Elmer, like the glue!

Reunited with my companion Sister Opeda! Aww what joy!

Whew, I have never felt my heart so big and so full.  I think back to the children I've been able to serve amongst through out my mission and what they may say with the way I am feeling right now. I think of a little girl we worked with outbound that shared that "the love we feel in our hearts is the same feeling we get when we drink hot chocolate and it goes down to our tummies, and then we get a big smile because we get to all the marshmallows at the bottom!" I love the way that kids are able to take something so big, so powerful, so pure, and to turn it into something that they can understand, and that brings them joy.  I love the way that God has created His perfect gospel to be in a way that any one of us can understand it, with a humble heart and a sincere desire. This week, my mind has been enlightened by the scriptures, and simplified by the perspectives the children around us may have. I am doing all I can to become as a child as I come closer to Christ, and I have felt more and more of His love by doing so.

Jerrel went to the temple to do baptisms for his first time, and it was the most special experience to be there to be a part of that with him.  As we stood in the hallway of the temple he said, "I just gave them all a second chance, and I know how important second chances are." He loves his Savior, and has taught me the same

When we decide to come unto Christ as a child, we recognize that we have wounds that need healing.  With physical wounds, we often think that we can overlook them and all will be well.   If you are like me, and have a fear of the doctor, you may postpone getting help for fear of the pain that will follow, only to see that a doctor's intent is to heal and to prevent further injuries from occurring. I wonder if we can be the same way with our spiritual wounds.  Do we overlook them thinking they will heal on their own?  Do we fear our doctor, our Savior, and if so how do we overcome this fear?  How do we come unto Him with trust that He will help?

This past week, Sister McQueen and I were blessed with the opportunity to teach with the missionaries about the importance of listening.  How important it is to listen to what others around us are saying, as well as what the spirit is saying.  When we listen, we then can be taught by the Spirit what wounds need healing.  I love this verse of scripture we came across--

"And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul."

Brothers and Sisters, we need to have trust that the gospel of Jesus Christ will not just bandage our wounds, but it will literally heal them. Listen to the prayers that we offer, how can we turn to the words of God to let Him heal them?

I was thinking a lot about healing and listening this week as Sister McQueen and I were preparing for Zone Conference.  Thursday night after our last Zone Conference, as Sister McQueen and I came together to plan for the next day, as we discussed our exercise plans, it came so strongly into our minds that we needed to be in a specific place because there was someone specific that we needed to meet and talk with.  Someone we needed to bring closer to Christ so that they could be healed.  The thought came, but we couldn't picture where it was we needed to be.

With faith, the next morning as we decided to run to the track to exercise, I started to feel pain and the thought came into my mind to walk up to the State Capitol instead.  Neither of us have ever been up there to exercise, but we felt good about that decision.  Up the hill we walked to the Capitol. I then decided to run up the stairs, and upon reaching the stop I saw a man off to the side stretching.

"This is him," the spirit whispered.

Without hesitation I introduced myself.  He responded, "I'm Elmer, like the glue!"

As we stood there in our exercise clothes, I could feel my badge, bearing Christ's name over my heart.  How I love wearing His name, and representing Him.  We stood there talking, overlooking the temple, the Salt Lake valley, and the beautiful sun lighting up the sky out before us.  As we listened to him, we came to see that his introduction, though silly and simple, comparing his name to glue, it revealed something that he was looking for.  He opened up to us about his family, about his desire to know that the gospel was true, about his searching through The Book of Mormon.

"You are looking for something to connect all these individual answers together, aren't you?" we asked.

He looked at us with big eyes, and water starting to swell.  Brothers and Sisters, oftentimes, we do not know the wounds we have, until someone cares enough to listen and to help us see them.  What joy I feel to know that when they are found, whether they be wounds of my own, or of those around me, I feel confidence in the path to their healing.  I fear not my doctor of these wounds, for I trust my Savior perfectly.  I know He lives, and I know that He is the glue that will hold our healed wounds together, that we may be bound up and strengthened enough to stand. 

I testify that Joseph Smith saw God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  No man can make up a gospel that heals all who will apply the saving ordinances that have been restored through him.  I testify that The Book of Mormon is true.  It brings me solace, it brings me hope, it brings me joy and it brings me courage, for every page is filled with the light of Christ, and He is the ultimate healer and glue for each of us.  

I love you all, look out for opportunities to listen and to heal! That is when we are not only instruments in God's hands, but instrumental in His behalf.

Sincerely
Sister Briggs

SHOUTOUTS: Sister Olden, Sister Opeda, Sister Bahr, Sister Takahashi, Jess, Grandma Jeanie, Mom & Dad, Bry & Case, Chance Robertson, Elder Huntington, Rob Versaw, Sister Siegle, Sister Nguyen, Robert Donakey, Brother & Sister Donakey, Becca, Sara, Barry, Liz & Leish

So good to see Elder Robertson again from the MTC! Welcome home!