Hey y'all!
This week was fantastic! Lemme start of with Dallas Daze though,
Let me start from the beginning. I wake up Saturday morning, I was on exchanges with Elder Bailey in my area and oh how lovely was the morning! Those words rang true. We arose at 6am and headed to the gym, with a skip in our step we got to the fitness center of the complex and began working on ourselves becoming stronger. What a lovely time we had running and lifting and seeing the sun rise on the peaceful sleep we had the night before. Truly a great morning. Well slept and well worked out we began walking back to our apartment. As we walked I noticed under the stairs where we keep our bikes, it is out of view coming out of the apartment but coming back it was what you first see, was amiss. Upon looking closer as close as Nephi examined Laban's sword, I realized the bikes were in quite a disarray. I walked over wondering the cause and looked and beheld only two bikes as opposed to the usual three, oh what joy fled from my countenance as I realized the missing red beauty I've ridden for a year was now stolen and off somewhere in the world never to be seen by mine eyes again. How lovely was the morning depleted and now my bike was gone. It was only a second and I realized what a blessing it was! The day previous I had encountered my brakes breaking, my spokes breaking, and a few other minor repairs that would need attention but to my joy I no longer had to worry about them! For problems 1-3 with the bike left with that very bike and now was someone else's problem! Oh it was sad at first but I got over it real quick. In truth and joking aside I was all, "you've gotta be kidding me" but there is no use in being angry cause anger won't bring the bike back magically so may as well pray for the one currently riding it now or selling it that they'll get as good a use out of it as I. If you cannot see emojis then I am sorry but this is how I'd describe my emotions as I went that morning. Long story short I have a new bike now and it's honestly even better and my spiritual thought will have to do with a great experience with that as well as some other cool lessons I learned this week. Funny how my bike was the only one worth stealing, apparently the other two were too crap to steal so good for my companion.
So obtaining a new bike was awesome. I had a budget to stay under which considering a bike and a good one, normally is difficult with how much I had. But we said a prayer that if the lord willed it for me to buy a bike that day then the one would be there. So we got to the bike shop and we walk in and the first bike we both see is this really super nice one that would honestly be perfect for a mission and Elder Frausto points it out, "what about this bike? This one seems like the one, check this price out too." It was 100$ cheaper than the budget! So I said we would ask the store clerk for help and see what he took and showed us but I'd end up saying that one cause usually the show the most expensive first. Well we go up and the guy to help us knew how we were and had known some Mormons and had friends on missions right now. This is significant because he knew exactly what I needed it for and my budget (I didn't tell him he seemed to just have known that we'd need a cheaper bike) and walks straight over to the bike we pointed out and said, "this would be a really good bike for around town riding I think, pretty good price too." We were sold, had to have been of God that all of us separately said yep there's the bike hahaha.
So that was awesome to see an answer of prayer so quick and specific. You really do see God's hand when you pray for help and inspiration. We also this week had our last interview with President Taylor before he goes, and he and I talked about a lot of things and one of the things he did was give us all a blessing and it was so awesome! One of the best things though I came to realize is how awesome it is to really study the scriptures. I feel lately so mad when the hour is up and I have to stop studying because the scriptures truly are delicious, the talks are delicious. Everything. And I just had the thought about how have I gotten to this point? I think it's been a couple things though. Initially it started as a 17 year old wanting to know if the church was indeed true. So I began doing the things I never did, I started with my morning and nightly prayers and really focused on them being genuine. From there I decided I wanted to wake up each morning and get ready as fast as I could and read before school. I began to do that, and it was difficult. I didn't understand what I was reading, I didn't see what message they could really share that was all that life changing, but a promise is a promise that if we read and pray, we will get answer whether it is true or not. There will be an answer one way or another, not just silence and up to us to guess no. It will be a yes or a no. This is eternal salvation at stake and the spirit will witness of it or not if it's true. The order of this was important to me cause praying established a stronger knowledge that God did exist, it increased my faith that he was there and if I read the Book of Mormon and prayed that he'd answer. Cause if you don't believe in God and read the Book, who's gonna answer you if you don't believe in Him? So the order was important. As I read, it was slow but I began to understand what I was reading. After a long while I finally finished it, but still didn't have an answer, so I read again. Even more came this time and it was like a new book. Eventually on my third time through, I found out the Book of Mormon was true. This gave me a fire to learn more. So we began as a mission to study Jesus Christ, and when you come to truly and deeply know someone? You love them and want to do things for them. So as I studied the Savior I really grew to love Him and one day received a witness of the true reality that he lives, that the savior is somewhere right now, maybe in a temple, maybe in the spirit world doing something I don't know but as real as I stand writing this today, he is somewhere and that fascinates me. This drove me to have a feeling as King Lamoni's dad saying, "I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day." I went on a quest and began to pray of EVERY single possible thing the Lord could bring to my remembrance to repent of and clear up. I went to my President pushing fear aside and confessed many a thing, fearing the consequences but wanting desperately to be clean. To my surprise, mercy poured out and I was able to relieve a huge burden, take my next step to forgiveness, realize the thoughts I had of fear were of Satan, and continue being a missionary and retaining my relationships and blessings with people. Oh what joy fills my soul and standing in true amazement at the love Jesus offers me! Confused at the grace so fully he proffers me! I tremble to know that for me he was crucified. For me a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died. Oh it is wonderful brothers and sisters. It is wonderful. I crave to be clean and free and continued praying for anything and everything to come and I will give it away, and I did. I repented more than I ever have and continue to do so. And what joy fills my soul! This day I stand before all reading this and am able to declare for the first time since I can remember, probably 7 years, with confidence and a surety I declare I am clean, or in other words worthy, there is no greater statement a man or woman can say on this earth than those words and I believe that. Repentance is the most merciful and joyful experience I've ever undergone, i was able to retain so much I thought I'd have to lose. But with this repentance came a spirit I've never felt before. Not that I can remember. And as I have studied now a days. The scriptures are like a feast, I cannot get enough! Questions and desires to understand a topic more fully come and studying them is pure joy! The scriptures have truly become delicious to me and continue to do so. I have so far ahead to go, but where the savior has come and placed me on his shoulders from and where I am now is a true miracle, but with such a journey ahead I happily walk side by side my savior, because there is no greater life one can lead on this earth than on that is on the path of discipleship to our beloved savior Jesus Christ. Wherever you're at on this journey, please begin walking with the savior, it doesn't just work for me, God is the God of the whole earth and you live here too, it's meant to work for us all, so don't count yourself out and try it. I did, and I had no idea it was all real. You do it too, this isn't just a me thing, this is meant for every single human to ever live and yet live. I testify of Him in His holy name, even Jesus Christ, amen.
Elder Hiatt
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