Sunday, September 13, 2015

Man Was Not Made For The Sabbath Day...It Was Made For Us...

7/6/2015

Dear Mama and Papi,

I got transferred again. Haha. Right now, I'm in a poorer part of Merida and am district leader, again. As usual, I'm nervous as I have more souls under my stewardship, but I'm grateful for the opportunity again. (I just pray that this time I'll do better.) But more on that later. Right now, I have an experience to share! 
 
This past week, we had the most assistance than we've ever had since we came to the area. How did we do it? The simplest answer that I could come up with was that it was because we kept the Sabbath day holy. We received a grand promise from Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela that if we kept the Sabbath day holy, we would receive blessings and people would come to church. We've put this in practice, but I feel that we put more effort this time than any other time before. 
 
We started Saturday night when we got home. Really, all we did was do the simple things, such as clean and shine our shoes, iron our clothes, get the bags ready, organize a bit, stuff like that .But what a difference it made. For me personally, I was able to wake up the following morning not worrying about any of that. What that did was eliminate distraction from my mind and I was able to focus on the Savior and the renewal of my covenants with Him. It allowed for the spirit to really be there and there was just peace. This also allowed us to get to church early and just sit, read the scriptures and meditate. Bit by bit, the chapel was filled. Being that it was also fast and testimony meeting, we were able to hear the testimonies of others. But what was special is that we were able to hear testimony of the truths of the restored gospel. Not stories or experiences, but pure testimony of our Father in Heaven, of Joseph Smith, of the Book of Mormon, of our living prophet, of the priesthood, and of the truthfulness of our church as the kingdom of the Father restored to this earth in preparation for the second coming of the Messiah. 
 
What a glorious spirit that was felt! In short, the miracles that we were able to witness this day came from simply keeping the Sabbath day holy so that our thoughts could be focused on the atonement of Christ. As we keep the Sabbath day holy, it will be a delight, as Isaiah and Elder Russel M. Nelson have testified. Those who do not keep it holy face a decline in their spirituality and find that there is more negativity in all the other aspects of their life as well. Man was not made for the Sabbath day. It was made for us. 

Glad to here of the progress with work! (It will prosper more if it's closed Sunday. I promise. :) ) I'm also glad to here that I still have a job! I will gladly take it back! (Since the Earps are special to me as well. I miss them and Max.) I did hear of President Packer's passing, but his final words to us as well as Elder Perry's bear truthfulness of the importance of marriage being between a man and a woman as well as the importance of the family. This is a unity that cannot be tampered with, broken, or soiled. It is sacred because the family is the nucleus of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I'll be sure to keep dad in my prayers. Hope all goes well. Keep me posted of his condition. (Same with grandma.) Well, that's all for this week. Later!

Love, Elder Manuel Antonio Santos

PS, my new companion is a loveable gringo from Utah named Elder Sage. (He's gonna be doctor!)

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