Merry Christmas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! (3 days late...)

I hope everyone enoyed their Christmas, and that you were all able to feel close to your Savior. Isn't Christmastime just the best? The whole world just seems to be in a better mood. :) 

Sister Johnson and I had a good Christmas. We were able to talk to our families!! Yay! Technology sure is great. :) After we talked to our families in the morning, we were able to do service at a soup kitchen. Some of you may have seen Sister Johnson's post on facebook about Sherry. Instead of serving the food, the manager had us go out and talk to the people getting food. That is how we met Sherry. She had written that poem about an experience from her childhood, and had the manager print about 200 to give to everyone that came to the soup kitchen. She wanted everyone to remember that Jesus loves them, so they could be happy in whatever their circumstances were. She is amazing. It was a very special experience to spend part of Christmas among people of the most humble circumstances. It made me very very aware of how much God loves His children. Some of these people didn't have homes to go to (keep in mind the weather has been close to 0 lately) and they still were laughing and smiling and giving credit to their Heavenly Father. :) I am grateful for what I learned from them. 

i recently read a talk by Elder Holland that he gave to BYU students in 1998. You can find the whole thing in the April 1998 Ensign titled, "Come Unto Me". I just want to share a quote from his talk with you all. :)

"Consider, for example, the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering that has ever taken place in the world or that ever will take place, the Savior said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

I submit to you, that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart. I can tell you this as a parent: as concerned as I would be if somewhere in their lives one of my children were seriously troubled or unhappy or disobedient, nevertheless I would be infinitely more devastated if I felt that at such a time that child could not trust me to help or thought his or her interest was unimportant to me or unsafe in my care. In that same spirit, I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments."

Your Savior and Heavenly Father love you all so much. Please remember that as you go about your day! Even though Christmas is over, and light the world is over, keep lighting the world! Keep helping people see who they are as children of a loving Heavenly Father! :) 

Have a happy week and be sure to smile lots. :)

Love, 

Sister Morris