Sister Ripplinger's Letter, The Priesthood of God, July 30, 2013

My dear friends and family, This morning, my companions and I were driving back from grocery shopping in Keokuk and I was driving in the pouring rain. The water was running over the road and the rain was pounding on the windshield. I love the rainstorms here. I feel the Lord is letting the blessings pour down, as well. I feel like we're in a rainstorm of blessings-the cup runneth over and there is not enough room to receive them. The Spirit has been strong and miracles are happening. Last summer, I met this precious family that I immediately felt close to and loved. I first met them on Pageant grounds one night, then saw them at different locations in Nauvoo about five times after that. I was able to bear testimony to their young family and they taught me through their examples. They move around a lot for the dad's work and have learned how to make friends quickly and just love with opens heart. Last week, I was looking through my contact information of people I've met on my mission and saw their family name. The Spirit reminded me who they were. A week later, I saw them walk into the Carthage Jail Visitor's Center. Immediately, we all recognized each other. It was a great reunion. We had a really neat spiritual experience together that Sunday afternoon and they also told me that their 12 year old twin boys were going to receive the Aaronic Priesthood this week while they're in Nauvoo. They invited my companions and I to be there. Wednesday night, we went to the Stake Center where the Pageant Cast has their pre-show meeting together. Everyone had just finished and were getting ready to leave for their district meetings. We were able to join their circle as they talked about the Priesthood of God. I was able to bear my testimony of the Priesthood. The Priesthood is something that has strengthened my testimony deeply and significantly of the Gospel. I was grateful for the opportunity to testify of it. Then we went into the Relief Society room, with their grandparents, their Bishop (who traveled to Nauvoo to be there as well), and other cast members they were close to. The Spirit was STRONG in that room. It was a sacred to experience to be there as these two young men were ordained as deacons by their father. Although they are twins, their blessings were very different and I could feel that they were inspired. I felt so grateful that they invited us to be there. There were a lot more people in that room than we could see with our eyes. Later that night, on Pageant grounds the father came and thanked me for helping their family feel like they have a true friend- that sometimes they feel like the forgotten family because they move around so much and it meant a lot that we came to their special family event. They will never understand how grateful I was that they invited us to come. Now we are family and friends. We had our missionary meeting in the Nauvoo Groves before going out to contact on Pageant Grounds every night. One particular evening, I gave the thought and talked about miracles happening. We read from the Book of Mormon about how Heavenly Father is a God of miracles and that miracles have not ceased. I believe that with all my heart. I believe in the power of heaven. Some missionaries shared miracles that have happened recently in their different areas from the Des Moines, Iowa Mission and the Nauvoo sisters. I felt the Spirit and knew that miracles would happen again that night. We went back to the information booth where my companions and I were assigned for the night and immediately, an older woman walks toward us. She asks me what we have available and I told her about the Pageant CD that is available. She seemed excited about it and I started asking her about her life. She started filling out the referral card and I saw she was from Burlington. It so happened that the elders serving in Burlington were standing right next to us and they were able to schedule a meeting with her and make friends right then and there. The Lord is in the details of His work. Sister Umphenour, Sister Zibetti, and I made the extra effort to attend a few of the vignettes that the Pageant Cast does during the week. The first one we went to was Letters of Joseph and Emma. It was right across from the Mansion House and was magical to see (the actors) Joseph and Emma walking arm in arm with the Mansion House behind them. The performance is them reading out loud the letters they wrote to each other. It was wonderful. The next vignette was "Go Ye Into The World". Imagine Brigham Young, John Taylor, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, and Wilford Woodruff all in the Seventies Hall. Each of them told their stories about serving missions in England and the sacrifices they made. Oh my goodness, it was so powerful. I have never seen Sister Umphenour cry, but this thing was so good that even the Umphenator was in tears. Isn't that amazing!? We had several young women come from Iowa to serve with us as missionaries for the day. They were doing a special program "Called to Serve", where they are set apart for the weekend as missionaries. I had a few different sisters with me and it was fun to see these 16 and 17 year old young women open their mouths and talk with people about the Gospel. Some of them seemed extremely uncomfortable talking with strangers about the Gospel, but it was fun to see them open up their hearts to God's children and bear testimony. I've been thinking and praying a lot about what Heavenly Father wants me to do when I get back to BYU. I feel like there are some young women in the ward where I will be living that have been thinking about missions, but are nervous to go for different reasons. I'm going home to continue building the Kingdom and I need to find those young women and help them gain a desire to fulfill a mission for their Father in Heaven. I know there are many things to yet complete before I come home and I know that Heavenly Father is preparing more for when I get back. The Spirit has really been working on me and preparing me. For that I am grateful. The Ripplinger family is in Nauvoo at last!!!! My family arrived yesterday and it has been a wonderful experience to have them here. We went to the temple together this morning and it was an experience that I will never forget. My mom, my dad, my dear Sister Umphenour, and sweet Sister Zibetti gathered together in the Celestial room at the end of the session and I cherish those moments. We were able to share special experiences and soak in the Spirit. The veil is thin. I thought about Nikole, Elizabeth, and Carl who were waiting to perform baptisms and confirmations soon and how their testimonies have grown. My young family read the Book of Mormon in 85 days. I thought of my brother, Derek, on his mission and the experiences that he is having. He is experiencing that challenges and the blessings-the experiences that bring us closer to the Savior. The Lord is merciful and kind and He loves us. I know that in the eternities, my mission will be sacred to me, and the precious time the Lord has granted me with my family. I'm grateful to be a missionary. I love this gospel and I know that this is the Lord's work. This is the work of salvation. Sister Heather Ripplinger