Redeemable

This week I studied the Saviors earthly ministry and atonement! Something that I really liked this week was the definitions! I was really focused on the definitions of redeemer, to redeem, and redeemable. To redeem is to prevent committing sins and to restore the honor or worth of. So Christ is literally restoring our honor! So we can live with God again! The definition of redeemable is being susceptible to improvement or reform. Hermana Peck and I were talking and the reason why Jesus could create the universe was because the matter obeyed him. So we can only change for the better when we obey him... to be redeemed we have to be willing to obey and experiment on the commandments to grow a testimony and feel joy. 

Also this week i was reminded about how you can think you know a scripture until you read it one day and it just clicks. That happened this week with 2 Nephi 2:25. I've always read that verse and thought "cool Adam and eve had to fall so that we could live life." But thats not what this verse is all about. "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy." That we might have joy. That we might have joy. That is our purpose in life- to have joy. That's why we have commandments, and commitments that we have to make- so we can have joy. The gospel is a gospel of joy! A previous companion to my current companion said something along the lines of "if you aren't feeling joy in the gospel, then you aren't living the gospel right." There are so many tender mercies all around us- and blessings that we have received. We should be feeling joy. So please find joy! Because that's why we are here. 

Also just thought I'd add my thoughts from a personal study this week... I was studying in alma 32 about faith, and there was a quote that I found; "too often we approach the gospel like a farmer who places a seed in the ground in the morning and expects corn on the cob by the afternoon" (The way of the disciple). And the first thing that came to my head was Barbie: life in a dream house. Typical for me... but in the show they will just throw a bowl, a container of eggs, butter, a bag of sugar, etc into the oven and a second later the oven beeps and a perfect frosted cake with candles comes out. That isn't how life works. Let alone the gospel. So let me preach for a second: you won't have all the faith you want right now, or the testimony right after reading the book of Mormon. That takes time, and often you could have it and not even know. So have patience with yourself! I don't remember who said it, I think Elder Holland, but it's okay to only believe right now, it would be bad if you accepted you'd only ever just believe and not try to know- but it's okay if you believe- because you are exercising your faith! I ask you all- as a missionary- to write down your testimony, and allow all of your thoughts to flow onto the page! I promise you that you will know more than you think you do.

Fun stuff:

On the very first day of this transfer, when one of the other sisters was being transfered so we were helping her carry out her things, and we took out the trash too. We came back to the door, and the door was locked... we were locked out of our apartment without our phones. We ran to the road and chased after them for about a fourth a mile and didn't catch them. Imagine two girls running down the road wearing dresses- and one of them (hna peck) was only wearing a pair of socks. We tried a member that lived near us... but she wasn't home, and so we decided to walk around and find someone to ask if we could use their phone to call someone- and we were by the office of our apartment complex and we asked this guy if he could help us... and he said sorry, do you guys speak spanish- and we were like "yes yes!" He ended up working here, so he went and got a spare key and let us into our apartment. And we made it back in time to do our personal study! 

Our friend that I've been teaching since I got here moved this week, which was really sad, he took us to dinner before we left, and was super sweet haha- he told us that we were his Americans haha. 

Also study journals are so powerful! And I think you should use them when you are studying. Being able to look back and find the quotes or thoughts that I've found in the past to help me now is soo nice! 

Remember to find the joy!! And be patient with your faith! I love you!

My question for this week is: What are some things that can inhibit your joy?