Hello everyone. Greetings. Peace. Love. Respect. Blessed. haha Things are going awesome over here in Jamaica. This past week has been pretty busy, but it ended with a baptism. So no complaints ever on this side. This week, we were training missionaries in Negril and Montego Bay, and then we had a zone conference in Sav-La-mar. so we were sadly out of our area for a while. On Sunday, we baptized the daughter of a recent convert that we have been teaching for about 6 weeks. It was cool to see how happy they were. It was definitely a special moment. That family will always hold a special place in my heart. I have loved teaching them. being a missionary is just great. it is awesome. I love serving others and serving God. Today, I have been pondering on the grace of Jesus Christ that comes via His Atonement. The power of Christ's atonement is more than just raising us from the dead. The power of Jesus Christ's atonement enables us to become new creatures. It enables us to be transformed. It enables us to become gods. It enables us to change. Without it and without Him we are as dross. It is impossible to change our natures to a godly nature on our own. We may change our actions, but we cannot change our natures to a godly nature on our own. How do we experience the power of His amazing grace? we just need to put our full and complete trust in Him. We must do everything He asks of us regardless of our fears and consequences. I have seen many lives transformed from His amazing grace. I have seen my own life transformed from His amazing grace. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is the Son of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Elder Nugent

Hey everyone! Hope everyone is doing well! Man, time has been flying by too fast. I am loving it here in Santa Cruz. This past week, we have met and taught some really cool people that have a lot of potential. So i am very excited about that. In missionary work, we the missionaries, always try to recieve referrals from members and non members, because this is the most effective way to find good investigators who are likely to be baptized. A constant struggle that missionaries face, however, is that many times members are afraid to refer their close friends and family to the missionaries because either they think that their friends and family wont be interested, or because they think that it will somehow disrupt their relationship. This has been a dilemma i have faced for much of my mission until about 2 weeks ago. The answer to this dilemma came from the Lord, and the answer is to go to the Lord. I challenge all who read this post to do these few simple things:

 

1. Read and ponder Alma 16:16. The Lord has been preparing people who we know to recieve the gospel. He has prepared their hearts by the Spirit. This scripture applies to us today.

 

2. Get on your knees, and pray to God to ask who among the people that you know, has been prepared to hear the gospel. And who among the people that you know, you should share the gospel with. God uses us to soften peoples hearts as well.

 

3. As you close your prayer, remain on your knees and ponder. Prayer is a two-way communication with our Father in Heaven. We need to give Him time to communicate with us. Remain silent, and ponder for several minutes. As you ponder, I promise that names of people you know will come to your mind, and heart. This is revelation from the Holy Ghost. (D&C 9:8)

 

4. Write down the names that came to your mind and heart on a piece of paper

 

5. Contact the missionaries, and ask for their help in sharing the gospel with those people. It is best if you contact your friends first, and invite them to meet the missionaries. The missionaries can help you know how to contact your friends.

 

Always give thanks to the Lord for revelation. This process has worked every time. The Lord does answer prayers! I know He lives and I love Him. I love you all as well,

 

Elder Nugent

Hey everyone! hope everything is going well, and I hope everyone has had an excellent new years. Things are going really well here. We should be having a baptism on saturday and we are working with some really cool people. Time is flying by faster than ever, and I am enjoying the sweet work of the Lord. This past week, I have been thinking a bit on how we need to receive the Holy Ghost. When we were baptized, we were given instruction at confirmation to recieve the Holy Ghost, which is an action phrase. At baptism we were given the gift of the Holy Ghost, but it is up to us to receive that gift. As we are obedient, and honor our covenants, and keep the commandments, and partake of the sacrament, we receive the Holy Ghost. As we are disobedient, the Holy Ghost leaves, and instead of light, we are filled with darkness.  May we all strive to be more diligent in receiving the Holy Ghost throughout our lives.

Love you all,

Elder Nugent

Hey everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's. This past week was awesome. I had an excellent Christmas. We were able to share Christmas messages with many people and help them feel the Spirit which was awesome. We were also fed by some members which was excellent as well haha. On Sunday, I gave a talk in Church about conversion which went pretty well, and got me to thinking about ways that I can become more fully converted in my life. And since it is New Year's, what better time to set some resolutions? As I prepared my talk, the realization came to me that we become more converted as we experience blessings from the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and as we allow ourselves to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost; because, It is the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost which causes a mighty change in our hearts. When we are converted, we are born again. We become changed creatures in Jesus Christ. So, we need to apply the atonement by living the gospel including faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, making and keeping covenants, following the promptings of the Spirit, and enduring to the end in faith. We need to invite the Spirit into our lives through obedience to God's commandments including daily scripture study and prayer, and participating in sacred ordinances of the gospel such as the sacrament. May we all strive to do better to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ this upcoming year. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love you all

Elder Nugent