Week 3.5 Modesto CA: first area - Stockton 7/25/2016

Serving in Stockton California with Elder Spencer

Highlights

Tues Transferred to Stockton California

Thurs rode my bike like 8 miles...

This week has been so great!! :) Our ward mission leaders are Sunny and brother Phelps, I serve in an Asian branch and the Calverouse River ward in the Stockton stake. My companion is Elder Spencer from Payson and he is so great! he is training me right now and that is interesting and fun. California is very hot, but Hong Kong will be hotter.

We are currently meeting with this family that have been taught by the missionaries and the two girls are getting baptized on the 30th!! :) The members out here also love us enough to feed us, but my most memorable memory is when this person we were teaching was touched by the spirit and opened up to us.

This gospel is all about desire and what you do with that desire. I know that this gospel is True. I know that if I do things for the right reasons, that people will be touched and that I can witness God's mighty miracles. 

the Scripture I have been pondering a lot is Ether 12:27 which says and "if men come unto me, I will show unto men their weakness." I really like that because we have to first be humble enough to try to understand what he wants for us, and if we do that he will help us understand what we have to do to become better. I know that it is only through Christ that we can be able to go back to heaven with God and Christ. I know that this gospel is truly the one that brings happiness. I know these things because God has been merciful enough to reveal them to me, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Week 3 Modesto California Mission 7/20/2016

Arrived at the Modesto California Mission

Highlights

Sunday I watched Character of Christ again and afterward Elder Bednar came and talked to us!! It was super cool...

Mon I flew from Utah to the Oakland airport and I am meeting with President Palmer my mission president. He is very spiritual and very spiritually minded...

I really liked how Elder Bednar talks about how when we would usually turn inward the Savior turns outward. what I got out of his talk was that if you become converted you will not fall away from god and he quotes Alma 23:5 "yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away."

he answers the question how can I become converted, and he answered that question by saying that we become converted by using the character of christ which is turning outward, and turning away from the natural man (Mosiah 3:19) "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever,unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child,submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." and Elder Bednar mentioned how only through the atonement of Christ can we change and turn outward. 

so I challenge you all to help someone feel the savior's love and his I know that he can save us, I don't know how he can do it, but I know The Savior can. In his name. Amen.

Week 2.5 MTC Temple, Temple Square, & Temporary Assignment 7/15/2016

Surprise: Leaving for the California Modesto Mission in Two Days

I studied the scriptures a lot and love Galations 5:22 where it says that all good things come from God. Another scripture I love a lot is D&C 88:119 where it says God is a God of order, and I have been trying to keep my life in order by being on time, and trying to follow with exact obedience.

sorry one more scripture that stood out to me, and that applied a lot to what Elder Hafen said at the Tuesday devotional. The scripture is Ether 12:6
"And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore,dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I really like this scripture because it says that you have to first act then you will receive a witness of your faith. Elder Hafen said that to strengthen your testimony on faith, charity, the atonement or anything else you have to have three elements. 1. the Spirit 2. know why it would be important to know 3. have a trial of your faith. with these three things, then testimony on anything can be strengthened...

Highlight Days

Sun I watched the Joseph Smith restoration film, and never felt the spirit like I have never before and know without a doubt that Joseph Smith is a prophet.

Fri/ Sat we committed our (Moc) investigators to baptism, we they don't tell us if they are real or not, but Elder Gubbay and I think they are :) we were so happy that they were taking the first steps to eternal life.

Friday was the most crazy day. We went to Temple Square and I saw the airport at the top of the conference center. It was really spiritual and I loved it.

I also went to the Provo temple and got to do initiatories and an endowment session.

I was also told that I will be temporarily serving in the California Modesto mission and leave Mon the 18th early in the morning.

Sat during our lesson before we committed one of them I really felt the my heart swelling described in "come come ye saints" (Hymn #30)

Week 1.5 MTC Great Spirit & Teaching Experience - 7/8/2016

Great Spirit & Teaching Experience

This week has definitely been a week to remember... there are two highlights from this week that I wish to share, one is Elder Bednar's talk about the character of Christ, and the other is Elder Jensen's talk about faith.

I have felt the spirit so strongly this week (Galatians 5:17) especially when I auditioned to play the piano and played a poor way faring man of grief (Doctrine and Covenants 25:12). There is a certain spirit to music that is indescribable, and godly

Here are just a few things I learned in Elder Jensen's talk. To have more faith we must first understand it and how it works. The greater our faith the more useful we can be to the LORD, and lastly I learned that there are different levels of faith, but most importantly only after we have faith, do we receive miracles (Ether 12:12).

In Elder Bednar's video, the character of Christ talk he talked about how it never is about us, and it really isn't. He said that to become stronger you must never do things for yourself, that that is what Christ did. He said, that as a missionary, it should never be about you. It should never be "I want to have this many bla bla bla," he said to never think "I, I, I," and that if we do that, we will never have success. 

We also started Teaching our investigators this week it is hard at first but because of it I have felt the spirit so much more like I said before. we also were able to randomly talk to a man from China and he is one of the many investigators that we are able to teach at the M.T.C. I love having the spirit guide the lessons that Elder Gubbay and I teach (yes I figured out his brother is Elder Johnson's companion before I looked at my emails). In one of the lessons I was loosing the guidance of the spirit and I prayed and was able to teach so much more effectively. you have to seek the spirit for it to be with you. I have also learned that teaching people that never had a concept of God is very very hard. You have to first explain God, but then have them understand why it matters for them to have God in their life...

I also got my Chinese name badge and I am really happy cause it is getting official! (that I'll be on the other side of the world)

only now am I starting to see the blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ throughout my entire life. I realized that he was there for me when I was in second grade learning English, he was there for me Junior year when I was struggling, and he was there all the other times I do not remember. So I challenge you all to see Jesus Christ in your life and to pray(Isaiah 53:3-5) (Alma 32:27), and to watch these two videos, especially the second one. 

I kind of feel bad not writing as much as I could, but my thoughts are all over the place, and its hard to write about everything, but I am reminded of the scripture in 1 Nephi 6:3 "And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full account of all the things of my father, for they cannot be written upon these plates, for I desire the room that I may write of the things of God."

Finally I close with this scripture and it is what I want to say (if only I wrote these words haha :) ) but in Mosiah 2:41 it says "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." (the spacing is being wierd) but remember that the things I say are true, and that if you follow the commandments of God, you will be blessed

Week 0.5 MTC Advanced English District 7/1/2016

Companions with Elder Gubbay in the Advanced English District

My preparation day at the MTC is on Fri which is not what I expected :) I have learned so much out here in the last 2 days! My companion is Elder Gubbay, and he is from Dubai. He is going to Montreal speaking French. He is very funny and very spiritual. At the MTC the subject that is most emphasized is exact obedience. At the MTC, I HAVE SEEN SO MANY "This church is true" moments. and I know now without a doubt because of my experiences, that this church is definitely true. 

 Elder Gubbay and I also realized that when the phrase "faith without works is dead," then we realized that works= obedience, because there is also the scripture that says "if you love me keep my commandments."

Our branch presidency is great! Our branch president is Pres. Schow, with Bro. Pearson, and Norton as his councilors. Pres. Schow said to us that if we want the gift of tongues, that we have to have to be worthy of the Holy Ghost. When we were giving a blessing to one of our district members (I can't remember all the sister's names sorry :( ) in the blessing he mentioned that "these blessings will be fulfilled by your faithfulness and our faithfulness," and I thought that was very neat because he mentioned how we as givers of the blessing also have to have faith

I also liked the quote "do not change your behavior, but change your nature" which is what we as missionaries are trying to do and trying to get people to do.

We also learned a lot about our purpose (to help others come closer to Christ in a nutshell).

I have also seen Elder Carol, Lowe, Gobel, Eyering, Buffington, and Allen, to name a few

Also, I was put in a "Advanced English" district (pictures provided) so I have not learned any Cantonese in the classroom.