This last week has been one that I will never forget! I had the wonderful opportunity to see and receive instruction from Elder Schmutz every day that he was here in Cauayan (5 days), and I will most definitely not forget all of the great instruction I received.
As I ponder over the wonderful things I learned this last week from Elder Schmutz that I can share with you, my mind is drawn to one particularly inspirational lesson I beheld in our Missionary Leadership Council. In the council of which I mentioned, Elder Schmutz taught about a fundamental portion of the Plan of Salvation, that being our life before birth. Although many individuals mistakenly think that our lives began as we emerged into the world as little infants, that is not so. For as the Lord declared to the prophet Jeremiah, so he does to us, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee" (Jeremiah 1:5). As Elder Schmutz taught, although it may be true that our physical lives began on our birth date, our spirits are much older, and before our life on earth we were all privileged to "receive [our] first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth..." and live in this time (D&C 138:56).
As Elder Schmutz referred to the preparation that we received in the presence of our Heavenly Father before birth, he said something that will stick with me forever. He said that in our life before earth, we promised the Lord that we would do certain things while we are here on earth and that "we will be held accountable for the promises we made to our Heavenly Father in our life before earth." As Elder Schmutz indicated, there are things we told and promised God we would do while we are here, and in order to receive the glory we desire in the world after this, we must fulfill the promises we have made.
As we have obviously forgotten about the promises we made with our Heavenly Father before life, I naturally had a question come to my mind which I posed to Elder Schmutz. I asked him, "How can we know if we are fulfilling the promises we made to God before birth?" and he said that I had a "great question with an easy answer." Elder Schmutz told me that in order to fulfill our God-given purposes in this life, all that we need to do is be obedient. If we are obedient to the Lord, he indicated that the He will place all of the opportunities in front of us that we need in order to be successful both in our eyes and in the eyes of the Lord. Never before has obedience to God's commandments seemed more important to me than at this time.
The Spirit I felt this whole last week was something extraordinary. After one particular portion of instruction, I felt more happy than I have in quite a long time. As I approached Elder Schmutz to thank him for the words he had spoke, it was hard not to cry out of joy. I have no doubt the he, and the other leaders of our church are men of God.
In terms of work, we didn't have too much of an opportunity to teach much, but we have some wonderful investigators that are progressing wonderfully. I will tell you more about them in future weeks. And, just as news, one of my companions was transferred to another area earlier today, so I only have one companion again!
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Love,
Elder Pulley
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| Elder Schmutz Teaching Mission President ant Assistant to the Presidents |
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| Elder Schmutz with Mission President and Assistant to the Presidents |
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| Emergency Transfer Day - missionaries can return to areas affected by Typhoon Elder Antenocruz (AP Companion to Elder Pulley) transferred back to field for last month of mission. Elder Pulley now only has one companion |
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