chelsea after life

gday its your girl sis hatch...talofa!

The past 7 days have been fantastic. As time goes the mission doesn't get easier but it definitely gets better. I think this week was so good because of the spiritual nourishment we got! We had district meeting & zone conference. Both places where the Holy Ghost taught me. When I feel the spirit I just feel happy and I felt so happy this week.

We have been reading BofM cover to cover and will be finishing in a couple of days. One thing I learnt this time around was how much the BofM applies to us right now. It is exactly the same! I've learnt so much about pride and the danger of worldly things etc etc. In 3 Nephi it says the people are the happiest who had ever been created under Gods hand...but 400 years later they are said to be the most wicked and evil. The reason, 100% being pride (putting yourself above others and pleasing the people in the world rather than pleasing God) and ...pride again. Having better clothes or possessions than the next person...and secret combinations etc etc...this is how they became the most wicked! I think it is a weakness all of us has and once you give in a little Satan just pulls you down, like the story of Lehonti. Alma 47.

Amalickiah was evil! He wanted power. He wanted to be the king. He had "a plan in his heart" to dethrone the Lamanite king. Amalickiah didn't want to battle as the king ordered...he wanted power. So he and his army went to the valley near Mt Antipas. At the top of the mount was a leader of the other army, Lehonti.

He asked Lehonti to come down to the valley to "speak to him". He wanted Lehonti to leave his high ground! Leave the place of safety! Lehonti refused 1, 2 and even 3 times. Amalickiah kept asking and asking for him to just come, he wouldn't.

Then Amalickiah compromised. He went up the mount half way and then asked Lehonti to come down w/ his armies. Lehonti figured he would be okay...he took his army and went down and left his high ground! This is exactly what evil Amalickiah wanted. (Alma 47:15).

At this point it didn't matter about Lehonti's army because he was where Amalickiah would reach him. In verse 17-18 it says, for Amalickiah to be king Lehonti needed to die. Since he came down from his high mount, even if it was only half way...Amalickiah and his men were able to "poison by degrees" until he died and Amalickiah was king.

Satan is like Amalickiah...pokes and pokes to get us to come all the way down the mount. We are smart enough to realize what he is doing but then he says he will meet us halfway. "Just come down a little bit" he says "bring your armies...it wont hurt". Then it is slow. Once we come down from high ground we are in his grasp! And he has power to "poison by degrees" slowly even unnoticeably until we have fallen so far we cannot remember why we ever said no. We "die" spiritually- being so far from the influence of the Holy Ghost that it seems irrelevant.

Mum, dad, everybody, I know that God knew exactly what was going to be happening in our day, I know he inspired the ancient American prophets to write this history so we could learn from their mistakes and learn from their examples. We are so lucky to have the Book of Mormon- it is such a powerful resource. I know that it helps us know our Savior and I know that if we read it every day, every day, every day we will never leave our high ground! We will be strong and our faith will not fail us.

We had good food this week...island feasts and peruvian cuisines. Don't worry, my clothes still fit- all goods.

Love you heaps,

xoxo Sister Hatch

Q&A

How is your teaching pool going?

Teaching is going well, we are trying to find some progressing investigators at the moment but we will soon I know! I like to think of it like the brother of Jared (I read that today) and how he had a problem and needed light. The Lord asked him what he wanted him to do. The brother of Jared went out and found stones and brought them to the Lord so he can touch their hearts. I think sometimes I go out expecting to find people who are ready right there, but that defeats trial and exercise of faith. So that what I think we'll do, take the people we have and the new ones we find pray for the Lord to vcahnge them. I think it will work!! God is a God of miracles.

How was zone conference?

I got to give a training at zone conference and it was so cool. I love doing it because 1- its hard and scary 1- because 80 missionaries and pres and sister Maxwell and AP's..and 2- because I always grow heaps.

Lisa Wheeler inspired it. She has been reading a book called the Slight Edge, it is a self help based on Elder Bednars teachings about consistency and always doing the small things. Those make all the difference in the long run even if they don't make a difference in every individual day. Have a look at it, seems really good.

2 of my daughters :) Its tradition for me to make them planners with this photo of the Savior.