( This letter was written mainly for the priests in our ward, but I thought it was a good message for all of us and something each one of us should be studying, learning, and striving for! Teri)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you young men of Highland 3rd Ward! I miss you guys, you are an awesome group of kids. I was truly blessed to be around all of you at one point in time, each and everyone of you has made an impact on my life.
I just want to share a few words with you all now that it is about Christmas time. Christmas is a time of losing ourselves in the service of other. We know that the best part of Christmas is giving not receiving. I want to give you all a challenge. Something that you can give as a gift to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Go to Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel and read that. I want you to pick at least one Christlike attribute and work on it, study it hard. Pray to our Heavenly Father and let him know that you want to improve in this certain area of your life. Become a better person by this and give it as a gift to our Savior Jesus Christ. This is the least we can do for the one who did everything for us. I ask you all to please do this. Do not take this lightly. It's not hard, but it will make all the difference in the world. DO IT!!!!
You are all preparing to go on a mission right now, what a blessing that is! A mission is the greatest thing you can do at this point of your lives. But what should you be doing right now before you leave? Well first, its not about going on a mission, rather it's becoming a missionary right now before you leave! How do you do this? Well its simple, do missionary things. Study out of Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon every single day. Do not take these 2 things for granted. Your mission will come sooner than you think, do not procrastinate like Gary did.
Another thing that is very important for you all is the Young Men's program. You NEED to go to young men's, and you NEED to have a good attitude about it. Quit going and acting like it is the biggest burden in the world. Everything you do in life is about attitude if you haven't figured that out yet. Serve the Lord with all you heart, might, mind and strength. Serve you fellow man. When you get an assignment to do service, whatever it may be, DO IT!! Brothers, when you serve, life is good! Do the things your Heavenly Father asks, do what your leaders ask, do what your parents ask, follow through on every single assignment given to you. Prepare yourself now for a mission by being obedient and willing to do everything asked of you.
I just want to leave you all with my testimony. Going on a mission has been the most rewarding experience of my life. EVERYTHING I do for the rest of my life will be affected by the decision to serve a mission. SERVE A MISSION! It won't be easy, life isn't easy but it is worth it. Don't be selfish, serve the Lord in all you do. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, without a doubt. Thomas S. Monson leads and guides this church today. Please do not take what I said today lightly. I wish someone would have told me this before I left on my mission. Have a Merry Christmas and safe New Year. Remember who you are and what you stand for. The Church is true, the Book is blue and Joseph Smith is the Man! Love you guys!
Sincerely,
Elder Garritson
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you young men of Highland 3rd Ward! I miss you guys, you are an awesome group of kids. I was truly blessed to be around all of you at one point in time, each and everyone of you has made an impact on my life.
I just want to share a few words with you all now that it is about Christmas time. Christmas is a time of losing ourselves in the service of other. We know that the best part of Christmas is giving not receiving. I want to give you all a challenge. Something that you can give as a gift to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Go to Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel and read that. I want you to pick at least one Christlike attribute and work on it, study it hard. Pray to our Heavenly Father and let him know that you want to improve in this certain area of your life. Become a better person by this and give it as a gift to our Savior Jesus Christ. This is the least we can do for the one who did everything for us. I ask you all to please do this. Do not take this lightly. It's not hard, but it will make all the difference in the world. DO IT!!!!
You are all preparing to go on a mission right now, what a blessing that is! A mission is the greatest thing you can do at this point of your lives. But what should you be doing right now before you leave? Well first, its not about going on a mission, rather it's becoming a missionary right now before you leave! How do you do this? Well its simple, do missionary things. Study out of Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon every single day. Do not take these 2 things for granted. Your mission will come sooner than you think, do not procrastinate like Gary did.
Another thing that is very important for you all is the Young Men's program. You NEED to go to young men's, and you NEED to have a good attitude about it. Quit going and acting like it is the biggest burden in the world. Everything you do in life is about attitude if you haven't figured that out yet. Serve the Lord with all you heart, might, mind and strength. Serve you fellow man. When you get an assignment to do service, whatever it may be, DO IT!! Brothers, when you serve, life is good! Do the things your Heavenly Father asks, do what your leaders ask, do what your parents ask, follow through on every single assignment given to you. Prepare yourself now for a mission by being obedient and willing to do everything asked of you.
I just want to leave you all with my testimony. Going on a mission has been the most rewarding experience of my life. EVERYTHING I do for the rest of my life will be affected by the decision to serve a mission. SERVE A MISSION! It won't be easy, life isn't easy but it is worth it. Don't be selfish, serve the Lord in all you do. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, without a doubt. Thomas S. Monson leads and guides this church today. Please do not take what I said today lightly. I wish someone would have told me this before I left on my mission. Have a Merry Christmas and safe New Year. Remember who you are and what you stand for. The Church is true, the Book is blue and Joseph Smith is the Man! Love you guys!
Sincerely,
Elder Garritson
Sounds like Gar-Bear :) haha love the kid
ReplyDelete(its ok for me to do this)
Okay, the above comment was meant for me, lol! I wasn't sure that he could check blogs while he was recuperating but apparently he got permission before he left as long as it kept in the missionary spirit.
ReplyDeleteI love this letter. It's really powerful and I hope that these young men take it to heart. There's no better witness than by someone who's been there, especially someone who's testimony appears to be so strong.