Joseph's humble prayer was answered...

So was mine, and so will yours. 

Hi again everyone :) I hope you all had a glorious Thanksgiving surrounded by the ones you love.  I hope you saw the blessings in your life from your Heavenly Father this last week too.  I may not have been in Oregon this Thanksgiving as I usually am, but I truly was surrounded by family.  The Sisters here, our mission presidency, they have all become my family too.  What a blessing :)

Everyone thinks we're twins, and that makes me happy :)
(with Sister Hittrich from Canada)

I want to start out by sharing with each of you that God truly does answer our prayers.  He doesn't always do this in the way we expect Him too, but He does it in His time and in ways that are far better than our own. This week not only were my prayers answered, but Linda's were too. And in meeting her, I feel my family circle growing even more :)

Whenever a sister leaves this mission to go home or to go and serve outbound, they will transfer the information of their different investigators to sisters that they feel will be able to help them best.  Linda was an investigator of a former sister here from Ukraine.  When she gave me Linda's information she was so excited and had so much hope for her.  I tried calling Linda a variety of times, and each time to only hear the answering machine. Friday however, she called us back and was the one leaving a message this time.

Sister Lin and I dressed up for line dancing on Thanksgiving!
So happy my trainer is back :)

"Hi, this is Linda, if you are a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I want to talk to you.  Please call me back."

You can only imagine how I felt! It had been months without any contact, and now here she was.  I called her back right away. When I spoke with her she said that every time she would pray about where it was God wanted her to be, she would feel The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was her answer.  

"The religion keeps pulling at me," she said.  "It's more than just a curiosity, it's a part of my faith now."

I called her back a few days later and was grateful that she answered the phone. We had a phone call that forever impressed upon my mind the reality that by faith, anything which is expedient in God's will, can and will take place.  I had prayed that I could uplift her, that I could say something, anything that would really be an answer to her prayers.  Our entire phone call that followed was truly a miracle and was a lesson taught by our Father above.

We all got to decorate Christmas ornaments!
What a wonderful holiday season!

Linda is a woman who is currently living in Indiana due to her Mom's recent stroke.  Now, her mom is in a coma and Linda, rightfully so, feels very afraid. I asked her if she had thought about asking the local missionaries for a Priesthood blessing.  I told her that the Priesthood works by our faith, and it would be up to her, but I promised it would be something that could bring comfort, strength and peace into her life in a way much stronger than she had ever experienced.  With that, we talked about the First Vision of Joseph Smith and the restoration of the Priesthood, God's power given to man on earth to act in His name. 

Sister Taylor and I won our game of pool against Sister John and Sister Chau just
before being called to eat dinner and we were pretty excited about it!

Too much fun for Thanksgiving with Sister Chau, Sister Taylor and Sister Reed!

Love this girl :)  Sister Christensen!

She shared with me her understanding of Joseph Smith and all he had gone through.  I love sharing the account of Joseph Smith.  Here was this 14-year-old boy who had a sincere question in his heart.  I find it so profound that the restoration of Christ's gospel on the earth again, all started with a humble prayer. 
I felt a prompting so clearly to share with Linda Joseph Smith's experience in the Sacred Grove using his own words, and so I did...


As I spoke these words, the spirit was there to testify of the reality of this vision, so strongly and more profoundly than I had ever before felt in my life. I even started to cry as I spoke these words over the phone, to this sincere and wonderful woman far away from me in Ohio.  When I finished, there was a moment of silence.  I sat there just listening when she finally spoke.

"That really happened, I know it did.  I can feel it. I have goose bumps and feel more joy and happiness than I've felt in a long time," Linda said.

There is such a power in the First Vision of Joseph Smith.  I know that Joseph Smith saw the living God, I know he did.  Each time I have shared his words of his experience, I feel so overwhelmed by the spirit.
 

Family picture with Sister Taylor and Sister Lin :)

I had shared it another time in the Tabernacle (one of the buildings on Temple Square) with some visitors from Maryland earlier this week.  They had asked me to tell them more about Joseph Smith, and once again, this same prompting came to me to share Joseph's experience using his own words.  As I spoke, their eyes all were locked on mine.

To all of you who read this, I want you to know that Joseph Smith really was a prophet called of God.  He really saw the living God, he saw the living Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, of you, of me.  4 months ago, onSeptember 4th, our mission president committed each of us to finish The Book of Mormon by December 4.  I finished The Book of Mormon just before coming here to e-mail and I want you all to know that I know it is true.  I don't just hope it is true, wish it to be true, or assume it to be true, but I know with a certainty that it is true.

Knowing that Joseph Smith's prayer was answered, I too knew my prayer would be answered.  The Book of Mormon testifies to the reality of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that this is God's true church upon the earth again today.  So often at Temple Square I  meet people who say, "it doesn't matter which church you go to, all that matters is that you have faith in Christ."  Brothers and Sisters, faith is the start of our journey and it is what pulls us through, but this is not all.

Let me ask you, if you were on the earth at the time that Christ came, and lets say there were multiple churches, would it be okay to go to any of the churches even if they all taught faith in Christ, or would you want to go to the one where Christ himself was the one teaching?  Would you go to the places that taught you about Christ, that invited you to follow him?  Or would you go to hear the Savior himself speak, to hear him invite you to come follow him and show you the way?  I know that I certainly would want to be in the midst of the Savior, I wouldn't want to miss out on anything.  I would be in Christ's church, and I know that I am in it today.

Jesus Christ is at the head of this church, He is the one who guides us today so that we have a fullness of his gospel. Pray to know. Just as the song says, "Joseph's humble prayer was answered," I testify that mine was, and yours can be too.  This is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth again today, and I am so grateful to be a representative of Christ and of His church.  Turn to him, he is listening.

I love you all and invite you to read over Joseph Smith's experience in the Sacred Grove. (http://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1.16).  Read it, pray about it, and you will know, that is a PROMISE not only I give you, but that God give you as well.  Be sincere and He will hear you :)

Sincerely and with all my heart,

Sister Briggs

SHOUTOUTS:  Madeleine Kmetzch, Sean Burton, Mom, Dad, Bryan, Casey, Grandma Jeanie, Mary, Becca, Barry, Brother & Sister Donakey, Robert Donakey, Liz, Andrew Lindsay, Sterling Randle, Sister Stanley :)


"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.  When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

That was God :)



Three Generations of missionaries...This is Sister Lin's last transfer, and she is a zone leader!

 

First things first--Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have lots of fun and festive plans in place to celebrate the holiday tomorrow.  Thanksgiving at the Briggs house has always been one of my favorite family traditions- we call it the Briggs slumber party.  One of my favorite things about our Thanksgiving slumber party is being able to look around and see countless blessings from my Heavenly Father.  There really is so much to be grateful for, and I pray that we live with thanksgiving ever in our hearts, and not just with the holidays :)



 

 Our AP's and Temple Square Coordinators getting us ready for Christmas time!



Sister Taylor and I feeling a bit overwhelmed after our Christmas training meeting...Christmas at Temple Square is crazy!!!

Sometimes it takes training our eyes to see these blessings. They are not always big like our families, a new job that we've been searching for, or even a trip to go see a good friend that all comes together perfectly...often times, they are blessings that are scattered throughout every detail of our lives.  This week, we got to help Mike be able to see that.

Mike is our investigator in New York.  He is 23 years old and just graduated in Engineering.  He struggles to have faith and that has been our priority with him, as it is by faith that all things come to be :)  When we last spoke with him, we committed him to pray every day...and he did! We asked if he saw a difference in his life and he took a moment to respond.  

He then broke the silence, "Wow..I mean, wow, I guess I hadn't thought of it that way...wow, it really worked!"

As you can imagine, Sister Taylor and I just wanted to jump for joy, but we weren't quite sure what he was talking about.. we just were happy to hear he had been praying! Mike went on to tell us that he has been having a really difficult time finding a job since he graduated.  He told us about the amazing experience he has, that he has done countless internships and had really good reviews by past employers, yet nothing was coming through for him. He said that he had been praying every night for specific things just like we had told him to, and that he had been praying every night that he would have a break on the job front.  He said one night he prayed and then he couldn't sleep.  He was just laying there in bed where all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, he got this warm feeling and felt like he should post his resume on a website. He thought it was an odd idea, but got right out of bed, posted his resume on this website and went back to bed.  When he woke up he had a bunch of different businesses and companies that wanted to interview him.

As he told us this story, Sister Taylor and I couldn't help but smile.

"At first I thought it was just a weird epiphany, or a coincidence, but now that you've pointed it out...I think that was God," Mike said.

We both testified to him that it was God that had helped him.  That God knows the things that matter most to us, He knows the desires of our hearts, and when we pray to Him, it opens up the way for Him to guide us and bless us the way that He so desires to.

We committed Mike to look for all the blessings in his life every single day and to choose to believe that everything is from God. We said that by noticing these divine signatures, these tender mercies every day in his life, he would come to know God better. 

"And the reason why he (God) ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men, is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust." (Mormon 9:20)





 

Last District "eating" :) miss them all already!

This is the great dilemma of the world.  So many dwindle in unbelief, they ask for a sign when it is in the little things all right in front of them, they ask why they haven't seen miracles. Really, God knew so many of His children would feel this way, so He gives us these little diving signatures everyday.  Through noticing these, our faith grows, we dwindle less in unbelief and trust in God more fully.  

The Prophet, Thomas S. Monson said, "To live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven."  As we live with thankful hearts for the tender mercies we have, we begin to see more of the miracles and the hand of the Lord more fully in our lives.  We then touch heaven and realize it isn't so far away :)

As we had committed Mike to choose to believe everything was God, we chose to do the same, and it has opened my eyes to so many tender mercies and blessings every single day.  That night, Sister Taylor and I experienced a miracle with a man named Shane as we were about to start a movie for him to watch in the North Visitors Center. He told us he had gone through a divorce and was looking for change. He had asked us how The Book of Mormon could change anything in his life and we were able to testify that The Book of Mormon being true changes everything.  If testifies of Christ, and if Christ lives as the Son of God, that means that the Atonement is real.  We were able to say what he needed to hear, and we had felt prompted to be there in the North Visitors Center, at the very time that he arrived. 

When we left the theater, I looked to Sister Taylor and said, "That was God."  

She then smiled at me and responded, "Everything is." :)

I know that every good thing comes from God, EVERY THING.  I want to invite you all to live with gratitude in your hearts, to choose to believe and to touch heaven.  I wish for nothing but the best for you now, and always, and this is the best gift I could ever think to receive--to be able to have the eyes and the heart to see God's love, and to be able to be surrounded by heaven.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)  There is SO much I am grateful for--including you.



Received such a fun Christmas package from home! I decided to wear it all at once and look like a Christmas elf :)

 



 

Thank you Grandmother and Papa Jim for the package!

 

Gobble Gobble (that means I love you in Turkey language),

Sister Briggs :)

SHOUTOUTS:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sara Donakey, Briana Layton and MaCall Ovard!!! I hope you all had wonderful days! Grandma Jeanie and Grandfather, Papa Jim and Grandmother ( I love the wonderful gift box you sent me, so delicious!), Mom and Dad, Bryan and Casey, The Donakey family, Sister Bone, Courtlan Wilcox and Lauren Harris! 



 I got my hair cut! Ah!