And a Happy New Year!

First of all, I hope y'all had a Merry Christmas! This week has been

go, go, go. We've been working hard and we've seen blessings. We are

learning that one of the most important things to do is to talk to

everyone. Although not everyone we talk to will want to hear more, the

Lord will see our efforts and He will trust us with His children that

are ready. On Thursday the sister training leaders in Searcy came down

to Paragould for the day. As we were walking we ran into a member on

the street that we were planning on visiting. He told us that he was

on his way to a friends house. Without thinking about it I said, "can

we come with you?". He said sure, so we followed him. His friends

ended up being really interested in learning more, so we've started to

teach them. On Christmas Eve we went around visiting people. We

stopped by Kathy's for a lesson. As we were getting out of the car I

had this feeling that I should give a package of ritz crackers we had

in the car to her. I thought to myself, "do I just want to bring these

because I'm hungry?". I started to get out of the car without the

crackers. Again I felt prompted to bring the crackers to Kathy. So, I

picked them up and told Sister Hall, "I'm not sure why, but I feel

like we should give these to Kathy". As she came to open the door you

could see it on her face that she was feeling terrible. I immediately

gave her the crackers and her face lit up. She smiled so big and

started laughing uncontrollably. She let us come in and her mood had

completely changed. It was such a testimony builder that GOD LOVES HIS

CHILDREN. He knows and numbers each one. He uses others to lift them.

We can all be instruments in His hands through service. We starting

teaching a woman named Sandra a couple of weeks ago, and we've really

only seen her a couple of times because she lives so far away. On

Christmas Eve she invited us to come have dinner with her family. They

did a gift exchange and Sandra put together a gift for both Sister

Hall and I. It was so sweet of her. The people here in Paragould have

taken such good care of us missionaries. We see people who have very

little, but still give everything they can to others. Our

investigators Billy and Chasity are still doing really well. They've

started reading the Book of Mormon as a family and praying about

certain things we've taught them. Sister Hall and I were a little

devastated when they didn't make it to church yesterday. They've

become like family to us. When you love someone, you want them to know

the same joy and happiness that you know. When Lehi partook of the

fruit of the tree of life his first response was, "And as I partook of

the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy;

wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it

also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit" (1 Nephi

8:12). Just as the fruit represents the pure love of Christ, my joy

comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ and experiencing that

love as I keep the commandments of God. This week as I pleaded with my

father in heaven to help Billy and Chastity gain a testimony of the

Book of Mormon, I felt something similar to Nephi as he said, "For I

pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by

night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know

that he will hear my cry". Much love until next week friends and

family, and a happy new year!!!

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Merry Christmas Y'all 🎄

Merry Christmas y'all!!!

It's been a wonderful week. On Wednesday we got to go to North Little

Rock for our Christmas zone conference. We had a Christmas program and

were able to hear from Elder Bahesti of the seventy. He gave us

missionaries five ways to change the world in 2017. He invited us to

make our beds every single morning, teach repentance, increase our

faith, baptize converts, and endure to the end (or get over the fact

that life isn't fair sometimes). We had our talent show, where we

performed our Filipino dance, and played games with all of the

missionaries on the Arkansas side of the mission. It was such a good

day! I really love big meetings like that because it reminds me that

I'm not alone in this work that can be tough sometimes ("we're all in

this together" from high school musical starts playing in the

background).

This week we had a couple of really good lessons with Billy, Chastity,

and their daughter Hayden (the wonderful family we are teaching). You

can really feel the difference in a lesson when the spirit is strong

and when it's not. It's easy to tell when it's not because you feel

like you're running into a brick wall for 45 minutes. We've taught

Billy and Chastity most of the lessons and they just feel like they

need some time to make sure it's right before they dive into "Mormon".

Hahaha they are so cute. I feel like that is totally a valid concern.

It would be silly to devote your life to something you don't believe.

BUT, I am so confident that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and

RESTORED and that anyone who reads the Book of Mormon will come to

know that for themselves. I know that sooner or later they will figure

it out and I am so looking forward to that day. I've been blessed to

have grown up in the true church of Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for

my great, great, great grandma who accepted the gospel in Denmark, was

baptized and immigrated to America. I'm so thankful for the other

pioneers in my family who made unimaginable sacrifices to bless the

lives of their posterity. I'm so thankful for goodly parents who

didn't give up on their rebellious teenage daughter!!

This week I started reading in 3 Nephi. In chapter 1 we read about the

righteous people who are waiting for the signs foretold by prophets of

Christ's birth. The wicked threaten the righteous that if the signs

don't come before a certain date, they would be put to death.

The verses following read, "10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi,

the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was

exceedingly sorrowful. 11 And it came to pass that he went out and

bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in

behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed

because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers. 12 And it

came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and

behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: 13 Lift up your

head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on

this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the

world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have

caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. 14 Behold, I

come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto

the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the

will, both of the Father and of the Son-of the Father because of me,

and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand,

and this night shall the sign be given."

As I read verses 13 and 14 during my studies and as I read them now my

eyes are filled with tears and the Holy Ghost gives me the strongest

feelings of peace, comfort and joy. Our savior Jesus Christ lives. He

loves us. He came into the world to redeem us. He lives and reigns

today. He came two thousand years ago and He will come again. I know

this with all of my heart. I will never doubt it. I will never

question it.

I pray that we will all remember The Reason for the season! 

Merry Christmas y'all and so much love.

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Get asked if we are sisters three times daily on average

Typical Arkansas porch

Cleansing the Inner Vessel

OKAY, let me just say that I love bike week. For two weeks we are lucky enough to have a car to drive and then for one week we walk or bike. I feel like our transportation cycle is kind of like the pride cycle in the Book of Mormon. We start out on bikes and are humble, so the Lord blesses us with a car. Then, we start to take the car for granted and it gets taken away long enough for us to become humble again. I had many more "my mom would die if she saw where I was"

moments this week as Sister Hall and I trekked around Paragould in 30 degree weather.

This week I have been thinking a lot about purification. I was reading in Alma chapter 60 where captain Moroni is writing an epistle to Pahoran (head of the government) asking why he isn't sending help to their armies who are struggling to fight off the Lamanites. In his epistle, Moroni says, "Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also" (verse 23). Although Moroni is referring to the corruption of the government, I applied this verse personally. "Cleansed" led me to "purification" in the topical guide which references Helaman 3:35. This verse says, "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their

humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God". So, purification and sanctification come when we yield our hearts to God. Going back to the verse that started this study, "the inward vessel shall be cleansed first". 

We first must focus on our own purification

by yielding our hearts to God, or denying the temptation and influence

of the adversary. Once we have done this, "then shall the outer vessel

be cleansed also". My "outer vessel" at this time is Paragould, AR or

the people within my realm of influence and service. If I want to help

purify souls in Paragould, I have to first purify myself. Why is

purifying ourselves so important, and why does it have to come first?

Helaman 4:24 says, "the spirit of the Lord did not preserve them; yea,

it had withdrawn from them because the spirit of the Lord doth not

dwell in unholy temples". If there is one thing I have learned as a

missionary, it is that I am wasting my time without the constant help

of the Holy Ghost. Preach my gospel says, "As the Lord’s servant, you

are to do His work in His way and by His power". That seems like a no

brainer, but it's amazing how many times I've tried to rely on my own

abilities and understanding to do this work, which is of little to no

use. I have learned that there is no other way to be successful except

to, "trust the Spirit to guide you in every aspect of your work" (or

of your life for that matter). So, to do this work we must have the

companionship of the spirit; “No man can preach the Gospel without the

Holy Ghost" (Jospeh Smith). To have the spirit, we must be pure; "But

purify your hearts before me; and then go ye into all the world, and

preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it" (D&C

112:28). To be pure, we must rid ourselves of all uncleanliness and

yield our hearts to God and His will; "Real, personal sacrifice never

was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to

put the animal in us on the altar and letting it be consumed!" (Neal

H. Maxwell). I decided to do another "40 day fast" from anything that

keeps me from having the Holy Spirit as a constant companion.

"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve

Him with all your heart, might, mind and strength" (D&C 4:2).

This week I've seen the Lord's hand in our work in many ways. On

Saturday morning June and Laina got married!!! Laina was tearing up

during the ceremony and told us that it was because he felt the

spirit. We've been trying to find people to teach over the past couple

of weeks and the Lord has blessed us with people who are prepared to

hear and receive the restored gospel. We are teaching the sweetest

family right now. I love them! Life is good. Paragould is good. God is

good.

Much love,

Sister Guthrie

Free coat tree

Laina and June's wedding (nominated ourselves to be bridesmaids)

Brother Straub

Jay brought us fries to Book of Mormon class