If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work. {Come Unto Christ}


Monday, March 2, 2015

Brighten Your Light

These last two weeks I get the great privilege to go the temple twice! 
once with sister Chang which will be indescribably special...for her to get her endowments!!
the next with the group of departing missionaries. YAY. i can't think of anything more powerful than being in the temple with a whole herd of missionaries. 
at MLC (missionary leadership council) president asked me and 2 other sisters to bear our testimonies since that was our last one.
It was really special because when it was my turn to go up, i went and just looked into the eyes of all of these great leaders and realized that most of them were some of my greatest friends.
I thought coming out on my mission the people that would mean the most to me and that I would do the most good for would be investigators.
i never imagined that I would come out and make so many close friends with not only other missionaries and my companions but with ward members and leaders. and that most good was done TO ME from these people.  

Went on exchange with sister handy and sister smith her golden. hahah had way too many adventures. they wanted us to double into their area so we did and just went on exchange there. bless my little sister Jolley she accidentally locked their keys in their apartment! and apparently there is no spare key to be found! so after she called me and sister handy we ran over and assess the scene. we decided to say a kneeling prayer in the grubby dusty crowded staircase floor. and exactly when we finished their neighbor Jon the tennis player comes walking down stairs! He helped us and we were able to unlock the door with his help. aka screwdriver and hammer to jimmy the door. oh man good times. crazy things always happen when you get more than 2 sister missionaries together! 

Last pday we toured the masonic temple(: it was a dream. we got a super good tour guide this time and he answered all of our questions. i was very content. 
i just love love love Philadelphia and am so happy i get to end my mission here. way too lucky. 
I have thought about it for quite sometime now and have decided my future husband and I are going to be moving here (: into the independence ward and it will be the greatest thing ever. 
one of my favorite things about being here serving in a Philadelphia ward is that we have hands down the BEST fast Sunday experience you'll ever experience. I was dying yesterday
here's what went down:
we had a guy get up twice..each time in a different outfit.
a guy for like 22 minutes talking about why its okay for him to respect females
and one girl got up and said a prayer for her testimony 
i was in heaven. also a guy shared how he got shot 3 times, and how he'd been shot before, but never 3 times and how it happened on good Friday, but it didn't seem so good to him. 
i was dying! i love it here. 
GOOD TIMES. i will miss this. I have a feeling YSA's and west coast ward fast Sundays are just not gonna cut it for me now on. 

I read a really good talk called "put of the armour of light" by elder neilsen
read it and write down your thoughts:
Romans 13:12
"cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light"
I hope that we all understand that we are to reflect the light of Christ to everyone we see. 
Christ says that He is the light of the world, but clearly also states that "YE are the light of the world" With His help, we can become like Him!
Our light can shine in dark places only if we reflect it.
Sister Steadman's favorite scripture is D&C 50:24
24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
we can fill our lives with light! leaving no room for darkness.
I invite all of you to put on the armour of light! if you're not sure how exactly, read that talk(: 
continue to do things that will invite light into your life, and put away the things that cause darkness. Even if other people are radiating darkness in your life, and you feel weighed down and cannot see, I testify that light and dark cannot exist together and can promise that darkness will have no room if we are filled with light. Especially with the light of our Savior. This spiritual light has a short shelf life though. we need to be constantly, frequently, and DAILY doing those small and simple things that adds light. 

Some questions I've learned to ask myself throughout my mission is: 
how bright is my light?
Am i a dim light bulb?
or am i like the sun!?

Your light may be on, but i encourage each of you to brighten your lights
and in doing so you'll brighten those around you.  

I love you so much
and will see you soon(:
Sister Manson

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