An High Priest of Good Things to Come

This felt like, by far, the fastest week of my mission. It was really awesome though. I had been praying for a really long time that I would have a fulfilling and enjoyable last week of my mission. Heavenly Father really answered my prayers. 

Last Saturday we had another car wash! It was really great. We had close to 30 cars come in. It was super hot but we had a lot of success with it. We were able to hand out a bunch of copies of the Book of Mormon and we even gave a guy a church tour! It was really sweet.   

We were able to see Mikey a couple times this week and we had some awesome lessons with him. We had to move his date to September 3rd so he can come to church a couple times before he's baptized. He was dead-set on coming to church this week but we got a call from him yesterday morning telling us that he had to got to the hospital because his sister was having a baby. So I'm praying that he'll be able to go this next week. 

So today I'll be reporting to the mission home at 4 and have a dinner and testimony meeting with everyone else who is going home. This transfer there are 10 Elders going home--and no Sisters! It's a really awesome group too. I've made so many great friends with other missionaries and it's going to be a great way to end it all. And then tomorrow morning we're going through the temple and heading off to the airport. 

It's absolutely crazy that the end my the mission is already here. There are times when I think back to the MTC and my first area and it seems so long ago. Then at other times, looking back, it seems like it was just a couple months ago. Time is a weird thing and I'm still trying to figure it out. But regardless of when it feels long or short, these past two years have been the greatest I've ever lived. I've experienced the best and worst of times. And I'm so grateful for each one. Because I've been able to learn a valuable gospel principle that I know will help me throughout my life.  

This scripture has meant a lot to me throughout my mission, Alma 29:9-10: 

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me."

I have experienced so much joy by being an instrument in God's hands. In forgetting myself and my own needs I've been able to see the value in helping others. I know that's the only way to true happiness and joy is by being in the service of those around you. And I also know that I don't have to be a full time missionary in order to help others. I'm looking forward to the future and what lies ahead and continue to serve others. This next phase of life is very exciting and I'm looking forward to the good things to come. Christ Himself is named "an High Priest of good things to come" (Heb 9:11). 

I know that this gospel is true and that it changes lives. I've seen it in myself and I've seen it in others. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it testifies of Jesus Christ. I also know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Most importantly I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. His Atonement is real and repentance is real. Living His gospel brings peace in this world and Eternal Life in the world to come.

I love you all! 

Elder Scott  

Ward Luau

Brother Fowler

 

Luke 9:29

The final week in the mission field is here. It feels weird and almost like it's not really happening. It hasn't really hit me yet which is actually pretty nice. Because I can still stay focused and sprint to the end, despite all the distractions. Don't get me wrong. I am so excited to see all of you again and just spend time with you. 

This week was a little bit more rough for teaching lessons. It seemed like a lot of our investigators weren't home when they usually are so that was kinda tough. But it was still good week for the investigators we were able to see! 

Mikey is doing pretty well. We were planning to have him over at a members home for a lesson but it didn't really work out. We stopped by with Brother Johnson and his son, Micheal (yes, Micheal is fellowshipping Mikey--it's perfect), planning to take him over to the Johnson's. But Mikey couldn't leave his house so we just had a lesson at his house. We taught him about repentance and baptism. It was a very powerful lesson and Mikey is doing very well at understanding. He's really excited to be baptized and make changes in his life. That's why is was a huge bummer when he didn't come to church. He told us during the lesson that he found a job where he will work from 10-5. But he would get Sundays off. But he still wasn't there. So now he won't be able to make his baptismal date of the 20th. He's still keeping all of his other commitments though. He's reading in the Book of Mormon and he's praying a lot. So hopefully we'll get him to church this Sunday!   

Last night we had dinner with this non-member family. We were going through some of the former investigators in our area book and there was this family we felt good about going to visit. When we first stopped by a couple weeks ago he told us he's not interested at all in learning about the church but that he would love us to come over for dinner. So we went over last night! It was pretty awesome. His wife is from japan and made this authentic Japanese dish--with chop sticks and everything! We had a really good conversation about religion. He's catholic and his wife is agnostic. We showed them the Hallelujah Easter video and they really liked it. They agreed to have us over again and learn more about the Book of Mormon. 

We had the ward luau last Saturday! It was a really good turnout. It was a lot of fun and Elder Beal and I were the judges for the best island attire. There were quite a few non-members there and also our investigator Megan came. We were inviting the members of the ward here like crazy to invite everyone they knew, and they did! We met a lot of really great people.  

We had our zone meeting last Saturday. It was all about the Book of Mormon and the power that we can receive as we strengthen our own conviction of its truth and as we do all we can to teach from it and help others to know it's true as well. It was a very powerful meeting and it was my very last one! But since then I've been thinking a lot about the Book of Mormon and how much I love this book. I know that it is true and it has helped me throughout my whole mission and I know it will help me throughout my whole life. 

Our ward mission leader, Brother Fowler, left out of town this morning and doesn't get back til next week so I had to say goodbye to him last night. He's one of the best ward mission leaders I've ever served with and I look up to him so much. That has been one of the blessings of my mission. I've been able to associate and serve along side all of these members of the church who are so much older and wiser and with so much more experience than I. I've learned so much from Brother Fowler and many other leaders in the church about living a Christ-centered life and be true to the gospel. 

Here's my scripture for this week: Luke 9:29

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."

I love this gospel so much. I love my mission. I love the things that I have learned and for the people I've been able to serve. I know that it's only by selfless service and putting others' needs ahead of ours where we will experience true joy. 

I love you all! Have a great missionary week!
Elder Scott 

Pics of the car wash

Free Car Warsh

More awesome things happened this week in our area. It was really good to see our investigators take some huge steps of progress in their conversion. 

We tried a new finding activity this week. We did a free car wash! Or as they say it here, car warsh! The church building is on this main road where there is tons of traffic. And we were thinking it would be a great way to serve in the community and talk to people! So we organized it with the zone and with the ward to have a free car wash. It was a super last-minute thing but turned out to be a huge success. We had two different car washing stations and at one point there was a line of cars for each one. We had quite a few non-members show up and we were able to talk with them. It was so much fun. I forgot to put on sunscreen so I'm a little red still but it was so great. The ward here is just amazing. Since it was a last-minute thing not a whole lot of people knew about it but we had a member post it on facebook the night before. But the ward still came through! They were constantly bringing us stuff to use and some even went out in the road to help wave down traffic. It was really great.  

Last night was insane. There is a town in our zone called Prosser that's a little ways out of town. Last night we got a call from the Prosser Elders telling us they're being evacuated out of their apartment. It's fire season around here and so it's been really smoky. Apparently the fires had spread to Prosser and it was right next to their apartment. Then later we found out that the Prosser Spanish Elders also had to be evacuated. So we had to figure out where everyone was staying for the night. It was all pretty crazy. But last we heard they're all safe now.

Mikey is doing great. He didn't come to church because he was working. But we had some amazing lessons with him! We taught him about the Joseph Smith story and he could feel the Spirit very strongly. He was very touched by it. We invited him to be baptized on August 20th and he told us he would! I'm so excited for him. He told us that he felt really bad by not coming to church and that he knows he needs to. We even got him some used clothes from the mission office that missionaries have left over the years that he could wear to church. He's still reading in the Book of Mormon and praying. Now we just need to get him to church!  

Megan is also doing really well. She's been coming to church now for the past couple of months but only to sacrament. This last week we had a lesson with her about going to church and committed her to come to all three hours--and she did! And she really liked it. Now she just needs to quit smoking!

Scripture for the week: Article of Faith 13

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

August is here. I can't believe it. I'm sprinting to the end though. I've absolutely loved serving in this ward. The member missionary work that is going on here is so exciting and so joyful to be apart of. It makes me look forward to being the best member missionary that I can be. Because even when I have to take off the name-tag, I still can be a missionary. 

I love you all!
Elder Scott 

Sprinting to the End

We had a super great week. We were able to do a lot of teaching again which was great. I love teaching! We also saw a lot of miracles with finding by our own efforts and finding through members.  

One crazy thing that was happening this week was with this new Pokemon Go app. I've never seen so many people going this crazy over an app. It's actually been working out pretty well for us because people are outside on their phones trying to catch Pokemon! So there's always lots of people outside that we get to talk to. So that's been good. And also another funny thing, apparently there is a "poke stop" type thing right in front of the church building. So there's always people going up to the church to collect items and other stuff. So last Friday we did our weekly planning at the church and waited for people to pass by to get Pokemon! Unfortunately no one came though... Maybe next week! 

One of the miracles that we saw this week was with Mikey. He's a new investigator who we found and he's so great. He's 17 years-old. His family isn't very religious but he was telling us that he feels that he needs to get into a religion to help him get on track for living a happy life. And he's right! He's so willing to learn. He read in 3 Nephi 11 and thought that it was awesome! Saturday night we stopped by his house with one of the Priests to get them acquainted and so Mikey could get some fellowshipping. He wasn't able to go to church yesterday. So the entire Priests quorum went by his house to visit him. We're really excited for him and his progression. The ward is doing an amazing job with him.

Another great thing that happened with the youth this last week was at girls camp! There were three non-members there. So it's been exciting to work with the members on the follow up. We talked with the Bishop a lot about how we can invite them to take the missionary lessons. So we're really working towards starting to teach them this week. Go girls camp!   

It seems like the ward is just booming with missionary work. With the upcoming luau and getting the ward involved with our investigators, members are telling us all the time of missionary experiences they're having. I love this ward!

We had interviews with President White this week. Like I've mentioned, he's very different from President Ware, but he is so great. After the opening prayer of the interview he looked at me right in the eye and he said, "Elder, you're going home soon. Are you sprinting to the end?" I said that I am and he said to me "Do it." He's a very intense man. He gave me a lot of courage that day to keep going and work my very hardest til the end. 

Here's my scripture for the week: Article of Faith 12

"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

I love you all! I hope you have an awesome week!

Elder Scott 

A&F 11

Another week just flew by. But it was a really great week we were able to keep really busy and we did a lot teaching which was really great. We had more lessons this week than any other week since I've been in this area.

Things have been going really well with our new investigator, Kirk. Almost too well. we had a lesson with him last week and we had his next door neighbor, who is a member, come with us. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a very powerful lesson. It was so nice teaching someone from ground zero. He doesn't really know anything about religion so he doesn't have to unlearn things. He was asking a lot of amazing questions too which made him even more easy to teach! So being able to teach him has really lifted my spirits a lot and has helped me to experience a lot of joy.    

The ward is putting on a luau on the 6th of August. I'm so excited for it! It's such a great missionary opportunity. So we're going crazy with inviting members to invite their nonmember friends. I've seen so many great things come from these kinds of activities on my mission. Because it's such an easy way for members to share the gospel. Because who wouldn't want to come to a free luau? And the ward is getting really excited about it too. This ward is so great. Some of the best members I've ever met. It's been such pleasure to serve with these people. 

 

We had zone conferences with President and Sister White this last week. It was really fun. They just had a slideshow about themselves and their family. Three of their kids were there. The White's are so awesome. It was a pretty chillaxed zone conference. And it was my very last one on my mission. So I gave my departing testimony. It was really weird doing that. Because throughout my whole mission I've seen other missionaries give their departing testimonies and I always thought how far away it was. But now it's here!  

I love being on a mission. I'm doing everything I can to soak it all up. These last several weeks have been very rewarding and very joyful and I'm looking forward to these next few weeks to come. 

Here's my scripture to ponderize this week: Article of Faith 11

"We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."

I hope that all of you have a great week. I love you all! 

Elder Scott 

Some candid shots of Elder Scott

Ian's new mission president, President White, is from Mapleton.  His daughter went to school with Heidi. She was at a meeting with Ian a few nights ago and snapped these pics of Ian.  I was so happy to get them.   You do not often get to see your missionary in such a way.

 

Me and Elder Beal

TEXAS

Hello Family!

Another week come and gone. We had a really great one. Lots of miracles! This is turning out to be a very cool summer (knock on wood). It was raining a bunch this week and it only got up to the 80's. We still had the rest of the summer to go, but so far it's been great!  

 

Transfers went really well. Elder Beal is my new companion! He's from Gainsville, Texas and a personality to match. We served in the same district when I was in Kennewick. And we've been having a blast. Usually when you get a new companion, there's usually a few days of awkward adjustment. But not with Elder Beal and I! It was just like meeting back up with an old friend. 

We were able to find new people to teach this week! It strengthened my testimony a lot that there are people in our area who are being prepared to receive the gospel. One of them is named Leonard. He's 90-something and lives all by himself. But still as sharp as a tack. His wife who has passed away was a member of the church and all of their kids are members. We found him in our area book and we felt good about going to see him. He has had his trachea taken out so he speaks with one of those electronic voice boxes. He's a really cool guy. He wants to be baptized but he doesn't know how all of that would work with his voice box being submerged underwater. So we invited him to read in the Book of Mormon and pray about it. It's going to be a lot of fun to continue teaching him. 

Another guy we found is named Kirk. He met him walking up to his house a couple of days ago and he told us to come by another day--so we did. And when we showed up again he let us right in and we started teaching him! He's a single dad in his 40's living on his own, not very religious but wants to learn more about God. He had a lot of great questions about the Book of Mormon and the life of Jesus Christ. I'm so excited to teach him again! It's so awesome teaching people who are sincere in their search for truth and who are humble in wanting to learn more. And Kirk is definitely that way! 

We went back to Connell! Elder Beal just came from that area and he did a baptismal interview for an investigator when he was there and asked for him to be at the baptismal service. So I got to go back to Connell too! It was so great to see the members from my past area. And what was really great, was that Martha Garcia was there too! My recent convert from Connell! It was so good to see her again. She was telling me all about how she's going to the temple to do baptisms every week and she loves it. And now her daughter is meeting with the missionaries too. It made me so happy to know that she's still going strong. That's what the mission is all about, seeing the gospel work in others' lives. 

Here's my scripture for this week: Article of Faith 10 

"We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory."

I hope that all of you have a great week! I love you all! 

Elder Scott 

Ware to White

Hello Everyone!

Well, President and Sister Ware are dead! In mission terms that is... And President and Sister White are here and they are great! We had a meeting last week with them and they're so awesome. President White is a former cop and he was also an insurance fraud investigator. They're from Mapleton and their youngest daughter even went to Maple Mountain. He's VERY different from President Ware, but in a lot of good ways. They are exactly what this mission needs right now. It's pretty sad that I'm not going to serve around them for much longer though. 

We got our transfer calls last night. And I am staying! Elder Malcolm is getting transferred though. But he's not going far just going from West Richland to Richland. So that's pretty exciting. I also know the missionary who is coming in. It's Elder Beal. We served around each other in Kennewick and we had a blast together. So I'm really looking forward to serving with him.  

4th of July was pretty fun. We were invited over to this huge steak dinner with this part member family. So that was really great! It's always a struggle to talk to people on big holidays because most people are either out of town or they're not interested at all in talking to missionaries because they have other things going on. But we were still able to meet some good people and share the gospel!  

We finally had a lesson with Megan again. We had a very powerful lesson on eternal marriage and families. We read through The Family: A Proclamation to the World and had an amazing discussion about what she wants for her family and how the gospel can help her to achieve those goals. So she's coming along great. She's still struggling with quiting smoking. But she has a very strong desire to quit.    

I can't believe that this is my last transfer. I'm really glad that I'm staying in this area. This is going to be a great place to end my mission. Despite it being very small, the members here are great and very supportive and I'm very optimistic about this next transfer. I love this gospel so much because it's all about new beginnings and clean slates. 

Here's my scripture for this week: Articles of Faith: 8&9

"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God."

I love you all! I hope all of you had a great 4th of July! 

Elder Scott 

One last goodbye to President and Sister Ware

Mormon Mom!

Hello everyone! 

It's starting to warm up again. We're back into the 90's and it's looking like it's only going to get hotter from here. We had another good week full of finding! Like I mentioned last week, since this area is so small, it's been a bit tricky as to how to find new people to teach. But we're keeping the faith! Life is good and we cannot fail when we do the Lord's work and give it all that we have. 

Megan came to church yesterday too! She hasn't really been reading in the Book of Mormon which is a bummer, but overall she's doing well. These past couple of weeks have been really crazy for her and the kids so it's been a struggle to teach her. But we're having dinner at their house this Wednesday and we'll get to teach her afterwards. It was really cool to see her at church yesterday. Because her daughter, Madison, was sharing a scripture in primary so Megan was there to help her. She was right along side her at the podium helping her daughter read the scripture. She's already a mormon mom! So we're really happy for her. Her boyfriend is leaving on business trip next week and he doesn't get back until October. So hopefully that doesn't cause any hiccups in the teaching process. 

Today is President and Sister Ware's last full day. They leave tomorrow and President and Sister White arrive. It's going to be really weird to have a new mission president. So this next transfer is going to be an interesting one. We get our transfer calls next week. More than likely I'm going to stay in this area. But you never know what's going to happen on the mission! 

Yesterday at church, I think it was one of the best Sacrament meetings I've ever been to. There is this new family who moved into the ward, the Johnson's. And Brother Johnson spoke and also Bishop Porter spoke. They both talked about the power of service and how that relates to charity and love. Brother Johnson gave such an amazing talk! He told his story of battling cancer and how much love and service he received from the ward. As he received that service, he felt God's love in his life. He also shared some experiences from his mission about the value of service. How this really is God's work, and it's moving forward whether we're apart of it or not. Serving a mission or offering simple acts of service allows us to be apart of this great work. Bishop Porter (who is one of the greatest Bishops I've served with) talked a lot about in order for us to effectively serve someone, we have to be in the best possible place that we can. As we receive blessings of the Atonement, the natural result is that we want to help others. It was such a spiritually powerful Sacrament meeting. I'm so grateful for church and the Spirit that we can feel there. 

Here are my scriptures for this week: Articles of Faith 6&7

 "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth."

I hope that all of you have a great week! And that you all look for opportunities to serve those around you. I love you all!
Elder Scott 

p.s. Preparation day next week is on the 5th. So that's when I'll be emailing!

This Day

I can't believe that it's almost the end of June. The days are flying by because we're working hard and staying busy. Even though staying busy has been quite the challenge in this area. This is the smallest ward in the stake and it's the only ward that we cover. So it has been a very interesting experience doing all that we can to stay busy and finding new people to teach. There are a lot of times where it's very easy to get discouraged and get frustrated at the work. But that's where the faith comes in. Being in this area has been an amazing learning experience so far for me.   

Megan is doing awesome. She came to church again yesterday! And it was really great too because she came all on her own. Usually her boyfriend's dad, Brother Swallow is there to be with her. But he was out of town. So we were kind of worried that she wouldn't come without him but she still came and wrestled with her kids all by herself! It was pretty great. We are planning to have a family home evening with her tonight which I'm really looking forward to.  

We had some really weird weather. It started off super hot. Then it cooled down a ton and it also rained. And now it's really hot again! I just hope this summer won't be like last. Because if that's the case, then the worst is yet to come.But summer time is so great for missionary work so it's all good. 

We met with this less-active guy named Scott. He's such an amazing guy. He's a returned missionary but has been less-active from the church for over 25 years. But a few weeks ago he showed up to church! We had a really great lesson with him this last week and there was such a strong spirit that was there. We watched the conference talk "This Day" by President Eyring. As the talk ended, there was a brief moment of silence and he turned to us and said, "well, I have lots of things that I need to work on." We had a really good talk about small and simple things that he can do right now to build his faith. It was actually really easy to teach him. Because he already understands the gospel. He knows what he needs to be doing he just needs the motivation to start doing it. We invited him to come to church and pray every single day. And he came to church yesterday. He seemed very happy when he was there too. 

I love that talk we watched with Scott by President Eyring. It's so important that we never procrastinate the day of our repentance. Whatever that may be. We can't say that we'll do it some day but this day. If we want to change we have to do something different--today. If you don't like the way that you're life is going, you have to DO something different. Understanding this principle has helped me a lot in missionary work. The gospel is just so simple! So I invite all of you to go and read this talk! It's from the April 2007 General Conference.  

Here's my scripture for this week: Article of Faith 5 

"We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof."

I hope that all of you have a great week! I love you all!

Elder Scott

Dinner with the Porters

Elder Malcolm and Me at the Temple!

Holiness to the Lord, House of the Lord

We went to the temple today! Boy do I love going to the temple. It was a very bitter sweet experience because since we only go once every three months, this was my last time going as a missionary. I had a very powerful experience while in the celestial that was a huge answer to my prayers. I'm so grateful for the temple and for the Spirit that's available to us as we attend.

We were lead to find someone new to teach this week! Her name is Erin and she has a pretty crazy situation. She's been addicted to drugs for a large part of her life and she's the mother of five kids. But recently she's been having a strong desire to change her life around and be the best mother she can be for her kids. We met her last Saturday and she's already been sober for three weeks. She lives with a less active family right now so we're looking forward to teaching all of them and helping everyone. One slight hiccup though, she's leaving on July 5th for Spokane to go to rehab. So we don't have very much time to teach her. But she'll still be able to got to church and meet with missionaries in Spokane. During our lesson she did commit to working towards being baptized on July 2nd. So that's what we're working with right now! She's a really great girl and she's been humbled a lot by her past experiences. So it's going to be very joyful to teach her! 

 

Our main progressing investigator right now is Megan. She's doing really great. She lives with her boyfriend and his parents (who are all members of the church) and she's been coming to church for a while now. We had a couple lessons with her this last week and she's doing really great. She's been reading in the Book of Mormon everyday and she's really enjoying it. She also came to church last Sunday! Right now we're working on getting her married! Her boyfriend is inactive and we're also working on getting him involved in the teaching process. We're really excited for her though. She's been making amazing changes in her life. This last week we taught the word of wisdom And she does smoke and might have some issues trying to quit. But she can do it! I have faith in her! 

President and Sister Ware are leaving on the 28th of June. It's coming up so fast. It's going to be so weird having a new mission president. But we've been hearing a lot about President and Sister White. So I'm pretty excited.   

The weather was fantastic this week. There was a day where it went from 105 and the next day it was 80 and raining. And then it's been going down ever since! So now it's at the perfect temperature at around 68-70. 

We've been doing lots of finding again this week. It's been pretty tiring. But we've been working hard. There's a certain satisfaction that comes when you come home after a long day and you're just exhausted and you lay down and you know that you've given it your all. That's what the mission is all about! Giving it your all for others and for the Lord. I love this gospel and I love being apart of this great work!   

Here's my ponderizing scripture for this week: Articles of Faith 3&4

"We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

I love you all! And I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Scott 

It's going to be a hot summer!

Hello everyone!

This week seemed a lot shorter. Probably because our last preparation day was on Tuesday. But regardless, time is always flying by fast! So what else is new!

It's been insanely hot these past few days. Right now it's a 105 degrees out. It's going to be a hot summer. But summer time is also great because a lot more people are outside and even when it's 9 o'clock it's still light outside! Perfect missionary season!

President and Sister Ware had their last MLC meeting last Thursday. They head home on the 28th of this month. We all got to hear their departing testimonies and it was a very spiritual experience. And then to top it off we sang "If You Could Hie to Kolob" for a closing hymn. It was one of the most special moments of my mission. I'm going to miss the Ware's so much. 

We were able to a lot more teaching this week which was really nice. We have some pretty solid investigators who we're teaching it's really exciting. One of our investigators is Brett. He's really awesome. He's from New Orleans, he's black and he's got these big, thick dreadlocks. And he loves basketball! Last Saturday we had an amazing lesson with him at the church with the Bishop. We set up some chairs right at the 3-point line. He's been having trouble reading regularly in the Book of Mormon. We testified to him how the Book of Mormon would bring peace into his life and it would help him to be a better father for his kids. The Spirit was very powerful and he committed to read everyday. This is kinda the last straw for him so we'll see where it goes.

We've been having a really tough time finding new people to teach. We've been doing all we can to work with the members and find on our own efforts. But since I've been here, it has seemed like every person we talk to has zero interest--at all. So that has been pretty tough. The area here is pretty wealthy and most people are comfortable with where they're at in life. We've been praying a lot that we would find someone new to teach. And last night a miracle happened! It was 8:50pm and we out walking along a street. We decided to knock a few more doors before heading in for the night. One door we knocked on, a younger guy answered and he told us that missionaries have come by before and that he's not interested. Door closed. Then we walked a bit farther down the road and there was a house that stuck out to me. Mainly because I saw people inside the house through the window! So we went to knock the door and, once again, a younger guy answered. He came outside and was very friendly. His name was Sean. We talked to him a little bit about his life and we found out that he grew up in Idaho and most of his extended family are LDS. Elder Malcom asked him how he felt about the church and he told us that he's had a lot of discussions in the past with his dad about the church, and that it's something that he's very interested in. Wait, what? I couldn't believe it. Someone was actually interested in learning more. I then told him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy and invited him to read it. And we're planning to go by later this week to see him again.

As we walked from Sean's house to the car, I felt so grateful to my Father in Heaven. It had been so hard getting rejected over and over again. But the Lord will always allow us to experience those miracles in life to keep us going. I know that He's aware of each one of our struggles.   

This last week I realized I have some repenting to do. I don't really know the Articles of Faith as well as I should. So for the next coming weeks I will be ponderizing each Article of Faith, or maybe two...

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. We believe that man will be punished for their own sins."

 

I hope all of you have an amazing week! I love you all! 

Elder Scott

 

 

 

RICHland

Hello everyone!

I am here in West Richland in the Highlands Ward serving with Elder Malcom. This is a really great area. I was very sad to say good bye to so many people from Pasco. I had grown to love those people so much! But that's what the mission is all about, constant change. So now I love the Highlands Ward! Once again, I'm in an all English area. Except this time there are literally no Hispanics--anywhere. At least in Pasco I could still practice some Spanish here and there. But here in Richland is very, very white. And it is all upper-class families. This is a very wealthy area. They don't call it RICHland for nothing! So it is a pretty big change but I love it. I love being in the place where the Lord wants me to be.

Elder Malcom is super great. He is from Wolwich, Maine. He's been out for one year (he hits his year mark this week). And he's been in this area for three months. He is SO hilarious. It's been pretty great serving with him so far and I'm really looking forward to this transfer. The members here LOVE the missionaries. And we've been focusing a lot on working more effectively with the members in helping them to do missionary work. Because there is definitely a lot of work to be done and lots of potential here in this area.

We don't have very many people to teach right now, but the ones who we are teaching are very solid. We're planning to do lots of finding this week which is going to be great!

Yesterday at church our Ward mission leader, Brother Fowler, organized a fifth Sunday activity for all of the adults. It was a missionary simulator. It was super cool. Everyone got a piece of paper with a list of fictitious people who they know. And they had to stand up to invite them to do certain things to either be their friend, introduce them to the church or to have them be taught by the missionaries. Each time they did something, they would get a certain amount of points, and if they reached a certain point that investigator would be baptized! It was so awesome to see the members come up with all of these different ideas on the spot to fellowship people and introduce them to the church. It made me realize how easy member missionary work is. And that all it includes is extending invitations. It made me even more excited to work with the members here to help them to do missionary work.   

Here's my scripture for this week: D&C 88:81

"Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor."

I hope that all of you have a wonderful week and that you are able to seize those small opportunities to be a member missionary.

I love you all

Elder Scott

Kennewick, Pasco, and now Richland.

Hello everyone! 

Well we just got our transfer call. And I am getting transferred. I am going to be serving in another English ward in Richland. So I'm not going very far. And after this I will have served in all three cities in tri-cities: Kennewick, then Pasco and now Richland! To be honest, I did not see it coming. I think I saw that every time that I get transferred  But I was really hoping that I would stay in this area. But I guess it's time to got again! I'm going to serve with Elder Malcom. I've served around him a little bit and he's really great. I'm really looking forward to serving with him. I was also expecting to train for these last two transfers, but I guess the Lord has different plans. 

  

This last Saturday, one of the wards in the zone put on a luau! And it was a huge missionary opportunity for everyone in the zone so we invited a bunch of our investigators to it. There was such a huge turnout. It was probably the most well attended event I've ever seen on my mission. There were SO many people there. We even had Cierra come and Heather and her kids came as well! It was so cool. They had a really good time and Heather told us that she wants to come to church!

Heather is doing really well. We had some amazing lessons with her this last week. We had the Bishop come with us to one and we talked all about the Atonement and finding peace and relief of guilt through the Atonement. It was such a spiritually powerful lesson, it was a very joyful experience. We showed Heather the mormon message, "The Will of God". It's one of my favorite ones and it really helped her a lot. It's going to be a bummer not being able to teach her anymore but she will be in good hands!      

Cierra is also doing great. We had a lesson with her this last week which consisted only of her asking us questions about what she had read in the Book of Mormon and us answering them. It was so great. Cierra is really getting into the Book of Mormon. She's not just reading it, but she's actually studying it and seeking to understand. All of the questions she asked were so good and showed that really does want to learn. I'm so excited for her and the decisions that she's been making. It has been such a thrill to see her change and grow over time by living the doctrine of Christ. 

Here's my scripture for this week: Alma 34:9

"For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made."

I am so grateful for the Atonement in my life. I have had to rely on it a lot these last several months and it gives me strength every day. That's one of the things that the mission has taught me the most. Relying on the Atonement to receive strength to accomplish the things that I normally wouldn't be able to without it. 

I hope that all of you have an amazing week. I love you all! 

Elder Scott  

Allergies

Hello everyone!

Another super busy week. Lots of amazing things happened and I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week. There's lots of new people coming out of the woodwork and it's a really exciting time for this area. So this next week should be great! 

My allergies hit me this week. Hard. It's always super annoying. Thankfully it's been raining for the past two days which have made my allergies completely disappear! Another reason to love the rain! But they are sure to make their inevitable return. 

One person I am particularly excited for is Heather. I can't remember if I've ever mentioned her or not. She is the mother of 4 kids and she was widowed about a year and a half ago. She and her family just recently moved her from California. We met her a couple weeks ago (she was a referral of a referral) and she was super nice to us! We even did some service for her repairing her fence. Yesterday we had an amazing lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation. Heather is one of those people is genuinely good to the core. And as she accepts the gospel into her life, it will only make it better. I'm so excited to continue to teach her. She has been prepared by the Spirit for a long time now. We're hoping that she will use her agency for the better to continue to progress. 

Another update on Cierra. She's doing pretty well. We had a lesson on the word of wisdom. And it kind of went well? I guess? I didn't start off very good. She told us that she was not willing to keep it. It was a tough lesson. We did all that we could to bring the Spirit to help her to understand. And finally by the end of the lesson that she would give it a shot. It was a big relief and it made me really happy. The Spirit is a very powerful thing and it's the only thing that can allow someone to understand. We're still going to do everything we can to help her progress, but as far as baptism goes, it will probably take a little bit longer than we had hoped for.  

Last week I mentioned the 9 year-old who we're teaching, Maleah. Well she's doing great! We were able to see her twice this week. She wasn't able to make it to church because she had other stuff going on with her family yesterday. But other than that she's doing awesome. It's been really fun teaching a 9 year-old. I've never done that before! It's really nice being able to teach things as simply as possible. Because that's the way that all teaching should be! It doesn't matter who you're teaching. But Maleah is really great. She's a really sharp girl so she's able to understand things really well. She's still preparing for June 11 for her baptism!  

Something super crazy happened in the zone this last week. One of the Elders had been in the hospital for the past couple of days. Elder Blake, a newer missionary, woke up one day and had a really weird pulse and he wasn't feeling too well. He got a blessing then went to the hospital. Turns out he had an atrial fib. Which is super uncommon for someone his age. They're still not really sure what caused it. But it's been pretty hard to see him have to go through that. He's still not feeling any better so we've been praying a lot for him and he could use as many prayers as he can get!

We had a super spiritual lesson with a less-active couple yesterday about prayer. Since then I've been thinking a lot about prayer. I'm so grateful for the blessing of prayer. It has helped me throughout my entire mission. I know that God answers our prayers and that He wants to hear from us. 

Here's my scripture this week: Alma 34:26-27  

"But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.

Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you."

I hope all of you have a great week! I love you all!

Elder Scott 

Happy Mother's Day

May is here! It's crazy to think that an entire year ago I was in College Place. It's interesting to compare about the kind of person who I was and how different I was! I just love the mission! Such a beautiful time of improvement and progression. 

This last week was INSANE. We had our Zone Training Meeting to plan for. Man, I thought that planning for District Councils were stressful. It's nothing compared to Zone Meetings. Having to plan out an entire three hours of training and other business stuff is super stressful. And so now it's a huge relief that it's all over and we get to focus more on the work and less time on planning stuff. The Zone meeting went super well though. Elder Johnson and I were both very satisfied by the way everything turned out. The whole meeting was about teaching in the Savior's way and not giving rote or memorized discussions but really teaching someone to help them understand. I learned a lot of things that I know that I can work on a lot! That's another thing I love about the mission, there is always room for improvement. So I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week because now we get to apply everything that we've been learning.

Another update on Cierra. She is just doing amazing things. She is making huge steps in her faith right now. This last week we were about ready to drop her and hand her over to the Erickson's. But then we were able to see her and we had an amazing lesson with her. And she is now preparing to be baptized on the 28th of this month! She also came to church yesterday and fasted and she got a priesthood blessing. I had the privilege of giving the blessing and it was so amazing. Because the Spirit spoke to me so clearly to me about what to bless her with and it was so obvious about what I needed to say. It was a really amazing experience. 

We've been doing a lot of finding this week as well. And one of the new investigators that we were led to is Heather. She's a young mother of four kids who just moved here from California to get away from bad influences. She has been so prepared to receive the restored gospel. A couple years ago her husband and her dad passed away. She has been really humbled and just wants to help her family. I'm really looking forward to teaching her again.   

I can't believe that it's Mother's Day this Sunday! Mother's Day is just so great. I love my mom so much and I'm so grateful for everything that she does for me. And it's also crazy that this is the fourth time I've called home. I can distinctly remember each time that I've skyped home. And now I'm gearing up for the final one. I know I sound like a broken record, but boy does time move fast! 

We had the opportunity to go out with our Bishop last Saturday and visit some people. We were able to see Cierra and we taught her about repentance. And Bishop Pierce's testimony about repentance was so incredibly powerful it's still resonating with me. It was exactly what Cierra needed to hear about how she can put her past behind her and change. I'm so grateful for the ability that we have to repent and change and do better each day.  

Here's my scripture for this week Alma 36:3

"And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

I hope that all of you have an amazing week. Have a happy Mother's Day! 

Elder Scott

It's pretty fun!

 

The Rose's (the members we live with) have a tramp. It's pretty fun sometimes.

New Joisy

Hello family!

So we had transfers last Wednesday! Another one come and gone. And I'm staying here in Pasco 2nd Ward! Transfers went really well. It was pretty stressful but so I'm glad that it was over but it was great! But something unexpected that happened was that Elder Cordon got transferred! I did not see it coming at all. He has less than a week and a half left and he got transferred. It's kinda weird that he's going to be home so soon. 

So I have a new companion! His name is Elder Johnson and he's from New Joisey. He's been out for a little over a year and he just great. Pretty much as close as you could get to a perfect companion. Oh yeah, and he's 6'6''. So, that makes my second companion who is taller than me... we still get along though. 

We've been able to see a lot of fruits from our finding efforts this week. We found a lot of new people to teach who are ready. So that's always be reaffirming that the Lord is guiding us in all that we do. We are also coming to discover a lot of part-member families in our ward. I love working with part-member families. Whenever I meet with them, no matter who they are, I always get such a strong feeling of how much they need the gospel to bless their family. And there are plenty to be working with in this ward so I'm really excited for that.  

Cierra is doing great. We're bringing her and her family over to the Barney's tonight for a family home evening which we're really excited about. This last week we had a very powerful lesson with her at the Erickson's home about the Book of Mormon. Everyone in the room bore powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Spirit was so strong. She could definitely feel it too and she's been reading everyday since! So she's progressing very well. 

 

The weather is so nice now! It was in the 80's everyday this last week. And it's supposed to get up into the 90's this week. Looks like it's going to be an early summer. But it's really nice too. I always get a really bad case of spring fever and just want to be outside!  

Yesterday at church I saw one of the best gospel principles classes I've ever been to. Our ward mission leader, Brother Erickson, taught the lesson and he did an amazing job. It was supposed to be on one of the chapters in the book, but about half way through he just said, "alright, close your books we're going to talk about something else." The lesson ended up being about listening to the Spirit. It was so powerful and the Spirit was there and everyone who was there was able to learn and be involved. That really added to my testimony of the importance of following the Spirit in all that you do. The Spirit will never lead us astray and He will always lead us to what is good. 

Here's me scripture for this week: Moroni 7:13

 

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."

I hope that all of you have a great week! I love you all!

Elder Scott 

Es gibt nichts Gutes, ausser: Man tut es

Today at 12:01 PM

Hello everyone! 

So this Wednesday are transfers! I can't believe that they're already here. Especially since this transfer was 7 weeks. It felt like it went by even quicker than the other transfers. 

So we get the official call later today to find out where everyone is going in the zone. But we got a call last night from President Ware to give Elder Cordon a special assignment for his last two weeks in the field. He's being transferred to back to Kennewick as a "floating zone leader". He'll just be jumping around from companionship to companionship. So he's really looking forward to doing that but it really threw both of us for a loop. We were totally expecting just to be a tri-pan for his last two weeks and then he'll leave! But, as usual, the Lord has different plans. And last night I asked President Ware who will be replacing Elder Cordon. But he wouldn't tell me! He's making me wait like everyone else! So I guess you all will just have to wait until next week to find out who my new companion will be. But I'm going to miss Elder Cordon so much! It has been an amazing 7 weeks with him. 

   

We did a lot of finding this week. We talked to a lot of people and we were even able to find several people who are searching. That's when missionary work becomes so joyful. When you get to see the Lord working through you to bless His children. 

One investigator who we've been working a lot with lately is Nathan. He makes custom guitars for a living. He's a super cool guy. All of the lessons we've had with him have been in his little rinky-dink shop in his backyard. It doesn't look like much, but somehow he manages to make these amazing guitars. He hasn't been able to make it to church yet, but that's what we're helping him with. He's been reading in the Book of Mormon and he really enjoys that. It's been really cool teaching him so far and I hope that he can really start progressing!    

Cierra is also doing really great. We're getting her and her family introduced to more families in the ward. And the ward just loves them! So we're really excited for them as well. 

I've been pondering a lot about two other talks from general conference this last week. President Uchtdorf's and also Elder Arnold's. I love when President Uchtodorf says: "There is nothing good unless you do it". I think that's what this gospel is all about. It's what this church is all about, and it's what faith is all about. That it really doesn't mean a thing until it motivates you to act and change your behavior and your character. And then with Elder Arnold, he talked all about how we are all called to the rescue. No matter what our current circumstance we're in, God will always bless us with opportunities to reach out to others.  

I'm not sure if I've done this scripture before. But either way, I'm choosing this one: 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."

I love this gospel so much! I'm so grateful to be apart of it. Because I know that it's true. Even though the mission isn't always easy, the Lord always makes it possible. 

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Scott

LDS Conference

Well, conference was great. I couldn't believe that this was my fourth and final General Conference on the mission. Time is moving by fast and it's hard to keep up sometimes. But conference was exactly what I needed. I was able to receive so much revelation for me and everyone we're teaching. It was just so great!

Cierra and her twins went over to the Erickson's Saturday morning to watch the first session of conference. And she absolutely loved it! She was asking a lot of amazing questions and she told us that she felt as if they we speaking directly to her. She even came with a question in mind which was answered. Everything that was said about forgiveness to others and not holding onto grudges really helped her. That's what is so amazing about modern prophets, is that it doesn't matter who's watching or listening, if you do so with real intent, you will learn something that you need to hear. And yesterday she was on some medication so she had to stay at home, but she told us that she still wanted to watch conference online! So we were really happy about that.

We were able to do a lot of finding this week. We're kind of doing some spring cleaning with our teaching pool and finding some new people to teach who will actually progress! I love finding! It's not the funnest thing in the world, but it's always joyful and so rewarding. The times that I have been guided by the Spirit the most throughout my mission was when we're finding. And Pasco has SO many Hispanics. Very seldom will we not run into a Hispanic each day. So that's really nice that I still get to practice mi Espanol! So I'm really looking forward to doing some more finding this week. 

Some of my favorite talks from conference were from Elder Hallstrom, Elder Renlund, President Uchtdorf and of course Elder Holland. There were so many things that I needed to hear for myself and also about how we can help our investigators to understand. Something that Elder Hallstrom said that I loved, quoting Elder Holland, "you can have what you want, or you can have something even better." God's vision and the potential which He sees in us is so much greater than we can even imagine. 

I also loved what Elder Holland said about the reason why we even have General Conference. That really was the perfect ending to a great General Conference. We don't listen to these talks for 10 hours so that we can feel bad about ourselves. We take part in this conference to be lifted up and inspired to better than we currently are. Because with the Lord's help, progression is possible. 

 

My scripture for this week is: Alma 36:17 

"And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world."

This scripture was quoted several times throughout conference and I just love this story from the Book of Mormon. When Alma the younger remembers the Atonement to lift him and build him up. Something that we all need to remember. 

I love you all! I love this gospel and I know it's true! Have a great week!

Elder Scott 

The Divine Gift of Repentence

Hello Everyone!

We had one hectic week. We hit a couple of rough patches but I was really glad that it was able to end on a good note with it being Easter Sunday. I had a very peaceful day yesterday and I was very grateful for that. 

Cierra came to church yesterday! I was really glad about that too especially since she hasn't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks, but she still came! And she even came to the church on Saturday for a service project with the Relief Society and then to watch the Woman's Conference. So she's really becoming so involved with the church and she just loves it! We're still working a lot with her husband, Adam, too to soften his heart so that she can will be allowed to be baptized. 

Ever since I got here it feels like we haven't really been able to find very many new people. But this week we made finding a much bigger priority and we were able to see many miracles from it. It's such an amazing experience to be lead by the Spirit to find new people 

One family in particular who we were able to find was Brian and Stacy. They've had a lot of encounters with the church in the past. They have a lot of Mormon friends who have given them copies of the Book of Mormon and have invited them to church. Then we come by knocking on their door. Brian took that as a sign that he needs to get to the bottom of this and see what this church is all about. Our first lesson we had with them was basically just a Q&A. He and his wife, Stacy, had a lot of amazing questions. They both committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We're so excited for them and how much the ward is going to welcome them in.    

I can't believe that General Conference is this weekend. This makes number 4 on my mission. i absolutely love General Conference and getting investigators to enjoy it too. I seem to always receive so much revelation for our investigators and myself and it's such an amazing experience every time.   

I'm so grateful for this Easter season. I'm grateful for the time that we have to celebrate the Atonement of our Savior. There was a talk that I studied through this week by Elder Christofferson from the 2011 October Conference. It's called "The Divine Gift of Repentance". It's gotten me thinking a lot about how great of a blessing it is to be able to repent every single day. One of my favorite lines is when he says that "whatever the cost of repentance, it is swallowed up in the joy of forgiveness." And without the Atonement, repentance wouldn't be possible.That's why we have to take our lives one day at a time and progress little by little--make those slight changes each day. And that's why I love being a missionary. Because there is always plenty to work on. But I decided just to take things one day at a time.  

And so, I'll be ponderizing this verse for this week: D&C 20:31 

"And we know also, that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and serve God with all their mights, minds, and strength."

I love this gospel so much! Because even though we have hard times, we can always look to Christ to build us up. 

I love you all so much and have a great week!

Elder Scott 

1 Cor 15

Another week that just flew by! Feels like we just had a preparation day. But here it is again! But we had a really great week. Leading up to Easter is just such a great time of the year for missionary work. 

We were able to see a lot of miracles this week. Let's start with Cierra and her family. She has three kids, an 8 year old boy, and a pair of twin who are 6. They made SO much progress this week. And also her husband, Adam! We've been praying a lot about how we can help this family to accept the gospel. Because Cierra is a very spiritual person and wants the best for her kids and she loves the way she feels when she's learning about the gospel but Adam isn't as open. She even told us that he probably won't let their son be baptized. And Cierra doesn't want to be baptized without her kids. This last week though we were thinking of some ways to help get Adam involved. We were talking with Brother Erickson, our ward mission leader about how we could help him. And he suggested that they come by and help him in his backyard building his fence. So last Saturday they did! Cierra and Adam and their kids came by and helped with the fence. And Adam really opened up too! He's still not ready to coming to church and keeping commitments but he's definitely making progress. And to make it better, Cierra and her kids came to church yesterday! And they loved it. We're planning to have another family home evening with them tonight which I'm so excited for. 

We had such an amazing experience yesterday teaching a less-active couple. Their names are Ryan and Jacinda. Last week they received a visit from the stake in preparation for ward conference yesterday (which was AMAZING by the way). And they came to church and told us that they wanted to have us over and meet with us. The member from the stake who visited them told us that they are textbook example focus people for a ward council. So we were really excited to meet with them. We found out that Ryan is a returned missionary and Jacinda is a convert of about 10 years. They both expressed to us how things just haven't been working out for them and that they want to make things right. And they know that the gospel can do that. So we were able to help them set some goals for getting married and eventually progressing towards the temple. There were a lot of tears that were shed during that lesson. It was so nice to be able feel the Spirit that strong and seeing it work is someone else's life. After having that lesson, it really made me realize that by them being reactivated into the church and being sealed in the temple really is just as important as bringing someone new into the church. 

My scripture for this week is 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

I'm so grateful for this Easter season to be able to remember Jesus Christ and His Atonement. And I love what this scripture says about how we are all in a fallen state which is why we need a Savior to redeem us and save us from sin and death. I find that the more that I seek to understand the Fall, the greater my appreciation is for the Atonement. I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sent His Son for us. What a wonderful time of the year to celebrate that! 

I hope that all of you have a great week and a wonderful Easter! I love you all!

Elder Scott

Ian and companion temple today

Hallelujah!

Today at 4:08 PM

Hello everyone! 

Well, once again I forgot to mention last week that we have our temple trip today! So our preparation day is today and not yesterday. 

We had crazy week. It seems like so many things happened and we were running around ALL the time. 

Probably the best part about this week was gearing up for the Easter initiative that launched on Sunday. I mentioned a little bit about it last week, but if you haven't seen the video yet, go and check it out right now! It's on followhim.mormon.org. On the website is a beautiful video about Jesus Christ and being able to find new life through him. Every time I've watched it, it just gives me chills and the Spirit is so strong. And also on the website are some other videos that the church has put out that are amazing. Like the virtual choir singing Handel's Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. So cool! I'm so excited for this initiative and for this upcoming Easter. And I'm so excited to share this video with everyone so that they can feel of that Spirit as well. So go check out the video and share it with everyone! 

We had a really cool experience this week sharing this video. We went to the seminary building here and showed the video to all the class periods and talked to all the students about how they could share it with their friends and we handed out a bunch of pass-along cards to them. It was so much fun teaching seminary kids. It almost made me want to become a seminary teacher! And tonight we're going to the institute to do the same thing. 

We were able to see our investigator Cierra a couple of times this week which was really great. She's such an amazing person and a good mother to her kids. We had a church tour with her this last week and she even came to a baptismal service! But she was unable to come to church because of her health problems. She's been facing a lot of difficulties with her health in her life. And it hasn't been easy for her. So we've been praying a lot for her that she will be able to be coming to church and keep all of her other commitments. I'm really excited for tonight though, we're having a family home evening with her at a members home. So it should be really great! 

I had a very special experience in the temple this morning. I had a certain question going into the temple and during the session something jumped out to me that was a definite answer to my prayer. And apart of that answer had to do with one of my favorite versus in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:23-25. I love the temple so much and I always receive so much comfort and peace every time I go in. 

And so, that will be my ponderizing scripture for this week: 

"And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

Something that I learned was that sometimes I just need to take a step back and simplify. And just remember that we are here in this life so that we may experience joy. That is the end purpose behind everything we do in this gospel. That was something very valuable that I learned that has meant a lot to me. And it just makes me want to say hallelujah! 

I hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Scott