Cardboard Box

So this past week I had an argument with myself, and God won.  I have learned in the last week, just how much He wants me to be happy.  How desperately He wants each of us to feel His love and to be successful.  The question lies in the definition of success.  I have had a lot of worries, concerns, doubts in my life and in my mission, just as everyone passes through.  And like so many, I was trying to face them all alone.  As you can guess, four hands are better than two...especially when two of them are the Lord's.  Before I came into the field I was asking everyone for advice.  the mission president of the Omaha Nebraska mission told me to consecrate my service to the Lord.  I thought I understood.  Well...I didn't...until now.  We have exceptional leaders in our Zone and one of our zone leaders, Elder M, shared an experience that one of his previous companions, Elder C, had gone through.  Elder C had been struggling with not feeling like the Lord could work through him.  There is a lot more to it, but we'll leave it at that.  So finally he decided to just give everything to the Lord.  Elder M described it as surrendering yourself to His will.  He said go into a room in your mind that's full of all of your worries, doubts, frustrations, hardships, concerns, distractions, desires, things that make you sad, that really break your heart, things you struggle with, your weaknesses, your pride.  And put it all in a box.  Then dust out the corners of the room and put the remnants in the box as well, then give it to the Lord.  Forget about it all.  And then say "alright Heavenly Father, I have this empty room, now what do You want me to fill it with?  Help me fill it."  And He will.  no one is interested more in our success than our Father in Heaven and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I learned that THIS WEEK, and i am so grateful.  I did what Elder M had described, what he invited me to do, and I found peace in knowing that Father can work through me.  I filled my tattered cardboard box up to the brim and gave it to God.  I'm here to be an instrument in His hands, to invite others to Come unto Christ and Help them Receive the restored gospel.  What a blessing I have.  Those two elders will be going home next week, but I will always be grateful for their experiences and how they changed my mission and my ability to consecrate my service to the Lord and surrender to His will.  I invite you to do the same.  He loves You!  He wants nothing more than your happiness.

Smile - Hermana Milmont

Good Gifts

So I have been pondering a great deal on Fathers, specifically my Father and the things that I have learned from him throughout my not so many years of earthly existence. I don't know when father's day is, but I do know it's in June... I think. So I'm taking this grand opportunity to talk about Dads:) I love my Dad. He is such a great example to me of diligence, faith, and testimony. These qualities that I observed in my father while I grew are now priceless to me as I apply them in the mission field. There are many things a father can give his child. And the most valuable things are those lessons taught without words. 

I was reading in my scriptures and I came across references that reminded me of my father. Dad always loves working with his hands. The ability to teach one's self is gained by doing. All my life I have watched my dad's projects and seen him choose the project and then research how to do it, and then diligently put it into practice. Not all of the projects turned out right the first time, but the knowledge gain was worth the experience. Papa Bear has always wanted us to learn and do things for ourselves. Nephi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon felt similarly: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be ^aindustrious, and to ^blabor with their ^chands(1)." I'm so grateful for this skill that I have learned from my Dad. It is one of the many gifts that I treasure. 

Faith is trusting in things that you cannot see, but know are true. Mosiah was a father who needed to trust the Lord as his four sons went to serve missions. I am the 4th child in our family to be serving in the mission field. I also happen to be the youngest girl, so you can imagine the type of worry a Dad may experience in sending their little girl to a foreign country for 18 months. I remember when we were at the airport before I left for the missionary training center. The trek through security was a very long and emotional walk, and my Dad watched me every step of the way, knowing that he wouldn't be able to see any other steps I would continue to take. "For the ^aLord had said unto Mosiah, [Ammon]'s father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith therefore, Mosiah ^btrusted him unto the Lord(2)." I know that my dad is praying in faith that the Lord will keep me safe, and that he, like Mosiah, is trusting me unto the Lord.

You may or may not know that my Father was not raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Therefore, in my own family, I was blessed greatly to watch and see the effects that the gospel has on a person. The growth and joy that comes as we become better people. My Dad's conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ has played a great role in my spiritual development.  As I watched my father have questions, search for answers, and pray to know the Lord's will, I too grew in my testimony that God loves His children. God loves us enough to help us grow. He knows how we need to learn and gives us the opportunity to act. I am eternally grateful that my Dad acted, and continues to act on the light he was and is given. I know that all of his children have been greatly blessed, and we all have stronger testimonies and faith, based on his example. There was a king, who received the gospel "And ... stood forth, and began to ^aminister unto them[his family]. And he did minister unto them, insomuch that his ^bwhole household were ^cconverted unto the Lord(3)."

There are so many things I wish I could share, but I must take my leave. I know that God lives, that He is our Father, and that He wants us to have a Fatherly figure here on earth, that we might feel His love through them. I have received so many blessings and gifts from my earthly father which have given me a greater understanding of who I am - a daughter of God - I know that Christ is our Savior and that his church has been restored through a modern prophet. Eternal life is the greatest gift we might receive as we live the gospel and become better people "Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?(4)."

I love you Papa Bear, Happy Fathers day, and thanks for being my Dad.

smile - Hermana Milmont

1.2nd nephi 5:17

2.alma 19:23

3.alma 22:23

4.3 nephi 14 :9 -11