Elder Spencer Romney : february 29, 2016 letter

Dear Family:

This week was a huge week of a bunch of meetings!! We had 2 Zone Conferences, a Stake Conference and then all of the church meetings. So needless to say, my back and mind were hurting from sitting there so long! One of the things that President taught at Stake Conference was teaching by the Spirit. He talked about the lack of the spirit at times in our church meetings and the need to bring the spirit into the room as we teach. We got to drive President down to the meeting and we talked about it the whole way there and he just blew our minds with simple truths that I loved. I have made the commitment that I will always try to teach by the spirit in every possible way.

We had three of the most spiritual meetings that I have had on my mission this last week, the 2 Zone Conferences and the Stake Conference. I think part of the reason that I was called as an assistant was the opportunity to be around President so much and be a part of such spiritual meetings. It has been the biggest blessing I have had on my mission, and has helped me to learn and grow.

In the Tuesday Zone Conference, it was all about the atonement. I learned more from that meeting about the atonement, than probably any other meeting. Besides personal experience, that meeting helped increase my understanding and testimony of the atonement the most. President talked of when Jesus Christ was hung on the cross, and all that he had gone through that last 24 hours of his life, and then all of a sudden, his Father removed his spirit from him. The Son of God, who had done no wrong, had the spirit removed from him, so that He could understand the extent of the sorrows of man, the deepest being spiritual death, or the separation from His Father. Funny thing is that a few weeks ago, before the transfer started, Elder Joly and I fasted for humility. haha Sometimes that could be the worst idea, or the biggest blessing, depending on the way you look at it. Saturday night, I hit a big low for some reason. Probably a lot of stressors and things going on and it just seemed to push me further than I had on my mission yet. I think the Lord was preparing me for this moment through these zone conferences, and stake conference, specifically on the atonement. I put on some sweats and a sweater and sat out on our deck until midnight just praying to my Heavenly Father. I have grown to love and hate these moments. I hate them in the moment, and love them for the experience. I have learned, especially from reading from the Book of Mormon, that Heavenly Father gives us these lows to bring us back to Him. Not that we are doing anything wrong, but because Heavenly Father realizes that you have made it to a certain point in your progression and He knows the only way for you to continue to progress is by bringing you to a low, and then lifting you back up, with the result being that you are closer to your Father in Heaven.

Going back to those meetings, zone conference on Thursday was awesome. All of a sudden, President Samuelian came up to us and said, "I'm turning the meeting over to you. You have the rest of the hour to teach what you want." So we ended up teaching about our investigators experience and helping him pray. It was awesome and the spirit was there so strong. President called us the next day and told us how impressed he was with the teaching we presented. I am so thankful for the spirit. Then, at Stake Conference, the music was incredible and the spirit was so strong. One lady who spoke was an institute teacher and gave the most incredible talk about Jesus Christ I think I have ever heard. She went through the last 24 hours of Jesus Christ's life in detail. The whole place was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone began to cry as she explained what He had to go through. Elder Bromley also sang and he did a really great job.

We had an awesome lesson and he committed to come to church with us next week and accepted to be baptized on April 9th. He has been taught, on and off, for 10 years, so that was an incredible feat!

It was a great week, and I'm grateful for the growth, even when it's difficult.

Love, Elder Romney (: