A Spiritual Feast

Hello friends!

I hope you are all doing well! I apologize for not writing for a while, but I haven't been without recording the events of these past few weeks. I've been doing my best to be more diligent in recording my Spiritual moments in my journal.  Several months ago my mom sent me a special journal for my birthday, but for several months I put nothing in it because I was worried about wasting it by putting lousy information inside of it.  But after much prayer I decided to fill it with spiritual experiences and insights, like what Nephi did with his plates, and it seems to have a spiritual presence to it now.  My favorite moments are sitting in front of it, writing down those special moments that help me every day.  As I see it fill up, I get more excited for when I reach the end of my mission and have a full journal of my witness of God's hand in my life. Please remember that it is a commandment of God to keep a record of the events in your life.  This commandment applies to the church, and applies to its members. I haven't been very good about doing this, and I'm often scared to go back to my old journals and read them. Some of that is a worry that it is worthless information.  Recently, though, my grandfather sent me a small portion of his biography, and it feels like gold to me.  I keep reading and rereading it, I really value the wisdom contained in the life of my grandfather.  I think about the Book of Mormon, and how it is a register (or a biography) of the Nephites, Lamanites, and Jaredites. Just like how the biography of my grandfather is gold to me (and I'm super excited to read his whole biography when it's finished), the Book of Mormon is of extremely great worth.  Just like how the biography of my grandfather is not meant for him but for his future generations, the Book of Mormon is meant for us - being filled with only the most inspired knowledge thought of to be of worth to us.  The Bible is just as important a book as any inspired scripture, but it isn't directed towards us like the Book of Mormon is. As I listened to Elder Bednar's words about the Book of Mormon, it struck me just how important the Book of Mormon is to 1) Its narrators, 2) God, 3) My family, 4) All of our lives. I recently read 3 Nephi 12, and verse 6 really stood out to me:

"And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost."

When I read this scripture my mind connected it to fasting.  When we hunger and thirst in a fst (a righteous purpose), we grow in spirit and are filled with the Holy Ghost. That may be why Jesus fasted for 40 days, and why he hungered and thirst more than any man can hunger and thirst (Mosiah 3:7). Those physical sacrifices bring spiritual rewards and for Jesus it was necessary to fulfill his ministry, and for us it is necessary to spiritually survive in this dispensation. I am extremely grateful that I will be able to fast this next weekend with my mission in preparation for the dedication of the San Pedro Sula temple. After several weeks of the miracle of the open house and the reception of >100000 people into the House of the Lord, it will now become sanctified to the Lord and will become infinitely more valuable and powerful (in the spiritual sense). I have had many special experiences in the temple, but I will only mention one: We went through the temple early in the morning during the final week of the open house.  As we entered with our friend, the place was nearly empty and they received just us and our 4 guests. As we sat there waiting to enter, the temple president and matron entered and warmly greeted our guest.  They offered to give us all a personal tour, and took us through the temple.  As it turns out, the temple president has a special connection with our guest, and was overjoyed to see her at the temple. As we went through the temple, we were able to see and hear what was most important about the temple in the eyes of its president. A piece of information that I remember clearly, was the emphasis on the altars in the temple. I've never really paid attention to them before. Each time an altar is found in the temple, it means covenants. And that is the most important blessing offered in the temple.  Being forever connected with God and our family is the reason we go to temples.  The altar of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is what binds us to God. His Godly blood, which he spilt with us in mind, is what binds us to God forever. Do not skimp out on the chance to go to the temple.  I'm going as soon as I can with my friends, and I'll do so every chance I get. Just like President Nelson, I testify of the importance of temples and of the necessity of going to them frequently. If we go to the temple every week, then we'll learn more about the Atonement every week. 

Okay. I've written a lot, but I've written what I've considered most important to share with you guys. Consider this a portion of my testimony, and a view of the spiritual feast I have been a part of these past few weeks.  I truly wish that this feast will never end.

Please have a great week. And PLEASE take the time to savor the Words of God contained in the talks given by the prophets of this day and the Book of Mormon. 

-Elder Grant