Hello awesome Friends and Family!!!!
This week has been absolutely amazing, not only because of the awesome people we were able to meet or the exciting new things we are doing as an Ad committee but because we were able to hear divine revelation from our modern-day prophet and apostles! One of the key takeaways that really stood out to me this General Conference was the amazing wisdom of focusing on being welcoming and kind to everyone because after all, we are all Brothers and Sisters. A key phrase stated by President Nelson is "race, gender or economic standing means nothing in the eyes of the Lord. He loves us all and wants the best for us". I love this bold statement, because in a world so infatuated with lust, greed, and power positions it's important to have an eternal perspective and remember that this life is a test, but not our end goal. Rather, our end goal is to be among the righteous in the Celestial Kingdom and stand boldly before the judgment bar that we tried the best we possibly could to remember our divine identify and hold high its statutes Friends and Family, my spiritual Brothers and Sisters, let us heed the words of our amazing latter-day prophet and put aside worldly titles or labels. The Lord our Savior Jesus Christ loves us, not because of our worldly standing or position, but by the content and purity of our heart and spirit, proving that we are indeed trying to be like Him and following His example. Granted this may be very hard, but in the words of Jeffery R. Holland "We cannot float around on our cloud of comfortable Christianity". One of my favorite primary songs is a reminder of these lessons in that we "are trying to be like Jesus, [we are] following in His ways. [We are] trying to love as He did, in all that [we] do and say. At times [we] am tempted to make the wrong choice, but [we should try to listen to the still small voice whispering, 'love one another as Jesus loves you', try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving indeed and in thought, for these are the things Jesus [Christ our Savior and Redeemer] taught".
If the General Conference alone didn't make this week amazing, the fact that we had four of our friends that are currently learning the Gospel only made the Conference that much sweeter. Emaboo, Allison, Lemar, and Eugene all watched the General Conference for the first time and it was absolutely amazing to hear their responses after the Conference was adjourned. One of my favorite remarks was from Lemar who only two weeks ago learned about our Church remarked that he was "super impressed and touched that [we] as a church help those in need with our funds and serve as Christ would, rather than buy BMW's, Mansions, Private jets for your pastors and apostles". Another favorite comment was from Emaboo who said, "he loved the focus on children, about how we should teach them how to pray respectfully and with confidence and that the Lord hears our prayers and loves each one of us individually". Everyone that we are teaching is thriving in the Gospel and it is so beautiful to see how we are spiritual sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father seek out the light of the gospel, and when found find true happiness and peace in this tumultuous world.
As mentioned earlier some exciting things with Ads have been happening! We recently have started implementing a weekly Tuesday Showcase where we as an Ad committee, working alongside Facebook Admins and directors, can showcase what we are working on and what success we are seeing. Let's just say this showcase is a hit, so much in fact that President Howell is installing Wi-Fi in our apartment and car so that we don't have to worry about bad connection interrupting our showcase. It's also been amazing because Missionaries are getting more excited about Social Media work in general and have even started submitting suggestions for Ads or asking if they can help with creating or shooting Ads. But the best part of all is that because the Missionaries are getting super excited and even reposting Ads to their personal profiles, we are seeing jumps in people reaching out to us. This week alone we found 70 new people, 45 of whom are interested in our church and its divine Gospel. President Howell has even asked if my companions and I can leave Tomorrow to travel the entire mission, capturing its beauty, its missionaries, and processing them into an Ad library that could in the future become a benchmark for Missions worldwide. I am so grateful to be in this unique position at such a unique time of History and hope that as I begin adopting missions and developing their advertising campaigns that I can help further the work of the Lord even quicker.
All in all, so grateful for my Mission experience thus far, and also thankful for a Heavenly Father that provided modern-day prophets and apostles to guide us through these "turbulent" times. Whether things get better, or things get worse, I know that we have a Heavenly Father that knows and loves us and would never do something to us that wasn't for our own good. Love you all so much my Brothers and Sisters and look forward to writing to you next week from Mt. Rushmore!!!
Sent with love from,
Elder McMullin :-)