4-05

Dear Family & Friends,

Hope that you are having a good post Easter day!
Well many of you might have heard that southern California experienced a little roll-ige yesterday... EARTHQUAKE! Dude, it was awesome!!! Elder Palmer and I were in our car just going to our dinner appointment at like 3:40pm when it happened. We stopped at a stop-light and the ground just started rolling back and forth for like 40 seconds. Haha, my first thoughts were that something was wrong with the car - but gladly Elder Palmer was on the phone with our dinner and he assured us it was an earthquake! There was another last night also - like at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning that was pretty big and a tiny one at like 5:00am. Nothing was shook up at all in the appartments and in Palm Desert where I live all I saw that a sprinkler head had popped off. We actually are near a fault line and they are supposed to get a pretty big earthquake down here in Coachella soon - hopefully I'm around...wouldn't that be awesome! - I mean- maybe it would open some peoples eyes and humble them... or at least we would be getting to do some service for people and get our P.R. (public relations) up!
Transfers came up this weekend and I am still staying in the Palm Desert zone in Indio & La Quinta with Elder Palmer. Elder Ngawaka and Elder Whimpey (my MTC companion) are our AP's (assistants to the president) and Elder Jorgenson & Elder Burton are the OA's (office elders). As for the Elders in my zone there is: Elder Powell & Elder Anderson (as our ZL'z or zone leaders), Fife and Holmes, Hulet & Salinas, Fairbanks & Adamson, Dexter & Payne (Elder Payne is actually a kid from my high school), Elder Martin and Butillos.
As for Conference, didn't you love it! I taught the gospel principles class last week in the La Quinta ward and asked everyone to raise their hands if they have never taken conference for granted.... no one raised their hands. Isn't that funny - We get the opportunity to listen to Gods messengers here on Earth and we don't. I don't put myself up on a peddlestool at all (remember there was not one who raised their hands in the class - including me) I took conference for granted for the first 19 years of my life! I guess what it meant to me was a day to get time off of work at Discovery. But now as I listen to it with the real intent and faith I love it and hope that I will never take it for granted again!
Well as for my personal favorites from Conference were:
-D. Todd Christofferson speaking on the importance of scriptures. I think something largely talked about at conference was Personal revelation. Most of us have heard the quote "If you want to talk to God - Pray. If you want God to talk to you - read the scriptures." I loved what he said about, "Scriptures are revelation & they will bring added revelation." Who doesn't want the person revelations; the personal truths and answers from God testified through the holy spirit?! READ THE SCRIPTURES!
-Jeffrey R. Holland put it down on Pornography! Mosiah 3:19 I think discribes his talk wholey. We all have a "natural man" about us - we must not give in to it!! Lust is easy! Love - True Love may not be easy, but worth it! It has permanence - and we know our Heavenly Fathers Plan is an eternal plan - "permanence" plan you could say. 'let will be your reason, you dictate your thoughts, don't invite them in for tea and crumpets & show them where teh silverwear are - cast them out! We shouldn't be drinking tea anyway!! haha CAST IT OUT!
-Quentin L. Cook & Neil L. Anderson I have not have not ever felt anything from them that really touched my spirit and affirmed their apostle status - I knew they were apostles of God, but I had just not gained a witness and testimony of it till yesterday. I loved both of their talks. Cooks "bitter-cup" reference it applying our Saviors Atonement was great and Andersons talk on "not being casual in raising the rising generation" was true! Haha - I'm sure it's diffent for everyone -but Family seemed to be (what I thought) the main focus of conference was. A family is everything - not just our earthly families but our Heavenly Family is everything!! THE SAVIOR LIVES, DO OUR CHILDREN KNOW?
-Bradley D. Foster & James B. Martino from the seventy were also great talks on the distractions of life and God helping us through trials.
Well hope you all had a Happy Easter! I love you all so much! Stay warm down in the cool weather! Tell me your favorites from conference and hopefully we can all remember the testimonies we have in our Savior Jesus Christ!
-- Love, ELDER PATRICK McBRIDE