Hey guys!
How are you all? It seems like you guys are keeping busy which is good,
and you're doing lots of cool stuff! Especially your missionary work!
That's great that you took a friend to church Grace! Good job explaining
that indeed we are Christians. I think it comes from being called
'Mormons' all the time instead of by the actual name of the Church.
People have a lot of common misconceptions about the Church that we try
our best to clear up, especially when people say that we aren't
Christians. The name of the Church is The Church of JESUS CHRIST of
Latter-Day Saints! Oh well, they'll come to that knowledge eventually,
and with the good missionary work you guys are doing, it will be great!
Those flooding pictures were really cool, I must admit. The
water does look kinda gross, but the lighting wasn't that good either.
The weather this past week has actually been really nice! The sun is out
today and there are no clouds! I love it! The bus is really cool. I
technically live in South London right now, and the missionary play hasn't really
had that much of an effect. No one has really heard much about it. Very
few people have actually paid attention to it, so it's not a big deal
for us.
So, we have another investigator with a baptismal
date in early April. I may not be here to see it but that is okay, as
long as it happens! And we had a few people that we are teaching come to
church yesterday and also a few who just saw the church and walked
right in! It was actually really cool! I've never seen that happen where
people just see the building from the outside and feel the Spirit
enough that they just walk in! It's great! :)
That's really funny that you mention the Plan of
Salvation because I studied that this morning in my personal study and I
have some things to share with you guys. So, yesterday in Sacrament
Meeting it was all about families! The talks were all about families,
and we sang hymn #300- "Families Can Be Together Forever". I was just
thinking this morning about how truly blessed I am to have that
knowledge! Heavenly Father has given us our families to bring happiness
to all of His children on the Earth. Because Heavenly Father loves each
of us so much, He has provided a way for us to live with Him and also
with our families forever. This is only possible through the Saviour,
Jesus Christ. If we have faith in Him, repent, are baptized by the
proper priesthood authority, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
endure to the end, then we can have the opportunity to live with our
families forever! Through the Prophet, Joseph Smith, the proper
authority and power to bind families together was restored (see Matthew 16:19).
When people get married, the person who marries them usually says
something like, "...as long as you both shall live", or "...until death
do you part". The Plan of Salvation and the priesthood authority allows
family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave! How cool is
that?! I love being able to share this knowledge with people! It helps
them to know that Heavenly Father really does love every single one of
us (regardless of what we do, He still loves us) and wants us to be
happy. True happiness come from His plan - The Plan of Salvation, but
also known as the Plan of Happiness! :D
I just love that and wanted to share it with you
guys. So, that's it from this side of the world, and I hope that all is
well over on your side. Have a great week, and continue to stay happy,
healthy, and un-hurt! Love you guys!
Love,
Sister Connery
Monday, February 24, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
He Will Come
Hi everyone!
It's great to hear how good you are all doing! Well, this week for us was pretty good. It has rained an absolute ton though (apparently the English people think it has rained a lot. Sister Laineenkare and I actually expected it to rain this much, haha!) This has been the wettest January that England has seen since the 1700's! There is flooding all over the place! There actually isn't much flooding where we are, so it doesn't really have an affect on us. There is one road that is blocked off for a good portion due to the flooding, but it doesn't hinder us much. They had to flood our underpass (just a walkway under the road) to get it off of the road. The underpass leads to our local Tesco (kinda like Super-1) but there are other ways to get to it, so it's not a big deal. It's just interesting. I have attached some pics of the underpass to show you what I'm talking about.
So, it sounds like you were well fed from the mission president (spiritually, I mean). He is absolutely right about the temple work and missionary work being one. I have heard that a few times, and it is obviously important and needs to be remembered if it is repeated. How exciting it is to be part of the great work of salvation!! Member or full time missionary, it doesn't matter, because we should all be missionaries. I really do love being a missionary! My calling is great! I love this opportunity that I have to serve the Lord and to invite others to come unto Christ. Unfortunately, not all the time do people want to listen to you and heed the call to come unto Christ. We meet people every day who basically tell us that we are foolish to believe in God and Jesus Christ. They try to tell us that they don't exist- that Jesus Christ never did come, and He never will come. BUT, we know better! We know that Jesus Christ did come to the Earth, that He ministered among the people in Jerusalem, and also (after His resurrection) to the Nephites. He has provided each of us with a way to return to live with Heavenly Father again by His suffering for all of us. He has come...and He WILL come AGAIN! I have been reading in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 6:7, 13 which says:
v.7- "And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me."
v. 13- "Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah."
The Messiah, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ will come, and we, the people of the Lord wait steadfastly for His return. We need not be ashamed of Him now, and we especially won't be ashamed of Him when He comes again.
That is my message for this week from my personal studies. I can feel my testimony of the gospel getting stronger and stronger every single day, and I know that I cannot deny the things that I know to be true. I LOVE the gospel, and my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and my Father in Heaven. :D
I hope you guys have another great week! May the Lord bless you! That is my prayer for each of you every day! I love you all!
Love,
Sister Connery
P.S.- Yes, because the driving is switched over here, so is the walking. We do walk on the left side of the footpath, just like the cars drive on the left side. :)
It's great to hear how good you are all doing! Well, this week for us was pretty good. It has rained an absolute ton though (apparently the English people think it has rained a lot. Sister Laineenkare and I actually expected it to rain this much, haha!) This has been the wettest January that England has seen since the 1700's! There is flooding all over the place! There actually isn't much flooding where we are, so it doesn't really have an affect on us. There is one road that is blocked off for a good portion due to the flooding, but it doesn't hinder us much. They had to flood our underpass (just a walkway under the road) to get it off of the road. The underpass leads to our local Tesco (kinda like Super-1) but there are other ways to get to it, so it's not a big deal. It's just interesting. I have attached some pics of the underpass to show you what I'm talking about.
So, it sounds like you were well fed from the mission president (spiritually, I mean). He is absolutely right about the temple work and missionary work being one. I have heard that a few times, and it is obviously important and needs to be remembered if it is repeated. How exciting it is to be part of the great work of salvation!! Member or full time missionary, it doesn't matter, because we should all be missionaries. I really do love being a missionary! My calling is great! I love this opportunity that I have to serve the Lord and to invite others to come unto Christ. Unfortunately, not all the time do people want to listen to you and heed the call to come unto Christ. We meet people every day who basically tell us that we are foolish to believe in God and Jesus Christ. They try to tell us that they don't exist- that Jesus Christ never did come, and He never will come. BUT, we know better! We know that Jesus Christ did come to the Earth, that He ministered among the people in Jerusalem, and also (after His resurrection) to the Nephites. He has provided each of us with a way to return to live with Heavenly Father again by His suffering for all of us. He has come...and He WILL come AGAIN! I have been reading in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 6:7, 13 which says:
v.7- "And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me."
v. 13- "Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah."
The Messiah, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ will come, and we, the people of the Lord wait steadfastly for His return. We need not be ashamed of Him now, and we especially won't be ashamed of Him when He comes again.
That is my message for this week from my personal studies. I can feel my testimony of the gospel getting stronger and stronger every single day, and I know that I cannot deny the things that I know to be true. I LOVE the gospel, and my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and my Father in Heaven. :D
I hope you guys have another great week! May the Lord bless you! That is my prayer for each of you every day! I love you all!
Love,
Sister Connery
P.S.- Yes, because the driving is switched over here, so is the walking. We do walk on the left side of the footpath, just like the cars drive on the left side. :)
This is a Book of Mormon Musical bus! The BOM Musical has been in London
for a bit now, and since I live in South London, we see and ride on the
buses that are advertising the musical, so here is one for you!
Here is the underpass and also a pic of the sign when you leave the
store so that should give you guys a good idea as to how high the water
was
Monday, February 10, 2014
Exciting News!
Hi guys!
So, I've got some really exciting news, but I will get to that in a minute. Don't worry about the money. I have enough to buy myself some new boots, which I will be doing today, so no worries. But thank you. :) That's really cool that you guys get to help out with the food and all that. We (missionaries) really appreciate all the hard work that the members put in for us. We are truly grateful for it. So thank you for your kind and loving service (to me, and the missionaries there). That's a great analogy for the Plan of Salvation! I really like it. Missionaries have all sorts of analogies and stuff for the lessons. It's makes them more personalized, and that way people can relate better to them. Sundays really are the best! I love it! I actually really miss getting to go to 6 hours of Church on Sundays (1 hour with Grandma, 2 hours with you guys, and 3 hours with Josh). I just love going to Church! :) It is really nice to feel that armour of God with us, because as a missionary you really need it. Your faith could be shaken so easily if you let your armour down, so you always have to be at the ready against the attacks of Satan. He's a cunning one, but Heavenly Father knows how to outsmart him. ;)
Well, the last few weeks have been pretty good. We went to the hospital again (NOT for me this time!). We went to visit a less active member that we are working with who just had her baby, so it was good news! Another child of God has come into the world!
So, for my exciting news! Nicholas got baptized on Saturday! :) We are so excited for him! It truly is great to be able to see someone make those steps to come closer to Jesus Christ. He taught that the only way we can enter into the kingdom of God is to be baptized. Most often, if you ever ask a missionary how many people they baptized on their mission or converted, or whatever, they won't tell you. Why? Because it doesn't matter. The numbers don't matter one bit to us. In the beginning of your mission, you really want to just get a bunch of baptisms to say you did, but that's gone as soon as you actually start talking to real people. These people are not just strangers, but they are all our brothers and sisters, and we should view them as such. We LOVE the people that we teach. Truly love them, because we are part of the same family of God. We know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has brought us so much happiness and joy and we want to share that with the people that we love. The gospel not only brings the greatest joy and happiness in this life, but also brings joy and happiness in the life to come. Because we love these people, we desire their salvation (see Mosiah 28:3). I love the people here in England, and the people throughout the whole world, and I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do as well, which is why there are missionaries sent throughout the world, so that they can preach the gospel, and participate in bringing about the great work of salvation!
I love missionary work, I love being a missionary and being able to have the great opportunity and privilege to serve Heavenly Father and help bring souls unto Him so that they can return to live with him again. Thank you guys for everything! I love hearing from you and finding out what you guys have been doing. Keep up the great work in all things, and have a great week! I love you and pray for you (all of you!) always!
Love,
Sister Connery
So, I've got some really exciting news, but I will get to that in a minute. Don't worry about the money. I have enough to buy myself some new boots, which I will be doing today, so no worries. But thank you. :) That's really cool that you guys get to help out with the food and all that. We (missionaries) really appreciate all the hard work that the members put in for us. We are truly grateful for it. So thank you for your kind and loving service (to me, and the missionaries there). That's a great analogy for the Plan of Salvation! I really like it. Missionaries have all sorts of analogies and stuff for the lessons. It's makes them more personalized, and that way people can relate better to them. Sundays really are the best! I love it! I actually really miss getting to go to 6 hours of Church on Sundays (1 hour with Grandma, 2 hours with you guys, and 3 hours with Josh). I just love going to Church! :) It is really nice to feel that armour of God with us, because as a missionary you really need it. Your faith could be shaken so easily if you let your armour down, so you always have to be at the ready against the attacks of Satan. He's a cunning one, but Heavenly Father knows how to outsmart him. ;)
Well, the last few weeks have been pretty good. We went to the hospital again (NOT for me this time!). We went to visit a less active member that we are working with who just had her baby, so it was good news! Another child of God has come into the world!
So, for my exciting news! Nicholas got baptized on Saturday! :) We are so excited for him! It truly is great to be able to see someone make those steps to come closer to Jesus Christ. He taught that the only way we can enter into the kingdom of God is to be baptized. Most often, if you ever ask a missionary how many people they baptized on their mission or converted, or whatever, they won't tell you. Why? Because it doesn't matter. The numbers don't matter one bit to us. In the beginning of your mission, you really want to just get a bunch of baptisms to say you did, but that's gone as soon as you actually start talking to real people. These people are not just strangers, but they are all our brothers and sisters, and we should view them as such. We LOVE the people that we teach. Truly love them, because we are part of the same family of God. We know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has brought us so much happiness and joy and we want to share that with the people that we love. The gospel not only brings the greatest joy and happiness in this life, but also brings joy and happiness in the life to come. Because we love these people, we desire their salvation (see Mosiah 28:3). I love the people here in England, and the people throughout the whole world, and I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do as well, which is why there are missionaries sent throughout the world, so that they can preach the gospel, and participate in bringing about the great work of salvation!
I love missionary work, I love being a missionary and being able to have the great opportunity and privilege to serve Heavenly Father and help bring souls unto Him so that they can return to live with him again. Thank you guys for everything! I love hearing from you and finding out what you guys have been doing. Keep up the great work in all things, and have a great week! I love you and pray for you (all of you!) always!
Love,
Sister Connery
Nicholas and Elder Douglas (an Elder in our ward who baptized Nicholas)
Sister Laineenkare and I with Nicholas!
Monday, February 3, 2014
A Two-Way Street
Hiya!
So, how are you guys doing? Thanks for the little spiritual thought Mama. It's nice to get one in return. I have decided to include one with every email that I send, from my personal studies (especially if nothing much happened in the last week, lol). I actually recently read Mosiah 4 and am now in Mosiah 25, and I'm loving it! I love being able to read the Book of Mormon over and over again and learn so many more new things every single time. I am also reading through the whole Bible at the moment as well. I just reached Psalms today, and my goal is to finish the whole Bible by the time I come home. If I can finish the Old Testament by my year mark, then I will have 6 months to read the New Testament, because I just started reading the Bible when I reached my 6 months, so I have to keep going to reach my goal!
Congratulations on the snow! We haven't had it yet, thankfully, but it has been really, really wet! Just rain almost every day! Which isn't that fun to do missionary work in, especially because my boots are falling apart, so my feet get soaked instantly! Oh well, that's life. Not much has really happened this last week. Just the usual missionary work. We still have an investigator with a baptismal date for this coming weekend, so I should have some baptism pics in the next email! Also, our entire mission has a great start to the new year with our baptisms! We had 26 in the month of January and already we have a total of 11 for the month of February! It's crazy! I love it! Something that Sister Laineenkare and I have been struggling with is finding people to teach. New investigators basically. We still teach a good amount of lessons, but we aren't really seeing the fruits of our labors. We have a lot of referrals for missionaries in other areas because it seems that all the people we talk to who are interested to learn more don't live in the area. So we get their contact details and give them to other missionaries. It doesn't matter who reaps, as long as it happens! Besides, I was reading today in Mosiah 23:21, and it says, "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith." Our faith and patience are definitely being tried, but in the next verse (v. 22) it says, "Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day..." Our whole lives are a test, and this is part of the test for Sister L and I, but as we work hard, keep the faith, remain patient, and trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we are promised blessings. Heavenly Father will NEVER go back on a promise to us, unless we don't do our part. It's a two-way street, so we have to do our best to keep our end of it, and the blessings will come.
Thanks for the letter this week of love and encouragement and for keeping me updated on the goings on at home. I hope you guys have a fantastic week! I love you all, and pray for you always!
Love,
Sister Connery
So, how are you guys doing? Thanks for the little spiritual thought Mama. It's nice to get one in return. I have decided to include one with every email that I send, from my personal studies (especially if nothing much happened in the last week, lol). I actually recently read Mosiah 4 and am now in Mosiah 25, and I'm loving it! I love being able to read the Book of Mormon over and over again and learn so many more new things every single time. I am also reading through the whole Bible at the moment as well. I just reached Psalms today, and my goal is to finish the whole Bible by the time I come home. If I can finish the Old Testament by my year mark, then I will have 6 months to read the New Testament, because I just started reading the Bible when I reached my 6 months, so I have to keep going to reach my goal!
Congratulations on the snow! We haven't had it yet, thankfully, but it has been really, really wet! Just rain almost every day! Which isn't that fun to do missionary work in, especially because my boots are falling apart, so my feet get soaked instantly! Oh well, that's life. Not much has really happened this last week. Just the usual missionary work. We still have an investigator with a baptismal date for this coming weekend, so I should have some baptism pics in the next email! Also, our entire mission has a great start to the new year with our baptisms! We had 26 in the month of January and already we have a total of 11 for the month of February! It's crazy! I love it! Something that Sister Laineenkare and I have been struggling with is finding people to teach. New investigators basically. We still teach a good amount of lessons, but we aren't really seeing the fruits of our labors. We have a lot of referrals for missionaries in other areas because it seems that all the people we talk to who are interested to learn more don't live in the area. So we get their contact details and give them to other missionaries. It doesn't matter who reaps, as long as it happens! Besides, I was reading today in Mosiah 23:21, and it says, "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith." Our faith and patience are definitely being tried, but in the next verse (v. 22) it says, "Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day..." Our whole lives are a test, and this is part of the test for Sister L and I, but as we work hard, keep the faith, remain patient, and trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we are promised blessings. Heavenly Father will NEVER go back on a promise to us, unless we don't do our part. It's a two-way street, so we have to do our best to keep our end of it, and the blessings will come.
Thanks for the letter this week of love and encouragement and for keeping me updated on the goings on at home. I hope you guys have a fantastic week! I love you all, and pray for you always!
Love,
Sister Connery
Sister L and I made cookies this week!
Here is a pic of Elder Nielson wearing my scarf. He was trying to show
me how to tie it "properly". He kinda looks like Santa Claus. lol.
We went to a Mexican place (called MexWay) for lunch last P-Day with our District and this is the burrito that Sis. L had
Our Zone Leaders were there as well because our District Leader goes
home on Wednesday, so this is pic of (from left to right) Elder Smith
(Bountiful, Utah-ZL), Elder Kopischke (Germany-ZL), and Elder Nielson
(Salina, Utah-DL)
Same as the last picture but Elder Nielson isn't hiding this time
The other Elders in our District (from left to right), Elder Douglas
(Nephi, Utah), Elder Caruso (Rome, Italy), and Elder Fisher (Canada)
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