Happy Halloween!

Hey. Everything is going well. It is definitely starting to get colder, but it isn't too crazy yet. Tonight we have to be in early. We have to be in by 6. There is a trunk or treat at the church at 530 so we are going to do that for a little bit and then go back home and do weekly planning for the upcoming week. 

Our search for people is going alright, but this week was a little tougher than usual. We are doing a decent job at finding people but it has been a real struggle to help people progress. It is hard to see people accept us at first, but not truly recognize exactly how important the message that we share is. We know that our message is true and that the same church that Christ established is on the Earth again today, and we know how extremely important that is for our life on earth but also for our eternal progression, but it's pretty hard to help some people understand just how important it all is and what it really all means. It's been a pretty frustrating week in that sense, but we know that if we do all that we can and are being diligent then the Lord will bless us with prepared people. 

We studied the importance of the Book of Mormon today because we have a zone conference this week and President and Sister Tateoka asked us to study chapter 5 in Preach My Gospel. The Book of Mormon is so vital. Literally everything in the gospel relies on the Book of Mormon because it is the keystone of our religion and everything that we believe in is directly related to the book. We know that whoever reads it with a sincere heart and asks God in faith will receive a witness of its truthfulness. And if you gain that witness then you know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that we have a prophet on the Earth today who gives us direct revelation for our specific day, and that this really is Christ's church once again established on the Earth today! Daily, sincere study is SO important so that we can always be increasing our testimonies. 

Another cool thing that I thought about during studies today was a quote by Ezra Taft Benson about how the 3 ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.  One of those ways was that it is a witness of Christ. When you think about it, Christ is our cornerstone. Like it says in Helaman 5:12, we need to remember to build our foundation on Christ. Which as a church we do. But I never really thought about how the Book of Mormon was a keystone to our witness of Christ. As I thought about Christ in general and everything we know about Him, I started to recognize more about how the Book of Mormon truly gives us a more complete ability to see the true Character of Christ and his Atonement. One thing I have noticed is that a lot of people view the Atonement as simply the crucifixion and resurrection. But through the Book of Mormon we come to a more complete understanding of just exactly how HUGE the suffering in the Garden of Gethsemene was for each and every one of us. My thoughts are a lot easier to explain in my head than in the way that I typed them!! Sorry! I just think it is awesome how the Book of Mormon, when paired with the Bible, truly give us the complete view of who Christ is and how much He loves us.