FUN SIZE CANDY? NO, FILIPINO SIZE

Mapagpalang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• I went on exchanges with a VERY TALL AMERICAN, Elder Seibert. It was a nice wake up call for me, because it reminded me of how short I am.... I was feeling pretty normal here in the Philippines where the typical height of men is 5 feet and 4 inches. Maybe I just won't go back to the US, that way I feel tall the rest of my life. 
• I had the opportunity to hear from our living prophet, Russel M. Nelson, along with the twelve of apostles and other individuals in the Church. This occurs each 6 months and is filled with inspirational messages about faith and following Jesus Christ. Check out this website to see it for yourself: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/general-conference/?lang=eng

General Conference was full of beautiful messages and was extremely enjoyable. Even though our district center is about 1.5 hours away we still had 5 of the people we are teaching show up to hear the prophets voice. Of all that was said one message stuck out most in my mind, we must CENTER OUR LIVES ON JESUS CHRIST. This is done in a number of ways including praying with greater intent and acting on promptings we receive, Repenting for mistakes and striving for improvement, and also accepting the timing of the Lord especially when blessings are not immediate. Remembering the Lord is not a Sunday activity, but a daily goal that requires carefulness and cannot be achieved by casualness. As we go about our day to day activities that must be accomplished including work, school, eating, playing and many more, how do we choose and follow God. Maybe these questions can allow a bit of evaluation:  Do we seek the guidance of our Loving Heavenly Father or do we simply turn to the voices of the world? Do we trust God and his perfect plan or do we look for faults and reasons to loose faith? Do we walk in hope and faith patiently awaiting promised blessings or do we complain at the lack of blessings in which we seem to receive? Are trials opportunities to grow or one more reason to feel self pity?  The fact is, God does not expect perfection from us, but rather our constant purification. We are to seek his guidance and trust his timing. Love Him and Love our neighbor. And CONSTANTLY KEEP TRYING. If we will do this, even when we fail and make mistakes, we may feel JOY and HAPPINESS. In the words of Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Discipleship is not about doing things perfectly; it's about doing things intentionally." 

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: The Lord will bless us for our intentions and actions, so as you go about your day, center your intentions and actions on Jesus Christ.

Elder Hemmert

Lemery, Batangas