Elder Gong

The highlight of the week was by far Elder Gong! He came and visited us on Saturday, but when I say visit I mean we had a zoom call. It was amazing though! We got to hear from him and his wife, Elder and Sister Jaggi, our Area 70, Elder and Sister Balli, and Sister and Brother Abuerto from the Relief Society General Presidency. We prepared all week by reading Elder Gong's talks, cleaning our apartments, and praying together as zones to be ready and for him to be blessed with revelation.

It really paid off. He gave us some amazing advice to answer questions we came with. He talked about our calling, how to be united as companions, how to listen with love, and miracles. The others that came also got to talk for a minute, and they had some amazing quotes and ideas. My favorite quote was from Sister Gong, "gratitude is not a gospel truth, it's the gospel core." She talked about how gratitude leads into every other good attribute that we desire, and I loved that. We also found out yesterday that Elder Gong loved our preparation so much that he is coming back tomorrow to join our weekly Tuesday Training call. We're very blessed to have an extra hour with him, and I can't wait to see what else we learn.

Lastly, something I focused on this week is the Savior's name. Reading over Elder Gong's talks, I noticed he always says the full name of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I thought about how we can make sure that He is at the center of everything we do. I'd encourage each of you to read Elder Anderson's talk from last conference, "We Talk of Christ." I know that as we make Him a greater focus we will be able to feel His love more in our lives, both for us, and for those around us. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

All my love,
Elder Leary