Weekly Hello....

Hello,
My dearest amigos, things here in my latest area are going pretty well. i have remembered some important details that I thought might like to concerning this area, and the configuration of my mission. In the last transfer meeting, the Georgia Atlanta North Mission was split into 8 zones instead of 7, and it just so happens that I am in the Newest Zone that was created. The actual size of the mission didn't change, but some of the wards redid their boundaries, and the splitting of the zones was to make things more efficient. I have heard rumors of complaints and allegations against my methods of distributing information, but I would like to point out that the reason for said methods is due to the slothfulness of those from whom the information is withheld. Not much is going on here, lots of service and such, but very little misionary work due to the lack of people to teach (seriously, there are hardly any people around). But we're doing our best with what we have, and I'm sure the Lord will bless us.

I've been thinking a lot lately about President Packers' remarks in the last General Conference, and the phrase "there will come a time when all that stands between your homes and the adversaries mischief is your Priesthood," has really made me think about how important the Priesthood is in our lives. I've also been thinking about how living righteously makes us more powerful in the Priesthood. At first this confused me, but I soon realized what President Packer meant, and I came up with this analogy. If you think of the source of the Priesthood as a battery (God), which has a switch next to it that can turn the current off and on (Gods' will), and then you have a lightbulb connected to the end of the circuit which represents the effects of the Priesthood such as healing. Now if you place a resistor inbetween the switch and the lightbulb, then the amount of energy getting to the lightbulb decreases. That resistor would be us in our imperfect states. But as we live righteously, we are sanctified/purified, and the amount of resistance we put up decreases. Resulting in more power reaching the lightbulb, and the light burning brighter. As I reflect on the first statement, I would encourage all of you to prepare yourselves to be that protection to your families, and would hope that we can all try to lift the Power of the Priesthood to where it should be.

I hope you're all doing well, and may the Lord bless you in all you endeavors. I love you all, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Elder Hughes