December 30, 2013

Hey Family!

I hope you all had a wonderful of Christmas as I did and are getting ready for a great New Year! Apparently the year on our mission when you aren't home at all is called your Dark Year.  Kinda of a sad term so I changed it to my Light Year! Can't wait to dedicate a whole year to serving the Lord.  It will be great! It was amazing to be able to skype home with my family and see all their beautiful faces even though they made fun of my fat one:)  This last week was pretty slow since it was Christmas, but was still a lot of fun.  Saturday the Jehovah Witness were on the Highstreet in my area and I thought I would talk to them since I don't know much about them because all I do is talk to muslims haha.  It was very interesting and informative and good to see people trying to help others find the right path, but it was sad to see how not having the Holy Ghost as a companion and prophets and apostles to help the people know what the scriptures truly say.  With talking to muslims and now JW's I have studied the true character of God a lot more and because of it I have come to know my Heavenly Father so much more and his plan for us.  For my spiritual thought I want to talk about who are Heavenly Father is and what he has planned for us.

Joseph Smith said that "until a man knows the true character of God he cannot have faith."  he has also said that "in order for us to know God we must know ourselves, and in order for us to know ourselves we must know God." 

So who is God then?  God is the Father of our Spirits.  We our his children.  He has a body of flesh and bone that is glorified and perfected.  He hears and answers our prayers and wants to help us because he loves us so much.  He finds joy when we make correct decisions and weeps when we choose to disobey him.  He wants all of us to return to live with him again and have all that he has.  It is amazing and glorious to know that we have a Heavenly Father that loves us so much that he wants us to have everything that he has.  A lot of people think that God is this all powerful being that hates the human race and wants to punish or they think that he is loving, but has nobody and is some kind of spirit.  This is wrong and will lead us to nowhere.  How can we know that God has a body of flesh and bone then that is glorfied and perfected?  Well because we have a prophet that he has called to tells of the true character of God.  We also have scripture as well.  And Christ himeself said "I only do the things which I have seen my Father do." What does that mean then?  It means that God was once like us and was man.  In the King Follet discourse Joseph Smith gives he states that "If the vail was rent today... and we were to see God.. we would see a man just as ourselves standing in all his glory." It brings such comfort to my heart to know who God is and that he has a plan for me.  Now God has also said that no unclean thing can enter into the Kingdon of God.  So how can we imperfect beings make it back to live with him? Well with all his infintire love for us Heavenly Father has given us his only Begotten Son, who is, Jesus Christ.  Mosiah 3:17 tells us that

"There is no other name or way nor means, whereby salvation unto the children of men, only in and through the name Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."

Because of Christ we will all be resurrected.  Because of Christ we all have the chance to live with our families and Heavenly Father again.  We just have to do as the Savior asks us to "Come unto Him" and to "Follow him." I know that Christ lives and that as we allow him to take us by the  hand we will find more happiness in this life and in the life to come.

I hope you all know how much you Heavenly Father loves you.  Just think about how much our parents love us or we love our children and we are imperfect.  Our Father in Heaven is perfect and loves you and I with a perfect love.  He knows you and I better then we know ourselves and knows what we need.  I am so grateful that he has once again showed his love to us by answering a humble boys prayer in a grove of trees in the year 1820 allowing the fulness of the gospel to be restored to the earth and allowing us to know who Heavenly Father is and what his plan is for us.  I bear you my testimony that He lives and that Jesus Christ is his son and that there is no other way, but through Christ our Saviour and Redeemer that we can be saved.  For has Nephi of old tells us "It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

LOVE YA'LL TO SHREDZZ!!

Love,
Elder Wilson