Dear
mom,
Happy
Labor Day to you too! I can't believe you guys went camping. Something about me
and Goodes going on missions has inspired you to go camping and go to
Disneyland and Christie to give birth. The only thing I can count on being the
same when I get home is Cammie to still be short. Give her a shout out for
consistency from me, will ya? Tell Christie I'm super straight. We had a great
week!
We were able to teach a part member family this week. The wife and one
daughter are members, but the husband and two daughters are not. Our Bishop
invited us and them into his home for a family home evening and his wife
offered to provide treats. This family is so great. We get along with them
really well and they have had missionaries for a lot of years and still haven't
seen the importance of finding out for themselves if the gospel is true. Sister
Larsen and I were praying hard on what to teach them that will really bring the
spirit and have a desire to know whether or not what we teach is true. Then, BAM!
It hit us like a ton of bricks! One of my favorite talks, "Teach the
Atonement" by Jeffrey R Holland popped into our minds and we decided that
the most important thing we can teach anyone is about the atonement of Jesus
Christ. We spent the next week or so planning, role playing, and preparing, and
the more we did the more I realized how hard it is to grasp the sacrifice the
Savior. We can say the words over and over but we couldn't figure out how to
make it real for her. Through our much fasting and prayer the idea came to us
to do a simulation of the atonement.
The first thing we did was ask each person
if they wanted a root beer float, which was the treat that Bishops wife
provided. Everyone in the room said yes. We explained to them that they can
have their treat, but that it comes with a price. I had to do 5 push-ups for
each person that wanted a root beer float. I know what you're thinking, 5 is
nothing. But there are 8 people in bishops family, 5 in the other family, and
then me and sister Larsen. Going into it I thought it would be pretty easy for
me to do. After all, I work out every day for thirty minutes! I didn't just do
the 75 push-ups in a row, I had to stop in between and say the name of each
person I was doing them for. Near the end my arms were basically screaming at
me to stop, but I couldn't! I had a work to finish for these people! So,
despite the pain, I finished my push ups and then collapsed to the ground. At
first we were all laughing, but as the night wore on the spirit set in very strong
as we each contemplated the Savior's atoning sacrifice for us. There's no way
someone can hear about what Christ has done and not have a desire to know if
it's true. Because if it is true, then this is the best news in the world! It
means someone loves us enough to take on our pain so we can overcome it. It
means we don't come with an expiration date. We are eternal beings! It means
there is a plan and a way provided for us to return to live with our Father in
Heaven, where even more happiness awaits us. If God was willing to sacrifice
His Son so that we could return to live with Him, then He must have something
amazing planned for us after this life! It was a great lesson and I was so
thankful for the lesson I learned about the atonement. The best part is that
the husband, who had NEVER been to church, came last Sunday! It was incredible
to say the least!
We also had a crazy experience with the comcast guys!
Remember when we were telling you about them? Well they really wanted to meet
with us and they offered to take us to Olive Garden. This seemed more like a
date, so we brought the elders that serve in our ward! Haha it was a whale of a
time. They asked us a ton of questions and as time went on we could tell that
their real motive was to destroy our faith. They starting pointing out the
beliefs we have that to them "don't make sense." They basically told
us that we are too easily influenced and believe everything we hear. Ohhh boy
it was hard for me to keep calm, cause I really wanted to give them a piece of
my mind. Then it dawned on me. The feeling of wanting to sock someone in the
stomach was not from God. I knew that they were not preaching true principles
because the spirit wasn't there to back them up. All we told them was that we
receive our answers through prayer and scripture study and invited them to do
the same. We later found out that one of them was a preacher for a different
local church. I am just grateful that God has provided us with a way to know
truth, and that is through the spirit.
I know that God is our Father, Jesus
Christ is His Son, and their full gospel is found in the church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints. I know because God told me through the spirit, and I also
know that everyone can know this as they pray and ask, and there is nothing
more important that this knowledge. I love you all very much! Work hard, pray
hard, and beat St John's! I don't know when you play them, but beat them.
Sister
Udall
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