“Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.”   – 1 Nephi 17:36

How wonderful to know that Jesus Christ, under the direction of the Father, created this beautiful earth for us to explore! I always feel so close to my Father in Heaven as I enjoy the beauties of nature that surround me! Creation is a Godly attribute that each of us posses. What a blessing that God has enabled us to create! Create art, memories, joy, food, music, and most importantly children! It is the most incredible gift! He provides us the materials and tools necessary and gives us the ability to choose what to do with it! It is so freeing to know that we are in control of how we respond to life! Sadly, many people think they are victims of their circumstance. That is a lie! We are the architects of our own happiness! We are here to experience JOY! 

Sister Smith and I have experienced much joy as we have connected to heaven and asked God to direct us in building His kingdom in this area! We told Him our vision of this area and our desires to do His will. He guided us to those ready to progress in the gospel and we met 12 solid people who are invested in learning more about this gospel and many people who we taught that were open to us coming back and sharing more! One special family we met on Tuesday. They told us to come back at 6 o’clock that night. We did, no answer. We were pretty bummed because they seemed so prepared! On Friday we felt the impression to go back! We did. They invited us into their home and we taught Laurie and her 12 year old daughter Aaliya and 5 year old Jenn a spirit-filled lesson! They came to church this Sunday and loved it! Really amazing people that shine with Christ’s light! We also had Charity at church! It is her first time coming and the sisters were meeting with her for over a year. She always jokes with me about how happy I am. After church she said, “I’m convinced there’s opponents in that sacrament bread. That is why you’re always happy! And now I can feel it in my system too!” Haha the joys of partaking of the sacrament! Another happy moment was going back to Tony’s lesson and finding that he’s already in 2 Nephi! He is such a cool guy! And we also started teaching these 2 couples who struggle with the word of wisdom (love their dope and beer). We started teaching them separate, but turns out Shawn posted on fb, “Guess we’re becoming Mormons!” and then Michelle commented, “No way! Same!” And they posted their photos of the Book of Mormon with the little notes we left and all these people responded really positive things! Haha it was hilarious! I love them! With each of these people, God gave us the wisdom and ability to create a relationship with them, to create a spiritual environment, to help them create a testimony of their own. God has given us all we need, He has shown us the way and all we have to do is act! Create a wonderful future for ourselves! We must remember, that everything we create is all thanks to Him! Glory to God for not only creating us, but giving us the ability to create! 

This week, create! Create a friendship, a painting, a project, a story, a memory, a song, a spiritual experience, joy! I know as you create-always returning honor and thanks to God, you will be pleased with the outcome and ultimately, become like your Father in Heaven. You will see the hand of God work through your hands! I love you all!