Dear Elder Snell, 

In my study today I was touched by the thought that God chooses to love us enough to be vulnerable. Why else would He weep as Enoch witnessed?  Perhaps God’s temples are His sanctuary and place of refuge even more than ours.  His love impels Him to visit us in our distress and His undefiled temple is His shield from the full onslaught of pain & evil (see The God Who Weeps, p 26)

As you feel the need to confide in the Lord or to improve the quality of your visits with him—to pray, if you please—may I suggest a process to follow: go where you can be alone, go where you can think, go where you can kneel, go where you can speak out loud to him. The bedroom, the bathroom, or the closet will do. Now, picture him in your mind’s eye. Think to whom you are speaking, control your thoughts—don’t let them wander, address him as your Father and your friend. Now tell him things you really feel to tell him—not trite phrases that have little meaning, but have a sincere, heartfelt conversation with him. Confide in him, ask him for forgiveness, plead with him, enjoy him, thank him, express your love to him, and then listen for his answers. Listening is an essential part of praying. Answers from the Lord come quietly—ever so quietly. In fact, few hear his answers audibly with their ears. We must be listening so carefully or we will never recognize them. Most answers from the Lord are felt in our heart as a warm comfortable expression, or they may come as thoughts to our mind. They come to those who are prepared and who are patient.  (HBurke Peterson, Oct 1973 Gen Conf)

A little boy was asked if he said his prayers at night.  He said, “Sure do.”  Then he was asked if he said prayers in the morning.  He said, “No.  I ain’t scared of the daytime.”

Heavenly Father, are you really there?

And do you hear and answer ev'ry child's prayer?

Some say that heaven is far away,

But I feel it close around me as I pray.

Heavenly Father, I remember now

Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:

"Suffer the children to come to me."

Father, in prayer I'm coming now to thee.

Pray, he is there;

Speak, he is list'ning.

You are his child;

His love now surrounds you.

He hears your prayer;

He loves the children.

Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav'n.

(Words and music by Janice Kapp Perry)

Prophets foretell the future but more often “forthtell” which is to tell us what we need to do now.  They tell us to fast and pray as a Ward Family for people in our area.

Because of the Resurrection, all other miracles seem plausible.

Dear Elder Snell,

A young man in our temple prep class gave the closing prayer & thanked God for His body and asked to know how he could use it as an instrument for good.   He’s going to Portugal on a mission in a couple weeks.

One of our newly return sister missionaries spoke in Sacrament Meeting about divine attributes.  She told of one person who was converted due the faith of members and missionaries who believed in miracles.  She asked how his life had changed and he said, “It’s like my life when from black and white to all the colors of the rainbow.  Every day is beautiful and every moment is an opportunity to practice living the Gospel of Christ.  We can have hope in God’s promises.  Another attribute is diligence which means striving even after your tired or don’t feel like it.  It builds the Lord’s trust in us and changes our heart.   

The High Counselman told of a newly baptized 8yo who got up to bear his testimony for the first time.  They brought out the step stool and lowered the podium but the little boy kept looking back at the bishopric with an expression of uneasinesst.  They kept encouraging him to go ahead and say what he felt.  Finally he bore a simple testimony, but then remained on the stand.  The bishopric told him he could go sit by his mom but he still didn’t move.  Turns out, they had nailed his thumbs to the podium when they lowered it!  The “rule of thumb” to that story is—Don’t make assumptions;  seeing things accurately is essential to progress.

Can you name all our apostles?  Or tell something recent that President Monson has asked us to do?  An investigator who heard we had apostles & prophets wanted to know all about them.  When the missionaries hesitated, the investigator said, “if there were apostles and prophets in MY church, I’d be hanging on every word!”

Our Stk RS President asked what TYS meant.  Turns out it was someone’s tattoo that stood for “Trust Your Struggle” meaning to accept the life lesson being offered.  She said it could also mean “Trust Your Savior”.  She challenged us to have compassion for God’s will in your trials.

If you’re feeling down, make a choice to be happy.  Guard what you let into your mind and especially what you let stay there.

Love you so much,

Dear Elder Snell,

Had a young woman in our ward called to serve in Anaheim, CA, ALS (sign language).  She studied it in both HS & BYU and was praying she would be assigned to use her skills so it looks like an answer to prayer!

Heard an interesting quote:  Reputation is what others think you are.  Personality is what you think you are.  And Character is what you really are.

Met a new friend at a professional conference.  He said he was looking for a church so I had a  wonderfully natural opportunity to bear my testimony about God actually being our Father.  It’s important to have a correct understanding of God or we will not be able to have the faith we need to claim all that He offers us.  A creation (which is what most churches believe) can never become the creator, but an offspring has the potential.  He said he wished he had a better relationship with God.  I told him it takes work but that it’s simple work (like looking at the serpent Moses held up) and to not give up because of the simpleness of the way (like praying & reading scriptures).

From YSA Sacrament Mtg:  Faith as a principle of power is related to personal righteousness.  It requires pure motive (intending to do only the Lord’s will & expecting nothing in return).  I fear sometimes I want to “perform” for my own gratification.  Don’t always know how to root pride out of my heart.  Guess it requires the miracle of the Atonement to change my heart completely.

Another RM talked on patience.  She wanted us to compare what we expect of ourselves with what God expects of us (sometimes it more & sometimes it’s less).  Instead of lowering our expectations so we have no disappointment, she advised keeping the high expectations of our Savior and developing patience through the disappointments.  We’ll see more miracles as we expect and strive.  Down time is prep time.  The best part of a mission is the difficult part.

The last RM talked about obedience.  President Ezra Taft Benson put it most poignantly when he said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.”   Repentance is changing our minds.  We often fall, but the Lord has prepared a way for us to escape.

We also went to our sacrament mtg because it was Ward Conference.  Bishop told us to remember Lots wife.   Don’t look back.  1) Don’t fail to forgive/forget yourself for mistakes, 2) treat triumph & disaster the same, 3) don’t dwell on past trials.  Look forward.  Elder Eyring said to make “small changes in things we do often.”  Learn from the past, don’t live in it.

The theme was Elder Ballard’s Oct 2005 conf talk What Matters Most is What Lasts Longest.  Our Stk President challenged us to add 5 min a day to something good we’re doing and see what happens in a year (that adds up to about 30 hrs).  I chose to pray 5 min longer.

Love you and Happy Birthday next week!