What made this visit so special is that Elder Johnson served as a missionary in Norway and absolutely loves this country. He still speaks incredible Norwegian and all of his kids have Norwegian names! It touched me to see how much love he has for this country and how happy he was to be back.
Elder Johnson was a masterful teacher, especially in how he taught from the scriptures. He read some verses from Ether 12 when Moroni is feeling down because of his weakness in writing, especially as he compares himself to others and worries about being mocked. As we all know, Moroni received the strength to face his challenges and keep writing. But what if he had given up? Think of all the important scriptures that we wouldn't have in the Book of Mormon. The most used scripture by missionaries (Moroni 10:3-5) wouldn't be there! To me, this illustrates the importance of pressing forward because we never know the implications of what we do! I came away from the conference with a stronger desire to study and know the scriptures.
We had a cool finding miracle yesterday. We went to visit a former in our area book and they weren't home. We decided to exercise faith that there was a reason for us to be there and we began looking for someone that we could teach. We ended up being led to this cool guy from Iceland who lives here in Norway raising Icelandic horses! How cool is that? It was fun to tell him that I had been on an Icelandic horse in Iceland. Anyways, we ended up walking over to a bench and teaching him a powerful first lesson. It all clicked for him and he is excited to meet with us again next week!
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
I am grateful the diversity in this world and for the unique talents that God gives to each one of us. It's comforting to know that God is pleased with who we are and isn't interested in how we perform relative to others. And if I am a right knee-cap, I hope I can be the best possible right knee-cap ever.
Have a great week!
Love,
Eldste Parkinson
Eldste Parkinson
 |
| We did some service taking out roots |
 |
| Elder Broadbent took this shot in the Bergen church |
 |
| Elder and Sister Johnson |
