..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.