Sister Jacobson's Glimpses of Gilbert: Week 54: The Book of Mormon: More than a Musical

February 5, 2018

Helllllooooooooooooo everybodyyyyyy!!

It's been a super crazy busy week here in Desert Ridge! Between MLC, exchanges, and interviews, we had a couple of days where it seriously felt like we could not breathe! This week has just breezed right on by.

The comp and I

We had MLC on Thursday. We had the opportunity to gather as the core leadership of the mission and set the mission's 2018 goal for baptisms. My mission has taught me so much about goal-setting and planning, and the importance of being accountable for the inspired goals that we set. President asked for everyone who would still be on their missions after August to raise their hands, and out of the 32 of us there, only five raised their hands. It was a super bittersweet moment and really put it into perspective that soon we'll have to be handing the reigns of the mission off to the next generation. The rest of MLC was centered on the Book of Mormon and its importance in our investigator's conversion. I loved it! MLC really made me question how much I take the Book of Mormon for granted, and made me ask myself if I am really doing all that I can to study it and internalize the words daily. We read an Elder Bednar talk from the new mission president's seminar in preparation for MLC and it was one of the most doctrinally rich, insightful talks I've ever read!

Exchanges with Sis. Jensen

This week we went on two exchanges! The first was with Sister Jensen, a sister who has been on her mission for almost seven months now. We stayed in my area, and it was so fun. I have been Sister Jensen's STL for her whole mission and it's so awesome to see how much she's grown. She has become such a great missionary! Our day was filled with tons of slammed doors and rejection, but also with tons of little miracles and small victories!

Exchanges with Sis. Chvala

The second exchange was with Sister Chvala, another sister who has been on her mission for almost seven months. We were in her area and it was a good day! We were able to talk to loads of people and give out several copies of the BOM. We met a former world health organization member on the street named N, who was Muslim, and were able to teach him part of the restoration! A few transfers ago there was nothing happening in their area so it's cool to see the progression and how they are being blessed for their diligent hard work.

We had interviews with President and Sister Wheeler on Friday. I love them so much!!! I had so many questions for them this time around and they answered all of my questions perfectly and brought so much peace into my mind! Interviews are truly one of the best times of the transfer.

Gifts for our stewarships

We had a lesson with T this week and taught her how to do family history! Before her baptism she told us how excited she was to go to the temple and do baptisms for her parents and grandparents. It was so cool to see her light up as we connected her family tree, and as we printed her parents’ names for her to take to the temple she was so excited! She had her temple recommend interview yesterday and is now good to go to the temple. We aren't sure when she'll have a space in her busy schedule to go to the temple, but we are hoping that we will have the opportunity to go soon with her!

We had a lesson with K this week as well. She's awesome! She's had a really rough time lately so we had a lesson focused entirely around finding peace through the gospel of Jesus Christ and why the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us peace. It was one of the most spiritual lessons I've taught. Sister Small and I both asked really inspired questions, and K was really thinking about her responses. We talked about her goals in the gospel, because two years ago her biggest desire in the world was to be baptized. She said that a lot has changed and that she's not sure if she still wants to be baptized. She's lost a lot of her testimony since she last investigated, and she wants to regain that before moving forward with baptism. We testified to her that if she put Jesus Christ first in her life and kept the commitments that we left with her then she would be able to regain her testimony and find her desire to be baptized again. She committed to read the Book of Mormon every day and pray, and seemed really genuine about it! We are excited to keep working with her, and for her to keep feeling the Spirit that comes from learning about Jesus Christ and his restored gospel.

Irrigation season in AZ

Other than that....there’s not much else to note. Work-wise this week was pretty slow. We were outside all day on Saturday and didn't see a single person haha. The only door that opened was our dinner appointment. Honestly it's been a pretty rough transfer. We are working so hard and we are being so obedient and doing our best to follow the Spirit in everything we do. It's been really frustrating, because we KNOW that there are prepared people in our area....we just can't seem to find them! There's been a solid increase in opposition this week and it seems to have been extra discouraging so Sister Small and I think that we are on the verge of finding someone so golden and so prepared. We can feel it!

This week I've been focusing on studying the Book of Mormon and internalizing the words. Yesterday our YSA bishop read Helaman 3:29-30 to us. Verse 29 talks about the state of those who will "lay hold upon the word of God," or basically those that study and apply the scriptures in their lives. The verse says that the scriptures will help us avoid the traps that the devil lays before us, and lead us home to Jesus Christ. The path home is described as straight and narrow, and it passes over a "gulf of misery." I don't know about anyone else, but to me it sounds pretty scary to pass over a gulf of misery with just a straight and narrow path as my guide...it sounds like I will definitely fail and fall. But verse 30 goes on to describe the reward the waits for us at the end of this narrow path. It promises us that if we truly do "lay hold upon the word of God" then we will end up on the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven! We are promised that if we internalize the scriptures, we will be able to rely on the strength of Christ to get us through the difficult times and eventually receive a priceless reward in heaven. I know that the scriptures truly can guide us through our dark days and that they can provide spiritual strength in our lives. They teach and testify about Jesus Christ and I know that as we make reading and applying their doctrines a part of our daily routine--as we "lay hold" to the scriptures--we will be able to come to know the Savior and gain eternal life.

I find it kind of ironic that so much of my week was focused on the Book of Mormon, because I saw that “The Book of Mormon: The Musical” was on tour in Boise this week! Friends let me tell ya, that musical can't hold a CANDLE to the real deal. The REAL Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is powerful. It was translated by the power of God and is the most correct book on Earth. It is a companion set of scripture to the Bible. Not only does it complete the Bible, but it enriches and expounds upon the doctrine taught in the Bible. It is another record of Jesus Christ, detailing His personal ministry on the American continent. The Book of Mormon has taught me so much about the life of Jesus Christ, and has taught me even more about the application of His gospel. It is my favorite book. I am a better person because of the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I am so grateful for it.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Jacobson