Elder Philip Bredsguard Testifies of Jesus Christ!: January 2, 2017, "Exercising Our Faith"

Email to Family and Friends

This week has very exiting! There was a double Wedding of Jacob and KayLoni Blair, and Trace and Witni Taylor! It was such a cute wedding! I love these two couples so much! There will be pictures.

"Exercising Our Faith"

As some of you know we hit a deer earlier this month. Also we had to go back and forth to Greybull (a town an hour and fifteen minutes north of us) a lot at the begging for of this month for ligitiment reasons. We are only allotted 1250 miles a month and on December 19 we were at 1003. We still had to drive to Greybull 2 more times by the end of the month, which would put us at 1276 if that is the only reason we touched the car.

So, Elder Simmons and I sat down 2 weeks ago and discussed how the Lord commands us not to go over our given mile limit. We then read together 1 Nephi 3:7 which says "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1) We knew the Lord would bless us with the extra 26 miles, once we requested them.

We decided together as a team that we would do this (keep in mind we cover an entire county and we go a good ways out of town almost every day). We had no idea how we were going to accomplish this task, but we knew with absolute certainty that the Lord would prepare a way! We would have to bike, walk, or find rides to everywhere we went. We took a look at the weather and saw that we would have some snow storms, but "the Lord did strengthen [us] that [we] could bear up [our] burdens with ease, [because we] did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." (2)

All Elder Simmons and I did, is made the DECISION, prayerfully committed to the Lord that we would do as he commanded, and acted in all dilligence. And because of that we saw the Lord surround us with avenues and doorways to complete our task.

I don't think the Lord cares about how many miles we drive, but I do think he cares and wants to teach us the blessings of faith and obedience. Because of this experience I have now learned what it truly means to exercise faith. I have been blessed with an amazing companion, I couldn't have done this with out him, I never ever heard him complain either.

I hope, if needed, that you could lean on our experience. That you can begin to exercise Faith. As you do so your faith will grow stronger and stronger, literal miricals will be in your life (3). And you will have "faith no longer, for [you know], nothing doubting." (4) To the point were you can cry as Nephi to the doubting, "If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done."

"And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?" (5)

Each and everyone of us can accomplish the impossible. And now I leave with the words of our loving Savior, to "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (6) In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Philip R. Bredsguard

philip.bredsguard@myldsmail.net

917 Amoretti St Thermopolis, WY 82443

Notes