Conference...

Manahoana Daholo e!

Nandritra ny roa andro lasa za no nanana ny fahafana nijery ny Fihaonamben'ny Fiangonana farny amin'ny misionako. Sady mampalahelo no mahafaly izany.

This last week could be considered the most spiritual week of my mission thus far. The last two days we had the amazing opportunity to watch conference and listen to the words of our beloved church leaders. I felt like I had a lot of unanswered questions going into this conference, but when I left, I felt like they were all completely answered. I learned a lot the past week and I can't wait to share what I learned with all of you.

All of the talks that were given in this last General Conference were amazing and I learned a lot from each them. Multiple pages of my study journal are now filled with instruction, thoughts, and ideas that I gathered from each talk that was given. It's safe to say that I loved every every single talk from this last conference, but two in particular really hit me hard.

The first talk that I really liked was given by President Uchtdorf on hope. It seems that too many people in today's world, including myself, have forgotten what the word hope really means. First and foremost, it's an attribute that Christ possesses. Christ is our perfect example of hope. Who do we always rely on when we need help? Christ. Who is always willing to direct us back on to the path if we are lost?

Christ. And who is always willing to literally pick us up and carry us we can no longer move forward? Christ. Hope is not just something that God would like us to have. It's something more. It's required. Hope is the only way that we can return to the presence of our Father in Heaven and they way we show that hope is through Christ and his everlasting Atonement. President Uchtdorf really hit hard on the fact that this life is not always easy and that hope is something that we are all required to have. He encouraged us all to apply Christ and his Atonement in our lives so that we may all have a better light of hope.

Likewise, Elder Holland also gave a talk that related to this important attribute. A quote that I really like from his talk reads, "Remember tomorrow and all the days after." Sometimes I feel like I myself get too caught up in the moment. We all now that the past is in the past and that it's always good to do your best in the now, but it seems that we sometimes forget that there's always tomorrow. Elder Holland also spoke on the difficulty of living in this world and that sometimes we might get caught up in the things of this world. The adversary is working hard and it might sometimes seem that it has complete control over us. But do we remember that there is always tomorrow? Our God is loving and a merciful god. He wants us to be happy. Plain and simple. As a long as we are trying to live by his will, he will bestow his endless blessings and love upon us. I absolutely love that. I sometimes feel like if I'm not doing something perfectly correct then it's considered as a failure. It's something that I've struggled a lot with but this talk given by Elder Holland contradicts that feeling. I now know that God is pleased with me and that he loves me unconditionally. I can't believe it's taken me this long to start to figure it all out but I'm glad it's starting. This was probably my favorite talk from conference and I'm going to try my best to imply all it's principles in my personal life.

Elder Cooley and I are still getting along great. We had a great time watching conference and working together this week. All of our investigators are still doing great and I'll give y'all a better report on them next week. He and I sure had a great week this week and we hope that y'all did too. I love you all so much and I hope you all have a great week.

Love, Elder Stringfellow

P.S. Shout out to my little bro for getting his mission call to Houston Texas. Texas sure is lucky.

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK 

Elder Stringfellow's brother Sam, opening his mission call video