Hello!
What a great week, Merry Christmas!! I hope it was an amazing day and that the whole week has been tons of fun!
Time just keeps on cruising by. This whole week went by so fast, then I realized we are about to finish December anddd 2025! Life doesn’t stop flying by, thats for sure.
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– On Christmas Eve this sweet old lady in our ward named Miriam gave us our very traditional Mexican Christmas dinner which was like a 6 course meal. I was sooo full afterwards, and by the time I finished I was both out of breath and quite struck by the meat sweats. Lamb chop, beef, sausage, cod, it was a loooot of meat in sauce. I love how each holiday here has very specific food that’s only eaten once a year at that time. It was delicious!
– On Christmas day we had a mission devotional and it was so much fun and so spiritual! The snacks were great, we each got a little gift back, I got roped into a musical number (yeesh) and it was awesome to see a bunch of other missionaries!! President Brady gave us the challenge of finding as many names and titles of Jesus Christ as we could from just the Book of Mormon, and holy cow, I never realized how many distinct names and titles He has!! We found 119 as a mission, I bet there’s even more!! Anyways, I’ll put some of my favorites here soon but definitely a great aspect of the Book of Mormon to study, I loved it!
– Christmas Eve was Elder Leavitt’s birthday and especially my brother Miles’s birthday too!! We had to be at the house at 6pm to steer clear of any crazy parties but Elder Leavitt made us some nice ribeye in honor of all three birthdays 🥳
– Elder Bowman (who once was a Secretary) went home today to make it in time for his semester at school, which meant he got to stay with us for a couple days which was so much fun!! President and Hermana Brady took us out for PF Changs as his farewell dinner and it was super fun and delicious. We played world’s smallest Trouble and world’s smallest Uno last night to honor him. He’s a great missionary!
– Christmas Eve was Miles’s birthday!! Holy cow, thats crazy!! I’ll be home for the next one! Happy birthday buddy, I love you so much!!
Anyways, it was a great week!! I hope you all had a great week too. Merry Christmas, and happy new year this week!! Make some good goals to improve the person you are this year and change some of your old habits for better ones this year!
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Mannn did I love searching for the names and titles of Christ this week in the Book of Mormon sooo much. It’s become part of my new study habit!!
Here’s some of the favorites I found that help describe who Jesus Christ is for me!
• Sanctuary (2 Nephi 18: 14)
• The Great, and the Last, and the Only Sure Foundation (Jacob 4:16)
• Rock of my Salvation (2 Nephi 4: 30)
• Keeper of the gate (2 Nephi 9: 41)
• The Law (3 Nephi 15: 9)
Those are SO good and help remind me who Jesus Christ is as my Savior. He is all 119 of those titles and even more, He is the only true way back to our Heavenly Home. I am so thankful for Him and that He loves me in all my imperfections and countless errors. I don’t know what I would possibly do without His light, love, and sacrafice.
This week, find the titles and names of your Savior Jesus Christ from the Book of Mormon. Studying each name and title adds so much meaning to His role in your life. Then, send me an email of your favorites!!
Apart from my search for all those names, this week I also read 2nd Nephi 9, which is a greaaat chapter, and so filled with doctrine and truth that I went back and read it a couple more times to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
So, here’s one of my faaaavorite scriptures from that chapter, and maybe even the whole Book, that speaks to all of us at some point or another. From verse 18:
“But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.”
Oh. Man. One thing I can promise you is that hard times will come, if they aren’t here for you already. That’s how this plan works out: we start off as a formless rock and get sculpted into a perfect being over the course of an eternity. It’s going to take some chiseling to get some form.
But, the reward for enduring well is unbelievable. Your Sanctuary, your Rock, your Salvation, your Only Sure Foundation has the perfect place perfectly prepared for you. He knows you, and He will make all the beating, breaking, shaking and chiseling be entirely, and more than, worth it. Your joy will be full, forever.
What a great comfort in a life that’s so full of discomfort. Discover who your Savior is this week and how He is preparing your place in His kingdom.
I love Him so much and I can’t imagine life without the joy and comfort we get here, and the hope and promise of a better tomorrow and an eternity of joy. Nothing else is all that important, as fun as it all may be. Nothing else gives me the rush inside my chest like knowing my Savior has and will.
Believe in Him, endure the crosses of the world, and as it says in earlier chapters,
“thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.”
All of this is worth it and has a purpose. Find yours through Him!!
I love you so doggone much, happy new year!! I’ll keep you always in my prayers, just remember how much I love you!!
– Elder Crockett 🫂
