Hermana Bettridge in Houston: Fuimos al templo 💕

Hola, Hola!

This week was amazing because we got to go to the temple on Thursday! I love the temple so much! It was a spiritually uplifting experience, and I loved being able to feel more of the love Heavenly Father has for me and to learn more of His plan. We were also able to see some great progress with some of our investigators.

Our district at the temple!

We met with Juan Carlos this week, and we had a great lesson! We talked about eternal families. In marriage ceremonies you usually hear the phrases "as long as you both shall live" and "until death do you part." But, Heavenly Father intended for our family relationships to last beyond the grave. Christ gave power to his Apostles to bind things on earth and in heaven. (Matthew 16:19) This included things like baptism. Families can also be sealed with this power so that they can be together even after this life. We set a goal with Juan Carlos to be sealed to his family in the temple when his daughter gets home from her mission in 15 months. He knows he has to wait a year after baptism to make those promises in the temple, and he told us he still knows his baptism date (that he won't tell us.) But, he told us he told his daughter the specific date he is going to get baptized. (He still hasn't told the rest of his family yet.) But, his family is excited!

Luz has been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon! So has her dad, Lisimaco! He finished the whole thing! We talked to Luz about baptism, and she said it's something she wants to do, but she wants to know more first. Her husband, Charlie, is still working with the English elders. He has a desire to be baptized, and is ready to do it! But, he wants to wait for her to be ready and do it with her. We went to a baptism in one of the English wards with them this weekend. They both really liked it and felt the Spirit! President Peterson was there too, so he talked with Luz a little bit. Lisimaco is going back to Colombia this week. Luz is going back with him to visit her family, and she will be back in two weeks. We gave them the information of the church and missionaries where they live. So, Luz can go to church while she's there! She is excited to introduce the rest of her family to the church, and Lisimaco is excited to be baptized!

This week is Faith Meets Families! (The monthly event the mission has where everyone going to the temple for the first time goes together and brings their family names.) We will be going with a man named Ciro who got baptized over a year ago, but never went to the temple. We helped him with his family history last night, and he will be getting baptized for his dad and his grandfathers. His wife, Maria, has been a member of the church for several years, but she has never gone to the temple. So, she will be going too! They are super excited! They are in temple prep classes right now and are preparing to go to the temple to receive their endowment and to be sealed as a couple for eternity! The Missionary Department at Church headquarters took notice of this program, and there will be representatives there interviewing and filming to create a new training program for missions throughout the Church.

This week I was reading an address that Elder L Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave at BYU back in the 70s. It was entitled "God's Hand in the Founding of America." He talked about how he was beginning to see signs of decay, corruption, and dishonesty. (40 years later we are in an even worse place!) He talked about how these are the signs that precede the fall of great civilizations. But, prophesies have been given that outline our responsibilities. If we do what we are supposed to, the Lord has promised to sustain the truth in this land.

Jospeh Smith, a prophet of the Lord, said "the time will come when the destiny of this nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.’ It will be so."

The Book of Mormon contains the record of the Nephite civilization that lived around 600 B.C. They left Jerusalem, and came to the Americas by boat. One prophet of this civilization, Nephi, saw much of what was to come to pass in this land. He saw that Christ himself would visit this land after his resurrection. Nephi saw that an apostasy would happen both on the American continent, and on the other side of the world following the death of Christ and his apostles. He saw that they were going to take "away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious. …” (1 Ne. 13:26.) He also saw that his people would be destroyed and that this land would be rediscovered. “And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.” (1 Ne. 13:12.) Nephi saw that the fullness of the gospel would be restored in this land, in part by the record that was being kept by the prophets in the Americas. “These last records … shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them. …” (1 Ne. 13:40.)

Elder Perry said that "the greatest event recorded in the Book of Mormon was the visit of Jesus Christ to America shortly after his resurrection. The Book of Mormon thus becomes a second witness to the divinity of the Son of God. Mormons use both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, believing that they are both ancient and sacred writings, one from the Old World and one from the New World. The last part of the Book of Mormon recounts a great war that virtually destroyed ancient American civilization. In order to preserve their history, which had been recorded on plates of gold, they buried the record in the earth. The man who abridged these records prior to his people’s destruction was named Mormon--hence the name the Book Of Mormon."

Centuries after all of this had come to pass, the Lord guided Christopher Columbus to this land. Columbus said "our Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Who heard of my enterprise, called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed. But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?” I know that Columbus was led to this land for a reason. In order for the gospel to be restored in its fullness, there had to exist a land of liberty and religious freedom. It was all part of the Lord's plan.

Elder Perry goes on to say "the success of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War came about through men who were raised up by God for this special purpose. You must read the Declaration of Independence to feel its inspiration. You merely need to study history to recognize that a group of fledgling colonies defeating the world’s most powerful nation stemmed from a force greater than man." The founding fathers were able to have success because they relied on the Lord. They acknowledged their weaknesses and their dependence on Him. Benjamin Franklin said they needed to pray daily during the Constitutional Convention because "If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"

Elder Perry went on to talk about the miracle of the Constitution, he says it is a document that was inspired of the Lord. Because of the Constitution, religious freedom was now guaranteed here. The Restoration could take place. Joseph Smith was born in 1805, just 14 years after the Constitution was ratified.

We still live in a promised land today, and it will remain free as long as we remember Heavenly Father and keep His commandments. Elder Perry talked about how the family is the basic unit of a strong society. He also said "the land must continue to remain strong and great and good. It is destined to be the major supplier of human and financial resources, to build the kingdom of God here in the whole world, and to prepare the world for the return of the Lord and Savior. The adversary knows all too well that a weak America will literally stop this building process and thwart the work of God."

I know that as we put the Lord first, we will see blessings in our lives. It may be hard to recognize them in the moment, but they are there. He said that Adam and Eve "were not placed in the Garden of Eden merely to have a comfortable life or to enjoy the benefits of the Lord’s labor, but to accomplish, to do." We have that responsibility today!

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Please pray that we can find some new investigators this week 😁

Love,

Hermana Bettridge

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