July 4, 2016

Merry Independence Day everybody!

One of my favorite scriptures about our great country is in Ether
2:12-- "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall
possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from
all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the
land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things
which we have written."

This scripture is so true! If we serve God, and our Savior Jesus
Christ, we will always be free. Not only as a country, but as
individuals.

Everything is going super well here in Loveland, CO. Yesterday, we saw
a great miracle. A long time investigator (7 years) suddenly decided
last night that he was ready to get baptized. We are very excited for
him and his family, because his wife is currently an active member and
their family is now taking steps to be sealed eternally. What a
blessing! What a miracle- after 7 years of patience and prayers, he
finally became ready to move forward on the path back to our Heavenly
Father. Fasting works people.

I want to take a brief moment to thank all who have served and
sacrificed for our country, so that we can have the freedoms that we
now do.

In celebrating the independence of the United States of America, I am
reminded of the One who sacrificed all so that we can have true
freedom and liberty. Jesus Christ, the Great Redeemer, suffered and
sacrificed Himself to free us from the bondage of sin. Because of His
sacrifice, we are free to choose liberty and eternal life. (2 Nephi
2:27) Remember that as you all go throughout your celebrations today,
that today truly is a day of Freedom and liberty because of Him. And
because of Him, every day can be a cause for celebration, because we
are truly free.

Appropriate love to you all!

Elder Bush

 In 2 weeks I'll hit my 5 month mark. As far as stuff in a package... I'm not sure. Maybe some ties? Or something. I'm pretty set currently. :) 

I just need letters and stuff from the kids. I loved the balloons so much! Those were awesome. I even deflated them super carefully and kept them in my suitcase so I can still have some of them. :) 

This morning I woke up and discovered that I am sick. Ish. My throat is pretty sore and stuff. I'm pretty sure it's because of the blessing we gave to some sister missionaries yesterday. 

Probably in the top 3 things I love about missionary work there is 

Being a on official witness and servant of Christ the Lord

Seeing people change their lives

And... The Spirit is absolutely amazing. The Holy Ghost is almost constantly with me. It feels so amazing. It has really strengthened my testimony as I have continued to experiment upon the word and study the doctrines of the restored gospel- every time I sincerely study the gospel, the Spirit is there. I am able to recognize that more fully now, and it totally gives me a much stronger testimony. Some people try to say that it's all conditioning, that the Spirit isn't a real feeling, but every time I hear that and even doubt for one second, the Spirit is like "Dude! Seriously?" And then I remember that the peace that I feel is like no other in the world when I study the gospel and come closer to Jesus Christ. It is without contrast. I'm shocked at how little I understood the gift of the Holy Ghost before my mission. I don't think I really even understood what the Spirit felt like. If felt it before many times, but I never actually realized what that feeling was. Does that make sense? That's why I think it is so awesome that you and Dad have them say times where they felt the Spirit. That really helped me to recognize it more. And now, I am so grateful for it! It is a huge blessing in my life. 

This week in my studies, I learned some cool things. I will copy the notes here--

I learned this whole studying Alma chapter 36:4-5.

To receive and know spiritual truths we must be born again. We must have a change of heart. The more our hearts and desires are changed, the more we can know, because our hearts will be more receptive to spiritual truths.

Alma 36:4-5

We don't earn that knowledge, we prepare ourselves to receive it. Without a spiritual mind, we cannot know of spiritual truths- 

1 Cor. 2:11-16

The Lord makes it this way for several reasons. First, the things of the spiritual world are on a higher level (D&C 131:7-8) and cannot be understood by those who are carnally minded (or those who are preoccupied with things of this temporary world)

Romans 8:6-10

Second, it sanctifies us as we strive to understand spiritual things spiritually. 

Helaman 3:35

So I thought that was cool because often people try to bash with us using worldly logic, and it never works for them. Also, we can't build our testimonies off of worldly knowledge because the things of the spiritual are on such a higher level- we have to know things spiritually. It reminds me of a quote that I heard this week. I don't remember who it was by, but it basically says that it is possible for us to know things by the Spirit even more surely than if we see them. Pretty cool, and also true! The Holy Ghost can reveal the truth of all things! Sometimes it takes time and patience and work, but eventually we can know the truth more surely than we know what we can see. That principle was very cool to me.