May 5th

Dear Family,

I loved hearing from you this week! I am still reading and responding to all of the birthday messages that you sent me, I will do my best to get them all read and responded to, but it will take time. Good things come to those who wait. :)

This week. This week... Oh! Yeah, this week we got a visit from a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Viñas. He was awesome. We all came together and he talked to us as Missionaries and he also gave a talk to all of the Less Actives who had been through the temple.

It wasn´t that what he said was so great it was how powerful the words of Christ in the scriptures he quoted from memory were and how true they rang. It really made emphasis in the scripture 2 Nephi 32:3 to ´´feast upon the words of chirst´´ and ´´they will tell you all things what ye should do´´. That there is no such thing as ´´deep doctrine´´, but that there is´´ the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God,without end. Amen. He made emphasis as well in the Atonement. That everything else is just an appendage to it.

He gave the example of a Pearl, and a Box.

The pearl is the Gospel. It´s really nice and so we try to make a really nice box for it to make the pearl even better. The box is all the rest, the fun programs, the nice things that make up Mormonism.

BUT all too often, we get so caught up in how nice and interesting the box is, that we forget all about the reason for the box. That is the Pearl. 

Don´t forget about the Pearl. ´´We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the PEARL are: 

• first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 
• second, Repentance; 
• third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 
• fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.´´

Alright Family, I´m out of time, but I love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful week. I´m excited to talk to you all Mother´s Day! 

Much love and blessings,

Elder Bradley Turek