Obedience Is The First Law Of Heaven

Why hello there! How are you all doing this fine day? This has been yet again an incredible week. We had many investigators at Church this week and also we are planning on having 6 baptisms tomorrow! I hope that everything goes out well and that they have a very great experience. 

We have had some exciting news here in the mission, at least for all of us missionaries. Previously for an investigator to be able to get baptized they had to come to church for a minimum of 2 times, well Elder Johnson, the Area President came on Sunday and had a little meeting with the stake presidentes and Presidente Carreón and he told them the investigators must come now for a minimum of 5 times to church before baptism. It is going to be something very difficult, but it is going to help us out a lot I believe. With the 2 week rule sometimes we are just a little rushed and they really aren't converted before the baptism, but now with this new rule I believe that we will be able to help them so that they are really converted and not just convinced before their baptism. So yeah, I am excited to be able to work more like this. 

This week we still have like I said 6 with baptismal dates for tomorrow. It is quite the interesting group. There are families, divorcees, old, young, family men. A bit of everything. It has made me realize once again the importance and necessity honestly of the gospel for each person. Walking around as a missionary we see so many people, but many times you just don’t say anything for nerves, desire, or really for any pretext that one could come up with. But as Presidente Carreón put it this week in our zone conference, "If we do not invite people to come unto Christ and be baptized, we are denying them salvation." This has helped me once again to realize the importance to talk with everyone and help each of them out so that they may find salvation.

We are still having lots of success with our investigators here. There were some changes with the familia G. They will not be getting married till the 28th, but we are going to baptize the children this week. They are a sweet, very intelligent, and very humble family. They all have an incredible desire to follow God. They are, as us missionaries say, "escogidos". 

As I mentioned, this week we had a zone conference in which Hermana Carreón was sharing with us a message about obedience. She said some really interesting stuff that helped all of us have more strength to withstand temptation and be more obedient. She related the story of the Lamanites that after being converted threw their weapons of war into the ground and left them there never to be seen again. She then asked us the question, "Do we still have weapons of war that we have not yet barried?" She invited us to think and reflect upon those possible things we have not left behind. She invited us afterward to burry them. I invite each to do the same. I remember when Melissa had just gotten home from her mission she kept saying the phrase,"obedience is the first law of heaven". I testify of that, we must all push ourselves to leave behind the wrong and come off stronger through the Atonement of Christ. 

I love this gospel so much. I love what my Savior Jesus Christ has and continues to do for me. I can’t think of anything better that I could do to repay him than by sharing his Gospel with more of my brothers and sisters. The Church is true, do whats right, and you will see God´s blessings. 

I love you all! 

Elder Tommy Anderson

P.S. the pictures are first of Arturo and myself. He is a youth from the ward that left this week to the mission in Cuernavaca Mexico. And the other was just a nice little reminder that I had this week that yes I am still in Mexico.