The Book of Mormon

(Elder Cummings)

Transfers this week!  Elder Gray and I will be splitting up.  He will keep the truck (Carollas get better gas mileage anyways) and the apartment, but I will keep the Hmong branch.  My new assignment is to serve as a district leader and train a new Hmong missionary.  Elder Gray will be going back to the McKee ward to continue as a zone leader.  This is his third time serving in that ward!

I am very excited for this changed!  I know that this is God's will for me at this point of my mission.  On Thursday I will meet my new companion.  I don't know anything about him.  There are three new Hmong missionaries coming in and it is yet to be determined who will come and rule the "wild north" with me.

Yesterday Saint passed the sacrament for the first time.  He is a good kid.  He has had the gift of the Holy Ghost for two weeks now and the Aaronic priesthood for one.  His brother Saint has asked if he could get the priesthood early because deacons quorum looks like fun.  They are great young men.  Saint struggles a little more with reverence than Stephen does, but that makes every lesson with them an adventure.  When we met up with them on Wednesday we taught them about personal revelation by comparing it with the revelation prophets receive.  They both took some time to write a short description of what the Holy Ghost feels like.  Their answers were wonderful.  Saint wrote that the Holy Ghost "feels like I am in the Celestial kingdom with God and Jesus Christ."  His spelling of Celestial was even more wonderful.  He did his best to sound it out.  Both boys have decided that when they get older they are going to serve missions.  We didn't have to say anything.  As they have read the Book of Mormon their desire to share the gospel has increased.

The Book of Mormon is a gift of God for our day.  In the Pearl of Great Price, additional revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith we read that in the last days God promises that "righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth" (Moses 7:62).  The Book of Mormon is a tool for conversion.  It is from God.  It is true.  It's purpose is for "the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ" (Title Page of the Book of Mormon), and I have been thoroughly convinced.

With love,

Elder Jared Cummings

We had a visit from President Nelson this week!  It is wonderful to hear from a living prophet.  God still speaks through prophets.