The Heavens are Open! - Manchester, England

Blessed week!
Very very very busy and spirit packed.
We had two of four Zone Conferences. One up near Preston and the other in Manchester. We focused the whole conference around the Restoration in prep for General Conference and wow I learned heaps. There was a quote by President Nelson we looked at that said: 

Brothers and sisters, how can we become the men and women—the Christlike servants—the Lord needs us to be? How can we find answers to questions that perplex us? If Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children. 

The heavens are open! God speaks! He is aware and mindful of all His children. That gets me hyped.

This week we taught our friend Anastasia. She is incredible. As we taught her the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ we emphasized and discussed the process and power of receiving personal revelation, and the importance of revelation for the Church through a prophet. We drew a big arch on the whiteboard with the Book of Mormon as the Keystone. We assigned different questions she had into the other stones supporting the arch and then promised her that if she came to know the Book was true that she would find answers to each question. Before we could even invite her to pray, she told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true and thus found the answer to one of her questions... she wants to be baptized! We are excited for her!

Our friend Shin was baptized this week! Elder Stephens met him on the streets a little over a month ago and he has amazed us by his faith and trust in God. He's the man!

As I've studied Joseph Smith's life, teachings, and experiences I have been inspired by his attitude. He suffered so much affliction and torment during his life but he was commonly known among the saints for being "cheery". The way he viewed adversity and the way he responded to trials was astounding. He faced seemingly unbearable opposition but was always able to be of good cheer. It reminded me of a scripture in D&C 78:18 when the Lord says:

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along." 

I think sometimes we have moments where we don't know if we can handle the opposition we face. It's important that during those times we remember this promise. We may feel like we're drowning in difficulties, but we can rejoice in the midst of our trials because of our faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Be of good cheer! Learn what it means to trust in the Lord, and I promise that He will lead you along.

Love you all,

Elder McConkie

2Nephi22

Pictures! - Manchester, England

Video message to family (click here to view)

Alma 26:8 - Newcastle

Heyo!

This week was one of the best

Here's a quick rundown..

Tuesday:

Went to Shrewsbury

Wednesday:

Finding ALL day! It was a party. We found lots of great people that I'm hyped to meet with this week.

Thursday:

About a month ago, I got to go up to Manchester to Street contact people coming out of the Book of Mormon Musical, and one of the people I found got baptised! Her name is Lydia and she is absolutely amazing. She had a marvellous light about her and it was incredible to see how the gospel can change someone in such a short amount of time. All the Lord requires to refine is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and he'll shape you into the person he needs... Which is coincidentally also the best version of you! Mosiah 2:41

Friday:

We had a marvellous MLC in Manchester. It's always so inspiring to get insights from the other missionaries there! 

Sunday:

Every month we have a fireside where recent converts tell their conversion story and missionaries bring friends being taught. It's always so incredible and at this one I was able to watch these 5 phenomenal individuals I've been blessed to know and teach get up and bear their testimonies to hundreds of people. I was filled with an indescribable amount of gratitude for the blessings and miracles I've seen on my mission. After our Recent Convert, Nida, bore her testimony, a member next to me tapped my shoulder and said "that was worth the two years wasn't it?". And it most definitely was. I love my mission!

Acts 5:38-39

Be brave for Jesus

Elder McConkie

Change of Heart - Newcastle, England

Loves!

This week was ace!

We had so many lessons, Zone Conference, MLC in Manchester, and the baptism of our incredible friends Nicola, Elle, and Hannah. So many blessings! 

Always remember that the Atonement has to be embedded into our hearts and etched into our souls. We can't just teach and understand the Atonement; it has to have a daily, and constant influence on everything we do. It has to be a part of our very nature! I promise that as we strive to look to the Lord in every thought, and make the Atonement a focus in our lives, our doubts and fears will be washed away and we will be renewed with joy and hope.

Enos1:4-8

Alma 5:26

Omni 1:26

I love this work and I love the Lord!

Be brave for Jesus.

Elder McConkie

Pics below

Baptism!

Our man Josh!
Newcastle Squad at MLC

Faith Cereal - Liverpool, England

Hello Loves!

It's been a crazy week!

A lot of our plans fell through over and over this week and there have been some hefty days of street contacting and door knocking. We've been able to find lots of great people though that I'm looking forward to teaching this week.

Who else is STOKED for General Conference

Liverpool is great because there's 3 other companionships in the ward and we get to go on tons of exchanges because my trainers are zone leaders! We've been with the Southport, Warrington, Crosby, and Liverpool B elders and it's so much fun

I just burned my pizza because I spaced out writing this spiritual thought so please enjoy it:

I've been studying lots about faith and decided that faith isn't like a little seed it's more like honey hoops (off brand honey nut cheerios). When you pour cereal into a bowl, then the next step is to add milk. You naturally think "Oh yeah this needs some milk" because who wants just plain cereal. The difference between faith and belief is that faith naturally invokes action. You can't have genuine faith, not do anything and pack your bags for the celestial kingdom, that's nonsense. If you have genuine faith then you're going to naturally apply some sort of action in response. For example, if you have genuine faith in Jesus Christ then you will NATURALLY want to repent frequently and sincerely, you will NATURALLY want to make and keep covenants with God and you will NATURALLY have a desire to endure to the end and remain worthy to have the holy ghost with you. So yeah, faith is like honey hoops! The more you act on your faith (add your milk to your cereal) then the more miracles you'll see (The more tasty your bowl of cereal)! 

Metaphors are pretty neat aren't they

Have a great week everyone

Listen to General Conference!

Much love

Elder McConkie

Jmcconkie@myldsmail.net