Happy Mothers Day

Muli Bwanji My Friends and Family.

I hope all is well with you all. I hope your day was wonderful another beautiful sabbath i hope! This Sunday was a special Sunday for many reasons. Well we all know that this last Sunday was mothers day and i hope you all remembered to thank your mothers for all that they do for you. And thank God for giving us such wonderful people in our lives. To all of the women who might not be my mom but have acted motherly to me thank you so much for your love and care and support that you all show me each day. I am so grateful. Another special reason was because we got to Skype and call home. It was wonderful seeing the faces of my family and talking to them for the time i had. And lastly we had district conference. and It was so nice. We has  T. Jackson Mkhabela        from the seventy come. I loved it. And i got to chat with him some so that was nice. He also gave a talk during my MTC days before we attended the Johannesburg temple. So it was nice to see him again. So in conference we talked about becoming a stake and just how close we are to getting there. It will be the first ever stake here in Zambia. And it will be in Lusaka.  Its amazing being able to be apart of that history. The saints have come so far since 1820. It's truly rewarding watching the work hasten here. There were many talks given that were truly inspiring. But i felt the most important message to me this whole week didn't just come from conference. I feel prompted to talk about Keeping Our Convents that we have made with the Lord and the Ones we will make in the near or distant future. I was thinking about my baptism recently and then thinking about how far i have come. Four years about on the 2nd of May i was confirmed a member of this Church the church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints. And now i am a missionary for that same church. I remember the first missionaries to ever teach me and my family. There names were Elder Taylor and Elder Wasden. I was sixteen years old. And they were just two young boys teaching the gospel. I remember thinking the same thing that i am sure many people think about me. "Oh they are too young to know anything." "This doesn't make sense." and many more thing i just wont mention. Instead of trying to hear their message i was trying to avoid it. They must have taught me the restoration a million times. and I still wasn't having it.

But they never gave up. Eventually they were transferred but they baptized my whole family before they left except me. New missionaries came in and they taught me too. but i still wasn't having it. The spirit had testified many times to me but i refused to listen like most people i don't know why i just did. They were all wonderful missionaries they taught me a lot and i learned a lot. i went to girls camp attended church. And eventually i gained a testimony of this gospel. It was a strong one but it was growing and it started with those missionaries. And then i wanted to be baptized and then i couldn't for awhile and then i was able too. I remember my baptism very well. An Elder who i was pretty close with named Elder Nelson baptized me on may 1st 2010. I remember getting in the water before that opened the curtain to the font and i said " i have too pee." and he said if you pee in the water "i will kill you." ha-ha. i was so nervous. They day hadn't gone perfectly smooth but that was okay because i was doing what i needed to do. My family was there and some ward members and my bishop. I remember he gave some closing remarks and asked me to write down the feelings i felt that day. And i couldn't explain them. I remember driving home and there was a huge light over by my house and i remember making a joke with my Ima about heavenly father being well pleased. And to me then it was just a joke. But now i know that it indeed true. Every time we covenant with the Lord he is well pleased with us. Just like with Jesus Christ when he was baptized Heavenly father said this is my beloved son who i am well pleased. That was just one very important covenant i had made with out heavenly father. Since that day i have gone to the temple and made more covenants with him. I have been sealed to my family for all time and all eternity. and i will make that covenant again once i have another family. All the covenant we make lead to eternal life. If we keep of our end of the deal. A covenant is a promise with God. If we do what he ask he promises to bless us. He has too. And when we made those promises with God they were not just temporal but they are Eternal. If we do not keep up our end of the promise, Then he will not bless us. Now that does not mean we won't fall short but it does mean that when we do we make it right. I strongly advice that we remember the convents that we have made and keep them. It is required by Heavenly Father. Try the remember the excitement you felt when you were baptized and when you first went to the temple. I know when you were doing those things you didn't tell yourself you were going to fall short. But we all know the atonement and what it can do for us. in 2 nephi 31:14 it tell us that after we have received a witness of the truthfulness of this gospel and we should deny it and Christ. It would have been better had we not known them at all. we are now accountable for ourselves and we all want to stand blameless before God. But we cannot and we will not if we are not keeping our promises and repenting when we fall short. For parents and soon to be parents you are not just accountable for yourself . You are accountable for your children. Heavenly father has trusted you with his children so that you may lead them back to him. In Mosiah 4:14-15 it talks about how we should not suffer that our children go hungry or naked. Niether shall we suffer that they Go with out knowing the commandments. But we shall teach them to walk in the ways of the Lord. in 1 timothy 4:12 it tell us not to despise thy youth but be thou and example unto the believers in word and in conversation and in spirit. To a child the biggest example they have is there parents. What they see you do they do. In 2 nephi 25:26 It say we talk of Christ we preach of Christ and we write of Christ so that they may know to what source to turn to for the remission of their sins. It is our Job to direct our children back to our Heavenly Father and we cannot do that if we are not an example unto them. Priesthood holders exercise your priesthood if you have been found worthy to do so. it is not just for your salvation but it is important for everyone elses as well. In Matthew 16:19 Jesus says" And i will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." You have one of the most precious gifts a person can have next to life it self. You hold the keys of the Kingdom. God has trusted you with them to help the children of him. if you will not use them you will be held accountable. You are in-charge of helping others and why would you now want too. I love you all and i hope you know that this is just what i have learned this week. And i hope i was able to teach you all something as well. I know this is Gospel is true. I know that Joseph Smith retorted Christ church here on earth. I know that the convents i have made here on earth out forever. I know that i will be with my family forever. I know that heavenly father loves each and everyone of us. and he wants us to return to him. and that he is sadden when we don't keep our promises because then he cant give us those blessings that come with them. I hope that we all can remember the promises  we have made. And are able to put off the natural man and repent when we don't. This is my Humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.