Personal testimony of the Book of Mormon

Hey everyone! In response to a challenge extended by another missionary here in the Vegas West Mission, Elder Parkinson, I'd like to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I echo the words of the Prophet. When I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word power. The Book of Mormon is so powerful because, like President Ezra Taft Benson taught, it bears witness of Jesus Christ's reality with power and clarity, contains the fulness of the doctrine required for our salvation, and it is the foundation of testimony meaning that if it is true then everything else is too. If the Book of Mormon is not true, then nothing else is either.

I know the Book of Mormon is true because I have received a powerful witness of its truthfulness through prayer many times. One of those experiences being last fall when I was thinking and praying about serving a mission. I recieved a word for word answer in the Book of Mormon in Alma 42:31 which reads, "And now, O my son, ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people." Because of that experience and many others throughout my life, I CANNOT deny the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
I love and whole heartedly agree with the statement in the new proclamation where it says, "the Book of Mormon testifies that all human beings are sons and daughters of a loving Father in heaven, that He has a divine plan for our lives, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, speaks today as well as in days of old." I love the Book of Mormon and I bear this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. *smile* XD

King Benjamin is the MAN

A Book of Mormon prophet named King Benjamin gives us some great advice in chapter 4 verses 9&10.

Believe in God.

Believe that he is, and that he created all things.

Believe that he has all wisdom and all power.

Believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

Believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them.

Humble yourself before God and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you.

And most importantly, if you believe all these things see that ye do them!

I encourage all of you to read all of King Benjamin's words in Chapters 2-5 and I know if you do, you will hear some words that you specifically need to hear right now. The Book of Mormon has a weird tendency to do that. We're incredibly blessed to have it as an additional witness of Jesus Christ and His love for God's children. I have a testimony that King Benjamin was called by God and Jesus Christ and his words are truly for our day. I echo King Benjamin's words that mercy hath no claim on those who do not repent & that we must put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord.

Worldwide Fast: Life-changing, World changing

My fasting experience was incredible. I was able to fast for the longest time I ever had before. Nearly 20 hours or something like that. Knowing my struggles with fasting in the previous years, I know I was not alone today. God and Jesus Christ helped me through this.

Reminds of Mosiah Chapter 24 in which The Lord promises,

"I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease."

This past conference Elder Holland boldly stated (something along the lines of) we have every reason to hope for great blessings. What a profound statement especially considering the circumstances that our world is in right now. I know of a surety that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ truly do visit us in our afflictions and I saw that firsthand today during my fast. I have faith and hope for better things to come for the devastating pandemic we are now experiencing worldwide.
A missionary in Oregon created a Facebook page for the Worldwide Fast that quickly gained over a half million followers all over the world; people from every country, all different religions (and some altheists and agnostics, too) as well as from all walks of life. Here were some of the posts and a map of where people lived who would be fasting:

Lucky to room with a chef!

Elder Fullmer has a bunch of spices and loves to cook. The 3 other missionaries in the apartment are loving life with this guy! Nick's mom (the author of this post) is SO THRILLED to know that Nick will be well fed and she really hopes that he picks up the cooking talents and experience of his companion. High fives to Elder Fullmer!

Nick's April 6, 2020 Letter

Aloha kākou! 

That's Hawaiian for Hello everyone. As you all know, I'm actually not in Hawaii quite yet, but I am learning some Hawaiian anyways. Before I forget, everyone go add me on Facebook. My name on it is Nick Buckwalter. I've been in Vegas for a little over a week now. I got here on Friday night March 27th. President Reese and Sister Reese met us (3 other sisters going to Hawaii as well) at the airport and then took us to the Vegas temple.

I'll try to include a pic of it, it's really cool. It has 6 steeples and is obviously on a hill. In the distance below you can see the Strip which President Reese called the great and spacious buildings. They then took us to Raisin' Canes which is the best fast food place that's only in Vegas and Cali. 

That night I also met my companion Elder Fullmer who is from Logan, loves basketball and cooking, and he's only been out for about 4 months. He's told me that he's confused why he was chosen to train because he is so new as well. We are learning together. My birthday was actually last Monday (thanks for all the wishes and love) and Elder Fullmer bought me Panda Express. So that should tell you what kinda guy he is. He's awesome. 

General Conference was amazing! Elder Fullmer and I and some other missionaries got to watch every second of it at a church building. I loved it and have about 5 pages of notes haha! One thing that was really cool was the new proclamation that was announced by the Prophet. I'm also going to try to include a photo of that as well and encourage all of you to read it regardless if you're a member of the church or not. Afterwards, humbly pray to God just as Joseph Smith did to know the truth. 

I don't want this email to be too long but I do wanna shoutout and welcome home my homies that were sent home early from their missions because of COVID19. P Scott from New Zealand. Bren from Guatemala. RJ from Argentina. Kys from Chile. JT from Africa. And many others. 

Some more Hawaiian for y'all. Ke Akua Pū meaning God be with you and Lesū Pū meaning Jesus be with you. Whether it be through Facebook, Email, Google Hangouts, or whatever, I'd love to hear from any and all of you! 

nicolas.buckwalter@missionary.org. 

<3 ELDER BUCK or ELDER WATERMELON as some of the sisters in the mission have been calling me. 

haha!! Sending a bunch of pics mainly for my mom but you're welcome to look at them if you want.

Prophet's New Proclamation from General Conference

THE RESTORATION OF THE FULNESS OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST: A BICENTENNIAL PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
April 2020

We solemnly proclaim that God loves His children in every nation of the world. God the Father has given us the divine birth, the incomparable life, and the infinite atoning sacrifice of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. By the power of the Father, Jesus rose again and gained the victory over death. He is our Savior, our Exemplar, and our Redeemer.

Two hundred years ago, on a beautiful spring morning in 1820, young Joseph Smith, seeking to know which church to join, went into the woods to pray near his home in upstate New York, USA. He had questions regarding the salvation of his soul and trusted that God would direct him.

In humility, we declare that in answer to his prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and inaugurated the “restitution of all things” as foretold in the Bible. In this vision, he learned that following the death of the original Apostles, Christ’s New Testament Church was lost from the earth. Joseph would be instrumental in its return.

We affirm that under the direction of the Father and the Son, heavenly messengers came to instruct Joseph and re-establish the Church of Jesus Christ. The resurrected John the Baptist restored the authority to baptize by immersion for the remission of sins. Three of the original twelve Apostles —Peter, James, and John — restored the apostleship and keys of priesthood authority. Others came as well, including Elijah, who restored the authority to join families together forever in eternal relationships that transcend death.

We further witness that Joseph Smith was given the gift and power of God to translate an ancient record: the Book of Mormon — Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Pages of this sacred text include an account of the personal ministry of Jesus Christ among people in the Western Hemisphere soon after His Resurrection. It teaches of life’s purpose and explains the doctrine of Christ, which is central to that purpose. As a companion scripture to the Bible, the Book of Mormon testifies that all human beings are sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven, that He has a divine plan for our lives, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, speaks today as well as in days of old.

We declare that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized on April 6, 1830, is Christ’s New Testament Church restored. This Church is anchored in the perfect life of its chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and in His infinite Atonement and literal Resurrection. Jesus Christ has once again called Apostles and has given them priesthood authority. He invites all of us to come unto Him and His Church, to receive the Holy Ghost, the ordinances of salvation, and to gain enduring joy.

Two hundred years have now elapsed since this Restoration was initiated by God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Millions throughout the world have embraced a knowledge of these prophesied events.

We gladly declare that the promised Restoration goes forward through continuing revelation. The earth will never again be the same, as God will “gather together in one all things in Christ.”

With reverence and gratitude, we as His Apostles invite all to know — as we do — that the heavens are open. We affirm that God is making known His will for His beloved sons and daughters. We testify that those who prayerfully study the message of the Restoration and act in faith will be blessed to gain their own witness of its divinity and of its purpose to prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

General Conference weekend, April 2020: The Restoration

The world is blessed by our missionaries and their EFFORTS

We are all blessed as we make efforts to follow the Savior, to hear His voice 

and to follow His commandments.

Nick sent this pic on Conference Saturday:

and posted this on his Facebook account:

With the Prophet announcing this as the official symbol for our church, I wanted to post. Just like God called prophets and apostles in the Bible, he calls them today. Our living prophet's name is Russell M Nelson. We, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have been listening to the prophet and the apostles speak this weekend actually. It's on TV and I invite you to tune in whether you are a member of our church or not.

Russell M Nelson emphatically stated something along the lines of, "this is not the church of Joseph Smith, it's the church of Jesus Christ." Another message that was spoken of is that we cannot remove Jesus Christ as our central focus as a church and as a individual person. Its impossible to ignore the significance of Jesus Christ in our lives. Just like this picture, His arms are outstretched to all. I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves each of God's children.

It's like Christmas! (General Conference weekend)

Nick has been using his Facebook page to share some awesome

 testimonies and invitations for watch General Conference

As you all know due to COVID-19 we as latter-day saints are no longer able to meet on Sundays for church. In Alma 32, although they had different reasons, there was a group of people also unable to worship in their churches. This is Alma's counsel to them, "Do ye suppose that ye cannot worship God save it be in your synagogues only? do ye suppose that ye must not worship God only once in a week? It is well that ye are cast out of your synagogues, that ye may be humble."

Here's a prophet of God telling these people that them not being allowed in their churches is a good thing. It teaches them humility. You wonder if we are going through this same trial to also learn to be humble. I would even add to learn how to be spiritually self reliant. I read this story and immediately thought of the similarities to our day. The Book of Mormon is for our day and I have the strongest testimony of that. We, like these people in Alma 32, are unable to attend church on Sundays, but that doesn't mean we can't worship God anymore. In fact, we even have General Conference this weekend. What a blessing that is.

In this time, I, like Alma, challenge all of you to be humble and to be spiritually self reliant. Tune into General Conference this weekend to hear God's messengers. And after that, continue to worship God and live His gospel. This gospel is so much more than a one time thing. We are to endure to the end. 2 Nephi, chapter 31, verses 19-21 say, "After ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Nay, ye must press forward!! This is the way and there is none other way!!"

I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. I have a testimony of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I have a testimony of our living prophet, Russell M Nelson. I have a testimony of Joseph Smith being the Prophet chosen to restore this gospel upon the earth. I say these things in the name of the good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, amen.

He and Elder Fullmer and eager to teach, but can only teach via Google Hangouts or similar computer technology. They are SO excited to share messages of 

peace, hope, the plan of salvation, or any gospel topic. 

Nick's words were, "we are ridiculously anxious to share the 

truths of the restored gospel with people."

Nick is lucky that his companion, Elder Fullmer, likes to cook and DOES cook often. 

That is a serious blessing for Nick ;)

He said Elder Fullmer has a big bag of spices and makes all their food amazing!

Kudos to Elder Fullmer (and his mom or dad, whoever taught him to cook!!)

Do we understand the Plan?