Week 15 - January 6, 2020

Hey, yo!!

Remember when I told you like four weeks ago that I would stay in St. Johns...WELP I was wrong!  I leave for Tallahassee on Wednesday...and honestly, I don't know how I feel about it. 

This week has been really sad...I love St. Johns with all my heart.  Maybe one day I will make it back (fingers crossed).

I don't really have any new news for the week other than I am leaving...I am grateful for my time here...I have grown so much in my time here!!!

Dynamic Duo (That's what President calls us.)

Get ready for the longest spiritual thought of your life...

This week for my spiritual thought I want to point out some of my favorite points in Elder Bednar's talk called, "Seek Learning by Faith"

In Doctrine & Covenants 88:118, We are taught that we must seek learning by faith and in 2 Nephi 33:1 we learn:  "When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth [the message] unto the hearts of the children of men."

Notice that Nephi didn't say the Holy Ghost will speak his power INTO our hearts...but UNTO our hearts.

The content of the message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the hearts only if the receiver allows them to enter.

Paul taught:

"the substance of things hoped for [and] the evidence of the things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

And Alma defined faith as:

not a perfect knowledge, but if we have faith we "hope for things which are not seen, [but] are true." (Alma 32:21)

From Paul + Alma's definitions, faith has three elements

1. Faith as the ASSURANCE of things hoped for, which are true

2. Faith as the EVIDENCE of things not seen

3. Faith as the principle of ACTION

Assurance is about having an understanding and trusting in God.  That assurance allows us to "press forward" (2 Nephi 31:20) into uncertain situations.

Nephi is a prefect example of someone who had an assurance of Faith:

When Nephi and his brothers were commanded by their father, Lehi, to return to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass--"not knowing beforehand the things which [he] should do. Nevertheless [he] went forth." (1 Nephi 4:6-7)

"Faith in Christ is inextricably tied to and results in hope in Christ for our redemption and exaltation.  And assurance and hope make it possible for us to walk on the edge of the light and take a few steps into the darkness--expecting and trusting the light to move and illuminate the way."

Boyd K. Packer

"The Candle of the Lord"

Ether 12:6 Summarizes that assurance leads to action which produces evidence.

A great example of exercising assurance, action, and evidence are the Israelites as they came to the River Jordan and were promised the waters would part and they would "stand upon an heap" (Joshua 3:13) and they would be able to cross over the dry ground.

The water did not part as the Children of Israel stood on the banks of the river waiting for something to happen; but the soles of their feet were wet before the waters parted.

The Isrealites walked on the water before the water parted.  They walked into the River Jordan with assurance of things hoped for.  As the Israelites took action, they looked back and beheld the evidence of things not seen which were true. (Joshua 3:7-17)

Congrats if you made made it this far...but this talk has been keeping me going.  Right now I don't know why I need to move to Tallahasee...but I have faith that if I get my feet wet and go to work...one day I will look back and see the evidence of the reasons why.

I love you all so much!

CTR

Love, Sister Lauren  Copeland 

Pics of the Week

 Street Vendors

 Froyo is my LIFE!

 Cleaning poop

Lakoda

P-Day Adventure - Gatorland in St. Augustine with my District