Carly Helton (Sister Helton): Happy Easter and conference rundown 4-8-2015

So much has happened this week! The most exciting thing, I think, would be that we met two apostles, Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Quentin Cook! There was a big meeting downstairs in the South Visitor Center where we have a few theaters and several General Authorities came. We were told to be on our best behavior haha. Sister Kemple and I went downstairs really fast to grab our lunch and we walked right by them and they all said hi! So. cool.

General Conference was also amazing. We had some really special experiences. So, just a lil rundown of what conference is like:

We are literally on Temple Square from 7:30am till 9:00pm talking to people allllll day. We have a 20-minute lunch/dinner break but other than that, we are on the Square chatting/inviting.

It's actually my favorite because we get to really talk to members which is rare for Temple Square. I love meeting members from all over the world because they all have such different backgrounds and such unique conversion stories and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what unites us all!

After the Saturday morning session, Sister Kemple and I were talking with this old couple on one of the couches and this lady came up to us and asked if we had a minute. We said "yes" and she just completely opened up and told us all about her past and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what has kept her moving forward.

She started telling us about her friend who is currently in one of the hospitals in SLC. She told us about his medical issues and Sister Kemple literally had gone through the same procedures he was undergoing. This woman asked if there was anyway some missionaries could visit him in the hospital. She said she would go give him a Book of Mormon, but he just needed a message of peace and of hope that God has a plan for him.

We thought it was amazing that of all the sister missionaries on Temple Square, she chose us even though we were in the middle of talking to someone and Sister Kemple can relate almost exactly with the persons medical issues.

A really special personal experience I had this week was during my personal study. Obviously, on Temple Square especially during conference, there are crazies that come here. We talked to a few people that came to talk to missionaries only to diminish our faith. So, I've just been praying a lot that Heavenly Father would let me know again, that this truly is Christ's church and that Joseph Smith was called to be a servant of God.

I decided that I should start reading Doctrine and Covenants because I've never really read all of it and it's mainly the revelations that Joseph Smith received from Jesus Christ.

So, I read through the first couple sections and I just wasn't feeling anything. Then I just started praying and just telling Heavenly Father that I didn't need to receive an answer right away, but if he could just sometime in the near future let me know without a doubt that I was in the right place, that would be nice. So, by that point I was in D&C 6 and when I looked down I read this verse:

14. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.

That experience just reaffirmed to me that God is aware of us. If we have questions or if we feel weak, we can always turn to the scriptures. It is God's word, and He will be able to communicate directly to us through it.

I LOVE being a missionary on Temple Square. It is such a special place. We were able to go to the temple this morning and just feel the peace that exists there. I am still waiting for conference to be loaded onto Gospel Library so I can read all the talks.

We got to attend the Sunday afternoon session so I'm not really sure what was said in the other sessions. Email me the names of the ones I absolutely have to read! Love you so much! Happy Easter. It is never to late to celebrate it.

Sister Helton