My dear family,
I'm writing to you all rather hurriedly this time around but I thank you for your comments and prayers in my behalf. I would like to share some of the experiences of this week.
The Lord knows His children. He teaches them and satisfies their needs through the service of others. I felt very strongly this principle this week. We just watched and listened to living prophets of God who have His authority to administer the needs of all people in this world. Elder Pineda and I were praying for more inspiration this Conference as to the manner in which we were going to continue working here in Amiltzingo. We received exactly what we were praying for. This conference I had an experience that marked me very deeply. We were in between the 4th and 5th sessions of Conference and I felt that we needed to stop by and visit a family. We have been providing a lot of materials to the members so that they can really create eternal families. The main thing in which we have left with them is the manner to plan. We invite every family every Sunday to see everything that the Lord requires of them every week and as a family, plan it. We are inviting every family to plan how they are going to complete with everything each week. Of everything I have learned in my mission, the importance of desires, vision, goals, plans, and planning sessions have changed everything. I know what I want to be for the Lord, personally, for my family, and for the rest. I know my purpose, my desires, my goals, my plans, and my sessions of planning each week. It is a process but I have received the blessings already in my life and we are sharing them with these families. I felt strongly that we needed to stop by for a family between the sessions. We talked about eternal life and the reasons for everything. I spoke rather boldly to this family that I love so dearly. After having felt the necessity to go for the last session of conference, this Sister told me that we had taught her a very powerful lesson about what is General Conference. She wasn't going to go but we arrived late the last session to bring her and her family. I felt like the friends of the paralyzed man in the Bible. Where will your friends bring you? I felt like we brought her and her family at the feet of the Savior by hearing His words through His prophets.
Family, I invite you to do something that has changed everything in my mission. Write what is your purpose personally. Write what is your purpose as a family. Write them down, adjust them as you feel it is necessary until we realize that our real purpose is the same as Gods. When you have reached this conclusion, make your goals, set your plans, plan as a family and personally, and then do them. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is capable to forgive us of our sins as we are willing to change our hearts and turn our will unto God. A brother here told us something that impacted me deeply. About this topic he said that the people who plan know who they are and where they are going. God teaches us through the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ who we are and where we are going. Do we understand it? This Sunday, I invite you to sit down as a family and plan exactly how you are going to become an eternal family. Plan the things that you already know that we should do and the faults that you have that you want to change and put a day and a hour for every one of them. Then do it. I promise you that if you do it as a family, you will realize clearly who we really are and where we are going. It is my sacred witness and testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Elder Russell
