Hi everyone,
It's been awhile since we wrote on our blog. There have been a lot of major changes in our mission and we have been very busy with our new responsibilities! Last September I had some thoughts about where we should be serving when the Family History Library zone changes would be made. In October when we were interviewed we were told about six options where we could choose to serve. Each time that our mission president's counselor said "Information Commons" I had a feeling that it was where we were supposed to go. It is now called Family Search Library. In this zone we help patrons look for their ancestors and do other programs on the computers. We are learning some of the programs as we go and have a lot more to learn. It's a great opportunity for us to serve and to do our own genealogy.
Elder Larsen is one of the assistant zone leaders so we have extra responsibilities which include being in charge of the socials, helping with the schedule, getting patrons to the right place in the Library to look for their ancestors, and helping other missionaries get into classes to learn new FamilySearch which is President Gordon B. Hinckley's inspired program to help us avoid doing so many duplicates of temple ordinances.
I recently had my first experiences of taking my own ancestors' names to the temple because so many of them had already had their temple work done. We have been on this mission for one year now and will be here until the end of June 2009. We had a great time on Temple Square during the Christmas season. We were able to see the lights on Temple Square and attend the spectacular program of the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra and the bells being played.
On January 14th we attended a temple devotional where Elder Allan Packer of the seventy was the speaker. His main thoughts were about finding peace in the hard times that we are facing. He said that we really need the Holy Ghost to be with us, that He is a key to show us all things that we should do. By the power of the Holy Ghost you may learn the truth of ALL things. (Moroni 10:5) He mentioned the scripture in 3 Nephi 9:20 that tells that some people were baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost and knew it not. I have often wondered how that could happen. Elder Packer said that they knew it not because they failed to understand how much the Holy Ghost could help them and they were not in tune and listening or pondering. In D & C 88:33 it tells us that it doesn't profit us if a gift is bestowed upon us and we don't receive the gift. (The Holy Ghost) Elder Packer also talked about the temples and how we need to be worthy to enter them and how we treat them with respect.. He likened that to how our bodies are the temples of our spirits and that we need to not allow anything unclean to enter our minds and bodies.
I recently read a scripture that reminded me of the temple and getting revelation there. It's 1 Nephi 18:3 in the Book of Mormon. "And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things." A mountain is sometimes symbolic of temples. If we go often when we can and pray there about our problems and give thanks He will more likely give us answers and great personal revelation.
We encourage everyone who can to serve a mission. We are enjoying making friends, learning genealogy programs and serving Heavenly Father.