week 29

Dear Friends and Family,

This past week my companion and I found a couple people who we are super excited to start teaching this next week and hopefully longer. I know God answers our prayers to lead us to people who need us. Sometimes I struggle to know what to write about by the time Monday roles around because so much happens!

I would like to mention a talk I got to read though from the Priesthood session given by M. Russell Ballard. It is amazing and includes several questions that I will copy into this letter that help us gauge our spirituality.

1. Do you search the scriptures regularly?

2. Do you kneel in prayer to talk with your Heavenly Father each morning and each night?

3. Do you fast and donate a fast offering each month—even if you are a poor, struggling student who can’t afford to donate much?

4. Do you think deeply about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice for you when you are asked to prepare, bless, pass, or partake of the sacrament?

5. Do you attend your meetings and strive to keep the Sabbath day holy?

6. Are you honest at home, school, church, and work?

7. Are you mentally and spiritually clean? Do you avoid viewing pornography or looking at websites, magazines, movies, or apps, including Tinder and Snapchat photos, that would embarrass you if your parents, Church leaders, or the Savior Himself saw you?

8. Are you careful with your time—avoiding inappropriate technology and social media, including video games, which can dull your spiritual sensitivity?

9. Is there anything in your life you need to change and fix, beginning tonight?

Anyway, I just really loved the talk, especially the above questions and I think I will be using those questions often with myself. I know I can always do better. I love the scriptures, but I realize that I really don't know them that well so I'm going to study with more focus and intent to find answers to questions i or others might have. I pray, but am I always praying with real intent and sincerely?

I am so grateful for modern day prophets and apostles to help lead and guide us in the way we should go in order to return to live happily in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ after this life. I know that it's the little things like studying the scriptures (not just reading), praying often- sincerely, and going to church that will help us remain faithful and true in the Gospel. If we find ourselves struggling those are the 3 basic things we need to make sure we are doing. Also go to your leaders! The bishop is there to help as well as your home teachers and/or visiting teachers! Also for the youth, go to your young men and women leaders. I know they love you. I am so grateful for all the teachers and leaders I had that were such wonderful examples, who loved me and encouraged and helped me.

One more thing, do missionary work! I have learned that full-time missionaries can not do much with out the members' help. Reach out and offer to help the missionaries. See if their investigators need rides to church or other activites, or if you could accompany them to a lesson. Take the missionaries to see your friends. If you don't have friends you think would accept the gospel, think again! You never know who might be ready. I read a talk about that in the Ensign the other day. About how later on in life someone reconnected with a friend from high school that had later on found out about the church and gotten baptized, but he asked his friend who was a member in high school why he hadn't told him about the gospel sooner. So moral of the story is basically you won't know if someone will accept the gospel unless you invite them to. So my challenge to everyone is to reach out to the missionaries in your ward or branch and see what you can do to help them.

Well I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

week 28

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been a busy one, full of finding and teaching many people. It's been amazing to see how God leads us to certain places so that we can meet specific people. I can't say how many appointments that we had set ended up falling through, but in their places we found others to teach right around where the appointment was originally supposed to be.

This past Sunday the family of three that was baptized where all confirmed and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It was so awesome to see how happy they were. I can't even think about them without just feeling this fulness within me and I know it truly is that joy that comes from serving God's children and helping them make covenants, or promises, with Him.

Today I wanted to make mention of something that has been on my mind a lot lately- the family and a way Satan is trying to tear it apart. That way is pornography. Just this morning my companion and I received a text from someone who wanted to know who we were because we had been texting her husband. She mentioned how there had been problems recently with infidelity and she just wanted to make sure her husband wasn't falling back into this because they had been working hard to overcome it. Long story short we were able to speak with her because we called her to explain why we had her husbands number (given by a family member who said he might be interested) and who we were and what we do as missionaries and what we invite others to do. We talked about the importance of families in God's plan for us and in the end she just asked that we pray for her and her husband. After ending the phone call my companion and I talked a lot about pornography and how destructive it is and how it leads to even greater sins. And so with that I want to insert a few paragraphs from a talk in the April 2015 Ensign- The Savior's Selfless and Sacred Sacrifice.

Satan Attacks the Family

President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988) told me once, “Don’t just tell them so that they can understand, tell them so that they cannot misunderstand.”
Nephi said: “For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3).
So listen up! I will speak plainly as one called and under obligation to do so.
You know that there is an adversary. The scriptures define him in these terms: “That old serpent, who is the devil, … the father of all lies” (2 Nephi 2:18). He was cast out in the beginning (see D&C 29:36–38) and denied a mortal body. He has now sworn to disrupt “the great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8) and become an enemy to all righteousness. He focuses his attacks on the family.
You live in a day when the scourge of pornography is sweeping across the world. It is hard to escape it. Pornography is focused on that part of your nature through which you have the power to beget life.
To indulge in pornography leads to difficulties, divorce, disease, and troubles of a dozen kinds. There is no part of it that is innocent. To collect it, view it, or carry it around in any form is akin to keeping a rattlesnake in your backpack. It exposes you to the inevitable spiritual equivalent of the serpent’s strike with its injection of deadly venom. One can easily understand, with the world being what it is, that you can almost innocently be exposed to it, read it, or view it without realizing the terrible consequences. If that describes you, I warn you to stop it. Stop it now!
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/04/the-saviors-selfless-and-sacred-sacrifice?lang=eng

There is the link if anyone wants to read the rest of the talk. I really recommend it. I hope everyone can think more about the importance of the family and work even harder in your own lives to protect yourself and your family from things like pornography that will destroy you- the way you view others and the world, your self confidence, and your ability to feel the influence of the spirit in your life. It is never too late to stop doing something that you know is destructive. Talk to with God through prayer. Read in the scriptures. Go to your bishop and speak with him. Make commitments to yourself and others and God to improve. Reach out for help from those around you, the Savior. All of things apply to any challenges we might have or trials or addictions or struggles

Well that all is kind of a heavy topic but I just wanted to share just a little bit of my thoughts.

I love you all and hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

week 27 (with recordings)

Dear Family and Friends,

So pictures are worth a thousand words right? So here we go....

So this is the family that got baptized yesterday- Juan Norma and Erick and then us two missionaries, and the person on the left side is Miguel who comes out with us sometimes and is an awesome member missionary. He is the one who performed the baptisms.

Juan and Norma got married Saturday afternoon/evening. Us missionaries helped make sure things went smoothly and helped serve food and set up and clean up. Everything went so well because of all the support and help from the members of the branch.

So here's a picture from the wedding. Kinda blurry, but here we are. :)

So this weekend was amazing. SO MUCH HAPPINESS! :)

Alright well, I hope everyone has a great week! :) I will plan on writing a little more. Time just kind of got away from me this week.

Love,

Hermana Brighton

At the following links you can listen to a couple songs Hermana Brighton and her companion sang. The first they sang at the wedding.
You can listen to a couple songs Hermana Brighton and her companion sang.

Mas Cerca Dios de Ti

Hazme En La Luz Andar

these links will take you to a dropbox file and you can download the songs from there- you do not need to have dropbox to access the songs.

week 26

How was your Easter holiday? It was interesting to note how I almost forgot about the Easter Bunny and eggs and candy and such. I got a package from the Leavitts with eggs and so that was a happy surprise/reminder. (Thank you!) Also at dinner yesterday my companion and I were given bags that had candy and eggs and such. :)

As missionaries we have been sharing little cards that say #GraciasaqueElvive or the english version is #BecauseHeLives because there is a little video that goes along with it that is awesome. http://www.mormon.org/spa/pascua  <----- that's the link in Spanish
http://www.mormon.org/easter<------and in English

The video helps us remember why it is that we celebrate Easter- because of the Resurrection of Christ. It was kind of funny because my companion and I were teaching a lesson and we were trying to figure out how the Easter Bunny and everything ties into the real reason for Easter...we mentioned a few things such as new beginnings (for the eggs) and how it's 'sweet' to know that we will live again (hence the candy) but honestly I'm not really sure about the Easter Bunny (though I could of course come up with some interesting ideas). Anyway, my invitation for anyone who reads this is to watch the 2 and a half minute video and just think for a moment about the gifts that come to us because of Christ and His example, atonement and resurrection.

This week has been full of little miracles here and there as well as several challenging moments. We have been helping a couple prepare for their wedding and then baptism and they will be getting married this coming Saturday and then will be baptized with their son Sunday evening. I am so grateful I have had a small part in helping them prepare to take these life changing steps. I am so excited for their future and all the blessings that await them as they continue to faithfully make and keep covenants. On a funny side note, this week we received a text from the couple saying they couldn't get married and we were devastated for them. After we had responded the best we could, several minutes later we got a text saying April Fools! Man that was the meanest but I have to admit pretty good April Fools joke ever.

This past week we found a couple people who are less active by pure miracles. One was from a referral that ended up not being the right address, but that led us to someone who is inactive and we were able to get to know her. The other person we found also came by way of trying to contact a referral. We went to the apartment and weren't able to get in and as we were leaving we started talking to this woman who ended up being a less active member and she took us to the door of the person who we were trying to find. He wasn't there but we were able to get the woman's phone number and we are planning on meeting with her later this week.

Conference this past weekend was incredible. I love how it focused so much on the importance of protecting the family and also not letting technology pull us away from what's really important in life. There were also several other talks that answered pretty directly other questions I have had on my mind. I loved the talk Saturday Afternoon by Wilford W Anderson so here is a link to it. ---> https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2015/04?lang=eng&vid=4153714715001&cid=9

So on Saturday we watched conference in English but on Sunday we watched it in Spanish. I was very happy to discover that I really didn't have a super hard time understanding what all was being taught despite it all being in Spanish so I guess my Spanish understanding skills are coming along just fine.

Well I hope everybody has a wonderful week! Also I hope everyone can take some time to go back and read/watch some of the talks and put into practice the teachings of the wonderful modern day prophets and apostles. What they teach truly is inspired by God and if we do what they teach we will be following the will of God more closely in our lives and we will be happier as we are more obedient to God.

I love you all!
Hermana Brighton