Hello everyone!
I love you all, my family! Love you too friends! Thank you for being the great people that you are. It is always great to hear from you, and I am grateful for the chance to bear testimony and to share my experiences from this week with you.
Wow I am amazed at how you and Mom are still thinking so much about General Conference. That is crazy, good for you. I guess it,s kind of harder to do out here on the mission, we can't listen to stuff all the time, you know. We still can, I probably should download those talks and stuff on audio.
The things I will share with you:
Transfer news
Spiritual experiences, thoughts, and impressions
Paris pictures
Djenyce's Baptism
Repentance
Life from Here
Transfer news: I STAY WITH WALTON. [This is the Elder Adam has been training.] Woohoooooo!!! Yay. I am so glad that I get to stay another transfer with another guy. The only other companion I have EVER had with whom I have stayed two transfers is Elder Baldwin. Wow that has been a long time! It is good to have lots of comps but boy it is tiring, too! Man so I am glad that I get to finish training Elder Walton, it will be my second transfer with him and my fourth in the town of Nantes, the sixth-biggest city in France. Today we also start my 8th transfer in the mission! Wow! So there you go, I will be hitting my year mark here this transfer. That is pretty crazy. This transfer, I am working on throwing myself into the work and doing my best to stay busy in the work of the Lord, also giving my best in everything, finding people like crazy by street contacting people all over the place, and talking to people in the trams and buses, too. Hard but easier than just being lazy with my efforts so I feel better doing stuff like that.
Spiritual thoughts and impressions--repentance and baptism is such a huge, important step in your life. If you've already been baptized, consider your covenant and repentance as something that keeps on going. Our covenants are not meant to be for once, but forever. We were able to meet several people in the last few weeks that have been so prepared, and I know that it is thanks to the Lord that these people are here and that He is bringing us to them, or them to us, at this time. It seems to be the best when we try and stay busy teaching and visiting the people, less actives, and members we have, then being busy trying to find others, trying to work hard to be worthy of others, and to be prepared for these people. We met an amazing guy, Boby, who comes from Africa,and who knew the book of Mormon is true after the first appointment, he referred himself online just last week, Monday or Tuesday, and we were onto him (thanks to the insistence of Elder Walton) the same day we received his number! Man our first rendez-vous [teaching appointment] was spectacular! So cool. The Lord prepares such people and puts them in our path. That may not always be missionaries, that can be members. The guy contacted us because he knew a mormon friend in Nigeria and thanks to him, after a while, he was searching and decided to see if this church was true. I testify the Lord is there and loves us all. Any and all doubts against the Lord and His Church, no matter how crafty or smart or attractive, are not true, and the firmer we stay closer to god and Christ, and His prophet, the safer and happier our life is. There is a reason the lOrd gives us absolute truth and the commandments. Remember these things, my people.
Djenyce's baptism will be this Saturday, we are so excited. We will be happy to see this finally happen, this kid has been waiting for years, not for any fault of his, but it just hasn't happened, and the Lord has been helping that date be pushed forward. We encourage you all to pray for him and his family if you have a moment, we're hoping it can help his family get more active too! They are a great family. His dad will baptize him, so we're thrilled.
Life from here. I will be trying to stay busy in the Lord's work and we're just trying to be buds with each other, Elder Walton and I, and it's been going really good. We just had a really good conversation Friday or Saturday night, at dinner, and ever since then, we've been trying to talk more together, and I testify that the Lord places people and loved ones next to us to be loved, talked to, learned from, etc. and all problems can be resolved with patience, the Lord, and love. I encourage all of you to take conference seriously, I will try and do the same as reminded.
I testify that peace in this life comes only from worthiness and obedience to the commandments of God. We might think that pleasure or joy comes from letting go of the scriptures and the commandments, but in reality, no pleasure or temporary joy is so great that it is worth the crushing pain and guilt that follows afterwards. Trust me, guys, France is the land of people who search for things where happiness cannot be found. They look EVERYWHERE and they can't find it. As we know where it is ofund, let us be true to what it is, and the Source of it, our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. If repentance is necessary, let us do it. If we need to renew our covenants, let us do that. There are many of you who don't make many efforts to go to the temple and I would give anything to go there, it's been a year since I've been able to go. It's a greater blessing than some think. I know that all blessings come from what the Lord gives us. Read 1 Nephi 8, Helaman 5 and 3 Nephi 1 and you will understand how the Lord works with us, the children of men. I know that the more rooted we are in the Book of Mormon and Christ, the happier we are, invariably, and the inverse is also true. No lie can displace this truth. No pernicious evil or tempting pleasure or any other thing, no removal from God and His Son and their commandments can possibly bring happiness, don't believe it for a moment.
I see it destroy people every day. It is becoming of us to take this truth and shine it forth to the world. I will not suffer and wait and watch while my brothers and sisters watch and wait and suffer while I have the truth, the "vérité" in my hands. God bless us with the testimonies and the strength we need to withstand the temptations, trials, and callings of our day. We can withstand that and do what we are called to do. The Law of Chastity, the Word of Wisdom, the Law of the Tithe, the commandments to pray and read always, are given to keep us safe, go straight to the Lord and His Priesthood leaders with any problems and temptations. There is no way we can wait, now is the time to go out and play our hearts out. No black-hearted corruption is worth corrupting your soul. Brothers and sisters, stay close to God, Christ, Heir prophets, and the Book of Mormon. Any other way is doomed to insecurity and failure and darkness. It is simply not worth it.
I love you all and God bless and keep you. Life has been good, we got to go to Paris and we were able to have a good busy week, the Lord has been blessing us, so we're going to keep teaching the people we have, and there you go. Please take the talks from conference, listen to the spirit, be a missionary to people around you, do all you can to do what's right, and keep on the straight and narrow. Some people needed to hear that, I feel. :D love you all!. Ok i will let you go, love you all.
Have a great week!
Sincerely, with lots of love,
Elder Adam Grant Edwards
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