Week 65: Words Can Be Worth a Thousand Pictures?

A few firsts this week. One of them being that this is the first week I haven't taken a single photo. The other first this week was not having to prepare a lunch for Transfer Day (Tuesday). We had just five new missionaries come in. Three of them (Spanish-speaking from the Mexico MTC) came in later in the day -- just in time for the meeting. President and Sister Blatter picked the other two up in the morning and took them to brunch. It meant I was able to do the check-in process and print boarding passes Tuesday morning for the nine missionaries who went home on Wednesday. Usually I'm at the office late Tuesday night getting all this ready.

Since I have no photos, perhaps I can share a few insightful quotes that we've heard recently. These are from our missionaries that departed this week:

"Your faith will define your mission. Your mission will define your life."

"The Book of Mormon is worth more than it's weight in gold"

"Pursue the peace promised by Christ and avoid the apathy that is offered by the world. Apathy is the modern world's anti-Christ."

"In every decision you decide your destiny."

Today in church a woman spoke on hope. She shared much of an article by Larry Hiller, Hope: The Misunderstood Sister, published in the June 2009 Ensign. (Highly recommend this one).  I particularly like this quote from the article: 

"For me, things I don’t understand about the gospel are like pieces of a larger puzzle I’m working on. If I don’t see where they fit, I put them aside and work on other parts of the picture. From time to time I pick them up and look at them. If I still don’t see how they fit, I put them aside again. I have already received a witness that the whole picture—the restored gospel—is true and complete, so I don’t worry about the pieces that haven’t come together for me yet. They will.

In church we were also introduced to a prayer called the Breton Fisherman's Prayer: 

"O God, Thy sea is great and my boat is so small." 

And finally, as I read President Eyring's talk in October Conference, he used this scripture as an example of how we can receive personal revelation. It is an answer to one of my ongoing questions:

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, ..." (D&C 121:45-46)

I appreciate the wisdom found so often in the words of others, especially the words of counsel from God and His Son Jesus Christ, and living prophets. Words are good. God is good. Life is good.