DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE LIZA EMMA and my lovely friends
HAPPY BIRHTDAY RYAN!!!!!!!!!! YAY! You were born - WOOHOO! HAZAH!! FOR ASLAN!!!!!!!
And Momma's day... is SUNDAY! OODALALLEY MOM! I get to see your beautiful faces next week! Stinky lama face!!!
I loved your sacrament talk Dad on having a soft, open heart! It was beautiful. Ever since I was little, I have always loved the way you would incorporate into your lessons personal experiences - that not only were engaging, but inspiring - teaching the principle in a real and practical way. As a little girl (and even when I was not so little) I would find much pride and honor when your stories would involve something wherein I was involved. That is of course, assuming that the story wasn't one of a "what-not-to-do" example haha. Dad, you said in your talk, "If you are like me, one of the main reasons we harden our hearts is to protect ourselves and our own vulnerabilities from being discovered by others. But part of having an open and loving heart means that it is okay for others to see that you have your own struggles and triumphs." I've always felt incapable of sharing experiences due to a lack of remembrance and a struggle to open up myself. Thanks to you and your talk on opening our hearts, I am excited to grow and improve in my ability to share personal experiences. As I follow the Spirit in helping my dear friends here in Virginia apply the precious principles of the gospel, the Lord will bring experiences I've been blessed with to my mind so I can help them better understand. I've prayed for His help in doing so, and it's been really great to remember and learn from my past, sharing these experiences with my friends.
A story: Through the whisperings of the Spirit, Heavenly Father directed us to visit a man by the last name of Riggs, whom we had met a week prior. For obvious reasons (his last name being the same as our beloved mission president), we were excited to return to his home and were hopeful of sealing him to his family in the future haha. Because our Father in Heaven has the most perfect timing, we stopped and talked with a woman by our car for 10 minutes before walking down the Riggs driveway. Riggs pulled in just as we were walking. How remarkable. For whatever reason, he had lost interest in meeting with us and quickly turned us away - saying he had read the pamphlet we gave him and was content with where he was at. But with power and authority, and with boldness, persistence, and great love - we began teaching him of the apostasy, of which he could relate. We told him of Joseph Smith and his search for the truth. As we told him Joseph's experience in the sacred grove, the Spirit worked within him. Oh the power of God! He had a mighty change of heart and by the end of our conversation, with deep sincerity and thirst for more, he gratefully accepted a Book of Mormon and asked that we come and teach his family. How miraculous! This is the single most important message that any man can receive. And oh how I thank Him for allowing me allowing me the priviledge to be here. It is so cool how the Lord is in Charge!
LOVE SISTER JEPPSEN
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