WEEK 21.5: Happy Thankgiving!!

Greetings, friends and family!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We were graciously given a couple hours of Preparation day time by President and Sister Rodarte for Thanksgiving today, and I wanted to take the time to send a quick email! TW: This is corny. I will not be offended if you click out and just wait to read my regular email on Monday. Hakuna matata. No worries. I don't mind. I just wanted to share some of the things that I am most grateful for, and leave a special little invitation for all of you who will read this.

But first, I am grateful for my family. Literally my family is one of my most treasured blessings. Families are one of the ultimate gifts from our Heavenly Father. It is a joy to know that I am tied to them for all of eternity. Their endless love and support means the world to me!! What a miracle that we have families! 10/10. Love y'all.

I am grateful for the glorious city of Las Vegas!! This city is absolutely wild. It's so crazy and so fun, and the most wonderful people live here, and they have absolute hearts of gold. This valley is mind-blowingly full of people, and I have the opportunity to share truth with them and help them find true and everlasting joy! Known across the world as Sin City, Las Vegas shows me everyday that it truly thrives with goodness. I am learning so much. Every day I wake up grateful to spend 18 months of my life here! This is the part of the Lord's vineyard I have been assigned to work in, and I couldn't be more in love with it.

I am grateful for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!! Now, this section pretty much entails everything. The Restoration of the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ began, but did not end, with Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. On that day in 1820, the windows of heaven opened again. They have not closed and they will never close again. The Restoration is ongoing. It continues every single day. We have truth! Full, complete, unchanging truth. Our questions can be answered, we know where we come from, why we're here, and what comes next. It's all contained within the pages of The Book of Mormon. My testimony has deepened exponentially of the Restoration. This is the Church that Jesus Christ established during His earthy ministry! And it is filling the whole earth!! It's absolutely incredible that God allows us to help move it forward.

BONUS ROUND: I am grateful for all of you!! Every single person on this email has impacted my life in some way. I am so truly grateful for the endless love and support from literally day 1. I wouldn't be who I am without all of you. Whether family, coworker, teacher, classmate, leader, friend, companion... I love you!! It truly takes a village. And I am grateful for my village.

I can't do my job effectively without leaving an invitation to act. I invite ALL of you (yes, you!) to consider the things God has given you. What things mean the most? Why? How do those things remind you of God's love? And finally, how can you express gratitude for those things? I invite you to PRAY. Say a prayer of gratitude. I'll be honest, the past few weeks have been a little bit rough for me. But I was invited by someone to say a prayer strictly giving thanks for things I am grateful for. Not asking for anything from God, just simply recognizing His hand.  I was promised that 1) the Spirit of God would be able to reach and comfort my troubled heart while doing so, and 2) that I would feel more joy and recognize more blessings and miracles. I want to extend that same invitation and promise those same blessings to you. I've tried it, and I testify that it works! Prayer is powerful. Prayer, especially prayers of gratitude, allow the Spirit to come to us quickly. Being grateful allows God to open our eyes and show us more of His tender mercies (spoiler alert: they're everywhere). So, try it! Give it a couple days. Make the intentional effort. And then I'd love to hear about your experiences. So take notes!! Deal? Cool.

Anyway. That's all I have for today. If you read this, thanks for sticking around and doing that! I love you all and I hope you've had a wonderful day with family and also with food.

Until Monday!

Love, Sister Malmstrom