What we are destined to become

April 14th 2010

Wow, I cannot believe I have been here one month today!! One down and 17 more to go, the time is flying by! I am trying to learn as much as I possibly can while I am here in the MTC cuz I only have 4 1/2 wks left. I leave May 17 to the mission field! Crazy!

ok ... I want you all to know how much I appreciate your letters and testimonies. It gives me so much strength.

Ok, so I really have like no time...so I will try to share with all of you what I wish to share at this time. This keyboard is difficult to type on, cuz the keys keep sticking, and its irritating me:)...but none the less I will begin.

So last night, we had a devotional. Elder Glenn L Pace from the 70 spoke and it was amazing! He asked that the devotional not be recorded because of the sacred personal experiences that he shared with us. The spirit was so strong! You could literally hear a pin drop in the entire gymnasium. It was amazing. His objective was to help us feel of the reality of our Heavenly Father's love for us. And he definitely succeeded. He talked about how in our pre-earth life we knew and loved our Heavenly Father and we were in His presence. He painted the imagery of when we were in His presence, we all shouted for joy when He told us we could become like Him, as an exalted being and our joy could be full! We accepted our assignments of what day in age we would come down to the earth, whether or not we would have the gospel, and what our lives might be like. We knew full well that this life would present hard and difficult times, but that we would endure and we would be able to return home again.

Elder Pace talked about how we made promises/commitments to specific people that we would come find them and bring them the truth. That we wouldn't leave them to wander without knowing about their Father in Heaven and the reality of His love for us. He sent us His only begotten Son to atone for our sins, heartaches, sicknesses and pains. The atonement encompasses everything! This gave me new motivation to work that much harder every day that I am here. Along with what was said in my setting apart blessing, I KNOW that I have made PROMISES to specific people that I would find them and bring them the gospel. I KNOW that many of those people are in the Spokane WA area and they are just waiting for me. Even though they may not realize it yet, they have been and are searching to be reminded of what they already know,.

Because of the veil, we cannot remember our pre-earth existence...But I KNOW with every fiber of my being that we were up in Heaven before this life , and we shouted for Joy when we heard our Heavenly Father's plan for us, and we knew that this life would but only a small moment when looking into the eternities.

My testimony of the reality of the spirit world and the resurrection, and the Celestial Kingdom has been strengthened immensley. We recently studied D&C 76 which talks about the 3 kingdoms of Glory. I encourage you all to go read it, and not just read but study it. It is amazing what the Holy Ghost has made manifest to me. I know that we ALL can return to live with our Father in Heaven again, and that we can be together as a family FOREVER! We all have to do OUR part though. Salvation does not come cheap. Every day we need to use the Atonement and rely on the Merits of our savior to be perfected. We need to keep our covenants of baptism and nourish our testimonies. Every day that we arent moving forward, even if we are just standing still, we are technically moving backwards. Although we arent perfect, every day we need to strive to be better. And on the days when we fall short, we need to remember our Savior, repent and try again. I want nothing more than to be with all of you in the presence of God as an eternal family. Try to look at things with an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE. This life truly is but a small moment. Dont let Satan in. Dont let him diminsh your divine worth. Hold to the iron rod and stay in the straight and narrow path. It is so vitally important that we help each other along this path of life. Find joy in the journey, but eternal joy. Not temporary joy. The world will tell you that the things of this world are what brings happiness, but I PROMISE you...there is nothing that could bring more happiness than coming before the judgment seat of God and knowing we passed the test of mortality and we are going to return to live with Him and with our families for the rest of time and all eternity.

I know these things to be true. It is something I could never deny! Every day that I am here, I am being molded into the person I am destined to become. We all have a divine potential. Hold on to your testimonies, nourish them, and know that with the Lord anything is possible!

Con mucho amor,

Sister V