November 21, 2011

FAMILY,
Elder Bowen come and toured our mission the past few days, as well as called a new stake president and talked at stake conference. He taught at 4 zone conferences throughout our mission and came to Des Moines Friday to speak with us. He went through the house of Israel in detail, it was awesome but at the same time an information over load. The underlining theme of his whole visit with us was that of covenants and who we as a people are, also the importance of Preach My Gospel and temple sealings. It gave me a lot to think about and I still have not found time to go through my notes. Much of the work we do as missionaries it that of preparing people for baptism, through faith and repentance. But what really hit home is that none of that really matters if a person never gets to the temple and is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. We are a covenant people and will always be a covenant people. The more I have thought about it the more it rings true. On the Nauvoo temple are sun stones, a very well known marking of a face on the sun with trumpets and so forth. In the Celestial room in the Nauvoo temple the sun stone can be seen but with a little difference. Instead of seeing the whole face of the sun, it is hidden behind the horizon with just its eyes peeking over. Brigham Young taught that represents the covenants we will make in the eternities, right now we are just beginning to see the covenants we need to make with many more to come in the next life. Every week we renew the most important covenant in the church, the sacrament. We do this often, continually renewing the same covenant made at baptism. Men that hold the Melchizedek Priesthood renew the oath and covenant of the priesthood when they go to the temple. We are a covenant people, willing to give the Father all that we have, and in turn He will give us everything he has. It was an amazing conference.
We have been really tired this last week. We needed to get up early for zone conference, the next day get up early to drive to Ames to kept score for a basket ball championship called netfest, then today we needed to get up at 5 to take the bus to the hospital to give a blessing to a member about to go into surgery. We may be taking a nap today for p-day. We did have some good news about T, she is back on for baptism for December 1st. We are working with her daily to make sure she will be ready and on track. I'm not sure why we keep going back to help her, every time we are ready to drop her, the spirit tells us, "nope, not yet” I have never worked with someone so close and so hard. She is really devoted to do it this time. She went to stake conference and to the investigator/recent convert meeting before stake conference. She got to meet Elder Bowen and President Jergensen, and an out pouring of the Spirit to say the least. It was funny she was so mad at us when the meeting was over because she had been crying, and she hates to cry. It was very brave of her to go. She does not do well with large crowds, she freaks out to tell you the truth. But with her friend D and Sis. Jahn (who I believe you have talked to) she was able to get through it, and liked it.
Just a thought, did you get the box I sent home? Rachel is getting her degree huh? Wow that’s so sweet, I wish I could be able to see the ceremony. And what about this party that you are planning? This sounds interesting.
I LOVE YOU ALL -Elder Hale