To mom (from Jordan)

From: Jordan Stamps Jones <jsjones@myldsmail.net>
Date: Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 9:10 PM
Subject: Re: I still love you!
To: Lisa Stamps <stamps.lisa@gmail.com>


Thank you for your letter. I am happy to hear things are going well in the ward and at Summit for the students. Thank you for congratulating the actors for me. I thought the play was in another couple weeks, so I forgot to ask you to do that for me... Thank you :)

I wish you the best luck on the SSI application and I hope it ends up working out, but even if it doesn't, things will work out in the end as long as everyone is doing everything they can. That's somethings I've learned really well out here. If we are doing everything we can, things will work out better than we could've imagined, but if we are even a little lazy or are doing things for the wrong reasons, we will not receive that help. It's tough, but it would be infinitely more so if we didn't receive that help. I'd say read in Mosiah about Alma and the church after they were "captured" by the Lamanites. It's a good insight into how God works sometimes.

Life was meant to be hard, but it doesn't need to be impossible. If we do everything we can and hold nothing back, nothing can stop us from doing what needs to be done. This isn't because of our efforts. This is because our efforts allow God to give us all the help we need and more. Living God's way is never easy, but it is always better.

Thank you for conveying all the news and salutations. I am really happy for Hannah and I wish Rachel all the best and I would give her the same advice as I just gave you above. I look forward to seeing everyone again, but in the meantime, please say hello for me to each of them, accompanied by a hug if possible :)
Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,
Elder Jones

P.S. There are quite a few Chinese over here already, we'll see how many more come!