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.

This is the place... for great barbecue!

This is the place... for great barbecue!

Hey, everyone!

So, first and foremost, the week in general has gone quite well! I feel like I have been productive with my work at zone, and I have been getting along well with both of my companions. Elder Rasmussen is not quite as quiet as Elder Cole, and he enjoys music as well. he has been fun to have around! Of course, I remember to not make Elder Cole a third wheel in the companionship. I know much what that is like, and so I try not to leave him out whenever I go about my business. So far, judging from my talking with him and observing him, I feel I have been successful at doing this. I guess this potential third-wheel effect is why companionships of three are so conscientiously avoided in the mission. But, we get along quite well; it's almost a shame to see it end at the end of the transfer. Nevertheless, the Lord knows best, and I will leave such things up to him.

As I had mentioned, I have been productive in doing things in zone. I was even able to pull together a meeting with the district leaders in the zone with our newest zone leader. It had been a while since we had even held such a meeting - this is partly because of the disconnect between parts of the zone. The young elders are in the Family History Library, and the rest of the Data Services zone is located in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building - in other words, there is an entire Temple Square between us. So, communication has been difficult; however, I have been making some moves to bring our zone leader in touch with the elders of the zone, and we were able to get a lot done in the meeting. Such a meeting will now be held every month so that we can all counsel together, and figure out how to best run the zone. I am happy to see this happen, and I can see much good coming of it!

Things have been cooling down here in Salt Lake City for a while, though recently they have warmed up a bit again. The weather is actually quite nice, just perfect for going out and doing some nice, hard work in! Coincidentally, the mission was scheduled to put on a service project this last Saturday at the This is the Place heritage park here in Salt Lake City! Essentially, the establishment wanted to make a new path with some monuments along the side; however, they first needed to clear out some brush along the area they were clearing up the trail. So, for them, it was either spend man-hours and money to dispatch some employees to take the time to clear it out, or recruit a group of about one-hundred young elders to volunteer for free their time to get much of the job done in an evening! So, that is how we spent half of our last Saturday, and as always, it was a great change of pace from sitting behind a computer screen two-stories underground - fresh air, physical labor, and another good cause are all good things to go out and take care of!After the project, we were all permitted to explore the park a little bit. Much of the place was a model of what the Salt Lake valley looked like in the late 1800s, when the community was still fresh and new. Of course, after all this was said and done, we all had a nice dinner, catered by a barbecue restaurant, Bam-Bam's Barbecue, based in Orem. And that barbecue was delicious - well worth a night's work! (I swear that they did not pay me to say that.)

I have continued to keep busy with singing with the Elijah Choir! I have actually been much better with attending rehearsals and performances which the choir puts on. I did even get to sing last Wednesday at senior mission conference, meaning I had a good excuse to attend that! Of course, all the young elders were required invited to attend that. Still, being able to participate in the choir is truly a blessing. I am required to wake up at 5:00 AM in the morning, but I don't care what other people may say about that schedule - it is definitely worth it! I feel that being in this choir, as you probably have already seen, has taught me self-discipline and how to keep a commitment. Though I still am not perfect, I am much better than I once was, and I continue to improve and learn - that's good enough for me!

Anyway, that is about all I have for my week. It's great to message you all like this, and it is great to hear how many people read this E-mail. I hope you all have a great week, and make the most of your time!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen (and yes, I did remove my automatic E-mail signature so that you wouldn't have to click on the dots at the bottom to read my challenge)



Challenge: One of the biggest frustrations for many people (myself included) is the imperfections in other people. We experience such issues on a daily basis - a driver will cut you off on your way to work, an acquaintance may make an offensive remark, or someone may lose their temper at you or a loved one which you did not feel was justified. Such experiences are simply due to the fact that "we live in a fallen world and for now we are a fallen people" (Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually, Jeffrey R. Holland, 2017); therefore, we cannot expect people to always perform perfect actions, for we all slip up sometimes. Very rarely is this ever done, as we sometimes assume, with malicious intent - most people are good people, trying their best to do the right thing in all places. I feel that this is the reason behind the Lord's commandment to us "to forgive all men" (D&C 64:10). So, how do we live up to this commandment? The first step to this would be to remember that each person who we come across is a spirit child of the same Being whom we also refer to as our own Heavenly Father, making them our spirit brothers and sisters. To put this in a bit of a different way, everyone who we come come across is like us in many ways - wanting the good, and striving to do better. So, remembering this can be done by giving others the benefit of the doubt, and assume good - or at least innocent - intentions behind their actions. For example, the person who cut you off may be a father desperately trying to keep a promise to make it to his son's basketball game, and therefore not being quite as attentive as he ought to be. When you think about it, this is a more likely reality than a simple disregard to the law and others around him. Of course, there may be a certain few people who really don't care. What is to be done then? Remember that "ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto [the Savior] with full purpose of heart" (3 Nephi 18:32). They may one day realize their mistakes, and regret whatever it is they had done that had offended you. But, even if this does not happen, remember the Old Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (see Daniel 3) - their obedience was not based on whether or not it would make a difference in this earthly life; they knew that their obedience to God's commandments would eventually make worlds worth of difference in the life to come. It is not easy to forgive and not judge in such a way - I personally struggle for it. Therefore, ask the Lord for help, for he will "give no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them" (1 Nephi 3:7). And as you forgive, so shall the Lord forgive you (see Matthew 2:7).

Tri and tri again

 

Hey, everyone! 

Well, it was a bit of an interesting week. After a bit of somewhat unexpected events coming up, one thing led to another, and I am now in a tri-companionship for the rest of the transfer. The newest companion, Elder Rasmussen, had been in my district for quite some time already, so he is not completely a stranger to us! His home is not far from mine - though he had lived in a few places over his lifetime, his current home is Brigham City, just a skip and a hop from home for me! I don't have any pictures currently on me, but I will get some sent out with next week's E-mail. (You'd thing that the grandson of professional photographers would be better about photographing his missionary experience, wouldn't you.)

So, this is my second time in the mission being in a tri-companionship. I did not suppose that it would be happening to me again during the course of my mission ever since the last time (some of you may remember Elders Lindsay and Reeves), but lo and behold - here I am. I am not mad or angry - as mentioned earlier, it has been nice having another person around the otherwise-quiet abode. However, this will only be lasting until the end of the transfer, at which I will end up again in a normal companionship. I may keep Elder Rasmussen or Elder Cole - I may even get yet another new companion. But, I guess that we will wait and see what the future holds in store for us. 

The zone work has been somewhat typical this week. I had been working to keep things in line. Sometimes, I have been successful; other times, I have not been quite so much. Some have concluded that, when calls are not coming in, then there is no work to be done. Therefore, when things are not coming in very quickly, they tend to get a bit bored, and talk amongst themselves. This in and of itself is no problem, when done with some level of moderation; however, at times, it goes past that point. I don't mean to sound negative about anyone else who serves with me in the zone; I love them all, and I want them to see what they are capable of, and accomplish much in doing the work of the Lord. I will say that I have learned an important lesson with serving in this mission; when it comes to work, there will always be something more to do - you just have to be willing to go out, find it, and get it done. This is especially important in the work of the Lord, and it is also important with any sort of job out in the market. I just hope to be able to teach this to the other missionaries with whom I serve. 

My pinkie finger has been healing up now! It has not entirely disappeared yet, but it no longer hurts, and I have been able to wash dishes and do other such activities which I had been needing to do for a while! Washing dishes will be more important to do than ever now though - having three people living in the apartment generates just that many extra dishes! (All my cooking still generates the bulk of the dishes though.)

That said, I will have more manpower to help me out with doing this, as well as with keeping the apartment clean - Elder Rasmussen is a clean freak very great at keeping the apartment clean, which will be very helpful in maintaining the place! I have been doing some to keep the place up - I am a ton better than I was when I had first joined up with the mission - but I still have much I could improve upon in this regard. So, I feel that it is a good cooperation - he helps to keep things clean, I help keep everyone fed, and Elder Cole does much to help out wherever he is needed! I understand why tri-companionships are avoided wherever possible, but in this case, I feel that we all do much to help out!

Well, that's about all I have for this week for you all! I do enjoy reading about life at home, so if you do have some time, I would enjoy hearing from you. Thanks for the support! I will see you all again next week!

--

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: One concept of the gospel of Jesus Christ which many people have some trouble with understanding is "grace". Now, what exactly is grace? I personally did not know much concerning it until recently, and I feel that it is an often misunderstood Gospel concept. This is because there are many who believe that we are in this life to learn how to repent so that we can be redeemed from sin; their belief is that the Atonement of Jesus Christ repays the debt to justice which, through our obedience, we were not able to repay ourselves. However, the infinite Atonement is not limited simply how much we can repay a debt; Christ's suffering delivered us entirely from this debt. After hearing this, one could understandably ask, "Then why does it matter so much how we live our lives if Christ already redeemed us?" This is because this life is not simply the time for man to repay debt to God; the scriptures teach that "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32). If a natural man were to meet God, he would want nothing more than to hide himself from His presence with whatever means possible (see Alma 12:14). To word this in a easier-to-understand way, let's say that a member of the Church were to enter into a bar; would he be comfortable to be there? And again, if a lifelong alcoholic were to listen to a sermon in which the speaker condemned such practices, would he want to stay? And so it will be with us and God on the day of judgment. If, throughout the course of our lives, we had done nothing to prepare ourselves to meet with our Heavenly Maker, we would be much happier to inherit a Terrestrial or a Telestial kingdom of glory than to endure His presence. And so it is with grace - it frees us from having to separate from God, and gifts us with a chance to prepare to return one day to His presence. I challenge you to use this wonderful gift to it's fullest extent. If you feel you keep falling down, understand that Christ has already taken away your burden - you aren't expected to be able to walk perfectly after having fallen down once. You may continue hitting the ground over and over again, but if you are able to take one or more steps than you previously were able to, then you are on the right path. The Lord will help you back up, and encourage you to keep going (see "Choose You This Day", Elder Renlund, October 2018). But please do not give up because of your failures - that is what Satan would have you do. Instead, resolve to improve, and then act upon that resolution! This is what life is all about - preparing, improving, and getting right back up after every time you fall down. One day, I promise that you will find yourself, though still imperfect, leaps and bounds above where once you were, and capable of the tasks you previously thought impossible!

The beginning of the end

Hey, everyone!

Well, general conference has come and gone once more, and I was able to watch and enjoy it all! My only regret regarding it is that my nicer pen had run out of ink the very night before the first session; therefore, I had taken all of my notes for the conference in red ink. But such notes are still of value. The announcements were quite interesting, I would say! First off, I do hope that nobody takes the Church schedule rearrangement as simply one less hour to be spent at church; such would be a wasted opportunity to be able to teach and learn more of the gospel in the home. But, I mostly hope that I am ready for the change. It does seem that the Lord is giving to the members of His Church more responsibility, with this schedule change and with ministering. I feel that though not everyone will make the most of all these changes, those who will do will find their lives more fully blessed by it! As for the announcement regarding temples - twelve new temples is astounding! And only two were within the United States as well! Also, the Salt Lake temple will apparently be closing down for an update soon - that means I should attend a bit more often before this happens... I am aware that this is my final general conference on the mission. I guess that, for elders who measure their progress on the mission by how many general conferences they have attended, I have arrived at the beginning of the end. I will be returning home in a day coming soon. However, I do not plan on slowing down quite yet. Then again, I have talked about this quite a while. All I will say is, the end looms on the horizon; therefore, I better make the most of it.

Aside from this, not a ton has happened this week. I will mention, however, that I did have a chance to perform a service project at a rest home called Wentworth at Coventry again. Some of you may recognize the name "Coventry"; this is because this is the same place I had done a service project at back during the beginning of the year! For those of you who do not remember this, allow me to explain; Wentworth at Coventry, (aka just "Coventry") is a senior care facility down in the southern part of Salt Lake City. What we do here is a bit different than the sacrament assistance we provide at other facilities; each week, the mission sends a group of young elders down here to put on a family history workshop, assisting the residents with using FamilySearch, and doing family history. However, this time was a bit different. First off, due to the relatively few people at this place who actually show up to the workshop, we only sent up a group of six elders. Also, one of the mission office elders, Elder Coleman, wasn't feeling too well, they had assigned me to be in charge of the project. So, I drove everyone up there, and we were able to do some good in helping the people up there with family history. We got to help them out with all sorts of issues - from issues with registering to use FamilySearch (my specialty, due to my time of having provided support over the phone for this same issue for over a year now) to helping people download and print PDF files. All in all, I feel that everything went quite well over there! I probably will not have a chance to come down and do this again, but I will say that it was good to be able to go and do this just once more.

I can't say that everything in this week was completely great, though. I was trying to wash some dishes on Sunday to empty the sink, when I had gotten to a glass which apparently had some cracks in it which I did not mention. The glass soon broke, and all but took my pinkie with it. Without getting too graphic with the details, all I will say is that it took a while for the situation to get fully under control. Fortunately, though bloody, the problem did not require a trip to the hospital as my companion had worried; I do still have a bandage on my pinkie from it though, which is making it a little bit more awkward to type.

Things at zone have been going pretty well. There is a certain type of work which has all but halted though, because the last elder in the zone who did this type of work had recently finished his mission. Part of the reason we had no one else is because we thought that the staff here may take on the job themselves, but I guess that it is us doing the work. So, I had been assigned, along with our staff supervisor, to organize some sort of training for doing this type of work. We will require the assistance of someone who actually knows what he is doing, so getting him to help us out may take some time, but I hope that everything goes well. We have been able to get some work done on it, as we have had an elder in the zone organize some training on how to do a part of the work; some have been spending time on getting this part of the work out of the way, preparing the associated cases for the next step of the process. So, things are going well here. I intend to get things moving along the best that I can.

Speaking of zone, we did finally have our meeting with President Fenn. There were no major changes announced here, though he did mention that he has some high hopes for the type of work that we could be doing in the zone. However, he also informed of us of some things which we could improve on before we are ready to take on such work. I wouldn't say this was a firey rebuke - President Fenn has rarely ever done this anyway. He did let us know where we could improve, how we could work more efficiently and stay more productive - in short, what could be done to do a little better. I feel that the meeting has done some good. Of course, making into habit the things which he talked to us about will take time and conscious effort, but I believe that we can get to such a point if we consciously make an effort to do so.

Well, that is about what all has happened in this week in my missionary life. I am open to any questions which you may have about my life as a missionary serving here; I would be more than happy to answer what may come in. Anyway, have a good week, everyone. I thank you again for all the support!



--
From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: There were some pretty major changes announced at conference this weekend. I feel one of the most major changes was that we will be shifting some of the learning which we do on Sunday to a home setting. I am in favor of such a change - not simply because of the fact that there will be less time spent at church, and more freedom with what can be done with this extra hour at home. I am reminded of Elder Holland's comment in the April conference earlier this year, when he was explaining the new Ministering program: "...with these adjustments we want more care and concern, not less." (See this talk here.) I am dead positive that the Church feels the same way about teaching in the home. As I had mentioned earlier in this E-mail, if we simply see this extra hour at home as an extra hour to spend doing our will rather than the Lord's, we will have wasted a glorious opportunity. Why does the Church care so much that we teach in the home? Isn't the home less formal, and more full of distractions? Also back in the April 2018 conference, Devin G. Durrant, in the Sunday School General Presidency, reminded us that many of the Savior's teachings were in such less formal situations (there is much more to study from this talk in regards to teaching in the home - see more here). It is also notable that, as mentioned earlier in this E-mail, it does seem that the Church does seem to be giving us more responsibility, with this as well as with ministering. Teaching in the home gives us a chance to show our faith. Such teaching will also increase family unity, as the entire family all learns about the Gospel together. The lessons will be much more personalized to the needs of the family - if, for example, no one in the family has a substance abuse problem, perhaps they do not need as much counseling on the Word of Wisdom as another commandment which someone may be struggling more with. Finally, the scriptures teach clearly that it should be parents teaching their children "to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; [they should] teach them to love one another, and to serve one another" (Mosiah 4:14-15). Who better to learn the plan of salvation from than a mother and father? I could probably come up with more explanations of the value of teaching in the home, but I feel what is put forth shows clearly the value of this sacred responsibility. Please don't take the prophet's words for granted; make the most of this opportunity, and find ways to effectively teach in the home, utilizing fully the "Come Follow Me" booklet which will be released. This will eventually prove to be one of the greatest blessings which the Lord has seen fit to bless His Church with; obeying such a commandment will open the windows of heaven, pouring out great blessings as previously stated.

The training train of trainees

Hey, everyone!

So, I feel that some of you are anxious to hear how transfers went. Well, the leadership changes may already be well-documented among those of you who actually know the people involved, but I will still document them here (you may skip this paragraph to go to the rest of my General) - as Elder Evans has left, Elder Clark has taken his place as an assistant; taking his place in the mission office training senior missionaries is Elder Walker. The office elders (excluding the assistants) are now in their own district; Elder Whiffen is the district leader here. The other new district leaders are Elder Show, Lane, Allison, Bartholomew, and Steele.

So, as I had implied in a previous email, I was to be given a new assignment this transfer. I have, for the fourth time since arriving on the mission, been assigned to be a trainer for one of the new young elders. I am currently companions with Elder Cole. He comes from San Antonio, but for the last year, he had been living in the Snowflake Arizona area. He quite enjoys writing, and he even has self-published a book on Amazon, which I think personally is pretty cool! He does seem to be taking quite well to the mission already - I have enjoyed the time which I have spent with him so far, and I think he will go on to do great things in the mission!

So, as for myself, I feel I have been doing well in the work at zone. Now, part of my assignment as the head district leader is to organize training for new young elders in the zone, and I have some work to do. The previous head district leader had made a lot of training presentations for young elders, and put them on a share database for them to access and use. I had recently been undertaking a project to use these training materials, and create a few more, and organize them into a first-week training program for new missionaries in the zone. I plan on getting the new young elders able to do some work as quick as possible, and then train them more comprehensively as the week goes on, so that by the end of the week they can handle much of the work which is thrown on at them; from there, they can self-train into some of the more specialize work that the zone does. I personally think this will be a good thing for the zone; if things go as I hope they will, the zone will have better training than it has had during the entire time that I have been here.  Here's to hoping that it all goes well!

I was able to go in to a coin store today! Now, in my shopping van this week was Elder Blanton, who (for those of you who don't know him) is an avid coin collector, and so he had gotten permission to visit a certain coin shop in the city. As I was driving him, I had also gone to this shop. We had spent a little longer than intended, but there was quite a bit in there which was of numismatical value! The coins ranged in value from a bin full of assorted coins worth 25 cents a piece, to rare artifacts worth thousands of dollars! Among the non-coin items on display in this store was a Kirtland Safety Society note, very cool for anyone with an interest in the history of the Church! Unfortunately, this was worth about $1,000 dollars (much more than it ended up being worth back in the day) - a bit beyond the range of money I felt comfortable spending! But, this aside, this was a cool little shop to check out! (Also, I was finally able to find an application of the word "numismatical"!)

Well, it is good to be able to E-mail you all again! Thanks so much for keeping in touch; I will do my best to not disappoint with my general E-mails. Have a good one!


--
From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: I had already recently given a challenge in relation to preparation for General Conference, so it would be a bit redundant to do so again. However, I do not regret challenging you to do this so far in advance; hearing the word of the Lord through His ordained servant deserves more than just a week's worth of preparation (perhaps this is why Fast Sunday is held on the Sunday before General Conference around this time of year). Such preparation is important in all aspects of our lives. In fact, at least part of the purpose of mortal life is "for men to prepare to meet God" (see Alma 34:32). It is important to do so for more than just spiritual things, however - the Church has been emphasizing emergency preparation for quite some time now. Why is this such an important doctrine? After revealing one of the more troubling signs of the time in a revelation to Joseph Smith - wars and rumors of wars - the Lord counseled that "if [we] are prepared [we] shall not fear" (D&C 38:29-30). That makes sense, doesn't it? Disasters are more tolerable when we are prepared to deal with them! In a spiritual context, it goes further than that. It has been said many times that faith is the opposite of fear; therefore, preparation helps us to take on the trials of mortality with faith rather than fear. So, prepare spiritually and temporally, for there will be both spiritual and temporal trials in the days ahead; without this preparedness, we will not have as much available in our reserves of spiritual strength as we could had we taken some time to prepare. You can prepare by listening closely to the words of the living prophet - they are the word of the Lord, teaching us how we will survive the challenges ahead of us. Pay attention at this General Conference, that you may have the knowledge required to press forward, and prepare for spiritual storms. As you prepare, then when such trials come up, you will find that you already have the resources necessary to deal with them, and though you will not be able to prepare fully for everything, you will find yourself strengthened to more fully take on the challenge ahead. Remember - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!