Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of The Lord.

Hi family and friends! It probably feels like I just emailed y'all but here we go again. Sister Feinga and I were able to go to the temple today with two recent converts in the ward to participate in baptisms for the dead, which is why I'm emailing today. It was such a great experience. I love the temple. It is such a peaceful place. Im thankful to live in a time when temples, true houses of the Lord, are upon the Earth and we are able to attend so often. In Isaiah chapter 2 verses 2 and 3 we read, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem". The prophesy found in Malachi chapter 4 verses 5 and 6 is also being fulfilled as we work to unite all of the children of God through family history and sacred ordinances performed in the house of the Lord. God has said, "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.." (Malachi 4:5-6). What a great and marvelous work. It's all missionary work!!! It's all the work of salvation. It's all to fulfill Heavenly Father's purpose "..to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Sister Feinga and I have had a really successful week so far! On Wednesday we were able to have a lesson with a lady named Jenny that sister Lange and I had met a few months ago. Sister Feinga and I decided before going in that we needed to just establish our purpose with her right away and then teach the restoration. Well, from the minute we walked in the door Jenny was completely ready for us. She sat right down with her daughter, put her copy of the Book of Mormon in her lap, and said something to the effect of, "ok, we are ready to listen". Sister Feinga and I looked at each other, looked back at Jenny, and then got to teaching. The spirit was so strong as we taught the message of the restoration. She loved it and asked a lot of sincere questions. She was really excited about a living prophet. After the lesson Jenny looked to her daughter and said, "well what do you think?" to which her teenage daughter replied, "it's pretty cool". We have another lesson scheduled with them next week and hopefully they will be able to come to church tomorrow. Sister Feinga and I have had some really spiritual experiences with visiting teaching this week as well. President Hansen invited us to start visit teaching certain less active families and individuals in our wards and branches. Our relief society president prayed and selected about 15 names for us to try to visit, so we've been working on that for the past couple of weeks. It's been a testimony builder to see the Lord put individuals into our mind at the time that we need to go visit them. God's timing is perfect. Many of the women we've started to visit have children and spouses who are not members of the church. Our goal is to teach them the restored gospel and invite them to come unto Christ. Yesterday we were able visit the family I wrote about a few weeks ago. We met the wife of an inactive member of the church by chance (or by God) while visiting someone else in an apartment complex. She had invited us in for a bottle of water and to use the restroom. So, last week we brought them cookies to thank them and now this week we were able to sit down with them in their home and talk about the gospel. The husband has such a sincere desire to return to church. It made my heart so happy to hear him talk about how thankful he is that we came and that he knows it's time for him to move forward and get active again. His wife goes to another church but is open to taking the missionary discussions. They just had a baby and I know that it is part of Gods plan for them to learn of the gospel at this time. Before we left the husband said, "you know you've gotta leave me with a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon before you leave right?". I love being a missionary. I love being able to represent my Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for the blessing it has been to learn to see every person as a son or daughter of God. We are all God's children and He loves us. I know that's true. That's all I've got for you today. I won't be emailing this Monday because today became our pday with the temple trip. I'll talk with y'all again the next Monday. 

Much love, 

Sister Guthrie

Temple trip with Jacque and Darlene

When your mission president does a magic show at zone conference hahaha

The missionary with the biggest picture is the favorite in the ward idk I don't make up the rules

Lessons Learned from the Sacred Grove

We have a smartphone so that's weird!!

This week Sister Feinga and I had so much fun! We walked a lot and

biked a lot and FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER WE TOOK THE CITY BUS

DOWNTOWN.... and we sure did meet some interesting people. 

Elect? Maybe not. I just have to say that I love Little Rock. It's the

greatest little city. Picture this, Little Rock is a big ol' pot of

gumbo but the people are the veggies, various meats and ingredients

and the city itself is the pot. The first experience I'd like to share

from this week happened on Tuesday. Sister Feinga and I were walking

down the street in the afternoon and it started raining. Well, a man

pulled up beside us and asked us if he could help. He had just barely

moved to America and barely spoke English. We had to decline because

we can't accept rides from men without another woman in the car. We

did however ask him for his info and we gave him our card. We got his

phone number and sent him a text later in the week with a link to a

Mormon message. We also invited him to attend church with us. Well you

know what? He showed up! Tender mercy! Our other investigators,

Melissa and her two daughters, also came to church yesterday which we

were really happy about because they hadn't been able to come for the

past two weeks. They are doing well, considering all of the trials

they are dealing with right now, and are preparing for baptism on the

7th of October. 

It's true that satan works really hard to prevent

people from doing something good. This week I felt strongly that I

needed to study Joseph Smith History to be able to help Michelle and

her daughters as they've been facing one trial after another. I

learned so much and gained a great perspective on trials, light and

darkness, and missionary work. In the history of his experiences,

Joseph Smith begins by describing his family and also the beginning of

his struggle to know which church he should join. He says, 

"During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious

reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and

often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties,

though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would

permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the

Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so

great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations,

that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so

unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion

who was right and who was wrong" (v. 8). 

From this verse I learned that at this time, before having the first vision, 

Joseph Smith was really doing to best that he could according to the light that he 

had been given. He was attending different churches, pondering and

reflecting on what was taught, and he even began to lean towards the

Methodists. He wasn't sitting around half-heartedly desiring to know

which church was true. He was actively searching. This helped me to

realize that there are good people who are doing the best that they

can and, "are only kept from the truth because they know not where to

find it" (D&C 123:12). 

Also, when Joseph Smith says, "it was impossible for a person 

young as I was, and so unacquainted 

with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who

was wrong"  really struck me, because the matter of which doctrine is

correct really doesn't involve being "acquainted with men and things",

which Joseph Smith eventually came to discover as he had a revelatory

experience with God the Father and the Son without being a "man" at

all (he was only 14 years old), and especially not a man of high rank

or education. Jospeh Smith goes on to say, "My mind at times was

greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The

Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists,

and used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their

errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On

the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally

zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all

others" (verse 9). This is noteworthy because it's something that is

still happening today. How frustrating that some people and

organizations only find worth and create credibility by tearing others down. 

As we know, Joseph Smith turned to the scriptures for answers

and came across James 1:5 which says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let

him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;

and it shall be given him". Joseph said, "Never did any passage of

scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at

this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every

feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that

if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not

know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would

never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects

understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy

all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At

length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness

and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of

God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding

that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give

liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture. So, in accordance with

this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make

the attempt.." (verses 12-14). Again, he was actively engaged in

finding an answer to his question. He studied the Bible and when he

felt the power of a specific verse of scripture, he acted upon it. 

The next thing he did was pray. He went into a grove of trees near his

house and knelt down and began to "offer up the desires of his heart".

What a great example of the pattern we can all follow to receive

personal revelation. Personal revelation is real. God is our Heavenly

Father and He loves us. He is not an impersonal and obscure being who

is unknowable. We can actually go to Him with our questions and He

will actually listen and answer. Of his experience inquiring of the

Lord, Joseph Smith said, "..It was on the morning of a beautiful,

clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was

the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst

all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.

After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to

go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down

and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely

done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which

entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as

to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered

around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to

sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to

deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me,

and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and

abandon myself to destruction--not to an imaginary ruin, but to the

power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such

marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at this

moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head,

above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it

fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from

the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two

Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing

above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and

said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (v.15-17). 

First of all, I can tell you that this is true and that it

really happened. Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus

Christ. They actually spoke to him. At this time he was instructed by

Jesus Christ to join none of the churches because they were all

corrupt, they taught as doctrine the "commandments of men". The

churches all had a form of Godliness but denied the power thereof.

But, I want to talk about what happened to Joseph Smith almost

immediately after he began to pray. It says he was seized upon by a

power of darkness, an actual being from the unseen world, which almost

completely overcame him. Why? Wasn't he doing something good? He chose

to act on the scripture he had read. He chose to kneel down and pray.

So why was he overcome and surrounded by darkness? Our investigators

are doing something good. They have chosen to be baptized. They are

trying to change their lives. So why are bad things happening to them?

I think there are a lot of possible answers, but I feel that a large

part of it is a symbol for our lives. First of all, even if and when

we choose to follow the Lord and make good choices, darkness will

still come. Trials will still come. Life will never be a walk in the

park because that's not the plan. The plan is to be tested and

refined. There must be opposition in ALL things. Secondly, I know that

satan knew long before Joseph knelt down to pray in that grove of

trees what was going to occur thereafter. The restoration of the

fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was really going to mess with

satan's plan to destroy us all. So, he did all that he could to

prevent it from happening. However, he did not succeed. Light will

always overpower darkness and good will always win in the fight

against evil. Satan knows that our investigators are going to do so

much good by being baptized and becoming members of Christ's church,

so he is doing all that he can to stop them. However, I have faith in

God and faith that good things will come. 

I know that light will overrule the darkness for our investigators to be baptized 

just as it did for the restoration of the gospel to come forth. The true church

of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. Jesus is the Christ

and the head of His church. Joseph Smith was a prophet and you can't

know that without praying about it, so if you don't agree I invite you

to pray and ask God. At the end of his experience, Joseph Smith says,

"It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of

my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of

his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against

me?" (v. 20). My invitation to you today is to be an annoyer of

satan's kingdom. "Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let

earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock,

they cannot prevail" (D&C 6:34).

P.s. I almost forgot, on Wednesday I got hit by a car while riding my bike!!!!

*a note from Mom Guthrie regarding Sister Guthrie being hit by a car, Bailey is fine. She was not broken or permanently damaged. I think the most painful part of it all, is the driver did not stop to see if she was ok. 

When target doesn't have the notebook you wanted

My cute comp sister Feinga

Listen to That Voice 💕

Temple Trip!!!

I don't have a lot of time to email today BECAUSE I GET TO GO TO THE

TEMPLE and I'm driving one of the cars of missionaries over the river

so I'll have NO TIME to email. Worth it though. This is the last time

I'll get to go to the temple before it closes for renovations. Sister

Lange and I had a great week! It was bittersweet because we knew she

was going to be transferred but we had a lot of fun to make up for it.

She's going to be trio training in Jonesboro. So stoked for her. 

My new companion will be Sister Feinga! She's from Tonga and had been

serving in Glenwood. We are about to have a great transfer. Sister

Feinga and I had an exchange here in Pinnacle Mountain last week and

we killed it and saw many miracles so I'm confident there are good

things to come. I'll share a couple of cool experiences from this

week. I was on an exchange in the area with another sister and we were

trying to have a lesson with one of our investigators. Well, she

didn't answer her door. So, sister Minster and I kind of lingered in

the area to see if there was anyone else we could talk with. We saw a

cute girl getting out of her car so we ran over to her. She had some

baby stuff in her hands so we asked if she needed any help and if she

had just had a baby. She said yes, that her and her husband had just

had a little baby boy! She also said that her husband is Mormon.. we

were super surprised and asked if we could come over sometime to get

to know them better. She said yes and we gave her our card. As we were

walking away sister mister and I were kicking ourselves in the butt

because we didn't ask her for her phone number. Well, get this. Right

when we got into our car to leave we got a text message. It was from

the girl we met asking us if we wanted to come by and get some water

and use the bathroom before we left. MIRACLE!!! We of course said yes.

We were able to talk with her about her religious background and it

turns out she loves the things our church teaches and is open to

learning more. We are going to make her cookies this week and drop

them by to thank her and schedule a time to teach her about the

gospel. I love when things like that happen. I know the Lord inspired

our minds during our planning to help us be in the right place at the

right time even though our original appointment fell through. Last

experience I'll share, sister lange and I were at McDonald's sending

some emails to our investigators. It was 8:45 and we were going to

head out to get home before 9. Sister lange started to sync her iPad

which would take about 5 minutes. I had a really strong impression,

"it's time to leave". Well, I ignored it and we sat there for a few

more minutes. When we went to leave McDonald's a man came up to us

outside and started to harass us, asking us to take him somewhere in

our car. Another man pulled up in his truck and was getting really

close to us as well. The two men were arguing back and forth and so we

ended up going inside McDonalds. They both continued to harass us for

a while and eventually we called the AP's and asked them to come and

walk us to our car. It ended up being okay, but it was such a clear

example of how important it is to listen to the still small voice. It

really can and will speak to us. It warns us of danger and prompts us

to do what is right. I'm thankful for that experience and that it

didn't turn out any worse. That's all I have for you today. I hope all

of you have a great week and that you'll make it a goal to have at

least one spiritual experience a day. It's something I've been doing

this past week and man, God is good.

Much love, sister guthrie

Pics

1-3 Selfies with Carson the cutest kid in Arkansas

PEAKS & VALLEYS

It's been such a great week! Missions (like life) are made up of peaks

and valleys. One day could be an incredible high point and the next

could be the lowest valley. I've sort of been stuck in a valley for

the past month or so to tell you the truth. However, this past week

was definitely a peak for a lot of reasons. We went on two different

exchanges this week. I got to go on an exchange with one of the Little

Rock Spanish sisters and it was so fun. I felt like I could understand

a lot of what was being said during finding and teaching, and the

spirit speaks to everyone, so it was a cool experience. At one door

however, I thought I heard this lady who was holding her baby say

"fiesta". When we walked away I asked the hermana I was with, "what

are they having a party for??" to which she replied, "the lady said

siesta, not fiesta. She's putting her baby down for a nap." hahahha so

maybe I didn't understand as much as I thought I did. When we

exchanged back on Saturday morning, Sister lange and I had our

interviews with President Hansen. He and Sister Hansen aren't the best

at keeping secrets, let's just put it that way. President told Sister

lange and I that Sister Lange was going to be transferred next week

and that I'll be staying in Pinnacle Mountain. It was bitter sweet

news, but we still have a week left together so energy is high. During

interviews I asked President Hansen what I can do to stay on fire. He

said that the fuel to our fire is spiritual experiences. He invited me

to make sure that I have a spiritual experiences every single day and

record it in my journal. The spiritual experiences starting coming

real quick after we left our interviews. We hadn't eaten lunch so we

decided to grab a Little Caesars pizza on our way down town. Well, we

walked in and ordered our food and the cashier asked us what we were

doing. We said, "well, getting food, but also we are missionaries". He

looked at our name tags and said, "OH! Latter-Day Saints". He told us

that a really long time ago he had seen a commercial on TV for our

church and it had sparked an interest. He was really surprised to find

out that there is a church here in Little Rock and expressed the

desire to visit. We read him a scripture from the Book of Mormon and

gave him the copy. The spirit was strong while sharing the gospel in

Little Caesars and it fueled my fire. That same night we were finding

on a street near the church. I had just been on the Spanish exchange

and I noticed a house with Christmas lights on it, a bird cage

outside, and a mop by the door. I said to Sister Lange, "this family

is Hispanic" and she was really convinced they weren't. Well, I said,

"how much do you want to bet?" And she said, "a Dr Pepper". We shook

hands and knocked on the door. Well, unfortunately no one answered. A

Dr Pepper and the opportunity to be right were on the line. I said we

could knock on their neighbors door and ask them if the people who

live next door are Hispanic, so we did. A nice lady answered the door

and guess what? She told us the family next door IS hispanic. With a

Dr Pepper and bragging rights locked in, I was feeling pretty good.

Well, you know what's even better than being right? Teaching the

gospel. The lady who answered the door invited us right in to share

our message. We taught her about the restoration of Jesus Christ's

church. We read 2 Nephi 32:5 with her which says, "For behold, again I

say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy

Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do". We

testified that the Holy Ghost will show her the truth and the path

Heavenly Father has outlined for her family. Overall, we just had a

great week and weekend. We visited a member of the ward and she lives

with a bunch of her family members. There are like 7 kids under the

age of 6 who run around and scream and fight and make messes. Sister

lange was talking to the member and I decided it would be a good idea

to try to entertain the kids. Bad idea. I sat down and two seconds

later there were a couple of kids behind me "doing my hair" and

another three trying to climb on my lap and steal my iPad. There were

a couple kids fighting over who got to sit next to me, and it was all

so fun. I don't know why but it made me happy!!!! I feel like I've

learned a lot this week and my studies have been killer. I've been

feasting in second Nephi and Jacob. I'm learning so much. I started

re-marking the first copy of the Book of Mormon that I ever read cover

to cover from when I first came out on my mission. I'm using five

different colors to mark verses and passages related to the five

missionary discussions. There's so much true doctrine found in the

Book of Mormon. I wish everyone would just read it and let it change

their life like it has mine. From my intense studying I've been able

to share scriptures a lot more than usual in finding and teaching

situations. It's given me strength and confidence to teach anyone and

everyone about what I know to be true. I'll stop rambling, but it was

a great week and I'm thankful that there is always a light at the end

of the tunnel in life. Heavenly Father allows us to have dark and

cloudy days so that we can appreciate the sunshine. Life is good and

I'm thankful for the blessing it is to represent Jesus Christ; His

true character, true gospel, and true church. Also, I almost forgot to

share some exciting news we got at our missionary leadership council

meeting this week. Our mission has been selected as one of twelve to

pilot a new phase of missionary work in the digital age which includes

receiving smart phones with unlimited data and internet access. We

will also start using Facebook along with that. I was a bit hesitant

when we first heard about all of this, because it's really nice to be

detached from the world as much as possible. However, I know that this

will help to hasten our work in big ways. The technologies of today

have been foreseen and inspired of the Lord to do His work in

spreading the gospel since the beginning of time. I'm ready to do

whatever He asks. "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he

created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has

all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that

man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend"

(Mosiah 4:9). I know that God, the Eternal Father, lives. I know that

Jesus Christ is His son. I know that the power of the atonement of

Jesus Christ is real because I've felt it. "I glory in plainness; I

glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from

hell" (2 Nephi 33:6).

I hope y'all have a safe holiday and a great week!! TE QUIERO MUCHO

IT'S GREEN

Companion

When you're parked outside your investigators house 

and they get in their car and leave

Can't wait to have kids lol

When your companion says, "get out, get out, get out" and then you

come back in the room and find this.. (my birthday was in March..)