Promise Yourself

Here's an optional paper that President and Sister Durrant want for their Christmas gift. What they want are 5 personal promises and a corresponding scripture, and then an experience that helped build our Testimony. I know I've talked about this story about five thousand times but it is one of my absolute favorites so I hope yall enjoy. And I'll call you sometime on Christmas Eve so we can figure out how to do skype an stuff on Christmas. Love yall!

Elder Wilson

“PROMISE YOURSELF”

ELDER JUSTIN WILSON

• “Enhance your wisdom by learning for the benefit of others”

• (Doctrine & Covenants 88:40)
• “Heed the promptings of the Spirit in order to be an uplifting example to others, especially your family”
• (Doctrine & Covenants 84:88)
• “Be a friend to everyone and always help them to feel better about themselves”
• (Luke 19:1-6)
• “Continue to read the scriptures every day for constant protection”
• (1 Nephi 8:24 & 1 Nephi 15:24)
• “Pray to discern between all things, even the good”
• (Doctrine & Covenants 88:67)

'CLICK!' After locking our bikes, I took a minute to wipe my brow and then shook my arm  that was dripping with sweat. It was somewhere close to 105 degrees outside, and the Texas humidity wasn't helping out one bit. We had an appointment with a less active member, but after knocking and waiting for five minutes, we realized she wasn't there. Discouraged and tired, we decided to fill some time and knock five doors down the adjacent street, as was the rule for our area which had been burned-out by knocking random streets. The thoughts of our Ward goals filled our minds as we walked on...25 baptisms in one year, and this area only had three...and it was the middle of August. We had been anxiously engaged along with the Ward members in Prayer and Fasting, and things were starting to take a turn, but not enough to meet what was expected. After being kindly rejected, but still rejected, we trudged onto the last door. After we knocked it, a woman opened the door, cradling a brand new baby in her arms. With awe and excitement on our faces, we asked her how old the baby was. To even more astonishment, we learned that it was only 10 days old, but still wondering our purpose on her doorstep, the woman asked why we were there. We then introduced ourselves as servants of the Lord with a special message to share. She invited us in, and then told us about the dangerous heart problems of her newly born child. As we learned of these medical difficulties the child was facing, we saw an opportunity to teach about the Restoration of the Lord's Priesthood, the same power with which he healed the lepers, made the blind see, and the lame walk. Desiring to share the blessings we had received, we asked her if she believed that what we had said was true. With an affirmative answer, she permitted us to place our hands on the head of her child, the Spirit that just days ago, was living in the presence of our Heavenly Father, and give it a blessing. The Spirit was overwhelming as we left, and as time passed, we heard the testimony of the mother. Sister Erika Martinez had been attending a church for some time, but after a while, found out that she couldn't afford entering the services and saw that it was just too expensive for her family. To make up for that, she decided to read her scriptures, and in the process, saw that Jesus and all of his disciples never charged for anything, even the most amazing miracles wrought by men. With that knowledge, she prayed that she would find the right way to receive the blessings of the Gospel. As time went on, challenges intensified, and so did her prayers, that “the Lord would send me something.” At the birth of her baby and learning of the medical difficulties it was going to have, along with seemingly countless other trials, she was at the point where she was going to give up...shortly which was followed by a knocking at her door. The moment she saw us, she said she knew that we were representatives of the Lord and had been an answer to her prayer. Erika Martinez and her daughter Emily were baptized on October 13 of 2012, helping the Oak Cliff ward eventually exceed their goal for 2012...and shortly after blessing the baby, the doctor informed Sister Martinez that her child had made a miraculous recovery from what seemed like a permanent dysfunction.