Week 76: Prayers in the Wilderness

Dear Family and Friends,

 

 

"Soon to be Released" letter

 

 

 

It's so weird to watch people I know head home! It makes it seem like I am almost done with my mission or something...We watched transfer meeting on Tuesday. Later that night we had a short Sisters' training- only the Fairbanks Sisters were over personal video conferencing though, so we watched it from the Hulls' computer with Sister Poudrier and Sis. Clark because the stake center was closed to pave the parking lot.

We had a really good lesson with our investigator this week (and he lives WAY out in the woods up on a hill.) We brought a sister and our branch mission leader. We said a prayer with the members we brought before we went in and the comment we got was "this is so cool! We're praying in the wilderness like Nephi!" We had been preparing for this lesson for a long time- it had been cancelled a lot, but it was so awesome to see that it flowed the whole time. It was exactly what he needed and he asked questions and it made sense what  came from our mouths, because if I had planned that lesson without prayer, without faith, it would have been very different. I am so blessed to see that I have been able to testify about the Gospel, and that the spirit has given me the word that the people who I am speaking to need to hear. It was also this week that we were reading Ether 12 with (a sister), our investigator, and she  talked about someone who had great faith and adding to what she said, I was able to share her stories that I have been able to see my faith grow, and things that I would never have expected to see happen were made right. It seems like the stories just kept coming.

The other day in planning I prayed for a productive day, and we had so many opportunities the next day where people would come into our path, or need to talk to us, or be sitting around us and just need to talk to someone. One lesson we had with a member, his nonmember roommate just happened to be around cooking dinner and was there for the  lesson. We planned to talk about the Book of Mormon, while another guy was working on the phone line, and listened a little too. Then, as we always stop by the Institute (of Religion--for Young Adults), we saw someone who told us that he would bring his sister who isn't a member to church this last Sunday, and we got to know her and talk to her, and helped him to share the gospel with her. Then another couple who were just having a hard day, we talked even more to them about the Gospel, and more than anything, just listened. but it was all because we were in the right place at the right time. We had planned the night before, so that we could follow the spirit to those people who our Heavenly Father directed us to.

Another was the ex- boyfriend of one of our investigators. When I first met them, he was very against the church, but knew she wanted us there. He was still kind and not incredibly rude, but they were having problems. In trying to reach her, we met him at the apartment out in the woods, and got her contact information, but as we were leaving, I felt like I needed to ask him if he actually would read the Bible. He didn't turn down the offer but we shared with him that he can find peace through the Gospel.

We helped at the pig farm twice this week. We led huge pigs into a trailer so they could be sent down to Delta Junction. It's scary sometimes! But it's impressive how good all those Elders are with leading the pigs. The best method I saw was to put a bucket over their face so they walk backwards into the trailer. They are SO stubborn!!! Being in the pen with the pigs is crazy, but it's exciting when you can actually get them into the trailer. It's the boars that I didn't want to mess with, but they were a little easier to lead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While studying about the Plan of Happiness this week, I was reminded about how before this life, our Heavenly Father wanted us to experience the Joy that he felt, but we were not like Him, though we lived with Him. He was willing to give us that opportunity through going through this mortal life so we could gain that joy, but he also wanted us to have peace in this life. That must have been a great sacrifice for him, but because of it, we can really understand the joy that he has in us, and be with him again.

p.s. the sister we are teaching may not get baptized this week, but I will let you know. She is getting back into town tonight, and we aren't sure if we have the time to teach everything, but she is still moving towards getting baptized soon!

Along with everyone somehow falling over this week, saying a few goodbyes, etc, it has been a good week! Have a good one!!! Love you!!!

Love,

Sister Wuehler

Scriptures:

2 Nephi 4:20 (...in the wilderness...)

 20 My God hath been my ^asupport; he hath led me through mine ^bafflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

 

 1 Nephi 10:14, 17-19

 14 And after the house of ^aIsrael should be scattered they should be ^bgathered together again; or, in fine, after the ^cGentiles had received the fulness of the ^dGospel, the natural branches of the ^eolive tree, or the ^fremnants of the house of ^gIsrael, should be grafted in, or ^hcome to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.

 17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the ^awords of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a ^bvision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the ^cMessiah who should come—I, Nephi, was ^ddesirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the ^eHoly Ghost, which is the ^fgift of God unto ^gall those who diligently seek him, as well in times of ^hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.

 18 For he is the ^asame yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.

 19 For he that diligently ^aseeketh shall find; and the ^bmysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the ^cHoly Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the ^dcourse of the Lord is one eternal round.

 

 1 Nephi 8:24-27

24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, ^aclinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the ^bfruit of the tree.

 25 And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ^aashamed.

 26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the ^aother side of the river of water, a great and ^bspacious building; and it stood as it were in the ^cair, high above the earth.

 27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the ^aattitude of ^bmocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.

 

 Words of Mormon 1:7-8

7 And I do this for a ^awise ^bpurpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord ^cknoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he ^dworketh in me to do according to his ^ewill.

 8 And my ^aprayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a ^bdelightsome people.

 

 1 Nephi 11:22

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things.

 

ism: "Sweet Goodness!!!"

"Prayer. It's the greatest WiFi ever!" -Courtney

"Revelation is always vertical, never horizontal" -Pres Duval

Week 75: HERDING pigs and Healy

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been a good week. Transfers are tomorrow and I get to stay here with Sister Hart for the next two weeks until I head out!  A few changes happened in the zone, but it's always expected. Change isn't something you can get away from.  At one point I told someone I couldn't remember much of the week-- she told me I am not allowed to do that. whoops... haha. Well, it is good from all I can remember! Here's a recap:

• (A sister), our investigator, is so excited and decided to be baptized  in a couple of weeks! She is going out of town for just over a week though, so we will see if we can teach her all she needs before, or if we have to move it out a week or so. She loves the Book of Mormon and believes that it is true! We are so blessed to teach her!
• We herded some pigs this week! Other than the awful stench, it was cool to see there are actually pig farms around. We were up in Fox off of the highway helping a woman who is trying to move her farm to Delta Junction. We were there to help move some girl pigs to a different pen to make them easier to load when the time came- they are HUGE! 800-900 lbs even, and we had these measly little gates to guide them up to the pen. At least they know where home is and knew how to find it. Mostly they found their way pretty quickly once they got in the path, but one of them was being particularly stubborn! She sat down multiple times! But at one point we really didn't think she would get up. The Elders were trying to get her to move.  The lady who runs the farm, who is well into her 80s probably, yelled over to us saying "Be careful with her- she's nine years old- you'll be carrying her if she gives out!" followed by a "She's going to be made into sausages tomorrow." hahahaha! Poor pig, but for some strange reason I wasn't expecting that comment! The Elders called her baconator the rest of the time. We got to hold piglets too, but if you pick them up a way you might pick up a dog they SQUEEL! If you pick them up by the hind leg, then they are alright!

• Later that night I told (a couple--we visit them) that we herded pigs in the afternoon, motioning in a direction as I told them. One reaction was "I thought it was just bad grammar- why did you hurt pigs, now it makes sense!" and then the other was "you hearded pigs?" Next time I will clarify as I speak, apparently the hand motion didn't say enough and there are too many ridiculous ways that words can be interpreted.

• At district meeting we had my last transfer dramas! We have 2 other Elders from the district leaving for home and the Zone Leaders up here are being whitewashed (going into new area). I don't think I guessed right on most of the people who were going places but I guessed a little- and GUESS WHAT-- they are opening Turnagain ward in Anchorage back up to Sisters beginning this transfer! lucky them! (That was Julie's 1st area)
• I noticed as we were teaching our Chinese investigator   this week that the traditional Book of Mormon we gave him has all characters except the chapter and verses were numbers! I started to notice the patterns and found 1 Nephi 3:7 for him and then noticed there was marking in Sister Chan's handwriting (who else would it be?!!!) on scriptures throughout the book! So exciting, so we told him he could find those, because he interprets them and seems to understand very well. So we then went to Moroni 10:3-5 and he seemed to love that. He said it was very deep. I hope he prays to know if it's true, I know he can receive that answer. 
• I had the coolest time on familysearch.org this week! I found all sorts of pictures of ancestors and stories I had never heard and got to read some of it!!!! Also, we have Danish ancestors through the Robinsons! (Dad's Mom's family) I finally saw where it came from! Mostly I was reading about great grandpa Royal!  (Mom's grandpa) He is funny! He is also a daredevil if you read about him- didn't seem to be scared of much! It was exciting to meet one of the people we visit that night and tell her about that and she was excited to get on and work with her family history. There is something that is so amazing about knowing who you came from and who they actually were, and I was glad he took the time to sit and write. You can see his personality in his writing and his testimony!
• We headed down to Healy yesterday- about 2 hours away-- 12 or so miles from Denali National Park- gorgeous drive, but so many of the trees were burnt, but their leaves were burnt red and gorgeous from all the forest fires! Reason we headed down there was we got a call on Saturday night about a sister who had been teaching a few of her friends the lessons. She had been off of her mission for about a year and there are no missionaries down there, but they were wanting to learn about the Gospel. So we set up a lesson and got permission from President to head down there, packed up and headed out right after church to be there by 4. Over halfway there, past Nenana, we got a call that said the sister was sick and couldn't make it, but they hoped we could come to dinner anyway and meet their ward missionaries. We did and there is so much potential there. They want missionaries down there. In due time I guess... We will probably be working with their 3 YSA investigators down there as time goes on! I hope next time we head down it will be with a lesson that goes through. 
• We helped for hours on Saturday to help the Hulls with a dinner they had to set up for about 23 people, which she was taking upon herself, so we got to do a lot of cooking and she gave us some leftovers- it was fun to help out there but very hectic!
• I was talking to someone this week about my brothers and I called you guys Elders! whoops. Guess I have been here for a long time!
• We have a couple more people who sound like they are genuinely interested and one of our investigators has been seriously considering being baptized. Her boyfriend asked her about it and she really loves it, and also says she loves reading the Book of Mormon!
• p.s. I finished the Book of Mormon again this morning! love it!!!!
• An insight given by one of the high counselors speaking to our branch yesterday was that when there is darkness ever surrounding us, it cannot get in to affect us unless we let it in- remember that! (Joseph Smith history)
• Love you lots!!! Tomorrow is transfer meeting and they will be playing my testimony and I will be up here thankfully! Also, I found out Sister Peterson is the new STL!!! That means I can see her before I go home! Have a good one!

Love,

Sister Wuehler

scripture:

1 Nephi 2:19-20

 19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy ^afaith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

 20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall ^aprosper, and shall be led to a ^bland of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

Moroni 10:30-32

 30 And again I would exhort you that ye would ^acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good ^bgift, and ^ctouch not the evil gift, nor the ^dunclean thing.

 31 And ^aawake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of ^bZion; and ^cstrengthen thy ^dstakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest ^eno more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.

 32 Yea, ^acome unto Christ, and be ^bperfected in him, and ^cdeny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and ^dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be ^eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

 

 

ism: "I remember Wilbur was WAY cuter than that!" -one of the Elders

"They are going through a mid-life Christmas!" -Netty

Week 74: Branch conference

 
 

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been an eventful week! even though it started out slow it continued to just get better and better! I think it was this last week that (the couple) got married (in the lower 48) too (recent convert and his new wife). 

Sister Hart struggles with patience with family history- it is so funny! We were doing a missionary training survey this week about family history and she was making me laugh with all of her comments. I think what worries most people is where do I start? The reason I laugh at her dread every time we start family history is because i was in her same position when I first started looking- I have no clue where to go from there! It gets to be something we understand a little more each time.

We went to a sister's house who we have never met and met her mom, who was so happy we showed up and could talk about her. This morning she told us that her daughter's boyfriend (who) started reading the Book of Mormon and they found out at dinner yesterday when he had a ton of questions about it. I feel like we have been blessed to see different snippets of peoples lives and how happy they are to see some means of help where they have been praying for it for a long time and will continue to pray. This I know, Heavenly Father answers prayers, but it is two ways, we need to learn to recognize his answers, not just what we want him to answer with. She is a very great example of that and loving her family no matter what arises. I only just met her, but you can feel how strong her faith is and her trust in Heavenly Father.

We went to dinner with the sister who just lost her dad and she is doing fairly well considering how long it has been since her dad passed away. Their family is strong and okay to talk about what happened, but there seems to be so much coming back at them. I know that the Gospel can help them. The Savior doesn't expect everything to be okay, he just offers his healing. As president Beesley pointed out yesterday that the Savior will heal every one who will reach out and touch his clothes, just like the woman who did.

Pres Duval (Fairbanks Stake President) pointed out some great points this week. One being, the way to teach is not like a dog- to condition others, it is to teach, counsel, covenant with. Those we see are making choices in their lives to help them understand their relationship with their Heavenly Father, and those choices deserve so much respect. A scripture he shared at dinner was in Luke 18:10-14. he talked about the pharisee, and about the publican. The Publican was looked down on, and did not have the same beliefs, and it is obvious as the pharisee says his prayer and is grateful NOT to be like the publican. The pharisee talks about how wretched he is-  now which one was more obedient to God? probably the pharisee. But which one was justified? the publican understood his relationship to God, to improve and to first acknowledge his need for the Savior.

After the dinner with the Duvals, We were driving WAY OUT in the back roads of Fairbanks to someones house and the road we were on had road construction which we had to wait for a pilot car to take us through. We were the first and only people in line waiting and the guy with the stop and go sign said it would be about 10-15 minutes before he got back since they had just left. At first we thought we would just turn around and use our time differently until we realized we could talk to the guy who was waiting there anyways. He talked to us the whole time we were waiting and we kept trying to figure out when to best transition into talking about the Gospel. By the time we did, the pilot car came about a minute later and we were able to give him a mormon.org card with our number on it. Definitely not a planned thing, but it worked perfectly that we were there to talk to him!

We have a new investigator who seems to be noticing how often she is feeling the spirit. She loves church, and even invited a friend, and stays all three hours. She was introduced by one of our branch missionaries-who is a friend from work, and she accepted the invitation to be baptized and says this is changing her life. We are excited to get to know her more and keep teaching her

Sister Hart (got) knocked down during ultimate frisbee on Saturday! It was the funniest thing to watch as she was laughing from the moment she was knocked down- Knowing that she is shorter than most, she looked so little when she was knocked down. We were all laughing and wished we could have had that one on film.

We had interviews this week that the Beesleys came up for. I love having interviews and talking to the Beesleys. I can never seem to have enough time to talk to them either, but lucky us, we did some recording and got to talk a little longer, and it went great.

I found out that Sister Hatfield is going home tomorrow. She has been sick for a long time. So much going on in her stomach, and even though she really wanted to stick it out, she can heal at home.

Branch conference was yesterday: President Beesley gave his testimony and talked about how There is a necessity for storms in our lives and how when you sail against the wind and steer in the right direction, you actually go faster. President Duval talked about how there are "lands" you cannot live in if you want to find joy: the land of remember when, land of someday, and the land of If Only, which I will write about in my handwritten letter home since I ran out of time here!

I recorded my testimony for transfer meeting since I may not be there, but that means I may probably be up here for my last 2 weeks!

LOVE YOU!

Love, 

Sister Wuehler

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15

15 But ^asanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give ^ban answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the ^chope that is in you with ^dmeekness and ^efear:

 

Hebrews 13:17-18

 17 ^aObey them that have the rule over you, and ^bsubmit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

 18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good ^aconscience, in all things willing to live ^bhonestly.

 

Bible Dictionary Miracles

An important element in the work of Jesus Christ, being not only divine acts, but forming also a part of the divine teaching. Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the Resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable. Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power. Some lower law was in each case superseded by the action of a higher. They were intended to be a proof to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 11:4–5; John 2:11; 10:25; 20:30–31). Many of them were also symbolic, teaching such divine truths as the result of sin and the cure of sin; the value of faith; the curse of impurity; and the law of love. The miracles of healing also show how the law of love is to deal with the actual facts of life. Miracles were and are a response to faith and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith.

It is important to notice the different names by which miracles are described. They are called signs, as being visible tokens of an invisible power; they are powers or mighty works, because they are the acts of One who is almighty; they are simply works, or the natural results of the Messiah’s presence among men; they are wonders, marvels, because of the effect produced on those who saw them.

 

3 Nephi 19:35-36

 35 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he came again to the disciples, and said unto them: ^aSo great ^bfaith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great ^cmiracles, because of their ^dunbelief.

 36 Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard.

 

ism: "I gave him my angry eyebrows!"

Week 73: sun, rain, smoke, etc...

Dear Family and Friends,

We started out the week last p-day with soccer with the sun high in the sky- later that night it poured if  I remember right. There have been fires all over and right now there is a big one down Chena Hot Springs road that is far out but you can see the smoke.

We had a good experience this week with a sister who needed to talk to us during FHE. We walked in o the building and sat down for a moment and she came up to us and you could tell she was crying. She said, "Sisters I need to talk to you and you are going to listen and give me advice." Seeing as recently she's made some huge changes in her life and just needed to have someone there to listen made it really neat that we planned to go to FHE because we don't normally go and were just outside waiting for the lesson to end when she came out. It's awesome to see the effect of the spirit as the day is planned. 

Me, Sister Claspell, Sister Burbank, and Sister Hart

 

Sister Hart and Me

 

 

We picked up Sister Claspell and Sister Burbank at the airport for exchanges after FHE and had them with us for the next day. We also got to sand and paint a house for a family who is trying to sell their house soon; and later that night there was a family who needed to move a 2000 lb shed that we had all the missionaries who could come go to that. The mosquitos were everywhere but the Elders picked up the shed and carried across the yard as the Sisters took the cinder blocks as fast as we could to stack them up. Sis. Claspell got to tell me about an experience she had last time we went on exchanges--Back when she was in Beach Lake about 6 or so months ago. We had planned for that day to visit some people, but decided one of the best uses of our time would be to sticky note some people and families doors. So in talking about who we would bring these notes with scriptures and quotes on them, we figured out how many sets we needed to make. We started to put them up and tried to do it anonymously, and most of the time it worked. We had one last set left we had made extra and Sister Claspell talked about this lady who she thought we should put it on her door. So we decided to do that and as we were putting it on her door, she pulled up and found it was us and I got to meet her- and really, how can a red head ever really hide! haha... So she decided later to take those notes and read them the next morning so she could get to sleep. Come to find out she had been going through a lot and that next night something came up that made (it so) she was able to use every one of those scriptures to help her and they've become some of her favorite scriptures! I hadn't heard that so it was exciting to be able to hear her reaction and then hear about the experience she had and that we were able to get those scriptures to her to help her without really knowing that it would be that important right at that time.

On the 4th we delivered brownies to as many people as we could and went to Pioneer Park to see if we could meet some new people. It seemed like all of Fairbanks was there! Weren't able to catch a lot of people that day though, but we kept pushing through to try.

 

 

 

 

We got permission this week to do studies on Saturday with a couple of our branch missionaries who had asked to be a part of it for the morning. They dressed up like Sister Missionaries and had their own personal study, then joined us in companion study. From there we went to a lesson with (an)investigator who is dating one of the bus drivers and taught her about the plan of salvation and started with the first half- she was way more comfortable this week and seemed to really love the lesson! Really exciting! We had had other lessons cancel for later that day but that made it all worth it to have such a great lesson and to know she could feel the spirit.

We had a branch activity at Chena Lakes out at the edge of North Pole and had a barbeque- we had invited a couple people so we went for our lunch hour. Later as we were there a man came down the river in his boat and hit a sandbar and was beached and couldn't move. A few of the guys from the branch got to go down and help, but it was making progress very slow. We wanted to give him a pass along card but had no way to get it down to him. Later, more guys went down and just as we had to leave we gave one of the pass along cards to one of them heading out to help to give to the man even though we feasibly couldn't.

 

 

 

 

 

One thing that has been incredibly clear to me this week is that God uses simple materials to do great things. I don't know how time has gone by so fast but I have seen how he has made me a way he works through to help others, even in the smallest things, I have seen great things. Since I can't see the whole picture, that is why we are always told not to be discouraged. There is not one of us who during the situation can see the end from the beginning, but he knows us so well that he knows what we need, and he knows who we need, and so on. He really does micromanage those details, and he knows the contrasts that can paint the picture that will fit our lives.

To be honest, most of this week has been really really hard, but I have seen a ton of good. Hope this week goes great! Have a good one! Love you!

Love,

Sister Wuehler

Scriptures:

Alma 26:2-4,7,11,16,17,

2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?

 3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how ^amany of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made ^binstruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

 4 Behold, ^athousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God.

  7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the ^aharvest, and they are his; and he will ^braise them up at the last day.

 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not ^aboast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my ^bjoy is full, yea, my heart is brim with ^cjoy, and I will rejoice in my God.

 16 Therefore, let us ^aglory, yea, we will ^bglory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his ^cmercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

 17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and ^apolluted state?

 

Alma 56:47

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the ^aliberty of their ^bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their ^cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

 

Matthew 13:10-13

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in ^aparables?

 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the ^amysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

 12 ^aFor whosoever hath, to him shall be ^bgiven, and he shall have more ^cabundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

 

3 Nephi 5:13

13 Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been ^acalled of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

 

 

ism: Yesterday we saw a dog that was the size of a football with what sounded like a broken voice box who tried to chase us off and growl at us. i think his bark was worse than his bite but i would Rather not find out.