Back to the temple

 

Hey, everyone!

Well, I cannot say that this week has been the most eventful that I have experienced. One of the big things which happened this week was being able to see the new young elders going about and learning more about the mission. I was even able to introduce then to the zone in which I serve - I was commissioned by the training leaders to put something together with which to introduce them to what we do, and how we do it. So, with the help of a few other people serving with me, I was able to give them a nice little tour of the facilities, so to speak. It kind of reminds me of my first week on the mission - holy cow, that was a lot of running around and doing things. But, things will begin to settle down a bit for them after the transfer conference happening later today, where they shall learn where they will serve. It's also nice to be able to learn about who will be training who. But, speculation about what will happen does not really do much to change the results of what President Fenn decides will be the best for this mission. All I really can say is that I'm not leaving the zone quite yet. However, my P-Day may change to something else, so don't be surprised if my E-mail does not come on a Tuesday again. Then again, if this does change, then you will likely be able to expect it sooner!

Anyway, I have titled the subject of my E-mail to reflect a wonderful happening of this week - though we had not been able to go to the Salt Lake temple for a while, we were able to get not one, but two temple trips this last week! The first one was a mission temple session, which is beginning to become a bit tough to fit one hundred young elders in to - but it was still a nice session! The next day, we all did baptisms and confirmations together. Though the ordinances themselves were wonderful to be able to get done, we did try to get one hundred young elders through - this equates to very long wait times for all of us. We had planned to stay for only two hours to get it all done, but it ended up stretching to three and a half hours. I am not sorry that I was able to attend the temple - I will always be grateful for such a blessing - but I do wish it was a bit better coordinated. Even then, I guess I don't blame anyone for this mistake - it was the first time that we had attempted to pull something like this off. I trust that, if this were to happen again, things would probably be planned a bit better so that we can all fully enjoy the experience. 

I have been kind of helping other people get introduced to genealogical work. I may have mentioned that I was helping another elder in the zone learn how to do Danish research. I was able to finish a lesson which I had started last week, this week. At the end of all of the research, we did find that the people who we were trying to add to the tree already had duplicate records in Family Tree - and a lot of them too... But, I do feel the principle was demonstrated well, which principle was how to use records aside from those in FamilySearch to continue doing family history research, and perhaps add an extra generation or two to the Family Tree. There is even a certification in store for those who create multiple lesson plans for other people, and demonstrate how they can use FamilySearch and perform family history work. So, I will continue to ask around the mission and see who needs help with some aspect of family history research, and show them how they can help to take part in this great work. 

Now, I have also stayed involved with the Elijah Choir, and singing with them has been great! I have enjoyed keeping my musical talents in use, so that they might not atrophy during the mission. However, I have also sought other opportunities in which to perform. Lately, I have been singing as a bass with a few other people in a rendition of "Beautiful Savior". The number was originally intended to be a capella, but they decided that it would be best to include a piano I would have been fine with just performing a capella - there is a certain charm to just a simple harmony of voices -  but I am alright with an accompaniment. We also have plans to perform another number after this further in the future, this being a medley of "Called to Serve" and "Ye Elders of Israel", which I am also excited for. However, before we perform this latter number, some of the people who we have in this group will be leaving the mission, so we may or may not have a large number of people helping out with this. But, I do look forward to continuing to practice, and being able to sing with other people as I get chances!

Well, that is about my week at the moment. A lot of this has been business as usual, but things will likely become more interesting when transfers come and go. I am happy to be here, and I am happy to read your letters from home! Again, I appreciate thee support - I feel like I say this a lot, and it probably sounds a bit redundant, but I do still mean it - it means a lot to me to know that I have people at home, cheering me on as I serve. Have a good week, everyone!

--

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: So, I am sure that most of you are familiar with President Nelson's recent remarks regarding the name of the Church. It is interesting to see that the Lord desires that we are more mindful on the name of His restored Church on the earth today. So, why is it so important that the name of the church be re-emphasized? I guess that it has become very much common for people, even members, to refer to ourselves as "Mormons". Of course, it is a bit of a more convenient title - it is less of a mouthful than using the Church's full name, even in it's abbreviated form. However, the Lord has directly given to us the name which He desires His Church to be given (see D&C 115:4). Aside from the importance of it being a commandment of the Lord, using the official name of the church does bring with it some other advantages. One, it provides a more descriptive picture of what it is that we believe in, and shows to the world that our belief and our faith is in Christ. Another, it in a way shows the purpose of the Church - for the perfecting of the saints of the latter-days for the second coming of our Savior. But, then again, as previously stated, it is a commandment of the Lord - should this not be enough? Therefore, let us try a little harder to apply the counsel given us by our modern-day prophet, even President Nelson, in re-emphasizing our Church's true name and purpose, that our light may so shine to the rest of the world. Let us be faithful in keeping the Lords commandments, that we may be more able to come unto Him, and have His Spirit with us always.

And they don't stop comin'

Hey, everyone!


Well, the months are flying by, as usual - last Monday, we got a whole new wave of new young elders! This means that next week will be transfers, but you probably do not have to worry about when my next E-mail will come out quite yet! I still have a Tuesday P-Day, so I will be able to get one last E-mail out on the expected day before things become uncertain as to when this E-mail will go out next. I suspect that it will likely be the same day again after transfers, but don't take that statement as a promise. I doubt that I will leave the zone this transfer, but after next month, things seem to be a little more uncertain. Then again, with my luck, they may just keep me in the zone for the rest of my mission. Then again, President Fenn doesn't seem to want this sort of stuff to happen. So, I may leave the zone sometime soon. I am a bit anxious to see what will happen when I do leave the zone - all the people who have held my position previously have gone on to other bigger leadership assignments in the mission. Of course, that does not necessarily mean that will happen to me; however, the only way to be certain as to what will happen will be to let it happen. For now, rather than trying to predict the future, my focus should be on the present, as I have previously mentioned. It has once been said, the most important calling in the church for a certain member, is the one which he or she now holds. Anyway, in regards to the new young elders, I have not gotten to know any that well as of yet, but I do look forward to getting to meet them. This seems to be our last big wave of new elders for a while - I don't think any more for a while will have as much as 12 new people. The next, as it now stands, will have four. So, the mission will probably stay around the size it now is - for the young elders, anyway.

I am also doing zone work as well. As I may have said before, I am not able to get quite as much done as I used to be due in part to my assignment, so I have been trying my best to be able to work with balancing the two the best that I can. The work itself is not too bad, actually. It is true that some days are definitely more stressful than others, but working in this zone has not been as bad as one would think working in a call center would be. The variety of the work is great, and we are getting more and more variety all the time! If I am tired of one type of work (Mission Support, for example), I can go and do some work on another type of task (such as FamilySearch ordinance-related cases). So, the work in the zone itself has not been too bad, and I wouldn't mind doing it more, or at least for as long as the Lord needs be doing so.

Aside from this, things have not been overly exciting this week. We did have a notable service project, in which we worked to maintain the Ensign Peak hiking trail in the city (hence, the pictures). There was much to do here - trim bushes, pull weeds, sweep off sidewalks - the work was good and hard. I did sleep pretty well that night, after putting in some hard work. I am excited that the mission is getting more opportunities to do service around the community like this, and I hope that more such opportunities will open up in the future.

This E-mail of mine is not very long, but I feel it had covered the week pretty well. I appreciate that you are looking forward to each of my E-mails. I look forward to writing you again next week. Have a good one!

--
From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: for my challenge this week, I feel it important to write on the subject covered by the prophet of our day, President Nelson, in his recent General Conference address. A prophet can see things which are hidden from the eyes of the rest of us, even enough of the future ahead of us to know which way we need to be directed in. Therefore, I feel confident that his admonition to work towards being more able to receive personal revelation is vital for each of us to take a closer look at. It truly is a unique doctrine in our Church, that the heavens are not sealed, and all of God's children - ranging in profile from the senior apostle down to the humblest young child - are capable of having God speak to him or her, whether it be directly or through a modern-day prophet. I feel that this needs to be repeated more clearly - one does not need to be one of the presiding authorities over the Church to be able to receive marvelous revelations. The only difference between these two types of revelations is that one is directed to the Church and the world as a whole, whereas personal revelation is just that - revelation received for you and you only, personalized for your needs and experiences. Please, oh please, if this has not yet been done, please open up the heavens to yourself, and prepare yourself spiritually to be able to receive personal revelation. If you are already doing this, are you doing it on a daily basis? Are you "[counseling] with the Lord in all thy doings"? (Alma 37:37) Of course, you probably do not need a grand and glorious vision unfolded before your eyes before you decide, for example, what color you need to paint the walls in your home; however, there are many situations in which one would need inspiration to make the correct choice, most especially when studying the holy scriptures, or when giving counsel to a family member. You also do not need a vision for this either, so you shouldn't always expect one; but you will need the still small voice which is often associated with the Spirit of the Lord. So, the goal is to receive and recognize revelation on a daily basis (see Helaman 11:23). It can happen, if you are willing to pay the price of study and prayer required for it. The blessings of having a life guided by the Almighty King of the universe Himself cannot be understated - all that the Lord knows you need, you shall receive, if you but receive personal revelation.

A Whole New Ball Game

Hey, everyone!


Another week has come and gone in the mission field, and this time I actually took a few pictures to illustrate my wild stories (you're welcome, Mom)! So, you now have a bit of a visual aid as to what went on in my week. So, now on to the actual happenings of the week...

So, the work at zone has been going well, though I don't think mission support will last much longer for those of us serving in the mission. They had gotten a few Church-Service Missionaries to help them out, and they had actually been working pretty well. So, we are kind of in a state where we are waiting for them to tell us that they no longer need our assistance. This is alright with me. I don't think that this was ever meant to be a long-term gig for us - they just wanted to see whether or not young missionaries would be able to help out with this type of work, which we proved to them we could. So, even if we are no longer going to do the work, we will at least have done our part in this work. Therefore, I am content. Until this day comes, however, there are still mission support tickets to be done, and I will therefore still have work to be done. So, I shall continue to work that work hard, as well as the other work of FamilySearch support.

Now, we in this mission had a couple of fun happenings this week. Last Thursday, we had the opportunity to take part in a service project at the LDS Humanitarian Center. This is the service project which we were supposed to have been having in the evening once a week, though we have not done this for a while - I have heard this was because all of the service projects have been swooped up by the youth of other stakes in the area. However, we were able to come down and do this. We were given a tour of the facilities, where we learned some of what the Church does to care for those who are in need around the world. The water pump model which I took a picture of is an example of this - the Church makes efforts all around the world to provide clean water for people in less-developed countries, who would not otherwise be able to obtain it. The establishment also facilitates disaster response, providing educational materials, and community gardening, among other things. Even the center itself provides volunteer opportunities for members of the Church and non-members alike, providing people with job experience so that they can get a job elsewhere in the community. So, after this tour, we got right to work on assembling hygiene kits, which contain basic hygiene supplies. We spent some time doing this before the time came for us to leave. But, from what I have heard, we will probably have service opportunities much like this one in the future.

Last Friday, there was a biking-event of some sort, which was headquartered near where our apartments are. So, we saw a few tents set up, and a few vehicles carrying these bikes, including the one which I had taken a picture of  - apparently Jelly Belly sponsors biking competitions. Seeing this kinda reminds me of the world outside. I do not consider myself to be trunky, I want to focus on the work as much as I can. However, I do know that I will look forward to when I can go home and do fun things again.

However, it is not like I cannot do fun things on the mission, of course. President Fenn understands the need for what he described once as "something to look forward to" so that we don't completely burn out. To that end, he got all us young elders tickets to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game. The event happened last Saturday, after all of our work at zone was completed. We took public transportation down to the ballpark, and in short had a great time! Notably, it was Princess Day at the park; what that meant for us is during most of the game, we "got" to listen to Disney music. There were also Disney princesses walking around with whom we could have pictures taken; however, as that is not exactly something missionaries need to go out doing, we did not do that. I did have dinner there, which thing I kind of regret doing - food at a ballpark, I dare say, is marked up through the roof! But, in spite of this, we still all had a pretty good time together at the games! In this E-mail is a picture of myself and my district at the ballgame, including my companion and Elders Rasmussen and Vandenhazel - you can see that we generally enjoyed ourselves there. Of course, the ballpark officials had noticed that there were some missionaries here; the mission did get an acknowledgement on the jumbo-tron, and the camera did focus on us a couple of times. After the game ended (sadly, the Bees lost), we all had a wonderful fireworks show, of which I also have attached a picture. I wish that the picture could do it justice - it was a marvelous show they put on! It has been a while since I had gotten to see a fireworks show, so this was fun as well! Finally, after it was all over, we took public transportation back to the apartments, a bit later than our normal curfew. So, due to this and to my service, I hadn't been able to get as much sleep as usual, but that's alright - I have no regrets.

And, finally, I had some extra time yesterday, so I thought I would fry up some homemade doughnuts, because homemade is almost always better than what can be bought in a store, especially when it comes to bread-like products. I can't say that they all turned out as I had hoped (there is a very fine line between undercooked and overcooked for a good doughnut), but they were all still pretty good, and delicious to eat!

Anyway, there is the summary of my week. As you can see, things are going quite well. Thanks for the ongoing support, guys, it means a lot to me. I will catch you all next week!


--
From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: Imagine, if you will, what it would be like if you had a one-on-one meeting scheduled with the governor of the state in which you live. What would you do to prepare? You would likely take such an experience quite seriously, as more likely than not, you would never get such an opportunity for the rest of your life. This would be especially true if you were to meet with the President of the United States of America - however, both situations are unlikely, and if you were lucky enough to do so, you would probably never again have such an opportunity. The great irony in all of this is that we can talk at any time we wish with the Governor of all that ever was, and all that ever will be, even God - such is the blessing of prayer! However, do you take prayer seriously enough? Sometimes, we may fall into the habit of rattling off prayers in an almost robotic sense. One would never walk into the office of a major political figure, rattle off what he or she wants done in the community, and turn around and walk out before the dignitary has a chance to even respond - all in less than a minute. In such a situation, the honor would be cherished - drawn out for as long as realistically possible, with undivided attention. Now, we probably shouldn't pray all day and all night as Enos did, but we especially should make sure that we are not going on the other extreme either, of putting little if any effort into our daily prayers. So, if you are not praying regularly, please begin to do so. Start your day off with prayer, and also do so before you sleep at night. Praying together as a family is especially important; please do so at least once a day, preferably in more situations than only at the dinner table. This one opportunity of unity will strengthen family bonds between all, as we commune with God. In short, pray always, both vocally and in your hearts. This will be how you will get through the trials of life, and will help one resist the temptations of the world - a heart full of prayer has no room for temptation. "Pray always, ... that you may conquer Satan." (D&C 10:5)

Herding cats

Hey everyone!


Well, as I believe I have warned you last week, I have changed my P-Day to Tuesday due to my zone and choir obligations. Therefore, you can expect my E-mails a day earlier. I will do my best to make sure that this P-Day actually stays consistent - none of the people in my district were too happy about all of the required changes which happened last month in regards to this. Unfortunately, that is just life, I guess.

Anyway, the week has been an interesting first week in the new assignment. It started with President Buffington of the mission presidency visiting the young elders of the zone to share a couple of messages - what the new young elders can expect (we have had seven new young elders coming in to the zone, three of whom are brand new to the mission), what can be improved upon, and that sort of stuff. After this meeting, the district leaders had stayed to share a few more things. This was where I formally got the assignment of being the head district leader in the zone, which provides me with a few new responsibilities. In short, the assignment is not exactly a new level in mission hierarchy - the next step up here for elders in the zone is still the zone leaders and the assistants to the president. Pretty much, I am put there to work with the other district leaders in the zone to facilitate the work itself - see what can be improved upon, guide/train the elders in doing the work, etc. I am still learning things about this new calling, and seeing how I can fulfill it to the best of my abilities. I have a long way to go, but I think that I can do it.

Now, I think I told you about my assignment as St. Joseph's, and how I had been given another month of service there. Well, I had gotten there last Sunday, and I did much better over there than the last time I did this on a Fast Sunday (granted, I did prepare a bit better by eating some more the day before). I have said this before, but I quite enjoy serving there. I think this is partly because, rather than spending my Sunday morning completely idle, I am able to make myself useful in the service of other people. I find it a bit ironic, that there is more happiness to be gained out of service and hard work, than out of idleness. While there is nothing wrong with relaxing a bit every now and again, in excess, this can cause one to look back and feel like nothing has been done at all that day. That said, I do feel that a second month of doing this would be enough for me. But, I don't think that will happen - I think that the second month will happen, and someone else will be found to help out over there.

Well, it took a bit of trouble to get P-Day to be today, but here I am. However, our mission has young elder mission conference tomorrow; this means that everyone else who had a Wednesday P-Day rescheduled theirs to be on Tuesday for this week. Add this to everyone else in the mission who already had Tuesday for a P-Day, and things become a bit harder to pull off. For the first time in a while, I was not able to get a shopping van at 9:30 in the morning like I usually do; I instead had to get one a bit later. The same sort of thing happened with my laundry today. But, I was able to get everything together with what time I did have, and I think that everything went well there.

So, in summary, the week has been a bit tiring at parts, but it has been pretty good overall. Due to the new assignment, I don't think I will be getting transferred out of the zone any time soon. However, there are things to look forward to. President Fenn plans on taking us young elders out to a baseball game this Saturday, so I will be writing back n how that goes - I personally look forward to it! Anyway, I hope that everyone on the receiving end of these E-mails has a great week!


--
From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: With these challenges, I feel that they have not been so much of a challenge as a spiritual thought capped with a vague "be better" admonition; therefore, I will resolve to make these more of actual challenges than I have before. To that end, I would like to remind you of President Monson's final General Conference address he gave in mortality. It was short and simple, but it was profound. In words plain to the understanding, he reminded us of just how crucial a rock-solid testimony of the Book of Mormon is today. This is because a testimony of the Book of Mormon is the foundation of a testimony of the truthfulness of the restored church - President Monson stated: "If it is true ... then Joseph Smith was a prophet who saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Because the Book of Mormon is true, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s Church on the earth, and the holy priesthood of God has been restored for the benefit and blessing of His children." My challenge today is similar to President Monson's challenge. Try at least to read one chapter of this sacred book every single day. If there seems to be no time, please try and make time. Fit it into a break, or wake up a bit earlier; no price is too great to be able to fit in this scriptural reading. I would also challenge you to, when possible, study what is being shared in the Book of Mormon - what can we learn from the passages which the writers were inspired to share and preserve? If this type of extensive study is not possible, at least get in this chapter a day. Doing this will continue to strengthen your testimony on a daily basis, that it may not crumble along with the declining standards of the world around us. The world is perilous - a testimony of the Book of Mormon will be what saves us. The only way to get this testimony is to read the book.

For real this time

Hey everyone!


The leadership changes for the transfer are as follows: Elder Melling was released from district leadership, as he finished his mission; Elder Walton was also released. The new district leaders called were Elders Hancock, Peacock, Waechtler, and Yeoman (again). Elder Wolff was released from being a Young Elder Training Leader for finishing his mission; Elder Garfield took his place. Elder M. Snow also finished his mission, and thus is no longer an office elder; Elder Harris took his place there. Elder Jensen was released from being the young elder music coordinator; Elder Schetrompf was called to take his place (he was not warned of this prior to transfer conference).

Well, transfers have come and gone. Most has stayed the same for me, with a few notable exceptions. I am in the same zone (surprise, surprise), Elder Wright is still my companion, and I am still on Wednesday P-Day. However, I have moved apartments, and I am now living in a two-man apartment, which means that I will no longer be hosting new young elders. More importantly than this, however, is that Elder Garfield - the previous head district leader of the zone - got transferred out to become the new Young Elder Training Leader. This means that I am taking his place as the head district leader in the zone. I am pretty sure that this is for real this time, as no one else transferred into the zone with more experience with leadership or contact center work. So, because of a certain meeting which takes place every Wednesday, as well as my choir obligations, I will reschedule my P-Day to be on Tuesday instead. Therefore, that will be the day for you to expect my E-mail. Also, Elder Vandenhazel, who took my place as the head exercise coordinator, is now in my district, so he goes to me for advice in the program. So, I will be helping unofficially with that as well.

So, now that this is out of the way... I had gone to St. Joseph's again last Sunday. My companion was happy, as he presumed it to be our final time serving there. It was a bit bittersweet there. It is not the most convenient type of service, but it is still enjoyable for me. Who knows - perhaps, far off in my future, I could end up in such a place. I remember that each person in this type of place has likely led a rich, full life before ending up there. In short, each person there is just that - a person, with his or her own story, though it may not be readily apparent at first. Anyway, so I thought that I would no longer be serving there, but shortly before transfers, I got a message saying that I had been assigned to serve there another month. I am not disappointed with this at all - maybe a bit surprised, but I have no problem with this. However, my companion was not too happy with it - he even talked to President Fenn about it, to which President replied that if I were to be assigned again, then I should bring it up with him (which is the same conclusion that I came to). So, for now, I will be going down there for another month.

My companion broke his belt last Saturday, so we had an excuse for being able to go to Mr. Mac last Saturday. While there, I had convinced him to purchase a mission belt, like the one which I wear. It's a nice belt - I will still wear mine after my mission. It won't even wear out! While we were at Mr. Mac, however, I saw that there was a 10-dollar tie sale going on, so I browsed through some of the options. Me and my companion ended up getting two ties with similar designs, which ties normally went for 45 bucks. Ties, though they are at times expensive, are worth building a collection of. There is even a certain elder on the mission who is very willing to trade ties with people! I'm not sure I would trade any of my ties away though - I like them all too much.

Well, I can't say that there is a lot that happened this week, aside from transfer conference - the time for my E-mails is running a bit short anyway. But, I appreciate the support that I get form you all. I also appreciate when I hear from you - reading letters from home is a highlight of my P-Day! Anyway, have a good one everyone!


--
From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: The world in which we live is chaotic, no matter which part we take up residence in. To some, it may seem discouraging, and from a strictly worldly perspective, it is. As I have heard once regarding this mortal life, "Life is hard; then, one day, you die". This is true; life was never meant to be easy, and for all men, it ends with death. If this life was our only existence, then such existence would be truly depressing indeed. So, the question is, how can this be if "men are, that they might have joy," as described in 2 Nephi 2:25? I testify that this life is only a small part of such an existence, and how we perform here will determine how we will fare in the world to come. All this is why there is such joy associated with the gospel of Jesus Christ - it gives us peace in this life, knowing that one day, even if not in this life, things will get better for us if we come unto our Savior, as "your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:20). It gives us hope that we will be saved, and return to God's presence. On the other hand, such joy and peace cannot be found in sin and wickedness (see Alma 41:10). Perhaps the temptations of the world may offer what some may term to be happiness; however, such happiness is quite fleeting, and it will never be truly lasting. It is much like a mirage in the middle of the desert - you could chase it all day, but you will never quite achieve your goal. I bear witness that this peace can be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for God is a God of peace (see 2 Corinthians 13:11). So, my challenge for you is to find joy in Christ, the only source of lasting peace in this world. Draw closer unto him, and I promise that you will find more happiness, more joy, and more peace in this life, and salvation in the next.