March 10, 2014

Sweet week. We had our branch conference yesterday. They announced that we officially have the numbers to become a ward! The requirement is 15 active Melchezidek priesthood holders who pay a full tithe. We have those, and we had about 60ish at church yesterday. It was super cool. Now we are just lacking on the spiritual preparation to become a ward. That's the most important part. During the leadership meeting with members of the stake leadership, we talked about unity, love, and what else we need to be able to have a ward that The Lord would be proud of and of which he could trust. It was an awesome Sunday. We are super excited. I am speaking in church next Sunday about charity in an effort to help people in the branch to stop gossiping about each other and to help them to recognize and show love one towards another. Luckily I have been in wards and branches where love is shown and where the Spirit of The Lord is in great abundance. I am excited to do all that I am able to help our branch progress numerically, but more importantly, spiritually.

Here is a Bruce R. McConkie quote I came across this week. A little long, but it hit me hard.

"But when contrasted with spiritual endowments, they are of but slight and passing worth. From an eternal perspective what each of us needs is a Ph.D. in faith and righteousness. The things that will profit us everlastingly are not the power to reason, but the ability to receive revelation; not the truths learned by study, but the knowledge gained by faith; not what we know about the things of the world, but our knowledge of God and his laws.

"Joseph Smith said that a man could learn more about the things of God by looking into heaven for five minutes than by reading all the books ever written upon the subject of religion. Religion is something which must be experienced.

"I know people who can talk endlessly about religion but who have never had a religious experience. I know people who have written books about religion but who have about as much spirituality as a cedar post. Their interest in gospel doctrine is to defend their own speculative views rather than to find out what the Lord thinks about whatever is involved. Their conversations and their writings are in the realm of reason and the intellect; the Spirit of God has not touched their souls; they have not been born again and become new creatures of the Holy Ghost; they have not received revelation."

Hopefully we have more spirituality than cedar posts. Knowing the doctrine isn't enough! We have to live it and experience it, and thereby we gain a testimony. There are some things that someone who
has never lived the Gospel cannot know. They cannot know the peace that living the Gospel brings to the soul. I am a witness of that peace. I see a lack of it in people that we teach, and I wish I could
share it with them, but they can only experience it if they do the Lord's will. If you don't have quite the testimony at you want to have, live more fully the commandments and the teachings in the
scriptures and of modern day prophets. That is how we gain he knowledge that we seek.

Well not too much to speak on this week. You got my rant. You're welcome. Pictures will follow. Love you all. Get excited for General Conference! Less than a month!

Elder Dial