What a week.....

This week has been great! Monday afternoon I made two new friends Steve and Bob. Well lets not call them friends lets call them creatures... In the ocean.... Since its getting close to the end of the transfer we thought we would go to the shore! We got out and were jumping from rock to rock (it was very safe) messing around when I saw somethin in the water.... I have watched WAY to man CSI shows... cause the first thing that popped into my mind was oh crap its a body.... But don't worry it wasn't a body. They were Seals!

Tuesday: What an interesting day... This afternoon while walking to the car from the church I had a "bright" idea... well lets just say it looked good in my brain.. :) I want y'all to picture a spy movie or someone that has successfully ran, rolled over the hood of the car and then started to run again.... Well my brain thought oh you can do it no problem..... so I tried it.. and failed miserably.... Well onto important things.... We were told that we are to start training our branch missionaries on how to do their jobs... so lets just say we are training ourselves on everything... As a companionship we were asked to plan activities and lessons for the young woman’s program. I don't think I have missed pintrest and Google more than I do now.... So needless to say if you know of any fun activities please send them my way :)

Wednesday: Today we were in Annapolis Royal for District Meeting. We were instructed on a few different things. The first was obedience. There is a scripture found in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 130 verse 20 and 21 That says 20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. If we expect blessings to come we simply must be obedient. The next part were role plays. For Zone Conference we were asked to be prepared to teach the restoration in under 10 minutes. The Restoration includes eight different principals, they are God is our loving Heavenly Father, The Gospel blesses Families, Heavenly Father Reveals His Gospel in Every Dispensation, The Savior's Earthly Ministry, The Great Apostasy, The Restoration of The Gospel of Jesus Christ Through Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and Pray to Know. Who know you could teach all of that in under 10 minutes?! The First time we tried to teach this we did it in 6 minutes. It is crazy how much information you can tell people in such a short amount of time... By the end of the week we got it down to 4 minutes :)

Thursday: We had a lesson with a less-active member that we have been working with the past few weeks. We were finally able to have a nice calm, quiet lesson. Usually her 3 kids are running around screaming (thank goodness for school). Wow... not a lot to talk about today....

Friday: I honestly HATE Fridays I never thought those words would come out of my mouth. Every Friday we have a three to four hour planning session.. (kill me now) Plus two hours of studies in the morning. Five to Six hours of sitting is so BORING! But on the bright. We had a couple awesome experiences today. After lunch on Fridays we go and visit Ethal, In the nursing home. Its always such a special thing. Whenever you walk in her room you instantly feel the spirit. After visiting with her we went and started to knock on some houses. As we were walking down the street there were kids outside playing soccer. We were so surprised to see the father outside actually playing soccer with his kids. (its not a sight you see very often) We decided to go over and talk with him. We were able to have a great conversation with him (20 mins) and we left him with a Book of Mormon. After supper we were suppose to have a lesson with our investigator but she cancelled. So instead we asked Sister Attridge if there was someone she thought we could stop by. We went and visited Sister Graham. We practice taught her the Restoration and were able to teach it in 4 minutes.

Saturday: Bridgewater sisters came on a visit. It was a blast. We found a flea market. Its crazy how much money people thing they can get out of crap. Throughout the day I was trying to think of how I could finish my talk for sacrament meeting..... I have had the hardest time preparing the stupid thing...

Sunday: This morning during studies we went to the church so that I could use the computer to try and finish my talk. Sacrament meeting was great. I was the first speaker and it went ok I guess... Brother Veinot was the next speaker and he talked about how our homes need to be filled with Gospel Truths. Following Brother Veinot, President Evans the Stake President spoke, he talked to us on why the Sabbath Day is such a huge focus right now. He said that a few days before General Conference the Apostles gather together and decided what the focus for the next few months will be. The past General Conference was focused on The Sabbath Day. Elder Neilson once said, If we can really teach the members to follow the commandment to Hallow the Sabbath Day and keep it holy,....”We can help our members to build faith in the Lord and deepen their conversion to him and to his church. As we learn to better how to Hallow the Sabbath Day, Faith will increase across the world.” and as Elder Ballard said, “We continue to be concerned about lasting conversion, covenant-keeping multi-generational families and spiritually strengthened members of the Church. Of all of the organizational or policy changes or doctrinal training that could hasten the work of salvation at this time. We have determined that elevating the spirit and power of the Sabbath Day would be most influential in drawing members and families closer to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now with that being said, Here is the talk that I had the opportunity to give yesterday during sacrament meeting.

Is your Sabbath a Delight? September 27^th 2015 Greenwood, NS Branch

Good morning Brothers and Sisters. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to speak with you this morning. I pray that the spirit will be with each of us to teach and testify to us. A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Anthony D. Perkins from the First Quorum of the Seventy. One thing that he instructed us on was how we could turn a meeting into a revelatory experience. When you think of a meeting what do you think of? Some examples are boring, a lot of talking, a lot of sitting and so many other “boring” things. So how can we turn a meeting into a revelatory experience?

There is a scripture in 3^rd Nephi 14:7 that says “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” You simple need to ask, go into a meeting whether it be aChurch meeting, a work meeting or any other kind of meeting and you have a question write it down before hand and ponder on that question throughout the meeting and you will be able to have a revelatory experience.

Now lets turn this Sacrament meeting into a Revelatory Experience for all of us. As I read off a list of questions I would ask that you ponder on your answers and identify ways that you can improve your answer.

• Do your actions set the Sabbath Day apart as unique, different, and identifiable?
• Do you leave behind worldly pursuits and pleasures to focus on spiritual matters?
• Do you worship on the Sabbath Day by attending all of your meetings and worthily partaking of the Sacrament?
• Do you feel closer to God and Jesus Christ through your actions on the Sabbath Day?
• Do your Sabbath Day activities rejuvenate you spiritually to meet the demands of the week to come?

Now let me expound on one Questions. It is How can we set our Sabbath Day apart from every other day as unique and different? I think the best way that we set this day apart to be unique and different is by our actions and thoughts throughout the week. Sundayis a day for offering our cleanest and best self to the Lord. Spiritually preparing for this special day shows the Lord we hallow His Sabbath. Reverencing the Sabbath can lead us to personal revelation, and this reverencing should begin well before the Sabbath arrives. There was a Church News article this past June that gave of some examples that I want to share.

A row of Sunday shoes

My mother, a staunch Methodist, taught me a lesson about honoring Sundays without saying a word. Each Saturday afternoon Mother applied liquid polish to the shoes of my six younger brothers and placed them carefully in an open window to dry. The weekly sight of that long line of Sunday shoes drying on the windowsill spoke volumes to my young understanding. I could see that Sunday was a different day, a day apart from the scuffed shoes of the week, a day for offering our cleanest and best self to the Lord. Mother wanted to honor God appropriately, and polished shoes were a sign of her reverence for the Lord’s day. I learned on Saturday that the following day called for thoughtful preparation.

A quiet chapel

Prepared to worship when Sunday arrives, we can bring a new reverence to the environment of the chapel itself. Think how you would feel if you entered a chapel filled with ward members sitting quietly and listening thoughtfully to the prelude music. In such a setting we can concentrate on the purpose of the meeting, feel the Spirit, and receive inspiration. Our hearts are also prepared and our minds taught truth if we attentively sing the sacrament hymn.

When we commence each Sunday prepared and reverent, our depth of Sabbath understanding will be as spiritual food to all members of our family. Faith in the Lord will grow in our homes as we bring our Sabbath day reverence into our living places.

Just as at church, reverence for the divine in a home brings a spirit of truth and learning. Thoughtful preparation for and participation in the Lord's day will surely make the Sabbath a delight at church and at home.

The Sabbath can truly become a delight if we are ready for what it offers. The Savior knew we needed to prepare our minds to fully participate in the sacred things of God.

In what ways does your family prepare for the Sabbath Day?

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

In Preach My Gospel it says “Latter-day Saints should set this holy day apart from activities of the world by entering into a spirit of worship, thanksgiving, service, and family-centred activities appropriate to the Sabbath. As Church members endeavor to make their Sabbath activities compatible with the intent and Spirit of the Lord, their lives will be filled with joy and peace.”

Madison Louise W. - United States

The sacrament is an important ordinance that we participate in eachSunday. We need to be reverent while taking the sacrament and always think of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Sunday is a day that should be treated in a special way, different from all the other weekdays. Sunday is a special, its a day when we dedicate ourselves to God. When we are prepared and we listen to the lesson we will get a lot more out of it than if we just sit there and do nothing. Always be prepared. Let the speakers and teachers know you are listening and are thankful for the things they prepared for you.

McKena Mae S. - United States

I have learned that if you truly pay attention and think about the sacrament, the rest of your Sunday is better and in most cases the rest of the week. The activities you do on Sunday can set up how the rest of your week goes. Keeping the Sabbath day holy is blessing and it can improve your life.

Isaiah 58 13¶If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, fromdoing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speakingthine own words: 

Mark 2 27And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Now consider the steps you take when you want to start a campfire. You probably gather plenty of dry kindling that will catch fire easily. Then, after the kindling is lit, you feed your fire with larger pieces of wood. And if you want your fire to last a long time, you continue to watch it and add logs as needed. Spiritually speaking, our experiences at church can lead to the fire of revelatory experiences only if we come prepared—if we are in a spiritual condition to receive the spark and keep it burning within us. And this fire will keep burning only if we continue to feed it—as we seek deeper understanding in our revelatory experiences, as we share with others what we are learning, and strive to live the gospel more fully.

As General Conference is coming up this weekend I would encourage you all to write down a few questions you want answered so that you have the opportunity to have a revelatory experience. Each week I am going to start sending a scripture and quote that I have came across throughout the week. This weeks scripture and quote is

Enos 1:8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never  before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.

“I testify that bad days come to an end, that Faith always triumphs, and the Heavenly Promises are always kept.” ~Elder Jeffery R. Holland

I hope you all have a great week! I look forward to hearing from each of you!! Love and Miss you all!!

~Sister Hardy :)

 Sunday night, The Veinot family taught the lesson after supper and they used legos to tell the story of the tree of life. it was AWESOME

Good Morning!!

What a week!! 

The Highlight of the week was Thursday, we as missionaries had the opportunity to gather together and hear from Elder Perkins from the 1st quorum of the Seventy. 

     I don't have a lot of time today, so plan on next weeks email being ubber long! I will tell you about the things that I was able to learn at Zone Conference, I will share the Talk that I am preparing for Sacrament Meeting next Sunday and an update on this past week! One thing that I do want to share with you all though is a new Mormon Message that the Church has put out. They are called 12 Steps to Change. It is a Series of short videos that explain how individuals have been able to over come the addictions that they have faced in their lives. I would highly encourage you to watch them!! 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/12-steps-to-change 

I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!!!!

Think on Christ

Good Afternoon!! I hope everyone has had a great week!! I know I have even with the craziness of mission life!! We have a baptism scheduled on Saturday for one of our Investigators!! That will be super exciting!! 

              This week I want to focus my email around thinking on Christ. There is a talk that was given by a previous leader of our church, his name is Ezra Taft Benson. Its called Think on Christ. It is such an amazing talk! At the beginning of his talk he said that “Not only will you be held accountable for the things you do, but you will be held responsible for the very thoughts you think" Later on he says "Thoughts lead to acts, acts lead to habits, habits lead to character—and our character will determine our eternal destiny" These thoughts in our minds at this very moment is contributing, however infinitesimally, almost imperceptibly to the shaping of our souls, even to the lineaments of our countenance, even passing and idle thoughts leave their impressions on the mind. Every thought good or bad WILL lead to and action, and if we continue to act it WILL turn into a habit and every habit WILL turn into your character. 

              President Benson likens "the mind to a stage on which only one act at a time can be performed. From one side of the wings the Lord, who loves you, is trying to put on the stage of your mind that which will bless you. From the other side of the wings the devil, who hates you, is trying to put on the stage of your mind that which will curse you." We truly are the "Stage Manager" we can control every thought that comes into our minds! Every good thought is of Christ and every bad or evil thought is of the adversary. Our accountability begins with how we handle the evil thought immediately after it is presented. In the Scriptures, Christ says "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not; fear not." If we look to Christ in EVERYTHING that we do than we don't have ANYTHING to worry about!

               In the talk by President Benson he tells a story and says....  "There was a little crippled boy who ran a small news-stand in a crowded rail road station. He must have been about twelve years old. Every day he would sell papers, candy, gum, and magazines to the thousands of commuters passing through the terminal. One night two men were rushing through the crowded station to catch a train. One was fifteen or twenty yards in front of the other. It was Christmas Eve. Their train was scheduled to depart in a matter of minutes. The first man turned a corner and in his haste to get home to a Christmas cocktail party plowed right into the little crippled boy. He knocked him off his stool, and candy, newspapers, and gum were scattered everywhere. Without so much as stopping, he Ezra Taft Benson 3 cursed the little fellow for being there and rushed on to catch the train that would take him to celebrate Christmas in the way he had chosen for himself. It was only a matter of seconds before the second commuter arrived on the scene. He stopped, knelt, and gently picked up the boy. After making sure the child was unhurt, the man gathered up the scattered newspapers, sweets, and magazines. Then he took his wallet and gave the boy a five-dollar bill. “Son,” he said, “I think this will take care of what was lost or soiled. Merry Christmas!” Without waiting for a reply the commuter now picked up his briefcase and started to hurry away. As he did, the little crippled boy cupped his hands together and called out: “Mister, Mister!” The man stopped as the boy asked, “Are you Jesus Christ?” By the look on his face, it was obvious the commuter was embarrassed by the question. But he smiled and said, “No, son. I am not Jesus Christ, but I am trying hard to do what He would do if He were here.” And that, my friend, is what it means to be a Christian, even on Christmas Eve. It’s a matter of impersonation."

              I love this story!! It really illustrates that anyone and everyone can see when you are being Christ-like! There was a part of the talk that came from a book called "In His Steps" in it, it gives and example of a Christian congregation that took a pledge. The pledge was that for an entire year they earnestly and honestly would not do anything without first asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” After asking themselves that question, they were to follow Jesus exactly as they knew how, no matter what the results. It gives an example of a family that took the pledge, The kids experience is amazing, it was.... “We went to an entertainment this evening. A lot of the girls at the high school had been to see it, and they told John and me that it was grand. But I’d rather John told what happened.” John seemed to be unusually reluctant to relate their experiences. Finally he spoke in a subdued tone that was unlike his usual loud and assertive manner. “Well, after it began,” he said, “I thought it was one of those foolish things that was just for—well, just entertainment. Then I remembered what you said one day, Mother, about not wanting Mary and me to go to any entertainment that we wouldn't invite you or father to see. Well, it got pretty vulgar, and—“ Another silence was around the table. Mrs. Ward looked at the boy with a new expression, as if some very rare experience were being related—as indeed it was. The boy went on slowly: “Just then Mary nudged me and whispered, ‘Let’s get up and go out!’ Honest, I thought it would be a [strange] thing to do, but then when I asked ‘What would Jesus do?’ it seemed all right. So we got up, treading on a lot of feet in the row where we had been sitting.” “On our way out,” broke in Mary, “I said to John, ‘Let’s do one more thing. Let’s tell the manager why we are going out.’ John said, ‘All right, and let’s tell him to give us our money back because we did not pay for that kind of entertainment.’ You never will see a more surprised man than Mr. Rondus when we told him how we felt!” “Surprised isn't the word,” interrupted John. “He was flabbergasted! When I told him we thought he ought to refund our money, he didn’t say a word, Ezra Taft Benson 5 but forked the money right over. Do you think we did what Jesus would do?” Mrs. Ward had a tear in her eye. She reached over and stroked the boy’s head. “A thing like that never happened in this town before. Well, we certainly have had some new experiences.” “Worthwhile, don’t you think? But can we keep it up?” questioned Mr. Ward. The question provoked a discussion around the Ward table that lasted into the next morning. What do you think?"

               As a companionship we have taken this challenge to think on Christ or to think What would Christ do right now in this situation? It has been an amazing experience to think even in those small situations what would Christ do. I would challenge you all to take this challenge either as an individual or as a family and to share the experiences that you had with each other and I would love to hear your experience also! 

I Love you all so much! I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to share my experience and the things that I learn with all of you!! Have a great week!!

~Sister Hardy

Picture! We had the opportunity to participate in a national day of service in honour of 9/11, a member of our branch helps maintain an abandoned cemetery, as we were working away edging around the stones we found one that had been covered by the grass! It was an amazing testimony building experience!

                                                               

Oh what a story this picture has...... there is an obstacle course trail that we were playing on, we had to set the camera to a timer and its only 10 seconds.... the bar that my companions are sitting on is 10 feet high, so i had 10 minutes to get up on top before the picture was taken I jumped up and went to swing my leg around, when I lost my balance, and so yes I fell and landed on my back...... and as you can tell my companions were laughing.... so was I! but all is well....

                                                        

It started to rain when we were out knocking last week, as you see it looks like i just got out of the shower, wat was literally running off my face....

Good Morning!

 Good morning!! This week has been amazing!! We had a wonderful Zone Conference, for those that don't know what Zone Conference is, it is when the missionaries in the providence get together and are instructed on different principles. One thing that I really got out of Zone Conference this past week is about scripture study. Brother Cartier broke it into three categories, swimming, snorkelling. and scuba diving... what do those things have to do with scripture study?  Well, when you are swimming you are just gliding across the water, to relate that to scripture study would mean to read the scriptures and not know the background or anything that is going on. when you go snorkelling, you go a little deeper in the water, so that would mean that when you are reading your scriptures you would know the background, who is talking and you would be able to get a little bit more out of your reading. When you go Scuba Diving, you are deep in the water, so relating that would be that you would ask any question, you would be able to know everything that is going on. I have been able to apply this to my studies in the morning and have seen a huge difference in my understanding. I would invite you to work your way into scuba diving into the scriptures! One other awesome thing I studied this week was a poem given by President Boyd K. Packer in a 2001 General Conference, it says 

’Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But held it up with a smile:

“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,

“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”

“A dollar, a dollar”; then, “Two!” “Only two?

Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

Going for three—” But no,

From the room, far back, a gray-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet

As a carolling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”

And he held it up with the bow.

“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?

Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?

Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,

And going, and gone!” said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

“We do not quite understand

What changed its worth.” Swift came the reply:

“The touch of a master’s hand.”

And many a man with life out of tune,

And battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,

Much like the old violin.

A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine,

A game—and he travels on.

He’s “going” once, and “going” twice,

He’s “going” and almost “gone.”

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought

By the touch of the Master’s hand.

     I just want to leave you with my testimony, that I know that Christ did atone for our sins and that we can be forgiven of everything we have done. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ is the true church here on the earth today. I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today that leads and guides us. I truly am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be where I am know to share the things that I know to be true. 

    

      I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!! 

please fill free to email or write me :) 

mckenzie.hardy@myldsmail.net

1833 Torbrook Rd Apt 2 

Wilmot, NS B0P 1WO

~Sister Hardy

My favorite quote from the week is:

     "Just because God is smiling on someone else, it doesn't mean he is frowning on you." -unknown