Of Faith and Apostles

We had a really special guest speaker at the MTC this last Martedi (Tuesday), Elder Russel M Nelson, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His discorso (talk) was his first as president of that quorum and it was so cool to feel the spirit that he brought into the room and to hear his testimonianza del salvatore (testimony of the Savior). It was also extremely special to sing for him at the devotional.

This week has had an unspoken theme of faith for me personally. I'm come to realize that which is quite frankly obvious, that when we trust everything to the Lord, he will make everything work in the best way possible. For example, in lessons, we as fledgling Italian learners often are so worried about making cogent sentences that we try to plan them out in our heads before we say them. The only problem with this is that it's hard to sincerely listen to what your companion or investigator is saying when you're trying to think of what you're going to say next. But when you take the leap of faith to simply listen and sincerely try to understand the situation, the words are literally given to you to say. One of my favorite experiences with this so far happened during fast and testimony meeting this Sunday. I felt prompted that I needed to bare my testimony, but had absolutely no idea what I should say. So, remembering the principle of faith, I ceased giving the topic any thought and just listened. I stood up to bare my testimony and still have no idea what to say, but I just opened my mouth and inspiration flowed right though me.

I know that faith is a true principle and that we do have a Father in Heaven who love us and wants the absolute best for us. I know that He sent His Son to take the burdens of our sins so that we could become perfected though Him. His Atonement is real and it is sufficient to cover us entirely, all we need to do is believe and try our best to follow his commandments. We were sent to this Earth quite simply to see if we loved our Father in Heaven enough to return back to him. And I am so glad that I get to help the people of Italy by pointing them in the right direction to return home.

One more realization that I had this week was the shear insignificance of my own desires. Who cares what I need or what I want? I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my Life. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ is everything. There are people out there who do not have this. Who am I to be concerned about myself when there are people out there looking for the truth but are kept from it only because they no not where to find it? I have a Job to do, and it's not to satisfy myself, but to serve my God and his children with all my might mind and strength. Salvation is on the line. What else could be more direly important than that?

I hope you all are having a great week! I've only got 12 more days until I take off for Italian soil! I am really excited to say the least!

-Anziano Wilkinson