Jo napot mindenki!

Jo napot mindenki!!

This week has been even more full of spiritual epiphanies! We heard a scripture in devotional that I really liked, Ephesians 3:17-19. It details Paul describing why he prays for the Saints in Ephesus.

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."

I love how it talks about the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of Christ's love for us. I've come to realize that more and more while being here at the MTC and while preparing to share this good news with the people of Hungarian. Each day, I am overwhelmed all over again by how much God loves me. The gospel is so simple, but the more I study it, the more I really realize how much I don't understand about it. I come to realize more and more each day what Christ has actually done for me, what His sacrifice really covers. I love the New Testament, especially the words of Paul and the relevance that I find in them.

We have also been learning a lot about how the Spirit works when we teach. First of all, I definitely know that the gift of tongues is real. I find myself able to express my thoughts when teaching about the gospel way better than if I were talking about something unrelated. When teaching the real Hungarians that come and volunteer, often times when we socialize, I have no idea what's going on. But when we're talking about the gospel, I understand them and they understand me; it's like we're speaking the same language, which is ironic, because even though I am trying desperately to communicate with them in their spoken language, our connection of faith in Jesus Christ runs so much deeper than the Hungarian grammar and syntax.

I have also been finding out that when I make the Book of Mormon the center of my teachings, the investigators understand better. We watched a talk in class by Jeffrey R. Holland that talked about the necessity of the Book of Mormon when teaching about the gospel. Just like the New Testament did not make void or null the Old Testament, but only expounded and clarified and testified of its truthfulness, so the Book of Mormon (another testamentof Jesus Christ) supports and compliments the New Testament (the entire Bible, in fact). This was great for me to hear. I have come to realize that my entire testimony of the truth of the gospel, of the reality of Christ's love for me, is built upon the foundation of the Book of Mormon. I know it is true. I feel the Spirit testify of that to me every time I read it. And I believe the promise it contains, that a person can get closer to God by reading it than by any other book.

This week I also had the chance to accompany a Sister on Oh, Divine Redeemer at Sunday night devotional. It was a wonderful experience, and a great reminder to me of how much music helps me to feel God's love.

Thank you for all your prayers and support,

Martin Elder