Jan 9th 2012

Well friends and family!!!! Another week has come and gone!!! I guess a little news about me before I share some of my studies with you. The last half of this week I was pretty sick. I don't know exactly what it was, but I had flu like symptoms. I was very weak, and threw up every time I stood. Needless to say, this was not a fun experience but all experiences shall be for your good right? haha. Okay, Busia is HOT!!!!! January (contrary to popular opinion) is the hottest time of the year here. Whenever I tell people that it is 20 degrees below 0 (Celsius) they laugh and don't believe me. But you are probably saying the same thing about me being here in 90 degree temperatures. I think I need to tell you (for those who read my blog), the weather gadget I have on the sidebar is for Kampala, I think they have been averaging 80 or so, for Busia add about 10 degrees Fahrenheit and you will be just about perfect!!! haha.

Okay, now for my studies of the week. I want to share some very small insight with you as to why the Sacrament is important. When we were baptized we were cleansed from the sins we had repented for. We became clean in the eyes of God and were prepared to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, because we are all human we naturally make mistakes some of which qualify as sin and make our spirits unclean. We distance ourselves from God and remove ourselves from the influence of the spirit. Because of this condition, known as Spiritual Death, we lose inspiration of the Holy Ghost for a time. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent his only begotten son to the world to perform the atonement to provide us a way to allow us to come back into the presence of our Heavenly Father. We have the opportunity to repent for our sins. God promises us that "As oft as [we] repent and [seek] forgiveness with real intent, [we will be] forgiven." (Moroni 6:8) That however is all that happens when we repent, we are forgiven. Our spirit is still essentially unclean, and as we read in Helaman 4:24 "The spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples." It is good to repent and be forgiven, but we must complete the repentance process by doing something more. This is called partaking of the sacrament. This ordinance is something we do to renew our baptismal covenants and cleanse our spirit and in essence become holy once more. I find the promise in the sacrament prayers interesting. "That they may always have they spirit to be with them." We receive a promise to always have the spirit as we remain worthy. When we sin during the week we become unworthy again and it is requisite that we take the sacrament again, and renew those baptismal covenants to regain the influence of the spirit in our lives. I testify that Jesus Christ suffered for our sins that we need not suffer. Let us take His hand and repent.

I pray that everyone has a wonderful week. Enjoy the Winter!!!

Love,

Elder Winters