With all my heart

Hey, everyone!

Here is my second Saturday P-Day in a row, due to next Tuesday being New Year's Day. The mission will not be taking December 31st off, but we will get January 1st off. Therefore, we have another holiday/P-Day conflict. Therefore, here I am. But, things should settle down from here; after next Tuesday, my E-mail should become a bit more regular. We shall see.

Going on to my E-mail... the Christmas holiday did come up this last week! The Church campus had closed down for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; the days were therefore mostly open for me. I have shared some of what I feel of open days previously; it is very nice to have some time off to relax and celebrate the holiday, but at the same time, things are a bit slow when there is nothing to be done. There were, however, some planned activities going on during these days. On Christmas Eve, as with last year, there was a special get-together with all the young elders; Santa Claus himself even managed to show up! From him, all the young elders got a present, and a candy bar! The present for everyone was the same thing: a journal edition of the Book of Mormon, printed with extra-wide margins perfect for taking notes in! (There has been a rumor going around that Santa was really President Fenn in a Santa suit, but what are the odds of that!)

On Christmas day, presents from home were finally opened up, and I just want to restate here that I am deeply grateful for all the packages, love, and general love which I had gotten from you guys back home! Thanks so much again! In the afternoon of this day, there was a special Christmas lunch/dinner for all the missionaries! At this point, the main dish for all the dinners is catered for us, I believe so as to maintain uniformity in what everyone was getting for dinner. However, missionaries were still permitted to bring side dishes and desserts; as I may have mentioned, I had brought with me a cheesecake! It was quite popular too! After the dinner came my favorite part of the holiday season - that is, the Skype call home to family! It had been a while since I had seen and talked to them all, and it was awesome to be able to talk to them face-to-face once more! I always walk into the office wondering how it would be possible for me to talk to my family for any more than a half-hour; however, I always find that letting an hour pass is way too easy - even then, I still find there is so much to talk about! However, all good things must come to an end, including talking with family. Oh well, I will be able to talk to them all that I want in a couple months.

And so, after the holidays, it has been business as usual. There was a bit of excitement, however, when we had found that not all the young elders had kept their Skype calls home to the mission office, as was originally planned; some had come into the west wing of the floor, which is where Data Services is currently located. This had caused some issues, with certain pieces of equipment being lost, workspaces being rearranged a bit, and so on. But, aside from this, things have been alright with us getting back to work. The work has been slow, just as it has been throughout the holiday season, and so we  have been trying to keep ourselves busy however we can. One good way to keep oneself busy is to work on improving himself; therefore, I had decided to get some work done in bringing back a program which would allow missionaries to steadily progress. Specifically, these are certifications for using and teaching how to use FamilySearch; two such certifications are Ambassador and Heart Specialist, the former of which is expected by the Family History Department to be earned by all missionaries and staff working therein. Becoming a Heart Specialist (which is a more advanced form of becoming an Ambassador) is one of those "encouraged but not required" things; that is what I currently am working towards becoming. I have also asked the zone to work towards becoming at least an Ambassador. I think that this will give missionaries great opportunities to learn more about FamilySearch, and make them more effective at what they do!

Well, that is my E-mail for the week, as we approach the end of the holiday season. Then again, the holiday season lasts a bit longer for me, due to a conveniently placed birthday, so I get just a bit more. For now, the E-mail is ended, and life has been good for me. have a great week, everyone!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

P.S. I have a couple of pictures from the week. The first is of Santa, who had visited the young elders and gave us Books of Mormon! The second is a busker who has been standing at the base of a monument between Temple Square and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, playing both rockin' Christmas carols and more traditional classic rock pieces. Enjoy!



P.P.S. Another picture which I almost forgot: an arrangement of the Christmas cards which I have received from you guys back home Thanks again for all the support!




Challenge: Now, I know that I may have talked to you about goals before, though this time, I feel it especially important to do so, as the new year is approaching, which will bring with it a plethora of "resolutions" which are forgotten almost before the people making them wake up the next morning. Therefore, I feel it valuable to share not only how to set goals, but also how to call down the powers of Heaven to achieve them, for the Lord provides a way for the children of men to accomplish their righteous desires according to His will (see 1 Nephi 3:7). First, we do need to make sure that our goals are righteous goals; there are some guidelines we can follow to know whether our goals are righteous. We must know that this goal comes of God, as described in D&C 50:17-24. Specifically, if the goal eventually serves to edify ourselves, in a sense separate from what the Bible describes as "filthy lucre" (see Titus 1:7 and 1 Peter 5:2; see also Alma 11:24), whether this edification is physical, intellectual, social, or spiritual (see Luke 2:52), then it is of God. Another way to look at this would be to realize God's ultimate goal: "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (see Moses 1:39). Our goals should contribute to this ultimate goal, whether we be bringing to pass our own immortality and eternal life, or that of other people; if our goal does not contribute to this, then it instead is of darkness, for there is no halfway point between light and darkness; therefore, why would God be interested in giving of His power to bring us into darkness? Once we have chosen for ourselves a righteous goal, we must then pray for God's power to assist us. "Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (D&C 4:7). I believe that there are many blessings which God truly wishes to give us, but because He wishes to test our faith, we cannot receive them simply because we do not exercise the faith to ask him (see Ether 12:6). Then, when we have asked for all this, our final task is to work with our heart, might, mind, and strength to accomplish this goal.  Faith alone cannot empower us to accomplish such a goal, for "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (see James 2:17). It is our works which enable our faith, which opens the windows of heaven for God to empower us to be able to accomplish tasks which, without such heavenly help, would have been much more difficult, if not impossible.Therefore, we work at it every day, renewing our faith by praying always (see D&C 10:5) and working towards this goal on a daily basis. I challenge you, with the opening of this new year, to make no new years resolutions, but instead new year's goals, and call upon the powers of Heaven to achieve the goals as previously described. It will not be easy; worthwhile goals never are; but I testify that, with the powers of Heaven, such worthy goals will always be possible, and you will come to find yourself having accomplished that which you thought wasn't.

Merry Christmas from SLC!

Hey, everyone!

Okay, so the transfers finally happened, after much anticipation. Now, even though you received my E-mail on Saturday today (or at least my Mom did, and I'm assuming she distributes it the day she receives it - thanks Mom!), this is not my actual P-Day; however, apparently there's a big celebration going on this next Tuesday, so I decided I ought to instead take it today, at least for this week. In other news, I was taken out of my previous district and took lead over another one, which otherwise remained quite intact. This means that I was taken away from Elder Cole, the longest companion who I ever had on the mission (that's right, Elder Black, your record has been beaten). My latest companion is Elder Showgren, who has been out about 6 months now. He had come to the mission from just Lehi, Utah, but his family has moved around a lot; they currently live in Wisconsin. Now, you are probably wondering what zone I am in. Well, I have been moved to *insert drumroll here* nowhere; I am still in Data Services. I had talked to President about my having been there for a long time, as I may have mentioned last week, saying that though I wouldn't mind being moved, I would stay there if he needed to keep me there. Though he was also interested in getting me moved, the staff and others wanted to hold onto the experienced missionaries for as long as possible; therefore, it seems that I am spending the remainder of my mission here. As I had promised, I am alright with this; there are still things which I can do while I am here, and I anticipate being able to get done as much as I can with what time I have left. (yes, this makes me the Elder Tolley of the zone.)
The work in the zone has been very slow as Christmas approaches, even during the daytime. Usually, I can find things to do to keep me busy as I wait for work to come rolling in; I've been keeping myself occupied with family history research (which, for my tree, is often like pushing up against a brick wall), indexing, creating new training material for the missionaries in the zone, and occasionally reading inspirational posts and general conference talks on lds.org. I even decided, at one point, to improve my typing skills by typing out the autobiography of one of my ancestors. (It was quite an interesting life story.) I guess such work is the nature of the beast; the work sometimes comes in, and it sometimes does not. I guess one way to tell who a hard worker is what one does in the latter situation. Anyone in the zone can take a phone call and at least attempt to solve the patron's problem; however, lack of work to be sometimes translates into things becoming a bit casual for others in the zone. I make no claims to perfection here; I sometimes stumble in this regard as well; my efforts, however, on doing the best I can to do the tasks assigned to me as I work in the zone. I feel others also have the same goals in mind, in working as hard as possible. As for whether the lights in the zone had been turned on for Saturdays yet... I don't know; I have not been there, due to my taking P-Day today. (What, do my E-mails from my work computer?? That's crazy!)

Christmastime has been bringing with it much anticipation and activities. There will be a couple of days off at the beginning of next week; though the work isn't that bad, it is nice to have some time off. Besides, there are gifts from home which I had been resisting the temptation to open for quite some time now, and a day needs to come when all will be revealed, so to speak. I am looking forward to this nice holiday, especially the holiday dinner which we will all be having! I did promise to make a cheesecake for that, and so I will be picking up ingredients for it when I am out shopping today. Aside from this, I am still very much thankful for all the Christmas cards which I have received from home. Some of you may have received my thank-you's in the mail by now; if you do not receive them by Christmas, I do apologize, but I promise that you will receive one. The mission will be watching the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" later this evening, which will be a nice addition to our holiday celebrations. We will also have a young elder get-together on Christmas Eve; in fact, rumor has it that Santa himself will come down to visit, as he did last year! So, there is much that is special for us to look forward to!

The mission also had a mission conference, with a special message from President and Sister Fenn regarding what it is that we celebrate this Christmas season. Now, the young elders were invited to attend the Wednesday mission conference, but due to my obligations in the Elijah Choir, I was required to attend both this one and the one the next day, right after my leadership meeting for the day. This was fine by me; I enjoy attending such meetings, and being able to perform beautiful music for such events. I didn't even have to wake up early for two days in a row for this - I only had to wake up early for the first conference! To summarize what was shared, we went over what can be learned from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon regarding the birth of our Lord and Savior. The story itself was told with both content from the Bible and some clarifying historical content to provide some extra context to what exactly went on; the mission was then taught the Doctrine of Divine Sonship, which allows the Atonement to be made possible. It's always great to be able to hear from President Fenn as he teaches us in such conferences as this; it will be one of the things which I will miss when I finally return home. (I may not have been born in time to have Bruce R. McConkie as a mission president, but we got the next best person!)

Well, this is about all I have for the week. Thanks again for the support you have been giving me this Christmas season. I hope that all of you have a great week and a merry Christmas!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

(Sorry about having forgotten to BCC you in my E-mails, Elder Black.)

Rather than giving a challenge (you all have quite a few of those by now), I feel that it would be of more worth to share my testimony of the importance of the Christmas season, as it is so important to God's plan for his children. Because he had loved us, he had prepared a plan that we may return to live again with Him. Because of this, mankind had to fall that we would be able to experience mortality on our own. However, the distance between us and God was impossible for us to be able to bridge on our own. Therefore God had sent His only begotten Son down to Earth. This is what we celebrate this Christmas season, for were it not for the divine nature of His birth, His Atonement would not have been possible. However, he was conceived by the power of God and the power of the Holy Ghost; as God was His literal Father, and Mary his literal mother, he inherited traits which made the Atonement possible. From Mary, he inherited traits of mortality: the ability to suffer, the ability to experience weakness in the flesh, and most importantly, the ability to die. However, from God, he had inherited perfection - He was sinless, and therefore exempt from the effects of the Fall. Therefore, he could not die unless He willed it Himself. Therefore His suffering could be infinite, and it was so that He could redeem us. Most importantly, however, this power he inherited over death gave Him the ability to reclaim His own life and come forth as a resurrected Being, allowing us all to one day be able to do the same. I know this to be true, as through His suffering, I have been healed from both sin and sorrow, and have gained the ability to change. I know that it is through Christ that this could have happened, for salvation comes by none other. This is what we celebrate this Christmas season - that Christ had come down to serve us, suffer for us, die for us, and burst forth from the grave for us. May you remember all of these eternal truths as you celebrate this Christmas season, that you may remember that it is by Christ that we have received the greatest gifts that could ever be given, even the gift of eternal life. Such is my testimony, given in Christ's name, amen.

Anticipation is strong

Hey, everyone!

So, here we are at the tail end of another week, and on top of that, another transfer! These transfers seem to be going by even more quickly than before! I don't think I told you last week that we had gotten no new young elders this transfer. This is not too surprising - missionaries who come in right before Christmastime have an especially difficult time. On the other hand, there are actually five missionaries who are going home at this time as well - a few more than who were originally scheduled. Those leaving are Elders Garfield, Jarvis, DeSpain, Heimdal, and Stacey (whom I had trained). They will be able to go back home, and enjoy Christmas with the family. I too do kind of miss home with the holidays going on, but the season is still quite enjoyable. I never experienced a whole ton of homesickness while I was on the mission, though I do miss home. But, I have but two months left of my mission; I'll have plenty of time to think about home on the car ride back. As for the mission, I think my days in Data Services may be numbered. I still enjoy the zone, though I have been kind of interested in a bit of a change of scenery; therefore, I brought that little bit up with President Fenn in my most recent meeting with him, and he said he would see if it would be possible to get me assigned somewhere else for the final parts of my mission. I do not know for sure what all came of that, but I did get a moving notice again; therefore, there will be at least an apartment change for me, and potentially a companionship change as well (Elder Cole got one as well). As I will probably be leaving the zone, my next E-mail will likely come on Saturday, or sometime before Christmas (next Tuesday). Even if it does not come by then, don't worry too much - either I ate so much Christmas dinner that I have gone into a food coma for an indefinite amount of time, or my P-day was scheduled to be tomorrow, and i rescheduled so that I would not have two separate P-Days in a row. (If this situation does happen, it will most likely be the latter.)

As for the zone itself, the lights still have not been turned on for Saturdays, though we did have President McKnight (President Fenn's first counselor in the mission presidency) come through to check on things with us. Most likely, this will be of some consequence for us. The young elders had also gotten a missionary appreciation pizza party yesterday. There was a little bit of each type of pizza there, as is normally the case for such a happening, and there was also a nice little Christmas trivia sheet passed around. The original plan was to have the parents of the young elders send in some information so that there could be a trivia about the other young missionaries with whom we worked, but the notice was a bit short in getting out, and so that did not quite happen. However, it was an unfortunate situation which not much could be done about, so I forgive everyone involved. The pizza was still great, and it was nice being able to have a little fun with the other missionaries in the zone.

The pizza party was not the only such get-together which us young elders have had - last Sunday, President Fenn had provided for us all a chili dinner! This has been a bit of a tradition for President Fenn - whenever he has had such a calling, he would cook chili for those with whom he serves around Christmastime (some of you may remember last year when he had done this with us). There were four different types of chili there, including one of President Fenn's own recipes which incorporated chocolate. This was surprisingly delicious! After this special dinner, we all got together for a fireside at which President Fenn taught us about Christ's birth, and what we can learn from it, going off of descriptions from the Book of Mormon. It's amazing what this record clarifies about the birth of Christ, which clarification we otherwise would not have; it is with this knowledge that we have a much more full understanding about this than most of the rest of the world! Modern revelation has truly blessed this world!

I also was asked to give a Sunday school lesson in our young elder Sunday School class last Sunday. Now, I had tried working on this all week, and I got most (but not all) of it prepared on the last day of the week. This lesson was on a message shared by our mission president in our mission's newsletter, which message was titled "The Arms of Mercy". Essentially, it was a bit of what we can learn from the Book of Mormon about God's infinite mercy. (If you couldn't tell by now, President Fenn loves the Book of Mormon.) It is amazing what all we can learn about His mercy here, as there are so many stories of conversion within, including and especially the conversion of those who otherwise did not seem to be very likely to even consider joining with the Church of Christ, much less become the stalwart disciples which they eventually did turn out to become. In each such case, God had forgiven the sinner fully, and sanctified him to become something much greater than he otherwise would have been. We also learn about His mercy and service when He himself visited ancient America. He had ministered individually to each and every person who was afflicted among them, when he could simply have blessed the multitude with complete healing. I would invite you to take the challenge given in Moroni 10:3 (not to be confused with Moroni 10:4) when reading the Book of Mormon, in remembering "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men".

One of the nicest things about being able to serve around Temple Square is that I am able to attend performances from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Mostly this constitutes of the weekly performance of Music and the Spoken Word, though occasionally a concert will be put on. Yes, I had tried to get in to the choir's Christmas concert, but attendance of this concert was high demand; it always is, and I think it having Kristen Chenowith as a guest artist (she's a famed Broadway star; I'm sure, Mom, that you recognize that name, you've seen "Wicked") made it even more so. I was not able to get a ticket for this; I heard that they were all claimed within three minutes of their going available! Not even getting into the standby line early like I did was enough to get in; therefore, I had watched the concert being cast from the Conference Center into the Tabernacle. Honestly, that was good enough for me; even though I was not able to see it live, at least I was able to see it in the first place. Besides, I was also able to watch Music and the Spoken Word the next day, which was just about as good! Recordings of such concerts are made available a year after the performance, so I will have to wait to be able to relive the moment. But, it was a good moment, and a good way to spend the evening! I'll probably have to somehow get in to next year's! (No, Mom, I still don't think that the Wicked soundtrack would be mission-appropriate music.)

I have been receiving quite a few cards from home. I am currently in the process of writing cards to all those of you who have sent them, but I would also like to say right here in this E-mail - thanks so much for sending them out to me, and by so doing remembering me during your holiday season! It means a lot to me, to be able to hear back from you all, and it is part of what keeps me striving to do the best that I can as a missionary! Again, thanks so much for the cards!

Well, that is about all for my week (yes, I am aware that I had talked about it backwards; this was partly on accident, and partly on purpose). Thanks again for all the support that you give me! I hope that you all enjoy your Christmas season, and have a great week!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: Now that, in my E-mail I had talked to you a bit about a lesson I had given for Sunday School, I would like to talk about a different instruction which I had given for my district during my last district meeting. In short, I had talked to them about scripture study, and how to be more effective at doing so. In short, there are three steps to being more effective at scripture study; they are all based on receiving revelation from what is written down, as the Spirit is the true teacher when it comes to spiritual things. The first is to prepare spiritually to do so. Living the commandments and making yourself clean is important; it is also important to prepare an external spiritual environment, as one will have a difficult time receiving revelation in a noisy, cluttered, and casual environment. Removing unnecessary background noise, studying at an actual desk, and cleaning up the study area (because the Spirit does not dwell in unclean tabernacles, even in a physical sense - just note how meticulously cleaned the next temple you visit is) will help the Spirit be less restrained as you study. The next step is to determine how you want to study. Though all scripture is valuable, some is more so than others - you can study what you will, but the Book of Mormon is the scripture which was revealed for our day to gather scattered Israel - such should be read from every day, after which you can add to it what you will. It is also good to determine whether you will be reading through the scripture or studying a specific topic; neither of these is inherently bad, nor is any one always the appropriate path to go in studying the scriptures. Each has it's advantages; therefore, choose one for the type of learning you would like to do. The third step is to study the scriptures in a revelatory manner. This means you actively seek revelation from God as you read and study, using the concepts lain out in Moroni 10:4 and D&C 9:7-9. More specifically, you study what has been written down, and you ponder the writings in your mind; you then pray to the Lord for more guidance, especially if you have questions about what you have read which you cannot work out yourself. Once this is done, listen! President Nelson, in his first General Conference address as President of the Church, had said that, as we listen for such revelation, we should write down the impressions which we receive; that which we write down is revelation unto us, and is also worth studying over in the future. My challenge to you this day is to do both types of scripture study - reading through and topic study; one of these study sessions should be in the Book of Mormon. Follow through with each step, and hold on to what the Spirit tells you during each type of study. Doing this will turn "scripture study" into an engaging, revelatory experience of studying the scriptures, and you will get a lot more out of it than simply opening a book and reading it.

P.S. I almost completely forgot about the Elijah Choir's performance yesterday! We had a special Christmas program for our Monday morning devotional, as we won't be having such a devotional next Monday because Christmas eve. We had sung a nice medley of five different Christmas carols, with narrators from Sister Watkins' home ward. I enjoyed being able to sing for that, though it is likely going to be the last larger-scale choir performance I will be able to take part in before going home. Oh well - I will still have a performance every Monday morning still.

Cow for Christmas

P.S. I almost forgot the group picture taken of the zone to commemorate our buying the cow.

On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 4:00 PM Bryce Petersen <elderbrycepetersen@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello, everyone!

The holiday season continues to fill the stores with seasonal music, and the gifts are being given - even though all the snow which I had reported recently is now all gone again... Oh well, is still a special time of the year, truly a season of giving. Christmas is made a lot more important when one gives more than he receives, and one of the best type of gifts to give is one which cannot be repaid. For such a gift, me and the other missionaries in the Data Services zone did something similar to what we had done last year. Now, to provide a bit of context, the #LightTheWorld vending machines, allowing you to purchase something for someone else as a charitable donation, have been placed back in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Last year, the young elders of the zone had worked together to pitch in money to purchase a goat for someone in need. At the time, this was the most expensive thing in the machine; however, this year, the Church and organizations who had partnered to make this event possible were much more ambitious about what could be donated; the most expensive object we could buy (a school in a box, providing educational resources for a teacher and 40 students) cost $210. So, this year, I had organized those in the zone who were able to pitch in money to purchase a cow for $150. It is great to be able to pull together to accomplish something great; such things show how truly great people are! It is also amazing to see how many people stop by these machines during the evenings - the line is quite long, and so is the wait. To watch people give both their time and their money to help out like this is a great sight to behold!


Group picture taken of the zone to commemorate our buying the cow.

So, aside from that, things have been wonderful out here in the mission field. I love serving up where the zone actually gets some sunlight! There are still some issues with going to zone on Saturdays; missionaries have not been serving on Saturdays in that part of the building for quite a while now, and they still have not programmed the lights to turn on for us on such days. So, we have been trying to cope by turning on the night-light functions on our computers so that our eyes don't have to strain quite so much as we work. Still, that is something which needs to be worked out. For now, we can tolerate it - we just have to get up and walk around outside a bit every now and again (which is what the mission wants us to be doing anyway). The workload has also gone down, as it tends to do when the holidays come around. As a former missionary in the zone had put it, this is the time of year when people think more of spending time with their living families rather then seeking out their deceased families. Therefore, staying busy isn't always easy, and it is one of the zone's struggles. But, I have been working to find ways to help the missionaries to find things to do, and seeking out extra projects for them. There is still a ways to go, but I think that we can get there.

Speaking of extra things for us to do, around this Christmas season, we have been assigning elders to go out and do Christmas caroling at assisted living homes. Last Friday, I was assigned to go out and coordinate/participate in such an assignment. The place we had gone to was the home Brookdale, which I had gone to multiple times to assist with sacrament meetings. It was nice to be able to help them out in some other way, in that we sang for them. Some of us were more musically inclined than others, but I like to think that we had all sounded alright. There were not many guests who had come to watch us participate, but those who did were very happy that we had come for them. It makes me think, there are probably some of them who only get this visit for Christmas. I do hope that they have family who come and visit, especially at times like Christmas, though I know that, sadly, this is not always the case. That is why such an assignment is so important. It may not be a huge thing for us to visit and sing for them, but for some, it likely makes a world of difference.

I have also received a lot of cards from home. I would like to say right here, thank you so much for the support! I am happy to be able to hear from you around this holiday season! E-mails are definitely nice to receive, and I am grateful for and anticipate each one which I get from home; however, there is also something special about a physical Christmas card, which I am very grateful to receive whenever I get one. So, again, thanks so much!

Well, such are the happenings for me out here in the mission field. I am greatly blessed to be able to serve here, and to have your ongoing support. I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season, and that you remember the true reason for the season.



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: I would like to begin this with a question: many people talk about the spirit of the Christmas season; what exactly is this spirit which makes the season so special? The season truly is special, though for some, it may be simply a time of year when traffic is more busy; for them, the commercialism which the corporate world participates in to cash in on the opportunities brought on by the holidays all but drowns out any "Christmas spirit". However, it does not have to be this way. This is because, as Dr. Seuss has taught us, "Christmas doesn't come from a store". Truly, this special season "means a little bit more". If we allow ourselves to focus more on the materialism of Christmas, then yes, Christmas truly is more show than substance, and "all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2). (Of course, such celebrations are no sin, so long as they do not become the central focus of the season.) On the other hand, we can remember the whole reason why we have a Christmas season in the first place; we celebrate the mortal advent of our King and Savior, Jesus Christ. When we can remember this, we can have reason and encouragement to begin to live as He lived, and love as He loved. There are few times of the year which would be better opportunities to begin to adopt such a standard, or to at least make a conscious effort to live more in tune with such a celestial goal. Remember, even during this Christmas season, there are those who may not have food to feast upon, or friends and family to celebrate with, or gifts to give, or gifts to look forward to receiving; or any combination of these lacks. We know who these people are; this is a good chance to reach out to them, and help them to feel the same spirit as we do at this time of the year; this will help the "season of getting" turn into the "season of giving". To live as the Savior lived, we must also make it a point to edify ourselves religiously. What good does it do to remember the Savior's birth if it does not work to change us? If this is the case, then Christmas truly does have no meaning past the commercialism which cause some to hate it. So, what is it that makes Christmas so special? It is following the two great commandments - to love God, and to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:36-40). I challenge you to make a point of living both commandments more fully during this Christmas season - increase your love to your God, and to your fellow men. This is what will give the Christmas season substance as the Christian world celebrates the birth of our Savior.

Christmasmonth/December begins!

Hey, everyone!

So, I would like to first off wish all of you a wonderful start to the Christmas season! Snow has actually come down and stayed last Sunday, so we are already off to a much better start than last year! It honestly is just not quite the holiday season without snow. And so, with the holiday season are coming all of the seasonal goods - Temple Square is decorated for the event (I have already sent photographic evidence of this in a recent E-mail), stores are putting out their holiday special deals which may or may not be actual discounts, Christmas music is playing from every speaker - all in all, it's beginning to look like Christmas!

Luckily for me, I have already gotten a bit of an early Christmas present, as the zone has finally made the big move over to the JSMB! This took up the bulk of our day last Thursday, but actually getting set up did not take nearly as long as it did last time - this is probably, in part, due to the fact that we actually had real office space to move in rather than a re-purposed room in the Family History Library. And it is great! It is almost just how it was in the old contact center - we have a window giving us a view of the Salt Lake Temple! We are also right next to the mission office, making our daily mail runs a ton more convenient (which will be helpful for this time of the year)! There are plenty of other things which I am excited for about this move, but in short, having moved over here has been a great thing for us!

You may know that the young elders of the mission attend classes one night every week. This week was no exception, though it was quite a special occasion - our teacher was Elder Dale, who is currently a professor of religion at the University of Michigan (I think that he is on break to be able to serve here). He also has quite a bit of other impressive credentials - to put it simply, he is a learned man. Now, the young elders classes are divided up into four parts attending four classes at different times during the week, as to be able to keep the zones well staffed during the nighttime, though some are at night classes. Usually, the same lessons are given at each class; however, Elder Dale actually had prepared four different lectures for the different classes! The one which we got had to do with the relationship between science, cosmology, and the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It is interesting how each subject relates one to another; it is also important to note that, though temporal knowledge is important and wonderful to have, it can never replace revelation from God; it also kind of emphasizes that science, as described with temporal knowledge, never defines completely set-in-stone answers to things. In short, the class was a great testimony-building experience for us all!

Another notable happening in regards to a normally routine happening was a major change to the mission's exercise program. Elder Parks, the current senior missionary in charge of coordinating this with the young elder coordinators of the program, had made some major changes to the program so that activities are only done on the last exercise day of the week, and the rest are a bit shorter than we had been having these days, but are entirely devoted to exercise and physical fitness. And I am loving it! I had been feeling for the longest time that, though I had tried my best to maintain this when I was a coordinator, the exercise program was a bit lacking in how much missionaries had gotten out of it. I could write much on this subject, but all I shall include here is that there was room for improvement; and improve it did! I actually look forward to exercise more than I had previously done, because I know that I am going to be getting some good out of it! It is very true that I go home feeling exhausted and worn out, though for exercise, that is what we want!

Aside from this, we were also invited to attend a special devotional and luncheon for the family history department, being put on by the heads of the department, including Elder Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They all had good, inspiring messages to share in regards to the work which we are doing here, as well as a few special bits in regards to the Christmas season. I feel that there is nothing that can bring the spirit of the season quite like such an event like this. I was even able to shake Elder Stevenson's hand afterward! The luncheon was also nice - it was a good lunch with ham, salads, meatballs, and other such foods! The Church knows what it is doing when such an event is being put on! I will miss these events when I return home from the mission.

However, this was not the only devotional which I was able to attend this week; as some of you may know, last Sunday was the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! The mission was able to get all its young elders tickets to the event, so I was able to attend this myself! To be honest, I would have found some way to attend, or at least view, the event had I not gotten tickets this way; it is still nice to not have had to worry it about it though. As mentioned earlier, such devotionals are probably the best way to kick off the season! I feel that there will be a few such special happenings for the mission during the season; therefore, though I cannot celebrate it in the traditional way, there will be no forgetting that "'tis the season"! (You can watch a recording of the event here.)

There is my week. There has been quite a bit of business to keep my busy, but there have also been some good things going on as well. Now, it is on to a great holiday season! I hope that all of you back home enjoy it as well! Have a good one!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: The challenge which I have selected for this week is the same as that which has been put out by the Church. You may have heard of the "Light the World" campaign which the Church has been doing to help us make the season that much more meaningful, for it truly more meaningful to give than to simply receive. This is being done with a four-week program, starting from the outside in. Week One is "Light the World," which is about assisting with worldwide relief efforts, for not all enjoy the same levels of abundance as we do here in America; even some living in this very country need help getting back on their feet. The second is "Light your Community," which relates to helping those who live near you. Next is "Light your Family," which is also self-explanatory. The fourth and final week is "Light your Faith," which is all about remembering the true purpose behind the season. I feel that there is no better time to take the opportunity to serve others, on both a global and a very local scale, than during the season in which we get to take some time to remember our Savior, who devoted his lifetime to service to those around him, helping both those right around him in simple yet marvelous ways, as well as helping all men to ever live in a miraculous way, even His great Atonement. I would like to challenge you to participate in this event. Spend the season finding ways to serve others around you. This need not be formal or organized, though such efforts are also welcome and needed; one can, however, also serve those around him in a personal, informal way. For those who can take such a glorious opportunity to do so, Christmas will be a truly magical time of the year, which will feel more than the commercialized money-grab which, to some, the season can sometimes seem like. This is because the magic of the season is not in simply the getting of things, but by following the lead of our Savior, and giving as much as - if not more than - that which is received. (For more ideas on how to do this, click this link: https://www.mormon.org/christmas)

I had asked Bryce to send me a list of picture of what was available to purchase in the vending machines this year in SLC... this is what he said:

I don't remember everything - I would have to get a picture of the vending machines - but I can send you a couple of prices from the top of my head:

• Water - $2, $5, $10, $20, and $50 (this machine even dispenses a water bottle for the donor)
• English-learning dictionary for kids - $5?
• Soccer/Volley ball - $20?
• Polio treatment - $19 (I bought one of these)
• Malaria treatment - $39
• 2 chickens - $25
• Sewing machine - $60
• Goat - $75
• Cow - $150
• School in a box (supplies for a teacher and 40 students) - $210

Then he was able to send me this picture... but you can't see a lot of the prices...

Holidaze

Hello, everyone!

First off, I must say that I actually have my phone with me this time as I do E-mails, so I can share with you pictures that I have taken over the course of the week! Most are of the lights at Temple Square, though also included is a picture from right before the concert with the Bells at Temple Square mentioned in my last E-mail! I hope you enjoy them! (What, Elder Petersen?? No pictures of the Thanksgiving Dinner??)

Now, as I had predicted, nothing has changed for me at transfers. I am still in the same zone, on the same P-Day, living in the same apartment, and even with the same companion! If Elder Cole does not get emergency transferred from me halfway through the transfer as was Elder Black, he will be my longest companion in the mission! There will not be enough time left after this transfer for someone else to beat the record! Unless, of course, I get assigned to a companion who I have had before.

It does amaze me that I have been in the zone for 17 months now, and am currently going on my 18th. I think I have set the official record for the person who has been in the zone the longest, including back when the zone was still "Data Security". Elder Luebke was recently transferred out, making it so that the person who has been there for the second longest got here back in January - about a half year since I had first joined the zone, having been there for as long as I have been a district leader. In other words, I am an old man. I honestly would not mind a transfer out at this point - though I have been in the zone for quite some time, I would like to have some time to experience a change of scenery before I begin packing up my bags for the trip home. I do not hate the zone yet, and at this rate, I probably never will get to that point, even if I do stay in the zone for the rest of my mission; all I am saying is that it would be nice to be able to see something new.

So, I am sure that you all are wondering how the beginning of the holiday season turned out for me. Well, in short, it was a nice little break! As I believe I had already mentioned before, the library was closed down on Thursday and Friday; some of the mission did have to serve on Friday, as certain parts of the library functioned when they turned the lights on at Temple Square, but most of us had the entirety of the two days off. Therefore, there were a couple of scheduled activities especially for the young elders. I will talk more about this later in the E-mail. (spoiler alert: we watched two different football movies)

Anyway, I may have told you all that I would be preparing a dessert for the Thanksgiving dinner; well, before the dinner, we got a message saying that the only two different types of food needed for the dinner were pies and dinner rolls (everything else was either provided by the senior missionaries, or catered by a restaurant in the city). As I was a bit sick and tired of making pies, I decided I would try making some rolls for the occasion. However, this day, the young elders were asked to help set up for the dinner a couple hours before, and this went for a bit longer than I had anticipated; as a result, I had no time to actually make the dinner rolls, and that did not fall through. Oh well; perhaps I will choose a recipe that takes a little bit less time in the future. The dinner itself was great! There is nothing quite like a nice hearty Thanksgiving feast! After this, we were given some more time to ourselves after which the mission had put on a movie for us. Now, I am pretty at least one of the assistants to the president is a bit of a sports nut, or at least the mission wanted to motivate the mission as if we were out on the field; whatever the reason, the movie of the night was a sports movie, "Rudy". Now, I am not a sports fan, but sports movies are alright; I also feel that there are generally pretty good messages behind them.

The next day, of course, was Black Friday. You can probably guess how much I participated in that (not at all). Much of the day was open, so in addition to hanging out with some of the other missionaries, I also took some much-needed time for scripture study and apartment cleaning. I have learned that the hardest part of cleaning up an apartment is working up the motivation to actually get up and do it; once this is done, the cleaning itself is actually not that bad, and it is easy to keep going on to the next task - in fact, I sometimes even enjoy it to an extent. As some of you may know quite well, this was also the day the Church officially turned the lights on at Temple Square. I was of course present for this, but I did not stay long - I have never seen so many people here at Temple Square at any other time of the year, and it is a difficult crowd to navigate. Besides, I have learned that there will come plenty of other opportunities to enjoy the lights when less people are around - I do pass through the place quite often, after all. Soon after this one, another movie was put on for the young elders - yes, it was another sports movie, "Remember the Titans". And, of course, after this day, it was right back to work for those of us whose P-Days are not on Saturday. Quite the holiday, wouldn't you say! As nice as the holidays are, they do tend to get a little bit boring - there is only so much cleaning, studying, and going to someone else's place that can be done. So, though the holiday was nice, it is nice to be back in the swing of things. (Whew, this E-mail has a lot of white text!)

Now, today, I was going to have to help out with moving the zone back in to the JSMB; however, yesterday, I had gotten messages from both our supervisor and our zone leader, saying that the move had to be postponed until they can get more work done in preparing to receive us. Therefore, my P-Day is currently totally open, which is nice. Of course, finding an hour in a P-Day to go help out with such a project is definitely doable; however, it is also nice to not have to try and do that. It will, however, be quite nice to be able to move over to the JSMB, and see the sun for the first time in over a year.

And so, this has been about the whole of my week. It has been a nice little holiday, though keeping busy has also been nice. I look forward to seeing what the next week has in store for me, and writing back to you all about it. Have a good one!


From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: This week, I have in a sense failed in my P-Day shopping. This is because I did not make any plans for what exactly I was going to buy to sustain myself for the week (I didn't have a whole ton of money to do this with anyway, but that is besides the point). As I had failed to write out a menu plan, and then a shopping list, I was as a traveler without a road map in the grocery store - lost, not sure quite where to go or what to buy. Sure, there were a couple of things in my head which I had wanted to eat, but I didn't have any surety of what I would need to prepare them. Now, when I do take the time to plan something like this out, I have a nice little meal plan for the week, and I walk into the grocery store with a nice little shopping list - it saves me time and money, and I can feel confident that I will have all that I need to sustain myself throughout the week. Such is the importance of planning and goal setting. In the latter-days, we have been admonished by prophets, seers, and revelators to make planning and goal-setting a priority. "...if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." (D&C 38:30). What is the difference between goal-setting and planning? I guess that a simpler form of this question would be, what is the difference between a goal and a plan? A goal is, put simply, where you want to end up; a plan is your road map on how to get there. Therefore, before making a plan, one should have a goal. My goal for weeks where I actually plan out my diet is the meal-plan - what I plan on eating for the week. My plan is the shopping list which I take into the store with me - that is, the list of ingredients which I would need to be able to accomplish my task of creating the meals set forth in the meal plan. And what is the reward for such planning? I know what it is I am going to eat, and it will generally taste pretty good! Goal setting and planning, though it may seem like a burden at first, actually makes life easier for those who are proficient at it, for they know where they are going, and it will take them less time and effort for them to get there for they do not wander lost. So, my challenge for this week is to begin setting some good, worthwhile goals for yourself. Make them goals about how to better yourself and/or your situation. Once you have your goals down, write out a plan for how you are going to accomplish your goals. Once this is done, put forth the effort to follow through with the plan - all the effort put into making a goal and a plan is utterly wasted if the plan is never followed through with. All this is the key to change and improvement, and getting to where you dream that you will one day be. (

Drawing a blank

Hey, everyone! (No, the subject was not a pun, I really couldn't think of anything to write there)

So, the week has started out alright. On that note, it also had ended alright. There is also quite a bit which happened in the week, so I shall just get right into it.First off, I should note that, once again, transfers are today (yes, it was a short transfer). Moving notices have already gone out, and no one in my district has received one. I am currently relieved, but a little bit suspicious - this wouldn't be the first time that a moving notice had not gotten sent out to a missionary who needed one. I will just assume that things will be alright though. My having not received a moving notice informs me that, for myself, not a whole ton will change in this transfer. This will mean another month in the zone (what else is new?), as well as the same companion; perhaps the district will also remain intact, including the P-Days. But, we will see. There is also talk that a missionary who had previously gone home was going to make a comeback this month; this was verified by President Fenn in our week's leadership meeting, but he did not say who. I guess that we will have to wait and see what transfers brings then. I also ought to note that this will seemingly be my third month with Elder Cole, which if it goes uninterrupted as my companionship with Elder Black did, will give him the record of having had to put up with me being my companion for the longest amount of time of anyone who has been my companion. Of course, for someone who has never held on to a companion for a full three months, that is not saying a whole ton for him, but he still gets the distinction.

Speaking of Elder Cole, his dad had sent him over a whole bunch of pecans, because those are quite expensive here in Utah. So, my companion and I agreed that I needed to make a pecan pie for the occasion; therefore, I did just that! Baking has been a nice thing for me when there is not much else to do; though the prep can be a bit lengthy at times, I make sure to get other important things done when I can, including scripture study. Having a phone has also allowed me to listen to General Conference talks and other materials from the Gospel Library app while doing such preparing. I feel that every person needs some level of food-preparation ability past using a microwave to reheat food. Whenever possible, I like to make from scratch some nice things for me and my companion - and not even just dessert-type things! Last Saturday, I had made a nice lasagna for the two of us - we are still working on the leftovers, which for a missionary is awesome! That said, there are other important things to balance it all out with, especially as a missionary. I have been trying to keep things under control in that regard, and I think I am doing well. (Unfortunately, Mom, I cannot send you the pie that I had made for Pie Night - it's already partially eaten anyway.)

So, last Saturday is probably the most notable happening of the week. Now, as most of our Saturday evenings are very much open, we often keep an eye out for things for us to do on such days - after all, it is either this or hours of sitting bored in a lonely apartment. This week, however, we had heard of a Christmas concert being put on by the Bells on Temple Square, the Tabernacle Choir's handbell choir. Though the tickets were already "sold" out (the tickets for such performances are free, but they are still required for admission), there was a standby line for us to wait in. When we had gotten to the standby line about an hour before admission, it was completely empty. We didn't stay there long either - a gentleman who we assume had family who were not able to make the performance came up and gave us some of the tickets which he had. So, we were able to go in, and enjoy a nice concert at this evening! It's amazing what music can be made by no more than a set of handbells! Of course, for a few songs they did have a couple other instruments to fill out the song a little more completely, but the sound was still very much handbell-based - and it was awesome! Such concerts are definitely worth the time and effort required to gain admission! Though I did have to leave a bit early to make it back to the apartments in time, the performance as a whole was astounding! (Don't worry, baking has not completely phased out my love of music!)

The very next day, I had quite the task ahead of me. Now, to give a little context to the situation, there are many senior missionaries on this mission. For many, this is not their first assignment to serve. Many have served missions previously. Some have previously served as bishops and in other leadership positions. And, last Sunday, it was my job to give a lesson in our priesthood meeting, and teach them something new. But, luckily for me, it isn't quite my job to teach, is it. It is the Holy Spirit which teaches a lesson in such circumstances - and boy did I need it! Ironically, that is kind of what the lesson was about - more specifically, it was on receiving revelation. Do not worry, however, that I had done what some have done, and wait until the last minute until preparing the lesson, or - heaven forbid - do nothing to prepare and spend an hour winging it. I have learned the hard way that "winging it" does not work when giving a spiritual lesson (see D&C 9:7-8); therefore, I had spent some time doing work to prepare myself both intellectually and spiritually for the lesson, and I think that things have turned out quite well. I will share more of what I had learned in my challenge.

Now, earlier this week the zone leadership did have a special meeting, mostly about the logistics required for us all to make the move over to the JSMB. Despite a little complication, which involved President Fenn not liking that what was going to be our seating layout involved cubicle walls which were too long for us to be able to see our companion's screens (this has now been fixed), the appointed date for us to make the move is still exactly one week from today (which, if today remains my P-Day after transfers, will make this a bit inconvenient, but I'll work that out when the time comes). The meeting was a pretty good one, as we not only covered this subject quite well, but we also had discussed some other issues going on in the zone, and were able to get quite a few things somewhat resolved; all in all, I feel that was a productive meeting. Once it was over, we were shown where the team was to be moved in this building. It is not too far away from where the young elders were stationed previous to October 2017, when we were moved over to the family history library in the first place. It is a very large improvement from our current location. First off, we actually get to see sunlight again! And not only that - the temple is right outside the window for us! The new design will have more adequate space for us to hang up our coats as well. We will also be right next to the mission office, making trips over there much more convenient. As you can probably now tell, I am excited to be able to make this move!

You are probably all wondering what will be happening for the Thanksgiving holiday. Of course, we will have to have special plans ready for us all, as the Church campus will be closing down for this holiday. I don't think that all of the plans are out quite yet, but currently, there is a Thanksgiving dinner being planned for the mission. There will be quite a few people providing food - it has even been said that President Fenn will be catering the event! That said, it was recently brought up that there ought to be more young elders bringing food to such events. Many elders have seen events like this as "free food", which isn't too far from the truth, but they do not often bring with them their own dishes for others to enjoy. Now, I am one of the people who does like bringing with me food (and I am sure that others enjoy it when I do so as well, on account of the dishes I bring ending up empty by the end of the night), so I will definitely make sure to bring with me a dish of some sort this time as well.

So, yeah, it was quite a big week for me. I am happy to have been able to take part in all of these things. Sorry if this E-mail is longer tan you had expected, and it had made you late for something important; perhaps I will apologize in person when I return home from the mission. Anyway, I will send another message next week. Thanks so much for the continued support!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: So, as mentioned earlier, I did give a Priesthood lesson earlier this week, which topic was on revelation. Now, though the lesson was given in the context of missionary work, everyone - not just ordained servants of the Lord - needs to be capable of receiving personal revelation, as we were taught in this day and age that "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost" (President Nelson, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives", 2018). Though the lesson was not based off of President Nelson's April 2018 Conference address, I did take a couple of principles from it, including a few patterns which were set forth in this talk. It is important to note that, to know how to receive revelation, it is important to know more about the Holy Ghost, as it is by Him that we receive revelation given to us from our Heavenly Father. Though many have been baptized, and thus promised the gift of the Holy Ghost, not all who are baptized enjoy such a glorious gift - this is because to be able to experience this blessing, we first must live worthily of it (see D&C 130:20-21). Then, and only then, will we be able to have the constant guiding influence of a member of the Godhead. However, simply because we will have the gift of the Holy Ghost does not mean that there is nothing more required to do to receive revelation. This is where principles taught in President Nelson's April 2018 address come in; he had taught us - and note each of the individual requirements - that "Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work." Such a recipe is the formula to follow if we want to optimize ourselves for receiving revelation. Once this is done, then we must ask for that which we most desire wisdom about. We must ask in fervent, heartfelt, purposeful prayer. Once this is done, we are to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. And then, as He speaks to us, we must write our impressions as we receive them. This will be how God gives us instruction and knowledge. Once we then have this knowledge, it is our responsibility to act upon the knowledge we have received, for it does us no good to go through all the effort of receiving revelation, then doing nothing about it, for knowledge is no good until it is acted upon (see James 2:17). "As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”" So, please make it a point to receive personal revelation for that which you desire the most. Make the necessary changes in your life, if necessary, to be more worthy to receive revelation, then go through the process. Once you have done so, please act, that your faith may not be dead. This is how to have the Holy Ghost guiding your life; this is how to receive the knowledge which you desire most, including a testimony of the Restoration. I promise that it is worth it - when you receive that revelation, then "it [will be] most sweet, above all that [you] ever before tasted" (1 Nephi 8:11).

Wow, short transfer!

 

Hey, everyone!

Well, first off, I feel I ought to explain the subject line of this E-mail. This is being a very short transfer, in both the sense that the mission feels that it is going by very fast now, and the fact that this transfer is actually a week short. In fact, we got our latest batch of new young elders yesterday! There were only to in this group, which is alright. The mission is already quite full - in fact, I don't even think the apartments rented by the mission have room for any more - so we ought not to expect any more groups of 12 missionaries - at least for the time being. That being said, we will not be getting any new young elders at all next month. The mission had decided that having new missionaries come on right before Christmas makes for a really hard time for missionaries to adjust to this new lifestyle; therefore, we will hold off until January. 

Now that that's out of the way... the week has been pretty good. I have been getting along well with my companion, and I have been doing the zone work pretty well. The move over to the JSMB has, as of yet, not happened, though other missionaries in the zone have been moving from the FHL to the JSMB this last week though - in fact, I had assigned one of the districts in the zone to help them out with moving this stuff over. So, I think that the talk about us moving to the JSMB has progressed beyond simply being a rumor which may or may not happen, and instead is a thing which the zone will need to actively prepare for. So, that will probably be the focus of my next week - to get missionaries in the zone ready to make the move, so that when they finally announce that we will be packing up our computers to make the move, we will already be prepared, and this will not take any more time or trouble than it needs to. (Amazing how well I finally realize what needs to be done in the zone while I write these E-mails!)

The mission had recently done a service project at the Church's humanitarian center here in SLC, which i got to be a part of. Unfortunately, there was no tour to introduce us to the Church's welfare program; then again, most of the mission had already taken the tour anyway the first time we had come over there. We had done the same thing which we did last time, specifically assembling hygiene kits to send out to people who need them. Such service is a nice little break from what we usually do as a mission. This outreach program has been quite helpful with getting missionaries to be "anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27), though there are not always service projects to be done; we do sometimes have night zones where everyone still shows up. But, it has done much good for the mission, to be able to serve like this.

To the end of being engaged in a good cause as such, I did make a point to attend the temple last Saturday. I had cooked up a soup which took a bit longer than expected, so we got to the temple a little later than expected. We had planned on doing baptisms and confirmations, but by the time we had arrived at the temple, the baptistry was already filled with a youth group; the wait was simply too long for us to be able to do this, and make it  back to the apartment in time for check-ins. So, we instead went to do initiatories. I had expected them to inform us that they were about to close down (which they were), but they did let us in. Me and my companion did end up being the last group of the night; after we had left, they had begun closing things down there. But, it was definitely worth attending! Also, on my way out, I did get to see Brother Cornia from my home ward! It is a small world after all, isn't it!

The mission had itself a Hail and Farewell potluck-style dinner to celebrate new and departing missionaries yesterday. I, of course, was excited for this - in essence, it means that I get free food! Of course, there is also the possibility of contributing some food, so I made a lemon meringue pie; I had cut it into sixteen smaller slices, but it still did not last long! As nice as the dinner was, I had a sudden realization that this is either my second to last or third to last such dinner (depending on how transfers work out for me)! Of course, I do still have a few months, but they are truly running out for me! Soon enough, I will be returning back home. But, I do still have some time left to do some good things out here.

In fact, I had though some about my going home soon. Of course, the goal here is to not get into a mindset that, because I won't be spending longer here, I no longer have to take the work seriously (in other words, getting "trunky"). I have seen it happen to other missionaries, and it isn't a pretty picture to see. Therefore, I had considered acting as though I still have ten months to go after my mission's official ending date. Then I figured that, if I do that, I will keep procrastinating things I need to do until ten months after my mission's end date. So, instead, I must accept that I am going home soon, and do what I can to make sure that, instead of fizzling out at the end of the mission, I can go out in a blaze of glory. So, in other words, rather than thinking that there are only three months left to go, I should realize that my time is running out, and I need to make the most of my last three months, and finish strong! And there is my spiel on that subject.

So, there's my week for you. I hope you all enjoy reading about my life out here, and I hope that you all have a great week!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: Today, I would like to begin my challenge with a question: what does the word "church" mean to you? This question has been somewhat addressed recently in changes to Church structure, including and especially the adjustment to the Church schedule and the issuing of the "Come, Follow Me" resource. The Church, in short, has been giving the members more responsibility, rather than simply "doing and thinking what others are doing and thinking" (Take the Holy Spirit as Your Guide, Elder Larry Y. Wilson, April 2018). I will admit, that there was a time in my life where my religion, though it had some effect on how I lived my life, mostly just determined which Church I attended on Sundays. Such was the flaw of the Zoramites spoken of in the Book of Mormon. They only worshiped with as little effort as possible, "[offering] up these same prayers", and after their Sunday meetings, "[returning] to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again" (see Alma 31:20-23). In short, they were only publicly religious. This may work to gain us acceptance in public groups of friends who share the same faith; however, only having this much devotion will profit us nothing, and "[we] have [our] reward" (in this context, see Matthew 6 for more examples of what it means to be "publicly religious"). So, my challenge this week is to find ways to show your religion outside of your Sunday meetings. List ways you can make yourself "an example of the believers" (1 Timothy 4:12). Keep a prayer in your heart as you do this, as the Lord will help those who ask (see D&C 4:7). Once you have found these ways, act upon what you have found. Find ways to serve those around you; don't wait for them to present themselves to you on a silver platter! I testify that this will open the windows of Heaven, pouring out the blessings of dedicated discipleship upon us, and we will find that, in financial terms, we will have a great return on our investment.

Halloween gumbo!

Hey, everyone!

Well, another month has gone by and another transfer has happened. As I had guessed, I was not affected by the transfer at all, and neither was Elder Cole - the only change which happened was that Elder Rasmussen has left the companionship, which is kind of what we had expected would happen anyway. He is still in the district, as a companion with Elder Bassett, who is also relatively new to the mission (he came at the same time as Elder Bastian). Aside from that, nothing has changed for me - I am still in the same zone (unsurprising, I know), on the same P-Day, and with the same companion. So, no excitement there.

Interesting happenings are now beginning to go down at zone this month, however. There is a lot of talk about getting us young elders moved back in to the JSMB, and we believe this will be sometime this month, if not sometime within the next couple of weeks. This will be quite nice - we had spent an entire year doing our work from the basement floors of the family history library; it will be refreshing to be able to see the sun during our zone work again. it also will be nice to see the salt lake temple right outside the window where we work! So, in anticipation of this move, we have all been packing some of the things at our desks up, as well as cleaning up our workstations in preparation for the big move. If we are lucky, it will be staff who will be doing all the heavy lifting with the computers. I also hope that what happens last time this happened will not happen this time as well, where things are still not quite ready for us when we move, and so we have some period of inactivity before we can move in. But, then again, the JSMB is better-equipped for this type of work than the family history library is; after all, it is where we used to work. Therefore, I am not overly worried about problems coming from the move.

As you can imagine, the mission did have a special event when Halloween came around, because the rest of Church campus closed down early that day for obvious reasons. Specifically, the mission was called in together to enjoy the movie "Coco" together! There was, however, one complication which came with this; my companion was ill when Halloween arrived, and so we were not able to watch the movie together with the rest of the mission; instead, we had stayed at the apartment so that he could rest up. This was alright with me - I had already watched the movie with the mission at another time. Besides, I had already purchased the ingredients required for a gumbo recipe in a recipe book of mine, and so I figured that this would be one of the only days of the week where I would have time to make such a dish, so I did try that with the time we had spent at home. Of course, cooking a soup recipe such as this did leave some relatively idle time where I could study the Gospel, which was great. Such is one of the reasons why I like such recipes - though they take quite a bit of time to prepare, much of the time is hands-off, requiring only occasional attention, giving me open windows to do other things that I enjoy. Still, this recipe did take much more time and than I had previously anticipated, and it ended up going almost into the evening. However, the end result was well worth the effort!

Now, for some reason, there have not been a whole ton of events for the mission announced in the upcoming weeks. The only such event was a fireside which took place yesterday, presented by President Fenn. Essentially, he taught us the doctrine of repentance. He mentioned that, if we were teaching missionaries, we would be teaching that doctrine every day, and we were a bit disadvantaged as we did not have such intimate daily experience with it. And so, he gave a great message about it, in the which much was learned. There is one interesting thing which I will mention about such a meeting: I don't know if President Fenn uses notes in giving such a presentation, but he surely never writes out what he is going to say when giving such a presentation. The difference was made apparent when he had brought with him a written version of a certain story relating to this topic. Now, the story was well-written and well-presented, but such a presentation simply did not feel quite as natural - at least with him - as one given from at least just notes. I guess that goes to show the importance of having a balanced amount of structure to any sort of plan, whether it be a daily schedule or a fireside. Neither too little nor too much is appropriate in any such situation. Of course, there are opportunities in which such structured planning is helpful, and in some cases even necessary. I guess that is part of the reason why it is important to know the time and place for such happenings.

So, as for anything else, not much is happening at the moment. But, it was a good week, I feel, though there are many area in which I could improve. But, I will keep trying my best. Thanks again for all the support. I will message you all again next week. Have a good one!


From,

Elder Bryce Petersen


Challenge: We all have many goals in life. We all want to see ourselves make something out of our lives, and go on to do great things. These goals may range from the relatively simple, such as going to school and getting a job; others are more elaborate, such as becoming a millionaire. Now, such goals may be achieved in life, and others may not be. However, in reviewing a list of goals, what would your number-one goal in life be? Now, aside from righteous gospel living (to which this goal is not unrelated), I feel that the most important goal in life would have to be to raise a righteous family in a home filled with love; though "salvation [may be] an individual matter," President Nelson has taught that "exaltation is a family matter" (Salvation and Exaltation, April 2008). Such is the reason behind the issuing of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." In this world, however, God's ordained pattern for the family is under greater attack than any ever before issued. Why is this? There is no greater foundation for the life of any member of society, young or old, than that of a loving, righteous family; when children are brought into the world by a father and a mother who will love them and teach them righteous principles, then they will start life with a proper knowledge of good and evil. When the Gospel is taught in the home (which, with last conference's announcement on home study and learning, has been reemphasized), a child can learn the commandments of God, including instructions regarding certain subjects which, when taught by the world, often bring with them an unrighteous bias (for example, it is better for a child to learn about alcohol from parents living the Word of Wisdom than from a flashy Super Bowl commercial trying to sell it). Of course, the responsibility of maintaining a righteous, peaceful family does not fall into the hands of the parents alone, for they can only influence their children as much as the children will allow them to. Children must also make sure that they learn to get along with their siblings, as this will be a much easier lesson to learn than in the future, with coworkers, roommates, missionary companions, and most especially a future spouse. So, my challenge this week is to make steps to do what you can to improve your family situation. If gospel learning is not happening, please begin as soon as possible. If relationships need to be mended, please stop procrastinating, and take the first step. The family is how we will gain exaltation, for it is the best way to learn the doctrines of eternity; a strong family built upon Christ, the Son of God, will not fall (see Helaman 5:12).

General -

Hey, everyone!

Well, first off, today is the day of transfers. They have not yet happened, but I do already have a pretty good idea of what will happen. Now, as I am sure you all know by now, missionaries are notified as to whether or not the transfer will require them to move to another apartment the day before the actual transfer takes place. From this, one can have a pretty good idea as to what will happen in the transfer. I am not one of the people who tries to make predictions as to what will happen to all the missionaries at this time, though I will say that neither me nor Elder Cole got such a notice, though Elder Rasmussen did. So, due to our current living in a two-man apartment, me and Elder Cole will remain companions, though Elder Rasmussen will be leaving us (bye-bye tri-companionship). This also most likely means that I will be staying in the zone for yet another month. Everyone in the mission thinks that I am going to spend the rest of my time in the zone! I think that I will only be there for one more month or two, then get transferred out. (That, however, is what I have been saying for the past few months.)
However, I am perfectly fine with staying in the zone for a bit longer. The mission recently had a temple trip for us all, which temple attendance I had kind off been falling behind on. I really do need to get that back up, especially seeing the benefit which it had for me. After the trip, what I needed to do in zone as the head district leader to direct the workflow was suddenly a lot clearer, and I began making some changes to the system. Now, I am launching a couple of helpful programs to help the people in the zone out with being properly trained on how to do the work, as well as having more work to do rather than sit there when there are no calls coming in. It is a start, but I think that this will lead to great things to come. I also feel like I have some idea with what I am doing in my role in the zone, which is a great relief. I truly do need to be attending the temple more often, especially with it's closing down sometime soon. I now realize, more than ever, the strength which is to be had from such attendance.

We did have another Book of Mormon class yesterday, which is always nice. However, I feel I have spoken quite enough on my feelings about the class - all good, of course - so I instead ought to share some of what was taught. This time, we were at the war chapters in the latter end of the book of Alma. One of the notable things which we had gone over in these stories were the character traits of Captain Moroni, which were valuable to go over, as he was truly a man of God (see Alma 48:17). Also studied were the traits of the two thousand (plus sixty in later chapters) young men of the army of Helaman, who were strong in their faith unto the conquering of their enemies. Now, there is a well known painting of the stripling warriors which some of you are likely aware of, though they were, in reality, likely not quite how they were depicted in this picture - for example, they were likely not all able to model for high-end workout equipment. They were young men, who had no military training - only their faith in God, who was mighty to deliver every single one of them. Many more things were talked about in this class, which I have not time to write about in this E-mail, though I feel it is enough that there is much in there which we can learn from,

The rest of the week, unfortunately, was not overly eventful. But, it is good to know that I was able to get much done at zone, and begin pushing forward on some changes to how things are done that the work at zone could be improved upon. It is good to hear from you all. I appreciate the letters of support from everyone back home who takes the time to write one. Thanks again! I will write again next week!


From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: The Gospel has much to offer. It brings with it fellowship, healing, and most importantly, salvation in the world to come. However, so far, only a relatively small handful are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - in fact, only about a fifth of one percent of the world population are counted among Church membership. In other words, "the field is white already to harvest" (see D&C 4:4). There is much to be done for three different types of people to accomplish the four purposes of the Church - gather Israel, perfect the Saints, redeem the dead, and help the poor. I would like to talk a bit about each, and how member missionary work applies to each. First off, as previously mentioned, the Church still has a long way to go before it can be confidently said that it has "penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear" (Joseph Smith, 1842). We as members of the Church need to carry on this work as member missionaries, whether this be through informal talk about religion (which should not be so readily shied away from as some people timidly do for fear of offense), or through more formal discussion. However, many in the Church also need a helping hand, including many who struggle, whether it be temporally or spiritually. They all need our help; in this service, God will be more than ready to help and guide us to those in need, whether or not we are formally called to serve - that is part of what member missionary is. Redemption of the dead is also important - that is the major point of my purpose out here on this mission. For those on the other side of the veil need our help as well to be able to progress spiritually, for how many people have died without a knowledge of the Gospel! We in this world are their only hope for progression! Finally, we are to care for the poor - our Lord himself taught that service to others is service to Himself (see Matthew 25:40). Learning to serve is not simply what the Christian should do - this is how we learn to love others, and the best way to develop Christlike attributes. If you want the Lord's help in your life, try your hand at providing help to others, and you will find that you have lifted yourself up as well. So, my challenge this week is to learn more about how you can help the Church forward it's four main goals in your day-to-day living. If you seek, you will find (see D&C 4:7), and you will find yourself making a difference to a world in need of healing, and a life in need of spiritual rebirth.