Today, on December 10, 2024 just happens to be Day 344 of our mission… what is so significant about that day? 

Yeti X-3: Musi that's Merry

Christmas and Izzy Lu.

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Thank you for joining me, dear

friends here on the creative,

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spiritual journey podcast.

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We're gay.

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And I share with you the things

of our hearts and the joys.

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We were discovering along the way.

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I'm Judy also known as sister Cooley

here in the Durban, South Africa mission.

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I'm your host for this episode.

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I believe it's number 45.

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I'm titling it.

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Continual light part one.

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Let me tell you why.

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I've recorded this episode.

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A couple of times and every

written it many times more.

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And I've come to the conclusion

that there is just too much.

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I want to say about light, that

I'm going to be dividing it into

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two parts the day in the night.

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Do you see what I did there?

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So.

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It is our first Christmas in Africa.

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As a child, I remember driving

around to see the Christmas

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lights in the neighborhoods.

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I remember one home had

this beautiful blue lights.

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And temple square was just magical.

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I still remember the glow and the

joy of seeing Christmas lights.

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In the USA Christmas bling is everywhere.

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Now there's all kinds of lighting,

Christmas lighting on homes, many colors.

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And each house.

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So elaborate.

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I even know of some homes that

have Christmas trees in every room.

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And it's winter back at home and

there's the first snow has fallen.

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Everybody's busy.

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Gift buying and wrapping and

Christmas parties and Santa Claus.

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And sometimes the reason for the season.

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Christ.

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Can get lost.

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Well, let me tell you about

Christmas in South Africa so far.

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You have to look for it.

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It was seriously.

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There are very few

decorations in the stores.

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And the Christmas section

is maybe one aisle.

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There are no lights.

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On houses.

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I've seen one.

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And ours is another one.

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There are no Christmas trees.

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It is hot.

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And sunny.

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And bright.

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So I've been asking the members,

how do they celebrate Christmas?

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Well, there are no gifts.

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There's no Santa there's

no Christmas tree.

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And many have warned us that crime

increases as well as drunkenness.

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So to be careful out there, They

just simply get together and

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celebrate and cook and eat a feast.

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Usually a Bri, which is

just a south African.

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Barbecue.

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And they go house to house.

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Sharing and eating and drinking.

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whether it's Christmas in the United

States or here in South Africa, one

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thing the Grinch has taught us from Dr.

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Seuss classic Christmas story.

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How the Grinch stole Christmas.

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After he had stolen all the Christmas from

the who's down in Whoville and had taken

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it to the top of Mount crumpet to dump it.

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Then he heard all the who's gather

and seeing Yahoo Christmas morning.

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And he said it came without ribbons.

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It came without tags.

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It came with that

package as boxes or bags.

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And he puzzled.

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Any puzzled till his puzzler was

sore, then the Grinch thought

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of something he hadn't before.

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Maybe Christmas, he thought.

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It doesn't come from a store,

maybe Christmas, perhaps.

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Means a little bit more.

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Uh, it's a classic.

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If you haven't watched

the original animated.

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Um, don't miss out.

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It's one of my favorite

Christmas memories as well.

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Okay.

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I've gotten off track

with my my 80 oh shiny.

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Let us refocus.

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Did you know that I do a daily

post on Instagram and Facebook?

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Why?

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Because I want to see the hand of God

in our day-to-day lives here on mission.

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And to share the tidings of

great joy, the light of Christ.

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Today.

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On December 10th, 20, 24.

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Just happens to be day

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Yeti X-4: 344

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Yeti X-3: of our mission.

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So what, so what's

significant about that day.

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If you recall in the book of Mormon.

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We learn of the people of Jared.

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Who were scattered at the time

that God confounded the language

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of the people when they were

building a tower to get to heaven.

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Yes, that same tower

of Babel in the Bible.

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The stories found in the book of Mormon.

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In the book of ether,

chapter two through six.

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It is a miraculous story.

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A journey.

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It's a story of a family that the

Lord leads into the wilderness.

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My favorite part of the story is Jared

and his brother, and are instructed

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to build ships to cross the ocean.

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It is this part of the story where

I want to pick up and share a

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little insight that I've received.

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Yeti X-4: So these barges

are ships that they built.

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Are tight, like onto a dish.

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Well, this presents three.

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Problems.

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First air.

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Second, how do they see or they're going?

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And third light.

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Well, the first two problems

the Lord takes care of for them.

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He instructs them, how to get air and he

also tells him that he will take care.

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Of directing them towards

the promised land.

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The third one though.

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I love where the Lord says

to the brother, Jared.

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What will you, that I should

do that you may have light.

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In your vessel.

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then.

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He goes to work and figures out.

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A solution.

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he goes in Moulton's out

of rock 16, small stones.

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and he carries them up to the top of

the mountain to the Lord where the Lord.

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Touches them with his

finger and there is light.

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Love this part.

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I have written in my scriptures that when

the Lord's finger touches our best effort.

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There is light.

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So let's pick up the story here And

the Lord had prepared the stones, which

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brother Jared had carried up into the

Mount and the brother Jared came down

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off the Mount and he did put forth.

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The stones into the vessels,

which were prepared one on each

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then thereof and behold, they did

give a light unto the vessels.

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And the Lord caused the stones to

shine in darkness to give light.

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That they might not cross

the deep waters in darkness.

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And then these brave souls.

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They get a board, their vessels.

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And they sit forth into the sea.

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The unknown.

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Commending themselves into the Lord,

their God commanding his two interest.

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To deliver in confidence.

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And the Lord caused that there should

be a furious wind blow upon the face

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of the water towards the promised land.

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And their vessels they're

buried deep into the water.

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And these brave souls, they did

sing praises and did give thanks.

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To the Lord all day long.

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And when the night came, they

did not cease to praise the

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Lord and they were driven forth.

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And they did have light continually.

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And they were driven forth

344 days upon the water.

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There you go.

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Today is 344 days that we have been on

our journey across the dark and deep.

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So when we studied this and

come follow me a few weeks back,

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I quickly check the calendar.

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And did the math to discover when is

our day 344 days and that's today.

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December 10th.

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I want to share with you a little bit

about our journey here to South Africa.

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And where this begins is in 2019.

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When I read that in ether to.

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What would G that I should do that

you may have liked in your vessel?

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Because it was.

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As if the Lord was speaking to me.

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I was at that time in my

life in a dark depression.

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And I desired to rediscover and restore

joy and light back into my life.

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So I took this question to heart.

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And really studied it out and prayed.

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And what was I directed to go

and do serve in the temple?

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So every Wednesday I found

myself in the temple.

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Then COVID hit.

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And I was privileged to

continue to work in the temple.

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This gave me the opportunity to sit for

hours in silence in the celestial room.

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While waiting for patrons to

finish the endowment session.

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Okay, we're going to

pause there for a moment.

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For those of you who aren't

familiar with this lingo, temples

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endowments and celestial rooms.

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Let me try to simply explain.

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Temples are built to

be houses of the Lord.

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We're sacred ordinances take place.

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One of them is the endowment.

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You have to be baptized member

into the church of Jesus

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Christ of latter day saints.

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And qualify by living the standards

of the gospel of Jesus Christ in

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order to enter into the temple.

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Now the celestial room is one

of the many rooms of the temple.

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And it represents entering into

the presence of God, Is think

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of it as his front room, it is

glorious and beautifully decorated.

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It is a place of light.

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Peace and reverence.

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All temples had the same

purpose and practice.

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But each one is uniquely

designed and decorated.

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most have a beautiful stained glass

window that allows light to stream in.

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And.

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All of them that I have seen have a

brilliant chandelier in the center.

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We're sparks of light and

brilliant color dance.

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And it is to draw our eyes.

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Heavenward.

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to the light of Christ.

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In the Beneful temple, there is a

golden velvet chair in the corner.

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I would take a moment when I

was working to sit in prayer.

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and ponder and rest.

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I experienced enlightenment

and answer to my prayers there.

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I regained a perfect brightness of

hope and light returned to my vessel.

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It is said.

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That we do not learn from an experience

we learn from reflecting on an experience.

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So looking back and

reflecting on this experience.

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recently.

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the spirit whispered to me.

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This was the light given to me,

touched by the finger of God

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in that golden velvet chair.

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On Wednesday in the bountiful temple,

it was my brother of Jared experience.

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And that light was put into my heart.

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And continues to shine as we've

gone forth upon the great deep here

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on our mission in South Africa.

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Have we had continual

light on our journey.

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Uh, I like to think so.

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We have definitely committed ourselves to

the Lord and have stepped onto the vessel.

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So how are we to have continual light For

the Jaredites they gave thanks and saying

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praises to the Lord can do tenuously.

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We too can do that.

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I often wonder if part of the story

is not recorded in the book of Mormon.

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As the F when they complained and

forgot the Lord much like Laman

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and Lemuel on their journey.

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Did the light go?

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Damn.

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I did some of them maybe even go out.

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And did all the barges make

it to the promised land.

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We sometimes can incorrectly

pitcher the Jaredites on some kind

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of luxury cruise bouncing along.

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But the human nature of being on a

barge tossed on the waves for 344 days.

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Would take continual light.

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a lot of praising and a lot of prayers.

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To survive.

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You've written in a car with a family.

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For just 12 hours or two days.

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And people can get testy and believe

me, there is no singing or praising God.

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See, I did it again.

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I'm off chasing squirrels.

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I want to get back on track

talking about continual light.

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Christmas lights.

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We have been called to be light

bearers to share his light.

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To share these tidings of great

joy that it shall be to all people.

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Christ is the light of the world.

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He said, I am the light that you shall

hold up and shine and to the nations.

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I hope you've seen and maybe have

even taken part in the church's

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light, the world initiative.

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It is brilliant.

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It is throughout the whole world.

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I invite you to go to light the world

on the internet and check it out.

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It is simply this.

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Each day, ask yourself who

needs your light today.

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And then look for opportunities

to be that person's angel.

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The South Africa, airy office as

asked our little new castle district

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to search out a light the world

project so that we can get involved.

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And bring this light to our

part of the world for Christmas.

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So we prayed to find

just the right project.

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Ironically.

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Our district president,

who is an electrician.

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I found our light, the world

project when he was called to

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a home to repair the lighting.

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This is where he met

Nellie and her husband.

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At the Lynn Delaney care center, where

11 severely handicapped children live.

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Many of them are blind.

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Or deaf.

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Autistic deformed.

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Crippled.

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And they can't speak.

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Their needs are many.

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And the list of repairs is long.

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Our hope is to get the center up and

running so they can qualify for a license.

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For a residential care

center and receive funding.

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On day 337 on my post and Instagram.

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On giving Tuesday, I posted

a story about Nellie and her

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center, and I asked for help.

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Donations poured in.

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Thank you, Franz.

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because of the exchange rate,

our dollars will go far here.

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And the money given by the church,

like the world initiative, combined

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with your generous donations together

with the time and talents of the

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saints of the new castle district.

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We will witness miracles.

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I'm sure of it.

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I received this recorded

message from Nelly.

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I'll let her tell you.

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Uh, good evening.

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Good evening, Mrs.

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Cooley.

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I'm so glad to speak to

you, even the team as well.

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We are here at Lendlani,

home of disability.

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The sun is very, very hot.

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The heat is killing us.

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Thank you to let us know

about the donations.

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We are very happy We

hope God will help us.

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We will lead our way as well

to get us, uh, donations.

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Thank you so much.

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Your help.

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This church's help everyone who are

participating We like to thank you.

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We wish God to bless you all.

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Thank you so much.

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Yeti X-5: She is an angel.

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she has been full of gratitude and praises

to the Lord for, for us finding her.

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Yeti X-6: And Those precious

children are celestial beings.

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So pure.

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And we're so excited

to see them have their.

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Center all fixed up and

their place, a little more

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comfortable and livable for them.

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Yeti X-4: So my friends.

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What about you?

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How can you have continual light

in your vessels, your heart

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how can you have more light.

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you

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Yeti X-4: your home.

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How about your neighborhood?

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How about.

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Your city.

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Your nation.

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The world is a pretty big

place for one little light.

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And it's impossible to do alone.

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But together we are many and

we can light up the world.

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By prayerfully asking each

day who needs our light.

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You don't need to be called the

server mission to shine his light

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or even involved in a huge project.

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I invite you to find

some way to shine today.

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P someone's angel.

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do some random act of kindness.

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Share your smile.

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Take a treat and visit someone.

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Share some kind words, go

spread some Christmas cheer.

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There are opportunities all around.

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Keep it simple.

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It doesn't have to be big or costly to

inspire and bring tidings of great joy.

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Maybe there's some Christmas

things you need to let go of.

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Some of that bling that's taken

away from the Christmas spirit.

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And just adding more noise.

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I'm not telling you what to do.

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but for me being here in South Africa, I

can tell Christmas is going to be simple.

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I joyfully testify of the babe.

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Jesus Christ.

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The light of the world.

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Let me leave you here with the

words of a Chinese proverb.

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When there is light in the soul.

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There is beauty in the person.

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When there is beauty and the person.

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There is harmony.

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In the house.

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When there is harmony.

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In the house.

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There is order in the nation.

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When there is order in the nation,

there is peace in the world.

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My Christmas wish for you is to

be able to sing praises and give.

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Thanks.

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Without ceasing.

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And may the light of Christ

burn continually and brightly in

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your hearts and in your souls.

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I will be back in the new

year with more light to share.

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This time.

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The nightlight happy new years.

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My friend may God bless you with

more light in your vessels, and

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I will see you on the trail.

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And Gioconda.