Elder Ryan Phillip Lawter

Hey errryone,
I still feel retarded every time I start off my email because I don’t know how to start it without sounding retarded… So I guess I feel retarded either way so it’s a lose lose... but it’s been….well… an interesting week I guess you could say… It’s been the type of week that has made me very thankful for the gospel, the priesthood, the love of our Savior and everything…. I’ll tell the story a little bit later on…
But overall everything’s everything here…. Workin so hard that I’m losin track of the days… it feels just like yesterday that it was the beginning of the year…. It’s amazing how fast the time literally goes.. sometimes it’s good and then again sometimes it’s bad… I feel like 24 hours in a day is not enough to get everything accomplished but I guess it’s not the time that’s given you but what you do in that space of time that really counts. It’s all good; the work’s good, the work’s hard, but the work is fun… There’s people who are in need of what we got and that’s the fun part, finding those people who are ready and it need and at the same time helping those other people who don’t think they are in need, see that they’re in need…because they are. I had an interesting experience to say the least last Sunday at church… It was something that I never in a million years would have thought that I would see or experience. So Elder Hernandez and I had a few investigators at church last Sunday and we were sitting reverently as the Sacrament was being passed and we look back to see how our investigators are doing (They were sitting with some members) and we saw that one of our investigators was crying and crying and crying.. and I was thinking to myself oh french is she crying because she doesn’t like it? Is she crying because she feels the Spirit? Is she crying because she broke a nail? You know what was it? So we kept looking back and looking back and each time she was crying harder and harder and she was starting to shake by this point so I thought then it could be a medical issue… So by this point the Sacrament was almost done so we just waded it out until it was over and when it was we got up to see what was the matter… So we walked up to her and she was sobbing so hard that she couldn’t even speak so then we stood her up to and walked with her and some of the priesthood holders into a room to settle her down and give her a blessing if she needed it… When we got into the room it just felt dark and cold… not the same room that it was a few minutes ago… so anyways we asked her if she wanted a blessing of health or comfort and she kinda blurted out los dos or both. When we anointed her with oil she started to shake a little more and raise up her hands… I thought it was a little weird at the time but whatev…people have their own beliefs…. So after the anointing was done, there was me, my companion, 3 endowed brothers, a sister friend from the branch, and another investigator that we are teaching that is the friend of the lady who is getting the blessing. So we put our hands upon her head and one of the brothers began to give her the blessing and at that moment things started feeling eerie and during the blessing her whole body started to shake uncontrollably and right at that moment we knew it wasn’t gonna be a blessing of health anymore but something bigger than that. It was terrifying…literally bone chilling the things that it was saying inside of her. After many times of the one brother commanding the spirit so to say inside of her to leave we had everyone give the lady a blessing, commanding the evil force in the name of the Savior to leave and it kept saying to us…”you don’t have the authority, you don’t have the power to do so…this is my body and I’m not leaving.” So with all of our energy and faith we told it to leave and finally…it did… I could feel it go through my body from head to toe just chills going through my body until it left. I haven’t been able to sleep real well the past few nights but I definitely took something from it…and that is the power of the Priesthood and the will of God. Afterwards we looked at our investigator and she opened her eyes clearer and bigger and brighter than I’ve ever seen them before…she spoke clearer, without the nasal sound that she had before…She was a different person someone that we haven’t met before, after that. When we spoke to her right after she told us… “I haven’t felt this happy and this peaceful in a long long time… You men are angels..who were sent to come rescue me.” Then she told us later that she knew that the Priesthood and the authority in which we hold is true and that the church of Jesus Christ is on the earth again and then she told us that she wanted to be baptized soon! I have never felt so close to both forces beyond the veil than I did that day. I can honestly testify now that Satan is so ever present in this world and can take control of our lives in so many different ways both spiritual and physical if we are not careful and yet on the other hand…. I can so honestly testify that God lives….He loves us, He cares about us, and He knows our wants and needs before we even do. He has restored His everlasting gospel among this earth one last time to bring His children back home… and with the restoration of His gospel came also the restoration of the very same Priesthood that existed in the time when Christ set-up His church… The very same church that we have today and that is guided by a living Prophet just like His church of old and the Priesthood, or the authority to act in God’s name, just like His church of old. It’s all the same, just different time. I saw in that room, the manifestation of God among one of his children that was in need…and it was through the Priesthood power and the faith that was in that room, that she was able to be healed. I know it to be true God bearing witness of it…with all of my heart I know this gospel to be the true gospel of Jesus Christ…believe me or not but it is the Lord’s kingdom among the earth to guide and direct us in these trying latter days and I’m so grateful for the blessing it is in my life and the blessing that I have to help touch others lives and bring them the same happiness.
I love you all and I am as well grateful for you in my life too! It’s a great time to be alive! This life was intended to be enjoyed so do it and live it up! I hope that you all have a great week and take care whatever may come…and whatever does come…love it.
Same time same place next week peeps!
With all my love,
Elder Ryan Lawter