His Grace is Sufficient

Hey y'all,

This week was amazing... Besides the fact that Elder Johnson got his foot ran over at the end our our last preparation day last monday. He is doing much better now and it seems to be pretty well healed. Nothing major occurred from it. This week we were able to teach twice as many lessons as we did last week. I have learned so much about relying on Christ. Trusting in him. He will help us as we do so. I know that I have gained so much from trusting in him. This past week we had stake conference and I learned something incredible: If we become prideful and feel like we have won the war, in reality we have lost. If he wins the war, then He will help us and we will become better than we ever though possible through him. If we lose, then in reality we have won. The only way to become your better self is to lose the war and put your complete trust in him!

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This week my study has been focused on grace.

What is grace? It is defined in the Bible Dictionary as:

Divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts. However, grace cannot suffice without the total effort on the part of the recipient. "It is by grace that we are saved after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23)

Have I been saved by grace? Yes, completely, totally, thankfully.

Is being saved by grave the end? Is that all that is required of us? In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we believe it is not. We still have to extend forth our best efforts. Grace isn't just about being saved by grace, but becoming more like our Savior. Why is this so? In heaven there are different degrees of glory. Different states of being, or comfort levels and our choices we make here on life will determine how comfortable we will be. Will we be comfortable living in the presence of our Heavenly Father? That is why our works are required.

I know that as we seek Christ, he will help us no matter how long it takes. He is always there. Just as we know no matter how dark it gets the sun goes down, that the sun will rise again. An analogy I came up with this week is this: Think of our lives being in quicksand. We can't get out on our own. God's hand is always there. However, as we sink lower and lower sometimes we may feel trapped and we recognize we can't do it on our own. Some us seem to think that the hand of the Lord stays at the surface. I testify to you that it does not. His hand follows us down. He is ALWAYS within arms reach. I promise you this. His arm follows us as we go down, all we have to do is reach out and grab hold, then through OUR FAITH - NOT HIS - we will be lifted. In the New Testament, there are more accounts of Christ healing people THROUGH THEIR FAITH. He said countless times "your faith has healed you."

My last thought for today - His Grace is sufficient. Think about that - His GRACE is SUFFICIENT. The divine help of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is enough! It is more than enough! His help is enough to cleanse us.

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Now because I am a runner - here is a running analogy.

Grace is not like a 100m race where Christ is at the finish line - there to help you when you fall over at the end. Grace is not the coach or friend at the end there to help you. Instead - Grace is like the track itself with hurdles set up along the way. We have challenges. We all know that. But his grace is what helps us get back on our feet when we fall if we CHOOSE to let him help. Imagine if we didn't we would hit a hurdle and fall down, and eat the track. Not very exciting, Not only would it painful then, but we would not be able to get back up. If we ALLOW his grace to act in our lives and reach out our hand, THEN he will grab hold and help us back up. I testify that His GRACE is SUFFICIENT.

In Isaiah chapter 41, verse 13, it states

"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."

Remember: He will help us if we let him, and he is always within arms reach. He died for me - He died for each and everyone of you to have the ability to CHOOSE! I love my Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ.

See y'all next week!

Stay Strong!

With Love,

Elder Soller

If you have any questions please e-mail me back and I would be happy to answer them. If you would like to learn more about what I believe and talk to missionaries just like me, please visit:

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Mormon.org Profile: https://www.mormon.org/me/8C58/Levi