Well I must say it has been quite the
spiritually edifying week. This is a bittersweet time for me. This
weekend was my last time watching general conference as a missionary.
One of my fondest memories of General Conference as a missionary was in
October 2015 in Woodstock. The evening before we decided to stop by one
of our investigators in Woodstock. We told her this weekend God's servants would be speaking to us. She
gasped "Huh.. you mean to tell me God's prophets will be prophesying to
us. How do I watch it?". We proceeded to tell her how; the look of
excitement on her face was priceless. She couldn't wait to watch God's
prophets speak to her. Another fond memory I have of conference was in
April 2015 in Bridgewater. In between the Saturday Sessions, we attended the baptism of a sister. As we watched her get baptized a strong spirit filled the room.
I
have had many choice memories of general conference as a missionary. One
of my favorite parts has been having a potluck with the priesthood
brethren at 8 o'clock at night; then staying up and watching the priesthood session till 11 o'clock at night. Good old Atlantic time. I'm gonna miss it :(.
Conference
this weekend was very inspiring. I thought Elder Rasband responded
beautifully and was lovingly bold at the same time to the person who
yelled "No!" during the sustaining of the prophets. "Don't dispute
latter-day revelation", "Follow your leaders. They are called of God". I
enjoyed Elder Andersen's talk on children who have no gospel support in
their family. It was a topic that needed to be addressed and he did it
beautifully. As he was speaking I thought of a child of record in
Bridgewater whose parents wouldn't allow her to be baptized until she
was 12. From President Owens talk in the priesthood session I learned
that I already am a leader because I am a dedicated follower. I invite
others to come unto Christ.
Throughout the
weekend as they were talking about marriage and families, I felt the
spirit compelling me to start preparing myself spiritually for marriage.
I especially enjoyed President Uchtdorf's talk in the priesthood
session. I liked what he said about not looking for the perfect one and
looking for someone who you can trust your children's happiness with. I
loved his Chewbacca example :P. I loved Elder Holland's talk on the
aftermath of General Conference. "Don't give up if you don't measure up
to the messages this weekend", "The great eternal truth is that God
loves you." What a powerful talk he gave and a powerful general
conference.
I liken Conference to Mosiah 2 when King Benjamin is addressing a multitude of people:
"And
it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched
their tents round about, every man according to his family, consisting
of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their sons, and their
daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every family being
separate one from another."
The rest of the week was also spiritual. From Sunday
to Thursday Elder Sortomme was put in a trio with us until he went home
on Friday. During those 4 days I witnessed a missionary in his final
days as a missionary. As I was with him I saw myself in my final few
days on my mission. His mindset was the same, he was motivated, he
treated those couple days as regular days. I couldn't even tell he was
coming home shortly. He ended his mission with honor and respect. He set
the perfect example for me when I go home of how to end my mission. On
Wednesday he was distraught but that's normal.
It
was emotional for me as I read the transfer letter Tuesday evening and
saw that Elder Steimle was leaving. I got close to him and we worked
extremely well together. We worked the same way and we were both very
sincere and dedicated. He knows me better than any other companion. He
was a companion that I was the most unified with. I am so grateful that I
was able to serve with him twice. President Pratt was very inspired
when he made that decision.
On Thursday I got
to go to the temple. As
I walked into the celestial room Elder Beckman greeted me and said to
me "This will probably be the last time you'll be seeing me." That hit
me hard. With each passing transfer as I see missionaries come and go, I
am beginning to wonder.. "Will I ever see that missionary again?",
"Will I get to say goodbye to that companion before I go home?" I have
made a lot of friends out here. They are friends I made in the service
of God.
Then I sat down and opened the Book of Mormon. When I opened it up I read 3 Nephi 17:25
"And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that
their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man
for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred
souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children." Change the
men to "Elders", and Women to "Sisters". A powerful feeling of love came
over me for every single missionary in that celestial room. I then
began to get emotional. Every single missionary I have served alongside
has affected me. I love these missionaries <3. It was a very
emotional day.
For the last 4 days I have been
getting used to Elder Goeders. He seems very shy and timid around me. He seems very easy going and "go
with the flow kind of missionary." Sometimes when missionaries come into
new areas, they want to make all these big changes. That hasn't been
the case with Elder Goeders. He is letting me do my own thing with the
area and not asking a lot of questions. Which is good and bad. Good in
the sense that he's letting me do what I want with the work here. Bad in
the sense in that he's not offering a lot of suggestions or input. I'm
hoping once he gets comfortable, he'll offer more suggestions.
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the older)
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