15 Feb 2014

Hey Mom!
This week went well and I'm doing good. Tonight and tomorrow is our Stake Conference. Last PDay we went and played ultimate frisbee with some other missionaries and that was great. We went to an island this week called the Ilha do Governador where we had an activity and open house with the missionaries in that stake. It was great! We did the same thing in a stake that I've already served in, Madureira. This week I'm going to Macaé which is about 4 hours from where I'm at now, to give a training for the missionaries in the stake there. On wednesday we will go to Jacarepaguá and give a training for 2 stakes worth of missionaries and on Thursday will be a big meeting with 4 stakes worth of missionaries. The week after should have another 2 of these Zone Conferences. I'm really excited! We've got a lot to plan for but thats nothing new. Next Saturday we are gonna have a baptism so in my next letter I'll give you more details about that. This is basically whats going on with me right now. I went to Copacabana last night to visit a couple of families and we found a new family to reactivate that is awesome! I studied a lot this morning about how important it is to remember. If you look in the topical guide about "remember" there is a lot to read. Many people that have fallen away from the church is just because they forget. They forget how it is to feel the Spirit and they stop reading the scriptures and praying and going to church and they "forget the Lord" so to speak. The word remember is used frequently in the Book of Mormon. Many times we read, for example Helaman 5 the word remember is used 15 times in the first 14 verses. Remember remember! We can never forget the Lord. Sin, pride, hate, anger, laziness, and many other things cause us to forget the Lord. We must, as King Benjamin says, "remember and perish not." When we partake of the sacrament, we promise to "always remember Him". When we talk to people that have fallen away from the church, we must remind them! Help them to feel the Spirit again and they will "remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men" (Moroni 10:3). Read the scriptures, pray, sing hymns, go to church, go to the temple and bear your testimony! Dont forget the Lord. He will never forget us. We must avoid the temptation to have other priorities that become "false idols" and become more important than God is. King Benjamin warns us again in chapter 5:13, "For how knoweth the man a master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" How can we remember the Lord? We must serve Him. He must be close to our hearts. You will come to know Jesus Christ on a personal level as you serve Him and serve God's children. This will help you to "always remember Him". I know that this will bring happiness and an abundance of the Spirit. There is a talk that I have read many times and is very important to me and has encouraged me to always remember the Lord. I hope you feel the Spirit as much as I do when I read it. 
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/o-remember-remember?lang=eng
Its called, "O Remember, Remember" by Pres Eyring. I hope you really enjoy it and I hope it causes a change in your heart and gives you a greater desire to serve the Lord with love and always remember Him. I love you so much and hope to hear from you soon.
Élder Jared Knotts