It's In Every One Of Us

Its in every one of us

To be wise

Find your heart

Open up both your eyes

We can all know everything

Without ever knowing why

Its in every one of us

By and by

Hello familia e amigos :) Ive been on a muppets kick,the closer it gets to christmas. by far my favorite muppet song other than the rainbow connection!!! ahhh kermy!!!! :) 

Well this week had its ups and downs as per usual. The biggest obstacle in me & Sis C's path this week was the bishopric in our ward.... lets just say, him & his wife has caused us multiple headaches and thousands of tears of frustration. I for one am immensley (forgot how to spell it sorry) grateful that Ive had nothing but amazing experiences with bishops & bishoprics. All through out college & my time in utah Ive had amazing bishops. If theres one thing Ive learned here in Londrina is to be grateful for the bishops Ive had.... 

Its a long story full of the gruesome details only appropriate for my journal, but lets just leave it at this:

I have an incredibly strong testimony of this gospel. I know the Book of Mormon is true, I know that God lives and I know my Savior died and lives for me. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this gospel is true. That the doctrines within it are pure and unadulterated and that this is the same church that was organized when Christ was on the earth.

I, however, do not have a testimony of the members. And I think thats the difference between some of the less actives we've encountered here. About a bakers dozen worth of people have left the ward here because of the things this bishop has said or done. Although it doesnt excuse the bishop in any way shape or form, its made me wonder...

Are our testimonies based on the church or the Gospel?

Because believe me theres a difference. And when I say the "church" I mean its members. I cant help but remember Jeffrey R Hollands talk "Lord I Believe" where he says: Apart from His only Begotten Son, imperfect people has been all God has to work with. It must be terribly frustrating for Him but He deals with it. And so too should we. when the infinite fulness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all.¹⁰ Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving."

If our conversion is based on what other church members or bishops or stake presidents do/say, then we will surely apostate some day in the future. If the foundation of our testimonies are rooted in our RS president or our home teachers, then we will surely have an experience that tries our faith at some point.

The point is to make sure that we differentiate between the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ and the CHURCH of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is perfect. The Gospel is pure. Its members are not.

And to leave you with a little thought I was thinking of, dear family & friends:

When I feel overwhelmed, heavy with obligations & burdened with the weight of responsibility I look at your pictures and your letters, your smiling faces and it gives me the strength to carry on. Knowing Im here for you. Because I know there is no greater gift I could give you than to give of myself for 18 months to the Lord. There is no greater blessing I could receive than to know that  through my trials and service in Brazil, you all will be blessed one hundred fold. 

I love you all so very much! 

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY H & C!!!!! :) LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!!! and even though i cant celebrate it with you i celebrated it here in cray cray brazil-ay :)