The Spirit of God!

Darling Sara!

     Hello all! How are you doing on this amazing day!:) This glimpse in the eyes of eternity day. Cherish it. Because glimpses pass by and they don't come back again:) 

     It was such a good week! Our investigator Vincent is doing so well! He told us in our lesson yesterday that he was choosing between a few colleges to go to and was uncertain about TIU (the college he chose) because of its long commute. But he said that he knows now that he picked the right school because God allowed him to meet us there and he found a new path for his life. How awesome is that! Then he prayed for the first time with us in our second lesson and it was so good! He thanked God that he was about to find his new family (us) and that he found this new path. He then said the rest in Chinese so he could say what was clearly in his heart He then committed to pray every morning and night and to meet twice a week. We are so excited to move forward with him! So prepared!! 

     Also this week, we had a zone blitz where we all went and worked in one area with the missionaries and we went to Kawagoe so that was so fun to be back there. I got to go on a split in Kawagoe on Wednesday as well and I got to meet Elder Clark! He is an elder who completed his mission when I was transfer 3 but we both served in Nagaoka and Kawagoe and we have become good friends. I got to have lunch with him and it honestly felt like I have known him for years. It was so fun to meet him. I have some pics of that. 

     Then I got to visit Watanabe kyoudai, my old ward mission leader in Kawagoe and he gave me Plum juice that he had been preparing for a year! It was sooo good! He gave me a big bottle of concentrate so I have been gobbling that up all day haha. 

     We had Fukunaga Shimai's wedding on Saturday! Literally love them! So funny. She married Han kyoudai who is a 2 year recent convert who is such an amazing convert and he is from China. He is so awesome. The other elders said that will be me in 3 months.. I will give it 4 years! 

     Today I wanted to talk about who we are. I have talked about it before but how quick are we to forget the Lord our God and who we are in the whole scheme of things. Why do we forget who we are? As I read the New Testament this week, and a scripture I read I didn't fully understand or click with super powerfully because I would read over it to last verse of this amazing chapter from Paul. 

1 Corinthians 13

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

     When we look at our potential and true identity in this life through our mortal eyes it truly is like looking through dark glass. Tinted windows if you will (That way whenever you look into the tinted windows on your car this may be brought to your remembrance and you will remember who you are). We literally have NO CLUE who we are. We have NO CLUE who we can become. But one day we will see Him face to face... and we will know ourselves as WE ARE KNOWN. We will know ourselves as He knows us. You are amazing! You are all beautifully perfect in the perfect eyes of our Father! That is something to be excited about!:) something to keep us going in the hard days! When we forget -- this is important -- that is when trials get hard, and we turn angry, frustrated or sad. Our internal struggle then projects on those around us and we close ourselves off, or rub off on everyone else. Why? We do not have the Holy Ghost. 

     "If you are not doing what the Lord would have you do, you cannot believe in yourself." Why? We lack The Holy Ghost! If you are not living a life that is worthy of and inviting the Spirit you will never have confidence. Why? Because you cut your tie to the veil. You cut your one reminding voice that keeps you from complete memory loss of who you once were. How stupid we are!

     "There is nothing more important in life than to have the Spirit of God. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest gift available to mankind in this life. It is the power by which men are sanctified and changed to become like God. It is the fountain and the only source of power, light, intelligence, hope, love, joy, peace, comfort, knowledge, confidence, clarity and every other good gift. In this life there is no prize of greater worth, there is no gem of greater value, there is no vault that guards a more valuable possession. All of the wealth of the world combined is dust and dirt in comparison to this supernal gift made available to every last woman, man and child who is obedient to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." 

     "Consequently, there is no greater loss and there is no man so poor as the man without the Spirit of the Holy Ghost. There is no darkness so dark, as for the man who once enlightened, offends the Spirit and is then left to himself. (See D&C 121:38) 

     "How foolish! How stupid! How sad, to have the prize of prizes, the riches of riches, and then trade it away for smoke and mirrors, and baubles and beads on the gaming table of life! Why do we trade the one thing we literally cannot go without in order to develop our soul and character for the things of the world."

     I am not just talking about when we sin, it can just be when we let anger or contention enter our lives and the spirit departs from us so cut our tie through the veil and we forget who we are and we struggle. But regarding sin, honestly if a trial hits when we are not manning the ship how we have been taught, yes we will be tossed. Then because of the frustration that we have been tossed, we forget who we are and who God is to us. Then we lose the Spirit... the gift of all gifts. Our one saving voice from complete memory loss. The same voice that if lost can cause language loss, as were taught in Conference. 

     Parents everywhere, I know as teenagers we get mood swings and have problems but looking back almost every time I was grumpy, angry, or upset, I would say it is because I didn't have the Spirit - because I wasn't living worthy of it or I forgot who I was. Please never let us forget who we are! 

     Please just remember who you are! Look at yourself in a glass, darkly, and find what you can do to see yourself more clearly. In other words, find how you can live a life more fully with the companionship of the Spirit. Your tether to Heaven's Heights. To a Celestial memory. Then will you find confidence in yourself and your life. Then you will not have to look at yourself horizontally through the dark glass of the world, but you will look up and see yourself vertically into the Heavens. A son or daughter of God. I love you all!

     Have an amazing week. It is a simple message. But so is the gospel. The message is how to find joy:) go find it!!:) 

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Trevor Aiken