Sunday March 21, 2010

Hi everyone :) . This will be a short blog today, not because we don't have a lot to say, but because there is so much to do that we are always hurrying.
To say the last week has been a wonderful experience would be an understatement. We have had so many spiritual experiences that there is a confusion of thought as where to begin. Perhaps we should start with the blessing of being able to sit at the feet of an apostle last Tuesday at the devotional. Elder Quintin Cook told us that we were here in the right place at the right time. He told us that it was no accident that we were called at this time. He said with the economic downturn of the world's economy, there is a situation worldwide to find those who are now more prepared to hear the Lord's Plan of Happiness than in the recent past. He told of the times of Kirtland at the time of the economic turbulence. It also was worldwide. While the church suffered great apostacy because of the failure of the bank in Kirtland, the great missionary work began in England, bringing literally thousands.
Elder Cook gave over two thousand missionaries an apostolic blessing of successful missions. He promised us that in our absence from our families, they would be blessed to a greater degree than if we were there. He promised that we would have no need to worry about them. He said much more, but we'll save that for a later date.
We have been blessed to be taught how to teach the Gospel now. It is a wonderful change than in the past. The idea is to find out where our contacts are on their spiritual journey and take them from there. That means that we have to listen to the Spirit as we talk to them and depend on the Spirit as we teach them. There were numerous occasions that as we taught, we actually felt the Spirit telling us what to say. Even though those we taught were also senior missionaries or younger returned missionaries, that wasn't relevant, the Spirit was whispering and directing us.
The emphasis is to truly call upon the Holy Ghost as promised as our constant companion and testify through Him of the truthfulness of the Gospel.
I liked one thought I hadn't had before. When we teach, we can't take God or Jesus Christ in the home with us, but we can take a member of the Godhead with us. The Holy Ghost, one of the trinity, a God, will accompany us because those whom we teach have asked in the premortal world that they be taught and brought unto Christ. That is our mission and that is His mission.
Mom and I have grown beyond belief. We still have a lot of growing to do. Let me share one other special experience. Friday night, all the senior couples who are learning a foreign language were invited to attend a testimony meeting in which they were asked to bear their testimonies in their second language. Mom bore her testimony completely in Spanish. She did a beautiful job. In fact, when the Lord says we will understand the Gospel in our own language, the meeting was evidence of that truth. I knew what everyone was saying, even though I didn't speak Greek, Japanese, or French. The Spirit told us all what each person was testifying to.
We love you all.
Elder Neil