The Book of Mormon Changes People

So this week was a beautiful one in Vista Alegre, Brazil. I got a new companion named Elder Dorneles and he is awesome. I am just so inspired by him all the time. He teaches so powerfully with the spirit and is so good at inviting people to change their lives. I am so grateful that I have had such an amazing oppurtunity to be with someone so inspiring.

This week I saw the way that the Book of Mormon changes people. We have been working with a less active member in the ward. He smokes, drinks coffee and loves the missionaries. We talked to him about his scripture reading and he said he tries to read a few verses out of the bible twice or three times a week. We talked to him about making a goal to read the Book of Mormon and so we have started passing by his house two times a week to read with him and the other day he reads on his own.

Yesterday we went to his house after church....Which he started attending weekly too.....We started talking to him about church, what he has been reading and then he said to us¨I need to start preparing for the temple, I have been missing out on so many blessings that God has for me.¨

For the longest time I did not have the strongest testimony about Joseph Smith´s quote in the introduction, that a man would be able to become closer to Christ through the Book of Mormon then any other book. It is true. If we want to help a friend, family member or loved one change their life, start with reading the Book of Mormon.

The difference that the scriptures make in our life is the difference of someone who has the spirit and someone who does not. 2 Nephi 32:2-5

Eu te amo

Elder Cooper

Repentance

This week was really good. It was interesting because it felt like we worked really hard, but we did not have much to show for it....Until Sunday. We have been working with a less active family this past transfer. The mom is a member and her two sons, one is ten and the other is twelve, have been coming to church every week. They walk all by themselves every week and read from the Book of Mormon everyday. They are the biggest examples to me of dedication to do what is right. 

Last night we read in 2 Nephi 32:1-5 with them. We talked about how it is the scriptures and the spirit that show us what we must do in this life. We invited them to start reading their scriptures as a family and their mom said she would. She told us that she has been gaining a desire to come back to church, and that this is where she is going to start. 

Lately I just have been learning about repentance and how it is something that we are always going through. Two scriptures that just stick out to me whenever I think about this refining fire that all must go through is first 3 Nephi 9:13 and how at the it asks ¨that he might heal you?¨ It is true all that Christ wants to do is fix the cut. Sew it up, make it clean. 

The other is Helamen 5:10 that talks about how he has not come to save us in our sins, but from our sins. I know that our Savior has come to help us to change, not allow us to submit to the natural man that is in all of us. I know that it is through him that we all BECOME like the father. I know repentance is real because I see and feel it happen daily.

Eu amo vocês,

Elder Cooper

Listen with Love

This week I had decided to focus on two things. 1. Ask inspired questions sent from heaven and 2. Listen more fully to what people say. 

We visited a less active member named Marisa. She had become active, but then we had day light savings which threw her off for a week, then she was in the hospital the next. I was worried about what would happen this week....Would she come? Needless to say she got out of the routine of going to church, and did not come. So when we came for the appointment that we set up with her before we sat down and started to talk. I asked her what stopped her from going to church that day and she told me it was her feelings. 

She has an addiction to cigarettes and has feelings of being judged whenever she is in the church because of her addiction. I did not know what I was going to share with her but the only thing that I could think of was ¨fruits of the spirit, Galatians 5:22-23¨ I knew that what she needed was not the fruits of the spirit, but I listened with love and asked the inspired question of what stopped her from going to church. 

After I turned to the scripture it was clear what I was supposed to share in verse 16-17 I had highlighted a scripture that I had forgotten about and was about overcoming our natural man and bringing out the true nature of our spirit. I began to testify that many times we do not want to do things that we know are good, because of our feelings. Then I told her we do not go to church because we are perfect, we go because we want to be perfect. The spirit testified so strongly of the importance of church and we invited her to come to church with us once more. She said she will.

I love the people of Brazil, all I want is that they find the same joy, peace and happiness in our savior Jesus Christ as I have.

Eu te amo,

Elder Cooper

“...lay hold upon the word of God...”

Time has been flying by it is almost shocking how quickly life goes by. This week was a pretty amazing week. We had another baptism and it was so amazing. His name is Allison and my testimony was built about the scriptures. The first time we met him we gave him Moroni 10:3-5 to read. He did not read it, instead he read the first 5 chapters of 1 Nephi. 

After the baptism we met with another investigator who we did not teach at all last week, but came to the baptism. He told us that he had been reading the Book of Mormon everyday for the past 2 weeks and has only 10 pages left. He told us he wants to get baptized. He went to primary this week and loved it.

I know there are people out there who are ready and if they are not ready, getting them in the scriptures will help them to become ready. I love Helamen 3:29, the power that the scriptures have in our life is indescribable. The spirit they bring is undeniable. 

I love this church and know that we all truly knew each other before this life. How horrible would it be to have the veil removed from our eyes and see some of the things we have done on this earth to some of those we loved the most before this life. Treat all with love, and give lots of forgiveness. It is the only way to find true happiness. 

Eu te amo,

Elder Cooper