Saturday, March 8, 2014

Words from Elder Garrett Anderson in Brazil


"This week in the Brazil Brasília mission there was a little more excitement than normal!

To start off, we had a baptism, which was our first in this area. The lady who was baptized in named Mariza and she is 25 years old. She was a referral from another good missionary friend of mine in another area and she was baptized yesterday by the bishop. The changes that we have seen in her life in these few weeks have been amazing. We met her only 3 weeks ago, and she told us how she has struggled in the past with depression and a divorce from her husband. Although i am not a certified psychologist, i knew exactly what she must do to cure her depression, read the Book of Mormon! Although this was not a medical cure and she still takes medicine and has regular checkups with the doctor, her daily reading of the Book of Mormon has had a great impact in her life, so great that she was baptized yesterday. Although the things we sometimes do simple things that we might think of as too simple to have any affect, we must remember the counsel in Alma 37:6-7, "6 Now ye may suppose that this is afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

7 And the Lord God doth work by ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very bsmall means the Lord dothcconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls. " Through Mariza's small act of reading the scriptures, praying every day, and attending church on Sunday's, she has been able to take upon her the name of Christ and have all of her past sins swept away. The gates of the celestial kingdom has been opened and as she endures to the end, she will gain eternal life, " 7 And, if you akeep my commandments and bendure to the end you shall have ceternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." (D&C 14:7)

Let us all endure to the end, helping those who are lost or struggling to find the path that leads
to true and eternal happiness."

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