Another wonderful week has gone by. President and his wife came to Den Haag this Wednesday to interview everyone, that's always nice. He challenged me to follow the morning schedule with precision, something that I have become too loose on in the past month. I found the willpower to make it happen this week, which I was grateful for. It feels so good to be able to exercise, have a nice breakfast and study.
Most weeks feel so packed with activities! Here are a couple that I enjoyed.
We went to institute for the first time in a while, the discussion was well led and focused on how the "restoration" is still far from over. The foundation of this gospel dispensation has been laid, and the purpose is clear, although something I personally don't think a whole lot about, that we are preparing the second coming of Jesus Christ. We also have a lot of instructions and of course living prophets to lead our efforts. It's an exciting perspective to learn, the purpose of this last dispensation, the "final act" (before the millenium). The YSAs that attended had a good understanding of the topic and missionary work was recognized as one of the most important focuses in our church service. Member missionary work definitely taking hold in the church at least from what I can see, it will be exciting to see what we can achieve with gathering the elect as we as a church continue to grow and wax stronger in our dedication to the gospel and it's intended principle of missionary mindedness (reflecting the Light of Christ and following promptings to share the gospel).
Sacrament/Fast and testimony meeting was really nice this week. I've been working on preparing myself to be able to really take full advantage of the ordinance of the sacrament. I'm learning what the sacrament means and why I and everyone else need it. I believe that the sacrament is how we are forgiven of our sins, made clean from our mistakes. I'm still learning to be more sensitive to and aware of the fact that taking the sacrament actually purifies us, but I'm glad that I'm catching on to paying more attention to this necessary ordinance. It's all a part of how we apply the atonement of Christ in order to be sanctified and enabled to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I'm learning more about the importance of Jesus Christ in my daily life. I know that God loves us and that everything he does is out of love and is really for our good. He loves us perfectly, which means that no matter what we do, he loves us and cares or us just the same. I am filled with hope as I learn more about Him and take steps of faith towards keeping His commandments and following the directions from Him that come through the Holy Ghost.
I'm so grateful for the chance to have so many opportunities to do missionary work, but I am starting to also see how dedicating ourselves to serving the Lord is the best choice we can make in our every day life, that it doesn't matter if you're a missionary or not, giving our free will to the Lord is something that everyone can and ought to do if they want the true satisfaction and peace of mind that only serving the Lord brings. It's not hard, all we have to do is keep the commandments. "Keep the commandments, in this there is safety and peace", as well as many other blessings. Also, follow the prophet!
Sorry I don't tell much about the Netherlands, I need to do a better job of that.
Love, Elder Knaupp! :)
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