March 14, 2011

Hola,

It rained quite a bit this past week, but it didn't dampen our spirits. This week we had a little suprise. There are three of us now! Elder Neibergall, who served as the mission secretary the last 8 months, has come here to Huelva to finish his missionary service. He leaves on April 5, but between now and then, we're going to work, work, work. We do our best to stay focused on our purpose and do the Lord's will. Elder Neibergall is from Roosevelt, Utah (only my second companion from Utah, including the MTC) and he's awesome. He works hard and will help us really continue to do all that we can to bring souls unto Christ.

It is amazing how we change by living the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is a blessing to be able to see other people's lives change through living the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a gospel of transformation, a gospel of becoming, a gospel of continual growth and progress. These changes come through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We accept and apply His atonement by living the gospel. There are so many blessings that are available to us, and they will be ours when we choose to obey the commandments of the Lord. Our eternal progression depends on how we use the gift of agency, our ability to choose. We are "free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Nephi 2:27). We don't choose the consequences of our actions, and we don't choose how other people act. We can't. We control our thoughts and our actions. I know that by studying the scriptures each day, and praying each day, our thoughts are more often turned toward the Savior and his teachings, thus our thoughts become more like his. As we do this, our actions also become more like his, and we do and become like Him. Let us take the counsel of Lehi, let us "look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit" (2 Nephi 2:28). It is His will that we are happy. It is His will that we are free. It is His will that we come unto Him, and partake of his goodness, so that we can live forever with our families, and with Him, in a state of never-ending happiness. The choice is ours!

I love you all so much and thank you for your prayers and for your love.

Love,
Elder Fagersten