Dearest Family,
Hola! Estoy bueno! (I don't know why I speak Spanish sometimes.
It's legit) Holy cow have I really been out for 1/8th of my mission?
That sounds like a lot at first, but when I think about 21 more months
it still looks really long. But hey, that's a good thing! More nations
baptized!
Oh. My. Fruitcakes. General
Conference was simply incredible. I ate up every minute of it. Elder
Navratil and I have been looking forward to it ever since we became
companions, and so it was truly epic. As a missionary, we really only
have a few things to look forward to: General Conference, calling home
twice a year, Zone conference... The rest - such as baptisms, spiritual
experiences, etc. - just come when they come. So you have to know that I
was probably more excited for this conference than any other conference
in my life. I seriously sat on the edge of my seat the whole entire
time, took notes like a madman, cried during almost every talk, and
laughed too hard at every joke. It seriously was so amazing! I felt so
happy during Conference that I wish it could've lasted forever. It meant
so much to me that I wanted to grab every person on the streets outside
the church and have them come in and witness for themselves a true
prophet of God. I
guess I could almost say that I was carried away by the spirit. Man,
the church is true.
Last night Elder Navratil and I were sitting around before bedtime.
I was sitting at my desk just pondering. I suddenly became very sad.
Conference was over! I literally felt so empty. I realized that this was
probably my favorite General Conference so far in my lifetime. They
talked about missionaries and the Book of Mormon and all sorts of stuff a
missionary would love. It was just what I needed to hear. None of our
investigators showed up so I was kinda sad, but hopefully we can still
get them to church. And I totally agree with you mom, when I was
watching conference I could imagine everyone in our family watching it
at the same time. It made me feel like I was close to you, even if it
seemed so very brief. Conference is the perfect event to make a
missionary homesick, but it's also the perfect event to build a
missionary up. I also loved Sis. Dalton's talk on Fathers. I'm such a
bawl baby :)
I loved Elder Scott's talk on scripture study. I loved it when he
talked about memorizing scriptures and how they become old friends. I
realized that I love my scriptures so much. They are truly dear to me.
If I were to lose them somehow, it seems like I would just fall to
pieces. So many marked scriptures and so much personal revelation make
them so special. Of course, i could always get a new set, but there's
nothing like well broken-in Sticks.
I also loved Elder Callister's talk on the Book of Mormon. Man, if only every BOM doubter could've seen it! Nobody can truly say the Book of Mormon isn't true until they've READ EVERY PAGE. Dave can't claim that. Many anti-Mormon's can't claim that. God will reveal the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon to any and every sincere reader, wherever and whoever they may be, if they it and truly pray about it. It doesn't replace the Bible, but it only goes hand-in-hand with it so there is no mistake that Jesus is the Christ, that this is His true church, and that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God.
I know that we'll get a copy of the Ensign when it comes out, but I
kinda want my own copy if you could possibly do that. I want to mark it
up and use it as a tool. I seriously covet one right now haha! And yes,
you can send me a copy of the Oct. Ensign. I would truly appreciate it.
Well, hopefully you can see that I was edified by Conference.
Because of Conference, Interviews with President Merkley on Thursday
(awesome! I love President Merkley), and lots of service (mowing lawns),
we weren't able to do too much missionary work this week. We did have
an awesome lesson with Betty (the lady who cut my hair) and picked her
up as an investigator. She is so excited about what we share that she is
going to have her whole family sit down and listen to us next time.
MONEY IN DA BANK. Haha I'm super stoked :)
That's so great to hear about April! I look forward to someday
meeting some of the Elders in her district. I'm sure I'll see one of
them. A tripanionship? Holy cats. I hope she likes it.... I sent April a
short email telling her that I love her and that she needs to watch out
for the flirtacious elders in the MTC. Trust me, I know how it is.
Sheesh.
Oh and one other thing: I read
the whole William Atkin journal and thought it was amazing! I love our
family history! Personal study time is now my favorite time. There is
also another elder in our zone who has Atkin ancestors from St. George
and Hurricane. We couldn't make an immediate connection, but we'll find
out more in the future. I'm sure we're distant cousins.
I love you so much! I'm out of time, but thanks again for emailing
me. Thanks for the pictures and thanks for everything. Talk to you soon.
Love, Elder Atkin
No comments:
Post a Comment