Hastening of The Work

Dear Family and Friends,

I gave my farewell talk on the hastening of the work in these latter days. I want to reiterate the sincerity of my talk that the work of the Lord is expanding and growing. I am happy to be part of it in some small way. The Albuquerque NM mission has a goal of teaching and helping 850 of our Father in Heaven's children to the knowledge of the truth, and entering into the covenant of baptism and enduring to the end. I know that it will be a great work. Most importantly though, it is about the journey that we are all on. We have this short window of time to prepare ourselves to reach our potential that we saw before we even came into this world. Let us remember that and each push forward :)

I am both exhilarated and sad for the baptism of Michele, she is going to have to move as soon as she is baptized because her father will 'dis-own' her. She knows very much the importance of our Father in Heaven's plan and so the sacrifice is worth it to set the example and bring the testimony of the gospel's truth to her father. We originally planned on the baptism this Saturday but she is not 18 until Sunday and she has to move out then also because of her decision. So much to our sorrow, we decided it would be best that she get baptized when she get's settled in Oregon. The hard work and growth and bond is much harder to let go than I thought. But the Lord's will is what matters most and I would rather she be prepared and calm going into such an important moment rather than trying to scramble it in amid all the commotion. So pictures will com eventually of that day but I've included one of us all for now.

As I sat in sacrament meeting at the first of this year, I couldn't help but allow my mind to open and recognize our father's love for each one of us and the choices we make. We had a lot of people that have not been to church in a while show up. Even if that's a new year's resolution and doesn't really last, our father is still happy. I was brought to tears just with that realization and it helped me grow a much deeper love and care for these people. The next week is already all booked out pretty much because our members are helping so much and because there are so many people that want to have the Lord in their lives. I can't even express how many times I go to bed or leave a house wishing I had more time to help, more time to Learn, more time to grow. The Lord is so wonderful. 

 

My thought for this week comes from the end of Alma 34. I love it when the scriptures unfold before me. Work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Phil 2: 12 & Alma 34: 37. But fear is not of God right? Right! The Lord only wants us to recognize that he wants what's best for us and we can't have it if we don't harken and really listen to his voice. So he gives us trials and tribulations to increase our opportunities to exercise attributes that Christ had mastered. Growing grace for grace and line upon line. D&C 98 talks about tribulations and Alma 35 was really cool to me too because the people just kept their faith no matter what came their way. Some people lost all they had and had to leave their homes. Others gave freely of what they had been given so that these people might have means to survive and serve the Lord. That is a Zion attitude. Brigham Young taught that Zion is the state of a man's soul. So if our hearts are on the right things, then treasures on earth will be of no worth in comparison to the treasures of heaven. I have a lot to learn and not enough time to learn it all as usual. But Hey, steps are always good. Life is about the journey, not so much the destination. I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week.

Love,

Elder McGarry

Michele and Joanna

Moon over the Sandias!