This week was super fun!!!
For P-day last Monday we went to Miyajima! Miyajima is a SUPER famous island right near the coast of Hatsukaichi. It`s one of the most popular tourist spots in all of Japan. And don`t quote me on this but I`m pretty sure this is the famous World War 2 Miyajima (I don`t know! I`ve forgotten everything about history! ... that isn`t the gospel.)
Anyway, goodness gracious it was beautiful! These pictures are actual ones we took. Not post cards. The island is full of cute little shops and Japanese shrines. Also this island is flooded with deer. Like wild deer. They are so use to tourist that you can just go up and pet one. ;D We hiked and shopped and saw the famous gate! It was low-tide so you could just go up and touch it! I LOVE Miyajima. It`s deffinently a go to place if you ever go to Japan.
We had our first official lesson with our investigator family, the Sakai`s. They`re such a cute family! They fit right into the ward. They`ve been investigating for 2 years solid. They believe that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, but they just can`t seem to get over the `We`re the ONLY true church`thing. There are still a lot of things they still believe about their old church. I can see that they are so SO close to getting baptized. We want to explain more that we do believe that their are other good, amazing, Christ-centered churches out there. Really, there are!! Other churches help us combat the evil that is in the world. We`re side by side in serving, and loving and helping those in need. We are not claiming that we`re the only good church. But we do declare proudly and without hesitation that we are the true church. We have the whole truth. And in might sound cocky, but hey, we didn`t say it first! The Lord did. Jesus Christ established his church. This is his church in this generation, this time, now. God the Father and Christ appeared to a 14 year old boy named Joseph Smith in 1820. Through him, he Restored his full truth. Probably most importantly he restored the authority of the Priesthood: The power and authority of God. Without the priesthood, then, yes, me might just be another good church. But the fact of this life, this world and this universe is that that same priesthood power that Jesus Christ himself gave to his apostles nearly 2000 years ago, was restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith. And that power is again on the earth today. And that truth and power continues to exist on this earth in this church known as `The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.`
I know with all my heart that that is true. I don`t know everything about this church. There is still so much for me to learn. But I declare that statement proudly. I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, and am a missionary of his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know it. You know it. And if you don`t know it, read the Book of Mormon, pray, and you WILL know it. And if you knew it, but don`t know it now, same process friend. Start from what you DO know, read and pray. We grow our testimony everyday. Testimony is never something that is solidified one time. You can not leave your testimony to collect dust on a shelf and expect it to be as strong as it was before you left it there. You must seek, search, and continue to build everyday. Everyday, everyday, everyday!
I love this gospel. I love this truth and I hold it sacred.
I love you all! See you ......um, let`s not count.
-Sister Stevenson
For P-day last Monday we went to Miyajima! Miyajima is a SUPER famous island right near the coast of Hatsukaichi. It`s one of the most popular tourist spots in all of Japan. And don`t quote me on this but I`m pretty sure this is the famous World War 2 Miyajima (I don`t know! I`ve forgotten everything about history! ... that isn`t the gospel.)
Anyway, goodness gracious it was beautiful! These pictures are actual ones we took. Not post cards. The island is full of cute little shops and Japanese shrines. Also this island is flooded with deer. Like wild deer. They are so use to tourist that you can just go up and pet one. ;D We hiked and shopped and saw the famous gate! It was low-tide so you could just go up and touch it! I LOVE Miyajima. It`s deffinently a go to place if you ever go to Japan.
We had our first official lesson with our investigator family, the Sakai`s. They`re such a cute family! They fit right into the ward. They`ve been investigating for 2 years solid. They believe that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, but they just can`t seem to get over the `We`re the ONLY true church`thing. There are still a lot of things they still believe about their old church. I can see that they are so SO close to getting baptized. We want to explain more that we do believe that their are other good, amazing, Christ-centered churches out there. Really, there are!! Other churches help us combat the evil that is in the world. We`re side by side in serving, and loving and helping those in need. We are not claiming that we`re the only good church. But we do declare proudly and without hesitation that we are the true church. We have the whole truth. And in might sound cocky, but hey, we didn`t say it first! The Lord did. Jesus Christ established his church. This is his church in this generation, this time, now. God the Father and Christ appeared to a 14 year old boy named Joseph Smith in 1820. Through him, he Restored his full truth. Probably most importantly he restored the authority of the Priesthood: The power and authority of God. Without the priesthood, then, yes, me might just be another good church. But the fact of this life, this world and this universe is that that same priesthood power that Jesus Christ himself gave to his apostles nearly 2000 years ago, was restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith. And that power is again on the earth today. And that truth and power continues to exist on this earth in this church known as `The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.`
I know with all my heart that that is true. I don`t know everything about this church. There is still so much for me to learn. But I declare that statement proudly. I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, and am a missionary of his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know it. You know it. And if you don`t know it, read the Book of Mormon, pray, and you WILL know it. And if you knew it, but don`t know it now, same process friend. Start from what you DO know, read and pray. We grow our testimony everyday. Testimony is never something that is solidified one time. You can not leave your testimony to collect dust on a shelf and expect it to be as strong as it was before you left it there. You must seek, search, and continue to build everyday. Everyday, everyday, everyday!
I love this gospel. I love this truth and I hold it sacred.
I love you all! See you ......um, let`s not count.
-Sister Stevenson