Familes are Eternal

MAAAN! I have decided I have been slothful of telling you about some
things going over in the APM and my part of the vineyard so I will see
how this goes.

Well, we went to the temple on Saturday with Mario, Glenda, and
Cassandra, and another family I visited in Surprise got sealed at the
same time too. It was one of the sweetest experiences I have ever been
a part of. Mario, Glenda, and Hermana Hammond (other family that went
through) had really smooth endowment sessions. They were really
comfortable because they are so spiritually mature. They were all
emotional in the Celestial room. We then went to the sealing room to
do both sealings. I saw A LOT of Estrellita there. It was the best. I
had a blast with all them again. Mario is still fun as ever. He wants
me to go over and eat again soon, but I told him I couldn't until I
get home so we will need to stop by! Anyway--I wasn't
overly-emotional, other than feeling the Spirit strong all
morning--UNTIL Mario and Glenda were sealed and Cassandra came in all
dressed in white and the officiator asked her who they were (pointing
at Mario and Glenda) and she said "mis papas" and then the 3 got
sealed and had "un abrazo familiar" (family hug). I totally lost it
for those 3 minutes. The Spirit was exceptionally strong. IT was funny
too because the entire room was crying hard core when Cassandra came
in. Man, I thought I died and went to Heaven! We thought of Gerardo
and Anah in the Celestial room with their 3 kids sometime soon too.
Man, it was a beautiful imagination! :D

Well, all in all, I became very much more converted to the fact that
families can be eternal. That moment in the sealing room during the
ordinances I had not the slimmest sliver of a doubt that it is true. I
was completely reassured that families can be together forever. It was
such a wonderful testimony builder for me. Death isn't the end at all.

The mission tour was phenomenal. I wish I would've heard it like 20
months ago too haha. It was a combo of mind-opening and mind-blowing!
He talked to us for 4 hours about how to improve our teaching
basically. We talked about "The Most Important Thing" and about how
that is what we need to teach every single lesson and contact to. It
is basically receiving the Restored Gospel. He added in that we need
to help others see that NOW (i.e. in this life) we can receive a
remission of sins, the Holy Ghost as a guide, and power from God
through the Gospel. He said that just about EVERY disobedience,
mistake, or sin happens because of misunderstanding of doctrine. We
read that if we commit adultery then our souls are destroyed or
something harsh like that. Well, if we understood doctrine we wouldn't
do "stupid" things like that (The General Authorities that have been
teaching us say words like that it is funny haha). He told us that any
disagreement in the church or in our lessons happens because doctrine
is misunderstood. President Griffin has been teaching us A LOT about
preserving doctrine and teaching it the right way lately. I feel like
the Church is doing a follow-up on PMG lately; we have it to guide us
rather than memorizing lessons, but maybe the church is seeing that
missionaries are straying from the meat of the doctrine too much. Kind
of interesting. Anyway, Elder Corbridge seems strict and rigid, but he
knows the scriptures like a boss and it was cool to be with him. He
said that the Sermon on the Mount is actually not an eclectic group of
fun Ghandi teachings, but rather a Chiasm-style-written sermon with
one single overall thesis: "By your fruits ye shall know them." Kind
of interesting, read it with that overarching thesis in mind. He was
very insightful.

So, The Phoenix Temple!!!! We are really getting close!!!!!! This week
we began Sign Language practice!!!!! We are singing "Called to Serve"
and " Keepers of His Light" in the celebration and for the second song
we are doing two minutes of sign language. I am pretty sure it will be
the spiritually strongest night of my mission to be singing with 280
missionaries in front of the temple just a short month before I go
home. So we have that, conference the week before, Meet the Mormons
hits theaters the day the PHX temple opens, then the holidays, then I
am home 😳 To fill you in on everything between this: we went on
exchanges with Elder Bryant this week and the only commitment he left
with us was to be cool and calm and accepting with everything
President Griffin wants to do in the coming 2 transfers. He said that
we are going to really start to see his "vision unfold." He also said
that he has no idea where President Griffin is getting all this cats
pulled out of the same hat haha. So yeah, PG is a little bit of a
loose cannon. Don't get me wrong, he is very inspired and what he is
teaching is working (both general authorities that have come repeated
lessons that he has already taught us), but things will keep changing.
It will be exciting! This mission has grown quite a bit since he has
got here. We are excited. Last week we got three new apps "Pages,
Numbers, and Dropbox." I know they might seem a lot lamer to you than
Temple Run or Angry Birds, but for missionary work these additions
will change the work. It will start by making us more organized and
efficient :) I already started with "Pages" by making business cards
with my name, picture, Mormon.org account, a scripture, and my
facebook name too. Fun missionary work 😅 If anything that I mentioned
didn't get you thinking that the work is really hastening, then you
need to wakeup and stop sleeping through the Restoration!!!! #DC8873

Anah and Gerardo had a mini-setback this week. They didn't come to
church or the baptism that the Estrella ward had right after so we
called them. Gerardo said that Anah had been getting A LOT of
opposition from her sister. She felt super bad, couldn't sleep, and
even got physically sick  so they didn't come. Gerardo was completely
fine, but Anah was a little rattled. Her mom died recently so now she
feels like she has no blood family. Bottom line: Satan definitely gets
down to business when good things are about to happen. The closer we
get to making covenants and getting back on the path the harder and
harder el gran chamuko tries to get people miserable. My testimony of
Priesthood Ordinances and of the truthfulness of this work has grown
immensely on the mission just from seeing how hard Satan works on
people. Seeing the opposition is enough for me to know that this work
is true. Also, I know that our Heavenly Father lets these things
happen (like Job) to measure our strength. Gerardo and Anah will be
fine. They are getting stronger and stronger. Sunday night, Hermano
Cid, Elder McCuch and I went by and expounded scriptures with them for
about an hour. The Spirit was strong.

Life has been exceptionally great out here. Aside from all those big
events, all my studies this week have been super spiritual. I am
reading the Book of Mormon while studying only the Strengthening Power
of the Atonement and I am pulling a lot out of it. I am in Mosiah
right now and have actually got more from this book than any other so
far. Something I learned today in chapter 26 is that we are powered
from on high when we can forgive others. We have no right to pass
judgments because the Savior is the only one to have experienced it
all, so we must forgive all to be able to be forgiven of all. It is a
good thing to study. Well, sorry I wrote a lot, it has been kind of a
boring P-Day. This week we will be biking a little bit! We are going
to the Mesa Temple with Anah, Gerardo, and the Morales family. It will
be a great week. Time is flying with Elder McCuch. We can't believe
that transfers are in 14 days!!!😁 Good stuff, love you all!