Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Get on the Boat


Sister Brink and I at the General Woman's Broadcast! Oh, how I loved it and I love my companion! 

I write this e-mail with such a full heart of gratitude of peace, of love, of joy for all the many blessings that I have seen in my life this past week.  During my time as a full-time missionary, I have said "see you soon" to both my Grandpa and my Great Uncle.  They have passed from this life, but because of the comfort I have felt during this time, I have come to know the reality of God's Plan of Salvation, and that, "their in a better place" isn't just a phrase of comfort, but a phrase of divine truth that is familiar to each and every one of us.

"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection--Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all mean, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life." (Alma 41:11, The Book of Mormon, pg. 308)

When I think about being taken home, I think about how in our world today, we rely on different things to take us home.  I've been in cars that have taken me home.  I remember the long drive from Sammamish, WA to our new home in Bend, OR back when I was ten years old--that wasn't a trip I was too excited then to make, but one that has blessed and changed my life forever.  I've been in planes that have taken me home.  Whether it was after an adventurous family trip around the world, a study abroad, or an extended time at BYU, they have taken me home, soaring through the clouds, back to the arms of those I love. 

Finally, there have been boats that have taken me home-and I think much of these vehicles of transportation the most as my Great Uncle and Grandpa were both avid fishermen.  They enjoyed the outdoors, and I can recount years and years of stories from my Dad from their many different fishing trips all across the country.

I think of how often the Savior has taught us from boats.  How happy it makes me when I think of Him and His Apostles on the boat in the middle of the crashing waves.  His disciples feared, and wondered how in the world He could rest while they tossed about in the ocean.  The Savior's response has taught me great lessons from the ship He then stood on, "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." (Mark 4:39).

I think of the Jaredites who were commanded by the Lord to built boats and barges, to travel across the great waters, who were given stones to shine forth in the darkness as they crossed.  These barges they were commanded to build were to be "tight like unto the ark of Noah." (Ether 6:7, The Book of Mormon, pg. 497).

When I think of Noah, oh goodness, I must admit I would sometimes get a bit frustrated.  I think of our brothers and sisters back then and want to say, "Get on the boat! Just get on the boat to be safe--the consequences of not getting on the boat can be much more difficult, then the consequences of just taking a step of faith." We spoke to one woman today, Ingrid from England, Trinidad and Texas, who has often felt the same about the people who refused to listen to the prophet of God who urged and inspired all he could to get on the boat!

As we spoke with Ingrid today about the prophets of old and their invitations to all to get on the boat, we were touched by the Spirit of the Lord to think of our own personal boats He is offering us every day of our lives.  More specifically, with General Conference coming up this weekend when we are blessed to hear from the Prophet of God and His chosen Apostles, given the Priesthood authority to act in His name, do we think that He will let us know what personal boats we should get on? I hope we each answer "yes!" to that question.

For some of us our personal boats may be having more time with our family, studying the scriptures, attending the temple, reaching out to our neighbors, loving those who hurt us, forgiveness--but whatever they may be, trust that they will bring us home.
Being a full-time missionary at Temple Square during General Conference is truly a remarkable, overwhelming and beautiful blessing, and I am so excited! I can testify and promise that the Spirit will touch and penetrate each of our hearts as we listen to the words of those speaking, and ask God which boats He would have us get on, and know that God will never command us to do something that won't bring us home.

"If any man will do his will , he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17, lets get on the boat!)

I love each of you and pray for you daily! In remembrance of Papa Jim and Uncle Dick :)

Sincerely,
Sister Briggs

SHOUTOUTS: Ivy & Courtney, Andrew Briggs, Alyssa Lamprecht, Casey & Bryan, Mom & Dad, Julia, Casey, Uncle Jack & Aunt Carol, Grandmother, Marnie & Jeremy, Grandma Jeanie & Grandfather, Robert Donakey, The Donakey Family, Clarissa and her family

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Nick & Barbara


I want each of you to know, that I have never known joy so fully and so infinitely as I have during my time as a full-time missionary.  The alarm goes off at 6:30am--I am tired, but I am smiling.  I run up and down the hall-ways at our apartments for our 30 minutes of exercise--I want to see outside, but I am filled with the spirit being surrounded by my sisters from over 50 countries.  I am inspired by them and their goodness. I see them and feel so much joy thinking of the impact they will have on their countries and communities as they return home from this sacred place and experience.  7-8am we are eating breakfast with our sisters in our apartment from Latvia and Arizona--they have testimonies of Christ that keep them going. 8-10am we are kneeling in prayer and counseling with the Lord about the day ahead.  We are reading from the scriptures, studying Preach My Gospel, and having the spirit confirm to us each moment that what we are teaching is divine.  10am we run out the door--this message is too imiportant to walk.  We talk to everyone.  We exclaim, "Good to see you again!" because we know that no one is a stranger to us; we have all been together before this life. We call Africa, Luxembourg, England, Nevada, Utah, Alabama, South Carolina and are inspired to know which of God's children need us right then and now--we smile when they answer the phone and say they have been waiting for us to call. We eat lunch when we have time, but are mostly being spiritually fed by the sisters all around us--they have a light that burns so deeply from within.  We spend our day on temple square, following the spirit in where to go and what to say--He never fails us, and we seek to never fail Him and His children.
My planner for this transfer.  The front quote says, "One of the principal purposes of our mortal existence is to be spiritually changed and transformed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
How true this is, and I love Him for that!
I cry as I write this because I can never see this all ending and want to testify that it never ever does, and it never ever has to.  Building up the kingdom of God, and strengthening His children is not an 18 month mission, it is something much bigger than us that completely fills our hearts, and fixes our purpose. 
"And if they desire to take upon them my name with full purpose of heart, they are called to go into all the world to preach my gospel unto every creature." -Doctrine & Covenants 18:28.
Think about what this verse teaches us about our Savior.  He gave His whole life not just to die for us, but to teach us about who He really was.  He taught us all in a way He could understand, and in a way that would touch our hearts.  He taught us to feel for the witness of the Holy Ghost, and He has taught us that again through The Book of Mormon.  I have felt His love and testify that He lives.  I can testify that teaching His gospel is one of the most humbling ways we can put ourselves in His hands to become like Him and to know Him as He is.  Knowing Him is really what eternal life is circumscribed about.

Sister Brink loves to match with her companions, so we do! :)

Yesterday, my new companion and I (Sister Brink from Tennessee--you will hear all about her! She is a convert to the gospel and is absolutely amazing.  She says when she found the gospel, it was exactly what she never thought she was ever looking for, yet when she found it, she knew it was true.), we were in the Tabernacle for one of our desk assignments.  We gave the acoustic demonstration and then met with a wonderful couple from South Africa when we came down from the stage--Nick & Barbara.

They were traveling through the United States for their second time from Cape Town, South Africa.

As we started to talk to them, the man put his hand up. "You two have a light about you," he said, "It's there in your eyes."
Our faces must have beamed as he said those words.  Nothing makes us happier than knowing that people can quite literally see the effects of living the gospel.  Because it is the fulness of the gospel that has been restored, it can and will fill us with a fulness of light--I see that in each of the sisters I pass every single day and it inspires me to do and be better. 

President and I after he "released" me as his assistant.  Him and Sister Poulsen gave me the pearl necklace from South Africa.  They have taught me by example that service in the Lord's kingdom goes on forever, and that the blessings really are the truest and most lasting happiness.  I love them and have the utmost gratitude and respect for them both and for the opportunity they gave me as inspired by my Father in Heaven.

We shared with them Joseph's account of the first vision, and the spirit fled into each of our hearts.  Sister Brink and I were able to testify that his words were true, and that nothing in the world could change us from the testimony we have of this pure and essential truth.  Think about it--God, the Creator of this world, of us, of this great eternal plan, has come to visit in these days! He is real, His Son and our Savior live. We can find our greatest purpose in life as we think of how we are connected infinitely and eternally with them.  We are eternal beings, brothers and sisters, but please don't wait for eternity to realize that. You are important in His plan and there are many who need you to remind them of who they really are.
Nick & Barbara thanked us for their time with them, and said that they really wanted to give anything to have this same light in their eyes, but they felt they were too far gone.  Oh, how our hearts broke, yet inside was the prompting, "show them your ministerial certificate" and so we did.
Each missionary has a "ministerial certificate" signed by the living Prophet of God himself, that we have the authority to preach the principles of the gospel, and a personal invitation to all to heed the message we share. We testified to them that the missionaries they will see in South Africa, also have this authority, carry the same card in their hand, and the same fervor in their eyes and heart to help them in the same way we want to help them.

Their eyes watered, the light began to shine.  As we walked with them out of the Tabernacle, right then and there was our new sister from South Africa, Sister Sonku.  Nick & Barbara looked at us as if they had seen an angel, and then again the light grew.

We know that God has a plan and a purpose for our friends Nick & Barbara. There is so much more to this experience that remains sacred in my heart, but know brothers and sisters, that every effort you give to bring others closer to Christ is never wasted.  You are an essential part of His plan- never forget that.

Will we each focus on a Christlike attribute that we want to develop this week, so that this very same light can shine for us all?  We truly can be that light that shines with Christ, He wants us to be there with Him.
I love each of you, and mean that with all sincerity! We are brothers and sisters, and you mean a lot to me.  Pray and ask God who you are--I promise that as He has very personally told me, He will very personally tell you.

Sincerely,
Sister Briggs :)

SHOUTOUTS: SisterLin! ( thank you so so much for the package! You mean the world to me!), Sister Olden, Sister Walsh, Grandma Jeanie, Jessica Helm, Jacque & Summer, Amber, Sister Siegle, Casey & Bryan, Mom & Dad, Robert Donakey, The Donakey family

Friday, September 19, 2014

Created in God's Image


With MTC companion Sister Marsh during transfer planning.  She is training this upcoming transfer! 
Hello and happy happy day to everyone! I truly cannot believe it is half-way through September already.  My two transfers as an Assistant to the President finish tomorrow, and I begin a new transfer on Wednesday with a new companion and a new assignment as a Zone Leader here in the Temple Square Mission.  I have never felt so much love as I have been serving here in the office.  

With our dinosaur door! I love my companion--she has taught me so much this transfer and I am so excited for her and Sister Yeung (Hong Kong) this upcoming transfer
Sister Palmer ( California) and Sister Lau (Hong Kong) decorated our office door with dinosaurs--how thoughtful, they even have missionary badges!
When I came into the office, I created a small journal to keep track of the assignments we had and the inspiration I would receive from working so closely with President and Sister Poulsen.  On the front of this journal is a quote from God's called Prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson.

It reads, "What is most important almost always involves the people around us."
This quote has become rooted in my heart as I have served here.  As words from a Prophet, we are encouraged to pray and ask God if these truly are His words as well.  I testify that these are the words of God, and so my brothers and sisters, imagine the Father of us all saying this very same quote.

"What is most important almost always involves the people around us."
A surprise celebration for President Poulsen on his birthday! Ohh how we love him! Families--I can promise that your missionary's mission Presidents are hand-picked by the Lord, and your family members are being looked out for and prayed for every single day.
Time and time again through the Bible, The Book of Mormon, the modern revelation that we have received through the restoration of the gospel, we have been told of our importance in the eyes of God, we have been told that the worth of our souls is great.  How then can we ever doubt that we are the people that at one point surrounded God, and that His love, His mercy, His influence, His gospel is all around us today? We are most important to Him because we truly are around Him, and lived around and with Him before this life, and I had a very special experience yesterday here on Temple Square that solidified and strengthened this testimony.

Yesterday, we were blessed by the Lord to be in the right place at the right time.  Our best friend and sister, Jacque, invited us to the North Visitor's Center to come and play the film "God's Plan for His Family." As we walked up to the Christus, we were next to a young couple from Idaho, who being led by the Spirit, asked if we could play the God's Plan video for them.  What a blessing it was that that was the very direction we were headed at that precise moment, and that the video room was open and free for us all.
With my wonderful sister Jacque on our day of miracles! Music and The Spoken word was so moving and brought the Spirit so powerfully!

As we entered the first room with Jacque and this young couple, we saw they were covered in tattoos and both wore CTR (Choose The Right) rings on their right hand.  They said that they had fallen away from the gospel, but that they were trying to come back for their family and for their own personal relationship with God as well.  It meant so much to them to come back that they had chosen to come to Temple Square to celebrate their year anniversary of marriage.  The spirit filled the room, and I know Sister McQueen, Jacque and I all prayed earnestly in our hearts that they would feel and see what it was they came to Temple Square looking for.


They talked about the desire they feel to go back, and we related it to the way we sometimes feel about our family vacations.  We have these wonderful adventures together, and when we come home we often find ourselves looking through the photos and remembering the good times we had.  In the same way, we feel that desire to return when we have wandered to different paths from the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We see things that remind us of what it was like to be there, those pictures or images in the details of our lives that remind us of who we are as sons and daughters of God.

As we went through the different rooms (it is a moving film where you walk from room to room), so many principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ stood out to me that I had never quite thought of in such a personal way before.  In the second room you are in the setting of a baby's room. A film plays on the wall that ends with a line from the Family: A Proclamation to the World which reads, "All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God." I thought for a moment of a different meaning of image--of a picture, just like the photos I mentioned earlier that remind us of our favorite family trips. Sometimes we search and search through our photos, trying to find the best one that has all the family members and in the best setting. I know that God has one large image, one large, perfect picture, and it contains each and every one of us.  He created a perfect plan for us, the Plan of Salvation (http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/plan-of-salvation) and we were created as the perfect plan and image for Him. We really are His family, and He would do anything for us--He already has! 
Sharing one of my new favorite scriptures from The Book of Mormon with Sister Palmer (Alma 32:23). 
The scriptures really do bring joy and relief!

Being able to ponder that as we continued through the rest of God's Plan with this wonderful couple and with Jacque and my companion, brought such a strong spirit to my heart--and the Spirit testifies of truth.  Knowing this, that we are part of God's image, that we were created to be in His image, in His picture, answered so many questions of people we have been teaching, and for myself as well.  So often we say that the gospel gives guidance to the future, but what about answering questions of the past?  I know that each of us can look back, with the gospel in hand, and be able to now make sense and bring purpose to the things we have seen and been a part of. When we recognize this,we really can see that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everything, that it heals everything past, present and future. 

May we ever remember that in every picture that God has, that each of us are there, and may we decide today that we will be diligent in seeing Him in every picture and image that we have--for I testify and promise as His representative that He is there--we are His children, what a beautiful family picture. 
Patriotic Dress to remember 9/11

I love this gospel, I love my opportunity to share it with absolutely everyone I meet, and I know it to be true.  I thank my Father in Heaven each and every day for even the smallest moments that He allows us to serve those around us, for each and everyone of us are around Him.  May we please stay there and be near to Him--that is how we will forever feel we have found home in this life.

I love you each! If there is anything I can ever do for you, near or far, please write me and let me know--we are family :)

Sincerely,
Sister Briggs

SHOUTOUTS: Mom & Dad, Bry & Case, Robert, Mary, Sara, Brother & Sister Donakey, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZ DONAKEY!!! Jacque, Amber, Jessica Helms, Grandma Jeanie & Grandfather, all the future missionaries, my ward, Ah..just everyone--we are family :)

Monday, September 8, 2014

Brazil to Temple Square, companions with my Big Brother :)

As I wrote the title for this blog, I can already picture my family, especially my brother thinking, "What?  What is this all about?"  I promise that soon it will all come together. I love my family and see them in the work I am doing each day, and especially felt that I was serving alongside my big brother, Bryan Briggs, this past week.

It comes back to Saturday afternoon.  All the week I had been pondering what it was I should pray and fast for with Fast Sunday approaching.  I thought of the people we were teaching, I thought of their needs and their concerns, I thought of their families, and I thought to kneel and pray.  As I began my fast, I knelt and prayed and felt the Spirit teaching me what to pray for.  It came to me--fast and pray that you will recognize those you promised to find in the life before this.  What joy entered my heart.  Through my time serving as a full-time missionary, nothing has been so cemented in my heart as the knowledge that we each lived in the presence of God and Jesus Christ before coming here to earth.  Knowing that has changed my whole perspective, has given me purpose, and has filled me with such a deep and abiding love for each person we meet.  What a blessing and privilege it was then for the Spirit to so gently whisper that I was to fast for those I had known in that beautiful life before this.

After I knelt and prayed, the Assistants to the President from the Salt Lake City mission called and asked if we would be available the next day to meet with them and someone they were teaching on Temple Square. We jumped at the opportunity and were so excited to work and to teach our brother.  As we asked for more information about who they were bringing, I felt a joy that truly is hard to describe.

"His name is Ranaan, he is from Brazil.  He is very very interested, he loves reading The Book of Mormon, and we want to focus the lesson on God's Plan of Salvation for His family."

The Spirit penetrated my heart and I became so excited.  I knew in that moment that I knew Ranaan before this life. I started to pray and to study for him, thinking of what it was that he would need to hear and feel to know the truthfulness of this message, of His message.

As Sister McQueen and I prepared, I couldn't help but smile to myself, seeing the way the Lord had lined everything up.  Because Sister Siegle's birthday is today (Happy Birthday!!!!) I had been looking at old pictures of us and reading through our time together as companions.  I found where she had helped me learn how to bear my simple yet pure testimony of the Savior and His Atonement in Portuguese.  I read over it again and again and had memorized it once more.  Oh how much the Lord was preparing us specifically to meet Ranaan, and to know that my little testimony in Portuguese was something that I would now have the opportunity to share.

We met with Ranaan and instantly I felt such a love for him.  He explained in our first few moments of meeting that he feels such a sense of "home" when he is with us and the local missionaries and his friends who introduced him to the gospel.  I remembered then that I had a picture of my Dad and I in front of the Sao Paulo temple in Brazil (where my brother served his mission in Brazil years ago) and I said to him, "You feel at home here, because we're helping you get closer to His home here."  His eyes became filled with light.  "Ranaan, we want to share with you, our brother, why it is that you feel at home with each of us--we all knew each other before.  That is God's Plan of Happiness, and we are here to help each of us make it back home."

What a powerful experience it was as we walked up to the Christus and testified of the Savior's infinite love for each of us and His perfect plan full of promises of eternal progression and happiness.  We walked around the corner to the statues of Adam and Eve.  There, his friend Justin, bore his testimony in Portuguese.  I couldn't help but stand there and be overcome by the Spirit.  I felt that we were there teaching Ranaan with my big brother and hero, Bryan Briggs.  I know that my brother faithfully served the Lord in Brazil, and that he met people just like Ranaan that he also felt such a strong and infinite love for.  I pictured my brother walking the streets of Brazil.  Maybe Ranaan was even someone my brother had waved to or had invited to church, and now here we all stood together, inviting him to follow Christ and to be baptized.  He said yes.

As I bore my testimony in Portuguese, I thought of the love I have for my Father in Heaven.  As I saw the way He so powerfully prepared each of us to teach and help Ranaan, I thought of every person He has brought into my life--my family, my companions, the people I have met and taught on my mission--God is perfect, His plan for each of us is perfect.

I am reminded of a quote from Elder Russell M. Nelson, who spoke about the placement of the star--the sign of the birth of Christ, and the perfect planning that went into having all things aligned for the welcoming of the Savior into the world.

"At the birth of Him who once identified Himself as the “bright and morning star”, a new star appeared in the heavens. Shining brightly over Bethlehem, that star had been placed in orbit far in advance of the foretold event in order that its light could coincide in time and place with His blessed birth."

I testify with all my  heart, might, mind and strength, that the people around you are just as this star--they have been placed in your life at this very time as a witness to you that God lives, that He is there, that He knows your needs and wants to help each of us make it back home. 


As we look at this picture below, remember the words of Alma,
"...Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God?  Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets?  The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44)

I testify with all my  heart, might, mind and strength, that the people around you are just as this star--they have been placed in your life at this very time as a witness to you that God lives, that He is there, that He knows your needs and wants to help each of us make it back home. Look up to the stars--whether you are in Brazil or at Temple Square, they are there, and they will testify that God and our Savior are there as well.  Know that you are each someone promised to those around you--serve and love them, and help them to know just how special and magnificent they are.

I love each of you!
Love Always,
Sister Briggs

SHOUTOUTS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER SIEGLE!!!!! Jess Helms, Sister Opeda, Jacque, Amber, Ashley, Sister Clegg, Sister Pickerell, Mom & Dad, Case & Bry, Robert Donakey, the Donakey family, Grandma Jeanie & Grandfather (Thanks for always being there for me!) 

Monday, September 1, 2014

"I will rest in you"

President Poulsen invited us all to come to Music & The Spoken Word with them afterward! Madison at the end said to Oscar, "Oscar, this is home!"  Oscar then responded, "No, Madison--heaven is home."  Wow.  The things this family has taught me, and how I love them so.

Happy Labor day everyone! As we celebrate the great changes made in the laboring environment of the United States, I today stand and celebrate not only the great and fulfilling loves of labor, but the great relief of rest. 
Sister McQueen and I woke up this morning to go running nearby.  As I ran the prompting kept coming, "think about it, what is today?"  September 1st.  It hit me.  I go home next month from my time as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As I ran looking at the temple, looking at the clouds and light above, I was overwhelmed with such a sense of gratitude for every single moment that the Lord has given me to serve, both here at Temple Square and in the Reno Nevada Mission as well.

This morning we were able to meet with all the sisters in their first transfer, and to watch a powerful and very Spirit-led devotional by one of the Lord's chosen Apostles in these days, Elder Holland.  He talked about the importance of serving the Lord because we love Him. As I looked around the room I remembered watching this very same devotional and crying with my MTC companion, Sister Marsh.  I remember thinking, "Yes, I love my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ more than anything, help me to do enough!"  I remember thinking about being anxiously engaged in a good cause, in the very best cause--the cause of helping our Father in Heaven bring to pass our eternal life through the Atonement of His Son. I've come to realize throughout my mission that we may be anxiously engaged, and yet take moments to stand and be still, and know that God is there.


Everything has been coming around full circle.  Yesterday, in our ward Sacrament meeting, Sister McQueen and I both gave our "farewell" talks, and Sister Marsh and I sang "I will rest in you" by Mindy Gledhill with our dear sisters, Sister Garcia from Spain, and Sister Jacque Sweeney from Utah. This song has such a special place in my heart.  For those of you who really know me and saw me go through the process of deciding to come on a mission, you may remember that it wasn't the easiest walk.  There was trial after trial thrown my way, things came and went, but there was something, someone, that never, ever changed, even though I couldn't always fully see it at the time.
It was God.  He was there, and in every moment of despair or loneliness when I felt I didn't even know what to say in prayer, I would listen to this very song, "I will rest in you."  That song has brought me peace throughout my mission and has changed from being a song of rest, to being a song of focused determination to help my brothers and sisters know they have this same place to rest just waiting for them.
As I prepared my talk for Sacrament meeting yesterday, I was asked to speak about the importance of covenants, the two-way promises we are asked to make with God to help us receive blessings and progress in this life, and eternal life with God in the life to come, I knelt and prayed, and asked for a scripture that would be meaningful and important to share. As I prayed the experience of Enos, from The Book of Mormon, came to my mind, and felt such a strong spirit as I read verse 17.
"And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest."
Brothers and Sisters, God asks us to be baptized, to go to the temple, because He knows that our souls need rest, they need the assurance that comes from knowing we have entered into a promise with Him who could never go back on a promise, for He would then cease to be God. 


Jerrel, Madison & Oscar were so sweet to come and hear us speak and sing in Church even though it was at 7:30 in the morning! We love them and are so grateful to see the peace of God working in their lives.  

I want each of you to know that we really can rest in God.  We can trust Him.  He is our Father and He loves us with such a perfect love.  Experiment on His word.  Try doing as He has asked, and I promise you will see His promised blessings flow.  Recognize also, that as we keep our promises to Him, we can be His children that He finds rest in.  Brothers and Sisters, what joy would it be to picture our Father and Savior in Heaven above and to see one of their children struggling, yet to say, "We have little need to worry, (insert your name) will help." We can be those people for them! After everything they have done for us, after every moment of peace, after every breath of life, how could we turn such an opportunity away? 
I testify that I have found rest in my Savior and in my Father in Heaven, and I have seen countless sisters, guests and friends this past week find rest in Him as well. Remember, we are divine children of God, we were created in His image, not we created Him in ours.  Do not put limits on Him of the answers He can bring and the assurance He longs to offer.
I love each of you and hope that this week finds you well and that you can feel God's rest.
Sincerely,
Sister Briggs
SHOUTOUTS: Mom & Dad, Bry & Case, Robert Donakey, The Donakey family, Jacque Sweeney, Amber, Caroline Slater, The Thomas family, Jess Helms, Mom Pickerell, Sister Siegle