Hey EVERYONE!!!

Well this week has gone well. It seemed to take forever!

Last Monday I just had a lot on my mind. I had been pondering on the repentance process and I started thinking of everything in my past, and as I dug deeper and deeper I started to think, Did I confess that sin?   I know that the Atonement has changed my life but the idea that there were things, things that I have long since conquered or things done in ignorance, that I had never confessed - really bothered me. So I resolved to talk to my Mission President and guess what!!! I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER. It feels wonderful to just get it out and have confidence that I have confessed those things so that they would bother me no longer. So if you have repented, but you feel like there is something you forgot to confess, or if you still have skeletons in your closet, then go and council with your Priesthood Leaders and I promise that they will provide you with the love and understanding that only Heavenly Father can provide.

It's difficult to make the changes to our character, desires, and natures that the becoming like our Savior Jesus Christ demands, but it is infinitely rewarding. The first step is to find it in your heart to change. You have to humble yourselves. You have to recognize and admit to yourself that the things that you have been holding on to, whatever manner of impurity it may be, IS NOT good and DOES NOT help you come closer to our Heavenly Father. We have to admit that the only power over these things, our True Weaknesses, is that we can choose to yield to our Father's will and put our trust in Him. Know that He doesn't want you to struggle anymore than you want to struggle.  You can't do it alone. Ether 12:27 holds the Key. You may try and fail and try and fail, and try, try again, but we must recognize that we have weaknesses because God permits them to be our stumbling blocks for as long as we fail to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, mind, might, and strength. We must not lean unto our own understanding but instead, we must understand that we cannot truly change our characters through our own power and self discipline.

We yield to His will through prayer and scripture study. We find out His will by counseling with our family and leaders, by studying and pondering the scriptures, and as we cleanse our desires and match our standards with the standards and desires of Heavenly Father has for us. We pray for strength and receive strength through the testimony and service of others as we strive to correct our actions and allow our heart to change as the spirit works within us. Over time, as we continue to apply the principles of the gospel, our very nature is changed and we have no more desire to do evil, "But to do good continually". Our heart is replaced with that of the Savior, our actions are replaced with those of the Savior, our eyes will shine forth the love of the Savior.  It is through this process that we are able to overcome the tyranny and taint of sin. It is through these simple principles of faith and repentance that we are able to become spiritually reborn; born again in the image of our Savior, that when we rise again we may inherit the same glory as our Brother.

This week was fantastic. I love reading the Book of Mormon because I know it's true. All you have to do is ask God for yourself and He will tell you too!

Love you all!

Elder Britton P. Winterrose

PS Elder Jeffery R Holland is coming Soon!!!