I feel like I've been going a mile a minute with these e-mails. I'm want to slow down a little, back up and cool down. This desire comes with perfect timing! I finally have a little more to say about Nauvoo!!! Things are picking up and the Young Preforming missionaries are here and things are beginning to move a little faster. That seems to be how I work. When my surroundings are slow my mind races, and when my surroundings speed up, my mind takes a load off. Or at least a short break. I am also trudging my way through Talmadge's "Jesus The Christ" and that combined with all the ta-do of the summer months in Nauvoo should keep me plenty busy.
SO, I have come to a conclusion about Nauvoo. If you hate America then you should definitely cross Nauvoo off of your "things do to" list. This place loves America, and how could you not? This is the promise land after all! I can't wait for Forth of July! The productions that are now taking place are "Just plain Anna Amanda", "High Hopes and River Boats", "Rendezvous", and "Sunset by the Mississippi". All of them are fantastic. We meet and visit with some 300+ people everyday. I'm amazed at some of the people who just stumble on to this place not having a clue as to what it is, why it's here and who owns the Visitor's Center. We had two young men walk in to ask if they could park their truck here for the weekend. When one of the Elders went to find out I asked if they had ever been to Nauvoo before. They both put their hands on their hips and took a long look around. One finally said, "No. I mean, what is this place? a museum?" I smiled and said no, but that I would be happy to give them tour while we were waiting. They were more than happy to. We talked about Joseph Smith, The Book Of Mormon, the early Saints, the Temple, the persecution, the faith, the sacrifices and the peace. They were rather disturbed at the persecution the early Saints went through. They wanted to know why people kept chasing them out, destroying their homes, their farms, and their families. They needed an explanation. Nothing I said of the fear of things that are different or the politics satisfied them. It bothered them. To tell you the truth all the anger and violence doesn't make much sense to me either. I told them that as they walked away. They both took some Comment cards to fill out and then they were gone. As they left I thought about our discussion. It's true. As you learn about what the early members of the church went through you find yourself wondering why. I know that when there is something good in the world, there is always opposition. In the "Joseph Smith; The Prophet of the Restoration" movies there is a quote that I like. It says, "When we are accomplishing the most good, that is when we face the most opposition.” The question that leaves is not so much why the anger, or why the violence, those are thing fueled by the Advisary. He is not going to let this work go forth un-challenged. He will do all he can to try and thwart it. We can find peace in knowing that even his best efforts, as powerful as he is, cannot and will not be triumphant. "The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. The truth will go forth boldly nobly and independent! Til it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear! Til the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehova shall say, 'the work is done'". But I've strayed from my original train of thought. The question that is left to ponder is why, after all they went through, did the Saints press forward? Why didn't they call it quits? Why did Joseph and Hyrum Smith give their lives for all of this? Why do the young men and women take two years of their lives and dedicate it to getting rejected and turned down and having door after door shut in their faces?
Faith. Faith in Jesus Christ. He is where they put their everything. He is what their lives, their families their faith was centered on and I know many that I could say the same for. "We walk by faith not by sight" (2Corinthians5:7) "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidences of things not seen" (Hebrews11:1) "But without Faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that comes unto God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him". Ether 12 is a Chapter in The Book of Mormon that I cannot wait to get into! One would be hard pressed to find a more riveting dissertation on the topic of Faith. Alma 32 does a good job, but Ether 12 is, or has been recently, one of my favorites. If any one is looking for a good read I would suggest any of the passages above. They have helped me so much to gain a greater understanding of faith and faith is one thing you cannot have enough of.
Oh yeah! Nauvoo. :) Things are busy. We work all day, everyday, and barely have time to eat. But it all gets done. We are putting on a "Sociable" on the 19th of July. Sociables are what they call Sunday night firesides out here. We have to sing. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....yeah). We practice every night we have the chance and I spend 50% of the time trying to figure out what people are talking about (octave, descant, measure) and the other 50% of the time trying to find where we are in the song. Apparently, the Lords wants me to be able to sing. I wish Him the best of luck and find comfort in knowing that HE knows that I can only offer my best efforts. I'm trying. It takes me back to 5th and 6th grade chorus performances. When I really get lost I just imagine my old music teacher from elementary school waving her little hand in spasmodic motions with her hair sprayed do bouncing up in down. Distracting as it is, it keeps me entertained and brings a smile to my face.
Pray for me. :)
I love you all. You dance through my thoughts and prayers <3
I love this work. I will gladly do it all the days of my life.
Sister Bailey
P.S. The subject title of this e-mail is a response I received from an old lady who came in when I asked her how she was doing. :)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tranfers
Transfers were Sunday. I now spend my days serving in Nauvoo. I loved Carthage. I didn't want to leave. But, I feel so good about this move. For the past four weeks the Lord needed me in Carthage, for the next four, In Nauvoo. My new P-day is Tuesday. My new companion is Sister Binkerhoff. She hails from Arizona and is 5'8". We make quite the pair. :) She is a really good missionary and we have a lot of things in common. She's a health nut when it come to eating (how perfect) and loves to run. We ran down to the river this morning and back and I thought I might die! at least I'll stay in shape for the next couple of weeks huh? It was a really good work out. We served in the site yesterday! It was fun. Pioneer dresses, as unfashionable as they are, are actually quite comfortable.
I will never forget Carthage. I grew so much there, My testimony of Joseph Smith and the restoration and the early saints grew SO much. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. That he was called of God to do the work that he did, to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth in its fullness.
To understand all of this we need to understand that because God loves us so much, and truly wants us to succeed, truly wants us to return, He has always tried to communicate with His children. Not only through prayer, but through prophets that He calls to be His mouth piece. Through these prophets we learn the will of the Lord for His children. They give us instruction from the Lord, instructions, that if followed, make it possible to return and live with Him. When they speak to us it is as if God Himself was speaking to us. We see this throughout the Bible. Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham all these men were called of God to teach the people. We also see a pattern of Apostasy...... when the people of the earth rejected the words of the prophet, rejected the direction from their Heavenly Father. After all, no one likes to be told what to do, or that what they are doing is wrong.
When Christ lived on this earth He lived and died for us. He also set up His church. With a Prophet and Apostles. He gave to them the authority to act in God's name. The priesthood. He then told them to go forth and preach His gospel. They faithfully did so. However, the people of the earth, as in times of old, rejected the words of the prophet and these apostles. In fact, many of them were hunted down and killed. That priesthood authority, the authority to act in the name of God was taken from the earth. The world entered what we call The Great Apostasy. The priesthood authority was taken from the earth and the doctrines began to be changed by men who did not have the authority to do so. Many precious truths were lost. There were men, many good men who noticed this. They tried to fix it, setting up their own churches. But the gospel was like a piece of broken glass. It needed to be restored by the living God and Christ Himself. As time went on the earth was prepared to receive the Gospel again. And in 1820, a boy, fourteen years old, confused about the will of God and concerned for the eternal state of his soul knelt in prayer under the direction of James. "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God". When His prayer was uttered he saw "a light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of the spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, 'This is my beloved son. Hear Him!". Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. They appeared to Him and answered his prayer, explaining that the true church was not upon the earth. He was instructed to continue as he was until He was instructed other wise. He was intrusted again. He brought forth a new book of scripture; The Book of Mormon, a second testament to Jesus Christ. A record that had been protected from the world, leaving it unchanged from the mouth of God. He translated this record by the power of God.. Heavenly messenger continued to attend to Him. That Priesthood Authority was restored to the earth to Joseph Smith by those who had gone before. He lived and died for this Gospel. The early saint sacrificed everything to make this Gospel and the blessings that come from it available to us if we chose to have it in our lives. I am so grateful for that sacrifice. If there is any doubt about what I have said I would encourage you not to take my word for it. This is a testimony that I gained through earnest prayer. Truths that have been witnessed to me by God. Ask Him. Humbly kneel and pray. Pray and ask God, who knows all things and is perfect and cannot lie, if these things are true. If Joseph Smith is the man that I profess him to be. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. Who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given Him". (James1:5).
I hope that all is going well with everyone back home. I hope that I did not offend anyone by the things that I have written, but I cannot apologize for the things I know to be true. I would die for this gospel, but I have been asked to live for it. I plan to do so until that day that I can return to live with Him. And I hope to see many of you there with me. :) I love you all. Know that my prayers are littered with your names.
I love this work. I cannot believe I have past my two month mark. 18 months just isn't long enough.
Sister Bailey
2Nephi 33:10
I will never forget Carthage. I grew so much there, My testimony of Joseph Smith and the restoration and the early saints grew SO much. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. That he was called of God to do the work that he did, to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth in its fullness.
To understand all of this we need to understand that because God loves us so much, and truly wants us to succeed, truly wants us to return, He has always tried to communicate with His children. Not only through prayer, but through prophets that He calls to be His mouth piece. Through these prophets we learn the will of the Lord for His children. They give us instruction from the Lord, instructions, that if followed, make it possible to return and live with Him. When they speak to us it is as if God Himself was speaking to us. We see this throughout the Bible. Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham all these men were called of God to teach the people. We also see a pattern of Apostasy...... when the people of the earth rejected the words of the prophet, rejected the direction from their Heavenly Father. After all, no one likes to be told what to do, or that what they are doing is wrong.
When Christ lived on this earth He lived and died for us. He also set up His church. With a Prophet and Apostles. He gave to them the authority to act in God's name. The priesthood. He then told them to go forth and preach His gospel. They faithfully did so. However, the people of the earth, as in times of old, rejected the words of the prophet and these apostles. In fact, many of them were hunted down and killed. That priesthood authority, the authority to act in the name of God was taken from the earth. The world entered what we call The Great Apostasy. The priesthood authority was taken from the earth and the doctrines began to be changed by men who did not have the authority to do so. Many precious truths were lost. There were men, many good men who noticed this. They tried to fix it, setting up their own churches. But the gospel was like a piece of broken glass. It needed to be restored by the living God and Christ Himself. As time went on the earth was prepared to receive the Gospel again. And in 1820, a boy, fourteen years old, confused about the will of God and concerned for the eternal state of his soul knelt in prayer under the direction of James. "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God". When His prayer was uttered he saw "a light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of the spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, 'This is my beloved son. Hear Him!". Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. They appeared to Him and answered his prayer, explaining that the true church was not upon the earth. He was instructed to continue as he was until He was instructed other wise. He was intrusted again. He brought forth a new book of scripture; The Book of Mormon, a second testament to Jesus Christ. A record that had been protected from the world, leaving it unchanged from the mouth of God. He translated this record by the power of God.. Heavenly messenger continued to attend to Him. That Priesthood Authority was restored to the earth to Joseph Smith by those who had gone before. He lived and died for this Gospel. The early saint sacrificed everything to make this Gospel and the blessings that come from it available to us if we chose to have it in our lives. I am so grateful for that sacrifice. If there is any doubt about what I have said I would encourage you not to take my word for it. This is a testimony that I gained through earnest prayer. Truths that have been witnessed to me by God. Ask Him. Humbly kneel and pray. Pray and ask God, who knows all things and is perfect and cannot lie, if these things are true. If Joseph Smith is the man that I profess him to be. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. Who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given Him". (James1:5).
I hope that all is going well with everyone back home. I hope that I did not offend anyone by the things that I have written, but I cannot apologize for the things I know to be true. I would die for this gospel, but I have been asked to live for it. I plan to do so until that day that I can return to live with Him. And I hope to see many of you there with me. :) I love you all. Know that my prayers are littered with your names.
I love this work. I cannot believe I have past my two month mark. 18 months just isn't long enough.
Sister Bailey
2Nephi 33:10
Friday, May 15, 2009
2Nephi 4:15-16
It is wet and rainy here in Illinois. And I love it! Ma, I will take alllllll of your rain! Of course, I'm not watching a group of 15-20 or so preschoolers who have to be cooped up all week. If you get frustrated or stressed out count your many blessings that you're not watching 7-10 autistic preschoolers who have to be cooped up all week! (let me pause and explain myself to anyone who may or maynot be offended by this last comment. I worked at a summer camp for Autistic children. It was THE best job I have ever had and I would not mind at all to do it for the rest of my doggone life! MY Mom came in to help one day. This day was a paticularly rough day for one of the kids I looked after and she witnessed the destruction that can occur when there is a rift in communitation between an adult and a six year old that has access to green paint, beads, and a tub of glitter. It's kind of an inside joke).
At any rate, I got some Clariton D today at walmart and I am stoked. I also got all of my pictures that were lost recovered and transfered to a Picture DVD thing, but didn't have time to print any out. I know you were all dying to know. These e-mails are funny things. I can assure you that my life is now more exciting than it has ever been. Much more exciting than recovered pictures and gigantor worms, but it's so much harder to put into words. The best part of my life has been, is now, and always will be, The Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullest on the earth today. For this small portion of my life, that gets to fill every thought that croses my mind, every book I read, every song I hear, and all the words I speak. Nothing else gets in the way. Not school, not the radio, not movies, not a job. HA! The gospel of Jesus christ IS my job. All of the noise of the world has been removed and I am able to think. Think, hear, feel this work. This Glorious gospel! this GOOD NEWS. Which is probably why things are so great.
Eternal truth: God Loves us. He loves you, He loves me, He loves that guy at work or school that smells funny. "...the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C18:10). This should not come to a shock to anyone. After all, He is our Father in Heaven. Our Father. The literal Father of our spirits! All of this, the creation, the plan, the Atonement. It is because He loves us with all the love and tenderness of a Father. I feel that Love everyday. I have always felt it, but it has become so intense these past few weeks, so crisp, so clear. Because He loves us He gave us families. Parents, siblings, people to love and grow with. Families are ordained of God and are blessed as we become closer to Him. One of the many things in this life that bring us closer to Him is prayer. Through prayer we can communicate with Him and He with us, if we listen carefully, with our whole heart, firmly believing we will recieve an answer. He will manifest the truth of all things unto them that ask. I know He hears our prayers. He waits for them. He rejoices to hear from us.
I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. I Love this work. And I love you.
Sister Bailey.
Jacob 4 is a good example of what I was trying to say in the begining of this e-mail. Particularly verse 12. The scriptures always say it better than I can. *(Jacob 4 is in The Book Of Mormon)2Nephi 4:15-16
At any rate, I got some Clariton D today at walmart and I am stoked. I also got all of my pictures that were lost recovered and transfered to a Picture DVD thing, but didn't have time to print any out. I know you were all dying to know. These e-mails are funny things. I can assure you that my life is now more exciting than it has ever been. Much more exciting than recovered pictures and gigantor worms, but it's so much harder to put into words. The best part of my life has been, is now, and always will be, The Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullest on the earth today. For this small portion of my life, that gets to fill every thought that croses my mind, every book I read, every song I hear, and all the words I speak. Nothing else gets in the way. Not school, not the radio, not movies, not a job. HA! The gospel of Jesus christ IS my job. All of the noise of the world has been removed and I am able to think. Think, hear, feel this work. This Glorious gospel! this GOOD NEWS. Which is probably why things are so great.
Eternal truth: God Loves us. He loves you, He loves me, He loves that guy at work or school that smells funny. "...the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C18:10). This should not come to a shock to anyone. After all, He is our Father in Heaven. Our Father. The literal Father of our spirits! All of this, the creation, the plan, the Atonement. It is because He loves us with all the love and tenderness of a Father. I feel that Love everyday. I have always felt it, but it has become so intense these past few weeks, so crisp, so clear. Because He loves us He gave us families. Parents, siblings, people to love and grow with. Families are ordained of God and are blessed as we become closer to Him. One of the many things in this life that bring us closer to Him is prayer. Through prayer we can communicate with Him and He with us, if we listen carefully, with our whole heart, firmly believing we will recieve an answer. He will manifest the truth of all things unto them that ask. I know He hears our prayers. He waits for them. He rejoices to hear from us.
I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. I Love this work. And I love you.
Sister Bailey.
Jacob 4 is a good example of what I was trying to say in the begining of this e-mail. Particularly verse 12. The scriptures always say it better than I can. *(Jacob 4 is in The Book Of Mormon)2Nephi 4:15-16
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Wow. No WAY!
It doesn't feel that near enough time has passed between now and the last time I was sitting in front of the computer screen. Time is passing so fast. This letter could prove to a be short one. Short and dry.
I am still giving tours. I am still loving it. I am, in the most secret corners of my heart, hoping to stay in Carthage for another transfer, but goodness knows that, because I just outed myself, I will probably be leaving. The transfer is almost done! Can it be? Only one more week in Carthage?!?! NO!
The thing about missionary work is that, for a very short period of my life, I get to be sent exactly where the Lord wants and needs me. So if He bids me go to Nauvoo I 1) will fall in Love with Nauvoo, and 2) will learn and grow and be where I need to be in order to best serve Him.
This week! What's new? The rain has left us, much to my dismay, and taken with it the earth worms I found so interesting. SO, my new favorite thing to do for our thirty-minute workouts is play around with the track equipment at the high school we go to to work out. It's track-and-field season so the hurtles are always up. I love them! We did them first as a joke and now I love to see how many I can do in a row.
Oh yeah! So for anyone to whom I promised pictures, I must retract that promise for the time being. ALL my pictures got deleted from my camera. Needless to say I was crushed. When we went to Wal-Mart today to do our grocery shopping I talked with a guy who told me to go to "Camera Land." They have the software it takes to pull up all the ghosts on my SD card and recover the pictures that were lost. I plan to get a disc of all of them, so until then, put your picture wishes on hold and know that I am just as sad, if not more than you are.
Some Canadians came through the jail this week. They were so great! it was an awesome tour! They had questions, and the spirit that was there was great! Which was saying something because it was on a day that we couldn't visit all the rooms in that jail. It was kind of frustrating. Mostly because we had some very disappointed people on our hands. People travel so far to get here. Anyway, I know this sounds weird, but I loved listening to them talk! :) It made me miss my district.
On Thursday of last week (the 30th) we worked in the yard. We weeded the brick and stones so that the jail could look its best for the visitors that came. I had A LOT of time to myself, which rarely happens on a mission and spent A LOT of time in my head. I thought about so many things. This was what I came up with:
Not all the weeds I was pulling looked like weeds. Some were actually kind of pretty, but they were growing in the wrong place. And that made them weeds. It looked so much nicer once they were gone. And when they were pulled up (all the weeds, not just the pretty ones) they needed to be pulled up by the root or else they would more easily return. And who, for one thing, wants to weed the same weed twice? Not to mention that, once weeded, a weed is thought to be taken care of. It may be overlooked for quite some time before being weeded again, growing bigger and deepening its roots the longer it is ignored. It is much easier to weed those parts of brick that have never been weeded before, because they are more obvious. It is also an ongoing process, one weed at a time, until you have a beautiful, clean layout of bricks.
Weeds are very much like sin are they not? And weeding very much like repentance.
Not all the sins we have need of repenting for look like sins. Some are actually kind of appealing, but the Lord has commanded otherwise and that makes them sins. Once they are gone not only do our lives look but feel so much better for it. And when we repent of them (all our sins, not just the appealing ones) we need to pull them out by their roots. Fully repent of them, or else they will more easily return. And, for one thing, who wants to repent of the same sin twice? Not to mention once repented of a sin is thought to be taken care of. It may be overlooked for quite sometime before being repented of again, growing bigger and deepening its roots the longer it is ignored. It is much easier to repent of sins in those areas of our lives that we have never repented for before, because they are more obvious. But sometimes, we must go back and repent again. It is also an ongoing process, one vice at a time.
Come to think of it, weeding that brick was a daunting task. I never could have done it by myself. I am so glad I had the other sister to help me. Repentance can also seem daunting. We could never do it by ourselves. Thank God, quite literally, For that Savior and His atonement. He makes the purposes of this life attainable.
Alma 7:11-13 (Book of Mormon)
I Love this work. I love you all. God be with you.
Sister Bailey
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Atonement is amazing and I love it. I also saw a raccoon.
E-mail last week didn't treat me well. Let's hope it goes better this week. MY p-days have officially moved to Tuesdays for the rest of the transfer.One thing that is really unimportant, but that I was really excited to tell everyone was that I saw a raccoon! In a tree! He is one of the locals here in Nauvoo. We are friends. A new kind of wild life has sparked my interest since then so I guess it's good to get all my wild life mumbo jumbo over with in one e-mail rather than two. The earth worms here are the size of small snakes! They are Huge! and SO cool. Sister Stagg is afraid of them which makes it all the more fun to save them on our runs. I don't know what inside of me finds her high pitched noises coupled with her high-step dance so amusing, but it always makes for a good morning.
I am serving in Carthage for at least this transfer. I love it! I love it more than I ever thought I could! Every time a visitor leaves I feel apart of my heart leave with them! At first I thought That this might pose a problem in the future. It seemed as though in a very short time there would be nothing left of my little heart to give! But oh how the Lord helps your heart grow as you serve him. It's like the loaves and fishes! The more you give your heart away the more the Lord replaces it with his. When we keep our hearts to ourselves they will dwindle and shrink. It is quite possibly the only thing that multiplies faster and faster the more we try get rid of it.
One funny story from this week was when Sister Stagg was trying to learn the notes on the key board. Sister Reece was just about to explain "Every good boy does fine" when Sister Stagg beat her to the punch. "Roy G. Biv!", she exclaimed, followed by an ever apprehensive "wait. Is that the rainbow?". It was funny.
I have two companions. Sister Thomas and Sister Goodrich. Both from Utah. Sister Thomas is my trainer and served her outbound in New Jersey with one of my friends, Hermana Stead! Small world! and the Church makes it smaller!
This mission is a very unique one. I am so blessed to be here. We get opportunities here that no other missionaries in the world get. For one we see our mission President almost EVERYDAY. And he is so cool! We eat a meal at his house every other Sunday. The Seniors are so funny, so nice and really become close friends. I love the people here. And I love the Spirit here. It is so strong and so constant! When I left I really didn't care if anyone came to see me on my mission. In fact, I kind of preferred they didn't. I am on a mission after all! However, I think I underestimated how much I was going to Love Nauvoo. What kind of place it is. I have since had a change of heart and would encourage everyone to come here and see it! I want everyone to see hear and FEEL my mission. I hope that all who can get a chance to come. There's a pageant in July and I hear that it's spectacular! Anyway, I don't want to make it sound as if you have to come. You don't. But by all means feel free to.
Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is Christ and His Atonement for us. How complex it is. This topic has occupied my mind many times before but as a missionary it has been one of the most popular topics of both my day dreams and directed study time. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the importance of utilizing the atonement in our lives everyday! This world is dirty. We are Sons and Daughters of God! we are not meant to be dirty. The weight of the world can bring us so low, drag us so far out of the light. The only way to be clean again, walk in the light, rise above it all and have the weight lifted is to LET him take it. To use this infinite atonement in the way he always intended us too.(Matthew 11:28-30) We have been promised peace and rest when we do. We need to stop trying to find a place for Christ and his atonement in our lives and start to find our place in his atonement. We should not live in this world with a piece of his atonement in our pockets we need to live in His Atonement and leave the world behind completely! We were never meant to set up our permanent residence here anyhow. If it feels at times that we don't belong here it is because we don't. We are strangers here, visitors from "holier spheres". That is why things feel so empty when we are estranged from God. He is our literal Father in Heaven and we were with him once. That is our
home! We were always intended to return. He awaits our return! And although we get to be and are expected to be happy here (2Nephi 2:25) our true joy lies elsewhere. Our true Joy lies with him. And it is made possible to get there through His Atonement. He died for us. He conquered death both spiritually and physical that we may live again! He made the way. He is the way. Let us not waste it.
I have a deep and abiding Love for each and everyone of you. You are in my thoughts and Prayers through out the day. <3333333
2Nephi 25:26!!! And remember! "Joy is a very serious business of Heaven." C.S. Lewis
Sister Bailey
P.S. 3Nephi 4:10 (add 8 and 9 too it still works beautifully!) change "Nephites" to "Missionaries" and "Giddianhi" to "The Advisary" It's kind of funny and Kind of cool. Something I did this week in my studies.
I am serving in Carthage for at least this transfer. I love it! I love it more than I ever thought I could! Every time a visitor leaves I feel apart of my heart leave with them! At first I thought That this might pose a problem in the future. It seemed as though in a very short time there would be nothing left of my little heart to give! But oh how the Lord helps your heart grow as you serve him. It's like the loaves and fishes! The more you give your heart away the more the Lord replaces it with his. When we keep our hearts to ourselves they will dwindle and shrink. It is quite possibly the only thing that multiplies faster and faster the more we try get rid of it.
One funny story from this week was when Sister Stagg was trying to learn the notes on the key board. Sister Reece was just about to explain "Every good boy does fine" when Sister Stagg beat her to the punch. "Roy G. Biv!", she exclaimed, followed by an ever apprehensive "wait. Is that the rainbow?". It was funny.
I have two companions. Sister Thomas and Sister Goodrich. Both from Utah. Sister Thomas is my trainer and served her outbound in New Jersey with one of my friends, Hermana Stead! Small world! and the Church makes it smaller!
This mission is a very unique one. I am so blessed to be here. We get opportunities here that no other missionaries in the world get. For one we see our mission President almost EVERYDAY. And he is so cool! We eat a meal at his house every other Sunday. The Seniors are so funny, so nice and really become close friends. I love the people here. And I love the Spirit here. It is so strong and so constant! When I left I really didn't care if anyone came to see me on my mission. In fact, I kind of preferred they didn't. I am on a mission after all! However, I think I underestimated how much I was going to Love Nauvoo. What kind of place it is. I have since had a change of heart and would encourage everyone to come here and see it! I want everyone to see hear and FEEL my mission. I hope that all who can get a chance to come. There's a pageant in July and I hear that it's spectacular! Anyway, I don't want to make it sound as if you have to come. You don't. But by all means feel free to.
Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is Christ and His Atonement for us. How complex it is. This topic has occupied my mind many times before but as a missionary it has been one of the most popular topics of both my day dreams and directed study time. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the importance of utilizing the atonement in our lives everyday! This world is dirty. We are Sons and Daughters of God! we are not meant to be dirty. The weight of the world can bring us so low, drag us so far out of the light. The only way to be clean again, walk in the light, rise above it all and have the weight lifted is to LET him take it. To use this infinite atonement in the way he always intended us too.(Matthew 11:28-30) We have been promised peace and rest when we do. We need to stop trying to find a place for Christ and his atonement in our lives and start to find our place in his atonement. We should not live in this world with a piece of his atonement in our pockets we need to live in His Atonement and leave the world behind completely! We were never meant to set up our permanent residence here anyhow. If it feels at times that we don't belong here it is because we don't. We are strangers here, visitors from "holier spheres". That is why things feel so empty when we are estranged from God. He is our literal Father in Heaven and we were with him once. That is our
home! We were always intended to return. He awaits our return! And although we get to be and are expected to be happy here (2Nephi 2:25) our true joy lies elsewhere. Our true Joy lies with him. And it is made possible to get there through His Atonement. He died for us. He conquered death both spiritually and physical that we may live again! He made the way. He is the way. Let us not waste it.
I have a deep and abiding Love for each and everyone of you. You are in my thoughts and Prayers through out the day. <3333333
2Nephi 25:26!!! And remember! "Joy is a very serious business of Heaven." C.S. Lewis
Sister Bailey
P.S. 3Nephi 4:10 (add 8 and 9 too it still works beautifully!) change "Nephites" to "Missionaries" and "Giddianhi" to "The Advisary" It's kind of funny and Kind of cool. Something I did this week in my studies.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wahoo Nauvoo
Apr 15 (1 day ago) |
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We arrived in St. Louis around 1:15 pm central time. When we first got here the whole Mission Presidency was there to meet us and they took us all out to dinner before making the 3 hour drive back to Nauvoo. We ate at a Homestyle Buffet that was actually pretty good. On the drive to Nauvoo we all got to know each other. There were three different vans with 6 Sisters each, so there are 18 Sisters total. 11 of us are straight from the MTC and 7 of us are coming home from their outbounds. Some of the places they served were, Georgia, New Jersey, Chicago, Montana, Colorado...and other places i can't remember. Nauvoo lives up to it's name (beautiful in Hebrew) and it's actually kind of nice to get out of the mountains again (no offense to any Utah readers). I missed the green. We got a quick look at the Visitor Center before being herded into one of the theaters to have a meeting about some of the mission specifics. President Ludwig handled first things first and gave us our area assignments. It was really weird. As he pulled out the list I already knew where I was going. I was absolutely positive. I also knew that Sister Parker would not be coming with me. It was weird not to be with her last night, but the callings we received are divinely inspired and I'm so thankful that the Lord is leading this work and that I have him to follow, him to lean on and him to build on. Helaman 5:12!!!(Book Of Mormon). Always remember that. There is so much comfort in that knowledge and that promise. I will be stationed in Carthage for at least my first transfer. There are 5 other sisters stationed there and four sets of Senior missionaries that had little goody bags waiting for us. Above all else you can be assured that I am VERY well taken care of. We live in an old Victorian house that has been refurnished and cut up into 5 different apartments. 5? 6? I can't remember. I have already fallen in love with the Mississippi River. I'm not quite sure why really, but I think it may be because it perfectly reflects what ever sky God has picked out for me that day. The sunsets are breath taking and the air is so much cleaner than anywhere else I have ever been. Everything is cleaner, clearer, crisper. I am so excited to finally be here and can't wait to finally start. These next couple days will be spent doing interviews, touring, trekking, going to meetings and other little things. Today we got our pioneer dresses (which I won't be wearing at Carthage) and got our grocery shopping done in Keokuk Iowa. Yes, we have to leave the state in order to find a Wal-mart. This morning before coming back to Nauvoo three other Sisters (Sister Paterson, Sister Stagg, and Sister Picard) all went for a run. A RUN!!! OUTSIDE! It felt so good. We get assigned our companions during our interviews with President Ludwig today and I have yet to go in, so I can't tell you anything about that.
OH YEAH!!!!! The Temple is GORGEOUS and we get to go tomorrow. The Saints were so dedicated to this place. It meant so much to them and the Temple was a huge part of that. The hope they received from the temple was both the thing that made it so hard to walk away and the thing that helped them face the trial they faced on the long road ahead of them after the Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered. The knowledge that they would be together with their loved one for time and all eternity helped them press on. I am so grateful that I have this blessing in my life. That I have access to those blessings that come from the temple. That I will be with them in this life and see and hear and laugh with them in the life to come. I love all of you.
Tonight we are having dinner at the Ludwig's house. I expect it to be wonderful time. I hope all is well back home. I want to thank you all for your prayers. They are felt here and goodness knows that if there be any time in my life when I need your prayers it would be now. And thank you for your letters! We haven't gotten the mail yet today but I look forward to reading your letters!!!! I love you I love you. I love you.
Sister Bailey
2Nephi1:9 &15. These are some verses I have been pondering. Verse 9 holds the instructions and verse 15 holds the promise
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Anne's Mom is senile or Time to play catch up
(You choose the most appropriate title!)
Okay, so this is Anne's mom. I talked with Anne today! She got to call me while she was at the Salt Lake City airport waiting for her flight to Nauvoo. She sounded great. I asked her if she would be sending any emails and she sounded surprised and said she had already sent three. I told her I hadn't received any. She then told me she was sending them to my gmail account. Well.....I forgot I had a gmail account! We set it up just before she left and I forgot...what can I say? I am old and forgetful! I have been looking for email on my aol account and just figured she was only sending letters through the mail. Whoops...my bad. So below are the three emails that I should have been posting weekly. Hope you have a little time to read. Now that I remember I have a gmail account I'll be sure and check it. Here are emails from Anne's past three weeks in the MTC...
March 25th
Week 1
Everyone!
It has been one week since I left and things are great! I hope things are going great at home. The MTC is wonderful, alot of work, but so worth it. I am so blessed to have this time to learn all that I can before I go out into the world. The Lord really does look after us in ways we cannot comprehend. My companion's name is Sister Parker. She is heaven sent. She is so strong where I am so weak. She is from bountiful Utah. Our love for this gospel and our teestimonies of God and his plan of happiness for us build off one another. There are six Sisters to a room but for the past week we've only had four. It's been nice to have the space, but that ends today! Two new Sisters who are going to be learning spainish are moving in today and we are excited to meet them. Sister Parker and I's roommates names are Sister Hudson (Washington State, serving in Pheonix AZ!) and Sister Urquijo (You're-Key-Ho)(orrigionally from Columbia, baptized into the Church at ten years old and immigrated to canada serving in Toronto canada). They are great! we are all really close. Us and the Elders in our District!!! They are so funny and really can bring the spirit into the room when they sing! we got two of them to do a solo for us of the first verse of a hymn and they we joined,. The spirit is always there to testify of the truth in those hymns, but my goodness the feeling in the room after those two sang!! There is Elder Van Bruggen and Elder Baker(one of the singers). They're the canadians. And they are so funny!Then there is Elder Beard (Idaho, serving in Pheonix AZ and our inspired Dirsrict leader!probably the funniest too) and Elder Mijares (Me-har-es) (The example of the bunch. kindo of shy, but so cute when he comes out of his shell, also serving in pheonix AZ). The Branch presidency is amazing. Basically everything is amazing! I did get my journal and pen Mom! Thanks for leaving it for me!and clip. I got that too. I do my laundry in a dungeon and we get 50 minutes of work out time four times a week!!!!!!! I LOVE IT! We are suppose to get up by 6:30 at the latest, my companion and I get up and 5:25 to study and I generally find my self fully conscious around 3:30 AM! sometimes I canfall back asleep and sometimes I can't. When I can't I just study. Lights out is at 10:30 and my room is Stellar wehn is come to abiding by the rule for our mission!!! The Lord blesses you when you do as he asks and we are allllll about blessings. The only other person beside Sister Morgan that I've seen Is Elder Head. It was crazy!!!! He is the old roommate of Emily Gray's Friend (and mine) named Dustin!!! And right before I left Rexburg I got a priesthood blessing from him and Dustin for my shoulder and my confidence!!!! It was so good to see him and so unexpected! He is serving in California, spainish speaking and got here one week before i did. WoW! time goes by so fast. I wont beable to write much more but I want To! Mom, in the letter to Dad I wrote of some really cool experiences, could you put them on the blog too? Thanks! I love you all!!! your are the besty! you are always in my thoughts and prayers!! Moroni 8:3!! (This reference is in the Book of Mormon. If you are reading this and don't have a copy, get one from the Elders in your area!!! there will be many more!!!) I feel like this letter is such a shell of what I wanted it to be.God be with all of you until we meet again!!!I love you all
Sister Bailey
April 1, 2009
Week 2
Thanks for all the letters to all who wrote me!!! Famjam, You are great. I always enjoy reading what you have to say and I hope you enjoy the pictures!!! LINDSEY!!! write me I love you.
This week was really good, really funny. Productivity will hopefull go up this week.We worked hard this week but there was ALOT of fun. I think the long hours in the same 15 by 15 white washed walls is starting to get to everyone a little bit. The really sad thing is that Sister Parker and I are going to be left by our lonesome next week. Our distrct is leaving for the field and we have a week of visitor center stuff to do. Boo. It wouldn't be half as bad if they weren't leaving. We've grown so close. We're going to miss them. Thank goodness for letters.
SO some funny things from this week:
We were doing a mock lesson, the Canadian Elders were the missionaries and the American Elders were the investigators. Elder Beard pronounced Elder Van Bruggen's name correctly and Elder Van Bruggen said, "Thats very good! Are you Dutch?" Elder Beard, "No, but I've been to Dutch before."
That was the end of the lesson. It was hilarious.
Elder Bailey and I ate bananas at breakfast by breaking them in half and shoving the whole thing in our mouths. The Elders were all incredable impressed, which was confusing, but flattering none the less. I was actually embarrassed at how much I enjoyed the cheering and aplause.
Elder Beard and Elder Baker were having a starring contest and Elder Van Bruggen didn't know. He was trying to talk to them and got pretty frustrated finally exclaiming "Why aren't you talking to me?!?!?!" and smacked Elder Bread across the face. Also hilarious. Elder Bread got him back later that day though. He was listening to the bookshelf and told Elder Van Bruggen that you could "hear people talking" in there. When Elder Van Bruggen put his ear on the bookshelf to hear, Elder Beard gave the other side of the Bookself a good smack. Elder Van Bruggen's face was priceless. he then said, "Hey! Why does Sister Parker only laugh when people get hurt?" We have the best District ever. Oh! and we found out that our teacher Brother Neary can fit his ear through a ring. That you put on your finger. It was really weird. Then I found out I could do it too and it was even weirder. I sent a picture home about it. (to the family). You should all try it.
Sister Parker and I were able to make it to the temple today and it was wonderful. The Elders finished before us and then waited for us outside. We really do have the best Elders. They might be nuts but they are so focused on this work and they love the gospel so much. I love it. They are wonderful.
My all time favorite thing about this week was on Tuesday at devotional. Elder Brewerton from the quorm of the Seventy spoke. He said this, "You cannot exagerate how important you are in the Lord's eyes". He was saying it referring to the missionaries in the audience but I couldn't help but think of how it applied to all of us. You CANNOT exaggerate how important you are in the eyes of the Lord. Or your nieghbor. Or the members of your family. Or the people you care about the most. In D&C 18 the Lord talks about this too; that "the worth af a soul is great in the sight of God", but I liked the way he put it. Are we thinking of ourselves and the people around us in this manner? Are we treating them the way God would expect us to treat them? Are we treating ourselves the way he would expect us to treat ourselves? Are we keeping that in mind when we fight and argue? And are we finding comfort in this when trials come our way or to our loved ones? Because we should. I am so glad to have testimony of that, particularly now as I am away from you all. I could never exaggerate how important you are in the Lord's eyes and in mine. Remember that. I know that The Lord is with you. I know this because I know how important you all are to him and because you are all in my prayers. My prayers have become a very lengthy part of my day and I am so greatful for it. I love you all. God be with you.
Sister Bailey
April 10, 2009
HAPPY EASTER! HE LIVES!
HAPPY EASTER! OUR LORD IS RISEN! HE LIVES! HE LIVES! I know that He Lives! And because He does we can too! Moses 1:39 " For this is my work and my glory. To bring to pass the immortallity and eternal life of man!" Easter is not given the credit and focus it deserves. It is about so much more than bunnies and pastel colors. It is His birth day!His resurrection! The day that death was conquered and the way was made, the gate unlocked! D&C128: 22 Shall we not go on in so great a cause? go forward! not backward! onward onward to victory!!!
We already know who wins this war. We just have to decide which side we want to be standing with in the last day. I know where I am. I know where I will be. Always and forever.
Ok, so this week hasn't been anything earth shattering. Kind of sad actually. Our whole disrict left on Tuesday so Sister Parker and I have been a little meloncholy(SP?). We leave on Tuesday (the 14th). We are so ready to leave. All the V.C. sister's are. The MTC is still amazing, it's just a little lonely. Tomorrow we go to temple square then it's Sunday, then we pack, then we leave. The count down is on! Thanks to all who wrote! The letters mean so much and I love hearing about you. There's not much to write about this week. General Conference was AWSOME and there couldn't be a better way to send off our disrict. We got to spend so much time with them! My favorite quote from this week comes from one of my teachers. "You will feel more than you are when you are standing next to the Savior". I know this to be true. I have felt how that feels. I am feeling that right now. This whole time. The kind of progression that happens in the Gospel is like progress on steriods and I know that it is because God can throw you farther than any of us can jump. I absolutely love this work. I absolutely Love this gospel. I absolutely Love you.
Sister Bailey.
Moroni 7:29 and 27!!!!!! These are both from the Book of Mormon again. If you're reading this and don't have one yet I'm serious when I say *get one. The references are not going to stop.
*if you want one and are in the NO. VA area Anne's mom can get one for you...just call her!
(You choose the most appropriate title!)
Okay, so this is Anne's mom. I talked with Anne today! She got to call me while she was at the Salt Lake City airport waiting for her flight to Nauvoo. She sounded great. I asked her if she would be sending any emails and she sounded surprised and said she had already sent three. I told her I hadn't received any. She then told me she was sending them to my gmail account. Well.....I forgot I had a gmail account! We set it up just before she left and I forgot...what can I say? I am old and forgetful! I have been looking for email on my aol account and just figured she was only sending letters through the mail. Whoops...my bad. So below are the three emails that I should have been posting weekly. Hope you have a little time to read. Now that I remember I have a gmail account I'll be sure and check it. Here are emails from Anne's past three weeks in the MTC...
March 25th
Week 1
Everyone!
It has been one week since I left and things are great! I hope things are going great at home. The MTC is wonderful, alot of work, but so worth it. I am so blessed to have this time to learn all that I can before I go out into the world. The Lord really does look after us in ways we cannot comprehend. My companion's name is Sister Parker. She is heaven sent. She is so strong where I am so weak. She is from bountiful Utah. Our love for this gospel and our teestimonies of God and his plan of happiness for us build off one another. There are six Sisters to a room but for the past week we've only had four. It's been nice to have the space, but that ends today! Two new Sisters who are going to be learning spainish are moving in today and we are excited to meet them. Sister Parker and I's roommates names are Sister Hudson (Washington State, serving in Pheonix AZ!) and Sister Urquijo (You're-Key-Ho)(orrigionally from Columbia, baptized into the Church at ten years old and immigrated to canada serving in Toronto canada). They are great! we are all really close. Us and the Elders in our District!!! They are so funny and really can bring the spirit into the room when they sing! we got two of them to do a solo for us of the first verse of a hymn and they we joined,. The spirit is always there to testify of the truth in those hymns, but my goodness the feeling in the room after those two sang!! There is Elder Van Bruggen and Elder Baker(one of the singers). They're the canadians. And they are so funny!Then there is Elder Beard (Idaho, serving in Pheonix AZ and our inspired Dirsrict leader!probably the funniest too) and Elder Mijares (Me-har-es) (The example of the bunch. kindo of shy, but so cute when he comes out of his shell, also serving in pheonix AZ). The Branch presidency is amazing. Basically everything is amazing! I did get my journal and pen Mom! Thanks for leaving it for me!and clip. I got that too. I do my laundry in a dungeon and we get 50 minutes of work out time four times a week!!!!!!! I LOVE IT! We are suppose to get up by 6:30 at the latest, my companion and I get up and 5:25 to study and I generally find my self fully conscious around 3:30 AM! sometimes I canfall back asleep and sometimes I can't. When I can't I just study. Lights out is at 10:30 and my room is Stellar wehn is come to abiding by the rule for our mission!!! The Lord blesses you when you do as he asks and we are allllll about blessings. The only other person beside Sister Morgan that I've seen Is Elder Head. It was crazy!!!! He is the old roommate of Emily Gray's Friend (and mine) named Dustin!!! And right before I left Rexburg I got a priesthood blessing from him and Dustin for my shoulder and my confidence!!!! It was so good to see him and so unexpected! He is serving in California, spainish speaking and got here one week before i did. WoW! time goes by so fast. I wont beable to write much more but I want To! Mom, in the letter to Dad I wrote of some really cool experiences, could you put them on the blog too? Thanks! I love you all!!! your are the besty! you are always in my thoughts and prayers!! Moroni 8:3!! (This reference is in the Book of Mormon. If you are reading this and don't have a copy, get one from the Elders in your area!!! there will be many more!!!) I feel like this letter is such a shell of what I wanted it to be.God be with all of you until we meet again!!!I love you all
Sister Bailey
April 1, 2009
Week 2
Thanks for all the letters to all who wrote me!!! Famjam, You are great. I always enjoy reading what you have to say and I hope you enjoy the pictures!!! LINDSEY!!! write me I love you.
This week was really good, really funny. Productivity will hopefull go up this week.We worked hard this week but there was ALOT of fun. I think the long hours in the same 15 by 15 white washed walls is starting to get to everyone a little bit. The really sad thing is that Sister Parker and I are going to be left by our lonesome next week. Our distrct is leaving for the field and we have a week of visitor center stuff to do. Boo. It wouldn't be half as bad if they weren't leaving. We've grown so close. We're going to miss them. Thank goodness for letters.
SO some funny things from this week:
We were doing a mock lesson, the Canadian Elders were the missionaries and the American Elders were the investigators. Elder Beard pronounced Elder Van Bruggen's name correctly and Elder Van Bruggen said, "Thats very good! Are you Dutch?" Elder Beard, "No, but I've been to Dutch before."
That was the end of the lesson. It was hilarious.
Elder Bailey and I ate bananas at breakfast by breaking them in half and shoving the whole thing in our mouths. The Elders were all incredable impressed, which was confusing, but flattering none the less. I was actually embarrassed at how much I enjoyed the cheering and aplause.
Elder Beard and Elder Baker were having a starring contest and Elder Van Bruggen didn't know. He was trying to talk to them and got pretty frustrated finally exclaiming "Why aren't you talking to me?!?!?!" and smacked Elder Bread across the face. Also hilarious. Elder Bread got him back later that day though. He was listening to the bookshelf and told Elder Van Bruggen that you could "hear people talking" in there. When Elder Van Bruggen put his ear on the bookshelf to hear, Elder Beard gave the other side of the Bookself a good smack. Elder Van Bruggen's face was priceless. he then said, "Hey! Why does Sister Parker only laugh when people get hurt?" We have the best District ever. Oh! and we found out that our teacher Brother Neary can fit his ear through a ring. That you put on your finger. It was really weird. Then I found out I could do it too and it was even weirder. I sent a picture home about it. (to the family). You should all try it.
Sister Parker and I were able to make it to the temple today and it was wonderful. The Elders finished before us and then waited for us outside. We really do have the best Elders. They might be nuts but they are so focused on this work and they love the gospel so much. I love it. They are wonderful.
My all time favorite thing about this week was on Tuesday at devotional. Elder Brewerton from the quorm of the Seventy spoke. He said this, "You cannot exagerate how important you are in the Lord's eyes". He was saying it referring to the missionaries in the audience but I couldn't help but think of how it applied to all of us. You CANNOT exaggerate how important you are in the eyes of the Lord. Or your nieghbor. Or the members of your family. Or the people you care about the most. In D&C 18 the Lord talks about this too; that "the worth af a soul is great in the sight of God", but I liked the way he put it. Are we thinking of ourselves and the people around us in this manner? Are we treating them the way God would expect us to treat them? Are we treating ourselves the way he would expect us to treat ourselves? Are we keeping that in mind when we fight and argue? And are we finding comfort in this when trials come our way or to our loved ones? Because we should. I am so glad to have testimony of that, particularly now as I am away from you all. I could never exaggerate how important you are in the Lord's eyes and in mine. Remember that. I know that The Lord is with you. I know this because I know how important you all are to him and because you are all in my prayers. My prayers have become a very lengthy part of my day and I am so greatful for it. I love you all. God be with you.
Sister Bailey
April 10, 2009
HAPPY EASTER! HE LIVES!
HAPPY EASTER! OUR LORD IS RISEN! HE LIVES! HE LIVES! I know that He Lives! And because He does we can too! Moses 1:39 " For this is my work and my glory. To bring to pass the immortallity and eternal life of man!" Easter is not given the credit and focus it deserves. It is about so much more than bunnies and pastel colors. It is His birth day!His resurrection! The day that death was conquered and the way was made, the gate unlocked! D&C128: 22 Shall we not go on in so great a cause? go forward! not backward! onward onward to victory!!!
We already know who wins this war. We just have to decide which side we want to be standing with in the last day. I know where I am. I know where I will be. Always and forever.
Ok, so this week hasn't been anything earth shattering. Kind of sad actually. Our whole disrict left on Tuesday so Sister Parker and I have been a little meloncholy(SP?). We leave on Tuesday (the 14th). We are so ready to leave. All the V.C. sister's are. The MTC is still amazing, it's just a little lonely. Tomorrow we go to temple square then it's Sunday, then we pack, then we leave. The count down is on! Thanks to all who wrote! The letters mean so much and I love hearing about you. There's not much to write about this week. General Conference was AWSOME and there couldn't be a better way to send off our disrict. We got to spend so much time with them! My favorite quote from this week comes from one of my teachers. "You will feel more than you are when you are standing next to the Savior". I know this to be true. I have felt how that feels. I am feeling that right now. This whole time. The kind of progression that happens in the Gospel is like progress on steriods and I know that it is because God can throw you farther than any of us can jump. I absolutely love this work. I absolutely Love this gospel. I absolutely Love you.
Sister Bailey.
Moroni 7:29 and 27!!!!!! These are both from the Book of Mormon again. If you're reading this and don't have one yet I'm serious when I say *get one. The references are not going to stop.
*if you want one and are in the NO. VA area Anne's mom can get one for you...just call her!
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