Blessings Elder Newbold has Recognized

I was asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting on July 23rd on blessings we have recognized from having a missionary. I wrote to Elder Newbold to ask him for some feed back also. This is what he shared with me:

The blessings I recognize:
As a missionary, when I've tried to be more obedient I have recognized many things. One being, tender mercies, such as; the Lord allows me to see the experiences I've been given as lessons to learn from. Like recognizing promptings from the Spirit. And as I have began to learn more of how the Holy Ghost works with me in my life I have been able to recognize the inspiration and promptings as they come.

As I've studied more and have used more resources while reading the scriptures (like the institute manual) I have gained a much greater understanding of the Book of Mormon and have been able to remember those things I learn. Which has been neat to slowly recognize. My patriarchal blessing promises "I bless you with a desire to draw closer to your Heavenly Father. As you do so, He will draw closer to you. And the closer you come to God, the greater the blessings that will flow unto you. He will illuminate your intellect. He will expand your capacity for learning and your ability to retain and recall."  That last sentence brings me hope. Retaining and recalling information has been close to impossible for me throughout my life. But as I do as I've been told and promised in my blessing, when I draw closer to God, He WILL bless me. It hasn't come all at once, I haven't been completely changed because of the blessings that I've received, but I know that I have been blessed at MOMENTS where I can recall the things I've learned throughout the day or even the week, which has been a blessing. Slowly but surely they come.

Another more obvious one for me, I have embraced the gospel, in a way that I haven't before. I may not be a perfect missionary or the best at teaching, but I'm a trying missionary and I have come to know the things I've been taught since primary to be true.   I do have a loving Heavenly Father and I know He has a son, Jesus Christ. I know that He has a divine plan for His children. For me, for you, for us all. It's not a plan that will in a future time be revealed, it's a plan that we were a part of from the very beginning. We are living in the plan. I know we were together as spirits with our Father in Heaven before we were born on earth. It's a wonderful plan and we can continue to learn about it as we love life. 

I know these things and I continue to learn for myself the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

These are just a few of the many blessings I have recognized in my life, since a missionary.