September 30

Don and Leah Ann! Oh my goodness. So we set a baptismal date for them last week and Don asked if Brother Dorsey could be the one to baptize him. So when we taught them on Tuesday, we brought Brother Dorsey! Right after saying the opening prayer Don turns to Brother Dorsey and asks if he would be the one to baptism him! I literally almost jumped out of my chair! I was so excited. Brother Dorsey is a convert and he shared with them how he came to know the church was true. We also had another awesome lesson with them on Friday. They are already in Helaman and we've been teaching them for like....3 weeks. So solid! Also, jumping ahead. Yesterday our gospel principles class was the best one yet. First, it was a full house. It was an eternal marriage and one of the elders was teaching....wasn't sure how that was going to go. On Friday we had taught Don and Leah Ann about the three degrees of glory and eternal marriage. So actually this lesson was perfect! A couple members of the ward were sharing their testimonies of eternal marriage (they are married). Anyways, then somehow Leah Ann brought up something about the Spirit. This has been the biggest struggle with her. She's reading like a maniac and has been learning a ton, but she wants that answer from the Holy Ghost. Which is awesome! So many people don't search for that enough. Anyways, then the members in the class were able to teach both Don and Leah Ann about recognizing the spirit. Most powerful gospel principles class I have ever been in. Leah Ann felt the Spirit. As we were waiting for third hour to start I could tell she was feeling something. I asked her how she was doing. I don't remember what she said exactly but....they are both moving well on the conversion path.

On Friday we went tracting in Sweetwater. It's a series of lakes about half an hour south of Franklin. I felt like we were hiking! In skirts of course. I loved it...Sister Francis wasn't such a huge fan. That night I also learned I have pretty good driving reflexes. The drive down there is pretty hilly and there are a lot of turns....kind of like driving up to Mt. Baker. Anyways, coming around a corner...BOOM three deer, slammed on the breaks...we were all good! Glad I now know how I can react in a situation like that.

The General Relief Society broadcast was awesome! About two weeks ago or so I was telling Sister Francis that we don't talk about covenants enough in the church. Sure enough, two of the talks were about covenants! My favorite was the one sister (don't remember her name) who said keeping covenants brings us true happiness. Heavenly Father knows EXACTLY what is going to make us happy....even when we can't see it in the moment.

I love fast Sundays. So there's this family in the ward...best member missionaries ever. The dad got up and bore his testimony, then his daughter. She was visiting from college for the weekend and I actually met her back in Seymour because her dad is a member of the high council. Then their son who is a senior got up and share his testimony. Everything was about missionary work, which is a good thing because we asked the ward to fast to find new investigators. Anyways, so towards the end I felt prompted to go up as well. I just shared something quick, something about the miracles I get to see everyday as a missionary. Then after sacrament meeting this girl comes up and just gives me a hug! I asked her if she remembered who I was and she was like "I have never met you before", then I explained how we met. Anyways, this girl is SWEET! She's going to a Catholic private college and she started dating this boy recently. Well he isn't the first boyfriend she's introduced to the gospel. Anyways, he's getting baptized, going to church, etc. Anyways....even though this girl is younger than me, she's such an example! She came to gospel principles and she was talking about how we take celestial marriage for granted, so many people don't have that assurance! I was pretty bummed because we went to her family's house for dinner, but she had already left to go back to Kentucky. I wish I could have been like her when I was in high school....

Last night in my studies I was learning about accountability. It's necessary for everyone to learn this principle. So I continued to think about it this morning. First! Mormon 9:31 says "give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our (me my) imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise" . It goes along with the scripture in D&C that says the Lord chastens those He loves. As I recognize my weaknesses/imperfections I am able to become more wise as I overcome them. But! I wouldn't be able to overcome them if I didn't know what they were. That's why missions are so awesome! Ok going back to accountability. This morning I was thinking of scriptural examples of accountability and I thought of the Brother of Jared, actually I'm in Ether right now in my Book of Mormon reading. So this is what I learned...hopefully you can follow my thoughts. Ether 2:6 "directed continually by the hand of the Lord". From the very beginning the Lord was involved in this story...He didn't confound their language. Then after making the first part of the journey the Brother of Jared gets chastised because "he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord", he wasn't being accountable. So after repenting, the Lord tells him to "go to work...according to the instructions of the Lord" (v. 16). After he build the ships, he gives an accounting of His work (v. 18). Ok...the best part, v. 24-25. Christ tells the Brother of Jared this is going to be storms, waves, winds, etc as they are crossing the ocean. BUT, He says "I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea". We cannot make it through trials in life without being prepared by the Lord first. He's given us everything we need, scriptures, church, modern day prophets, covenants, etc. But the Brother of Jared still has a problem, how are they going to see? Christ doesn't give him an answer, He says "what will ye that I should prepare fro you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea"? When I read this...I wasn't thinking about oceans. Rather, the depths of trials. What can Heavenly Father and our Savior do to help us have light when we are in the darkness of tough times in our life? We must recognize specific help we need and then go to Heavenly Father and ask for it. Just like the Brother of Jared told Christ to touch the stones so they could provide light. It goes back to the imperfections. Recognizing our weaknesses so then we can ask for specific strength/guidance to overcome the difficulties in our life....I was pretty excited after studies, still am. Maybe this doesn't seem as revelatory to you as it did to me, hopefully it makes at least a little bit of sense. 

General conference.....so stoked! Man, I don't think I can wait five more days. Hopefully everyone watches it!