Christmas Fhe at megans apartment
megan and sister carolan
white elephant gift
me mimicking our investigator Ghyslain
Feliz Navidad!
This week has been absolutely wonderful! We have had some new
people we have met that I hope the gospel will change their lives. I have
felt a deeper love for the people here in their struggles and trials they have
faced in life are hard to bear and we hope that we may be able to bear the
burden with them in Christ and bring them some relief.
We met a woman from Sudan who told us the story of her life
which was filled with much sadness and little love. She was broken-hearted on Saturday night and she cried as she told us her
story, we comforted her as best we could and taught her about the love of
Christ. We invited her to come to church with us and she agreed. I prayed
that she would come and have peace and feel more love in her
life.
I wish you could have been there this Sunday.
It's something that I will always remember. She came to church and you should
have seen her! I don't really know how to explain it but there was more love
shared to her in those three hours from the members, the lessons, and the Holy
Ghost than I've ever seen before.
None of the members knew what she was going through, but I've
never seen anyone hugged so much! Her spirit and countenance was just emanating
with happiness and love! She was so happy! She kept saying "wow... this
place is truly amazing." She said she felt so peaceful and happy. It was
probably one of the happiest days in my life as well to see how happy she was!
Members, you are an important instrument of God to bring
someone peace, joy, and happiness. And you may never know, how a small act of
kindness can bring such a huge impact on the lives of others who so desperately
need it.
That made me ponder more deeply about the importance of the
gospel in our lives. What joy and peace it brings to our souls! And what more
joy that we have to go and share the gospel with others and bright burning
testimony we have inside us can ignite the flame in others! How great is your
joy!
WE TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
I am so grateful for this gospel and I am constantly being
reminded of the blessings that I have being in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and the joy it brings into my life.
I have been studying a lot about the birth of Christ this week
and I am growing more and more deeply an appreciation for what has been
brought about by the birth of Jesus Christ. I have been reading in Jesus the
Christ by James E. Talmage. It has given me some deeper understanding of
the Nativity and I would like to share with you a little bit of what I read.
The people who take part in the birth of Christ are wonderful
examples to me of faith, love and devotion. Mary and Joseph with a loyalty to
God and each other to bring about a holy family that we can now all be a part
of; the shepherds who were humble, yet had rich hearts, were blessed enough to
see the host of heaven rejoicing over the newborn king and unafraid to share
the beauty and joy of Christ's birth to all; and the magi, those who seek for
wisdom in all things spiritual, bring gifts of gratitude for the gift of life
that the Lord would live and give to them and to all. What wonderful examples
they are to us and to realize deeper the beauty of the nativity in all of our
lives. Remember this holiday season the true meaning of Christmas. He truly is
the gift!
I
LOVE YOU ALL! I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas, that brings joy not
only to your own life, but to all others around you as well!
MERRY
CHRISTMAS!
LOVE
SISTER FICKLIN
(Please forgive the formatting issues below – it wouldn’t clean
up)
MARY AND JOSEPH
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” With gentle submissiveness and humble acceptance, the pure young virgin replied: “Behold the handmaid of the
Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
THE SHEPHERDS
From the period of its beginning, Bethlehem had been the home of people
engaged mostly in pastoral and agricultural pursuits. It is quite in line with what isknown of the town and its environs to find at the season of Messiah’s birth, which was in the springtime of the year, that flocks were in the field both night and day under the watchful care of their keepers. Unto certain of these humble
shepherds came the first proclamation that the Savior had been born. Thus runs
the simple record: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they
were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men.”
Tidings of such import had never before been delivered by angel or received by man--good tidings of great joy, given to but few and those among the humblest of earth, but destined to spread to all people.
There is sublime grandeur in the scene, as there is divine authorship in the message, and the climax issuch as the mind of man could never have conceived—the sudden appearance of a multitude of the heavenly host, singing audibly to human ears the briefest, most consistent and most truly complete of all the songs of peace ever attuned by mortal or spirit choir. What a consummation to be wished— Peace on earth!
But how can such come except through the maintenance of good will toward men? And through what means could glory to God in the highest be more
effectively rendered?
The trustful and unsophisticated keepers of sheep had not asked for sign or confirmation; their faith was in unison with the heavenly communication; nevertheless the angel had given them what he called a sign, to guide them in
their search. They waited not, but went in haste, for in their hearts they believed, yea, more than believed, they knew, and this was the tenor of their resolve: “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come
to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”
They found the Babe in the manger, with the mother and Joseph near by; and, having seen, they went
out and testified to the truth concerning the Child. They returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
THE
THREE WISE MEN
.” As the men set out from Jerusalem on the last stage of their journey of inquiry and search, they rejoiced exceedingly, for the new star they had seen in theeast was again visible. They found the house wherein Mary was living with her husband and the Babe, and as they recognized the royal Child they “fell down,and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”
THE
BEAUTY OF THE NATIVITY
There is meaning as deep as the pathos that all must feel in the seemingly parenthetical remark by Luke. “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”
It is apparent that the great truth as to the personality and mission of her divine
Son had not yet unfolded itself in its fulness to her mind. The whole course of events, from the salutation of Gabriel to the reverent testimony of the shepherds concerning the announcing angel and the heavenly hosts, was largely a mystery to that stainless mother and wife.
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