Week 58: La Rosa

Hola hola!!

This week I've had some humbling and some hard experiences. I've thought a lot, read the Scriptures more intently, and prayed more sincerely.

Sadly, Edgar isn't progressing right now. He's canceled his lessons and not come to church the last few weeks. We know He has a big question or concern he's not sharing with us, so we think he's avoiding us for right now. Please keep him in your prayers!!

Miracles from this week:

-I got to go to the temple! Everytime I go to the temple, I feel peace and belonging. And this time when I went, everything connected. All the promises we make at baptism and in the temple help us to fulfill the two great commandments of loving neighbor and loving God. And we receive access to Christ's power in our lives!

-We went back to the house with the four friends we found the week before. Marialena and Caesar were there and we had a great lesson with them and one of our favorite members, Luis Palacios, came with us! We taught them about the Restorarion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And since then Caesar has been reading the Book of Mormon and read the pamplet!!

-Sister Storm and I went on exchanges with Sister Cook in the YSA area. We college campus contacting and met a lot of people who are interested!!

This last weekend, we had stake conference (a big meeting where all the congregations in the area gather together). Elder Wright came to visit us and said some things that really impacted me. He shared a verse which I'd never heard of before in the Old Testament. Zechariah 3:1 says: "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him." He pointed out how Satan is the resister, or in Spanish it refers to him as an acuser. Satan acuses us of our past and tries to convinced us to doubt our nature as children of God.

On the other hand, Jesus Christ is our advocate. In the revelation given through Joseph Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5, we learn: "Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him— Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life."

Because he earned the right to be our advocate when He performed his atoning sacrifice, he is our advocate! Currently! Present tense!!

Although Satan will try to acuse us and our faults, Christ will advocate for us and our future. He loves us and wants us to change.

To end, I wanted to share a part of the hymn "How Great the Wisdom and the Love" that my dad shared with me this morning.

It says:

How great, how glorious, how complete

Redemption’s grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!

I know that Jesus Christ is perfectly loving, perfectly merciful, and perfectly just. I love Him and I trust Him. He is my Savior.

I invite you all to continue to learn about His nature and how He can advocate for you in your life!!

Love you all!

Hermana Dudley