Email siete y nueve

February 19, 2018 

Lately I've been studying in the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi, and have learned some profound lessons on humility. Chapter 12 records Isaiah's prophecies concerning the second coming of the Christ.

"11 And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

12 For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon every one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low."

In the day of the second coming, all of us will be humbled when we see Jesus, because His majesty and glory will awaken us to the reality of our imperfections and our dependency on Him.

In chapter 16, Isaiah sees the Savior in a vision:

1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

Upon seeing the Lord, Isaiah realizes his shortcomings, causing him to cry out in verse 5:

"Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts."

In my notes section, I wrote: "When we truly recognize who the Lord is, it humbles us. The key to humility then is to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The scriptures have said that in the day of His coming we all will be humbled when we behold His glory. If we come to know Him and His glory now, we will be prepared for when He comes."

This was profound personal revelation for me, because I have been recognizing a lot of unrighteous pride in myself recently. I was so grateful for the prompting from the still small voice that told me what I need to do to humble myself and become a better servant.

This Saturday we baptized our investigator Joyce Williams. It was one of the most special and memorable days of my mission for sure. I haven't had the chance to tell y'all a ton about her, but she is amazing. The missionaries before us received a referral of her asking for a Bible. They did a great job teaching her and set a baptismal date with her. She simply was prepared to receive the Gospel. She has me call her "Miss Joyce". She loves the Book of Mormon, and loves the church.

On Saturday, Elder Webb, Elder Riley, Elder Alonzo, and I all went down into the font to make sure she she could come out of the water alright since she is older and it is difficult to get around.

Immediately after the ordinance the Spirit was so strong, and I was grateful to take part in teaching Joyce the Gospel and watch her conversion take place.

The baptism took place in Morrilton instead of Danville because the platform going into the font has more space so it made it easier to help Joyce into the font. President Hall, the Branch President of the Danville Branch, lives in Morrilton, so he drove down to pick us up and take us to Morrilton. President Hall is hilarious and very very southern, but also a jack of all trades. He is a professional chef and a professional drummer, and also served in the military. We went to lunch together and hechallenged us to share the Gospel with someone using a poster that was on the outside of the restaurant. He and I used it to talk to the waiter and it was so funny. She ended up asking for the address to the church.

Joyce asked me to give a talk on baptism, and I'd like to share some of what I said:

"Baptism is symbolic. We are submerged into the water, symbolizing death. We are brought back out out of the water, symbolizing resurrection.

This morning I read in Mark chapter 15, concerning the crucifixion and death of Christ.  Verse 37 reads:

"37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice (crying it 'it is finished' as we learn from the other Gospels), and gave up the ghost.

38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom."

It was in the temple that blood sacrifices were offered. At the conclusion of the final breath of the Savior, the last and greatest sacrifice was complete. It was finished, over. The law was fulfilled, animal sacrifices would no longer be necessary, for which the temple very symbolically was rent.


I read on into Mark 16 where Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome had brought spices to anoint the body of Jesus. There they found an empty tomb, with the stone rolled away, and an angel declared to them the most glorious announcement since that of His birth.

"Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

President Howard W. Hunter stated:

"Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and seemingly

unexplainable miracles--but sayings and miracles with no ultimate triumph. No, the ultimate triumph is in the ultimate miracle: for the first time in the history of mankind, one who was dead raised himself into living immortality. He was the Son of God, the Son of our immortal Father in Heaven, and his triumph over physical and spiritual death is the good news every Christian tongue should speak...“‘He is risen; he is not here.’ (Mark 16:6.) These words, eloquent in their simplicity, announced the most significant event of recorded history, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus...On the third day, he did arise to live again--the Savior of all mankind and the firstfruits of the Resurrection. Through this atoning sacrifice, all men shall be saved from the grave and shall live again. This always has been the testimony of the Apostles, to which I add my witness, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."


Our Savior Jesus Christ defeated the enemy no one else could defeat: death. Because of Him, we will all rise again. The purpose of covenants, such as baptism, is so that Heavenly Father's children can make it back to His presence."


I want to finish with my testimony that I know this is all true. This is the truth, I know it because of what it's done for me and my life, and what it has done for others I have taught. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He did what none of us could have done. We will one day fall down at His feet, and confess that He is the Christ.

I love youins. Have a wonderful week.
(We learned from Joyce that southerners say y'all, but true southerners say youins.)

Pictures:
We went to an escape room a couple Pdays ago.
Miss Joyce Williams's baptism!