The Greatest Journey of My Life, and For My Life

Some of you may know that I actually hit my 18 month mark as a missionary a few weeks ago. I am blessed to have had almost 19 months to serve as a full time missionary and over the past year and a half I’ve thought occasionally upon my last and extra three weeks in the mission field. I assumed that God had a specific purpose for this extra time I was given. This week I was able to see clearly one of those purposes. I had an experience that, I’ll admit, shook me. I don’t know if I’d say that it completely shook my testimony but after a short encounter I found myself beginning to question and maybe even doubt some of the most basic truths of the restored gospel that I treasure deeply. I’ve had many experiences that have tried and tested me throughout my mission and I’ve been able to endure them well, but this experience really effected me negatively. I found myself in a dark place. I learned a lot this week about prayer, revelation, and the Holy Ghost. I prayed so much: seeking comfort, guidance, and answers from God. At one point I was on my knees for what felt like forever and became so frustrated at my lack of “feeling something” or receiving an impression that I got off my knees and abandoned the prayer all together. It was really discouraging but the verse, “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” (D&C 6:36) was on replay in my mind. The next day I was praying again and received an impression. It was that my act of praying was important, but what was more important is what I would choose to do after getting off of my knees. Would I give up on studying the scriptures and keeping the commandments and working hard? Would I do nothing and wait for God to show me a sign? I realized that the answers to my questions and worries weren’t going to come while on my knees. God requires us to act in faith before He makes Himself known unto us. So, I got off my knees and went back to work. I prayed some more and enveloped myself in the scriptures. I kept moving forward and I can testify to you that God did visit me. He did comfort me. He did give me answers and assurances. He is real and He does love me. I learned from my experience this week how important it is to fill ourselves spiritually so that when trials, temptations, questions, and doubts come we don’t completely crumble under pressure. I was so taken off guard by the doubts that without warning flew across my mind and, after the fact, realized that I was spiritually unprepared for that affliction. There was more I could have been doing to spiritually “fill my tank”. The counsel from Helaman is to, “..remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12). We have to continue, every day, every decision, to build our foundation in Christ and the points of His doctrine that are true. I’ve gained a witness that the words of prophets of old concerning faith are true. Alma teaches, “And now as I said concerning faith-faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21). Moroni said, “I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). 

This last week of my mission has been one of the best. Many spiritual lessons were taught and countless testimonies were born. I love the members of the Oxford ward and am heartbroken to leave them. I’ve experienced true joy, happiness, and peace this week. I’m so thankful for my sweet comp sister Chapple! She’s been such a blessing to me these past two months. I’m thankful to friends and family who have supported me every step of the greatest journey of my life and for my life. 

I’ve spent the past 18 months testifying of our Eternal Father in Heaven, His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the restoration of their church through the prophet Joseph Smith, the divinity of the Book of Mormon, the reality of the plan of salvation, the power of faith, the ability to repent, the peace of forgiveness, the happiness of righteous living, the blessings of obedience, and the possibility of obtaining a joy that can never end. I’ve been changed forever by the gospel of Jesus Christ. His grace was, is, and will continue to be sufficient, even for me. If these words aren’t a convincing witness of the reality of Christ and His ability to change then I hope the rest of my life will be. I’ll never, no never, no never forsake the things I’ve learned and the person I’ve become. 

I love each of you and am so looking forward to being reunited with my family on Wednesday. 

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Arkansas Little Rock mission 

God is Love

This week was so fun! We were able to do our info booth on campus for three days. We went out into groups of college kids and asked them to come write on our boards about what Jesus means to them and how they know that God loves them! We got a lot of participation and had some good conversations. On Wednesday this week we went on exchanges with the Walnut Grove sisters and I was in Oxford with sister Friend. A member in the ward had given us a referral for a family that he met through work. On wed. we were able to go over and teach the family and were were so surprised and excited about how open and prepared they are. We talked about the Book of Mormon and where it comes from. Towards the end of our lesson I felt the spirit so strongly and felt prompted to testify that the Book of Mormon teaches what the purpose of life is and that there is life after death. I teared up and just felt so strongly that the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet, Jesus is the Christ, and the plan of Salvation brings peace. I love the gospel. I love the church. I love being a missionary. I’ve still been reading the Book of Mormon recently looking for manifestations of the love of our Heavenly Father. So many things testify of His love. In 2 Ne. chapter 26, Nephi says, “For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness. He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation. Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price” (2 Nephi 26:23-25). I love y’all.. see ya soon;)

 

"Whom Say Ye That I Am?"

Hello everyone, 

sorry I didn’t get the chance to send out a letter last week! The past two weeks have been amazing! 

So many miracles I’m excited to talk about. 

This week we taught our investigator Alex. He is from Mexico and last week he told us that he called his parents in Mexico to tell them about meeting with us. He told us that his mom cried when she heard the news! So tender. We had Sister Rivest out with us to teach Alex about the plan of salvation. Sister Rivest was so in tune with the spirit and really took the time to ask Alex about himself and to discern his needs. She’s a huge example to us. We talked with Alex about how we are all free in life to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator who is Jesus Christ, or captivity and death through the devil (2 Nephi 2:27). We taught about the Savior’s earthly ministry and atonement by reading in Mosiah chapter 3. This chapter contains some of my favorite verses about Jesus Christ. 

5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.

10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.

12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

13 And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.

While reading those verses we were able to teach Alex about the creation of the world, the fall of Adam and Eve, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the hope of repentance. Alex cried as we promised him that he can truly be forgiven, healed, and changed. It was my favorite lesson of my mission so far. The Holy Ghost was with us in that room. On another occasion this past week we were going to have dinner with one of my favorite families, the Arntsen’s. We had planned to knock on some doors before dinner and were led to a house where a young mom answered. We began to introduce ourselves and the church and she said, “it was a good day for you to come because we are about to go to my aunts funeral”. We felt impressed to share Mosiah 16:8-9 with her which reads, “But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death”. We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and she said, “where are those verses you read?” so we marked them for her! We told the Arntsen’s about our experience and after dinner they sent us a screenshot of a post the lady had made on the neighborhood Facebook page about how kind we were. It was so sweet of her and we were definitely meant to meet her. We have been teaching a family who is from Myanmar which is somewhere in the world, i don’t really know where. The language they speak is Burmese! There is not a Burmese translation of the Book of Mormon which is sad, but they are an amazing family and are so sweet to us. We had a lesson with them last night and Lia got to come with us. I was so blown away with her comments and testimony. She testified of Jesus Christ and the Bible and the Book of Mormon and especially PRAYER! She testified that when she learned about the gospel and began putting in work to find out if it’s true, her and Grayson’s life started to get better. What a living, breathing, loving testimony. I love her with all of my heart. This upcoming week we get to do something so fun! Our mission payed for us to be able to have an information booth on the Ole Miss campus so that we can actively approach people and share the gospel with them! We started it this afternoon and it was a HUGE success. We talked with so many people and conquered many fears of talking to kids our own age;). 

This weekend was the Memphis stake conference and Elder Costa of the seventy visited. All of the talks were amazing. Elder Costa talked about Jesus Christ and how important it is to learn of His life and teachings. He talked about how, many times in the New Testament, people or groups of people question, “who is this?” referring to the Savior. Elder Costa posed the question, “who is He to me?”. I’ve been pondering that question ever since. Over the past couple of days I’ve read through half of Matthew seeking to better understand who Christ is and who He is to me personally. In Matthew chapter 16 Jesus asks His apostles, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-17). To me, Jesus Christ is my Brother, Healer, Savior, Rock, Redeemer, Grace, and Friend. I know that He lives; Not because flesh and blood have revealed it unto me but because my Father in Heaven has revealed it unto me through the Holy Ghost, and I’ll never deny it. Jesus is the Christ.

Sister Bailey Guthrie

 

At the Feet of Prophets and Apostles

I'm not sure if I'll be able to accurately describe how good this week and weekend was but I will try! On Tuesday we had zone conference in Memphis and were instructed by President Hansen. After our meeting we went on exchanges with some sisters and I was able to work in Memphis with Sister Keller until Thursday morning. On Friday night Sister Chapple and I drove to Bartlett to stay the night there, for our meeting with the apostles. We woke up the next morning SO EARLY! 3:30AM to get ready and get on a bus headed for Little Rock. We made it to the mission office building and got ready for our picture with Elder Holland and Elder Uchtdorf before our meeting. We were all waiting patiently lined up for the picture and in strolls Elder Holland. IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE HIM IN PERSON! He was followed by Elder Uchtdorf, Elder and sister Klebingat, and Elder Baheshti. Power houses. We took our picture with them and then lined up to shake their hands. I actually got to shake the hands of two of the twelve apostles of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I was able to have a personal interview with each of them as we shook hands and looked into each others eyes. I'm pretty sure Elder Klebingat remembered me as well so I felt famous. Our meeting with all of those spiritual giants was incredible. I cant even begin to say all that was learned and felt but one point that I'll share was talked about by Elder Holland. He said that it drives him crazy and he just cant understand how any person can serve a mission and then fall away. He talked about how we will never be able to go back to who and what we were before our missions. We have inevitably been changed. He talked about how "this" (missionary work, loving the gospel, loving the Lord) is real life and we have to be all in forever. We have to go home and testify that we have been changed forever. It touched me deeply especially at this point in my mission. I can remember being out for probably about three or four months and realizing exactly what Elder Holland spoke about. I gained a testimony that the church and the gospel and the book of Mormon and all of it was true and realized I would never be the same again. I've been changed forever and I'll never go back. Every part of the rest of my life will be effected by these past 18 months of my life. There is not a neutral bone in my body. Jesus is the Christ. This is His church. Prophets and apostles walk the Earth. The Book of Mormon is true. Families can be together forever. 

Lia was able to come to the young adult session with the apostles on Saturday night and then on Sunday I got to see friends from the Bartlett ward that I hadn’t seen for almost a year!! I was a great week. Love y’all!

More and More Miracles

Miracle 1- We found out that two apostles will be visiting our mission on Saturday. I just want you to make sure you are firmly planted in your seat because it is ELDER HOLLAND AND ELDER UCHTDORF. This is not a drill, test, or joke. They really are coming to speak to the Arkansas Little Rock Mission. Sister Chapple and I screamed way louder than what is likely missionary appropriate upon receiving the news. I had to pull over into a gas station to process for five minutes. I still have to check my pulse often. 

Miracle 2- On Sunday Sister Chapple and I walked some of our investigators to church from across the street and I sat down with them before sacrament meeting started. Sister Chapple was giving a talk so she went to sit on the stand and I sat with our investigators. Well, a few minutes before sacrament meeting began the cutest young girl walked in and sat on a row by herself. I had a member sit with our investigators and went to sit by the girl. Her name is Jessa and she said she was visiting. I figured she was just a YSA I hadn't met before but she told me she isn't a member of the church. I asked her how she heard about the church and what brought her there. She replied, "its just something i've been wanting to do for a long time. I have been watching vlogs and reading blogs of members of the church for past two years. I've seen the example of their families and the way they live". I just about passed out and tried so hard to mouth to sister Chapple, "you're going to die". Jessa is attending Ole Miss and said that she read the Book of Mormon her senior year of high school. She stayed all three hours of church and said that she really enjoyed it. This afternoon we went out to lunch with her and a YSA in the ward. It was so fun and we are obviously SO excited to start teaching her. She is so courageous and humble. I love her already. 

Miracle 3- We found a man to teach from Mexico who speaks decent English which is a relief because the door approach in Spanish can only get ya so far. Well, we went with a member yesterday to bring him a Libro de Mormon and teach him about the restoration. The spirit was so present while telling the Joseph Smith story and reciting the first vision. Alex began to cry. He said, "you're going to come back to teach me more right? Because this is what I have been looking for". So tender! He said he felt that God came with us when we came into his home. What a testament that the Lord is in this work and walks side by side with us. My favorite scripture is D&C 84:88 for that very reason, "And whoso recieveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up". 

I love the Lord and I love this work. I'm so thankful for the grace of Jesus Christ which alone has saved my soul and given me the chance to change my life for the better. Our recent convert Lia is doing great! We helped her get started on family history this week to prepare to attend the temple.

I don't have many pictures this week so sorry!

Much love,

Sister Guthrie

Miracles Have Not Ceased

Teaching Lia has been one big miracle. I love that girl so much. She’s become one of my best friends and I’m so thankful the Lord has let me be a small part of her adventure joining the church. I first was transferred to Oxford at the end of October and my first time meeting all of the members was at the ward Halloween party. I met Sister Stoddard who introduced me to Lia. She said, “this is Lia, our nanny! We’ve adopted her into our family and are trying to convert her even though mormons are crazy!” and it was funny but I instantly felt a connection to Lia and a hope for her to actually become interested in learning about the gospel. I continued to have interactions with Lia as we had meals with the Stoddard’s and saw her at church and other ward activities. My first few couple of months in Oxford were really challenging and I had two companions in a row go home from their missions early. It was the hardest time of my mission but knocking on doors, the ward members, and prayer were my saving grace. A month ago while sitting in sacrament meeting with Sister Dayley I had a clear impression that it was time to start teaching Lia. She had come to church that Sunday so after sacrament meeting we invited her to come to gospel principles class. Well, that Sunday we were studying the millennium in class. It was a hot mess. Lia was so confused and probably completely overwhelmed. Although it felt like a disaster at the time I realized afterwards that it was meant to be because it gave us an opportunity to invite Lia to learn the basic principles of the gospel. She accepted the invitation and that Sunday evening we had our first lesson with her. During that lesson we invited Lia to be baptized and she said yes to being baptized on January 13th. We began teaching Lia about 3 times a week and stayed in contact with her daily. Although she had a few questions and concerns along the way Lia progressed so quickly. She accepted and followed through on every commitment we extended to her. She read from the Book of Mormon daily and attended all three hours of church weekly. I’ve learned to much about faith and diligence from her. On Saturday morning Lia was baptized by Brother Stoddard. I was able to speak on the subject of baptism at the service. It was such a good day. On Sunday Lia was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. I felt so much peace, joy and excitement for Lia this weekend. After church on Sunday she was interviewed by the bishop to receive a temporary use Temple recommend and we are going to get her started on family history this week. I know that God is involved in every aspect of the work of the salvation of His children. How thankful I am to have chosen to serve a mission. I can’t believe all of the amazing experiences and blessings I would have missed out on by choosing not to serve. I am especially grateful for the people I’ve met and relationships that have followed. In the beginning of October last year Elder Klebingat of the seventy came to tour our mission. His instruction was so powerful and impactful to me. The spirit was so strong during our meeting with him and at one point I had the words come to my mind as if someone was speaking to me, “there is one person you need to find, teach and baptize before you go home who will be truly converted”. I wrote the impression in my journal and sometime along the way of teaching Lia I realized that the impression was about her. I knew she would be baptized before she entered the waters of baptism because of that impression. I can see how the Lord directed my path throughout out the past few months. Although there were intense trials and struggles I can see now that God was directing it all. I know God lives. I know that miracles have not ceased (Moroni 7:29). I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes (Romans 1:16). 

Miracles in 2018

So many good things happened this week. Lia is still doing great and progressing towards her baptism on Saturday!! Monday was Sister Dayley’s last day in Oxford so we went and had dinner and family home evening with the Stoddard’s and Lia. We talked about the importance of praying, studying the scriptures and keeping the sabbath day holy! On Tuesday we had district meeting and then drove to Colloerville to drop off Sister Dayley to have her departing interview with President before heading the Little Rock before going home. I picked up my new companion, Sister Chapple and we had a great adventure driving home. We went up to Bartlett to pick up her bike and then headed for Oxford. Well, about an hour into our trip I felt a huge bump like we had drove over a pothole. We were on the freeway so the chances of it being a pothole were unlikely. I looked in the rear view mirror and Sister Chapples bike was gone!! So I pulled over and we went to check it out. It was dragging behind the car, hanging on to the bike rack only by a few velcro straps. Half of her seat was demolished and we later discovered that her bike is completely unridable. It was a memorable start to our time together. That night we went by the Stoddard’s for Sister Chapple to meet Lia. We taught her about the word of wisdom. It was so funny. We explained that the word of wisdom was revelation received by Joseph Smith for our benefit and includes abstaining from coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs. Lia said, “that might be a problem because I really like my coke”. We explained that she could still drink caffeine to which she replied, “I mean cocaine..” hahahaha she was totally joking but I almost fell out of my seat. On Thursday we taught Lia again over Facebook video chat with a member of the relief society presidency. We talked about tithing and fasting. The member shared a personal experience of paying tithing and receiving an outpour of blessings. I felt the spirit so strong and know that Lia did too. On Thursday night we helped the Lund family clean the church and Lia joined us! It was awesome to be able to do service together and afterwards we all went out for Thai food. I love curry. After everyone else left, Sister Chapple, Lia, Nevada and I just sat in the restaurant talking and laughing. I love that the gospel can bring people together and build the strongest relationships. I love all of the friendships I’ve made throughout my time serving. Last week we went to visit a less active member who was baptized about a year ago. After talking with him he told us that his brother, Sister in law, and their kids live right across the street from our church building. He mentioned that his niece and nephews are always asking to visit our church! So, on Friday we went and taught the family about the restoration and they loved it. The mom and her 8 year old son accepted an invitation to be baptized at the end of this month. We invited them all to church and the mom said that she had to work that day. Sense the family lives right across the street from the church we offered to walk the kids over to church on Sunday morning and she said okay so we did!! It was so cute. Everyone in the ward is super supportive of Lia getting baptized and are helping her learn and grow in the church. I’m so excited for her. Yesterday we had a cool experience. We were running behind on time and had to decide wether we should still knock doors on a street we chose or not. We decided to go ahead and do it. We parked and realized we had about 7 min. We decided to knock on doors until we found someone to give a copy of the Book of Mormon to. We knocked on one door and no one answered. We felt prompted to knock on the door across the street. Sister Chapple jokingly said, “you should just say God sent us here to give you a Book of Mormon” so I did. The lady who answered the door invited us in, told us that her daughter had read the Book of Mormon, and gave me a coke! We are going back Tuesday night to teach her more. I love missionary work and I love being led by the spirit. “I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will” (words of Mormon 1:7). Today is Lia’s 22nd birthday so we are spending the day with her! We are learning to paint and eating junk food. I know this work is true and I’m so thankful to be a missionary. 

Sister Bailey Guthrie

31 Private Road 3151 apt. 12

Oxford, MS 38655

 

Peace, Be Still

January 1st, 2018

Hey y’all! We taught Lia just about every other day this week and are making great progress. She’s such a good person and I love her so much. We had a great lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it really is our purpose while here on Earth to develop faith, repent, make and keep covenants, and become more like the Savior. Lia is so prepared to do all of that. Thanks for your prayers; I know they were heard. We messaged Lia early in the week to follow up on her Book of Mormon reading. She’s been reading every day so we asked her how it was going and what she was feeling. She said, “pretty good.. I definitely know it’s true”. Sister Dayley and I literally jumped up and down and hugged each other. I’m so happy for Lia. She’s still progressing towards her baptismal date of January 13th so keep praying for her. We are about to start teaching her about the commandments and how keeping them will bless her life so much. I was studying the commandment “follow the prophet” this morning to prepare to teach Lia and I read a quote that really impressed me. It says, “Those who listen to and follow the counsel of living prophets and apostles will not go astray. The teachings of living prophets provide an anchor of eternal truth in a world of shifting values and help us avoid misery and sorrow. The confusion and strife of the world will not overwhelm us, and we can enjoy the assurance of being in harmony with God’s will” (PMG). I love those promises. I know there is a prophet on the Earth today, Thomas S. Monson. I know God calls prophets to oversee the kingdom of God on Earth and without them it is so easy to go astray. Ephesians 4:11-14 says, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive”. I know god lives and loves us. I know He blesses us. I’ve seen evidence of that this week especially in my family. God is a god of miracles who knows us each individually. 

LOVE,

Sister guthrie 

The district!!

Sister Waite always comes out teaching with us because she’s awesome!

I still don’t get this 

Peace, be still 

Merry Christmas

December 25th, 2017

I just wanted to quickly wish you all a Merry Christmas. This year I’ve learned a lot about service. There’s no other way I would’ve rather spent this season. Serving a mission has given me the opportunity to turn outward and see the needs of those around me. As I’ve served I’ve been filled with the spirit because, “...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). This weeks service consisted of creating floral arrangements for the elderly, volunteering at toys for tots, delivering cookies, visiting the sick and afflicted, caroling, singing and speaking at a funeral, and teaching others the wonders of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

A few months ago, when I first arrived in Oxford, I met the sweetest girl named Lia at the ward Halloween party who isn’t a member of the church. She is really close to a family in the ward and comes to church often. Last Sunday I felt the spirit so strongly prompt me that it was time for her to start learning more about the church and the gospel. I even wrote her name down in my journal because the impression was so clear. We invited Lia to learn more and she said yes! We taught her about the restoration that same day and invited her to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized. She said yes! She’s praying about and preparing for baptism on the 13th of January. She’s an amazing girl and it’s a blessing to be able to teach her. The family in the ward who brought her to the church is so loving. They are an example to me of the way I want to do missionary work after my mission. They fully support Lia and help in any way they can. We joined them the other night for family scripture study of the Book of Mormon and it’s been so nice to spend time with their family and Lia. I’ve learned a lot throughout the past 16 months and I feel like I’ve been prepared to be here in Oxford at this time to help Lia come closer to Christ through the restored gospel. Please pray for her to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the restoration. 

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world; the Messiah, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and Prince of peace. He is our Mediator with the Father, our brother, and friend. He was born for us. He lived for us. He died for us and rose again. He is the living Christ who broke the bands of death and atoned for our sins. I invite you to look forward to the new year with a hope of becoming more like Him, as His way is the only true way to happiness and eternal life. 

Merry Christmas!

Sister Bailey Guthrie

905 Kierre Dr.

North Little Rock, AR 27116

Pics

Spreading Christmas cheer!

Some of my floral arrangements for the elderly

Some of the sisters at the mission Christmas party 

A true southern porch

Toys for tots! (a fight broke out #skraightouttamemphis)

Christmas Eve pjs, hot chocolate and a fierce game of Rummikub

The Lund family tradition of pantyhose instead of stockings lol

The south