Palio Time

Cara Famiglia,


Well the biggest non-spiritual news this week is the Palio! [A big horse race in Siena, see the Wikipedia article for details] In only 5 days Siena will go crazy. It is going to be awesome. Next week I will email on Monday since we're switching our P-day to see the Palio. Look for me in the middle of the campo. I believe the race actually starts at 19:30 our time. In other news, it was really hot the past week, but we worked really hard.


Andrea unfortunately did not come to church, but we taught him last Friday morning. We talked a lot about his doubts and his testimony, and he opened up a lot. Apparently he found some not so pro-mormon stuff on the internet, and fortunately wasn't totally shocked but was curious to find the truth. We will hopefully be seeing him and be able to just help him understand that the only real way to know for himself that this church is true is just like it says in Moroni 10:3-5, by reading and praying sincerely. We talked about Moroni's promise a good bit and what it means to have real intent. Keep praying for him to recognize and receive his answer!


Our bangladeshi friends are really busy with exams, so we didn't get a chance to see them this week. But we called and they are still reading the Book of Mormon which is cool. I think they are mostly excited because we actually have it in Bengali, which is probably a rare find here in Italy. 


We are still working a lot on finding every day, everywhere, and putting a lot of focus on getting at least 20 inviti per day again. It is helping out a lot. We can see good progress and more people are getting to hear about the restored gospel. I love this city!


This week I have two spiritual thoughts. The first is because on June 27th(today!) in 1844, the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred in Carthage Jail. I second what John Taylor wrote when he said "the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century." I testify that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God who saw what he said he saw, and was the instrument in God's hands for restoring the true church of Jesus Christ.


The other thing I wanted to share was the awesomeness of Amulek. In Alma 15:16 it talks about what Amulek gave up for the cause of the gospel:


16 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;


The footnote mentions 'prophets, rejection of' and it made me think about how prophets, and a lot of people in the church, are rejected not only publicly, but privately by their own families for having accepted the gospel. It helps me appreciate how much of a blessing it is to have a family that loves me and helps me live the gospel. I know that this church is true, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love you all lots!


-Anziano Benjamin Smith