Katelyn Elgaaen in Utica New York: August 25, 2017 This Week...

This week seemed to take forever to end! Right after This I will be going to the Lord's house to feel his love with Sister Davies and Sarah O'Marah!

This week in Zone Conference, the main theme was The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't think that a time will ever come when I learn nothing new about Christ's Gospel. The main points to the Gospel are; Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. Each one individually is worth studying deepening and coming to really understand. The focus points during the conference were Faith and Repentance.

You can Truly find Christ's Doctrine everywhere in the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine must be the filter that we look through to view everything else we do.

The application of the Doctrine of Christ will solve ANY spiritual problem. Any question or issue about the gospel can be related back to 'do you have the faith that Jesus is the Savior of the world?', 'have you gained a fresh perspective and turned towards God?', 'are you renewing your baptismal covenant each week by partaking of the sacrament?','do you live worthy of feeling the Holy Ghost?', 'are you doing all that you need to endure well the experiences you face to live with Heavenly Father again?'.

I know that if each of us was to truly understand the basic doctrine we would not have the doubts and questions that will enter into our mind and heart.

Faith is a principle of action and power. It is the substance that we ALWAYS need more of, and is not always easy to obtain. One way to look at it is- Pray like everything depends on the Lord, then get off your knees and work like everything depends on you. If that is the way you live, faith will be something that will come easily with positive thinking and action.

Repentance is turning away from sin, but also turning your will to God. It is a fresh perspective to turn everything we do towards Heavenly Father and it is not a back up or checklist. Repenting is something that we all must do daily. It is not a gift for the completely broken and wounded souls only, it is the healing and balm to our aches and scratches we get daily as well.

I was asked to give a talk and I based it all around this poem:

After All We Can Do

I’d been in that hole for a very long time –

In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.

The shaft was above me; I could see it quite clear,

But there’s no way I ever could reach it from here.

Nor could I remember the world way up there,

So I lost all my hope and gave into despair.

I knew nothing but darkness, the floors, and the walls,

When from off in the distance I heard someone call,

“Get up! Get ready! There’s nothing the matter!

Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder.”

This had never occurred to me, had not crossed my mind,

So I started to stack all the stones I could find.

When I ran out of stones, the old sticks were my goal,

For some way or another I’d get out of that hole.

So I soon had a ladder that was really quite tall,

And I thought, “I’ll soon leave this place once and for all!”

Then I climbed up my ladder, it was no easy chore –

For from lifting those boulders my shoulders were sore.

So I worked and I climbed and at last had to stop,

For my ladder stopped short – some ten feet from the top.

I climbed back down the ladder and felt all around,

But there were no more boulders nor sticks to be found.

I went back to my ladder and started to cry.

I’d done all I could do; I gave my best try.

But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die,

And all I could do was to sit and think, “Why?”

Was my ladder too short? Or my hole much too deep?

Then from way up on high came a voice: “Do not weep.”

And then hope, love, and faith entered my chest,

As the voice said to me that I’d done my best.

He said, “Nothing’s the matter. There’s reason to hope.

Just climb up your ladder; I’ll throw down my rope.

You have worked very hard, and your labor’s been rough,

But the ladder you’ve built is at last tall enough.”

I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up the cord.

When I stood at the top, there stood the Lord.

I’ve never been happier; my struggle was done.

I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.

I fell to the ground; his feet did I kiss.

I cried, “What can I do to repay thee for this?”

He looked all around Him – there were holes in the ground.

They had people inside, and were seen all around.

There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep.

Then the Lord turned to me and He said, “Feed my sheep.”

Then He went on His way to help other lost souls.

And I got right to work, calling down to the holes,

“Get up! Get ready! There’s nothing the matter!

Take rocks and take sticks and build up a find ladder!”

It now was my turn to spread the good word.

The most glorious message that man ever heard.

That there’s One who is willing to save one and all,

And we’ve got to be ready when He gives the call.

He’ll pull us all out of the hole that we’re in,

And save all our souls from death and from sin.

So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope:

Just build up your ladder; He’ll throw down His rope.

-By Elder Robbie Pierce

It is wonderful to think that if we truly apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ daily into our lives, we will be able to have absolute Faith that as we are repenting, partaking of the sacrament worthily and doing all that we can to feel the spirit- our big brother and Savior is on the other end of the rope pulling along with us to help us out of our holes that we will fall into. It does not continue with the poem and say if He accidentally tripped into another hole, or if after all his joyous calling anyone else changed and made a ladder. But I do know with absolute certainty that even if we repeatedly fall into a hole, or never see the fruits of our labor in declaring the gospel, the Lord will always have rope long enough to reach us and love enough to make every effort worth it.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week and apply the Gospel of Christ personally to themselves.

I love you all!