My Waters of Mormon

July 22, 2013

Dear Mom, Dad, Erin, Britt, Damian, Jordan, Brandice, Colin, Cortney, Ammon, Solon, Amanda, Zach, Shyler, Brenna, Jana (Sister Wood), and whoever I forgot,

I thought I was tired before, but I have never been as exhausted as I was this past week. It was an amazing week. I don't care how tired I was, it was so wonderful and so worth it! We went to two zone conferences this week and we had two exchanges. That is an intense week! The most exhausting part was definitely the zone conferences, because I felt the Spirit so much. It's amazing how preparation really precedes revelation. I feel like I was more prepared this zone conference than I have been for any in the past and I definitely was blessed for that preparation. A big part of that preparation came because we were teaching for zone conference, but I'm grateful for that experience because I learned a valuable lesson. I've always tried to prepare for zone conferences, stake conference, and general conference, but my efforts weren't as focused before. This time in preparation, I spent a lot of time pondering on what I hoped to receive from zone conference. As I did that, thoughts came into my mind of ways that I could prepare so that the things taught would be what I hoped to receive. The Lord has such wonderful ways of teaching us - He teaches through the scriptures and through prayer. He also teaches us through other people and sometimes, very special times, He'll just visit us with revelation because He knows that we'll receive it and act on it. I feel like this was a combination. I was asked to prepare something specific for zone conference, so it lead me to receive greater understanding of how I can receive revelation throughout my life. Missions are so great! They really are the school for life. How can anyone survive in marriage and as parents without serving a mission. It should be a requirement for eternal life. Just kidding!

One thing that hit me really hard from zone conference was a clip from the talk by Elder Richard G. Scott when he was talking about conversion. He said that "conversion is the reward for repentance and obedience." I've been thinking about that since Thursday. Yesterday, during my studies as I was reading in Mosiah 18, I realized how true that statement is for me and the experiences of my mission. When I read verse 30 in Mosiah 18, I felt so much love from and for my Heavenly Father. I realized that the way those people felt about the land of Mormon and the waters of Mormon is how I feel about the California Ventura mission. Moorpark, the Ventura 2nd ward boundaries, and the Ventura 4th ward boundaries are sacred ground to me. Like the verse says, "How beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer." These areas are where I've come to the knowledge of my Redeemer. Yes, I had a testimony of Jesus Christ before my mission, but now I have a knowledge of Him. I know Him personally now, and I depend on the enabling power of His atonement to help me everyday as His servant. I have become truly converted to Jesus Christ on these grounds and I will always see my mission as that sacred place. This mission is my "waters of Mormon." I know that my conversion has come as a reward for my efforts to be exactly obedient and for the experiences where I've felt the joy of repenting. The amazing part is that with both of those things, obedience and repentance, the Lord, through the enabling power, has helped me do it. Then, after He helps me, He rewards me by helping me become converted. It's amazing. This gospel is so amazing and so powerful. This experience has just strengthened my drive to find, teach, and baptize more of God's children, because they deserve this opportunity just as much as I do.

Our (Sister Burwell and my) presentations at the two different zone conferences (Santa Maria and Newberry Park) went great. I love having the opportunity to speak and to teach because I learn so much. I love feeling the Spirit working through me, and at those zone conferences it was a steady flow streaming through Sister Burwell and I to the other sisters. It was a treat to go to Santa Maria because we rode with President and Sister Castro as well as Samuel and Hannah (their children). It was so much fun! On the way up we listened to a talk by Elder Bednar that was given at mission presidents' seminar when President Castro was in the MTC. Basically, I would never have heard that because they don't publish or share those talks with the public. On the way back to Ventura President Castro didn't ride with us (because we left early), so I sat in the front and talked to Sister Castro the entire way. I love her. We've gotten really close and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to see her so often. She was saying that she's starting to get depressed because the time is flying until I go home. I hate it when people bring that up!

Well, the two exchanges we went on this week were in San Luis Obispo and Templeton. We did a lot of driving, but it paid off because the exchanges we had went so well. I worked with Sister Cusick in San Luis Obispo. She is doing great! I thought she was going to be super quiet, but it seemed like she was making the point that she is no longer the quiet one. She just got right out there and taught everyone that we saw. It was fun for me to let her take the lead, because I could tell that she hadn't had the opportunity as much as she may have wanted to. She said that she really felt more confident because she felt trusted by me as we were out working. It's true, I totally trusted her. I could feel her spirit and I knew that she would follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost as we talked to and taught people. She got nervous before every lesson and every person we talked to, but at the end of it she was so excited that she could hardly keep her feet on the ground! It was so fun to watch. She's great. Just like with every new missionary, she just needs to be patient with herself. All of the new sisters want to be totally effective missionaries right now. They'll learn patience like I was supposed to. I don't know that I've learned it yet, but hopefully someday.

My second exchange was with Sister Morrison in Templeton (that's who the attached picture is with). She's very unsure of herself, and it confused me so much because she's a great new missionary. Sure, she doesn't know all of the lessons perfectly (neither do I) and she can't quote every scripture in the Book of Mormon (neither can I), but she has a powerful testimony and she's so sincere when she teaches. I can tell that people feel the Spirit when she shares her testimony. My goal was just to help her see how great she really is doing. It's hard for us to see the good things that we're doing when we want so badly to improve. I talked to her about looking for growth as she continually sets goals and strives to improve. She'll be a great missionary, she just needs to give it time.

Great news!!! We got a new ward mission leader in 4th ward and it's exactly who I was wishing we had as a ward mission leader! It's Brother Packard. He's also on the High Council, so I found that interesting, but 4th ward is shorthanded so they need all the help they can get. I guess we just need to find more people to baptize who will be worthy priesthood holders and will hold callings. That's my goal here. I feel like things are starting to pick up. The Bishop is a lot more focused on missionary work, and I think he can tell that we're the missionaries that can turn things around with this ward. I have a lot of ideas and I know things that have worked in the past, so I hope that I'll be able to stay another transfer and get more done here. I definitely know why the Lord sent me here and I feel like there's more to my purpose in being here in 4th ward. I need more time!

I'm a little nervous about transfers next week. I always spend too much time trying to think of what possibly could be happening. I'm just worried about not being with Sister Burwell anymore. That would be so hard for me because she has become my best friend. I understand that this is the Lord's work and I totally trust Him, but I'll be so sad if we aren't able to work together as much. I really trust her, and she's helped me grow more than I can even explain. We'll be friends for the rest of our lives. That's such a blessing! You really do make the best friends on your mission.

We have an awesome investigator named Cheryl. She's actually Brother Packard's neighbor and he's been doing so much great work with her! Cheryl's husband's family is in the church. They have a long line of LDS people in their family tree. His, Brian's family came across the plains with the pioneers! We taught Cheryl yesterday and it was a wonderful experience. I just felt so grateful for how much the Lord has helped me progress in my skill as a missionary. I was thinking about how I used to feel like I had no idea what to do, all the time. Now, I always feel confident because I trust the Spirit to guide us in our teaching. We were able to ask Cheryl some really important questions that, I believe, opened her up to receive revelation. It's amazing what a simple question can do. We simply asked "If the Book of Mormon is true, what is the next step for you?" Cheryl is a Christian and she loves the Bible. She told us that last time she was taught by the missionaries she spent a lot of time cross-referencing from the Bible to the Book of Mormon. She said she felt like the Bible was validating the Book of Mormon. We've stressed the importance of prayer with her, and she said that she has faith that the Spirit will show her the truth. When we asked her that question, she took a moment and said that she would need to be coming to church and seeing what we teach each week. We read John 7:17 with her and invited her to test EVERYTHING that we are teaching her. It felt good to promise her that she will know that this is Christ church if she comes each week and continues to read the Book of Mormon. It felt even more powerful to promise her that this would change her life in a way that she didn't even know was possible or needed and that the gospel would fill a void that she didn't know she has. She is coming to church when she gets back from vacation and she asked us to come back tonight! Isn't missionary work so fun!?

I love this work.

Sister Bennett

Sister Cusick and me on our exchange in San Luis Obispo

Sister Morrison and me from our exchange in Templeton