The Spirit Is Real And Will Testify Of Truth

Family!
Another amazing week with the Elder Beus in Yukon, Oklahoma!
There have been a few scriptures I've been pondering about that I want to share. I hope that you will ponder your desire to follow the Savior and think about what you can do to better understand the promptings of the Spirit. They are Matthew 16:15-17.

 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

I love this example of obtaining spiritual truths. Peter knows that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. How? How does he know that he is the Savior? Is it because of the miracles? Christ quickly answers this question by telling us that flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. Up to this point, Peter has had many emotional experiences and has worked with the Savior closely. To clear up any confusion the Savior states simply how Peter could know such an incredible truth that it was revealed by "my Father which is in Heaven".

Now in this mortal journey full of opposition we have the incredible opportunity to learn what the spirit feels like. It's a life long process that we are getting so much better at. When I see any of the children of God struggling with the ability to recognize the spirit, I rejoice at the fact that they are trying. They joined the club. Like Peter, their desire to follow the Savior has become evident.

As I drove down the road one day I asked my wonderful companion how I could better recognize the spirit. He laughed then looked at me and said, "trial and error, trial and error".

Are we humble and courageous enough to follow promptings however difficult they may be? I honestly have said yes and I have honestly said no to that question. When I have said yes there have been miracles. There was a different sense of confidence and peace. When I said no, life was a little empty.

We read that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, and peace, but sometimes it seems the fruit is at the top of a tall tree on a tall mountain and we're far from that. I testify that the spirit is in your life and it will give you many opportunities to enjoy this life. The joy of the gospel isn't too far. We can recognize and experience it.

We were on exchanges in Clinton this week and we met an Atheist named Andrew. We talked about religious perspectives and no matter what we talked about he seemed to know an answer for everything with his philosophical arguments. Elder Christofferson spoke about moral relavitism last conference and I felt like he was talking about Andrew. He believed he was his own highest power.

We then pulled out our scriptures and gave him our only proof. We read James 1:5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. We couldn't prove which men wrote the bible, when they did it, or why. We couldn't give him a live video of the first vision or let him watch the Savior appear to the people of the Americas, but through our life's experience of the things which "[our] Father which is in Heaven" has revealed to us, it is true. We bore testimony and he sat there quietly. We challenged him to pray for the first time in his life and there were no more arguments, only the question of, should I believe? I can't wait for that question to be answered.

The Spirit is real and will testify of truth. 

I am loving my mission. It is changing my perspective of everything and I love it. I have fears and I have weakness, but I am watching the Savior help me overcome those.

I love you all! HFF!

-Elder Hoddy