GENERAL CONFERENCE!

First off, let me just say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite 17 year old, BRAXTON! :) I love you and miss you so much and I just want to let you know that you are amazing. :)

General Conference is better than Christmas for missionaries. We get four hours to just watch and listen to the prophets and apostles of the church. It is seriously so nice. :)

So we watched General Conference with our ward... which was really interesting actually. We were watching it in three languages at once. The sound was in English for us missionaries, the subtitles were in Korean, and we also turned on the Korean sign language person. The elders have a deaf investigator who attended, so on the screen a man would do Korean sign language. It was so crazy! Three languages at once. But it was so cool that we could all get Conference in our native languages somehow.

During one of the songs, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" we all stood up to sing it. Usually we sing hymns in Korean because we are in Korea. But we had no hymn books, and the lyrics on screen were in English. So the Koreans sang in Korean, and the missionaries sang in English. Then the sign language person on the screen sang in sign language. So between all of us, we sang that song in three languages. I haven't sung a hymn in English in so long... I forgot what it was like to understand what I was singing. But as we sung that song in three languages, the spirit hit me so strong. I knew what I was singing for the first time in almost 6 months. And immediately I truly knew that my Redeemer really does live. He suffered for each of us and because of it, we can repent. We can be forgiven. We can live with God again. My love for the Savior has increased so much since being on a mission. I have learned to rely on Him like never before. And the trials that come with being on a mission have led me to my favorite scripture over and over again. 2 Nephi 1:15. "...I am eternally encircled about in the arms of His love." (I may not have quoted that exactly but you get the point haha.) I have envisioned the Savior's arms around me so many times... it gives me more comfort than almost anything else. Sometimes I can almost feel Him hugging me telling me that it will be okay. I will never be able to express my appreciation for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

So my favorite talk from conference was definitely Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk from Sunday morning. I love Elder Holland and I was so excited to hear from him. As soon as his talk began, I knew it was one that would touch me. All the ward members around me were sobbing through the whole thing. Elder Holland really knows how to bring the spirit. Sometimes, we do jump onto the cliff, unable to grab a hold of anything. We just slide down the side of the sandy rock, anticipating a fall to our death. But our brother, Jesus Christ, is there for us, even if we can't always see him. Just when we think there is no hope left, He will grab our hands and pull us up to safety. The Atonement is a bigger gift than we can even comprehend. I do not have the words to express the love I have for my Savior.  My heart swells as I think about the pain he felt for each of us. And it makes me want to try harder to be better, because the less I sin, the less pain He has to feel. The more I sin, the more pain He feels. The more pain He felt.

If you haven't gotten to watch Conference yet, please try to watch it. Hearing the words from the prophets can bring more peace than you can imagine. :)

I know this gospel is true, and I know that the prophets are truly called of God, and they do receive revelation for us.

I love you all and miss you always!

Love, Sister Maughan :)