What do you DESIRE?

Desire: demonstrated by what we do and how we act. It denotes a real longing or craving.

The all mission conference was amazing. Absolutely amazing. I could spend all day typing about what I learned from Elder Evans (click on his name to see some other talks he has given) and how powerful that 6 hour meeting was. He is my hero. Seriously. Ahh... I just don't even know where to begin. He's so awesome. The minute he walked into the room, there literally was this palpable spirit about him. We all stood up as he walked in and we got to go up and one by one shake his hand. I got to shake the hand of a General Authority, who has shaken the hand of the prophet! How cool is that?! Ya, I feel pretty blessed to be in this mission!

So, the title of my email is desire because that's what we talked about the entire time pretty much. When Elder Evans started speaking to us, he explained that if we wanted to make a comment we needed to raise our hand and then stand up and say what we wanted to say. Prior to his coming, he had us read Alma 17-42, which is basically all about missionary work. So he asked us to stand up and say some of the things that we learned. The first thing on the chalk board was desire among 30 other principles people stated. So Elder Evans says, "Alright, let's start with desire..everyone turn to Alma 29:1-4..." We all turned there and read out loud and he began to break down those 4 verses. He focused mainly on :4, which says:

 "I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their ^adesire, 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 ^bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction."

Isn't that just so great?! Ah, I love it. I'm going to randomly write some of the notes that I took throughout his comments-

My notes: Don't mess with what God says. He grants according to my desire and my will. Am I really doing the things that I need to do to receive the blessings I ask for? If you want to overcome something, avoid all things that tempt you to do that thing or lead you to thoughts that lead to acts. Just don't mess with it! We demonstrate our desire by what we do. If I want to change my desire, that I must act upon the things that will lead me to that. The hope of every parent is that their kids will take the good from what they've learned, and leave the bad things behind. Take the good from what you learn, and be better than that! What we insistently desire, will be what we become. You can do it! You can become what you want to become. What are you willing to live for and work for? Desire more than just being good. You can go beyond. Do you really care enough to do all these things that will make you a great person and a great missionary? The answers to tonight's questions will come in this mornings studies.


 "The kind of desire that carries a soldier is relentless! Men and women who desire seats in the celestial kingdom, must battle everyday, EVERY SINGLE DAY!" Keep battling, make the choice to battle everyday. "Desire is the springboard to success. The most pathetic and forlorn of them all, is the one who has no desire." Desires are the pulse of the soul. Pray about your feelings to Heavenly Father if you don't know how to gain a desire. Ask if what you want is consistent with what He wants. You are here because you have the desire and because God called you here! If you understand what Heavenly Father wants you to do, and align your will with his, every great blessing is yours. This is the challenge of our lives, to desire what Heavenly Father wants us to do (Helaman 10:4) If you want to change your will, then do His will. Pray for strength. Want to be blessed forever? Start changing your will. When the Lord knows your heart, and that your desires are for Him, He can trust you to do His work. Why do we even try? So we can show the Lord our willingness. Why do we do what we do when we know what we know?

Anyway, those are just some of the notes I took. A lot of those were quotes of what he said. Well then, I raised my hand and asked Elder Evans, "How do I help those I love gain the desire to know what I know?" He looked straight at me and said. "You pray to Heavenly Father to know how to help those you love, and then promise Heavenly Father that you will act upon those promptings and impressions you receive." He went on to say that's all you can do, that the word FORCE has no place in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout the rest of the conference he would always refer back to my question and would talk directly to me and would give me additional pointers. Ah, it was honestly just so neat, I don't know how else to express how happy I feel. The last thing that he said that I wanted to tell you all was this...Over and over again he told us how we shouldn't wish to be somewhere else, that this is where we are supposed to be, that this is our time and our season. That we are special and that we are lucky and blessed to be serving under President Keyes. He said, "You won't find a kinder and more understanding judge in Israel than President Keyes." I totally believe it. Then he got very serious and said, "I express to you my witness (3x with tears in his eyes) that this is where you are supposed to be. You have been called here for a purpose and this is where Heavenly Father wants you. Let the future take care of the future. This is your time- NOW!" It was sooooo incredibly powerful I think all of use missionaries were in tears. I have never heard a disciple of the Lord be so strong in what he wanted to get across. I know now, more than ever, I am supposed to be here at this time, in this mission, with who I'm with, and where I'm at. Never shall I doubt again. 

Ok- so more exciting news really quick- Sister Stoker and I got a call this week from Elder and Sister Jensen who are over the temple work in this area and they told us our schedule of when we will be serving at the Kansas City Temple Open House. We get to be there 3x a week! I am so stoked! Then he told us that on April 4th all of the sisters in the mission will be attending a special meeting in which we will be pleased to hear from Elder Walker of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy! Ya, I get to listen to another General Authority of the church speak to us about our role in the temple open house! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! SOOOOO EXCITED! I am so lucky to be here. I know it's not coincidence that the Lord sent me here at this time. I love this gospel. I know it's true. I cannot believe how quickly my time is going, but I'm grateful for the time I do have left to continue to serve my Heavenly Father and His children! 

Oh yes, funny story really quick. So S. Stoker and I are walking this week and it's been pretty hot. So we'd been walking all day in the hot sun and decided to have dinner at Dairy Queen (bad idea) So we eat all this food and drink a ton. Well then we start walking to this one area to contact a referral. Right before we get to the house Sister Stoker says, "I think I'm going to throw up.." Well I didn't think anything of it because I felt the same way, I just thought we were both full... so we contact this lady and teach her on her doorstep... So we finish and are saying goodbye and Sister Stoker starts looking around and I'm thinking, "What is she doing?" So we say bye, the lady goes inside. Two seconds later, Sister Stoker steps off the porch only to throw up alllllll over this random lady's sidewalk and green grass... Hahaahaha, I was laughing so hard, but felt so bad. I felt like I was in a movie. I couldn't believe it had just happened. I turned to poor Sister Stoker and said, "I thought you were joking about throwing up?" She said, "When I say I need to throw up, I'm usually not joking." Haha we both laughed it off, and it ended up being a pretty funny night.

Haha, well now that you all are sick to your stomachs, I best be going! Love your guts!

Love, Hermana Conrow :)