so as i mentioned in the last weeks email, this past week we had elder de hoyos from the seventy come on and do a mission tour. it was a crazy good conference and i personally learned tons along with every other missionary there. i think i liked it so much because alot was shared about the book of mormon and its importance and well im a nerd for the book of mormon and i love it and anything that has to do with it haha. however one of my favorite capacitacions that we received came from the wife of elder de hoyos. the focus of her words for us was the book of mormon, and the true importance of it to us as children of God in these latter days.
and there was actually one thing in particular that she invited us to do, and that im going to invite you all to do also. the invitation she extended to us was to get one of the cheap paper back book of mormons that we gift to people, and to go through and read it and every time we come across one of the names used to refer to Jesus Christ, and that we highlight it. she said then showed us her book of mormon where she had done this and the pages were filled with markings not surprisingly haha.
for me as a missionary its waaaaay cool because once i finish up marking my book of mormon its going to be a great teaching skill. because ill be able to show it to people, have them read the cover that says "El Libro de Mormon un otro testamento de Jesucristo" and then invite them to scan through the books pages and be able to see for themselves, before having read the book, that it truly does add another testament of Jesus Christ, and then invite them to take it another step and gain their own testimony of the testifacion of Christ that you can find in this books pages!
ive always loved the scripture that is found in 3 nephi 11:15, where it talks about how the nephites came forth and felt with their hands, saw with their eyes, and did know with a surety that he was the very Christ that the prophets had prophesied and spoke of. and well unfortunately for us we werent able to be there to see and witness it, but thats why we have the book of mormon. its an opportunity to be able to feel see and receive our own surety that these things are true and that Jesus is the Christ. and well thats one of the invitations that i want to leave with you...go pick up one of the paper back book of mormons, or use your own personal, and mark every reference to Jesus Christ, its sure to increase your testimony of the truthfulness of it :)
oh and also another little catch that comes along with the challenge...you have to do it within 85 days. why 85 days you might ask...well because joseph smith translated the plates that were in reformed egyptian to english in the space of 85 days while having to change location and outrun mobs and a load of other things, and so it shouldnt be too hard for us to do it in our native language without having to worry about any body trying to steal them from and kill you too while there at it. oh and another reason behind the 85 days...its a small way of being able to put ourselves in his shoes and thus strengthining our testimony in him even more.
and theres the invitation...with two great results of an increased testimony of Jesus Christ, The Book of Mormon, and the prophet Joseph Smith Jr....what more could you ask for haha! another invitation that we were given by elder de hoyos that i likewise want to extend to all of you, is to go to the topical guide in the back of the book of mormon and under the topic of jesus christ, youll find 57 names used in reference to Christ, and to take one of these 57 names and study it for a week. and well the great thing with all these things that im inviting you to do, im going to be doing also! so if you ever come across anything cool let me know, and ill also be sure to throw something in that ive learned every now and then. and above all as you do all these things youll come to have an even stronger testimony of all these things.
i wish you all the best and hope that the Spirit can be with you all as you begin to develop and strengthen the truthfulness of this gospel. i love and i hope you have a great week. oh and have a great thanksgiving and eat a lot of food for me :) thanks folks!
much love from mexico,
Elder Maccarthy
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