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| Mom Here: Emily didn't send any pictures this week, so I'll share a few of my favorites from this week back home. We're going to have 2 missionaries serving in 3 weeks! Crazy! Jacob enters the Home MTC July 8. |
Hello everyone! We had two exciting things happen this week.
1. ANOTHER MIRACLE SELF-REFERRAL! This one is soooo elect. She was taught about 2 years ago in Palmyra and remembers how much good she felt when she met with the missionaries and read the Book of Mormon, and wants that again! She requested another copy and within less than 24 hours after getting it to her she read 116 pages! We literally went crazy when she told us that. She was so happy and excited to be able to read again! She also expressed a desire to be baptized.
It reminded me of one of the favorite missionary scriptures, "And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy." It's hard! But oh so worth it which I'm reminded in moments like this.
2. We had a zoom meeting with Elder Christofferson! It was really good and so special to hear an apostle of the Lord talking to us just as the New York Syracuse mission. He talked a lot about how faith leads us to be more obedient, and obedience builds our faith, which causes more obedience, and how it spirals upwards like that. I thought that was really interesting, especially since our Mission president has really been emphasizing faith lately, and we have always been passionate about exact obedience. He also made some remarks that answered a question I have had for a couple weeks which was a sweet experience for me!
We've been teaching a lot of people about living prophets lately, and I just want to add my testimony that we are led by a prophet of God, who teaches us God's will, and if we follow him we are following God and we can't go astray!
That was about it, this week we did have the exciting announcement that we can now perform baptisms! But that is the only loosening so far.
Have a fabulous week!
Love, Sister Potts
(and now some more of Jacob... soon-to-be Elder Potts)
FUN FACTS: Translation of the Book of Mormon as requested by my companion haha
1. When Joseph Smith first obtained the plates, he didn't quite understand exactly how the plates were going to be translated. He probably assumed that they were going to need to enlist the aid of a scholar, as evidenced by Martin Harris's trip to NYC to visit Charles Anthon.
2. It became quickly apparent, however, that there was no one who could translate this record save it be by the gift and power of God.
3. And that is exactly what Joseph would say when asked about the translation, that it was done by the gift and power of God. He never gave any more detail than that, and that should be sufficient for us. We do however, have a little more insight from some of the witnesses of the translation.
4. We do know that the translation occurred with the aid of divine instruments, similar to those used in the bible and the Book of Mormon. The gospel topics essay says, "Joseph placed either the interpreters or the seer stone in a hat, pressed his face into the hat to block out extraneous light, and read aloud the English words that appeared on the instrument."
5. A lot of pictures and movies portray it incorrectly. Joseph never read from the plates to translate, and there is very little evidence that a curtain was ever hung to block him from the scribe. But overall, the translation, which took only 65 working days, was so miraculous that there is no other way that it could have been done save be by the gift and power of God!
Read the gospel topics essay to learn more!
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