The most amazing things is.......drumroll please...........MANDY GOT BAPTIZED!!!! After over a year of study, she entered the waters of baptism and made the first step along the path to return to live with our Father in Heaven! It was a BEAUTIFUL baptism. There was a mini-miracle that happened, too! Brother Johnson, a former ward member, was really close to Mandy and agreed to fly out from WASHINGTON to baptize her! He had a layover in Chicago where he was delayed for 1 1/2 hours. One hundred flights were canceled. His, to an airport that isn't even that big, was not and he arrived at the baptism about 20 minutes before it started. You could really feel the love the people and Heavenly Father had for Mandy at this baptism.
Last week we had our first lesson with the Miller family and they agreed to come to church. They didn't, and we were pretty bummed and worried they'd been antied, but we called and they're still good to meet with us tonight AND go to church next week! The dad is a cage fighter who used to be a Jehovah's Witness and the mom used to go to Church of the Brethren. The children are super amazing--especially Anna. She had read the introduction by the time we got there (she's 8) and no one else had. She was also very excited about going to church. I have this feeling of excitement about this family. They are going to be amazing and it will bring about great things.
I'm reading the New Testament right now and let me tell you, Paul is a stud! (lol..Mandy always thinks it's funny when I call prophets studs haha) Today I was reading in Romans 6 and he had just told the people that it is through the grace of Christ's Atonement that we are saved. SO many people tell us that we are wrong for thinking we need to do good works and try our best to go to heaven, they think it's ONLY by grace while the Book of Mormon adds "after all we can do." We KNOW the grace is necessary and we'd be nowhere without it, but these people think you only need to claim Christ's name to be saved. Well...check out what Paul says after he talks about the importance of Grace.
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid." haha...isn't that awesome! And again in verse 15, "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."
This gospel is amazing. Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God who truly saw Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father in a grove of trees on a spring morning. I know it and I know that God knows it and I cannot deny it, neither dare I do it. The scriptures have so much to teach us if we but take the time to truly study them. President Monson leads this church today under the direction of Jesus Christ. What a miracle! So many people know there's a pope, know about Jesus Christ, and even know about the intricate details of celebrities' lives, but they don't know that there is a modern-day Moses who speaks for Jesus Christ! What a miracle. The church is true, the book is blue!
Well, I guess I'll leave it at that for the week! I'll try to send some pictures :D
Love you all!
Sister Denton
Dear Whitney,
ReplyDeleteScripture teaches that one’s final salvation depends on the state of the soul at death. As Jesus himself tells us, "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13; cf. 25:31–46).
One who dies in the state of friendship with God (the state of grace) will go to heaven. The one who dies in a state of enmity and rebellion against God (the state of mortal sin) will go to hell.
For many Fundamentalists and Evangelicals it makes no difference—as far as salvation is concerned—how you live or end your life.
You can heed the altar call at church, announce that you’ve accepted Jesus as your personal Savoir, and, so long as you really believe it, you’re set.
From that point on there is nothing you can do, no sin you can commit, no matter how heinous, that will forfeit your salvation. You can’t undo your salvation, even if you wanted to.