Sister Jennifer Skaggs: Learning To Endure/Revelation From Above‏

From 9/14/15

To All I Love,

Temple Quarry site

Hmmm, let's see, where should I begin? I can just summarize it by saying I was on a Roller Coaster all week that wouldn't stop!! Which means it was more than an adventure this week. The Lord is using many different avenues right now to teach me and to stretch me to points that I literally have never been stretched to before. This week can be compared a lot to the first week of the transfer. Like that first week I can't go into a whole lot of details for various reasons I will yet again be vague. It's interesting what the Lord allows us to go through in order to humble us and get us down on our knees.

Learning to Endure:

Have you ever experienced a hard moment in your life? What did you do about it? Were you patient? Did you just give up? What was your response to your hard trial?

When you're on a mission and a hard trial is put in front of you most of the time they wont go away and with the trial I'm learning to climb right now. I can't let go of it. Whether I want to or not, I can't get rid of it. Which means I can curl up in a ball and tell Heavenly Father I'm done and won't do it any longer or I can get on my knees, seek the Lord's direction and continue to do all that I can as the resources are made available.

More fun with Sis. Lin

Pushing through this trial has drained A LOT of my energy. Mainly my Emotional and Mental energy which moves into physical energy. At moments I stop and wonder if this will ever ease. More frequently this week I have felt peace come to my heart at different moments when I found myself on my knees pouring my heart out for direction. On Wednesday it was at the point where I was going to be enduring. I asked one of the senior elders for a Priesthood blessing and as he went through the blessing the Lord shared with me through him some very powerful things that meant a lot but also informed me that this ultimately wasn't ending anytime soon but that I would have the strength to endure. While it brought comfort it didn't at the same time. It allowed me to recognize though that we must be patient with the Lord's timing in all things.

We may want something to come to a halt but that is ultimately when we need to recognize the Lord's timing in our life.

Letting loose!

A lady from Belgium

These past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to work with my Mission President and his wife closely as I have been able to seek their counsel and direction as to know how to best approach and handle this particular trial. Yesterday as another opportunity arose they asked what I had learned so far this transfer and I mentioned many things but the biggest ones are accepting the Lord's will and timing and learning to serve. It's how we handle a situation that allows us to grow. I strongly believe that we only grow if we learn to endure through a particular trial that is put before us. That is something I've greatly come to know and believe these past several weeks.

Another thing I have learned is our biggest investigators are those we love, first we are our own biggest investigators, then our companions, then our loved ones. Just like being on a mission, we seek to discern needs, invite to live the gospel, promise the blessings of doing so and bearing testimony. Sometimes that's what we need to do. I have learned a great deal of stepping back out of the picture and learning to focus in on what my priorities are, my FIRST PRIORITIES. I'm on a mission to invite others to come unto Christ and that doesn't mean we bypass the ones closest to us. How do we invite them? We do it by following Christ's example, through Christlike love and service. Which leads me into my next lesson!

Surprise!!... Wait who is coming???...

Havin' fun with Sister Lin

Hahahaha - that was literally the reaction of all 175 of us Sisters on Friday morning!! My companion was out sick due to stress on Friday which meant she was going to be at home with Sister Mahoney since she was out sick as well. As I arrive to the Square I hear whispers of sisters saying to each other "Did you get the text? Why do we all have to be in Th. 1 at 10:10? Why are they closing Temple Square down?" I'm like "Wait. What???" I look at my phone and sure enough they were pulling the ENTIRE mission off the square for about 2 hours but wouldn't tell us why. As I get into Th. 1 at about 9:30 they are scrambling to put the Hymn Books the right way, organize the chairs, put the whiteboard in another room, even bring a plant in. I'm like, "What is happening??" They are like, "We need to make sure the kitchen and all other rooms our pristine!" We then realized our companions were at home super sick. We asked the AP's if they could just stay at home since they were really sick. Their response, not even flinching was, "No. They have no choice. They need to be on the square in TH. 1 by 10:10." I'm like, "Okay. It has to be big if they are making them come down." President & Sister Poulsen have been away at this point since Wednesday at Snowbird for a Mission Presidents seminar and weren't to be back till Sunday. Well, we look down the hall and see them coming down. We were like, "Okay. Well it has to be really big if they got pulled from their seminar for this." At about 10:15 President Poulsen says to the mission, "I want you to sing the opening hymn the best you have ever sang it before. I will be going upstairs right now to greet President Russell M. Nelson. He called me about an hour ago and said he wanted to come speak with the Temple Square Sisters this morning at 10:30." He proceeded to go through all of the protocols we have when General Authorities come. Haha, when he said President Russell M. Nelson we about died. But we were confused why 2 Apostles in less than 2 weeks at last minute notice chose to come speak with us. We weren't complaining but were in shock. All of us were on complete edge up until the moment the door opened and he walked in the door. I had the opportunity to sit in the front row. Words won't ever describe what happened during that next hour. When he got to the front of the room he just stopped looked at us and then said, "I think this is what Heaven is like!" Haha - we all just started laughing. President Poulsen then asked him what he would like to do first and he said, "I would like to shake each of their hands before I begin." All 175 of us, row by row, got up and went and greeted him and shook his hand. As he stood to address us, what was going through my mind is why is another apostle here to speak with us? What is it that we must learn and know right now? He starts by saying, "I want to get to know you before we start. Who has gotten their Patriarchal Blessing (99% of the mission raises their hand)?" He followed by asking what lineage we were from.

Cake from roommates

One thing that was really powerful was when he said, "I give you permission at this time for each of you to add D&C 86:8-11 into your Patriarchal Blessings." As we ponder over it, the message it contains is very powerful as it talks about how our lineage is our forefathers. That at this time we "have been hid from the world until the restoration of all things". We "have a grand privilege of being participants of this long, foreseen time that prophets have prophesied of for many many years. How neat is it to truly be apart of something so grand!"

Lots of cake!

President Nelson proceeded to say, "Have you ever wondered why the Lord waited so long for the gathering of Israel? The Lord waited until 1820 because nowhere or anyplace, or anytime but then was the perfect conditions set up for it to occur. Freedom of religion was in place to allow this Restoration to take place. The Lord likes an unlikely scenario, he liked the scoreboard of 6 to 1 billion 143 million. At this time we have 7 billion people with 15 million members but only about 14 million active which puts it at 1 to 500 people. The Lord LOVES to be in a minority situation. Don't be discouraged, for we will always be in a minority situation."

Another powerful point he hit on was 2 Timothy 3 - read the first couple of verses and then verse 12. President Nelson was then straightforward and said, "Well, if you aren't being persecuted then we can say you aren't living a Christlike life." Which DOES make sense. Think about the greatest missionaries and prophets ever to walk the earth and look at how much they were persecuted and suffered!

A sister asked him, "What is your favorite Christlike attribute?" He responded by saying the following:

"The most divine Christlike attribute is Christlike Love. That is done through Service. We show love through Service. You can say I love you, but you show it through service.

1. Love

2. Ordinances (Baptism, Temple ordinances) Focus on the ordinances

3. Prayer - the Lord taught us how to pray

4. Knowledge

5. Endure to the End. We don't seek to be released. Be grateful because in each of your callings in life you will be released. For me I have to die in order to be released. We are to have patience and diligence and we do all things that the Lord would have us do."

He commented on the importance of respecting the agency of others. That we don't command others to come unto Christ but we invite them to come unto Christ.

Love my former
companions

The experiences that have occurred these past 3 weeks with SO MANY general authorities has been an experience of greater learning and understanding. I can say and testify that I know that the same Church Christ organized has been restored for our time. I can testify that we do have 12 apostles on the earth today. As I have heard 2 special witnesses of Christ testify and proclaim their love for their Savior and of knowing that he lives bears a special witness to me each time that he does. It is through him that all things are brought to pass and it's only through Christ that all mankind can be saved. It's through his living, modern, witnesses that he testifies to the world what we need to know. As General Conference approaches, I invite you to think more about what you are seeking direction for. President Nelson, on Friday, touched multiple concerns I stood in need of and a concern I didn't even recognize I was in need of. Through them the Spirit will bear witness to you.

Know that I love you and pray for you continually! As we rely on the Savior and endure all will be well! God be with you till we meet again!