Come Unto Christ {12.29.14}

All of you dear people who I love so much,

My heart is so full this morning and I don't even know where to start. This is the last email I will be sending you as a full time missionary and I haven't quite wrapped my mind around that yet. This past week as I've reflected on the last 18 months of my life and the MANY things I've learned, I've realized that all of it comes back to one thing..

Coming unto Christ. Every morning for the last year and a half I've recited "My Purpose", which is inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them learn and live His doctrine. It was easy to let this become mundane and not to really think about what I was saying but this week the meaning behind these words has really sunk deep into my heart. Then this morning I read a scripture in Alma chapter 5 and everything kind of clicked... 

 12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.

 13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.

 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

I have had a mighty change of heart through the Doctrine of Christ. I have been blessed to help and witness others experience the same change as I've had the privilege to teach them to Doctrine of our Savior. Elder Bednar said that as we come to better understand this sacred power (being enabled to change through the Atonement), our Gospel perspective will be greatly enlarged and enriched. Such a perspective will change us in remarkable ways.

I stand today as a living witness that these words are true. I am not the same person who showed up at the Provo Utah MTC 18 months ago. Today I don't want to focus on myself though but on my brothers and sisters who have experienced this mighty change of heart. I have seen the Gospel of Jesus Christ change peoples lives. I have gone into the darkest of places and shared the light Christ has given me. The miracle of my mission has been witnessing God's children find and feed their own light. His light will change the world.  I can't even begin to count the number of lives I've seen change, so I'm just going to share with you those I've been blessed to be able to see become baptized and the changes that accompanied.. 

I have seen a woman who has had homosexual and abusive relationships get married and start a family in the Gospel; A woman whose been verbally and physically abused her entire life and turned to drinking and smoking, become clean and feel real love and worth for the first time in her life; A man who was a cross dresser because he had no individual worth start wearing a shirt and tie every day, study preach my gospel daily, receive the aaronic priesthood, and pass the sacrament; A family who was addicted to video games and didn't make time for church, become re activated (and their children baptized) and prepare for the temple; a woman who has been in an abusive relationship for years and is suffering from cancer, walk away from all of it to start a new life with Christ; a family who yells and screams at each other, come to church every week and read the Book of Mormon together (now they sing primary songs instead of scream:); a family who didn't communicate and suffered from anger and depression, have family night and daily family prayer and scripture study and attend the temple together; a full time smoke for almost 20 years, come to church every week and QUIT; a man with many doubts and questions exercise immense faith and fill a hole he didn't know he had in his heart; an 85 year old blind woman in a wheel chair put aside her fears, become baptized, and become actively involved in the church; and just yesterday a woman who has felt God was angry with her for years, feel of His love for her again and change her whole life literally overnight to follow Him. 

I don't care who you are or where you've been, You can't out-sin the Atonement of Christ and you can change because of it. Better yet, you don't have to be a sinner to be changed by the atonement. We are here to go from bad to good, from good to BETTER, and to change our very natures.  So, my last question for you is... have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? What can you do today, this week to become more like Him? What is  you next step? As for me, I will apply the Doctrine of Christ every day for the rest of my life and He will make me who He wants me to be. That is the miracle of my mission. Let Him be the miracle of your life!

I love you MUCH more than you know

xoxoxox

Sister Rolfe