Brrrr!!! It is cold here! But apparently it's supposed to warm up this week so that's good. This past week has been so great! we have seen miracle after mircacle and I am just so grateful. Sister Bonner and I are praying that we stay together for at least one more transfer. We get along so well and we have so much work to do here in Melbourne. Can you believe that there are only 2 weeks left in this transfer?! Where has the time gone? It literally feels like just yesterday that I was packing up and leaving College Station. But, I guess that just means that if time is going to pick up the pace then the work needs to pick up the pace as well. Bring it on!
So this past week we went to go and see one of our investigators and he ended up dropping us... it was super lame, but we decided to tract his street because we had nothing else to do. Three houses down from his, we knocked on the door of this really nice family who invited us in and allowed us to share a message. They had so many questions and were so curious that we ended up teaching them the entire first lesson. They invited us to come back, and so we did! We came back on Saturday and taught them about the Plan of Salvation. This caused even more questions, so we plan to go back in a couple days and continue teaching them. This Family really is such a wonderful family and I really hope something happens with them.
But, the thing I want to talk about is a Christmas production that they had bought tickets for and invited us to come to with them. It was put on by their church, so we figured it couldn't hurt, so we said why not. So yesterday after church we all drove downtown to Houston First Baptist Church to see this huge event. This thing had everything. Flashing lights, a huge choir, paid actors, choreographed musical numbers, amazing costumes, a full orchestra, live animals (camels, goats, donkeys, monkeys, A LION) aerial performers (like cirque de soleil status), fake snow, streamers and more. It really was amazing and so funny because I couldn't stop thinking about four Christmases. I think this family was hoping that this was going to make us see the error of our ways and change churches, but it really just strengthened my testimony that Christ's true church isn't found in a large and spacious building with literally thousands of people watching and listening to "baby food" messages that are easy to swallow and don't require much work on their part. The music was amazing, the costumes were great, the whole thing was visually stunning, but the thing that was missing was the spirit. It also made me incredibly sad because it made me realize that there are thousands of people in this world who lived and communed with Heavenly father before this life, and all they ever wanted was to gain a body and return to live with him, but they got lost along the way. They were deceived by Satan's tempting message that all you have to do is accept Jesus as your savior and that there is nothing else you can do or should do to obtain salvation. But to sit back and "enjoy the show" so to speak. It really made my heart hurt to think about all of the people who could be lost because they couldn't see the truth when it was presented to them, and then it made me even sadder to think about how Heavenly Father must feel about all of this, about the idea of losing any of his children. I was so overwhelmed because of the sheer numbers of people just in that building, let alone in the entire world who have not heard or would not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness. But, here's the deal. I know that Heavenly father loves us all so much that he really has prepared a unique and individual plan for each of his children to return to live with him again. He has not forgotten any of us and he is not overwhelmed by numbers. "And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few... Nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small... And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." (1Nephi 14: 12-14). We are not fighting for theirs and our own salvation alone, but we have divine assistance. We have the Atonement, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, mouths to speak, hands to lift and hearts to open to our brothers and sisters that are all around us. This church tried to tell me that Christmas was about sitting around a television watching Christmas specials and retelling the "timeless story" of the babe in Bethlehem, but I know that it's about remembering and reverencing the sacred event that is our Savior's birth. I know that even though it got me for an hour or two, there is no room or time for discouragement because there is work to be done. I don't mean to sound offensive, because I truly do respect all these people who are trying to live their faith as best they can, who are trying to follow the savior to the best of their ability and even invite others to come find out about what brings them happiness. But, I know that there is more peace and joy to be had and there is more truth to be found. I know that Christ's true church has been restored in it's fullness here upon the earth again, and that he established that church for the first time 30 years after his miraculous birth in a stable in Bethlehem. I know that his life and his mission "is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" and that we are his hands here on earth to help that work move forward. I know that there is a true and living prophet on the earth today and that his name is Thomas S. Monson and that as we follow his counsel and that of the other general authorities we will be blessed. I know these things to be true. In the the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Much Love, Sister Williams
