Hello Family!
It has been a great week. Elder Lee is awesome! He is from Vancouver, B.C. but was born and raised near Seoul, Korea. He's been here in the CTM for about 17 months, the majority of it being spent doing Korean work. He wanted to do more English work and learn how to speak it better, so now here he is! It's fun.
Just like any other day or week, we've had some highs as well as lows this past week. Charles is doing pretty well and should be getting baptized this Sunday, so that is really exciting! Unfortunately, Shawn saw some more anti-Mormon stuff but this time it affected him negatively. He sent a couple of texts to us on Saturday, and he basically said "There is no way you guys would be able to refute this (the anti stuff). I'm sorry guys, but I think this is where we part ways. You guys are awesome and I wish you the best." We let him know our door is still open for him. I don't think we've seen him for the last time, I think he'll come around again. But we won't really chase after him until he's ready. This tragic turn in his journey reminded me of something all of us should remember. Faith is a choice.
We don't become faithful or believing all at once. We may have powerful experiences that help us to have faith. But unless we want it and choose it, our faith will not grow. Our testimonies, our faith... really, our entire character as a human being, is like a bonfire- we need to fuel it to keep it burning, to keep it alive. We can either let it grow dim, or we can fuel it. I think we can go a little deeper too and say we can fuel it a couple of ways: we can fuel it with all sorts of dorito bags or other plasticy-paper wrapper things that my young-men's leaders always told us not to do. Or we can fuel it with nice firewood that's perfect for a bright, clean & natural burn. Sure, both will fuel the fire. But one gives off a nasty polluted smoke, while the other is just normal & natural smoke. (don't get all eco-friendly on me and ruin my analogy!)
We choose to believe what we believe. There is absolute Truth, which is God's. There is the gray area between truth and falsehood, which is man-made. And then there's the area of complete lies, which is Satan's. It's up to us to choose what we'll believe. Are we going to believe the Truth when it is right in front of us? Or, are we going to believe the lies? And what concepts of man do we believe? It's left to us to discern and choose who to follow. We can have help to know what is true and what is false (the Light of Christ, the gift of the Holy Ghost). We can know the Truth in this confusing world. Just be careful of what road you begin to travel down. The more you follow truth, the more you'll recognize it. And I believe the same principle is true for following a path of lies. The more you believe the subtle lies, the more you are deceived. So, we need to choose wisely. Ask questions, look at all sides before you make a decision (which includes trying things- like reading the Book of Mormon and praying)... then, you will be able to discern between what is really truth and what is really fraud.
I love you all! Have a great & happy week.
PS-I'm out of time... so you may or may not get personal emails from me this week. Sorry!!
Love,
Elder Simper
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Niagara, 1/21/13
Hello Family!
Transfer time is here! I am staying here in Niagara Falls for at least 5 more weeks (this transfer is shorter by one week to accommodate all the new missionaries). I haven't met my new companion yet, but his name is Elder Li and he is Korean! Elder Welch and I have had fun together... he's definitely one of my favorite people and I'll miss him. He's now going up to serve in Oshawa, after being here in Niagara for the past 9 months or so. So, there's all the transfer news. Apparently it's supposed to get really cold here this week, so that should spice things up a bit! Or cool them down, I'm not sure.
We saw a couple of miracles this past week. Charles, who had gone missing in action, is now in contact with us again and has a baptismal date for February 3rd! Getting in contact again so fast was unexpected, but it's a miracle we welcome, that's for sure. And we had an especially good visit with Shawn, who I mentioned last week. Shawn is incredibly open-minded and is willing to do what God intends for him to do. The member whose home we met in, and who gave Shawn a ride home, spoke to us yesterday about a neat experience he had with Shawn after our visit. They were driving, and Shawn said "Whoa... that was weird!" Bro. Williams (the member) said "What's weird?" Shawn said "I just heard this voice in my head, I'm not sure if it was my own or what- but it said 'This is the right thing for you' and I got this, I don't know how to describe it, this feeling in my head and body." The reason why Shawn received such a powerful manifestation is because he knows what God wants everyone to know. That we can't say we went for a swim if we just dipped our feet in. We cannot know something absolutely unless we actually give it a fair try. Jesus said "If any man will do his (or God's) will, he shall know of the doctrine. Whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." Basically He is saying that the only way we will know if the Gospel is real, if it is true, if it is from God, is if we try it for ourselves. God is always saying "Prove me." He is inviting us to "come and see." Shawn's life story, in a nutshell, has been: devout Catholic until his teen years, he then developed strong animosity towards God, he became a drug addict, spent time in jail, then he pleaded for God to save his life. And then, God did save him. And now, years later, he is coming to know God in an even more personal and powerful way. That's the point of the Gospel. That's the reason for the church and for baptizing. Not to have a statistic, or to have membership in a social club that meets every Sunday- but this church has the authority and resources to help us know God in a personal and powerful way. How would you change if you knew God personally, and if you knew He has a plan for each of us individually?
What I'm reminded of by Shawn's story, is that God never gives up on us. He never turns His back on us. Everyone, me and you, we all need to put away our foolish self-serving desires and turn towards God. Our life is not really ours. God gave us this life. Who are we to fight against Him who created us? This life is the time for us to prepare to meet God. Or in other words, we are being tested to see if we will make it back home to our loving Father. If that doesn't make sense to you, then try it out! Say a prayer, read the scriptures, go to church, ask questions. There is nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
I love you all so much. Keep on going, keep moving forward, and never give up. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Transfer time is here! I am staying here in Niagara Falls for at least 5 more weeks (this transfer is shorter by one week to accommodate all the new missionaries). I haven't met my new companion yet, but his name is Elder Li and he is Korean! Elder Welch and I have had fun together... he's definitely one of my favorite people and I'll miss him. He's now going up to serve in Oshawa, after being here in Niagara for the past 9 months or so. So, there's all the transfer news. Apparently it's supposed to get really cold here this week, so that should spice things up a bit! Or cool them down, I'm not sure.
We saw a couple of miracles this past week. Charles, who had gone missing in action, is now in contact with us again and has a baptismal date for February 3rd! Getting in contact again so fast was unexpected, but it's a miracle we welcome, that's for sure. And we had an especially good visit with Shawn, who I mentioned last week. Shawn is incredibly open-minded and is willing to do what God intends for him to do. The member whose home we met in, and who gave Shawn a ride home, spoke to us yesterday about a neat experience he had with Shawn after our visit. They were driving, and Shawn said "Whoa... that was weird!" Bro. Williams (the member) said "What's weird?" Shawn said "I just heard this voice in my head, I'm not sure if it was my own or what- but it said 'This is the right thing for you' and I got this, I don't know how to describe it, this feeling in my head and body." The reason why Shawn received such a powerful manifestation is because he knows what God wants everyone to know. That we can't say we went for a swim if we just dipped our feet in. We cannot know something absolutely unless we actually give it a fair try. Jesus said "If any man will do his (or God's) will, he shall know of the doctrine. Whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." Basically He is saying that the only way we will know if the Gospel is real, if it is true, if it is from God, is if we try it for ourselves. God is always saying "Prove me." He is inviting us to "come and see." Shawn's life story, in a nutshell, has been: devout Catholic until his teen years, he then developed strong animosity towards God, he became a drug addict, spent time in jail, then he pleaded for God to save his life. And then, God did save him. And now, years later, he is coming to know God in an even more personal and powerful way. That's the point of the Gospel. That's the reason for the church and for baptizing. Not to have a statistic, or to have membership in a social club that meets every Sunday- but this church has the authority and resources to help us know God in a personal and powerful way. How would you change if you knew God personally, and if you knew He has a plan for each of us individually?
What I'm reminded of by Shawn's story, is that God never gives up on us. He never turns His back on us. Everyone, me and you, we all need to put away our foolish self-serving desires and turn towards God. Our life is not really ours. God gave us this life. Who are we to fight against Him who created us? This life is the time for us to prepare to meet God. Or in other words, we are being tested to see if we will make it back home to our loving Father. If that doesn't make sense to you, then try it out! Say a prayer, read the scriptures, go to church, ask questions. There is nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
I love you all so much. Keep on going, keep moving forward, and never give up. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Niagara, 1/14/2013
Hello Family!
Real quick, from now on will you send all mail to the Mission Office?
Elder Brett Simper
Canada Toronto Mission
197 County Court Blvd. #203
Brampton, ON L6W 4P6
That way no mail gets lost and that way I don't have to keep remembering to send new info any time I move. Transfers are in a week, and over the coming months we are going to have about 80 new missionaries (from 205-285) coming in. So the chances of moving around in the coming months are pretty high.
It was a pretty good week, but it was also a pretty low week at times. Charles kind of "fell of the face of the earth" and he did not get baptized. We've been trying to contact him, with no luck. Hopefully we'll be able to talk with him again. If not, then there's not much we can do. However, we did have a pretty cool experience with one of our investigators, named Shawn. He had a concern about Jesus Christ. He believes in God, but he was wondering "Why Jesus? Why do I have to go through Him, why can't God just forgive our sins?" So that had the potential to be a pretty big obstacle. Since everything revolves around the divinity of Jesus Christ. So, in our past visits we bore sincere testimony of Christ and shared scriptures, and experiences, basically anything to try help him understand Jesus Christ and His Atonement. But, nothing really happened as a direct result. We know that we can't really persuade people to be converted. Shawn needs to find out for himself, and the Spirit will tell him in his heart and help him be converted. So of course we kept that in mind. We left him key scriptures to read, and encouraged him to continue to ask questions and pray about things.
So we get a text from him this week, and its been a couple of weeks since we've seen him because of the holidays. And he sends us some questions that he got while watching an Anti-Mormon video online. So we're thinking, "oh, great!" The questions were pretty 'out there.' Anyways, we get to meet with him and answer his questions and also correct any mis-information (he actually showed the video on his phone to us and the member whose home we were at). This was one of those videos where I think most people would say "Wow, these Mormons are crazy!" The video was full of speculations, lies, and partial truths. But the funny thing is, Shawn has a very open mind. So he knew that "if there's a plumbing problem, ask the plumber, not the electrician." It turns out that this Anti-Mormon video actually backfired and opened up ways for Shawn to receive answers. Answers that he actually liked and could relate to, and even be willing to accept Jesus Christ. Now, to be honest we have no idea how this video could have helped him. But I do know that the Lord works in mysterious ways... and I know that because Shawn has an open mind, is willing to ask questions, and wants to do God's will, he was able to receive impressions from the Spirit. He said that Jesus Christ was no longer a 'problem' to him, and he even closed his prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Which was something he was opposed to before.
I know that God is a God of Miracles. Again, I remind you all that He never turns our back on us. He never gives up on us. Stop fighting against Him and you will begin to feel more peace and light in your life. It may sound cliche and far-fetched to logical-thinking minds, but it is true. The Gospel is true. I love you all very much. And I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you. If not, then make it a good week!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Real quick, from now on will you send all mail to the Mission Office?
Elder Brett Simper
Canada Toronto Mission
197 County Court Blvd. #203
Brampton, ON L6W 4P6
That way no mail gets lost and that way I don't have to keep remembering to send new info any time I move. Transfers are in a week, and over the coming months we are going to have about 80 new missionaries (from 205-285) coming in. So the chances of moving around in the coming months are pretty high.
It was a pretty good week, but it was also a pretty low week at times. Charles kind of "fell of the face of the earth" and he did not get baptized. We've been trying to contact him, with no luck. Hopefully we'll be able to talk with him again. If not, then there's not much we can do. However, we did have a pretty cool experience with one of our investigators, named Shawn. He had a concern about Jesus Christ. He believes in God, but he was wondering "Why Jesus? Why do I have to go through Him, why can't God just forgive our sins?" So that had the potential to be a pretty big obstacle. Since everything revolves around the divinity of Jesus Christ. So, in our past visits we bore sincere testimony of Christ and shared scriptures, and experiences, basically anything to try help him understand Jesus Christ and His Atonement. But, nothing really happened as a direct result. We know that we can't really persuade people to be converted. Shawn needs to find out for himself, and the Spirit will tell him in his heart and help him be converted. So of course we kept that in mind. We left him key scriptures to read, and encouraged him to continue to ask questions and pray about things.
So we get a text from him this week, and its been a couple of weeks since we've seen him because of the holidays. And he sends us some questions that he got while watching an Anti-Mormon video online. So we're thinking, "oh, great!" The questions were pretty 'out there.' Anyways, we get to meet with him and answer his questions and also correct any mis-information (he actually showed the video on his phone to us and the member whose home we were at). This was one of those videos where I think most people would say "Wow, these Mormons are crazy!" The video was full of speculations, lies, and partial truths. But the funny thing is, Shawn has a very open mind. So he knew that "if there's a plumbing problem, ask the plumber, not the electrician." It turns out that this Anti-Mormon video actually backfired and opened up ways for Shawn to receive answers. Answers that he actually liked and could relate to, and even be willing to accept Jesus Christ. Now, to be honest we have no idea how this video could have helped him. But I do know that the Lord works in mysterious ways... and I know that because Shawn has an open mind, is willing to ask questions, and wants to do God's will, he was able to receive impressions from the Spirit. He said that Jesus Christ was no longer a 'problem' to him, and he even closed his prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Which was something he was opposed to before.
I know that God is a God of Miracles. Again, I remind you all that He never turns our back on us. He never gives up on us. Stop fighting against Him and you will begin to feel more peace and light in your life. It may sound cliche and far-fetched to logical-thinking minds, but it is true. The Gospel is true. I love you all very much. And I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you. If not, then make it a good week!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Niagara, 1/7/13
Hello Family!
We're anxious for this week. Things will probably pick up this week. And things are probably going to pick up a lot in the coming months! Our mission is going to have many, many more missionaries. And many of them will be Sister missionaries, and I think they'll see tons of success. It's a very exciting time to be serving the Lord. Charles didn't get baptized yet, so we're a little worried about him. He was away most of the weekend, but we've stayed in contact and hopefully we'll be able to dig a little deeper and see what we need to help him with. I believe he is someone who will make a great contribution to the Lord's kingdom, and that's probably why he's facing so much opposition. The Lord needs us on His team. He needs you, any of you who have strayed.
We had an awesome testimony meeting yesterday here in the St. Davids ward. A couple of guys who I really admire got up and said some really thought-provoking things. One man said "Becoming a member of the Church is my greatest accomplishment in life. And what did I accomplish?? Nothing [in a worldly sense]." And the other man spoke about his thoughts about New Years resolutions, and he shared a couple of his goals. One was to focus more on eternal things rather than on temporal things, and the other was to pay more attention to the promptings of the Spirit. He said "the clock just keeps on ticking, and I don't want a whole year to go by with me doing nothing."
I was inspired by these testimonies. The truth is, if I were to have all the pleasures that the world can offer, but fail to live the Gospel... I would have nothing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is real. It is the reality we must be living in. If we are not living the Gospel, then we are living contrary to the nature of happiness. So, many of my current personal goals and plans are to ensure that I consistently and diligently live the Gospel. Because I know it is living the Gospel that brings me the most joy. This is the joy that missionaries all over the world are inviting people to receive.
I love you all so much! Make this week a great week, and strive to make 2013 the best yet!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
We're anxious for this week. Things will probably pick up this week. And things are probably going to pick up a lot in the coming months! Our mission is going to have many, many more missionaries. And many of them will be Sister missionaries, and I think they'll see tons of success. It's a very exciting time to be serving the Lord. Charles didn't get baptized yet, so we're a little worried about him. He was away most of the weekend, but we've stayed in contact and hopefully we'll be able to dig a little deeper and see what we need to help him with. I believe he is someone who will make a great contribution to the Lord's kingdom, and that's probably why he's facing so much opposition. The Lord needs us on His team. He needs you, any of you who have strayed.
We had an awesome testimony meeting yesterday here in the St. Davids ward. A couple of guys who I really admire got up and said some really thought-provoking things. One man said "Becoming a member of the Church is my greatest accomplishment in life. And what did I accomplish?? Nothing [in a worldly sense]." And the other man spoke about his thoughts about New Years resolutions, and he shared a couple of his goals. One was to focus more on eternal things rather than on temporal things, and the other was to pay more attention to the promptings of the Spirit. He said "the clock just keeps on ticking, and I don't want a whole year to go by with me doing nothing."
I was inspired by these testimonies. The truth is, if I were to have all the pleasures that the world can offer, but fail to live the Gospel... I would have nothing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is real. It is the reality we must be living in. If we are not living the Gospel, then we are living contrary to the nature of happiness. So, many of my current personal goals and plans are to ensure that I consistently and diligently live the Gospel. Because I know it is living the Gospel that brings me the most joy. This is the joy that missionaries all over the world are inviting people to receive.
I love you all so much! Make this week a great week, and strive to make 2013 the best yet!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Niagara, 1/2/2013
Hello Family!
We had our first big snowfall last week just after Christmas. I think Elder Welch was a little bit scared since I'm the driver! But I've been doing pretty good driving in it. People have given me some good driving-in-the-snow tips. And the roads are cleared pretty fast, anyways. I attached some photos from the Falls, now icy and snowy!
The past couple of weeks have been different, with the weird holiday schedules we've had and stuff like that. So its been a little slower than it has usually been. We were planning on having Charles' baptism this past Sunday, but he wanted to move it to this week instead. So hopefully all will go well and he'll enter into the waters of baptism this Sunday, the 6th. Baptism is so sacred. I wish I understood it better earlier in my life. Baptism by immersion is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Savior. And because He did those things, we can overcome death- both physical death and spiritual death. We will all live forever- that is a free gift to all. But, to overcome spiritual death and live with eternal joy we must live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accept and apply the Atonement. I know things are confusing in this world, and I know we get many mixed messages. The only things I am sure of are these: my love for my family, and the truthfulness of the Gospel. These things get attacked too, but they are the only things I can hold fast to and always rely on to bring me peace and comfort. They cut through the darkness of the confusing messages around us. The only way we can find out if the Gospel is true, and really is the one sure way to peace and comfort... is to live it.
I love you all very much. And I wish you all the best for the New Year ahead!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
We had our first big snowfall last week just after Christmas. I think Elder Welch was a little bit scared since I'm the driver! But I've been doing pretty good driving in it. People have given me some good driving-in-the-snow tips. And the roads are cleared pretty fast, anyways. I attached some photos from the Falls, now icy and snowy!
The past couple of weeks have been different, with the weird holiday schedules we've had and stuff like that. So its been a little slower than it has usually been. We were planning on having Charles' baptism this past Sunday, but he wanted to move it to this week instead. So hopefully all will go well and he'll enter into the waters of baptism this Sunday, the 6th. Baptism is so sacred. I wish I understood it better earlier in my life. Baptism by immersion is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Savior. And because He did those things, we can overcome death- both physical death and spiritual death. We will all live forever- that is a free gift to all. But, to overcome spiritual death and live with eternal joy we must live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accept and apply the Atonement. I know things are confusing in this world, and I know we get many mixed messages. The only things I am sure of are these: my love for my family, and the truthfulness of the Gospel. These things get attacked too, but they are the only things I can hold fast to and always rely on to bring me peace and comfort. They cut through the darkness of the confusing messages around us. The only way we can find out if the Gospel is true, and really is the one sure way to peace and comfort... is to live it.
I love you all very much. And I wish you all the best for the New Year ahead!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Niagara, 12/27/12
Hello Family!
Next preparation day is Wednesday 1/2/13 instead of Monday 12/31/12.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! It was a great day for me. I enjoyed being able to Skype home and I'm grateful for all the love I felt from you and from the people here. As I've been thinking about the arrival of a new year, I thought about things I want and need to do better. Something I've done on my mission a couple of times and have had success with is writing down goals of "Who I want to become" and also writing down some plans on how I can become just that. Its a continual work in progress, and I am no where close to the person I want to become. But it is helpful to write down these goals- they can be anything! And remember to be patient and work at it one day at a time.
There is so much depressing stuff going on in the world. We all know that. We all get a little hopeless about it and maybe we choose to ignore it sometimes. But I know that we can make a difference in the world by starting small. Start with yourself- evaluate and improve yourself, then see what needs to happen to improve the relationships with your family and loved ones. This is something I'm still working on. We need to work at this the same way we should with our goals- be patient and work at it one day at a time. But the important thing is, is that we actually do it! Evaluate, set goals, and make plans to improve. If you can see something way down at the end of the tunnel and seems like a long way away-- don't give up, because I know from experience that if you just keep on going towards that goal, even if you fall... you will make it.
I know that in some cases, it is necessary to cut off certain relationships that are harmful. But I think if we cut off relationships based on assumptions, then we are making a big mistake. "When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it!" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf) We're all human and we all struggle with these things. But we need to be careful with the way we treat each other. If we're not careful, and we burn all our bridges, then the coming years are going to be absolutely miserable.
I love you all very much. The Church is true, and God lives. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and are always calling us home.
Happy New Year!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Next preparation day is Wednesday 1/2/13 instead of Monday 12/31/12.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! It was a great day for me. I enjoyed being able to Skype home and I'm grateful for all the love I felt from you and from the people here. As I've been thinking about the arrival of a new year, I thought about things I want and need to do better. Something I've done on my mission a couple of times and have had success with is writing down goals of "Who I want to become" and also writing down some plans on how I can become just that. Its a continual work in progress, and I am no where close to the person I want to become. But it is helpful to write down these goals- they can be anything! And remember to be patient and work at it one day at a time.
There is so much depressing stuff going on in the world. We all know that. We all get a little hopeless about it and maybe we choose to ignore it sometimes. But I know that we can make a difference in the world by starting small. Start with yourself- evaluate and improve yourself, then see what needs to happen to improve the relationships with your family and loved ones. This is something I'm still working on. We need to work at this the same way we should with our goals- be patient and work at it one day at a time. But the important thing is, is that we actually do it! Evaluate, set goals, and make plans to improve. If you can see something way down at the end of the tunnel and seems like a long way away-- don't give up, because I know from experience that if you just keep on going towards that goal, even if you fall... you will make it.
I know that in some cases, it is necessary to cut off certain relationships that are harmful. But I think if we cut off relationships based on assumptions, then we are making a big mistake. "When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it!" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf) We're all human and we all struggle with these things. But we need to be careful with the way we treat each other. If we're not careful, and we burn all our bridges, then the coming years are going to be absolutely miserable.
I love you all very much. The Church is true, and God lives. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and are always calling us home.
Happy New Year!
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Niagara, 12/17/12
Hello Family!
Here are some dates really quick: Next transfer date is 1/20/13, Next Preparation Day is Thursday 12/27/12 because of Christmas next week.
I heard about the tragedy in Connecticut, and I couldn't believe it. That is awful. I was thinking how hard it must be for these families who were affected by it. And I can't even imagine the pain they must feel. But I do know that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, "All that is unfair about life will be made fair" (Preach My Gospel). We always ask the question, "Why does God allow such horrible things to happen?" I don't know the wording exactly, but in the Book of Mormon there is a story about people killing children in horrible ways, and someone asks a prophet "Why does God allow such horrible things to happen?" He then says something like "God allows these things to happen so that the blood of the innocent will stand as a witness against the murderers on Judgement Day." God, our loving Heavenly Father, hates it when things like this happen. He is a God of love, and a God of peace. He is a God of Justice, and a God of Mercy. Because God is perfect and He loves us perfectly, He knows how to comfort us. Let us be His hands and comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and mourn with those that mourn, and stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all places. I know this Gospel is true and I know it helps us with any challenge. It gives us the sure knowledge that there IS life after death.
.....
I hope each of you has a Merry Christmas! I want to share something from one of my favorite books (The Christmas Sweater). It's a prayer:
"God, thank you for everything you've given us. For the time we have together. And for the miracle of Christmas. Thank you for the Atonement, the chance to start all over again. Help us to always remember who we are and to trust that we are worthy to make it through our storms. Amen."
That describes what I feel each Christmas since the time I read that. I love this chance to remember all that God has done for me, and to know I am loved by God and by my family. With God, we can make it through anything!
I love you all so much, and I hope you have a great and memorable Christmas.
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Here are some dates really quick: Next transfer date is 1/20/13, Next Preparation Day is Thursday 12/27/12 because of Christmas next week.
I heard about the tragedy in Connecticut, and I couldn't believe it. That is awful. I was thinking how hard it must be for these families who were affected by it. And I can't even imagine the pain they must feel. But I do know that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, "All that is unfair about life will be made fair" (Preach My Gospel). We always ask the question, "Why does God allow such horrible things to happen?" I don't know the wording exactly, but in the Book of Mormon there is a story about people killing children in horrible ways, and someone asks a prophet "Why does God allow such horrible things to happen?" He then says something like "God allows these things to happen so that the blood of the innocent will stand as a witness against the murderers on Judgement Day." God, our loving Heavenly Father, hates it when things like this happen. He is a God of love, and a God of peace. He is a God of Justice, and a God of Mercy. Because God is perfect and He loves us perfectly, He knows how to comfort us. Let us be His hands and comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and mourn with those that mourn, and stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all places. I know this Gospel is true and I know it helps us with any challenge. It gives us the sure knowledge that there IS life after death.
.....
I hope each of you has a Merry Christmas! I want to share something from one of my favorite books (The Christmas Sweater). It's a prayer:
"God, thank you for everything you've given us. For the time we have together. And for the miracle of Christmas. Thank you for the Atonement, the chance to start all over again. Help us to always remember who we are and to trust that we are worthy to make it through our storms. Amen."
That describes what I feel each Christmas since the time I read that. I love this chance to remember all that God has done for me, and to know I am loved by God and by my family. With God, we can make it through anything!
I love you all so much, and I hope you have a great and memorable Christmas.
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
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