3-16-15

Hello!

Quote: "3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:3-8

"38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,nor things to come, 

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

I love these scriptures. I found them while studying this week. It helped me put in perspective how great Christ's love for us truly is and also how even if we wanted, we can't escaped that love. In essence Christ will always love every person, every time, no matter what circumstances!!! He died and suffered for us not as a group, but as individuals. even multiple people who suffer the same or similar trials, for example grief or guilt. He didn't undergo just a general "grief/guilt" suffering. But rather he suffered it each and every time for each and every individual. He knows what it feels specifically for our chemical make up, our thoughts, our feelings, and our circumstances. So grateful for His atoning sacrifice and love. 

This week was great! We had stake conference which was awesome! The Seoul temple president came and spoke to us. His talk was pretty fun!!!:) He bore really strong testimony and I felt the spirit very strong. I love what one speaker said about Nephi. If he hadn't have tried and failed to get the plates once before then he wouldn't have known Laban's voice and wouldn't have been able to command Laban's servant! That really stuck with me. Sometimes the Lord asks us to try and fail multiple times for a reason. Cool principle. Also, I got to go back to one of my old areas since it is where the stake center is and I got to see one of my recent converts! That was pretty fun!:) After stake conference a girl got baptized in our ward. That was cool! Our ward is doing really well! If all goes well we will have 3, maybe 4 baptisms this month in our ward and 5 in our zone! Which is pretty high for these parts! Exciting stuff!!!:):):) As for one of the kids with baptismal dates that we are teaching, we taught him the ten commandments yesterday and we were thinking this week that he is breaking two of them , honor parents and lying.... so we talked about needing to be keeping the commandments before and after baptism and also how his mom had to give him permission. We talked about it really seriously and really in depth. We even did a roleplay with him on how he might tell his mom. He was/is really nervous and scared but he said he would do it tonight. So Elder Killpack and I are fasting for him today. He doesn't think his mom will continue to let him meet with us, but we are just fasting that if now isn't the time for him to get baptized, that he will have the opportunity later in his life to accept it. Kind of hard. Seems like even when we find the most prepared of people we don't always get to see the end result in the process. But we have to trust God and accept His will. All will work itself out in the end. I am confident. It was probably the most my heart has ever ached for a human soul and definitely for an investigator. Kind of a weird feeling to truly gain a love for someone like that. But a great feeling as well. Hope to be able to continue teaching him, but if not we will accept God's will. Good week though! I am learning lots and having lots of memories! The church is true! Have a great St. Patrick's day this week! 

-Elder Hobson