The first, of course, being that CONOR GOT BAPTIZED. And to see it was so incredible. It was kind of a stressful weekend, we wound up on exchanges in Mustang and I had to drive back Saturday morning for the baptism and then Sunday morning for the confirmation, leaving Sister Hirschi in charge of a lot, but it all worked out well, because the Lord pretty much does all the work and we as imperfect human beings just stress out anyway over things we can't control.
Conor was there, and a lot of his family came, which was really awesome! It was standing room only. After he got baptized, and He and Elder Quijada went to get changed, we sat waiting for 5....10.....15... minutes. Eventually, Elder Olson went to check on them and they had gotten locked in the bathroom. Hahaha. That's a day you can't really forget. Also the area seventy was at church yesterday and stood in on his confirmation. When he got up to speak, Conor leaned over to me and said "He's a seventy! And he's here! That's so cool!" I love Conor. I love that he understands things and lets the spirit teach him.
I read a talk by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge titled "The Fourth Missionary" this week. I read it at the beginning of my mission, but had forgotten a lot of it. So I took the time to read it (even though it's about 30 pages long) and learned a lot of great things. Particularly the following quote, which is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
"You are the sum totally of all that you think, say, see, hear, feel, and do in this life and before. You change immediately with each good thought, each good act; every good word changes you for the better. When you willingly obey the principles of the Gospel, you are changed by the spirit of God to become incrementally more like Him. The degree of change with each small act of obedience may be small, but it is real and immediate. The full, cumulative, and perfect realization of this process of change or sanctification happens only over time, but make no mistake that you are always changing, and that the effects of your obedience are immediate, whether for better or for worse, depending upon the voice you choose to follow."
I remember having very secular discussion about this with one of my friends before my mission. We talked about how everything that we are is based off of everything that we've been around. That's true, but our potential is greater than that. But this is why it's so important to stay out of bad situations, bad media, things that interrogate, or demean, or discredit. Not because we're going to start being crude and worldly immediately, but because whatever we witness or listen to is now a part of us. It is a part of what we have become, It is in the timeline of our lives. If we are full of good actions but bad circumstances, eventually one has to rule out the other. We have been developed by our choices and actions and thy continue to evolve as we diligently choose to cleave unto light. Christ. We become Christlike when we do Christlike things. We can never expect to be Christlike if our actions don't reflect it.
I apologize for being so vague, but we're going to the Zoo! And it's not that the family is less important than the zoo, but... I mean... it's a really nice day outside.
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