Dear all,
It's been another wonderful week in the mighty TSAM, but I have come to expect nothing less. We said goodbye to some great TSAMers, then turned around and welcomed some wonderful new missionaries. I can hardly wait to watch them learn and grow in the work! Sister Hardman and I also worked diligently on the mission history, and we are almost caught up! I am so grateful for the opportunity I've had to compile this remarkable history.
 |
| My compa and me! |
My heart is full of such gratitude for this wonderful mission full of missionaries who know and understand their purpose: to teach repentance and baptize converts! My companion and I are working with so many people who are so ready and willing to live the gospel. It is inspiring to watch these converts allow the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to change their lives.
 |
| At the Alamo with the new missionaries! |
The message of the Restoration is either true or it is not, and if no one else has the courage to declare this glorious news, then I will. I stand as a witness that the pure and undistorted gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. You can take my word for it, for the truth of the Restoration has been etched upon my heart. The blood of the Restoration flows through my veins and the fire of the Restoration burns deep within my soul and I cannot put it out.
God does not sleep. He has not left us alone. He will never leave us alone. He has restored to us the knowledge of the covenants He made with our fathers and is offering to us those same blessings. The truth of this is etched onto my heart and it will never fade.
 |
| Off to do some missionary work with Sisters Loveridge and Olsen on their first day! |
Nearly 200 years ago, Joseph Smith knelt in a grove of trees to ask God a simple question. He could never have imagined the impact that simple prayer would have on generations to come.
In his own words, Joseph says:
"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-- (Joseph), this is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"
Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. In Their infinite and eternal love, They chose and prepared him to be the Prophet of the Restoration. Through him, They restored every truth, every principle, and every priesthood key necessary for our salvation.
 |
| The San Antonio Temple |
When I was a junior in high school, I had the opportunity to visit this sacred grove of trees. I found myself a quiet place and opened my scriptures. I read in Joseph Smith-History and began to pray. Then I waited. And waited. Before long, it was time to leave, and I was still waiting. I wondered what I had done wrong; why I hadn't received my own "sacred grove experience."
I will never forget the answer I received that night while pondering. As I pondered, a thought entered into my mind: "Sister Waite, you already know. You have done your homework. You received the witness you are seeking long ago. Was that not enough?"
 |
| Mission Leadership Conference |
We too often we make our testimonies conditional, saying things like: "If I can visit the Sacred Grove, I'll know that the gospel was restored through Joseph Smith," or "I won't know that President Monson is the Prophet of the Lord today until I shake his hand and look into his eyes," or "Until I kneel at Christ's feet, I won't really know that He is my Savior." This should never, ever be the case. We can know it now.
Brothers and Sisters, I love you. God loves you. And because He loves you, He has restored His gospel to this earth! Because of this Restoration, we have a knowledge of the covenants that the Lord has made with our fathers and are able to partake of those blessings. We have the opportunity to make covenants ourselves! What a wondrous blessing!
There are many scriptures that describe my feelings about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most illustrative is Jeremiah 20:9. It reads:
"... his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay."
The fire of the Restoration is shut up deep within my bones and I cannot put it out. I cannot stay any longer. Because of my knowledge and testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have been converted and cannot stay the same any longer. I cannot stay my tongue in declaring this glorious message!
After enduring persecution for his testimony, the Prophet Joseph Smith said:
"Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it..."
Joseph knows it. God knows it. And I know it. And I will never deny it.
The wonderful hymn "How Firm a Foundation" closes on this powerful note:
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I cannot, desert to His foes. That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never, no never forsake!
May this be the cry of all our hearts!
I love you all!
Sister Waite
