Cold!

Cara Famglia,

This week has been really cold. Although probably not as cold as Anziano Richards in Denmark. After the snowstorm last week which left about 6 or 7 inches here in Torino, it got super cold and windy. It's been sticking around -5 celsius each night. But it is really fun to be out talking to people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ on an awesome Italian Piazza, even when it is freezing.

Well Antonio and Sandro came to church! Antonio is making more progress than [Sandro], but he is still kind of shaky. He says we talk too much about Joseph Smith and not about other prophets, and he keeps saying "I want to follow Jesus Christ, not a church." So we are working on that. Gianpier is doing well, we taught him a lesson on Saturday and it was really cool. His brother-in-law Stefano was also there, and Gianpier taught him how to pray! It was really cool. He really understands everything we teach really well, but he's kind of hesitant to unite with a church and be baptized again. So we are going to keep helping him recognize the importance of the Restoration. Stefano was also very interested, seeing as we taught the Plan of Salvation, and we sent him off with a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon.

Bright did not come to church, but last night we set a baptismal date with him for the 4th of March, so pray for him to make that date! He is really good and will be baptized, he's really noticing the difference the gospel makes in his life.

We are working on finding new investigators too, and last night we found a lady named Jennifer! She is from Nigeria, here in Italy for 7 years and is super brava. She let us in to her house while we were knocking doors and we taught her about the Restoration and invited her to baptism and she said yes! So it was really cool.

The work is going really good, we have some other good potentials/investigators that we are continuing to work with.

This week I was reading some of the Book of Helaman and I really liked some verses in chapter three:
28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.

29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—

30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

First of all, I think it would be really awesome to hang out with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and have a good conversation with them. But I really like the message of the gate being open unto all, and how powerful the word of God is to help us know eternal truths that will bring us eternal happiness. I know it is an eternal truth that Jesus is the Christ, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will bring peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. I know this church is true. I love you all!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith