Week 21

Querida Hermana Lutze,

I'm personally so grateful for your service as a missionary. Jakob bore testimony today in Sacrament meeting of the blessings that have come to our family through your service. It is so true! Did the mission office bring your package to you this week for Zone Conference?

I enjoyed reading about your Nephi/Laban experience. What was cool about that was reading it and then attending Emily's class on Tuesday where we talked about Esther-being in the right time and the right place. I also loved your thoughts on our own personal tree of life. It is so true and goes along with the Parable of the Ten Virgins. We are the only ones that can put oil in our personal lamps or grow our own tree of life. We must do the individual work. 

Life has been crazy busy as usual. We've started i-Centra training and I spent two days cramming my brain with a new computer program. I also took an ACLS instructor class and helped in Simulation. I will be out of town this next week for work. We fly to Oakland on Thursday and come back Saturday evening. I teach in the 26th ward this coming Sunday for their Ward Conference. I'm so excited to discuss Sabbath day observance with the sisters. 

The kids have been busy with school, work, and other activities. We've been working hard in the yard. I spent two days in the front and still have at least 4 days for the rest. Pruning trees takes along time especially as they grow and you actually have to get up in the tree. As I was pruning this weekend I thought, do we allow the Lord to prune us? It really is in our best interest to be pruned but we usually resist.

I wanted to share with you my thoughts on Nehemiah. This is one of my favorite books of scripture in the Old Testament. Nehemiah knew he was doing a great and dangerous work in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and would not come down. He would not be distracted.

Read Nehemiah 4: 2, 6, 9, 11, 15, 17 I especially like in verse 17 this phrase, "...every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon." Think about this... While we are doing the Lord's work/other work are we doing work with one hand and holding our spiritual weapons with our other hand? This life is so dangerous that we must be working with one hand and holding our spiritual weapons (faith, hope, charity, scripture study, prayer, church/temple attendance, Sacrament) with the other hand. Do we lay down our weapons of rebellion (Alma 23:7)? Then read Nehemiah 6: 1-5 and contrast this with the story of Lehonti in Alma 47. Nehemiah never let his guard down and he survived while Lehonti did let his guard down through Satan's deception... he cheateth our souls away (2 Nephi 28:21-22) ... little by little until we are bound with chains. It is so subtle we don't even realize what is happening. Lehonti resisted three times and came down on the fourth (even then he probably felt safe) and yet was eventually 'poisoned by degrees' until he died.

I love you and pray for your success!

Love,

Mom