The character of thoughts

Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2010


Hello Familie!

I just have to say it was so refreshing to read your emails today and it is so refreshing to email you. I am just so glad to be here right now writing you. Before I forget our P-days have been on Tuesday but because they are merging the German missions President Ninow has changed P-day to Monday. So I will be sending my emails now on Monday starting in two weeks. This week we had Zone Conference and it was so powerful. In our last Zone Conference President challenged us to re-read the Book of Mormon and highlight all of what Christ says, His doctrine, His attributes, and His names. So this time his wife Sister Ninow talked about the things she has been learning from doing that challenge. And it was so inspiring, it helped me to see what more I can get out of my reading. I have been very impressed with the clarity of the doctrine in the Book of Mormon. Quick story really fast last week we taught this wonderful family from Russia that were born again Christians and they were really thinking about what we were teaching and when we finally got to the Book of Mormon they were very hesitant and cautious. Anyway we had a long discussion about the Bible and Book of Mormon. What it came down to was that he said the Bible was hard enough to understand he didn´t need another book to read to try to figure out. We tried explaining how simple the Book of Mormon is. Anyway after the lesson one of my companions said, "The Bible was written for members of the church, that is why Paul stresses faith so much in the New Testament. The Book of Mormon was written for the intent to convince everyone in the world, in every language, and in every culture, that Jesus is the Christ and explains the doctrine very clearly so that everyone can understand." And it´s true the Book of Mormon is so simple. So I am grateful for that challenge.
Also President Ninow talked about the thoughts we have, how they influence the way we feel, and the way we act. And he talked about how because we are agents we have the ability to choose what we think about. We can create a new reality. He then talked about the expectations we have as missionaries. When we expect someone to say no to us, that can be very discouraging and will probably happen. And then we feel like we are being acted upon instead of acting. But then he said if we raise our expectations and expect people to say yes to us, that is a lot more hopeful and also people are more likely to say yes. I wrote down a lot of my thoughts about it, and I can´t remember them all right now. But it was interesting to hear because I did realize that throughout my mission the times I have been the happiest were not necessarily when things were going the greatest. It was when I decided to just be happy and positive and look for things to be grateful for. When I focused on those things and thought about them I was happier. The opposite is also true. There have been times when things have been going really well, but I am still disappointed or sad, only because I choose to think on those kinds of things. I have come to realize what kind of self control is to be had when we can control our thoughts. It is amazing. MY testimony grew to know that we really are agents. I know that it takes self control to decide what to think about and to get rid of the thoughts that we don´t want to think about, but since I´ve really started doing it I have noticed a difference. I am much more in control of my life, and my feelings, and what happens around me actually. It has been enlightening.
That was Zone Conference.
This past week we were able to get a lot of new contacts and now we are working on getting them to become investigators. Brother Himioben is getting baptized next week and we are looking forward to that. We heard from Shan Pan and she is still really excited about the gospel and gets back next week, hopefully we´ll be able to meet with her right away and set a new baptismal date.

I love you family and I wish you a very happy Easter! I know that Christ lives and that He suffered for us and died for us and rose again all because He wanted us to live with Him by our Father in Heaven. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the World. I know that there is a living prophet and that the Kingdom of God is alive on this earth. Truth is not history it is present.

I love you family and I am excited to hear your insights about General Conference.

Love,
Sister Fitzgerald