His Image

 Hi again everyone! I'm pretty sure I always start off my e-mails in the same way, but I can't remember.  Either way, I want each of you to know that I sincerely hope it's been a wonderful week.  Each day is truly such a gift and I hope you've been able to see it as such. Know too that YOU are a gift to so many around you each and every day. 

Good luck on your mission in New Zealand Sister Elina!!! She came out on splits with us a
couple of times and was amazing! :)

One of the greatest gifts our Father in Heaven gives to us is the people around us, our family.  We are surrounded by family each and every day.  Each person you see is your brother or sister, a son or daughter of that same God who gave you life.  Family members often resemble each other. By seeing my Dad, you will have a pretty strong idea of what I look like as I truly resemble him.  We too can resemble our Father in Heaven.  Not only are we created in His image having a physical body of flesh and bone as He does, but we can literally resemble His very countenance. Such a resemblance is a gift as we follow Christ.

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:14).

I LOVE Sister Pickerell and feel so blessed to be with her again this transfer!

We are blessed to receive the image of God in our countenances as we enter into His fold through following the example of His Only Begotten Son, even Jesus Christ.  The greatest step we take in receiving the image of God in our countenances is through baptism by the proper Priesthood authority of God. 

Carl Upson took this step over 50 years ago as a 20-year-old boy working as a musician on the streets.  He came from an abusive family who made him feel that he was never worth much of anything to anybody. As he learned about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, about The Bible and The Book of Mormon and their supportive roles to one another in inviting all people every where to come unto Christ, he started to feel something different.  He started to feel not his earthly circumstances with his family change, but he felt something much more powerful.  He felt that he was coming closer to his Father in Heaven, and that he was important to Him.  Carl listened to the missionaries, took everything to prayer and was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Saying good bye to Sister Michaud :( we miss her already and were just her companion for 2 days!

When Carl recounts this day he says he truly felt profound joy. He says that although the heavens didn't open and he didn't hear the voice of God, he felt a spirit that was more tangible than anything.  He felt that God was speaking to him the very same words that were uttered at the time of our Savior's baptism by this same Priesthood authority.

"...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17).

Can you imagine how much this meant to him? I was not there at Carl's baptism but as he recounted this experience I knew that that day, he had truly received the image of God in his countenance.  He had been spiritually reborn and had received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For all who were there, I knew they could see a resemblance of our Heavenly Father in his face.  What a precious gift it is to receive our Father's image in our countenance as we are born of Him.

We knocked on Carl's door my first week here in Reno.  His eyes lit up as he saw our name tags and immediately welcomed us into his home.  Carl is now in his late 70's and has been less active for quite some time but has been eager to come back to church.  I may not have been there at his baptism, but just yesterday I was able to witness him as he was ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood of God.

With our brother, Carl Upson.  I am so proud of him :)

I watched as Bishop Rader, Brother Watts and Brother Turner laid their hands on Carl's head and bestowed upon him the Priesthood authority of God.  Carl was overwhelmed by the spirit that was there...really, we all were. I may not have been there to see Carl enter into the waters of baptism, to see him receive the image of God in his countenance, but I have been able to see him make decisions to have the image of God engraven in his countenance.

"I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands?  I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?" (Alma 5:19).

The gospel is about so much more than doing, it is about becoming.  It is about so much more that receiving, it is about engraving.  The gospel of Jesus Christ does not settle with leaving us the way we are, it's purpose is to elevate our divine nature to the surface that we may become like Him. At baptism, we may receive the image of God in our countenances, but what a glorious day it will be, to look up to Him at that last day, and see our eyes in his, to see that we recognize His light because we have tasted of it in our own lives.

Was on splits with Sister Jump (from Temple Square) and Sister Boots for an hour and a half...through much prayer and diligent seeking we found 5 new investigators in that short time! Thank you Heavenly Father!

Jess is an investigator we have been teaching over the phone since I have been here in Reno.  He is recently out of prison and looking for a whole fresh start in his life.  Just this last week we were able to meet with him in person.  There he stood, covered in tattoos crawling up his neck and even across the bottoms of his eyes.  There he stood, a son of God.  We spoke with him, the spirit touched his heart, and he has now accepted baptism.  He is now looking forward to receiving the image of God in His countenance and willing to take the steps to have His countenances engraven that it may forever stay with him.  You should have seen the joy in his eyes, you should have felt the thick spirit, as he thought of what grand joy it would be for people to see him for his countenance, for the light and not for his tattoos. For the son of God he is.

I invite each of you to write down something each day that you have done to have the image of God engraven in your countenance.  I promise you that as you make resembling your Father a priority in your life, you will truly become like Him and be filled with a hope that you will one day stand beside Him, proud of the life you lived and all you are. I testify to each and every one of you that this is the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  You will never have to search further than your Heavenly Father to know that what I am saying is true, take it to Him and I promise He will show you who He is and who you can become through His son, Jesus Christ.

Sincerely,

Sister Briggs :)

PS. Forgot to mention we have a new companion...Sister Clegg from Spanish Fork, fresh from the MTC! We love her and are humbled to be serving with her! :)

SHOUTOUTS: Mom & Dad, The Achievement Day Girls of the Cascade Crest ward, Mary, Becca, Sara, Barry, Brother & Sister Donakey, Grandma Hill, Robert Donakey, Grandfather and Grandma Jeanie, Sister Hoyt, Kelsey Christensen and her lovely Mother! :)

A Letter from Dad

 With Sister Baines right after we found out she was being transferred to ELY! I learned so much from her in our few days and miss her already!

With my parents anniversary this week, I want to start by just expressing my love and gratitude to them.  Mom & Dad--thank you for being the amazing people you are.  Thank you for supporting me as I have voluntarily left your side for these 18 months.  Thank you for your letters of encouragement, for your prayers and for your most sincere wishes for my happiness.  With your anniversary quickly approaching, I have thought a lot about how my mission has brought me closer to my Heavenly Parents.  They say that Heavenly Father loves us even more than our earthly parents do...and with parents like you, that is hard for me to imagine.  However, my faith is strong and I have been able to witness this last week not only how much God loves me, but how much He loves all His children--this I know to be true, God lives, and He is our Father.

David N. Hermansen & Sister Hermansen

President, Nevada Reno Mission

God's love is infinite, His love is perfect, and in the words of our Prophet Thomas S. Monson, "it is simply always there."  It is so much easier to make Him happy, to make Him the proud Father we want Him to be, when we know what He expects of us. Just as with my parents, I asked them what they expected of me, and they let me know.  Our Heavenly Father has given us each a letter from home and to know what He expects of us. This letter is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and you can read of it in The Book of Mormon, you can hear it in the words of the latter-day prophets, and you can learn of it from the 90,000 missionaries around the world.  How lost I would have felt if my parents remained silent as I tried and tried to make them proud.  How confused I would be.  I testify to you that God is not silent.  Go to Him and ask what would make Him proud, Go to Him and ask what will make Him happy, and you will find those very steps in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now we have another new companion! Her name is Sister Green and we adore her!

This last week we experienced a miracle with one of our investigator families as they chose to read their personal letter from their Heavenly Father.  As they have read in The Book of Mormon, as they have learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ, their desire to make God proud has replaced everything else. 

Wes & Caitlyn live in a bit of a dangerous part of Reno with their 5 month old son and two girls.  When we visited with them last week. They were opening up a bottle of wine and hollered, "can you girls drink wine?"  Well, we ended up teaching them about The Word of Wisdom and committed them to start living it that night.  That meant even forgoing the bottle of wine they had just opened. When we came back to see them we were curious as to what they would have done with the bottle of wine.  When we came into the home, Caitlyn had a new light in her eyes as she told us that they had opened the bottle of wine, poured glasses....and then dumped all of it down the drain.  They are now looking for people they can give their remaining bottles of wine too.  I could feel the spirit so powerfully, so strongly.  I know that Heavenly Father was proud of them, and is proud of them each day as they adhere to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as they follow the counsel given in their personal letter from their Father.

We had an extremely powerful lesson with them.  We truly saw the hand of God prepare us to be in their home at the very time that it was needful.  We had an appointment with another investigator, but when we went to visit him, he said he would have to reschedule.  As a companionship we went into the car and all prayed as to what we should do. The phone rang--it was Wes saying that him and Caitlyn would love for us to come over and teach them while her Uncle was in town...who also was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Wes & Caitlyn astonished us with their faith.  As we read from The Book of Mormon, the Holy Ghost completely filled the small kitchen in downtown Reno, Nevada.

Together we read from Mosiah 24:14,15 which reads,  "And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as a witness for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

There was a stillness in the room and the spirit testified of the truthfulness of this. 

"Wes, what would you do to have this kind of promise from the Lord in your life? To have confidence that He will strengthen you to bear up your burdens with ease?"  I asked.

After a short moment he replied, "Sister Briggs, I would give anything.  I would commit my whole heart."  Looking over to his wife Caitlyn, she nodded and shared the very same thing.

Kelsey with her trainers in Reno

I testified to them that God knew that His children would feel this way.  He gave us a Savior to show us how to make covenants with our Father in Heaven.  When we make these covenants, God is bound to His promise as we do our part.

We invited them to be baptized by the restored Priesthood authority of God and they both accepted.  Tears streamed down my face as I looked over to Wes, his hands outstretched holding The Book of Mormon, his arms covered in tattoos and him and his wife making plans to be sealed in the temple as a family.  Both Wes & Caitlyn came from broken families that had left them with broken hearts that were now being visibly healed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Such a fun experience to be able to have dinner at a friend's house as a missionary.  Thank you Christensens!

Will you each read 2 Nephi 31 this week?  I promise you that there is no better feeling that making your Father in Heaven happy and making Him proud.  Listen to His words, be His child.

In the words of my Mom, "life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful..." and I would add..."it just needs to be in God's hands."

I love you all :)

Sincerely,

Sister Briggs

http://nevadarenomission.blogspot.com.
You can go to this blog to see updates about the mission.

SHOUTOUTS: Mom & Dad, Sister Humble, Andrew Lindsay, Robert Donakey, Mary, Barry, Sara, Becca, Brother & Sister Donakey

"...become ye as little children."

 Oi! Is it just me or are the weeks starting to pass by quicker and quicker?  I think part of it has to do with conference as well.  How did everyone enjoy conference?!  I have never experienced something quite like it with being at Temple Square.  Being a missionary here really gave me a whole new perspective on the whole General Conference experience.  I want you to think of where you were this weekend for Conference.  Were you at home?  Were you at a friend's home or with family?  Did you watch on your computer, on a TV?  Think of the miracle General Conference is brothers and sisters.  Here at Temple Square I was a witness to thousands and thousands of people flooding the streets to go and hear a Prophet speak, to go and hear the words of God as spoken by his prophets and apostles.  Think of the miracle that is :) 


Day 1 of Conference with Sisters from all around the world! So exciting!

Walking around Temple Square we were able to meet people from around the world, people who had traveled thousands of miles and had sacrificed great amounts to be able to come and attend even just one session of General Conference. As a missionary at Temple Square, they needed us up on the square talking with all of the visitors, so we were able to attend just one session (the Saturday morning session), and even that gave me so much hope and so much joy to hear from and be in the same room as the Prophet, to be in a room holding so much hope and faith.


With Sister Deleu (France) and Sister Siegle (Brasil...my adorable companion!) right before day 1 of General Conference

To be prepared for General Conference, we had a meeting Friday night as a mission.  Before the closing of the meeting, we watched a short clip from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  He said something that really stuck with me, "General Conference tells the world- God not only lives, but He speaks."  I testify to each of you that God does live and that He does speak to each of us, His children, today. I know that so many prayers and questions were answered throughout the world this past weekend, and not only with the distinct words being uttered by those who spoke, but also with the quiet whisperings of the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful that these words are recorded that we can go back and read them or view them as often as we would like to.  These words are revelation and they are revelation for the world!


With roommates and friends before heading back up to the square to finish out a wonderful conference weekend!





Can you see now why The Book of Mormon and why The Holy Bible are so important and so precious?  These books contain the records of ancient prophets.  God spoke to them, and He speaks to us now.  I am so grateful for how dependable our Father in Heaven is.  He truly wants to make Himself accessible to all His children around the world.


Sister Humble and I celebrating our first General Conference on the mission!

Something I love so much about the gospel of Jesus Christ and about the words of the Prophet, is that the message is so pure and so simple that "even a child can understand it."  One of the most touching experiences I had this weekend was at the Reflection Pond on the east side of the Salt Lake temple.  Sister Siegle had run into an older couple who spoke Portugese.  They had served a mission in Brasil and had come to General Conference with their granddaughters, Taylor and Courtney. 

As Sister Siegle spoke with this amazing couple, I was inspired and so uplifted by these two young girls before me.  Taylor and Courtney are twins, they are 8 years old and were just baptized this past Sunday. They were so sincere and so genuine as they spoke about the joy they felt at their baptism, of the presence of the Holy Ghost that was so strongly there.  They told me about the missionary work they have been doing with teaching their friends at school about the gospel.  I knelt down beside them and picked up two small "forget me not" flowers and handed them to the two little girls before me. 

I explained that these were flowers that can remind us to always remember the little things in our life, to remind us to always have joy.  I asked them about what little things there are in their life that make them happy. Taylor looked at Courtney and said, "Well, she's everything to me- Courtney has been with me forever.  We were born together, we were baptized together and we'll probably even die together...but I'm not really sure how that works." haha as you can imagine, these little girls were so cute and so adorable. Then Courtney smiled and twirling from side to side grabbed Taylor's hand and looked right into her eyes and said, "Yeah, we have been together forever, but we were with someone even before and now he's with us even more since we got baptized." 


Sister Barrett (California) is so much fun and has such wonderful stories! I feel so lucky to have been in her same district this transfer.

These two 8-year old girls went on to explain to me that Jesus Christ was their "forget me not flower."  These girls knew that they had lived with God and Jesus Christ before, and that they would return to live with them again. I remember feeling the spirit so strongly as these girls spoke about their love for Jesus Christ and of their love for their Heavenly Father and they shared that they were already preparing for missions because of the announcement and because of the emphasis on missionary work at general conference.

It was in this moment that I really learned what it means to come unto Christ as a little child.  In "Jesus the Christ," it reads,

"Christ would not have had His chosen representatives become childish; far from it, they had to be men or courage, fortitude and force; but He would have them become childlike.  The distinction is important.  Those who belong to Christ must become like little children in obedience, truthfulness, trustfulness, purity, humility, and faith."

Courtney and Taylor were my angels this General Conference weekend who truly were examples to me.  Their trust in God, their purity, their humility, was a reminder that we are to always remember WHO'S we are.  We are children of God.  Just as our Fathers here on earth, He wants us to succeed and He did not send us here to fail.  I know that General Conference, having a living Prophet and Apostles, the gift of prayer, church, the scriptures are all here to help us succeed.  Sometimes we may think that in order to succeed by the church's standards, by God's standards, we are sacrificing a lot.  If we really look at it though, we can see that this gospel, the doctrine of Jesus Christ, His plan, is perfect and we are everything to Him because we are His children.  I promise you that if there is something that you have been encouraged during this conference weekend to give up, or to be better at, it truly isn't a sacrifice but it is a tremendous blessing and opportunity to be transformed.



With roommates and friends before heading back up to the square to finish out a wonderful conference weekend!

Sister Asay (from Texas) and I were SO excited about Dinner Sunday night.  A local stake made us homemade Cafe Rio! Ahhh! :)

"What we give up only blesses us and prepares us for exaltation; there is no such thing as a sacrifice." (a quote shared with me by a fellow missionary).

I love you all and hope you have a most marvelous week!


Love always,
Sister Briggs


SHOUTOUTS: Sister McDougle, Zach Hansen, Carmen Bone, Danny Gessell, Joe Morris, Kenny Hutchings, Alexx Levya, Caroline Slater, Bryan & Casey, the beautiful Ensign King Family, Briana Layton and her cousins, Robbie Hernandez, Cory, Joe Peters, Sister Stephenson and Kate Thornock :)



Our amazing Zone Leaders (Sister Martinez from Spain and Sister Hvistendahl from Greenland) after our District Meeting...amazing spiritual thought from Sister Huffaker from California who shared with us her own version of Ether 12:27 (about making weaknesses strong).  She compared it to Pokemon and said , "Gotta teach 'em all!"  We love her :)

On a Scale of 1-10: How Much Does This Hurt?

Hi everyone! I hope you all had an amazing week full of joy and love and maybe even cookies. I so look forward to this upcoming week as it's General Conference time! Yes, to the rest of the world this may be a relaxing time to stay home and eat breakfast as you sit on the couch watching General Conference, but for us Temple Square missionaries, it is the busiest time of the year.  We need to be on the square at 7:30 in the morning ready to go and don't get to go home until about 10 at night...I am so excited :)  I just may feel like a little kid at Christmas time.

So, so happy I got to see my beautiful Sister...Casey BRIGGS :)

Waiting for the General Relief Society Broadcast to start with our amazing Zone Leaders!
Sister Hvistendahl (1 of 5 members in Greenland) and Sister Martinez (Spain)

This past week I've seen a lot of miracles in my life.  I have met and spoken with people that have truly inspired me and have brought me closer to my Savior. However, what I really want to share with you all is something I realized earlier this week and have been made so aware of throughout the remainder of it.  My testimony is really growing of Personal and Companionship study time :)

Still waiting with Sister Ince (Canada) and Sister De Castro (Brasil).
It was such an amazing broadcast!

SO excited about my dinosaur shirt from Grandfather and Grandma Jeanie!
I couldn't stop smiling or dancing about it haha

Every time we go to see a doctor, it seems we are always asked the same questions.  One of the most common ones being, "On a scale of 1-10, how much does this hurt?"  I've never really known how to answer this question.  Even Bryan Reagan has done a skit on this question because it's not one that is really fair to answer.  We often don't know how to explain our pain, and oftentimes what may be a 7 on the scale of pain for me, could quite easily be a 2 on the scale of pain for another.  It just doesn't seem like a fair question.

Our HILARIOUS roommates Sister Creal (Indiana) and Sister Taito (Fiji).
We seriously have the best time together every night drinking hot chocolate and talking about our day.
They are the best :)

Sister Siegle and I played basketball with some of the other sisters at 6 in the morning
and it was so much fun!
Watch out Rob, Bryan and Dad...I'm getting some tricky skills on the court :)

All growing up I really have wanted to invent a certain something, and it's not something I've told many people about because they would always just kind of laugh at me and tell me I was silly...but here I am telling you now :) I always wanted to invent some way for the doctors to feel my pain, even for just a second.  I don't mean this in that I wanted them to hurt, or to feel sad or scared like I may have been, I just wanted them to better understand how I was feeling in a way I couldn't express with words. I always figured that if they could just feel my pain for a second, they would best know how to treat me.
When I was reading in The Book of Mormon, I came across a scripture that made me think back to this invention.  
In Mosiah 3:10 it reads, 

"And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men."

Never has this scripture been so profound or hit me so deeply as it did at this time. Jesus Christ is the one who stands to judge the world because He knows perfectly how we feel.  He is the only one who could pass a righteous judgment as He as experienced the same pains and knows if we truly gave everything our best, if we truly had faith considering the circumstance we were given in this life.  I also know, that the Atonement is essential to the growth and progression of all mankind.  I know that our Heavenly Father suffered His perfect, beloved son Jesus Christ to die, and that Jesus Christ himself was willing to come, because they wanted to someone to understand perfectly what we would all go through during our time here.

With the birthday girl, adorable Sister Christensen turned 22! 

With Sister P.Lee from Taiwan who will soon be returning to her original mission in Idaho,
I will miss her oh so much!

What I thought would be a perfect invention, is simply modeled after the perfect wisdom of our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ- our ultimate healers. Because our Savior knows exactly how we feel we don't have to worry about picking a number between 1 and 10 to describe our pain, we don't have to worry about wondering if our description will give him the ability to completely fix us.  Because Jesus Christ suffered as all mankind has and would, He knows best how to heal us.
Just as the doctors around the world have studied, prepared, practiced medicine and wait anxiously each day to help us, so does the Savior wait to help us.  I know that Jesus Christ's role in our life cannot be underestimated.  He already suffered everything for each of us and anxiously waits to heal us.  Although we do not need to worry about explaining our pain to him, we do need to come unto him in order to have the healing in our lives that we so seek.  I have felt my Savior healing me on my mission and throughout my entire life.  At times I knew that no one could understand my heartaches or sorrows, He did.  Let the Savior heal you.

After Maria's baptism :)

Maria was baptized! She was an investigator lesson we took with the local elders here.
She is from Brasil and is 82 years old and was baptized just this past week.
When she came with her son in law and the Elders just a few weeks ago,
I promised her I would bear my testimony in Portuguese at her baptism, and I did. :)
It was the best feeling in the world!

I love you all so very much and hope for nothing but the very best for each of you.  I may not know of everything you are all going through or be able to even understand it, but you already know who does. Trust in him and I promise you will find yourself becoming whole and complete again.


Love Always,

Sister Briggs

P.S. General Conference this weekend! Watch it, take notes, LOVE IT :)  I am so grateful to be serving here for such an exciting time!

SHOUTOUTS: Uncle Mike (thanks for the cookies!), Casey BRIGGS, Courtney King and lovely Aunt Nicole, George Edwards (my best buddy from England came by! Good luck in the MTC!), Jessica HoHeywood (the dinosaur picture was awesome!), Dayna Kirkpatrick (your card was so beautiful, thank you!), Robert and Donakey family, Grandfather and Grandma Jeanie (thank you so much for the DINOSAUR shirt...ahhh!!!!!), Kathy Wiley, Kate Thornock, Sister Lin's sister and Sariah M :)

The Gospel Restored and People Restored.

Hi everyone! It's been yet another amazing week here at Temple Square.  Each week I realize more and more perfectly how well God knows each and everyone of us.  I feel blessed that this is where He assigned me to labor for 18 months His full-time servant.  It is a very exciting time to be at Temple Square.  We have a countdown to General Conference in our mission office and it gets me so excited every time! Only 11 more days!  This week we were so blessed.  We were able to hear from Sister Ruth Todd, the head of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which for me was a dream come true as I studied Public Relations at BYU before my mission), we got to see MUSE come and take a tour before their big concert, we met inspiring members, we made new friends with visitors from around the world and we were even able to volunteer to clean the inside of the temple and see the room where James E. Talmage wrote "Jesus the Christ."

 Our wonderful district this transfer with our amazing district
leader, Sister Moldogalii from Mongolia!

I just have to start off this letter by testifying to you all that I really know the temple is the house of God.  I felt so blessed yesterday to have the opportunity to mop, dust and vacuum in the Salt Lake City temple.  Even with the vacuums and the scrubbing, there still was a peace there. It says so much about God and who He is not just as the creator of the Universe, but also as my Creator, as our Father as well.  Think of how many times you've wanted peace in your life, comfort or solace.  Think of how many times you've wished you could have a quiet place to rest and to be away from the world where you can just be.  The temple truly is a place set apart from the outside world.  As I walked up and down the halls vacuuming I couldn't help but think, "I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has homes here on earth and that He invites to come inside.  Do I invite Him into my home?"  I know that God wants to be a part of our lives just as much as we want to be a part of His.  Let Him in, and I promise you will see miracles :)

I call her "Momma Olden."  She is from Australia and has completely looked out for me since day 1 :)

As I have let God become not just a part of my life, but everything in my life, I have seen so many miracles.  I have started to realize that I really am nothing, yet to Him I am everything.  I feel very blessed to be here at Temple Square to be a link between these visitors from around the world and their Heavenly Father.  Every day this week I saw God turn my footsteps another direction, fill my mouth with different words, or talk to people I hadn't even seen there at first--He is trying to come to each and every one of you, let Him in :)

Thank you for the package Mom, you're the best!

Friday especially was a miracle day.  Sister Siegle and I were walking out of the mission office, past the Assembly Hall when a man stopped us to ask a few questions about the building.  I told my joke that I made up a few weeks ago...have I told you all my joke?  Okay, well here is a quick version of it without my silly Sister Briggs faces and hand motions :)  "The temple was built using granite rock.  These early members of the churches carved these granite rocks by hand and they gathered all the chippings together into a pile.  The pioneers were very resourceful and then used these granite chippings for the exterior of the Assembly Hall.  So we can really see that the pioneers didn't take anything for granted."  Get it? ahhh I crack myself up sometimes :) haha

Sister Ince gave me an honorary Canada skier sticker for the back of my name tag...
yes, there is also a BYU sticker :)

Anyway, here was this man, Paul, a member of the church from Saint George Utah who was taking around two business associates from New York.  Both men were wonderfully kind and had such a pure love for others.  Lester, originally from Guyana, is an "adopted" Dad to about 50 youth living in New York City.  He is there for them as a mentor and even throws them birthday parties so they know they are loved and appreciated.  He even said that for some of his youth, he would love to bring them up to Temple Square for their birthday--that Temple Square was the best gift anyone could have.  Karl, originally from Jamaica, is a man always involved in the service of others no matter what the task may be.  Paul asked us if we had just about twenty minutes to spare that we could show Lester and Karl around on Temple Square.  I feel so blessed that Sister Siegle and I were able to be with them for those short twenty minutes.  This was one of the strongest spiritual experiences not only of my mission so far, but of my life.  As we spoke with these two men and shared with them about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, they seemed to have a light go off inside of them.  In just those short twenty minutes, I saw the countenance of these two men completely change.  Lester and Karl would continually say, "yes, this all makes sense.  I feel something here I have never felt before yet somehow it feels familiar."  Wow.  That is the power of the spirit- and it is a power that cannot be replaced. So often we have people asking us for evidence something is true, for secular sources to verify The Book of Mormon, but I have learned a very valuable lesson on my mission.  Yes, there are secular sources, and yes, I have seen books that talk about the validity of these ancient inhabitants in the Americas, but this really means nothing to me. I pose to you this question, "Do you take physical and tangible evidences to be more powerful than God Himself telling you something is true?"  God is the source of all knowledge and truth, and I think it is so powerful that of all of the ways we have to find out something is true, He asks for us to ask Him.

Sister Siegle and I.  I absolutely love this girl, I am so grateful to have her as my companion
 and am learning so much from her.  My testimony is getting longer, little by little in
Portuguese and I am so grateful for all the time she takes
 to teach me her language!

Our experience with Karl and Lester really has stuck with me this week. I saw these two men change in just 20 minutes.  I saw that the light of Christ within them, within each and everyone of us, was being embraced and brought forward even more so than it already was. That night as I read The Book of Mormon, I really fully grasped one of the "why's" of the Restoration of the gospel.  
In 2 Nephi 30:8 it reads,

"And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth."

Notice it talks about the restoration of the gospel, "his work among all..." but then it talks about bringing about "the restoration of his people."  Brothers and Sisters, family, friends, neighbors, strangers, whoever you are, this is the profound message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Gospel restores God's children to who they used to be, so they can be who God wants them to become. At any stage in learning about the gospel, we start to feel a change within us, we start to feel a difference in our lives, and yet that difference is something familiar and something comfortable.  The gospel of Jesus Christ needed to be restored in its fullness to help each of us remember who we truly are and then gives us everything we need to grow into who God wants us to become.  We are His greatest work. 

 I was so excited, Sister Huffaker drew us all dinosaurs for our district meeting!

Thank you to all of you for everything you do and everything you are.  No good deed ever goes unnoticed, there is no such thing as a small act of kindness.  I invite you all to let the light of Christ shine more fully in you.  Get back to who you were so you can get to who you need to become.  It's like in a math problem--if we are trying to solve an equation and along the way we get stuck, we need to go back to the beginning and start from the top to get to the end.
Love Always,
Sister Briggs :)

SHOUTOUTS: Jessica & Katy (two amazing girls who did baptisms twice in two different temples in one day...such good examples!), Madeleine Kmetzch, Sister McDougle, Sister Samuels, Kayla and Kevin Lussiers (your picture from your wedding is beautiful!), Grandma Jeanie, Momma Briggs (thank you for the letter and package!), Bryan and Casey Briggs, Dad, Donakey Family, Robert Donakey, Kylee Rowley (from one Sister to another---you AMAZE me :) thank you SO much for your letter, I cannot tell you how excited I am for you, Washington D.C. is so very lucky! I'll be writing you soon sweet girl), Sister Rushing, Sister Dimatera.


Also, fun shoutout--Sister Marsh, my MTC companion, and I started dancing one day, laughing, crying, hugging one night because our MTC teachers, yes, the lovely Sister Moffatt and Brother Ellsworth are now engaged---to each other! Congratulations you two!  We couldn't be more excited!!! :)

"Wo shi Shien di hai zi"

Wo shi Shien di hai zi, "I am a Child of God."

Hello everyone! Oh, can you believe it's been another week?  I sure can't! We have transfer conference this upcoming Friday which means we will be receiving our new assignments.  Yes, we all know I will still be in Temple Square, but I could move to a new apartment or have a new assignment at Temple Square or a new companion.  Whatever it is, I know it's what Heavenly Father wants and I am excited to learn and grow from it!



Stu & Coral - Our friends from Florida

I've been really trying to work on my Mandarin this week! I can now say, "I believe in Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ loves you," and "I am a child of God."  Today in one of our Mandarin motorcoaches we actually sang I am a Child of God in Chinese for the first time.  We usually will sing at the end of our tours but Sister Lin will say it in Mandarin and then we will sing it together in English.  Well, today, we sang it in Chinese and the spirit was so strong.  I love the Chinese people too.  They always clap and smile for me.  I know I'm probably saying most of the things wrong, but they are so kind to me about it.

It's really been a wonderful week.  I feel so much gratitude to be serving at Temple Square.  This week one of my favorite tours was with a giant group of people from Belgium, Denmark and Germany.  They all had a little battle about who's chocolate was the best, and yes, I was invited to come and be the judge sometime after my mission.  Who wants to come with me? :)

Last P-day we got to hike up to Ensign Peak and then we went out to Indian food since our Zone Leader from India is going home at the end of this transfer. 



Our Visiting Teachers from the Ukraine & the Philippines

With Sister Hoyt from California.  This girl and I have become such good friends...She wants to come stay with us after her mission and go snowboarding! Dad-she's a shred betty :)

Sister Tukavatu from Fiji!

Sister Bat-uhlzi just went back to Mongolia and I miss her so much already.  This is us at the top of Ensign Peak together!

After the hike up Ensign Peak...I LOVE my Zone! I was pretending to speak Spanish so on the hike I would say, "Hola Como estas?" to everyone we passed.  Sister Marambio, from Chile, decided then to pretend to speak English so she kept saying, "Hi, I speak English!" to everyone haha it was so fun :)

MISSIONS ARE FUN.  For those of you thinking of going, not only is it the most rewarding thing you can do for others and yourself, but it also is so much fun.  As missionaries we get to meet people from around the world and share with them something that brings us all so much joy.

Friday was one of the craziest and busiest days of my mission so far.  We had tour, after tour, after tour and we hardly had time to eat or put our feet up for a minute.  I remember one of our tours was an hour late, but because of that we were able to take another group around and 6 people referred and left with The Book of Mormon.  Just strengthened my testimony of the saying, "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." 

I know it is so true, I have seen it every day of my mission.  When our companionship is willing to put our own needs aside, we always see miracles.  Heavenly Father rewards us so fully for even the smallest deeds.  As you can imagine too, I was EXHAUSTED for that tour.  It was another one of those things where I just prayed to Heavenly Father, asking that the spirit would be with us, that we would know what to say that would bless their lives, that would help them to feel loved and important.  I kept wanting to say certain things but felt restrained by the spirit.  Even though they were good things, they were testimonies, I felt prompted to keep what I was saying short so they could really have time to think.  I just did what I have been doing my whole life--smiling (The sisters here are all starting to call me Sister Smiles haha) After the tour, the 6 that referred said that Sister Lin said just what they needed to hear, and my big smile was a testimony that this gospel really does bring happiness.  They told me they were curious about The Book of Mormon and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because they could feel a warmth whenever they looked at my smile.  I told them that was the spirit. 

That's one of the most important things we do as missionaries, is help people to recognize the spirit.  So many people feel it so often and yet don't recognize it.  The spirit is that light of Christ that entices us to do good.  Whenever we feel the desire to serve someone, to listen to someone, to help, that is the light of Christ, it is so much more than just a thought.  Some people may say- well yeah, that's just the natural thing to do, it's being kind to others.  YES! It is natural, that is because we are children of God and the light of Christ is within each of us.


It was a most beautiful day and we even got free Chic-fil-A for dinner...only if we dressed up as a cow (see the spots?), so we did. HaHa.

 Sister Lin and I dressed up like cows at the Chic-fil-A at City Creek. 
Shout out to my girl Lauren Moran who introduced me to Chic-fil-A...love her!

It really was one of the hardest and longest days of my mission, even my life, but it was one of my happiest and most blessed days too.  I was reading in The Bible this morning for some of my personal study time and was reading about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and was led to Matthew 28:19-20.  Jesus Christ appeared to people after his resurrection and pleaded with them to, go forth and preach unto all nations.  It really hit me so powerfully that when Christ was resurrected, this was his message and plea to the people, to go and share this wonderful blessing with everyone, with people all around the world.  It really hit me just how important it is.  I know that everyone wants to feel happiness, everyone wants to feel peace, everyone wants to reach goals, to reach their full potential. 




Thursday night we had "hot pot" which is an Asian dish...it was so much fun! Sisters from Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong all came together to make it for us :)

There are so many "wants" in this life.  The more I learn about this gospel, the more I really realize how well Heavenly Father knows us so perfectly.  Every commandment He gives, every scripture, is all to help us be successful in our lives.  I have been a member of this church since I was 8, but never have I studied The Book of Mormon has thoroughly and talked about it as much as I am doing now.  It is just hitting me what a reality it is.  This gospel is so much more than a nice thought, but it really is real.  We really are sons and daughters of God who have the potential for so much good.  And what's even better is when we fall, when we make mistakes, when we fall short, we have someone who is always pleading our situation to Heavenly Father.  I know and testify that Jesus Christ really did die for each of us.  And although his death was in the past, his life is in every aspect of the history of time.  He was involved in the creation of the earth, he went about doing good and performing miracles, and now he lives again.  His relationship with me, with you, with all of us is not in the past, his works are not in the past, but they are here and they are happening every moment of every day.

Well, I love you all! You all inspire me every single day and make me want to be better.  The Sisters, especially those with the last name starting with "B" are all starting to complain about how many letters I get haha you are all the best.  Thank you for taking the time to write me, even if it's just a sentence, it still means the world.  And guess what, I can get www.DearElder.com letters out here too! (The Dear Elder website will print and send your letter on the same day to any mission in the world - check it out)

With our Zone Leader Sister Dominic from India at an Indian food restaurant, since she goes home this transfer!  Casey girl- I totally thought of you when I ordered Chicken tikka masala! love you and miss you! I wish I would have seen you with Ashley and your mom! Also- Bry and Case, everyone I keep meeting is from San Francisco...it makes me happy :)

 Please know I'm thinking of you all and praying for nothing but the greatest happiness for all of you! Even though I never thought I would serve a mission, I am seeing now that I have been preparing for this my whole life, that my FAMILY AND FRIENDS have been preparing me for this my whole life.  Thank you everyone for being such amazing examples to me and for always being so kind.  I truly really do admire and care about all of you and would LOVE to hear how you're doing!

When I got Lauren and Dane's wedding announcement, CONGRATULATIONS! You both look BEAUTIFUL!  I am sooo happy for you both! and yes, if you must know, I cried :)

Shoutouts to: Lauren Moran--THREE letters from this girl AND a wedding announcement!
CONGRATS!  Sister King and Ashley King--I saw them at the Christus and yes, I cried, I was so happy to see them! Daddy Briggs, Momma Briggs, Grandfather, Grandma Jeanie, Grandmother, Britt Lam, Robert Donakey, Ed Donakey, Jean Donakey, Mary and Becca Donakey. Hey Barry Donakey---where's my letter from you mister? haha love you kid.

Love ALWAYS,
Sister Briggs

Mosiah 24:15 :) be of good cheer!