What up,
We didnt get a whole lot done this week, due to 2 different conferences Wednesday and Friday in Cancun and mornings filled with a lot of service. On Wednesday, we had a Zone Conference in which we talked of nothing but love. When i arrived to this mission, it was just begging its transformation under the new direction of my president from a "Do your own thing" non Preach My Gospel mission, to one that exemplified a perfect mission. Our mission President addressed us and said that after these past 6 months of training and putting into to practice the techniques and teaching structures, we as a mission now know how to be Preach My Gospel missionaries. But he told us we now lacked the most imprtant part in our teaching and work; Love.
In 1 John 4, the apostle Paul teaches us:
7-Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
9-In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10-Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
12-No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
We learned a lot of different things, but mainly that is only through the love of Christ that we have love at all. All types of love are only made possible through Christ, who was given to us out of love. The love we have for our friends, family, everyone, comes from Christ. It is the first and greatest commandment to love God and your fellow man. In 1 John, the apostle teaches us that God is love. Like all other principles in the true and everlasting gospel, love is a principle of accion, and requires that we show it through our works. It is also an empowering attribute. In Romans 8: 35-39, Paul teaches us that with love we can suffer all things. As missionaries, we will have little success unless we search out our fellow ma to love, and guide them to the truth.
To achieve this level of love for all others and in Christ, we must first humble ourselves, as did the people of King Benjamin in chapter 4 of Mosiah. They viewed themselves as less than the dust of the earth. What is less than the dust of the earth? Nothing. We are nothing compared to Christ, and it is only through him and his gospel that we may live. Through his influence and power, the planets themsleves aligned perfectly to form the galaxy we now live in. He knows each and every being prefectly, and only asks that we love Him, and our fellow man. Once we have humbled ourselves, comes a burning gratitude for what he did for us, and a desire to repent. With a remission of sins through repentance and baptism comes joy. True joy.
Have you shown Christ that you love Him? Up till this past Wednesday I couldnt say that i truly had.
We are talking 35-40 Elders that all realized at the same exact time that they truly did not love Christ. The spirit was as strong as I have ever felt it before. Nobody would talk. Our president, over the course of just a few hours, had completely humbled some of the best and upstanding young men i had come to know in my whole life. This conference was between two zones. The zone i just left from a month ago, and the Zone which I first came into to, the one i am in now. i knew every single Elder, and the feeling was mutual. We were nothing. But soon after that, through many powerful testimonies and scriptures of hope and light, our president proceeded to show us that we can indeed show Christ our true love for him everyday through our works. We as missionaries have an opportunity everyday to preach his gospel to all the world.
I have had, so far, much more powerful lessons through what i learned. I couldnt even begin to duplicate what our president did for us. I wish I could, for all my friends on missions, my family, everyone. But that is why he is a mission president and i am missionary.
Mom, I did get the packages, and thankfully nothing was stolen! Thanks Kim for all the pictures, they are great. And the backpack really helps with the heat. Thank you!
Well that all I have time for this week. I hope everyone has a great week! I love you
Love, Elder Kitterman
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