The Lord Loves His Children

Hello Family!

Every time you email me there is always so much going on. This week it
seemed like you got a little bit of a rest. I'm glad!

I finished the Book of Mormon a couple of weeks ago and started all
over again! Yay! These amazing stories never get old. There are always
so many lessons to pull from them. I'm currently at the part where
Nephi and his family have been in the wilderness for eight years and they
just arrived in the land Bountiful. Nephi is commanded to build a ship
and with faith he does so. With all the trials that accompanied their
journey I marvel at how they pressed on. I know part of it was because
of the tender mercies of the Lord that they were able to make it.

In speaking of trials, our apostles and prophets have given great counsel.

Elder Richard G. Scott said:

“May I share some suggestions with you who face … the testing that a
wise Heavenly Father determines is needed even when you are living a
worthy, righteous life and are obedient to His commandments.

“Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in
multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not
consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord
feels you are prepared to grow more (see Proverbs 3:11–12). He
therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding,
and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get
you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of
stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."

In another quote about relying on the Lord during trials, Elder Robert
D. Hales stated:

“I have come to understand how useless it is to dwell on the whys,
what ifs, and if onlys for which there likely will be given no answers
in mortality. To receive the Lord’s comfort, we must exercise faith.
The questions Why me? Why our family? Why now? are usually
unanswerable questions. These questions detract from our spirituality
and can destroy our faith. We need to spend our time and energy
building our faith by turning to the Lord and asking for strength to
overcome the pains and trials of this world and to endure to the end
for greater understanding.”

My testimony about the need of trials and tribulations has increased a
lot. Everyone who is a member of this church knows that God gives us
trials to make us stronger, but we don't usually want to accept that
when we're going through a difficult time. You just want to ask God,
"Why?" But like Elder Hales said, it is detrimental to our testimony.
We need to let it build our faith. Easier said then done, I know. God
loves His children and He wants to polish us and prepare us for His
kingdom.

Well, that sums up my week. :)

We haven't been finding investigators who want to progress, but it's a
process. I have faith He has a greater plan even though we don't see
much of the fruit right now.

Last night the stake had a fireside called, "Why I Believe" which is
where several recent converts will speak and share about their
conversion story. It was really beautiful. We were able to invite a
less active couple out and an investigator. The mission president
spoke and did a wonderful job in encouraging members to do missionary
work. I know sometimes when we say "missionary work", we can sometimes
feel guilty for not doing it or we can't get past our fears. Something
I love that president Mella said was that if we just open our mouth
with faith, the Spirit will speak to their heart and make up for the
rest. That's all that counts!

Well, that's all for this week! I love you!
Xoxoxo,
Sister Butler