ask us to not sin, but Christ did ask us to repent. I think that is super cool! Christ understands that we can't be perfect, but he's given us the opportunity to learn, grow and change. Before my mission, I always thought of repentance as this big, scary thing, but it really isn't. Repentance is simply the power to change. Our purpose in life is to learn and to grow, and a lot of times we make mistakes on the way. But because Heavenly Father loves us so much, he's given us the opportunity to overcome those mistakes and to learn from them, and that's through repentance. Repentance is such a huge blessing!!! I love it!

Well I think that's all the exciting stuff that happened. This week is going to be crazy! Tomorrow we're going to be in a trio for the day, and then Saturday we're having a mission wide conference! I'm super excited! Elder Hallstrom from the presidency of the seventy and Bishop Causse from the presiding bishopric are going to be there and it's going to be awesome! And then transfer calls are this Saturday, so we'll see what happens! Sorry this week's email is kinda short, but time's running out! I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 29: Happy Valentine's Day

Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! We had breakfast at our Bishop's house and it was a lot of fun! That's kinda all we did for Valentine's Day though haha.

Okay, so I've definitely been going through a hard time right now. I knew that missionary work would be difficult, but lately I've been wondering why it's this hard. But then I read a talk called "Missionary Work and the Atonement" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and it's so perfect! He said:

"You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Oh my goodness! I just cry every time I read that last paragraph! Seriously, being a missionary is one of the hardest jobs ever! But oh my goodness it is so rewarding! And the coolest part about it is, like Elder Holland said, missionaries and mission leaders stand right next to the Savior. And a lot of times he carries us through this work. But He's there every step of the way and He knows exactly how to comfort you and help you to move forward.

This morning I had a super awesome personal study! I was reading in Alma 37 and starting at verse 38, Alma starts talking about the Liahona. So the Liahona guided Nephi and his family through the wilderness and on the sea, but only when they were being righteous. Then I love verse 45, which says, "And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise." I love this verse so much! The scriptures are so powerful! And they truly will "carry us beyond [our] vale of sorrow"! I have seen that so many times in my life. The scripture have just what I need and they always help to uplift me. I know that the scriptures can help you in your daily life, so please study and feast upon the scriptures daily! 

Lately I've been studying the hymns, and it's super cool! I read the text to "Zion Stands with Hills Surrounded" (Hymn #43) this morning and verse 3 was exactly what I needed today!

In the furnace God may prove thee, Then to bring thee forth more bright,

But can never cease to love thee; Thou are precious in his sight.

God is with thee, God is with thee; Thou shalt triumph in his might.

Oh I love those words! And it reminds me of a scripture in Romans 8 that I also love! It's verses, 35, 37-39. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God will never stop loving us! Just because we have trials in our lives doesn't mean He loves us any less! He gives us trials because He loves us and He wants us to learn and grow! 

Yesterday at church we had a brother and a sister speak. The brother just got home from his mission in Houston, TX and the sister leaves soon for her mission in Finland. The brother talked a lot about the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement. And he said that everything we experience in this life is pertinent to our salvation. Then this morning I read Hebrews 11 and the JST for verse 40 says, "God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect." I love this verse! We have to go through trials; it's part of the Plan of Salvation. But we can become perfect through our trials. We can become who God knows we truly are through our experiences. 

I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so so much, and that His plan for us is perfect. I know that the Atonement is real, and that through the Atonement we can achieve our divine potential. I know that our trials are for our progression and perfection, and that God will always provide a way for us to overcome those hard times. I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 27-28: So. Much. Snow.

Hi!

Okay so there was this crazy bad storm last week and our car got grounded so that's why I wasn't able to email last week. Sorry! But don't worry, we're doing good!

So we had transfers almost 2 weeks ago. Sis. Craig is in Sacco, Maine now, and my new companion is Sis. Clark. She's from Boise (yay Idaho!) and she's been out for 4 1/2 months. 

We had a some super sweet miracles the past couple weeks! So I think I told you about our investigators, Lucia and Chris. So we stopped by one day to see them but only Chris was home. And as missionaries, we can't be alone with a man (elder's can't be alone with a woman), so we would have to bring another female with us and elders would have to bring another male with them. Chris wanted us to come in so we could talk more about the Book of Mormon. We tried to explain to Chris that we couldn't come in, because his wife wasn't home, and I'm really hoping that he didn't get offended! But then he told us that he really wants to meet with us and really wants to learn the truth! He even asked us how to pray and he prayed before we left! Oh my gosh that was so cool! Then last Thursday we got to have a lesson with Chris and we brought another female with us so it worked out! We taught the Restoration and oh my goodness the spirit was so strong! It was such a great lesson and I can't wait to meet with him again! 

There was a lot of snow yesterday, so church got shortened from 3 hours to 45 minutes. We just had a mini sacrament meeting and there weren't that many people that showed up, but oh my goodness the spirit was so strong! A few people bore their testimonies and it was just what I needed to keep me going!

So I think I told you that the Christlike attribute I'm working on this transfer is diligence. I don't know why, but lately it's been hard for me to get motivated to go out and work. But I've seen as we've gone out and worked that I've felt so much happier! The Lord definitely blesses us when we do our best to work hard!

I just finished reading the story of Abinidi in Mosiah 11-17. I love that story so much! Abinidi was definitely a diligent missionary. He did all that the Lord asked him to do, but his investigators ended up killing him. I'm sure Abinidi felt like a failure and that he was unsuccessful. But Alma listened to Abinidi. And then Alma taught lots of people, and there were so many that were converted and joined the church! Abinidi actually had a very profound influence on the people, and he just didn't know. Sometimes I kinda feel like Abinidi. But I know that there is so much that we do that goes unseen. We may not be able to see the end results of our efforts, but our examples will surely have a great and lasting effect on others. A quote that I really love is "don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."

I also love the story in Mosiah 24. Alma and his people are being persecuted because of their beliefs, and the king threatened to kill them if he caught them praying. That is when Alma and his people prayed the hardest! They had great faith that the Lord could help them and the Lord did. The Lord told them that he would make their burdens light and that he would deliver them because of their faith and patience. And then once the people were free, they thanked and praised that Lord! I love this story! We all go through our own trials and we ask Heavenly Father to help us. Heavenly Father won't take the trial away, but he will bless us with the peace and comfort that we need to endure our trials. I have definitely seen that the past few weeks. I've seen so many of the Lord's tender mercies and they've helped bring me so much peace and comfort!

Ok sorry this email is kinda short and a little scattered haha! I gotta go, but I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Love, Sister Harper