#PRAYERWORKS

Attention! Attention! God is still a God of miracles!

" And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God, and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles." Mormon 9:19

Now let me tell you a miraculous story about how using the tools of prayer and faith can save your life. It was early in the morning, May 9,2014; the sun had not even thought about coming up yet. There I was, a sister missionary, fast asleep dreaming of how the gospel changes lives and brings families closer together through the Savior when all of the sudden I am awoken by a panicked voice. "Sister Wood! Wake up! Turn on the light! I think there is a bug in my bed!" Groggily I reached out to the lamp beside my bed and felt the pain as the sudden appearance of light stung my eyes. After putting on my glasses, I watch as my companion Sister Rock, carefully searched for "the big black bug" that she had felt in her bed. I don't know how anyone can feel the color black but hey who am I to judge.

After carefully searching her blankets and sheets finding no bug, we began to resign that it was all a dream. One last glance around the room, revealed that it was no dream at all! There wasn't a bug, there was a something worse, the dreaded spider! It was big, black and hairy with long legs and a large bottom. I did what any sister missionary would do, I laid there in bed and told my companion to kill it while I prayed silently in the safety of my bed. Arming herself with a shoe, careful not to lose track of her lethal enemy, Sister Rock prepared for what could be the most crucial moment in her entire missionary life. Taking a deep breath, knowing she would have only one shot, Sister Rock dove in for the kill.

A cry of dismay and fear told me before the words were out of her mouth, "I missed!" she cried, as she frantically searched for her foe. Carefully she began to search once more, while I awaited safely in the warmth of my bed. Helping little with my encouraging cheers and by holding the desk lamp as she moved items gingerly watching for any movement of the insidious spider. The search continued even to the point of moving her bed to the middle of the room. Still unable to find the intruder, dead or alive, she gave up her search not knowing how to proceed next. Knowing that we could not sleep soundly with the beast nearby, I suggested a prayer of safety, comfort, and to find the hairy fiend.

During the prayer, we felt the peace of our Heavenly Fathers love, telling us all would be well. Upon opening our eyes, the destroyer crept from his hiding place. I yelled to to Sister Rock, "There he is KILL IT!" With her weapon still at her side Sister Rock squished him in one blow. Our Heavenly Father protected us and gave Sister Rock the strength and the courage to fight. He brought that spider into light and we were able to act for our safety and peace of mind.

This may be a small miracle compared to some... but to Sister Rock and I, it was the miracle we needed! Our Heavenly Father knows our needs and our fears. He lets us struggle and search, waiting for us to reach out in faith with prayer. When we pray he will always answer and to me, each prayer answered is a miracle. God loves us and wants our joy and happiness. Don't forget to SMILE!

Our Divine Dentist

Confession, I love going to the dentist almost as much as I love going to church. When most people find out about this they think I'm weird. 
"What?" they say "You like going to the dentist?" 
"No" I say, " I LOVE going to the dentist!" There is usually an awkward pause accompanied with a weird face. The look is usually followed by some sort of question. "Why? Really? Are you nuts?"
Yes, I Love going to the dentist! Really I do and I am a little crazy. When I go to the dentist, my mouth feels clean and refreshed. My teeth are shiny and I leave with a new determination to take care of them. The honest answer is there are many reason why I love going to the dentist, but I am a little bias. My father is my dentist. He is the greatest dentist in the world and I trust him completely. He is generous and kind, funny and full of integrity. My dad knows best how to care for my teeth and he is not afraid to tell how to best treat and take care of them. Most of all he cares about his patients and takes care of their needs. Here is proof, this is a Facebook post from my father.


  "I had a patient come in yesterday for a root canal and I asked him why he waited so long to come in. He said that at first he got out of the habit of having regular check ups and cleanings. After that, he was afraid of the number of cavities we would find. Finally, he said the main reason for not coming in was that he was embarrassed that it had been such a long time since he had been to the dentist. If you find yourself in a similar situation. please realize that we just want to help you in anyway we can. We don't judge you, your circumstances, or your dental needs/problems. We just want to help you get all your dental issues resolved and get you back on a great dental hygiene and maintenance program. To schedule your appointment with Dr. Max, please call our office at (801) 377-6448. We would love to see you."
Now I know what your thinking, "Okay Sister Wood, your a missionary, so what does this have to do with the gospel? Let me tell you... it has EVERYTHING to do with the gospel! 
Christ is our dentist. He knows best about how best to make sure our teeth, or our souls are clean and beautiful. Instead of what my dentist said Christ might say something like this:





"I had my child come in yesterday to repent of something terrible they had done and I asked them why they waited so long to come in. They said that at first they got out of the habit of going to church and partaking of the sacrament. After that, they were afraid of the number of iniquities I would find. Finally, they said the main reason for not coming in was that they were embarrassed that it had been such a long time since they had called on me. If you find yourself in a similar situation. please realize that I just want to help you in anyway I can. I won't judge you, your circumstances, or your spiritual needs/problems. I just want to help you get all your issues resolved and get you back on a great spiritual hygiene and maintenance program. To schedule your appointment with Jesus Christ, please fall to your knees say a prayer, read my word and come to church. I would love to see you."

Many people don't trust dentist's, they have had bad experiences. They have been hurt, or cheated. Maybe we can't pay the fine, but in the hands of the divine dentist we can have complete trust in him why then do we turn and run from him. Is the cost to high is the pain of repentance to much to bear? Have we had bad experiences? Maybe from someone who claims to be a follower of Christ? Have you felt abandoned and hurt by him in times of trouble? These are things that can keep some from their Savior and during that time their souls are rotting.

This picture illustrates what can happen in the mouth of the smoker. Sometimes we fall into habits that harm our souls and they seem completely hopeless. They damage every part of the soul, the gums, the roots and many times the tooth must be removed. Do we have habits that harm our souls? Are our spirits rotting within our earthly temples? Are these bad habits keeping us from our potential? We may not smile as much or we may be trapped in our habits and are missing out on the joy that comes from living the gospel.

Even if we are keeping up with regular check ups (going to church) and cleanings (partaking the sacrament) our souls can still fall into disrepair with out our own personal grooming morning and night. Growing up I was always told, brush your teeth every morning and evening. There was another practice I was told to do growing up and that was prayer and scripture study. Just like if we can still get cavities without thoroughly flossing and brushing each day, we can find spiritual cavities from not praying and reading daily. The analogies can go on and on. But my point is trust in your divine dentist, Jesus Christ. He is truly the only we can trust completely with the welfare of our souls. Don't forget to SMILE.

SMILE

 "O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be Spiritually-Minded Is Life Eternal." 2 Nephi 9:39

This is my all time favorite scripture and kind of a motto for my life. I love this so much because it simplifies the gospel. Kind of like CTR (choose the right) but that was already taken, mine is SMILE! The gospel of Jesus Christ helps us find joy and like the scripture says to keep of mind spiritual so we too can have eternal life. I know not everyone wants to sit and read about my feelings but I will share a few experiences either from life or from my mission. So keep going it's worth it.

Through out life we are presented with choices, some of those choices make us happy and some of those choice make us not so happy. Everything we choose has a consequence whether good or bad, and we learn from those consequences. We can also learn by watching the choices of others, so then we see the consequences they had to face and say "No thank you not for me." For example when my sister was younger she stuck a knife in one of the electrical sockets in the kitchen. There were some bad consequences to that action, first of all she got physically hurt and probably got her in big trouble with my mother. It also might explain a lot about Genny if you know her ;) just kidding. Anyways she had to learn from that experience and she also taught all of the rest of us kids a big lesson too. 

Just like we have moms to warn us about the dangers of knives and electrical socket, God will warn us of things that are spiritually dangerous, like alcohol, lying, cheating, pride or greed. Those things have consequences that can effect us both physically and spiritually. We can also hurt those around us or people that we love. Take that same story for example. Genny stuck that knife in the electrical socket, well a few years later, I was making waffles and went to put the plug in and put it in the bad socket. A flame shot across the room and my arm was burnt from it. It was very painful, and even though her mistake had been done unintentionally seeing as she was a small child at the time some of the effects were still happening. 

A larger scale example is drinking and driving. Or a father with an addiction to pornography. Or a woman who has to much pride to fulfill her calling as a mother. There are so many examples and everyone makes their own mistakes. To bring it back to the scripture;

 "O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be Spiritually-Minded Is Life Eternal." 2 Nephi 9:39

There are awful things that happen when we make mistakes, when we give in to satan. In this scripture they tell us to nip it in the bud, that if we keep our thoughts on spiritual things and not on things of the world then we will find happiness, then we will find peace. We will be able to avoid the undesirable consequences by just working on our thoughts. Stop them before they become words or actions. Learn from those around you how to find happiness, learn from scriptures and the warnings of God's prophets on the earth today.

Never forget to SMILE!