Forces of Light

November 21, 2016
Be a Light

Matthew 5:14–16

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

This week we had zone conference , and it was absolutely amazing! It was ALL about light, and how WE can be lights this Holiday Season. I'm not going to lie, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Christmas lights. They are one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. Christmas lights can take an ordinary bare tree and transform it into a spectacular holiday treasure. As I have pondered that this week, I realized that is exactly what Christ has done with each and every one of us. We are these " ordinary " things, but through Him, as we try to be like Him, we obtain the Light of Christ...which I believe to be THE most beautiful light of all. Like a flame in the wind, you must protect your light in order to share it. President Monson said in the April 2015 General Conference, "Those things which make us different from most of the world also provide us with that light and that spirit which will shine in an increasingly dark world." 

Probably one of the most challenging parts of navigating life is guarding our light and not allowing the wind of the world to extinguish it. The ancient prophet Helaman taught, “It is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).The difficulties we face are only going to get more challenging. Sheri Dew said, 

The last days are not for the faint of heart or the spiritually out of shape. There will be days when you feel defeated, exhausted, and plain old beat-up by life’s whiplash. People you love will disappoint you—and you will disappoint them. You’ll probably struggle with some kind of mortal appetite. Some days it will feel as though the veil between heaven and earth is made of reinforced concrete. And you may even face a crisis of faith. In fact, you can count on trials that test your testimony and your faith.---Sheri Dew, 2003

"Now the glorious but sobering truth is that, in spite of your aeons of premortal preparation, the days ahead will at times “wrench your very heart strings,” as the Prophet Joseph told the Twelve (in John Taylor, JD 24:197). If you’ve hoped to passively, comfortably live out your lives, let me burst that little bubble once and for all. Now, please, do not misunderstand me: This is a magnificent time to live! It is a time, said President Spencer W. Kimball, when our influence “can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times” (“Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Ensign, November 1978, 103)." - Sheri Dew, 2003

IT IS BECAUSE of the darkness that our light shines brighter and brighter! I'm going to challenge you to let your light shine through service this season. Check this out!! Take a picture or video of it and post it with the hashtag,   #LightTheWorld.

One way we let our light shine this week was we entered a float in the Concord Parade this past Friday. The float was AWESOME! Lots of people loved it! The only casualty was my thumb as I hammered it building the manger. It was an amazing experience to hear people who were excited to see a float dedicated to the true meaning of Christmas!  We gave out over 1,000 Christmas cards at the parade.

Zone Conference

That's right!  I listened in Wood Shop Class

Transporting the hay for the Float

Sister Hallam and I on the Float

Sweet ward members acting out the Live Nativity

I love you all, and pray that you will Light the World this Christmas Season.

Love, 

Sister Scherzinger

From the Mouth of Babes

November 14, 2016

Hello Everyone!

This week I've been wondering what it means to " KNOW" Jesus Christ. So I'm opening it up to you! What does it mean? How can we truly know Jesus Christ? Why should we?  Take your time and ponder these questions. 

As I asked myself these three simple questions I started to wonder how it really is that we come to know Him. I don't think I've ever had this big " Ah Ha " moment most people have. But as I came across Elder Bernard's talk from this last conference, he said,

"A grand objective of mortality is not merely learning about the Only Begotten of the Father but also striving to know Him. Four essential steps that can help us come to know the Lord are exercising faith in Him, following Him, serving Him, and believing Him." (Ensign, Nov 2016)

I can be totally honest and say that I was awe struck by his simple, and obvious answer. Why wouldn't he go into deeper doctrine? Well I guess it comes back to what I said a little bit last week which is the beauty of this gospel isn't so much in what people call the  deep doctrine. It's in the simplicity of it .

I know that it is as we exercise faith in Him, follow Him, and believe Him that we will better appreciate the relationship we have with Him. We will have a greater desire to know Him. After all, we love those whom we serve, don't we?

I just wanted to share an experience from this week. One of our investigators and his kids received blessings from the Elders. After a few days we asked them how they felt about the blessing, and Aba, who is only 9 years old said, "I felt like God was standing in front of me telling me exactly what I needed to hear." 

Who would have thought that would come out of a child's mouth? I sure didn't. I mean, I expected something along the lines of, "It felt good."  I learn so much from our investigators.  

I just want you all to know that I know the priesthood is the power of God, and it's been restored to the earth. I'm SO grateful for it and the blessings that come from it. 

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Scherzinger 

The Carpenter

November 7, 2016

Hello everyone!  I want to start my letter off with a poem:

In Nazareth, the narrow road,

That tires the feet and steals the breath,

Passes the place where once abode

The Carpenter of Nazareth.

And up and down the dusty way

The village folk would often wend;

And on the bench, beside Him, lay

Their broken things for Him to mend.

The maiden with the doll she broke,

The woman with the broken chair,

The man with broken plough, or yoke,

Said, “Can you mend it, Carpenter?”

And each received the thing he sought,

In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll;

The broken thing which each had brought

Returned again a perfect whole.

So, up the hill the long years through,

With heavy step and wistful eye,

The burdened souls their way pursue,

Uttering each the plaintive cry:

“O Carpenter of Nazareth,

This heart, that’s broken past repair,

This life, that’s shattered nigh to death,

Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?”

And by His kind and ready hand,

His own sweet life is woven through

Our broken lives, until they stand

A New Creation—“all things new.”

“The shattered [substance] of [the] heart,

Desire, ambition, hope, and faith,

Mould Thou into the perfect part,

O, Carpenter of Nazareth!”

This week I've been thinking a lot about how we can all feel " broken" in some way, shape or form.  We each have weaknesses and trials that we face during our journey. As I thought more and more about this I've come to a realization that we really aren't broken. Those so called "cracks " that we all have,  serve a purpose. 

Our Carpenter  has suffered our infirmities, insecurities, and weaknesses, but He also overcame them when He rose on the third day. He succors us. He knows the purpose for our suffering.  The challenge is finding the strength to trust Him and believe that He will fix the cracks in our lives and create something beautiful.

Bread of  Life?

Um.....I got nothin'

Yup, while tracting we found a loaf of BREAD taped to the fence.  It cracked us up and had to get a picture.

So, on another note....Sister Hallam and I have decided to enter a float in the local parade to help remind people the true meaning of Christmas!  President Blair loved the idea, and the ward members are helping.  We decided to have a live nativity!! We have goats, horses and hay.  Not sure how we are going to get the animals to stay on the float.... pray for us! 🐐 🐎 💒

AHHHHH!  I'm in love.

I just wanted to let you all know how grateful I am for this gospel. I look back at where I was just a few years ago and honestly kind of cringe.When I lived away and was going to the Singles Wards, I only went to Sacrament most of the time and didn't really care what was being said. I went because I was supposed to. To be honest I didn't really gain a testimony until I felt like I had hit a rock bottom, and I'm so grateful for
that rock bottom in my life. Because of it,  I've come to know my Savior and Redeemer. I've come to know that not only does He know what I have and will go through, but HE is the one who has overcome it. He did that when He rose on the third day. I've come to know how much God really does love us. He really does want us to communicate with him, and he really does answer us IF we are willing to listen and align our
will with  His. 

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God to
bring this fullness of this gospel back to the Earth. I know at this gospel is perfect, but that there is no single person in it that is perfect. And I think that's a beautiful thing. We are all striving and trying to turn our hearts toward the Lord and He sees that. He rejoices when we do. 

I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God.
Without a doubt in my mind, I know that it was written for our day.  I know we all have a roll in missionary work. I know this gospel is the only place where we can find true and everlasting JOY. 

I'm sorry it's so short, but it's in the simplicity of the gospel where you find the truth. So I hope it's in the simplicity of this testimony that you can feel of Gods love for you.
I hope you all know I love you and miss you dearly. 

Love,

Sister Strange Name

Happy Halloween    

October 31

Well hello there everyone! 

What a week! It's been amazing to see how much the Lord answers prayers. I read an article on LDS.org that changed the way that I will pray forever. It's called  How To Pray In A Way God Can Answer. And because I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you. It says:

It’s 4:30 a.m. and my two-month-old son is up again—for the fourth time tonight. “God, please help him to go back to sleep,” I silently beg in my head. 

Nope. He’s still awake. 

I pick him up, feed him, and put him back down. “God, please help him to sleep in!” 

Nope. He doesn’t sleep in and wakes up an hour later.

Now repeat this scene for two more months.

I think when my third child was born, a good 90 percent of my prayers revolved solely around our collective sleep patterns. However, these prayers never seemed to be answered—at least not in the time frame I was hoping for.

This did not cause me to lose my faith in prayer or the power of prayer, but it did cause me to reflect on how I could improve my prayers to ask for things that God is more able to answer.

The Bible Dictionary says: “We pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ—when His words abide in us (John 15:7). We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant. Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent His mind.” 

What are those things it is possible for God to grant? How could I make sure my wishes are the wishes of Christ?

To figure this out, I drew a little diagram: my desires on the left, God’s on the right, and things we both want in the middle.

On the left I wrote some things I tend to pray for a lot (sleep, ease, comfort, health, happy and obedient children, happy husband, everything happy and easy); in the middle are the things that I want that I’m sure God wants for me too. These circles are not mutually exclusive. It could be God wants everything in the left circle as well; I’m just not sure what His will is for those desires yet. But I am sure He always wants me to keep His commandments and to be faithful, kind, and forgiving. 

On the right, I wrote things God wants for me that I don’t always want for myself. The biggest thing here is trials. I rarely want them, but I fully admit my times of trial are when I learn the most and grow closest to God. It’s good for this heart-changing goal we both have. Also in this circle could include commandments that are particularly difficult for me to keep.

I noticed that the things I want are largely circumstantial things—things based on the circumstances of life—while the things that God wants for me are mostly un-circumstantial (don’t look that up; it’s not really a word), or things relating to the state of my heart. 

Does this mean I should never ask for circumstantial things that I want? No way! Does this mean God will never answer my prayers if I just ask for things I want? Certainly not! I have had way too many experiences praying for things I want when God has given them to me to think that God doesn’t care about the left side of this diagram. I think God loves every one of us and cares deeply about our wants. I think He delights in giving us even those little things we ask for sometimes. Like any good father, He knows how to give us good gifts. But above all, He wants what is best for us, and what is best for us eternally does not always include the circumstances we desperately hope for.

So how to pray to align these two circles? How to pray for the things I want while accepting God’s will and His desires for me?

I came up with a little formula to help me in my prayers. It is simply this—whenever you ask for something you want and you’re not totally sure if it’s something God wants for you, tack on the phrase “but if not” and then add something you’re sure God would want for you. 

For example: “God, please help me get some sleep tonight, but if not, help me to have enough energy to be pleasant and hard working anyway.” “God, please bless that my child will get over this sickness and feel better, but if not, help us to trust in Thee and be patient with each other.” “God, please bless that I will be included in my group of friends, but if not, even if I feel excluded, help me to be kind and generous.” 

I’ve tried this out for about a year now, and I can say my rate of prayer success has skyrocketed. Here are some benefits I’ve experienced so far:

I feel like I’m finally fulfilling the real purpose of prayer, which is not to negotiate my desires, but to align myself with God. The two circles from my graph have grown much closer since praying in this way.

An unexpected benefit has been that I don’t fear hard situations or not getting what I want nearly as much as I used to because I’ve seen and felt God answer my prayers—both my desires and my “but if nots.” 

It’s been a great exercise in praying not for my circumstances to change, but that I in my circumstances may be changed, which is what Elder Bednar says is the key to unlocking grace in one of my favorite gospel talks of all time.

I feel a deep trust in God growing up inside me.

And eventually my son and I did get more sleep (though he still has this lovely habit of waking up at 5:30 a.m.). But that’s OK. I may not always get what I want when I want it, but I can feel God’s love and receive those things I need to become the person He wants me to be."

Ah. She just said it so well. I hope you can all try praying this way throughout your week.

Anyway... This week has been full of blessings. Last Sunday we had our FIRST investigator come to church with 3 of his 9 kids. Ah. What a tender mercy. It's been amazing to watch him grow closer to the Lord. 

This week has been pretty cold.  When it rains in New England, it's a down pour. And it's worse when you don't have umbrellas. But in spite of it all, it was actually pretty fun.  

I love you all and miss you.

Have a good week!

Sister Scherzinger 

Fall in New England

October 17

 

 October 17

 

My goodness. This week has been CrAzY! We spent Wednesday and Thursday at New Missionary Trainers meeting and then provided service in Sharon, Vermont at the Joseph Smith Memorial. I struggle to find any words that describe the sacred spirit on those set apart grounds. The happiness and joy that is felt there is unbelievable. This gospel is truly one of joy.

With 50 missionaries we hung lights, raked leafs, painted cabins, brought in hand carts, winterized everything, and had time to still have a fireside and a campfire. I'm beyond grateful for Joseph Smith and the faith that he had right from the beginning when he knelt in the woods and offered up a prayer to our Heavenly Father. That prayer revealed that the Heavens were not closed.  God loves us and wants to speak to us.

A devotional before we started working. 

Vermont is BEAUTIFUL, and the Joseph Smith Memorial is a very special place.  We were put on golf cart duty. I had to take it for a spin because it's the closest thing I'll have to four wheeling for the next 17 months!  Oh, did I mention that I fell out of it??  Hehehe... the struggle is real sometimes. It was awesome. Sister Hallam and I sang at the fireside later that night.




The rest of the week we were back in Concord and focused on finding new contacts.   Interesting fact about Concord: Only 12%  of members are active. Our "Fourth Floor Last Door" is going well! Sometimes it's exhausting, but as long as you are willing to give Heavenly Father your all,  He will lighten your path step by step  . The guy that walked with us to listen to General Conference never showed up to our appointment, but I can't  help but think he just needed encouragement that day, and we happened to be there.   Second appointments are hard to come by here in Concord.  It doesn't help that a lot of the people we teach are homeless and don't have phones or a permanent address.


I'll write more next week; I'm out of time.


I love you all! 


Sister Strange Name