The Wind

By small & simple things, great things come to pass. I see this happening all around me. Miracles are flowing into this work each day. He got to Mosiah in his reading!!! Jorge started the Book of Mormon about a week ago & he has been reading so much. Our sweet 81 year old friend is a joy. The spirit floods in every time we are with him. We are trying to get him to church. As we invite him there is so much power. He explained to us that he has yet to go to this church, but he has always wanted to. We tell him that the time is now. He cannot wait any longer. He still hasn't come & I think it's because he knows that if he goes he will know its true. He feels different as we teach him & as he reads. He has a hard time believing that there's still time to change. It is never too late. 

That desire stays with them. Silvia & Esmeralda are going to get baptized so soon!!! We went over at the beginning of the week & taught the commandments. We left so happy because they are just ready already. No obstacles. It is just a matter of building their testimonies & helping them understand the meaning of staying. They feel it is different & they felt that as they watched the baptism a few weeks ago & when they went to church. It is so special. The spirit of love of god is hust undeniable when we do all the small things. Thats why we always insist on consistency. There is no room for lacking in prayers or reading the scriptures or going to church. By doing these small things, we have a greater testimony. To the point where we have no doubt about it. 

I love Jesus. Every time I study about Him my heart is filled. I have been learning so much about Him & His grace. We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord's will & his perfect timing. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. Remember that our Savior Jesus Christ always builds us up and never tears us down. The central idea in the gospel of Jesus Christ—its most powerful idea, along with the universal Resurrection—is the Atonement of our Savior. We are His servants, and it is critical that we understand the role of the Atonement. A person who sins is like a tree that bends easily in the wind. On a windy and rainy day, the tree bends so deeply against the ground that the leaves become soiled with mud, like sin. If we focus only on cleaning the leaves, the weakness in the tree that allowed it to bend and soil its leaves may remain. Similarly, a person who is merely sorry to be soiled by sin will sin again in the next high wind. The susceptibility to repetition continues until the tree has been strengthened. When a person has gone through the process that results in what the scriptures call “a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” the Savior does more than cleanse that person from sin. He gives him or her new strength. That strengthening is essential for us to realize the purpose of the cleansing, which is to return to our Heavenly Father. To be admitted to His presence, we must be more than clean. We must also be changed from a morally weak person who has sinned into a strong person with the spiritual stature to dwell in the presence of God. Repentance is possible, and then forgiveness is certain. Sometimes … when a repentant one looks back and sees the ugliness, the loathsomeness of the transgression, he is almost overwhelmed and wonders, ‘Can the Lord ever forgive me? Can I ever forgive myself?’ But when one reaches the depths of despondency and feels the hopelessness of his position, and when he cries out to God for mercy in helplessness but in faith, there comes a still, small, but penetrating voice whispering to his soul, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." How comforting the promise in Isaiah 1:18 that “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” How glorious God’s own promise that “he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” Oh how blessed we are to have the Atonement. To become strong in the winds. But we can't become strong without Jesus. So try to find Him in the winds & never lose his hand. Do not lose Him. He loves you & will accept you exactly as you are every time. & I love Him for that. Because in times of my life, I have lost Him but he always loved me & always does. He forgave me & He still does because I sure need it. I promise it is the most relieving feeling in the world to have Jesus on your side, cheering you on. Lots of times we don't let Him. He'll keep cheering though until we notice. 

I will too. Keep going!!! It's a big windstorm sometimes but we'll make it through. 

I love you all. I pray for you.

With all my heart,

Hermana Morley <3