..and a happy new year!

Hey everyone!

Well, the Christmas season has come and past. Days have been taken off due to the library closing down for the holiday, and gifts have been received. Now, it is back to business as usual for the mission. Honestly, I think that everyone is happy to be able to get back to work - the days where nothing was scheduled were quire uneventful. Mission leadership were unable to find anything for us to do on the day after Christmas, so the day was devoted to study, cleaning the apartment, and other such tasks. Things have returned to normal now, even though the library will also be closed Monday for New Years. I am not sure what exactly we will do that day, but I look forward to whatever they can schedule! Wednesday was quite interesting though - it almost felt like a second Christmas due to all the packages waiting for the young elders in the mail room! There seemed to be at least two for everybody in there, not including any envelopes or cards or anything of the sort! I had received a couple of packages from home myself, for which I thank the senders!

Aside from these smaller happenings, I feel I should talk about Christmas day a bit more. For me (as well as the other young elders), the highlight of the day was being able to make Skype calls back home. So, I got to go to the mission office and use a laptop to send a Skype call to my parents. They, along with my two brothers, were all gathered in for this. And it was great! I thought I wouldn't have too much of a problem with the time limit for Skype calls set by President Fen (30 to 40 minutes), but I ended up there for 45 minutes! (Don't worry, President simply said to try and stick to that time frame, but it was still perfectly alright if we went a bit over). But, talking to my family face-to-face was great! I am excited to be able to do it again this coming June!

Zone work has been interesting as well. A lot of my time has been spent either processing requests regarding the 110 year rule as well as training the new young elders for the job. I have also begun listening to conference talks through my headset when I am not on a phone call - such has been a great way to invite the Spirit into my work. Aside from the work I have been doing, there are going to be changes happening at zone - they want to put all the computers we are using in to a different room - it is just right next door to the room we are currently in, but it is still, nonetheless, a move... I don't know when exactly my desk is going to be moved there, though most of us are in this other room already, and it will likely happen soon to me. We also were not able to train this Monday as have have other Mondays (because of the holiday this week), and we probably will not do it this next Monday either for the same reason. But, I do look forward to getting trained on more things so that this zone will always have something for me to do!

This zone, however, is not the only part of the mission experiencing changes - President Fenn wants to make a lot of changes to how the Young Elders here serve their missions. However, there are things which not even a mission president can do in his mission without approval from one of the Seventy, or even one of the Quorum of the Twelve. For this purpose, not only has he gotten Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Twelve to speak to our mission in a special mission conference (at which President Fenn will seat us young elders front and center), but I also have heard from what I believe to be a reliable source that he will also be shown around the zones of the mission to see how we do things, and how the mission runs. President Fenn is doing this because he believes that the young elders are capable of so much more than we are doing right now, and he wants us to make the most of our missions. To me, I am flattered that he thinks this highly of us, though I also wonder if I can live up to this expectation. However, that is definitely something I can work towards - becoming the best I can be on this mission! So, the best I can do now is work to improve myself, and work to become the best man and missionary that I can be!

On that note, I also look forward to training my companion , Elder Beeson, to become the best he can be. I have now spent a week and a half with him as my companion, and things are going well on that front. He is a smart guy - smarter than me in quite a few aspects. There is still much for him to learn - just as with any new missionary - which I look forward to teaching him. I do have confidence that he will one day become a great elder in this mission. However, the thought of this improvement being my job is quite a concept - I have trained before, though there are unique challenges which come with every new companion, especially when he is brand new to the mission. I sometimes wondering if I am doing things the right way, though I am told that I am doing a good job, so I guess I'm doing something right. All I know is that the Lord has me in this position for a reason, and that he knew that I wouldn't be able to do everything perfectly. Of course, the Lord having anticipated my shortcomings is still not an excuse for becoming casual in regards to this task. The Lord has never expected perfection from us - only improvement. And that is the same thing as what I expect out of anyone with whom I have the privilege of becoming companions with.

Finally, we had our young elder temple trip yesterday. It has been too long since the last time we have done this, so it was good to be able to go again! I would like to attend the temple on my own time more often - when in my future will I have such an opportunity as I now have, to have a temple literally within walking distance of my residence? So, that will become one of my new goals - to attend the temple myself more often. It is a great experience of spiritual immersion which I guess I have been taking for granted a bit more than I should have. But, I want to change this about myself, and improve myself in this aspect, as well as others.

Anyway, that is my week for you. Though it has been a bit tough at times, it has still been great. The entire mission has been wonderful - I wouldn't trade any of my nine and a half months spent so far on this mission for the world! Thanks to all of you for the support again. Have a good week!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: There is a Book of Mormon story in the 31st chapter of the book of Alma, in which Alma went out on a mission to reclaim a people known as the Zoramites. They had not forsaken religion, but rather, their practices were not in harmony with the teachings of the gospel. One of the problems they had was that they would worship God only during one day a week - aside from that, they "never [spoke] of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again" (Alma 31:23). This is one problem I myself had before my mission - aside from on Sundays, my belief was not quite at the forefront of my life. However, on my mission, I have learned that religion is not simply a once-a-week event - it is a daily way of life. My challenge to you out there is to be an "example of the believers" (1 Timothy 4:12), not just during the three-hour block of weekly church meetings, not just during Family Home Evening, and not just during Seminary or Institute class, but for the entire week. Now, this is not to say that all of your free time should be spent buried in the scriptures or in the temple, though both are wholesome activities. Rather, find ways to simply incorporate your gospel in to your everyday life. One of the ways I do it is, as mentioned earlier in this E-mail, is listening to conference talks on lds.org while working when I am not using my headset to take a phone call. It is also important to "pray always" (D&C 10:5). You can also use some of your daily screen-time to do some family history work. These ways, along with many more, are all good ways you can incorporate the gospel in to your everyday lives. Doing so will help you to feel the feelings which may have previously only come on Sundays, and your whole lives will be enriched.

Merry Christmas!

 Hey everyone!

Well, it is finally Christmastime! The big day is just two days away, and I am excited for it! Now, the results of this Transfer Conference are that my P-Day is still on the same day, so can still expect my E-mails on Saturdays; I am still in the same zone; I have moved apartments - I now live with my district leader; and, most importantly, I am now a trainer again. I am training Elder Beeson from Boise, Idaho. He is doing quite well so far, though the entire district has honestly been a bit stressed over the past couple of days for some reason - I don't know exactly why. Oh well, we are getting some days off now, so that will be helpful to us. Aside from Elder Beeson, we do have another Young Elder in the zone, Elder Black, who is being trained by one of the other district leaders. That brings our total of young elders in the zone up to fourteen - much more than are in any other zones! I will say this though - I do not think I will be transferred out of this zone any time soon. But, that is alright -

Our Christmas holiday will be spent as follows: later today, I will be going to a Christmas party with the other young elders. I don't know much about this party, but I do know that two things that will be there are pizza, and Santa Clause. Tomorrow, on Sunday, both branches will be having sacrament meeting together, so that will be a bit extra special. Later that day, we will all be having district Christmas devotionals. On Christmas day, we will be able to make Skype calls home to our families. I don't know about the rest of the mission, but I really look forward to talking to mine! It will be great to see them again! Later that day, the mission will be having a Christmas dinner together! The day after that has not yet been scheduled, but I do know that we will not be going in to zone on that day. I do look forward to this Christmas season, it will be a special day that day!

The weather here has been quite interesting. We have been getting both snow and rain here today. Winter has technically begun, but it does not look quite winter yet... I am hoping for a nice, thick blanket of snow to make for a nice, white snow. We have some, which I guess is better than none, though I do still want it to come down more. Then again, more snow would make driving much more difficult. The conditions are already unruly enough! But, I think it would be worth it to have a nice, white Christmas!

So, I have received a lot of Christmas cards from you back home! I appreciate them very much, and I thank every one of you for the support you have given me! Your support from home is part of why I work so hard out here as a missionary! I just wanted to throw that in there before concluding my E-mail. Aside from what I just told you, there have not been very happenings out here in the mission field. Sorry I have not attached any photos to this E-mail - I am not very good with pictures... I will make a point to take some this week to send on home now though, so you can expect some with my next E-mail. I love you all. Have a merry Christmas!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. It is a perfect opportunity to be together with those whom you love. This can include family, friends, and other special people. However, the holidays can also be quite stressful for some of us - this can include those who have no one to celebrate it with, people dealing with difficult times, or even people for whom Christmas has lost it's magic. My challenge for you this week is to make the holiday as special as possible by showing love to anyone who may need a little extra. This may mean someone you have not known much beforehand, or someone you have been estranged to. The season is already happy and beautiful - how much more would it be if everyone would feel love from somewhere least expected! Buy lunch for a friend, send a card to your parents and/or children, or even just smile to those passing by. Doing this will make the Christmas season more special than ever before, as this sort of service and companionship would be the gift which the Savior himself would ask for.

New Star on the Horizon

 

Hello everyone!

The Christmas season is a time of family togetherness, and being with the ones you love. But, new young elders still come in this month, just as they do every month. This was the case last Monday, where we got our largest group since I have came to the mission, a group of eight! I couldn't imagine leaving the family right before this time of year - it would be tough to fully feel the spirit of Christmas in the hustle and bustle of activities and emotions of a new missionary! But, they seem to be doing alright. As always, I look forward to seeing what happens in their first month of the mission - where they serve, who trains them, etc. 

But, despite the season and the arrival of new young elders, the work carries on as normal, mostly. However, some of you may have heard that, as of recently, FamilySearch now requires people to be signed in to an account to search their records. Previously, there were many people who have used FamilySearch without signing in - they could search records without an account, though they could not access Family Tree. As a result of this change, there are now a lot more calls coming in about account registration and the like. As you can imagine, some people have had strong feelings about the change in protocol. One of the missionaries in the zone got a chat from a patron who only wanted to complain about this change. The zone work is still good though - most people who call us are pretty agreeable, though they definitely have varying levels of computer skill. If nothing else, the extra work keeps things nice and interesting.

This week, I have had the privilege of attending three mission conferences this week. The first was the senior mission conference last Wednesday, which I sang with the choir for. It was President Fenn and his wife who spoke for this one. The content for this conference was a sweetened condensed version of what he shared with the Young Elders at our recent chili party, that is, what can be learned from the story of the birth of Christ. But, there was no time after this conference for me to even go back to zone - right after this conference, we had our young elder mission conference in the JSMB. Because this was the season where rooms in this building are hard to reserve, due to everyone wanting to get one for a holiday celebration, we had our young elder conference in a room on the top floor of the building. The view was actually pretty good, and the messages shared were great! The third conference I attended was the other senior mission conference - again, I sang with the choir. However, I did not stay after the performance. I had places to go, and I had already listened to the message twice, so me and Elder Duran, who I was on an exchange with so we could both perform in the choir, went off to our zone work.

Now, some of you may be wondering right now why I am sending this E-mail so late in the day. Well, I have a good answer for this: I spent the first part of my morning doing service. More specifically, me and my companion had been assigned, along with a few other companionships, to volunteer at the bishop's storehouse on Welfare Square here in Salt Lake City. For those of you who do not know what a bishop's storehouse is, imagine a small grocery store, but without any cash registers - instead, the people who come in work with their bishop who sets up a food order with them, and they take this order to the storehouse and take what they need at no cost to them. For more information about this place, and others like it, here is a link to a news article telling about President Trump's visit to this same storehouse a couple weeks ago: https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-leaders-to-visit-with-us-president. Anyway, my job was essentially helping to keep the shelves stocked, help people get what they needed, and things like that. I enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer here - even more than my trip to the Deseret Industries right next door, to be honest! I would definitely not mind coming again!

US President Visits Welfare Square - mormonnewsroom.org www.mormonnewsroom.org President Donald J. Trump met with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Welfare Square Monday, December 4, 2017.

Finally, this has been a week of a lot of mail! I may have said this in my last E-mail to you guys, but I appreciate all that I have been sent! I read each one of your letters and cards, and I plan on holding on to each of them throughout my mission. Again, thank you so much! However, mail from home is not all I received this week - I have received a card informing me of an interview with President Fenn tomorrow. Usually, I would not pay much mind to something like this - every young elder in this mission gets one like this on a monthly basis. However, I have already had an interview with him this month. Interviews like this right before transfer conference generally mean that the interview is leadership related. So, one or more of three changes is going to be happening this month: I could be training one of the new Young Elders (which is definitely possible, considering there are eight of them), I could be made a district leader, or I could simply be getting released from my current calling as an exercise coordinator. Either way, I am a bit anxious about what could be happening this coming week. Either way, I am ready to take what comes, and do the best I can with it.

And there is my week. Again, thanks a ton for the support from home, it does me good to hear from you all. I look forward to writing you again next week!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: The Book of Mormon is the word of God. In this sense, it is like the Bible, thought the Book of Mormon was written specifically for this day and age. However, the standards of the world keep falling further and further away from what God has declared acceptable. For this purpose, it is more important now than it ever has been to gain and/or strengthen a testimony of this book. Prophets ancient and recent have spoken on the importance of this. The only way to gain a testimony is through a three-part process. The first part is to read the book. How can one gain a testimony of something he or she does not know? Of course, in my last challenge to you, reading the book is not enough - simply reading the book does not provide the reader much more than momentary entertainment. The book must be studied, it's doctrines pondered, and it's message understood. The second part of this process is to pray for a witness from the Holy Ghost about the truthfulness of the book. Keep in mind that this witness will most likely not come in a dramatic manner - it is unlikely that an angel will be sent to testify. Because of this, a moment must be taken to listen after a prayer has been said. The Holy Ghost is often said to speak in a still small voice - it cannot be heard unless you listen for it. The third step of this process is to repeat the first two steps: after listening, go back to reading and pondering. It will only be after deep searching that one will receive a witness to the truthfulness of this book. This method is not only for those who do not yet have a testimony - these steps are also beneficial to strengthening an existing testimony of the book. It has been said that one can never receive too many witnesses that the Book of Mormon is true. This testimony will be what will help one survive the maelstrom of opinions and false doctrines which infest the world we live in today.

Snow!!!

Hello everyone!

Well, we have finally gotten snow here in Salt Lake City. We have all been waiting on this for a while, as it is not even really Christmas without snow. Of course, the true meaning of the holiday, and what makes it so special, goes a lot different than what is shown outside my window, but it still is nice to have. Either way, we now have it, and it feels that much more like Christmas now!

Anyway, aside from snow, we have been seeing a lot more Christmas around here. I am sure that some of you back home have been able to see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional last Sunday, either from home or in person. Me and the rest of the mission were able to see the event live that day, so I was right there with you all. It's amazing seeing that conference center fill right up almost to capacity! Of course, this wasn't as full as it gets around General Conference, but it is still quite a bit! The messages shared were good, and the music was spectacular! It is truly a blessing to be able to attend events right in the conference center whenever they come around. It is one of the great parts of serving in this mission!

This was not the only conference center event which I had attended this week. The other one was especially for me, or more specifically, it was for the family history department of the church. There were two sessions of this, and we were all invited to attend one of the two - some attended one, and others attended the other. The one I attended was on Thursday. There were a couple of general authority seventies who spoke, as well as Steve Rockwood, the head of FamilySearch. This event actually did not take place in the main conference center, but in the conference center theater, the place I watched "Savior of the World," as I had talked about last week. The event was definitely worth attending - the messages were good as always, and they even served lunch afterward.

I have also received a couple cards from some of you back home, and I would like to thank every one of you for each of them, it is well appreciated! There was only one minor problem: as I was opening them, I decided I wanted to use a knife - what better tool to use for a clean opening without tearing up the envelope? However, when I did this with one of the envelopes, a five-dollar bill fell out - or, should I say, half of a five dollar bill... You can probably guess how that happened... But, all it took was a little bit of scotch tape to bring it back to near-perfect condition - the bill was even accepted by a vending machine in the library. I find that to be a bit of an inspiring story. Without breaking into a twenty minute talk or sermon, I would just like to remind everyone that, even if you feel that you have proverbially "torn your life in half", it can still be repaired to an acceptable condition. There is still hope for you!

Anyway, life on the mission is still going great! I am working hard at zone, and getting a lot of stuff done there, but I am nonetheless quite happy! I guess that happiness is, in part, found in good hard work. I have even been told that I was quite cheerful while on my way to morning exercise this morning! I will be honest: waking up in the morning is still not terribly fun, but when I get moving, I can awaken quite quickly! One thing that I have noticed is that waking up is easier when I get to bed early. It may seem like plain logic, and I will admit that it probably is. However, I feel like I have not fully appreciated how big of a difference a couple minutes really makes. It also helps that I maintain the habit of waking up on time every day - not just days that I have to do stuff. Admittedly, part of the reason I do this is because it is the only way I can schedule time to prepare breakfast, or even bake bread. In other words, I have a reason, or a motivation, to wake up. Of course, I still schedule time for scripture study in the morning - there is simply no good excuse for cutting that out. But, giving myself a good reason is a good way to maintain obedience to the mission rules. Of course, obedience like this should come from a love for the Savior, not simply because one likes food. However, I feel that if having stuff to do in the morning is what it takes, then it can be used for the purpose of becoming more obedient. Besides, I still get up on time when I don't have stuff like this to do, so that's not the only reason why I wake up.

So, things have been still going well out here on the mission. I love you all, and I hope to see you again next week. Have a good one!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: I have faith that a lot of you read your scriptures regularly - me and my family have read them together ever since I was a young child. However, my question is this: how deeply do you study them? I feel that sometimes, I read my scriptures without thinking too deeply about them, and a lot of their value is left unread and not utilized. My mission president knows about the possibility of this happening quite well - as a result, he has instituted a challenge for the young elders. In this challenge, we are to read the Book of Mormon, and highlight in different colors scriptures which cover certain doctrines. The colors are as follows: red is for scriptures pertaining to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, yellow is for scriptures which reference covenants made between the Lord and his people, and blue is for scriptures talking about discipleship and following Christ. Of course, you do not have to follow this exact pattern in marking your scriptures, but you can do so if you'd like, or you can develop your own pattern - choose your own colors and doctrines you would like to learn more about. Then read the scriptures, and as you come across scriptures related to the doctrines you are looking for, highlight them in the appropriate color, then read over them once or twice more. You will find more stuff than you have previously when reading the scriptures, including things which you did not see before. Your testimony and faith will grow, and you will be more greatly blessed.

Tis the season

 

Hey everyone!

Well, now November has ended, and December has begun. It is now the Christmas season, and we are all preparing to celebrate it. The only minor problem with this is that there is still no snow... But, either way, the Christmas decorations have been coming up all around, the music in the stores has changed (though it still seems to me like everyone stopped recording Christmas music some time in the 50's), and it truly feels like the holidays are here. 

I have attached a couple of photos in this E-mail this time. They are a couple of group photos, each of myself and the rest of the young elders in my zone. One will be explained later in this E-mail, one is us at zone, and one is us eating together in the Nauvoo Cafe in the JSMB.

So, the week has been a bit less eventful than the last, but then again, that's not saying much - last week was quite a bit hectic. It is nice to be back to working cases in the contact center. Don't take this the wrong way, we are still doing good work here, but things have been a bit slow there as of recently, but management is currently working on resolving our not having a ton to do. Next Monday (two days from now), we will do some training so that we can process requests related to FamilySearch's 110-year rule, which essentially means you either must be a close relative of a deceased person or have permission from such a relative in order to do his/her temple ordinances. Of course, we will get training to do even more things in the future, but this will be a nice start for new things. Aside from this, things are still kind of the same as they have been. We are still in the Family History Library, and we are still working the same cases as we have been. 

In my last E-mail to you guys, I mentioned going to a show titled "Savior of the World", which turned out not to be a movie as I had originally thought, but a drama production. This two-act performance centered around the Savior's birth, as well as his Resurrection. The musical was quite well done, in my opinion. The acting was well done, and the music was wonderful! Elder Duran says that this musical was also shown last year, and he even thinks that they used the same actors as before. To me, this was a nice way to end off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This was a performance I would definitely enjoy attending again in the future!

We have had another Book of Mormon class from President Fenn last Monday. This is open for the entire mission, but he especially wants us young elders attending these. It is really nice to attend these classes, as he can do a really nice commentary on the Book of Mormon. We hope to get through the entire book by this time next year, one monthly class at a time. Whether or not we meet this deadline, it is still a good experience for us. I personally have learned much from attending these classes, and I look forward to them every time. 

So, as I have mentioned earlier in this E-mail, the Christmas season has arrived, and the Church is running #LightTheWorld again this year. The premise of this is to set a theme for each day of December leading up to the holiday, all designed to remember Christ in the holiday season and become more like him. Each theme is a quote from the scriptures, and the goal of each participant is to try and apply the scripture to their lives. (For more information, click here.) Anyway, the theme of the first day (yesterday) was "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8). As a part of this, the Church had set up a vending machine in the lobby of the JSMB, the purpose of which is actually donate things, ranging from clothing to food to animals, to other people who are struggling around the world. For example, if we were to spend money on a water purifier, one would be given to someone struggling who needed one. So, me and other young elders serving in my zone decided to use money from our personal accounts rather than mission funds to each put in ten dollars apiece to buy a goat using this vending machine, a picture of which is attached to this E-mail. After this, we ate dinner together and went back to night zone together. To me, this was a nice way for a charitable organization to put itself out there - making donating to a charitable cause as simple as buying something from a vending machine is a novel idea, and I am wondering why I have not seen this sort of thing before! 

Finally, I look forward to the Christmas Devotional happening tomorrow. The young elders have actually gotten tickets to attend this one in person, so I will be attending it live. I look forward to doing so tomorrow. If you are interested as well, there will likely be a broadcast at your local meetinghouse, or you can stream it through www.lds.org. I think it will probably also show on television, though I am not sure what channel you would turn to. I would recommend checking it out, whether or not you are a member. It is a good way to remember why Christmas is so important.

Well, that is my week. Thanks again for all the support from home. I enjoy reading all your E-mails, and I hope you enjoy reading mine. I will catch you all next week. Have a good one!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: As I have mentioned earlier, the Church is running #LightTheWorld again this year. They had done this last year, and it was a success, so they are running it again. I will be participating in it's daily challenges, and I challenge you to do so as well. The challenges are based on loving one another, service to others, and generally becoming more Christlike. You can keep up to date on www.mormon.org, or you can download and print a PDF of the calendar on the same website. It will be alright if you miss a day, or mess up a bit. Remember - the Lord does not expect perfection, only improvement. So, try and make it a goal to meet each challenge every day. Doing this will help you to keep the true spirit of Christmas in your mind, and help you become more like the Savior.

Thanks for the memories

Hello everyone!

First and foremost, I just want to say that, for this month, you can still expect my E-mails every Saturday. My P-Day has not changed, so there is no need for you at home to make too many drastic changes to your schedule! Aside from this, there have been no other changes for my everyday life - not my apartment, my zone, or my companion. Our mission president was a lot more conservative with the changes he made this transfer (something which may or may not be just for this transfer), so there is not a lot in the mission which has changed - the only change at all in my zone is that my district leader is now training one of the new young elders. That said, there have been changes in the exercise program - I now have not one, but two new fellow coordinators, Elders K. Young (as with some other missionaries in the mission, his first initial is included to differentiate him from another Elder Young on the mission) and Vandenhazel. I look forward to meeting with them, and working with them to get this program running smoothly. So, I am spending another transfer here, which will be my sixth transfer in this zone. This means I will have been here for half of a year! Again, there are no huge changes, so there is nothing to worry about on that front.

As I am sure you all know, Thanksgiving has been this month. This is always a special time of the year, but this is especially so in the mission - this is because everything shuts down for the holiday for a couple of days. So, during this time, we have been doing a couple of other things to keep us busy. The day before Thanksgiving, things closed down at 5:00 P.M., so we did not have a night zone. Instead, all the young elders got together for a movie. President Fenn was also here, so before we began, we had a Q&A together - we ask him a question, and he would give his best answer. The questions asked were about gospel- and mission-related topics. This was awesome, better than your average fireside if you ask me! Anyway, after this, we watched our movie, "17 Miracles", together. I have watched it before, but it was still a great, moving movie. I would recommend giving it a view for those of you who have not!

On the day of Thanksgiving, we did our morning exercise a bit earlier than usual - 9:00 A.M. instead of the usual 6:45 A.M. The new coordinators were also there, and I think they are doing well - Elder K. Young has a lot of new exercises for us all, so we have been working with those as well as the stuff we had before. After exercise, we helped to set up a tables and chairs for a mission Thanksgiving dinner at the stake center where we had exercised. We then had an opportunity to go back to our apartments and work on getting them clean/studying the scriptures before the dinner. The dinner itself was excellent! The food was provided by missionaries (including young elders) who were either asked or had volunteered to provide food. I had not been asked, but I had spent some (not all, of course) of my day before this dinner making a loaf of challah bread, so I made a last-minute decision to donate that. It was good for us all to meet together over a bunch of good food! There is nothing quite like a good Thanksgiving dinner!

The next day, the young elders in the mission went on a hike through a park in the city. I had accidentally forgotten my water bottle for this activity, but most of the hike was in the shade, so it was okay. We had hiked about a total of four miles round trip, so it was a pretty good exercise. After this was done, me and Elder Argyle went out to get our shopping done, due to a service project which would be happening the next day (which would be today). On the way back from this, I found that I had to deal with noticeably more traffic than before. I was a bit confused at first, before I realized that this would be the day the lights at Temple Square turned on. So, me and Elder Argyle had decided we would walk through Temple Square a bit to see the sights. I have walked through the place a lot in our mission work, but we had never really taken the time to stop and smell the roses. While walking about, I had actually gotten stopped a couple times and asked questions about the place. I do not serve in the Temple Square mission, so I was not able to answer much, though I could point people in the general correct direction or refer them to the Temple Square sister missionaries. The lights were spectacular this year, and though the place was extremely crowded, it was still a nice experience to go take a nice little walk through!

Finally, there is today. Today was relatively less eventful, because a lot of the young elders (those who do not have Saturday as their P-Day) had to return to zone today. However, it was P-Day for me and Elder Argyle, so we did not go in this day. Earlier, I mentioned going shopping yesterday to accommodate for a service project. This service project took place at the Deseret Industries store on Welfare Square. There were several of us there, and I, as a driver, was assigned to drive one group of us there. For some reason, some of us had thought we would be getting there using the freeway, but the assistants to the president were able to plan a route which does not use that road, which was a nice relief. At Deseret Book, we did volunteer work to help out wherever they needed us at the store. Me and Elder Argyle helped with sorting donated clothes and putting price tags on products. Soon after that, we went home, ate a quick lunch, and came here to the library to do our P-Day E-mails. Later today, we will be going to another movie, "Savior of the World".

And there is my week in a nutshell. This was a very interesting week, I must say. I hope you have all had a great Thanksgiving, and I also hope you are all prepared for all the Christmas-related stuff coming right your way. Okay, I will see you guys next week. Have a good one!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: The schedules which we had received for our "days off" were very specific - they even included that we should spend the mornings studying our scriptures, even though it is what we do every week. Scripture study is important for missionaries, but they are also quite important for anyone else. Studying the scriptures does to the spirit what food does to the body - it nourishes, strengthens, and energizes. However, just like feeding ourselves, this must happen every day, or we will spiritually starve. This must not be limited to simply study with your family, though that is important too - limiting your scripture study to just what you read with your family is like eating breakfast every morning, and not eating so much as a crumb the rest of the day. Personal study is one of the greatest habits one can develop. It is essential for a missionary to do his job, and, again, it is equally important for anyone else. If you have not developed a habit of personal or group scripture study, I would advise you to begin doing so today. Do not say that tomorrow will be the day - saying tomorrow will be just as easy the next day as it is today, and doing so will become a tough habit to break. Only a chapter a day will make a good start - finding five minutes will be easy. Then, when you find yourself consistently reading this one chapter, you can go on and read another, and begin looking more deeply. Soon, you will find yourself "feasting upon the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 32:3), and you will have guidance in your lives.

Month the 8th, or one third

Hello everyone!

Well, last Monday came a milestone for me - that day has marked my 8 month mark! Now, I have been out here for about a third of my allotted time to serve as a missionary. The months are going by quicker and quicker, and it almost seems like I will be packing my bags for the final time. Until then, I must make the most of my current opportunity to serve the best I can! Also, last Monday, we have had some new Young Elders arrive in the mission. We have actually had five new Elders this time, which is the first time since I have arrived on the mission since we have gotten an odd number of elders. I am guessing this is because we had a tri-companionship on the mission (which actually included my former companion, Elder McGrew), and they wanted to remove this. So, we have seen them around, and I am kind of looking forward to seeing who trains them.

Anyway, I am still in charge of the exercise program. I will soon be taking more charge of this. As I may have mentioned in my last E-mail, we are losing the other Young Elder exercise coordinator, so we should be getting a new one sometime soon. The senior exercise coordinator, Elder Boone, will meet soon with the assistants to the president as well as with President Fenn himself about this. I myself have given the issue some thought, and have a list of suggestions, but it will ultimately be up to President Fenn to make a decision. Either way, I feel I will probably stay as a coordinator, and will be training a new guy to help me out. I look forward to seeing who I get to work with here!

Speaking of seeing who I get to work with next, you probably know that, whenever we get new Young Elders, that a transfer conference is coming up soon. Based on my recent track record with holding on to companions, I may or may not get to spend the next month with Elder Argyle. I also may or may not be staying in the same apartment. I don't think I will be changing zones though - I think they want to keep me here for a while, to get the Young Elders trained into the zone if nothing else. I don't mean to brag, but I am currently one of the more experienced missionaries in this zone, and I think they will want to keep me to get less-experienced missionaries trained into this kind of work. Besides, I think our administrative supervisors want us to stay there for a while - they would prefer if we spent our entire missions there. Of course, President Fenn does not want to let that happen. Still, I think we will be there for a while. But, then again, there is no way to predict what will happen in the mission. But, I know that these transfers are inspired, so I will just hold on, and look forward to what the next transfer brings.

Senior mission conference also happened this week. As per the tradition, I attended this as well, due to my being in the choir. However, this senior mission conference was a bit different: the theme was service, and rather than just have someone in the mission presidency and his wife speak (which still happened), they also had some people who have led mission service projects share some thoughts on the experience. I feel like this was a good conference this month - but then again, it is always good. I always enjoy these mission conferences - the messages shared are as good as the opportunity to sing!

I don't have much more time to write today, but it is good to hear from you who write me. I appreciate all the support I get from everyone, thank you all very much! I will see you all again next week!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: As I have previously mentioned, our senior mission conference happened this week, and the subject was service. Remember the Savior, and all He has done for us. His entire life was dedicated to other people, rather than Himself. Even to the end of His mortal life, He was more concerned about other people - even those who crucified Him - than he was about Himself. Finally, His ultimate sacrifice was given for all of us, and is the greatest gift we can receive. Should we then not return the favor? The best way we can try and do something for Him is to do something for someone else (see Matthew 25:40). Selfless service is one of the best ways that we can show our love to another. There are opportunities always around us in which we can work to make someone else's life better. This can be as elaborate as a service project, or as simple as a kind word. This sort of service is the best legacy which one can give - if you were to serve just one person in some way every day, imagine the size of the impact after a year, or 365 days, or 365 people's lives made just a little bit better. So, as we try and serve other people, we find that our own life is also blessed.

Old friends, new challenges

 Hey everyone!

First off, happy Veteran's Day! 

So, things in zone are coming along quite nicely. The basic training for the zone is finally finished, and we will be getting trained further in the weeks ahead. The new missionaries in the zone will begin training in account-related cases (the ones that the contact center specialized in before the changes). In the future, we will all be trained on other types of cases as well. I also think the zone wants to train the other Young Elders in helping out new Stake Temple and Family History consultants get started with their new callings (we call this "outreach support"). For now, a few of us who have already worked doing this type of work, including myself, have been accepting phone calls again. I feel a lot more productive doing this than I have in the past couple of weeks - training is important and all, though it is much more gratifying to actually be helping people with their problems. I do look forward to getting trained into doing other types of cases though.

We have had our Young Elder mission conference this month as well. I don't remember if I ever told you about the standard model for these mission conferences: after starting off with an opening hymn and prayer, we get a message from the assistants to the president. After that, we hear from some of the senior missionaries who work with the Young Elders in some way or another - this month, it was the Browns, who are finishing their service as Young Elder coordinators. After that, we hear from the wife of the member of the mission presidency who has been assigned to speak at the conference - this month, it was Sister Fenn. After this, we get a short break to stretch our legs and even enjoy some refreshments; then, we get an intermediate hymn. After this, we hear from the member of the presidency who's wife had just spoken, in this case President Fenn. This usually lasts from about twenty to thirty minutes, and it was no different at this conference. He spoke to us on the priesthood, it's importance, and how it works. After this, we get our closing hymn and prayer. So, this conference was great, just as it always is. It is nice to hear the messages which are shared, and try and apply them to better our missionary service. I look forward to this every month, and it is a pretty good experience for us as a mission.

We have also had our Young Elder temple trip this last Friday. Some of you are probably thinking that it is a bit early in the month to be going on a temple trip. Yes, it is pretty early, but there are a couple of good reasons for this. First off, transfers are coming a bit early in the month, and we usually base our temple trip off of that. Second, due to the holiday coming this next week, we have had to move it back a week. So, we went to the Salt Lake temple again. It's nice to go there: it is truly a great temple, and it is convenient to not have to wake up so early in the morning to catch the bus. I was able to take a name in my own family tree through too - a name which had all his temple work stop in May of 2003 - this was a couple months before I started kindergarten. Imagine, waiting those long 14 years! The temple is truly a blessing to go visit, and I am glad that I can attend the temple (almost) as often as I want!

I may have mentioned before that I had been asked to play guitar at transfer conference. Again, playing guitar is usually not allowed on a mission at all, but when the mission president approves it, then it's alright. Anyway, it has been approved for this purpose, and I have gotten my instrument earlier this week. One of the senior missionaries in the training zone had talked to her daughter about this, and she was able to loan it out for me. It is currently back at my apartment. Some of you have probably already guessed by now that I have put some extra miles on that, and let me tell you this: I do not think I have fully realized how much I have missed this! I have not let it get in the way of the important stuff of course, but it feels great to be doing my thing again! Of course, after transfer conference (which, by the way, is the Tuesday after next Tuesday), I will likely have to give it back. But, I will enjoy it while I can!

Well, that is my week for you guys. Thanks for all the support, I appreciate reading your E-mails. Have a great week everyone!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: I have heard said once before, "Put the Lord first, and everything will work out". As you likely can tell, this is a way of saying that if we remember to keep the important things as our top priority, then everything else will fall in to place. I understand that not everyone who receives my E-mails may be a member of our church, but even if you are not, there are still things which are more important than others, things like family, for example. However, how often do we make compromises which put these things lower on our list of priorities? For example, we may argue that we simply do not have time to attend the temple, or we may want to go straight to bed without saying prayers, or we may skimp on scripture study. One such compromise can lead to another, and then another, until these things become not as important anymore. So, to remember to keep the important things first, the best thing to do is to simply start small. If you simply cannot find the time to do these things, you will have to make time. Remember, if you put the Lord first, everything will work out. Also, you do not have to try to make one big change - doing so at first will be difficult, and may discourage yourself. Instead, start out small - just read one chapter from the scriptures, for example. By remembering to keep the Lord and the important things first, you will find that it is not as hard as you initially thought. You will still be able to get everything else done, and your life will be much better because of it.

Music in my soul

 Hey everyone!

In the excitement for all the changes which happened at zone, I forgot to talk about a musical performance I got to participate in. This happened a week before last Monday in my mission branch's "Aloha Dinner," an event intended to recognize the missionaries joining and leaving the mission for this branch, if I never explained it before. This may sound similar to a "Hail and Farewell" dinner I have previously talked about, and that is because the only differences between the two are which branches they are for (the mission has two branches), and the month on which they are held (each dinner happens once every two months, and they alternate so that there is a dinner every month). Anyway, I was asked to perform a special musical number at this branch with a couple other Young Elders. The event was great, and multiple people have commented on the performance. Aside from that, I have also gotten to sing for another special number last Sunday, "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy," in a quartet for sacrament meeting.

I do have a couple more musical performances planned. One is not until December. The other is one I am very excited for. At Transfer Conference this month, they want me to help provide prelude music. This is made up of instrumental covers of hymns, mostly done on piano and violin. However, the music coordinator, Elder Kellogg (I may have mentioned his name once or twice before) not only asked me to help perform - he got President Fenn's permission to let me use an acoustic guitar for this! So, we are currently working on getting one for me so that I can practice with the other people performing for this, and I must say, I am very excited to pick up a six-string again! This will be my first time in a while, so I will have to work to brush off a couple of cobwebs, but I really do look forward to doing my thing again!

So, you are probably wondering what I did for Halloween. Spoiler alert: I did not go trick-or-treating. However, we did get out of zone a bit early today, so that we could celebrate the holiday. We did this by enjoying snacks and a movie called "The Best Two Years," a movie which, if you haven't heard of it, describes missionary life in a nutshell (for proselyting missionaries, anyway). It sort of shows that, although this mission is definitely different than the one in the movie, things are actually quite similar in some ways. The purpose of this E-mail is not to write reviews about movies, so all I will say is I recommend checking it out, at least to see what it's like if nothing else. 

Not a ton has happened in zone - we have mostly just been training with recorded videos of the aspects of serving in this zone being taught to other missionaries. There is a lot to take in, but then again, there is a lot which I already have experience with from my last four months in the zone. Honestly, it gets a bit boring at times. Luckily for me, the training is somewhat self-paced, so I can occasionally get up and walk around a little bit. It is also convenient that there is a break room in the library, though it also requires one to be careful with how they use their wallet - the stuff in the vending machines looks tasty. I haven't been bad with my money though, so that's not a problem. I plan on being done with this training by this time next week, though we will see how things go.

I have also added a couple of photos to this E-mail - some old, and some new. I do not know if I have sent any of these earlier, but I tried my best to pick where I left off from the last time I sent pictures. Either way, allow me to describe them: the first is the conference center when I attended the priesthood session of General Conference. The next is me and Elder Lindsay showing off the hats which we had knitted for that service project I have talked about. After that is a picture of some pizza which I made and ate at President Fenn's house back when we had that pizza party. Next is a homemade flan which I made earlier this week. Last was taken just a moment ago, a picture of my companion Elder Argyle. I will try and be better about sending pictures in my future E-mails.

Well, that's what I've got for you this week. Again, I thank everyone for the support. I'm happy to hear from you back home. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: One needs to look no further than the name of our church to know the center of our faith - that is Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 25:26). Our goal in this life is to learn of and become like Him in all that we do. So, how do we become like Christ? The simple answer to that is to develop Christlike attributes, and do what He would do. So, how can we develop Christlike attributes? The missionary handbook titled Preach My Gospel does a great job on covering some of these attributes, and how we can develop them. Of course, you may be able to identify a few of your own, and that is not only a good idea, it is encouraged. My challenge to you is to work to develop these Christlike attributes in all that you do. In your daily life, look for ways you can become more like the Savior. Becoming more like Him will make life less stressful, and will also bless those around you. To learn more on the subject, click here to read the chapter on developing Christlike attributes in Preach My Gospel.

A Nice Refreshing Drink pt. 2

Hey guys!

So, first and foremost, I am sure you all know by now that my P-Day is no longer Friday. Saturday is probably a bit more convenient for those of you back home anyway, so that will make things easier on you. As for the rest of the changes... well, first off, I do have a new companion, Elder Argyle, who had only come in a month before me (Elder McGrew got moved to what is currently the only tri-companionship in the mission, and he is now serving in the FHL). Aside from that, I have not changed zones, but then again, I have... Technically, I have not gotten moved out of my current zone, but the zone is experiencing some major changes.

We are now going to be working on the B2 floor of the FHL while some renovations go on at the JSMB - this will likely continue for the duration of my mission. We will also be taking on a lot more work - as it had been described, the Young Elders in this zone had been what they call "under-utilized", which means we could do a lot more than our current workload - this is not the fault of the Young Elders, but rather an error in how things were organized. Allow me to clarify a bit here: we mostly dealt with account-related issues before, as well as some of the temple ordinance problems, but not much aside from that - this was the domain of other teams. Now, with the new changes, we will be helping out with anything patrons report having issues with - this includes problems with FamilySearch's Family Tree, indexing-related issues, more of the ordinance things, and more. So, we will be getting some new training to help us out with this extra workload, and the Young Elders which get assigned here will likely stay for longer than normal - our employee leadership wants Young Elders to stay there for at least a year, but I am not sure that our mission leadership wants us to stay that long. Either way, this week has mostly been training, moving, and getting things set up at the FHL.

Well, I did want a bit of a change of pace from the monotony of serving in a zone for four months straight, and, well, I guess that I have gotten it. To tell the truth, I am quite excited for the changes happening here, this will mean that I get more variety from my work. I don't know how the rest of the zone feels, but I honestly kind of look forward to it, and I am ready to take it on!

So, between orientations and training, I have been doing quite a bit of stuff last week. Then again, until we actually get settled back in to the library, we have not been able to do a lot of work. We have helped to move all of our computers from where we used to work, but unless we want our computers to become formatted like the patron computers in the FHL (spoiler alert: we don't), IT has to find a different way to hook up the computers. Until then, we have not been able to do much of anything aside from family history research, which in and of itself it not a bad thing. Still, I would like to get back to work. But, the training which I did get done felt a bit like drinking out of a water hose - kinda like the very beginning of my mission, which consisted of a bunch of training. So, that was quite interesting.

Mine and Elder Argyle's P-Day was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but as part of the big changes, we have moved the official zone P-Day to Saturday. This means that you can probably expect my E-mails to arrive on Saturday for a while, even if I do move districts in this zone. Saturday is the most common P-Day for the mission anyway. This makes certain things a bit nicer for some of us, it is easier to find a driver to take you shopping (doesn't really mean much for me though). On the other hand, there are also downsides to everyone taking their P-Day on the same day. First, it is a bit tough to get a washer and a dryer at the time you want - they are usually all full. Also, if you are a driver, then getting a key for one of the vans is not easy, unless you can get there quickly. I was barely able to get one of the final slots they had open. But, P-Day is still P-Day, and me and Elder Argyle were able to get a lot done.

Anyway, there is my week for you. Ask me about anything you want, if you would like. I am open to questions. Thanks for the support guys, I will see you next week!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: My mom has sent me a flyer detailing November as being "Family History Month". So, seeing as I am currently working in a family history-centered mission, I have decided I should challenge you to begin taking family history more seriously. You don't have to start out huge, or plan a week-long vacation to the Family History Library. This can start out with logging in to FamilySearch, checking out your family tree, and seeing what can be added - this can be another generation to your family tree, an attachment to an already added ancestor called a "memory", a source to a person who has already been added, or even your collateral lines - your ancestors' other descendants. Family history is an ongoing work, and there will always be more to do, no matter how much you think has already been done. Do not stop searching for and learning about your ancestors - you will be blessed for this work, in this life and in the next, in ways you never expected.

The weeks start coming...

Hey everyone!

It seems like it wasn't long ago at all since the last time I have sent out an E-mail to you guys (however, by now, that statement seems a bit redundant, I feel like I say it in most of my E-mails). Also, it doesn't seem too long since the last transfer conference either, and we are already getting another one this Tuesday! I have heard that things sped up past my 6-month mark from multiple people, but now I truly see what they mean by that. Before you know it, I will be packing up to return home.Until then, there is still a lot of work to be done here, and so, it is still time for me to get back to work.

It seems that the contact center will be moving to the Family History Library soon. I am unsure of all the details, but there will be another missionary zone moving to the 3rd floor where the contact center currently is, and we will be moving to the B2 floor of the Library. I do not know how long this will last, though I might not even remain in the zone to experience this. If I do, though, I may or may not have to help with moving the computers. I say this because we have been told that we would be helping with that next Friday, but as you know, that is my P-Day. If it continues to be my P-day, then I am not sure how exactly this will work. Either way, it will definitely be a change of pace to serve in the library again if I stay in the zone. I do look forward to the change, variety keeps things interesting.

We had senior mission conference this week, and I was able to sing in the choir for the Wednesday session. The message at this conference was provided by President Fenn, who spoke on the plan of salvation. I wish I was able to attend both sessions (the same message would have been shared), but I could not attend Thursday. Elder Boone, the senior morning exercise coordinator, was also in the choir, and Elder Garfield was released from this calling due to his serving in the granite mountain record vault zone, where he cannot attend morning exercise. So, I had to come and coordinate the program. Not that it was a bad thing, however. I enjoy coordinating the program. It has been good for me, and it has also been very beneficial to the mission. I predict that I will continue doing this for a while longer, and I look forward to doing the best I can with this.

We are losing a few people this month (three that I am sure of), but for the first time since I joined this mission, we are actually getting more Young Elders than we have lost - we have six new Young Elders this month! We originally met them after me and Elder Lindsay, who I was on a choir exchange with due to Elder McGrew not being in the choir, had practiced for our choir performance. We came down to the lobby to meet them, and got to help a couple of them load up their luggage into a mission van. I actually enjoy serving like this, I believe service is a key to happiness. Service to any extent is never wasted. Besides, I also got to meet some of the new Young Elders, which is something I look forward to doing every month!

Transfers are happening again next week. You all know the drill now - I could be sending an E-mail any day of the week, starting next Tuesday. I do know this, however, that you never know what is going to happen next transfer. I will just hold on, and let you know how it turns out. Until then, have a good week everyone.



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: I know that everyone who is reading this has some amazing talents and abilities. Some of you are great writers, while others are phenomenal musicians, while others still are good at seeing the needs of others, to name a few of said talents and abilities. However, there is always room for improvement. The Lord would have us keep learning new skills, and improving that which we already know. This especially applies in a spiritual sense. President Eyring had shared in this most recent General Conference that he himself had followed President Monson's counsel to improve his study of the Book of Mormon every day. No matter which level we are at, there is always going to be room for improvement. We must be willing to keep learning and improving. This will not only bless out own lives, but also the lives of those around us as we are more able to serve them, spiritually or physically. I testify that if we all remember that there is no end to improvement, and keep learning and improving, we will be blessed more and more for it, and find our lives more fully enriched.

General -

Hey everyone!

Well, another week has gone by. It still seems like the weeks are going by ever so much faster. It has been said that the days go by slowly but the weeks fly by. This is sort of how I am feeling. Time is weird when serving a mission... Either way, here I am, again behind the keyboard of the computer which I have been behind a week ago, for the same purpose as before. I am sorry that a bit late for my weekly E-mail, by the way - my companion's family expects their E-mails at 2:00 P.M. I may change my schedule to accommodate. So, if you do not get my E-mail at the scheduled time, do not worry, there is usually a good reason for it.

Anyway, back to my week. I mentioned that I was going to eat pizza at President Fenn's house right after I had left for my E-mail. I had gotten to use my driving privileges to not only take people up there, but also to take a companionship back home when one of the Young Elders was suddenly not feeling well. As for the pizza itself, it was delicious - we were in charge of each making our own, from shaping the pre-made dough, to topping it up, to cooking it in the pizza oven. And it was delicious! Of course, pizza is always delicious, but when it is homemade like that, there is nothing quite like it! All in all, it was a nice little evening to go out, and enjoy some good food together!

Next Monday was, of course, another performance from the choir. However, this time was a bit different - it was the last performance our director, Elder Baer, would be working with us. He has done well, and he will be missed. However, we have a new director, Sister Watkins who also has quite a bit to offer. She has a notable music background, including having written some of the songs in our hymnbooks. We have had our first practice with her last Wednesday, and things have gone quite well. Of course, Elder Baer was there to see how things went. The practice has gone quite well that day, Sister Watkins truly knows her stuff. I think we all look forward to working with her.

We had our Young Elder mission conference last Wednesday as well. This took up the first part of the day. President Fenn actually shared the first message this time. He said a couple of things about obedience to mission rules, and  - there had been some talk about missionaries who had not been living quite up to missionary standards. As far as I know, most of this stuff wasn't sinful at all - it just wasn't proper missionary behavior. After his remarks, we had our message from the Young Elder assistants to the president, who spoke about apartment cleanliness. Of course, we have inspectors come by periodically to check our apartments, but Young Elders had been cleaning up just for the inspection, then reverting back to old habits once the inspections had passed. As a result, the inspections had been given less and less warning in advance. They had announced that now, there would be no advance warning about this. It is a bit of a shame that it had to come to this, but it is probably what the Young Elders in this mission need. 

After these remarks, we had our spiritual messages from Sister and President Hansen, the latter being the first counselor in the mission presidency (for those of you who do not remember back that far, which is completely understandable, he is one of the people I had given eclipse glasses to when the eclipse happened). Sister Hansen shared with us a message about having a positive outlook on life, and dealing with mission stress. After this, President Hansen spoke to us. He said that he had a talk he had been preparing for months beforehand which he wanted to share with us, but he was then prompted to start from scratch with another message. This message was about consecrating ourselves, which went pretty well with what President Fenn had shared with us. I will share more about this message in my weekly challenge.

I also had a chance to meet some family last Wednesday (as you can probably tell by now, Wednesday was a very interesting day for me). My great aunt Jodee was visiting the Family History Library, and I was able to meet them there. We had taken a couple of pictures there, one of which I will attach to this E-mail. Every now and again, it is nice to run into a familiar face, though I think if it happened more often, it would make me a bit homesick! I am doing alright at the moment though, one surprise visit isn't enough to do that for me. Either way, such is what happens when you serve so close to home - you run into occasional familiar faces!

There has also been talk about moving the contact center into the Family History Library. I personally don't quite see why this would happen, aside from the fact that there are some staff members who will be moving there. I guess this is a mission of constant change. Such is the following paradox: the only reliably constant thing in life is change. We will also be getting a new paid supervisor soon, so that will be another major change to the zone. I do look forward to all this, it is nice to have a change in pace every once in a while!

Finally, me and my companion had our interviews with the president yesterday. They were originally going to be Tuesday, but President Fenn was quite busy that day, and so had to reschedule them. The interviews did take longer than they generally should, but that was alright. I was happy to find that I am doing a lot better now than I was doing a month ago. There is still definitely room for improvement, but I have improved a lot since last time. I was happy to be able to tell President Fenn this, and he was quite happy as well. I had asked him what I could do to improve my service as a missionary, and he told me that I could work to be a better example to everyone around me, and to practice exact obedience to the rules (I do believe this could apply to everyone, by the way). So, I feel like I am on the right path, and I plan on staying there.

Well, that's my week for you. This week has definitely been more eventful than the previous, and the next will probably be just as exciting. We will get new Young Elders next Monday, meaning yet another transfer conference is coming up. So, next Friday is the last week I can guarantee that my next E-mail will come on a Friday. But, we don't have to worry about that just yet. For now, just look forward to Fridayat 2:00, as my companion would rather be sending E-mails out then. So, I will see you all next week. Have a good one!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: President Hansen had given the spiritual message at mission conference last Wednesday, and he talked about consecrating ourselves to the Lord. He started off with the New Testament story of Ananias and Sapphira, which goes as follows: After Christ's crucifixion, his apostles had been continuing to build up his church. All the members of this church were required to live the law of consecration by selling all they owned and giving the money to the apostles, who would then redistribute it according to the needs of the members. Now, Ananias and Sapphira had sold something, but withheld some of the money they had gotten when giving the money to the apostles, and tried to tell them it was the full price of the possession. Peter had declared that, by holding back a part of what they had and lying about it, they had lied before God, and they were then struck dead. Peter also noted that before they had made the commitment to follow the gospel, they were free to do what they wanted with what they had. 

What can we learn from this? When we commit to do something, we are expected to put our all into it. Of course, this applies to everything in life, but it especially applies to following Jesus Christ. In these days, we do not have to do things the same way they were done back in the day - we are not asked to part with our possessions. However, we are still expected to give our all to this Gospel. This means that we live the gospel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without an exception. This is done by coming unto Christ with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. This essentially means that we are willing to submit ourselves to the will of God. If we can do this, then consecrating ourselves to the Gospel will be that much easier, and we will find our lives will be more fully blessed from it.

Conference, work, funeral

Hey everyone!

Well, conference has come and gone, as has the rest of this week. And it has been quite a week too! I must apologize for the lack of pictures in this E-mail, as I was not able to connect the SD card in my camera to my computer with the adapter I got for it. It is probably just user error, but I'd rather make sure this E-mail gets out to everyone than try and wrestle with technology.

Anyway, conference was great this weekend. Aside from the priesthood session, I was not able to attend any of the sessions live - my companion was not too hyped up about the premise of waking up that early in the morning. However, we were able to watch the general sessions in the JSMB, so that was good too. We were able to watch the priesthood session live, as always. President Fenn had managed to get tickets for the Young Elders - just as it happens every time. So, I was able to attend that live with Elder McGrew, as well as the other Young Elders. I actually took notes this time as well - if you know anything about me, that is truly saying something. I can't say my notes were the best, but they helped me pay attention to what was being said, and they kept me awake the whole time. So, in the end, it was a good event to be able to attend, in person or over the television!

Aside from this, work has been fairly typical. Elder McGrew is now fully retrained, and is working just as hard as the rest of us. The work has slowed down a bit - things in patron-facing zones are always busier in the summer when everyone has more time (or at least motivation) to go and do things. The work has been pretty good, though I wonder how much longer I will stay in the zone. I am perfectly fine with staying in the zone for however much longer the Lord needs me there - however, I am the only one remaining who was in the zone four months ago when I arrived (this is not to say I am the most experienced necessarily, there are a couple people who were here before and have come back), and I would like variety. Hehe, last time I felt this way, it was during my final transfer in the International zone. However, I cannot predict when things will change, and maybe I will stay there another four transfers. I am not saying I hate this zone, because I do not hate it, it is a great zone; but I would not mind it if I were moved elsewhere.

If you have watched General Conference this week, specifically the Sunday afternoon session, then you already know about Elder Hales' passing. I feel like every member of the church has been affected in some way or another by this. However, I testify that this is not the end for him, or for anyone else. His family will know him again someday. Anyway, his funeral, as some of you may know, was actually today. In fact, me and my companion had just gotten out of his funeral services held in the tabernacle on Temple Square. Speaking here were members of the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency, and present were Elder Hales' family. The speakers had spoken about what a great man he was, and some of the memories they had shared together. He will be missed by us all, but we know that he is doing a great work on the other side.

Aside from this, the week was a bit uneventful. However, I will have to cut my time for E-mails a bit short today anyway. I have to go shopping after my E-mails rather than before, as I could not go then on account of the funeral. Also, we have to return to the apartments by 5:00, as the Young Elders of the mission not serving in the FHL will be going to the Fenns' house for a pizza dinner tonight - the Young Elders in the FHL will go there tomorrow. So, I have quite a bit on my plate today. I will tell you all about how it all goes next week, hopefully with some pictures that time! Well, I will catch you all later. Have a good one!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: My challenge for this week is a bit unusual, as it is directed more toward youth than adults, though it is open for anyone to take part in. More specifically, my challenge is directed toward anyone who uses the Internet for anything, whether it is for business, entertainment, or anything else. The Internet is a powerful tool, and it can be used for a lot of good, or it can be used for evil. There is a lot of evil on the Internet, and it can suck you in to a place you really do not want to be. Luckily, there is an easy way to resist temptations like this - you don't even have to disconnect from the Internet. This is done by making yourself use the Internet to do something good rather than something evil. I know that this message is probably partly inspired by my calling to work with the website www.familysearch.org, but you can instead go on to FamilySearch and do work there. By that, I am talking about two different things: the first is, obviously, family history research. The second, however, is a bit less obvious: it is a volunteer project we call indexing. In a sentence, this is a process to make historical records searchable. This is done by a volunteer reading the records, and filling in an in-browser form. That way, you can help others with their family history. So, just to recap my message, whenever you feel tempted to do something you know you should not do while on the Internet, instead do work on either family history or indexing. I promise you that, if you do either of these things, it will bring in the Spirit, and it will kill any temptation you may be experiencing.

Close-knit companions

Hey everyone!

So, my P-Day is still on Friday, so you can still expect E-mails from me then. Also, I am still serving in the Contact Center, so there is no change there either. I also did not have to move apartments - that usually only happens when one has to switch zones. So, not much has changed last Tuesday at transfer conference, except for one minor detail - I am no longer companions with Elder Stacey. The zone has been a bit hard on him, so he was moved to a zone in the Family History Library where it was less stressful - that's my understanding of it anyway. He was a good companion, though, and I look forward to seeing him around. In the meantime, I do have a new companion named Elder McGrew, who is joining the Contact Center again - this is his third time being assigned to this zone. However, he still has to go through the training, just like everyone else, sadly. So, yeah, the only change for me last Tuesday was my companion. I look forward to this companionship though, I think me and Elder McGrew will get along quite well!

Now, back to my week. You may be wondering why I have sent out this E-mail so late if I still have my P-Day on Friday. Well, there were a couple unforeseen circumstances which have come up, which constitute some good news, and some bad news. The good news is, there was a senior sister who was moving apartments, and me and Elder McGrew, along with some other companionships, were assigned to help her with that. So, I was able to serve her in that extent. The bad news, however, is that our apartment is suspected of being subject to a bedbug infestation. So, at the time of my writing this E-mail, there are currently too many chemicals in that apartment for us to spend any time there (I will be able to return once I am done with my E-mails though). Aside from that, everyone in the apartment has had to wash all of their clothing, bedspreads, and every other piece of fabric we may own on the hottest temperature possible. I hope that my clothes have turned out alright - I haven't even had a chance to wear some of the sweaters I brought fro home yet... But, you gotta do what you gotta do...

Work has been interesting to say the least. There have been many changes at our zone - We have two less Elders than we did before, and most of the people were either completely new or returning - only a couple of us were there from before. As a result, Josh (our supervisor, a paid staff who works in a different sphere than our mission leadership) has turned off some types of calls for us so that they are handled by a different department so that the people coming in can get trained or retrained for the job. For me, however, this has made work a bit more boring - in the sense of calls taken anyway. However, our zone is beginning to serve in another degree, that actually has nothing to do with taking calls, or even computers at all! Our zone leader's wife, Sister Crowl, has made an arrangement with the Hunstman Cancer Institute here in Salt Lake City - now, when we have some time to spare, we can spend it knitting hats for some of the patients undergoing chemotherapy there. To me, this is a great idea - if we can make sure to not get carried away with it, it is a nice creative outlet which we can use to de-stress a bit, and it still serves other people. So, I look forward to serving in this capacity as well as my current work of helping patrons over the phone!

So, last Tuesday has kicked off my fourth consecutive month in the contact center. Now, I have been serving here longer than I have served on International. Also, I have currently served longer under President Fenn than I have under President Tate. Both seem a bit odd - the months are truly going by faster than they have been at the beginning of my mission! Heck, tomorrow will be the first day of my second General Conference here on the mission! It doesn't seem so long since my last conference, and it certainly doesn't seem like a full six months has passed! But, passed they have, and now here I am, no longer the new guy, already having trained one new Young Elder. Now, I don't want to pull off the impression that I am prideful of how well I have done, because even if I have done a magnificent job which was beyond my normal capacities, it is only because the Lord has been there to help me all along the way. So, in reminiscing, I think I have had a pretty good start to my service in the mission, and I look forward to the next 18 months!

Finally, as you may have noticed, I have gotten a new digital camera, as well as the stuff required to connect it to the computer. This means that, from here on out, my E-mails will now have pictures attached! I had not sent pictures for a while, as my previous camera has been lost, and I have not been able to find it. This means that I will likely be giving this camera to Mom when I get back home. So, if there is anything specific you would like to see a picture of, let me know, and I will see if I can include it in a future E-mail!

Well, that's my week for you. Thanks for all the support you guys give me, and will see you next week. Have a good one, and enjoy General Conference these next two days!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: I may have talked about a similar subject in a recent challenge, but I do feel like, now that Conference is finally here, I feel I should talk about how to prepare for this conference, both temporally and spiritually. First off, make these next couple of days a little bit extra special - invite family over so you can all watch conference together, things like this are more special when they are around! Next, pray to have the Spirit with you as you watch Conference - the Spirit will testify of the truth in the messages shared, and it will bring forth understanding on the talks given. You can have snacks ready if you are not experiencing it in person, but more importantly, have a notebook just as readily available as well - before Transfer Conference last Tuesday, I bought myself and Elder Stacey special notebooks for General Conference. However, you do not need specially formatted notebooks like this (they're a bit more expensive than a traditional pad and paper anyway). However, the following basic format is suggested: write down the speaker of each talk, the subject they speak on, and some notes written as they speak. If you were feeling a bit extra ambitious, you could even write a table of contents at the beginning of these notes. For those of you with younger, more easily distracted children, you can come up with activities and/or games to help them pay attention to the messages shared. When the event itself comes, turn off outside distractions if possible so you can fully feel the Spirit and focus on the talks. Remember - General Conference is not about the Lil Smokies which are served as snacks (even though they are very delicious, and nice to have) - work on focusing on the messages shared. Take an effort to learn something new when you listen to these talks. And finally, when Conference is all over, talk amongst your families about what has been shared in these talks - the lessons learned, how you can apply them to your lives, etc. Study the talks afterwards when you get the chance - they are truly worth looking over a couple more times. Suggestions like this will help to make Conference more meaningful and valuable to you and your families, and the messages, if paid attention to, will help to strengthen your testimonies and become closer than ever to Christ.

I almost forgot, I had promised everyone some pictures! Allow me to attach those!

The first pic I am attaching is of the Assembly Hall where we had our Book of Mormon conference a couple weeks back. Truly a beautiful building, if you ask me.

The next couple pics are of the people who were in our apartment before the most recent Transfer Conference - Elder Duran is the one with the phone, because he is our District Leader, and Elders in leadership get cell phones (he is still living with me in the apartment, BTW). Next is Elder Duran's companion at this time, Elder McDonald, who joined the mission only two months ago (he has since been transferred to another zone). Finally, we have my previous companion, Elder Stacey.

The next and final pic is me with my current companion, Elder McGrew. Keep in mind that I just used a timer on the camera, and placed it on one of the washing machines for this pic. Didn't get quite the perfect pic I was hoping for, but oh well.

I will send more pics next week, and hopefully include them in the actual General E-mail, instead of having to create another one...