Sister Josie Dalley: The Drought is a Lie and Elder Kebingot

Hello Everybody, It is Sister Dalley here. Another week has gone by. I can’t even believe that.

Monday we did our laundry, went to Zumba and had a zone brunch because our zone won for the cleanest cars and apartments. After dinner with the sisters we went tracting. We met with the Swans. They are amazing. Sister Swan is a little over 70. Her daughter Ava is 7 and getting baptized in March. It is a cool story. Sister Swan was her foster parent and fell in love with her and decided to keep her. It was a long adoption process because Sister Swan is older but they are the cutest. Ava is so so talented and so special. We love her.

Tuesday we went to Ann’s house. We did family history and then taught her the first lesson, the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was super great. She understood everything and loved it. When we were talking about Joseph Smith she kept saying “Why would anyone make that up?” It was great to see her level of understanding of the gospel. She has been coming to church for a long time so it is cool. We invited her to be baptized and she said, No, she has already been baptized. So now we get to talk to her about proper priesthood authority and the apostasy. I was a good lesson, it was a good time with Ann with many spiritual moments.

We are knocking doors and trying to find people to teach. We are reaching out out potentials and the whole shebang. We met with the relief society president, Sister Henry and tried to figure out who we need to visit.

Wednesday was our temple day. Sister Ensign (yes that is her real name) drove us all to the temple. It was super great. We were there forever from like 10 to 3. We were able to do initiatories, endowments and sealings (as the children). It was really cool to go and the whole time I was in the temple I had the song “Oh My Father” playing through my mind.

1. O my Father, thou that dwellest

In the high and glorious place,

When shall I regain thy presence

And again behold thy face?

In thy holy habitation,

Did my spirit once reside?

In my first primeval childhood

Was I nurtured near thy side?

2. For a wise and glorious purpose

Thou hast placed me here on earth

And withheld the recollection

Of my former friends and birth;

Yet ofttimes a secret something

Whispered, "You're a stranger here,"

And I felt that I had wandered

From a more exalted sphere.

3. I had learned to call thee Father,

Thru thy Spirit from on high,

But, until the key of knowledge

Was restored, I knew not why.

In the heav'ns are parents single?

No, the thought makes reason stare!

Truth is reason; truth eternal

Tells me I've a mother there.

4. When I leave this frail existence,

When I lay this mortal by,

Father, Mother, may I meet you

In your royal courts on high?

Then, at length, when I've completed

All you sent me forth to do,

With your mutual approbation

Let me come and dwell with you.

I just kept thinking how special and sacred it felt to be in God’s house. I love the temple so much. That song definitely makes me think about going back to Heavenly Father when this life is over but it also makes me think about going back to the temple. We are strangers here, spiritual beings having a human experience. We belong in the presence of God, but in the temple, I never feel like a stranger, I am home. It was a beautiful experience and I am very very grateful we got to go. I love the temple.

Driving home we were in traffic for three hours. That is the one thing I do not like about California, the traffic.

When we got back we went to visit a family in Tanaja who gave us valentines. They have horses and goats and live in a beautiful area.

Thursday, Valentine’s Day! Happy Valentines Day! It was pouring rain. Everyone here talks about how dry it is. It is funny because everybody always says ‘we’re in a drought’ but the conclusion of all missionaries is the drought is a lie, so there you go.

We helped set up a wedding at the church while we were waiting for a meeting. We hung beautiful leaf chandelier things and beautiful white curtains. We went to Cafe Rio and went tracting and then we did face masks to celebrate Valentine’s day. I do wish you all a happy Valentines Day.

Friday, we went to the food pantry. They always give everyone treats but we have an ongoing thing - they every single time the people in charge give the missionaries the donut holes. The elders will offer to take them and then leave them on our car, so then we will drop them off on their doorstep, it goes on and on. We got out of there without them this time but we always find them later.

This is also the day that our world shook when we found out that we will be able to communicate with our families on Pdays via phone call, facebook, texting, skype hangouts, messengers, you name it. That’s crazy! We can do it on Pdays, holidays, father’s day mother’s day and birthdays. That’s nuts! We were really shocked but are excited to see how it will go.

Interestingly when we listened to Elder Klebingot on Saturday, he gave us a little insight into the conversation with the first presidency while they were discussing this new communication thing. Everybody was raising concerns about how it could be abused or the problems that could come up. They were all silenced when President Nelson, our prophet, stood up and said, “These are our missionaries and we will trust them.” So, I feel a little bit of pressure with that. It is really cool and I also feel very honored to be trusted by the prophet.

I probably won’t call every single week. We weren’t given many rules or guidelines because of that trust. To all my friends out there, I have received a couple of messages from some of you, No, I will not be able to call you too. I do miss you and love you but will not be calling you.

We have been writing a mission rap. They asked us to perform at a talent show. I will send it when we do it. We went tracting, we call it dot smashing, it means we’re just going by different potentials. We talk to random people on the street. It is always fun. This happens the days when we don’t have any lessons planned. We just crank out the tracting.

Saturday, hoy cow! We went to Escondido for our zone conference with Elder Kebingot of the seventy. He is from Germany and is super blunt and very bold. It was actually amazing to learn from him from 9 am to 3 pm with a break for lunch. It was amazing! We talked a lot, I have so many notes. I wish I could pour out all the amazing things I learned.

First we talked about who we are and why we are here at this time of the world. He started with the war in heaven. He compared us to the people who campaigned and put up flyers and billboards for Heavenly Father’s plan instead of the ones who just mailed in a vote. He told us during that time we were the ones going out to find our siblings and bring them back to Heavenly Father’s plan. During that time we were being watched. We were chosen to be His people. Then a war broke out and we fought the hardest. He told us we most likely had a little sit down and were introduced to Abraham and how we would be part of the covenant and gathering the tribes of Israel.

We have been sent here to earth where Satan came when he was cast out. He gave us an analogy of us being worried and Heavenly Father telling us, yes you are going there but look who I am sending with you, meaning Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father also turned to Jesus Christ and said, I know you are going to do and I know you are going there and I know it is going to be hard but look who I am sending with you, referring to all of us. He then read us the scripture that refers to us as Jesus Christ’s friends. “Greater love hath no man than this than he who laid down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends...”

I love that Christ is my friend, my best friend.

He also taught about lies distortions and half truths. That was amazing because he did not know we had just talked about that with our mission president. He also taught us about memory palaces. This man is amazing. He has all of the standard works basically memorized. He taught us how he does that and it is super cool.

We were able to ask him a bunch of questions. He shared with us his conversion story. WE did a lot of role plays. He loves spiritually creating what he wants to happen during the day or the week. He also loves inviting to act so we left there with like twenty different invitations to act. It was amazing. He told us amazing stories about being in the seventy, working with the 12 and working with the apostles and prophet and how true this church is. He had amazing stories. It was incredible to sit at his feet.

I will try to help you invision one of my favorite things he taught. He had three elders stand up with him. The elder on the left he called Justice, the elder on the right he called Mercy and he stood with the elder in the middle. He said, Imagine I am Jesus, I am not that cool but imagine I am him. He told us if we sin, justice has a hold on us, so Justice grabbed the elder by the shoulder. Every time we repent and promise to try to do better Christ steps in. He stepped in between the elder and Justice and broke the hold; then Mercy could reach out to grab the elder. He said, why do we try to look around Christ to see justice even though Christ has interceded. We we have repented and are clean but stay stuck in the “I am not good enough” or the “I cannot change” mindset. We have a hard time feeling worthy. He asked “Why are you putting a limit on Christ, why are you putting words in His mouth.”

He referred us to the story of the prodigal son and how he was the one who after he changed and came back was the one who said I am no longer worthy to be called thy son. The father did not say that, the prodigal son did. The father said, no, you are my son and threw a party for him. He encouraged us to trust Christ’s power to break the hold of Justice and not to hold on to our mistakes but feel worthy because we have repented. This is a beautiful teaching.

He said, I am not going to tell you all I know but It is a good day to be good. He taught us that coming to God is not a negotiation but a surrender. He reminds us how King Laman is willing to give away all his kingdom to know God. He offers to give away all his sins when he prays. The one thing that God will not take from us is our Agency. King Laman offered himself and his sins, he chose to surrender to His will. We give up things to be members of this church. The world certainly sees us as giving up our freedom but we have more freedom, we have more choices because of our choice to follow God.