June 27, 2016
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D&C 88:77-81
77 And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach
one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
78 Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you,
78 Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you,
that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle,
in doctrine, in the law of the gospel,
in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God,
that are expedient for you to understand;
79 Of things both in heaven and in the earth,
and under the earth; things which have been, things which are,
things which must shortly come to pass;
79 Of things both in heaven and in the earth,
and under the earth; things which have been, things which are,
things which must shortly come to pass;
things which are at home, things which are abroad;
the wars and the perplexities of the nations,
and the judgments which are on the land;
and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—
80 That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again
80 That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again
to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you,
and the mission with which I have commissioned you.
81 Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people,
81 Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people,
and it becometh every man who hath been warned
to warn his neighbor.
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Three years ago President Henry B. Eyring extended a call for us to serve as Mission President and Wife in the Italy Rome Mission. Next to family, it has been the greatest experience of our lives. We have done many things, been many places, worked hard, and accomplished much throughout our lifetime, but this has been the most rewarding thing we have ever done. Everything we have done and said on this mission has eternal consequences.
After being crucified, Jesus returned to earth and met with his disciples. He told Peter to feed His sheep. Our goal as missionaries has been to "Feed His Sheep", but in reality, we have been fed by the wonderful missionaries and Italian people whom we have served.
The theme for our mission has been "Bee the best you can bee!" As soon as missionaries arrive in the mission, we counsel them to "bee the best they can bee". That means to "bee" a little bit better tomorrow than you are today. It means to "bee" obedient and to "bee" humble". It means to "bee" a representative of Jesus Christ. It does not mean to compare yourselves to others--especially not trainers or other experienced missionaries. The time will come when they will "bee" like that, but not yet. Some missionaries are great at finding people to teach. Some missionaries are not good at finding, but are great when it comes to teaching doctrine. Each missionary has talents that are unique to him/her. They are to "bee the best they can bee" at developing those talents. They are also to develop new talents and try new things. We hope each time a missionary sees a bee or eats some honey, they will remember the valuable lessons they learned as missionaries and they will continue to "Bee the best you can bee!"
We have tried to "bee the best we could bee". Our testimonies have been strengthened as we have served our Savior, Jesus Christ, and testified of His reality and of His love for us.
D&C 76:22
22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him,
this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him:
That he lives!
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We have loved "our missionaries"--all of them. We hope to see many of them at reunions, weddings, etc. after our return home to Utah. Hopefully, we will see some of those who have already returned home when we report on our mission in Sacrament Meeting.
July 17, 2016
1:00 pm
7115 South 3200 West
West Jordan, Utah
Westland 9th Ward
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(On our last day, some of the missionaries serving in areas near Rome surprised us at the villa and gave us a dvd with their final goodbyes. Grazie! Vi vogliamo bene!)
