September 3, 2011

Hola,

Fuengirola is a great place. Besides my feet being eaten by mosquitoes at night, I have thoroughly enjoyed this week. I love each of you so much and I am grateful for you. My lack of letter-writing does not reflect a lack of love, I promise, it's mostly a lack of time, and perhaps a little bit of planning as well. But, I still want you to know that I love you.

I also feel a great love for the people here in Spain. As I have served them and prayed for them, studied and planned for them, that love has grown. I have also come to gain a greater love for the Book of Mormon. I have come to love the people who kept that sacred record. I was reading in Alma, chapter 29, and a few verses really caught my attention. Alma is bearing his testimony and he says, "I know that [God] granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience. Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?" (Alma 29:4-6).

I also know that to be true. God only wants us to be happy, so why wouldn't we obey his will, why wouldn't we "perform the work to which [we] have been called"? There doesn't exist a greater feeling than that of knowing and obeying God's will. Obedience to His commandments allow us to grow and progress. That is the invitation that Christ has always extended. "And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?" (2 Nephi 31:10).

Heavenly Father's plan is perfect. It is made operative through the perfect atonement wrought by the Son of God. I know that He is our Savior, and that as we strive to "perform the work to which [we] have been called" we will come to know Him, and our Father, and "this is life eternal" (John 17:3).

Love,
Elder Joe Fagersten