Gratitude Is The Key To Happiness~

I have always tried to have a grateful heart. I  believe that gratitude is one of the keys to happiness. I feel deeply thankful for many blessings. I have been really blessed with a wonderful husband and a plentiful posterity; they all bring me great joy. I am so happy that I can be serving with my husband on a full time mission for our church; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have already had some very sweet visits with a few of our brothers and sisters in the gospel and those that are not of our faith. 
I am grateful for this beautiful earth that our loving Heavenly Father prepared for us. Our Savior Jesus Christ through His atonement has paved the way for us to return back into Their presence someday. I love my Savior very much and am so grateful for Him. 
I do have many choice friends and family that I love and am thankful for the place they have in my heart. 
I am deeply grateful for all of those that are my blogging and face book friends. You have inspired me, lightened my load, lifted me on hard days and brightened my life with your stories and photos. Thank you! Thank you! You are a blessing in my life. 

"The Lord has promised, "He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious".( D&C 78:19). Gratitude is an uplifting, exalting attitude. You can probably say from experience that you are happier when you have gratitude in your heart. You cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when you are grateful. 
Be thankful for the wonderful blessings that are yours. Be graterful for the tremendous opportunities you have. Be thankful for our parents. Let them know of your gratitude. Thank your friends and your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way. 
Thank your Heavenly Father for His goodness to you. You can express your gratitude to God by acknowledging His hand in all things, thanking Him for all that He gives you, keeping His commandments, and serving others. Thank Him for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Express thanks for the Savior's great example, for His teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help, for His infinite Atonement. 
Thank the Lord for His restored Church. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and family. Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at being graterful. You will find that it yields wonderful results." (True To The Faith - A Gospel Reference) Yes, gratitude is a key to happiness. 

A Missionary Moment ~ The Most Precious Book On Earth !

This Photo represents only 1/2 of our mission; the other half met on November 11th - 

We are on the 2nd row towards the middle. 

This past week has been a great feast. Each day we are working hard and learning so much. The highlight of the week was attending a Mission Tour meeting. Elder and Sister Wilson visited the mission. Elder Wilson is a Seventy, General Authority. They taught with great wisdom and power.The main topic was "The Book of Mormon" and its role in the conversion process. Both of them are converts to the church. Sister Wilson joined the church at age 11. She shared her amazing story. Elder Wilson was in his 20's. Their conversion stories were inspirational. 

I experienced a tense moment. In preparation for the meeting, Elder Wilson had requested that all missionaries prepare a 3 minute message on the subject: "My Purpose". Both my husband and I complied. Following the meeting each missionary was to submit their talk outline to the mission presidency. We realized there was a small chance of being called to present our talks. However, when I asked one of the other senior missionaries in our District if he thought a senior missionary would be called on; he said he didn't think so. When I left home for the meeting I couldn't print my outline. I sent it from my laptop to my desk top computer so I could print it. It wouldn't go. We were in a hurry so I thought I would just send it to the mission office following after the meeting. 

In the afternoon session, the conducting Zone Leader asked for three individuals to come up and present their talks. He called out for a Sister Williams, my heart dropped to the floor on that one. Then my husband said; " dear" the Elder said; "Sister Williams, the younger one". That eliminated me. I was so relieved; saved by age!

Elder and Sister Wilson explained how they gained their individual testimonies of the Gospel through reading the Book of Mormon. Of course, the Book of Mormon is my favorite book and I have read it several times. Just before we went to the MTC I read it through again in 10 days, which was a special spiritual experience for me. Every time I read from those pages I learn more. In my opinion it can answer all of life's questions. Who Am I? Where Did I Come From? and Why Am I Here? Also, it provides timely answers on how to approach or resolve any pressing issue.

This is a powerful book and if read, will bless your life. This is taken from a portion of a blog post of mine written in 2014. 

First of all, I should tell you what The Book of Mormon is. Quoting from the introductory page of this book: "The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel. 

The Book was written by many  ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian, named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterwards separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians. 

The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after his resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. 

After Mormon completed his writing. he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the Hill Cumorah. On September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, then a glorified, resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him relative to the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language.

If I were to suggest a book to inspire your marriage, raise your families or heal your soul; this would be the first that I would point to, followed by the Holy Bible. 

Many years ago I was struggling with how to help one of my children. They were having some deep struggles. I prayed and fasted mightily for them. I wanted to know how to help them. I took my Book of Mormon and headed for the temple grounds. While sitting in my car by the side of the temple I prayed and as I opened up the scriptures; the answer was right there. This has occurred countless times throughout my life when I have had deeply concerning questions. I know that this book of scriptures is true. I have tested it's principles and doctrines; they are sound. This book goes hand in hand with the Old Testament,  New Testament, and other sacred writings.

Here are some  more questions it will answer;

. Is there life after death? (Alma 40)

. What is the purpose of life? (Alma 34)

. Does God know me? (Alma 5:38, 58)

. Does God answer prayers? (Enos 1)

. How can I find peace and joy? (Mosiah 2,4)

. How can my family be happier and more united? (Mosiah 2)

. How can I strengthen my relationship with my spouse? (3Nephi 14)

. How can I avoid the evils that threaten my family? (Alma 39)
My one hope is that someone that reads this will pick up a Book of Mormon and read 3 Nephi 17: Here you will learn of Christ's visit to the America's. It will tell of His love for the people and the little children that He blessed.
                                        

We enjoyed a very busy Sabbath day this week. Here's an outline of our schedule: We began at 7:30 am attending the 3rd Ward Correlation Council Meeting.We left at 8:30 to attend the 8th Ward Correlation Council Meeting We then left that meeting at 8:50 to provide a young man with ride to church. Unfortunately didn't answer the door so we returned to finish the meeting in 8th ward. We next attended Sunday School in the 3rd Ward which was followed by the 8th Ward Sacrament meeting - an was awesome missionary farewell. I left for a few minutes to take care of our small dog, Sammy. Roger went with Elder Araujo to attend another Sunday school. I returned and we next attended the 5th Ward's Sacrament meeting, which was their annual Primary program. In this program all of the children in the ward follow a topical theme to present short messages and sing beautiful children's hymns.  Immediately after, Roger and the Ward Mission Leader priesthood blessings to a family. We then met with the Ward Mission Leader for 3rd Ward. As we were leaving the building for the day; I stopped in and talked for a few moments with the 5th ward's Relief Society President. 

We came home briefly for dinner and then accompanied the full time Elders assigned to our Stake to assist them in teaching multiple lessons. One of them went with us to visit two families, and the other one went with another Elder to visit a third family. We didn't get home until after 9 pm. It was one of the busiest days but so fulfilling and the meetings were awesome. How I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

  

 

We ask that you read the Book of Mormon and then go to your Heavenly Father in sincere prayer and you will receive your own testimony of the truthfulness of this wonderful book. 

From the introduction in the Book of Mormon comes this invitation;

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (see Moroni 10:3-5).

It is my testimony that The Book of Mormon is a true book of scripture for our latter days. Come and see!

                              

Here you can order a free Book of Mormon -

Here you can learn more about The Book of Mormon -

Our Heavenly Father Loves You!

My husband and I have had an incredible second week on our mission. We have attended a few mission meeting where we are being taught more about what our responsibility is. Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. 
We will be working within three of the wards in our stake. Basically, we will visit, invite and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will give service as often as we can. We will work on developing friendships with those we meet with and the members of the wards we are assigned too. 
We met with two of our younger Elders this week and they are such awesome young men. We learned a lot from them. 
I know beyond doubt that our Heavenly Father loves all his children. As stated in Preach My Gospel Manual pg. 31; "We are his children. (I believe that we were lived together in a Premortal life and that we knew our Heavenly Parents and our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ well). Our Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bone that is glorified and perfected. He loves us. He weeps with us when we suffer and rejoices when we do what is right. He wants to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer.He has given us this experience on the earth so we can learn and grow. We can show our love for Him through our choices and our obedience to His commandments. Heavenly Father has provided us, His children, with a way to be successful in this life and to return to live in His presence." His plan is a plan of happiness. 
I thought today that I would share this film: "Meet The Mormons". It is available right now for a few weeks to share. I pray you will take a moment and learn more about who we really are. 

Invite All To Come Unto Christ~

We had a fantastic week at the MissionTraining Center. Everyday, was uplifting and there were so many spiritual highlights. It was also hard work. There was much studying, role playing and learning to be done. Our day started at 6:30 am with getting prepared for the day, breakfast with all the missionaries in the MTC (more than 2,000) and then classes until noon, lunch and then back to class work. We were generally through around 4:30 pm. My husband and I would then study together until dinner and then off to our apartment. We spent the evening studying for the next day's classes. We were usually up until about 11 pm. We are slow learners. 

Monday evening we were able to watch a remarkable video of an MTC training message given by one of Twelve Apostles, Elder David A. Bednar. He gave a stirring talk on the character of Christ - being outward rather than inward. We are to spend more time thinking and working for others instead of focusing inward on ourselves. 

The following evening we attended a World Wide MTC Devotional originating at our MTC. The speaker was also an Apostle, Elder Neil L. Andersen. All the Senior Missionaries had wonderful seats in the MTC Conference center. We were about 25 feet away from him. His message was centered on the Sacrifice, Opposition, Adversity, and Deliverance. The talk centered on Christ and his Sacrifice and then on our our personal life struggles and deliverance. A choir of about 200 plus young missionaries sang the hymn, "More Holiness Give Me." It was so touching and I shed a few tears on that one. 

We now wear name tags that read: Elder Williams, and Sister Williams  respectively and "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", which is the official name of the church. 

The photos above are from moments in the MTC. We especially enjoyed sitting and talking with the younger missionaries during breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food in the cafeteria was very good (maybe too good). It is amazing how they can feed over 2,000 missionaries 3 times per day. During the devotional it was inspiring to see all of the missionaries together in that big center. 

On the left upper photo is of a map of the world and it shows all of the countries where missionaries are assigned.

The lower center picture is of our district for the week. Elder Williams was the District Leader for the week. There were four couples but one of them, Elder and Sister Atkinson left for the Philippines before we took this picture. Left is Elder and Sister Spencer, Elder and Sister Williams, Elder and Sister Callahan. Elder and Sister Spencer are off to New York, while Elder and Sister Callahan are heading for Samoa. 

The one especially tender mercy this week was being able to be in the MTC at the same time as our close friends: Elder and Sister Moncrief. They are going to Tonga for their mission. We have been friends for over 25 years. Sister Moncrief and I have been very close friends and spent many hours with each other. We were so thrilled to be together. You can see us pointing at where we are serving our mission. 
The middle center picture is a painting of missionaries leaving their homes in the early days of our church. They and their wives were ill but the Elders decided they needed to go on no matter what. They stood up and waved good-by to their wives and shouted Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Israel! 
It took great courage to leave their families to serve missions. They left a legacy for us to follow. 
Well that sums up our incredible week at the MTC. Today, we had a beautiful Sabbath Day visiting two wards in our stake. Tomorrow we will meet with our Mission President and learn what our assignments will be. We are ready for the challenge of inviting others to Christ. 
Check out the links and you will find interesting information. 
Sending out love to all!