Letter #98

Dear Mum and Family,

Well the transfer calls came yesterday and I am staying here in Stourbridge for my lady transfer which isn't much of a surprise. Elder Stephenson will also be here. There were sisters here in Stourbridge to, but they lose their area down this transfer so Elder Stephenson and I are taking over the whole area. That is going to require a lot of work for us this week as we try to organize everything and figure out what we need to be doing. Good thing I like organizing things huh. Hopefully my OCD doesn't get to out of hand. Haha

Other than that not much has really changed. We have been having a great time. This week went pretty slow because the people we were suppose to be seeing this week didn't show up or they weren't in so we didn't see them. That was pretty disappointing. Oh well those weeks happen and there is much we can do about it. Just got to keep going and have faith that there will be people that we meet that want to hear. 

We had a couple of those experiences this past weekend when we did the family history stand. I didn't get any pictures on my Ipad because one of the Elders had a nice camera so he took a lot of photos and will get them out to us soon.  When I get them I will send them to you. 

Anyway we met some really awesome people that were interests in the gospel. Lots of people actually do family history over here so they know quite a bit. It's also crazy how many people we talked to and they already use the churches websites for family history. That's definitely a great way to help people know about the church. We actually taught some people about the gospel just beside they already do family history and they just wanted to know why we were so big into family history. To be honest I would rather talk to people about the gospel than family history because I know very little about family history. Haha

Well from the sounds of it you guys are having some fun camping. I bet you have some more trips all planned out for this summer now that school is out. I hope that the weather starts to dry up for you guys so that you don't have to be wet all the time. Haha. At least you get a bit of what it feels like to be in England. I think it is good for you guys to experience. At least you guys have a car so that you can stay dry when you travel.   So it can't be that bad. 

Well I don't have much more to say. Thanks for all your emails and the thoughts on the ponderizing scripture. I really enjoyed reading them. Here is my thought for the week on the scripture. 

Weekly Thought
I want to start of this weeks thought with a different scripture that has stuck out to me as I have been thinking a little bit about D&C 100. The scripture I want to share is found in D&C 88:81 which reads
"Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor."
Obviously this is talking about us as members of the church who have a testimony of the gospel and the truthfulness of Christ's church and how we need to help others to gain that same testimony. 
"Members who share the gospel experience joy and have the spirit of the Lord more abundantly. As we share the gospel, we appreciate how precious and meaningful it is to us, and feel a greater love for God and others." (PMG 84)
What a wonderful promise that is for us who share the gospel. I know it is easy to be scared to talk to others about the gospel. It can be awkward at times because we don't really know what to say, even though we want share the gospel with others. That's where D&C 100:5-6 comes in
"5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
6 For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say."
We have been commanded by God to "warn our neighbor" and he has given us a promise in D&C 100 that if we do "lift up our voices" then we will "not be confounded".  Things will come to our hearts and mind, through the Holy Ghost, of what we need to say to them. 
I love what President Spencer W. Kimball says about missionary work and not being scared to do it. He says
"If missionary work is indeed the Lord’s work, which it is, and if it is to go forth by His power, which it will, then why should we, as Latter-day Saints, fear or hesitate in taking the gospel to others?"
The Lord will do His own work, but he needs us as His instruments so that He can do His work. We just need to have faith that He will be there beside us as we talk about His gospel for all of us. We are all brothers and sisters of a loving Father in Heaven. 
Some of us have the gospel and are experiencing so much joy in our lives because of it. But there are lots of our eternal Brothers and Sisters that are experiencing sadness and sorrow for whatever reason. Maybe a loved one passed away and they think it's the end and they won't see them. Maybe they have an illness and need to know that God is there and does love them. Maybe they are confused and need guidance on a struggle they are going through at the moment. All of these things, and many others, can be helped with a testimony of the gospel and we have that power to help them. We have been give a wonderful gift, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and it will be with us as we teach others and it will guide us. 
I just want to share a quick story of member missionary work that I found in an ensign. 
"A beauty operator, a member, asked her new client if she would like to read a Church tract while waiting and placed it in her client’s hand. The answer was “No.” Then she offered a copy of the Book of Mormon and again the answer was “No.” Not giving up, the member picked up a Church magazine from another table as though it were a commercial magazine and gave that to her client to read. Quickly thumbing through the pages the client readily realized it was also Church material, but as she moved to lay it down, she noticed an article entitled, “Love at Home.” Having some serious troubles with her husband, she decided to read the article. Then during the rest of the visit a lengthy conversation developed around Mormon home life. The result was a visit arranged immediately with the missionaries. The husband wasn’t present at the first visit, but the wife gave him an ultimatum: “Listen to these missionaries or the children and I may leave.” He listened. They were baptized as a family. He is a high councilor today."
Sometimes we think that in order to share the gospel we need to go and knock on doors or talk to people in the street. But that's not the case. We are around different people all day long who are not members. There are always simple things we can do that will help them realize that the gospel can bless their lives. 
I know from experiences that when we spread the gospel the Lord doesn't leave us hanging. He truly does keep His side of the promise and does guide us. He wants us to teach others the gospel because he does want all of His children to return to Him. He wants us all to experience eternal life with our families and we as members of the church know how that is possible. Let us bless others with the testimonies that we have. 
I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for your thoughts this week. They were amazing. 
Love,
Elder Peterson
PS you need to send me another scripture to Ponderize this week. We can't miss a week.