The End

Hey, everyone!

(Aren't y'all glad that I am actually sharing some pictures for once??)
So, this is the last general of my mission, it seems. AS I am typing this right now, I am actually not in Salt Lake City, but rather again in good ol' Woodruff, Utah. Just when I though things were warming up, I am now back home again, where there is still a good amount of snow on the ground, and it has not yet gotten warm enough to quite melt away. Oh well; though I will miss the mission somewhat, it is good to be back home.

So, now for happenings of the week... We had a nice mission conference last week, which I feel was quite fitting for the end of my mission. Of course, we have a conference with every transfer, but in my opinion, in this sort of thing, you can almost never get too much of the good word of God. I don't remember much of what was said, but I do remember that it was a good one.

I was actually assigned to teach a lesson for our Priesthood meeting last Sunday, which was very interesting in some ways. Now, in the meeting was actually a group of people, mostly youth, from Arizona who were not members of the Church. Of course, I was not aware of this at the time, so I gave my lesson as mostly normal. During the lesson, I got a question from one of the visitors which did not have much to do with the material covered in the lesson, and in hindsight may have been an attempt to get me to trip up. Looking back, I don't quite know how or why I answered how I did, but it was probably the best way the question could have been answered; President McKnight of the mission presidency, who was there, was quite impressed by it. At the end of the lesson, one of the people in the group had come up to me, thanking me for a good lesson! I am happy to have been able to take part in sharing the light of this Gospel to some of those who are not of our faith, and teach them some of what we believe!

For my second to last day (which was my last day with my assigned companion, Elder Showgren), we had some extra time after our district meeting, which he and I used to have ourselves a nice last dinner together at the Lion House Pantry restaurant. I had a bit of extra money left on my mission funds card, so I had myself a nice steak dinner. They really do a good job with the food they make there! After this, we spent some time up at the North Visitor's Center, mostly at the Christus statue on the upper level. It was a nice little visit up there, and a good way to kind of say goodbye to Temple Square.

The next day was spent mostly with Elder Hauswirth, who had come in to the mission at the same time as me and would be leaving at the same time as well. The day began with an exit interview with President and Sister Fenn, who gave us some parting words of advice for us on how to go about the rest of our lives. A while after this, l we had a luncheon with the mission presidency, their wives, and the young elder coordinators. The meal was nice; the advice from them all was priceless. A lot of the day for me was spent packing up, trying my hardest to make sure that I forgot absolutely nothing. And so, after it all, our next destination was our final transfer conference of the mission. There was much to be said by President Fenn; this too was a great message regarding the symbolism of both the Brazen Serpent of the Old Testament, and the Liahona of the Book of Mormon, and some likenesses of these which can be had in our lives to look to for life, and for giving us guidance in our wildernesses. And then, the transfers were presented. I don't remember much, and details are probably documented in other E-mails sent home, though I would like to make comments on some notable changes. Elder Showgren, my companion, has now taken my place as a district leader in the zone, which change I am honestly not too surprised to see. Elder Bastian, who I had trained last September/October, has now become a trainer himself, which is pretty neat!

Now, for the reunification with the family. It was quite emotional for all of us, to be reunited with the family which I had not seen for two years (except for Dad, who I kind of ran into that one time, though that doesn't exactly count)! There were hugs all around, and some log-awaited hello's! And then, it was time to say goodbye to the other missionaries with whom I had served so long. It was quite bittersweet for us all; I will miss them, but also keep in touch with them. After meeting up again with my family, we all went out to dinner at a restaurant known as The Roof, which is on the top floor of the JSMB (They get no prize for name creativity). The dinner there was spectacular! Everything was delicious, and we had a great view of the Salt Lake Temple right outside the window! Coincidentally, the mission president for the Temple Square mission was also nearby, eating a dinner with some of his missionaries. After this, of course, we took our truck over to the Garden Apartments so I could enter for the last time to grab my belongings, take them out to the car, run back hurriedly after remembering that I forgot to return my key, and return so we could go back home!

Well, there you have it - the story of my mission, one weekly E-mail at a time. Thanks to everyone for the continued support while I have been out in Salt Lake City. The past two years have been years of hard work, but also great improvement - I am much greater than I was before, and serving just might have been the best decision that I have ever made. So, I will look ahead to make sure that, though the past two years have been my best two years, the next two will be even better! Thanks again, and have a great day!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Rather than a challenge for this E-mail, I feel it proper to give a testimony, which testimony was grown and strengthened while on the mission. There is a God, and He reigns supreme over this Earth and over the universe. However, He loves each of us individually, as we are all His children; He loves us so much, that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) that He may suffer more than a man can suffer, save it be unto death (Mosiah 3:7) that He could satisfy the demands of justice, and open up a path for us, who have all sinned, to repent of such sin and return unto God. His literal Resurrection also has burst the bands of physical death, allowing us to one day be resurrected ourselves into glorified, perfected bodies, perfect in substance and in mind. This all I know to be true; I know also that for this day and age, the Gospel has been restored again, through God's prophet, Joseph Smith; through him, God had brought forth to us a marvelous work and a wonder (2 Nephi 27:26) which is now before the world as the Book of Mormon, God's instrument in bringing people unto a knowledge of their redeemer for this day. As a necessary part of the restoration of all things, Joseph Smith also had restored the holy priesthood of God, which priesthood was had in the days of old, and was held by Abraham, Moses, and all other of God's ordained servants in times of old. This priesthood has remained on the earth until this day, where we are led now by a living prophet, who speaks for God (see D&C 1:38) to prepare the world for the second coming of the very Son of Man himself. This all I know to be true; I know it is true, for this witness has been born unto me by the very Holy Ghost himself (see Moroni 10:5). What a blessing it is, to have the Gospel on the earth again, as in times of old, and to have this knowledge restored to Earth once more!