"What Desirest Thou?"

Hi all!

Well, this last week was pretty busy--lots of running back & forth between Reno & Sparks to pick up & drop off people, & to go to a leadership training.  Sis Verkist & I had Sis Firmage with us for a couple days; we went to transfers & they got their new trainees; and then Sis Briggs was with me for less than a day as we waited to pick up our new Temple Square companions, Sisters Behrndt & Davis.  Sister Davis is a great missionary from Oceanside, San Diego County :)  We've had a pretty good week so far & we're looking forward to really getting the work going here.  

With the transfer last week, Elder Hall (my 1st District Leader) & Elder Altamirano (my 3rd District Leader) finished their missions, along with Sister Porter, whom I met a while back.  I wish them the best on their new adventures back home!

This week, I would like to share with you some of what I learned from the leadership training.  We talked about desire & how it affects our attitudes & the way we do our missionary work.  When we're out & about, sometimes we get discouraged or tired, and we let it get the better of us.  We may think "I'm not good at talking to people" or "No one is going to want to listen to us" or "Nothing has been happening, we might as well call it a day" or even "I'm not cut out for this work--I should just go home."  Dallin H. Oaks, an Apostle, shared this in his talk in April 2011 General Conference: "Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming." http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/desire?lang=eng 
(I definitely recommend reading the entire talk).

In order to change our attitudes & the things we do, our desires will have to override whatever is holding us back, be it discouragement, insecurities, tiredness, and so on.  So how do we get our desires to become more centered around spiritual things than earthly/human things?  How do we as disciples of Christ gain a stronger desire to share with others the good news that through Jesus Christ, we can overcome anything; find true happiness in this life?

Alma 32:27 says: "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

Alma is saying right here that if we have faith & even have a little desire to believe & try something different, we're on a good start.  Our desires also increase when we have a greater understanding of the Atonement & the gospel.  In Preach My Gospel, it says "As you treasure up the words of the scriptures and latter-day prophets by study and faith, your desire to share the gospel will increase (p.19)."  Boyd K. Packer of the Twelve Apostles also said, "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior.  The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior."

With that, what are we waiting for?!  Take the challenge; try your faith by studying the scriptures & words of the prophets!  Then take the things you learn & apply them into your life, and pray for the ability to change, and I promise you that you will see awesome things happen inside you and, consequently, around you.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week! Love ya'll!

Be strong & faithful because Jesus was :)

~Sister San Diego

p.s.--I was checking out mormon.org & saw Lindsey Stirling's video!  I knew of her in high school & she's so awesome :)  http://mormon.org/lindsey/
p.p.s.--many thanks to Elder Moyle for the lesson on desire & change

the 2-day trio--Sis Firmage, me, Sis Verkist

one-day companionship: me & Sis Briggs

My new companion - Sister Davis