Dear Reader,
When looking my Facebook timeline or at my twitter account, you can see that I haven't uploaded nearly as many pictures in the past couple of weeks as were posted during my first couple of weeks here in Spain. I have had an epiphany in the past week or so. To me it seems that the internet, selfies, videos, links, etc, are all meant for one thing: to share an experience with someone or multiple people who were not present for the original experience. The thought came to mind that the pictures I have posted have the purpose of sharing my great experiences with you, my friend.
When looking my Facebook timeline or at my twitter account, you can see that I haven't uploaded nearly as many pictures in the past couple of weeks as were posted during my first couple of weeks here in Spain. I have had an epiphany in the past week or so. To me it seems that the internet, selfies, videos, links, etc, are all meant for one thing: to share an experience with someone or multiple people who were not present for the original experience. The thought came to mind that the pictures I have posted have the purpose of sharing my great experiences with you, my friend.
They say a picture says a thousand words. This is true. However, there is much more than that. For example, you can see that we are happy and enjoying ourselves in this picture in front of the great city of Toledo. However, I discovered that, unless you were there with us, you do not fully appreciate the view that was behind us. You do not fully appreciate that Liz has a fantastic smile despite being sick that day. You cannot appreciate Alli's enthusiasm to be in the picture.
Upon thinking that you cannot feel all those things I have felt during this program, I tried to think of things that are effectively communicated by technology or other means. I can only think of one thing can be shared completely, no matter the distance, no matter the language, no matter your capacity. The one thing that can be shared universally is the Spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I came to this conclusion while watching the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this morning. This time around, it was time to try Twitter. While writing tweets with quotes from the Apostles and other general authorities, I noticed a pattern of people tweeting the same quotes and impressions. It is important to note that the people sending these tweets are found in dozens of different places from Spain to China to Provo. It is clear to see that even though these people, my friends and family, were not together, they were having the same experience. They were all feeling the Spirit.
Never fear, I will continue to share my experiences from Spain and across the world. Just remember that the experience that you and I will always share is feeling the spirit of Lord in our lives.
You have had some pretty great thoughts while in Spain. I am enjoying reading your blog that gets me thinking about my life as well. Keep enjoying your time there :)
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