Dear Mom and Dad!
Hope all is well back home! What I
do know is that God is with us through all things and I am eternally
grateful for the things God has taught me out here as a missionary to
help me endure trials. But I am not sure when the
funeral will be, but I always asked Grandma if I could speak at her
funeral. Of course I am out doing the work of God but I know spiritually
I will be there. I was also wondering that if I write something if you
would share it at her funeral. If this is possible it would mean a lot
to me. Here is what I would love for you to share at her funeral:
Well Brothers and Sisters this is Elder Pond and I
thought I would share my love for you as well for my amazing Grandma
Ruby out in Sunny Southern Florida.
Today I hope everyone has
smiles on their faces! In Mosiah 3:17 we learn that, "there shall be no
other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come
unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the
Lord Omnipotent." So thus through the Savior Jesus Christ we are able to
gain exaltation and inherit all that our Father in Heaven has. Christ
taught us in John 3:5 that, "Except a man be born of water, and of the
spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God!" So we know that as we make
special covenants with God though Christ, like baptism, then we will be
able to live with God and our family members again.
What I know is that the plan of God is perfect. That "God so loved
the world that he sent his only begotten Son" and through his atoning
sacrifice we can be cleansed from all sin to go live with God one day.
My Grandma Ruby followed Jesus Christ and I know was a true
disciple of Jesus Christ. She changed many lives here on Earth and I
know that she will change many lives on the other side of the veil. This
was the plan of God from the very beginning.
There was a talk that I was reading that I would like to share an exert with you from:
"To demonstrate the kind of inner strength I am talking about, I would
like to share the story of Susanna Stone Lloyd, who at the age of 26
left England in 1856 and traveled to Utah alone. The only member of her
family to join the Church, Susanna was a member of the Willie Handcart
Company. Like so many other pioneers, she endured life-threatening
hunger, illness, and fatigue.
Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Susanna borrowed a mirror to make
herself more presentable. Despite her best efforts, she recounts: “I
shall never forget how I looked. Some of my old friends did not know
me.” 1Having
sold her own mirror to an Indian for a piece of buffalo meat, she had
not spent much time looking at herself. Now she did not recognize her
own image. She was a different person, both inside and out. Over the
course of rocky ridges and extreme hardship came a deep conviction. Her
faith had been tried, and her conversion was concrete. She had been
refined in ways that the very best mirror could not reflect. Susanna had
prayed for strength and found it—deep within her soul.
This is the kind of inner strength I would like to talk about. How do
you and I become so converted to the truth, so full of faith, so
dependent on God that we are able to meet trials and even be
strengthened by them?"
Brothers and Sisters at this time let us strengthen our faith
in the Savior Jesus Christ by doing what he would have us do! Let us
allow this trial to strengthen our faith in the Savior and God's
promises to us. Trust in those promises and never let them go.
My Grandma Ruby was an amazing lady, she changed many lives, and I
know through Christ we may all see her again one day! I love you all and
I love my Grandma Ruby!
Elder Pond
Mom and Dad lemme know if this is possible. Once again I would greatly appreciate it!
With Love,
Elder Pond
