Another glorious week in the work of the Lord here in Nogales, Arizona and a very busy week at that. We had exchanges, zone conference, and General conference. This week we were able to set our first babtismal date with Raul for November 2nd and were very excited to help him prepare for this glorious day when he begins his path towards our Lord Jesus Christ. We had many opportunities to learn from great church leaders this week with Zone conference and hearing from President and sister browning who testified of the importance and necessity of simplicity in all aspects of the work from teaching to study in order to best serve this people and bring them to Christ. The biggest opportunity we had to hear from great church leaders was obviously General Conference this past weekend and I marval at the divinity of these men and woman and the guidance of the holy ghost as they gave their talks. Always when listening to conference you are told to go in with one to a few questions that you would like answered so I went in with a few and I received an answer!
One of the main things I desired to pull from this conference was to know the divinity of the call of these men from Prohpet to Apostle I desired to know that these men and women truly are called of God along with many other questions. We watched the first session with a non-member family and it was hard to focus on myself watching and learning when trying to help these people do the same thing. I walked away with basically how I feel at home after conference, "that was pretty good" yet no more, but I desired more. Later that night in my personal study I prayed for guidance to help me answer this very question and I was lead to the Bible dictionary definition of Apostle which says: The word means “one sent forth.” It was the title Jesus gave (Luke 6:13) to the Twelve whom He chose and ordained (John 15:16) to be His closest disciples during His ministry on earth and whom He sent forth to represent Him after His Ascension into heaven. The calling of an Apostle is to be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world, particularly of His divinity and of His bodily resurrection from the dead.
The two things that stood our to me was the direct definition meaning, "one sent forth" and their calling as an Apostle to give their special witness of Jesus Christ as the Savior to all the world.
Gordon B. Hinckley has a beautiful talk focusing on what it means to be an apostle and giving his special witness. He defines this calling simply with this quote,
"They will place first in their lives, above all other considerations, the responsibility to stand as special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world."
This talk shook my soul with the absolute divinity of these men and their calling and purpose to devote their very lives to this cause of giving their SPECIAL WITNESS of Jesus Christ and this is where I received my answer. These men and women are literally called of God for the very purpose to go forth and bring others unto Christ, and this answer resignated with me until I watched conference the next morning and the spirit of the Lord was upon me while I listened to the words of these men literally called by God to lead his church today. The power of their voices and lives is not of men, but of him that sent us.
My study continued later into that night driven by the spirit to read John 17 and Doctrine and Covenants section 138.
John 17 being Christs great Intercessory prayer before going forth with the atonement and saving all of mankind. In this prayer before he goes through with this most difficult event he prays for two specific things for the most part: "glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:" and "I pray for them:I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine."
He focuses on two things, the father glorifying him with the only purpose and intention that he could glorify the father. He then contontinues to pray for "them which thou hast given me" being the apostles. This displays the selflessness of the Savior and the divinity and role of the Apostles in the work of the Lord. As it says in D&C 138:56
"Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men."
These men, these apostles of God were prepared for this sacred calling before this Earth and prayed for in the final Earthly prayer of the Savior. This along with their testimonies of the Savior this conference along with these spirit lead studies gave me the assurance and answer that these men are called of God to fulfilling this calling and that they are not alone in their work. My testimony of Conference and its importance grew so much this weekend and I cannot wait for the next opportunity we all get to hear from the servants of the Lord!
I thank and appreciate all of those who write me each week all messages lighten my day. I hope that you all had a great week and got as much out of conference as I did! Have a good week.
Elder Holman
Picturez
1. Elder Woodward n I after conference
2. We painted a ladies car with furnature paint.
3. Border pic
4. Classic crazy walnuts picture
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