Fresh Courage Take

Good Morning!

There have been some amazing experiences this past week in St. George! We taught the Restoration message in two member lessons, and the Spirit was so profound! We placed another friend on date for baptism, and established positive contact and taught another friend who had been MIA for two weeks! It was quite impressive, not to mention I've been thrown in with Elder Fiame, some four or five times this week as the assistants do their official business. It has been a high learning curve to work with, but a very rewarding one as we succeed!

Elder Bailey and I have not gotten along 100%, but most of the issues have been communication. I say issues, really I just act normally. I say something, but it comes out funny, and so he interprets it differently than I intend. I can't blame him for it, and we've talked about this. But it does push me to consider what I say and how I say it. 

The impressions we leave on people make a difference, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ who carries the authority to be his representative on Earth, what I say carries more weight than before my calling. That is part of the reason I have worked on positive speech, not just to myself, but about those around me. Simply replacing words that have negative connotations with positive ones makes all the difference on the power a sentence holds.

As I attend a number of sacrament meetings on Sunday, I was in a lot of fast and testimony meetings. The first Sunday of the month, the pulpit will become an 'open mic' session for a good thirty minutes, allowing members to share their testimonies on their Savior. So I took the opportunity to share portions of my testimony in every service I attended. 

I am particularly content with my testimony in the principle of the Lord's timing and in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. For both these testimonies, I shared my own feelings through the groundwork previous members had laid. It felt like telling a story, which really hit home on my writer side. I've definitely witnessed how using my time wisely has benefitted my life, and I know that the Atonement does more than just cleanse sin; it lifts burdens and eases sorrows. 

An investigator we are teaching made this comment, "Closed mouths don't get fed." I really appreciate that, because the same is true for our testimony. We do not grow spiritually unless we are sharing what we believe, and know, to be true. It is only in the act of sharing our conversion with others that we solidify that conversion in ourselves. 

With that thought, I know the importance of the impressions I give as a missionary. I do my best to live up to the calling I have, and own it. This isn't a plea of incapability, but one of earnest dedication. I am just a man, but I seek to be a humble, diligent servant of my Savior. I work to use my time wisely, and be obedient to the guidelines we have. I want to turn myself into a better disciple of Christ, and bring others with me in that journey. 

So I open my mouth. I visit people's homes. I share the beauty of the restoration of Christ's Church once again in the Earth. Like the pioneer song, "Come Come Ye Saints", I fear no toil or labor, but seek to wend my way with joy, and leave a lasting, positive impression on those I meet. Because that's what Christ would do. 

So that's what I will do. 

- Elder Williams

Mailing Address:

881 South River Road

St. George, Utah 84790

Pictures:

1. A little bird I saw

2. The days are beautiful!

3. My companion has an amazing old book, I'm finding my own copy for sure!