The Refiner's Fire

Bok!



Another week down, and about halfway through the at-home MTC (until we leave for Croatia!). We transitioned this week from our english teaching lessons to teaching in Croatian. This was a big jump since we are still only two and a half weeks into learning the language, but the Spirit is making all the difference!


 

My surandik and I taught a guy named Matthew today in Croatian, and were able to teach about God's love for him and invited him to pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon! It was amazing to see him go from not really knowing God to having the faith to act on our words and the promptings of the Spirit! And all in Croatian!


 

A big miracle this week: On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go into the temple and do baptisms for the dead! (proxy baptisms for those who died not having been able to be baptized in their lives). I had previously thought that when I went through the temple in April, that would be my last time in the Lord's House for two years! So this was a wonderful surprise! An interesting part of the experience though was that usually I feel this huge difference when I enter the temple as I leave the stresses of the world behind. But this time, since I have been constantly studying and living the gospel, it felt more like going from one sacred place to another!  (It is the House of the Lord, though, so of course there was a difference but it was still really eye-opening!). 


 

My spiritual thought for the week has to do with becoming pure. In the scriptures it states that Zion is the "pure in heart". Recently, I have been studying Joseph Smith and the early saints and I was once again astounded at the persecution they endured and the trials they went through (even when they did nothing wrong). I kept asking myself; how on earth did they keep their heads up and stay faithful? My answer came as I thought about the refiner's fire. In order to become pure, we must pass through the "fire" of trials that are given to us. If our ultimate goal is to become like Christ, we must endure and remain faithful just as He did. So while in the moment our trials may seem unfair, we understand that in reality God is purifying us and refining us so we can become like Him one day. The question is, will you lose your faith because of your trials? Or will you remain faithful in the knowledge that your trials are evidence of God's love for you? This is so much easier said than done, but I testify that it is true!


 

As always, I love hearing from you guys so feel free to email!

 


To je sve za danas!

 


Starješina Neil


 

P.S. Gave my farewell talk on Sunday! Thank you all for the support!!


 

Pictures:

1.) My dad, Corinne, and I at the Portland Temple on Wednesday :) best day of all the days

2.) At the farewell: The greatest piano teacher and most fearless missionary I know: Colleen Tolva! Her grandson Austin is in this picture as well, he and I have had some of the most legendary jam sessions over the years, he's got some of the fastest fingers you'll ever see haha

 

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