I've begun working on my own set of scriptures--The Book of Sarah. Here's what I've come up with so far:
*Chapter One
1. If thou art in my immediate family, including the husband of Lindsay, thou shalt write me an email every Sunday evening.
2. If ye love me, keep my commandments.
3. My half birthday is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to the bounteous supply of letters you have sent me.
What do you think?:)
Anyway, speaking of scriptures...
Mine
died. Remember how my back died a few weeks ago? Well my scriptures
died this week. I would rather break my back ten times over. Thursday
morning, I discovered that one of the Van Buskirk's dogs had peed in my
purse. My planner was ruined, and my scriptures were soiled. They're
not completely ruined, but they're icky enough that I don't want to use
them anymore. The Old Testament is most affected. It leaked through most
of the New Testament. I cried a lot :( Fortunately the purse was fine
after I put it through the wash and air dried it.
I know you already sent my Christmas package...but I
need new scriptures. First preference is a new set, since mine are only
6 months old. (And I poured my heart and soul into them.) Second
preference is one of Dad's old sets that he's marked up. And third is my
seminary scriptures. The markings are messy and inconsistent, but
they'll do the job. I'm really depressed about this entire situation :(
Also, if you can't send them immediately, that's fine. I can use mine
still, and I do in the mornings, but I prefer to not carry them with me
throughout the day anymore.
*Here's a funnier, happier story:
On Wednesday,
Sister Olsen and I met with the Accokeek Elders to exchange some paper
work about former investigators. Afterwards we met with a less active.
It was time to go to the Aquia Church for the free dinner service we do
each week, but we really needed to use the bathroom first. We didn't
have time (or the miles) to stop by home. The closest member was the
Hoole family, who we had Thanksgiving dinner with. We stopped by and
Brother Hoole let us in. Then he said, "the Elders are here for dinner!"
I was pretty embarrassed. The Elders thought it was funny and they
teased us a bit;) I love this ward. Also, interestingly enough, Brother
Hoole served in the Richmond Mission! He knew the Elder that was shot
and killed a few years ago. He went home a couple months before it
happened. (Robert's brother was companions with the Elder when he was
killed.)
Sister Olsen and I divided the ward boundaries into
10 smaller areas. Area 5 is one of the most difficult areas. There are
no former investigators and not a lot of ward members there. The area is
fairly affluent, and normally wealthier people are less interested in
the Gospel. We did a two hour exchange with the Sister Training Leaders
and I brought Sister Stowell tracting with me in area 5. We found 4
potentials! That's amazing! The field really is white:)
There are a few people in the ward preparing to go
to the temple. Sister Olsen and I decided to visit some of them to
encourage and uplift them. One is a convert of about 10 years and a
single mom. We also met with a young wife. Her husband is a convert and
they're going to be sealed in January. I love talking about the temple!
What an amazing experience they have in store:) Everyone, please go to
the temple as often as possible. I really miss being able to go every
week. Mommy and Dad can we please go to the DC temple in 15 months??
We've been doing a lot of work in the ward. We send a
report to the Bishop each week about our investigators and about the
TLC/less-active members in the ward that we visit. Bishop Carver seems
to really like us:) I love Accokeek.
About our investigators...Tonya is on date again!
Please pray for her always. Alex...Do you remember how my most recent
ex-boyfriend broke up with me? He sent me a text that was meant for
someone else. Sister Olsen and I had a similar situation with Alex last
night. He's leaving for his home country this week and we might not be
here when he gets back. This hurts more than my break-up...Kayla is
wonderful--you can read more about her below. Christy is going out of
state for a month. (Why are all of our investigators leaving??) Rick is
slowly progressing, and now his girlfriend is on board! I love these
people so much!!! We have about 12 or 13 investigators, 4 or 5 of whom
are progressing.
I had a pretty big faith-building experience this past week. Thursday
was a difficult day, beginning with my scriptures being peed on. That
evening, we tracted a bit. One man opened the door and stepped out onto
the porch. His first word were: "You are deceived." He went on to recite
anti material. He would give us a Bible verse and then ask us to quote
it by memory. When we told him we couldn't, he said it was because we
don't believe in the Bible. He asked if he was going to hell, and we
said no. Then he said that we were going to hell and that the Book of
Mormon was leading millions of people to hell. He interrupted everything
Sister Olsen and I tried to say. All we could do was shake his hand,
bear testimony, and leave as fast as we could.
I felt incredibly vulnerable. The second he began
speaking, I felt the Holy Ghost leave me. I've never been so sensitive
to the Spirit as I am now. Especially after receiving my endowment,
which includes a fulness of the Holy Ghost. Because he doesn't have this
gift, he can't perceive the loss of the Holy Ghost. My faith was
strengthened because this man taught me what it feels like to lose the
Spirit. I will do everything in my power to have Him with me at all
times!
It was almost dinner, so Sister Olsen and I went
home immediately after speaking with the man. We walked into our room
and I began reciting the Young Women's theme. I am a daughter of
Heavenly Father who loves me and I love Him! I'm so grateful for the
relationship I have with my Father and for all of the blessings He has
bestowed on me.
That night when we met with Kayla, the 18 year old,
we gave her the Personal Progress book and invited her to begin working
on it. We talked about how Personal Progress will help her understand
her divine role as a daughter of God. It is a powerful program!
Anyway, I wanted to tie this in to my discussion on
faith. The man kept saying things like we are saved by grace alone. In
the New Testament, it says that we are saved by grace THROUGH faith.
Here's what I've come up with about faith:
President Wilson said, "faith describes our relationship with deity."
-Consecration is a direct result of faith
-Build faith by bearing testimony in my prayers
-Reread all of the Conference addresses to increase my faith in the latter-day prophets
-Be confident that God loves me
-God is perfect, so we can be confident in Him!
-Blessings and miracles come after faith (See Hebrews 11 and Ether 12)
-"Faith must be centered in Jesus Christ to produce salvation."
-Faith comes by righteousness
-BD: Effects of faith are 1. know my life is on track 2. blessings 3. assurance of personal salvation
-"If you desire to enrich your faith to the highest possible degree, you must keep the covenants you have made." TttF
-"Looking forward to the fruit thereof" Alma 32 (faith is pointed to the future)
-Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, which are true...the truth sets us free! Faith is freedom!
I hope this helps your study of faith! I'm about half-way
through reading the Conference addresses, and I really enjoyed
President Packer's. I feel like I always get a lot more out of his after
rereading it.
I love studying one of the Christlike attributes
each month. I feel like the experiences I have always help me develop
the quality more fully. I'd love to hear from each of you about your
learning experiences!
I wanted to close with something very sweet I
received in the mail from Grandma Crandall! She sent a program from my
baptismal services. It's been 11 1/2 years since I was baptized! I
didn't know those programs were still in circulation;) She said she's
been holding on to it for a time like this, so that I could remember how
quickly time moves. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to be a
missionary right now. It's one of those hard-every-day kind of things,
but I love being here. My capacity to love and serve has grown and I
feel like I'm getting a glimpse of what Spirit Paradise will feel like.
I love my family so dearly, and I look forward to being able to speak with all of you next week! (Details will be sent to Dad.)
Love, Sister Sarah Crandall
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