April 14th Letter

Hola Familia,

It's almost week 6 here and its coming down to the wire. Things are going really well. So, throughout our stay here in the MTC, everyone in every companionship has had the opportunity to be senior and junior companions. It is my turn to be senior companion for the last three weeks and pretty much I just get to ask/pick who says the prayers and I meet with the District leader once a week. Crazy stuff but hopefully I'll do alright.

The TRC (the volunteer teaching) went really well last Wednesday. The spirit was so strong even though it was a member we were teaching. I know that the spirit was the one bringing words to my mind so I could convey the message. I had the opportunity to teach the part about the restoration, which is my favorite part. Every time I teach the first vision in Joseph Smith's own words, the spirit testifies yet again that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. It's amazing. Anyway, the spirit really was putting words into my mouth. It was awesome!!!

So this week has been a really good week. Yesterday in Relief Society, Sister Barbara Thompson, 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, came and talked to us about her mission. She talked about different experiences she had with listening to the Holy Spirit. It was a really good talk and once again got me pumped up and ready to get out to California! Before she talked about her experiences though, she started out by talking about an experience she had with attending the dedication of the Provo Temple and how she fasted and prayed and while she was attending in the Marriott Center, she had never felt more close to the Lord and she knew she was a daughter of God. Then she pleaded with anyone who was here that didnt know that they were a daughter of God and called of God to serve mission, to pray and fast and do all that they could to know that! It was really powerful and I hope whoever needed to hear that is taking that advice!

Last night for our Sunday night fireside, Richard I Heaton, the Admin. Director of the MTC, spoke to us on Pondering. It was probably one of my most favorite talks, if not my favorite, that I have heard so far at the MTC. It was a talk that was just for me. He devided the process of pondering into 3 steps:
1) Be quiet on the inside- Even when the world around us is noisy, we can still be quiet on the inside and ready to receive revelation.
2) Ask the right questions- Jesus Christ always taught with questions and we need to ask the right questions to receive revelation. When we ask the right questions, this can lead to other questions and help us through our thought process
3) Remember the Savior- Ponder His Life, Teachings, Atonement. Think of the Sacrament prayer and the covenants we make to always remember Him. Think about our Savior.
He promised us that if we take time to ponder, whether it be gospel principles, where we stand with God, investigators progress, etc... that the voice of the Lord will come more clearly to us. I don't know about you but I think that's a pretty awesome promise, especially for a missionary preparing to teach our Heavenly Father's children!

I am so grateful to be here serving the Lord. I feel so blessed to bear the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, everyday and I only hope and pray that I can live up to that name! I love you all so much and I appreciate all your love and support!

Love,
Hermana Bradfield