Sunday February 6, 2011
Today I received the Priesthood finally. It was amazing. I've never felt such an amazing feeling. The only other time that I could compare this feeling to was when I was first baptized into the Church. When I was being given the Priesthood by the laying on of hands, I started to tear up. When the ordination was complete, my eyes filled with tears and it was so strong that I absolutely could not overcome it. The men whom I requested to participate were Bishop P***** (conferring the Priesthood to me), Kyle B******, Scott H***, Ryan P*****, Elder Shaw, and Elder Carter. A few things about these men:
Bishop P***** - NEVER have I met anyone constantly filled with the Spirit as Bishop P***** is. I have told him a few times that I could never imagine him being anything but a Bishop. He was made for this calling, and I would not be surprised if the Lord has much greater plans in his future. His dedication to the gospel is like no one I have ever met. Every word that comes out his mouth sounds as if it is directed by the Spirit. I love Bishop P***** and hope to always have him as a great friend and counselor.
Kyle B****** - a truly great example of someone who is dedicated to living the gospel. I remember him talking about the specifics of the Sabbath Day one time. He said that him and his wife were having a 2 hour discussion on the Sabbath Day and what are considered appropriate activities. Their oldest child, Clark, wanted to hang out at the lagoon with his fellow kindergarten classmates and their parents on Sunday nights to roast marshmallows and hot dogs. Kyle and his wife eventually came to the conclusion that, while this would be a great missionary opportunity for them, they should not participate in this activity; the reason that he mentioned in class was because "this week we can go to the lagoon, so next week why can't we go to disneyland?" He is very smart and I hope to build a better relationship with him. There is a lot that I can learn from on how to be a worthy Priesthood holder.
Scott H**** - I don't know too much about Scott, but he has been a great Gospel Essentials teacher. I hope that one day I will be able to take his place in that class :)
Ryan P***** - He is the Bishop's brother, along with being my home teacher. I've only known him for about 2 months, but I can feel the sincerity in his voice when he talks about the gospel and its truthfulness. He is someone that I want around in my life to also learn from. His voice is nearly identical to Bishop P*****.
Elder Shaw - Elder Shaw is one of those goofy yet sincere missionaries. I always feel the Spirit when he speaks. I know of his worthiness by the way he makes me feel during discussions. He's a very likable guy and a missionary that I would love to always keep in contact with. He lives on a farm in Canada and has horses.
Elder Carter - This guy, alongside Elder Shaw, is one of the greatest missionaries that I've been blessed to have in my life. It almost brings me to tears just thinking about how much he has helped me. He's very outgoing. As a matter of fact, when I first met him at Church I thought he'd been out on the mission field for a while, just from his charisma. Turns out, that was his first Church meeting since leaving the MTC. Elder Carter has helped me with my masturbation and pornography struggles by advising me to read the book "Putting On The Armor of God" by Steven Cramer. This book is tied for my favorite Church book. He's the first missionary I've had that has no problem giving you a big hug before he leaves your house. Him and Elder Shaw were instrumental in my receiving of the Priesthood today. I am grateful to have them in my life.
Before I received the Priesthood today, I taught my first Church lesson in second hour. 2 weeks ago, Kyle B****** asked me to teach the Word of Wisdom in the Gospel Essentials class. I was extremely nervous to start, but 2 minutes into the lesson all of my fears went away. I now understand what it is like to teach with the Spirit. I am so grateful to be worthy enough to have the Spirit to be with me during these times of desperation (that's what it felt like, with all the nerves kicked in). A huge part of this day was that I was accompanied by so many loved ones. My dad took the morning/afternoon off, Aunt Shari mustered up the courage to fight her anxiety (which has caused her to miss out on my important family events), Kent (my aunt's boyfriend of 15 years) joined us, my mom, Nathalie, Mary Lou, and Max (Mary Lou's 2 year old). It meant so much to me to have my family there to support me. I have never had a better Sunday than today. After Church, we all came back to my house to eat and then left together to visit the Newport Beach Temple. Me and Nathalie want to get married there. Hopefully she will be temple worthy by November because we want to have our wedding on 11/11/11. It would be awesome :) I love her so much and I feel like everything in life is going great. I have a lot of things going on and it is certainly stressful, but with Heavenly Father on my side, I can get through anything.
I just started listening to a lot of gospel songs. It is so uplifting and positive. When I hear anything else besides gospel music, I start to get a bad feeling inside. These are definitely spiritual promptings. I know that my path is becoming narrower and narrower each and every day.
I heard this song today called "He Wants It All" by Forever Jones. It made me cry. As I write this, I feel so good inside. I feel that my life is going down the right path. I want to give my all to Heavenly Father and this gospel. I want to serve him in any way that I can.
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