Week 10

Hi everybody!

So transfers are over and we are officially staying together for sure. Transfers are like groundhog day. If the mission president sees his shadow, then it's 6 more weeks with your companion! Haha. Ok lame joke. But we do have new schedules. Monday will be my new Pday and I will be at sites on Fridays and Saturdays now. Our district just inherited 2 new missionaries so I'm not the newest newbie anymore! :)

 

So this week seriously feels like a blur and I'm having a really hard time remembering what happened. We were at sites until Thursday night last week and then finally got to go back to our area. We've been creative in trying to soften hearts to prepare them to hear the message we have to share, like bringing dinners, doing service, etc etc. And it's working. One of our potential investigators called us later and said she was speechless at what we did for her and her husband and just thanked us over and over again. She's so sweet, and her husband just had treatment for a form of Parkinson's that he has. Apparently they give him a ton of shots of botox to help treat it, and it's been miraculous for him. So we're pretty excited to teach them.

 

Then we watched conference this weekend!! It was so weird. I forgot what it was like to just veg out on the couch for hours. That's what it felt like...almost like we were breaking rules or something :) haha. But wasn't conference SO GOOD??? I just want to share a bit about what I learned. I feel like as a missionary I have had more anti-Mormon garbage thrown in my face than ever before (especially on chat). I have seen and heard more and more stories about strong members leaving the church for one reason or another, and fewer and fewer active members, especially in this area. Our area has somewhere around 60% less active members to 40% active. And I'll be honest, it has pushed harmful doubts into my heart. So I decided that before conference I would pray that I could gain a stronger testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel, and be reminded of why I am a member of this church. And holy cow. Every single talk answered that to some extent--but there are a few in particular that stuck out to me:

 

1. Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Why would anyone want to be a member of a church that requires so much from its members? He went on to discuss the blessings of this restored gospel and said to "doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith".

 

2. Boyd K. Packer: In a world as wicked as ours, how can we have a positive outlook on the future? Definitely a question I have had. We can study our scriptures and do those daily things to strengthen our testimonies, and we can strive to keep all of our covenants. That is how we receive blessings isn't it? God sets the terms, and if we keep our end, God is bound and he has to keep His promise as well.

 

3. Richard G. Scott: Obedience allows the Atonement to protect us from our weaknesses. As a missionary this is so important to know. My weaknesses are constantly being thrown in my face, but that is to be expected. In Ether 12:27, Christ says "if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness". Well, as a missionary I think I did just that. And Has shown me my weaknesses. But He then goes on to say "behold I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Needless to say, humility is definitely an attribute I am working on...

 

4. Adrian Ochoa: Don't forget to look up! If you find anything that causes you to doubt your faith--Look up. Continually strengthen your testimony so that it stands strong and protects from doubts. (this one was the icing on the cake right at the end of conference...so good!)

 

Another huge message that was emphasized was member missionary work. I cannot stress enough how happy I was that they talked about that so much (EXCLAMATION POINT)! So my message to all of you back home is to be missionaries! That means to family, friends, active members, less active members, nonmembers, and to all who need to hear this message. And ALWAYS be praying for missionary opportunities! As was mentioned in conference by Elder Nielson, "This work will not move forward in the way the Lord has intended without member missionaries". So listen to what the prophet has asked. Share the gospel with EVERYONE. Because it truly is for everyone. Would you want to be left out? Neither do they. They just don't know it yet :)

 

Anyways, that's pretty much all for this week. We have a lot of things in the works so we're kind of in limbo right now, especially since last week and this week will be very Kirtland-focused with Elder Ballard coming this weekend. So I'm pretty dang excited for that. It's the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the sites at Kirtland. We get to help with a VIP dinner on Friday for politicians and such in the community which is invite-only, so it will be smaller. Then there's a fireside after that for everyone at the stake center down the street. Then Saturday morning there's a pancake breakfast and family walk around the temple, and then the adult session that night. Then Sunday is the general session. They also will be holding a special youth session INSIDE the Kirtland temple. How cool is that?? Except that's the only thing we don't get to help with :( But I'm suuuper excited anyways. It's gonna be a good weekend! Maybe they'll announce that Ohio Cleveland missionaries get ipads and facebook :) Or maybe we'll find out that the Kirtland temple is ours again. Haha. I have really high hopes for some big announcements. We'll see... :)

 

Love y'all!

Tayler