Great Potential

Yesterday was a really special day for Sister Freitas and I because our recent convert Michel blessed the sacrament.  He said every word perfectly and it made me feel like a proud mama.  He also baptized our investigator Maria.  Her baptism almost didn't happen because during the sunday meetings the font stopped filling because the water box was empty.  I don't know how to explain the Brasilian water system, but our chapel has 4 water boxes that fill up randomly.  The water box that fills the font drained quickly so we had to hussle and fill up various buckets of water from the other water box on the other side of the chapel.  The font in our chapel is HUGE!  After an hour of filling, the font was ready and Maria was baptized.

We've been teaching her through-out the week and she has really enjoyed our visitas and has felt the spirit.  She lives with a family that employed her to work and live in their house.  The woman she works for doesn't treat Maria very well, so she has found a peace and comfort from the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She feels important and loved.  I'm so grateful that the gospel does that for us.

Yesterday during a church meeting, discussing the needs of members, I began to feel the weight of other people's difficulties.  There are so many needs and obstacles.  We began to discuss the situation of a family in the ward and I felt my heart breaking for them.  But then the thought came to mind, maybe a spiritual impression, "there is no other organization that exists, that sits and talks about the specific needs of every individual and makes plans to help them like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints".  This comforted me.  There are thousands of people with trials and problems, but at least this family has the blessings of the gospel to help them.  It is a huge blessing to be a member of the church.  The church is perfect!  It is organized and run by imperfect people under the direction of Jesus Christ.  He trusts in us immensly.  I love the scripture in Moroni 6:3-5

 3 And none were received unto baptism save they ^atook upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.

 4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and ^acleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, theywere numbered among the people of the ^bchurch of Christ; and their ^cnames were taken, that they might be remembered andnourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way,to keep them continually ^dwatchful unto prayer, ^erelying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

 5 And the ^achurch did meet together ^boft, to ^cfast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.

The habit of meeting and discussing the welfare of others was always a part of the Church of Christ.  But I think my favorite verse is in Moroni 6:1,

1 And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests,and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth ^afruit meet that they were ^bworthy of it.

The members were baptized Elders, Priests and Teachers.  Now, obviously they were not ordained before baptism, but the verse is telling us that everyone of them was baptized with this potential.  I had an exchange with another companionship this week and we taught one of their investigators with a date for baptism.  He said that he has a strong desire to serve in the church and maybe even one day he could be bishop.  This is the vision we should have for everyone of them.  I love looking at the potential of every person.  I know Heavenly Father loves everyone of us and He knows our potential.  He loves us.  I know the church is true because it is too perfect to not be true.

Yesterday we were teaching a young man 16 years old.  We taught him the Restoration and at the end we asked him how he felt about of teachings.  He said, "I feel happy to know the truth".  He will be baptized next Sunday and I know that he has the potential to be a great missionary.  I love this church.  I love my Savior Jesus Christ.

Sister Jensen