The Commandments of God

Dear Family,

General Conference was awesome! It is hard for me to choose a favorite talk, but I really liked the one by Kazuhiko Yamashita about being ambitious for Christ. I think if we are all ambitious for Christ that we will be able to do great things for the Lord.

One week ago, on Monday, Elder Scheidell and I got to teach Brother I the Word of Wisdom. We set up for Brother W to come with us, he was baptized about 10 years ago and has an amazing testimony of the Word of Wisdom. We all met at the church after P-Day. Brother I showed up with a coffee in his hand.

I thought it would be best to start off with saying outright what the Word of Wisdom is. We went over the things listed in the pamphlet that we should refrain from (Then we added marijuana to that list, because it is legal here in Washington) and then focused largely on the blessings that come from living it. We read the story of Daniel and his brethren in the Bible (Daniel 1). They decided to eat grains and water when the other kids ate meat and wine. In the end, Daniel and his brethren were more wise than the other children. Brother I loved the story and he proudly proclaimed, "I am going to share that with my kids!"

Brother W gave a powerful testimony of how the Word of Wisdom affected his life when he joined the church. It was probably the best Word of Wisdom lesson I have ever had! Brother I committed to live the Word of Wisdom so that he can get baptized!

After the lesson, I remembered that he walked in with a cup of coffee. When we first taught him about what the Word of Wisdom is, he put his coffee on the ground and didn't even touch it until the lesson was over and we were all leaving. He did not finish that coffee. Brother I knows the Book of Mormon is true and he is now making sacrifices and changes in his life that is bringing him closer to Christ. I am excited for his upcoming baptism!

I know that Heavenly Father has given us commandments to bless us. To some people, the commandments may seem like a barrier keeping you from enjoying life, but the complete opposite is true. Keeping the commandments of God brings you joy that you can find no where else. He loves us and He intends for us to be happy. I know that this is true.

"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." Mosiah 2:41

I hope you all have a great week! I love you!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.