Board Week -- 27 May 2013

No way. This transfer is almost over.

We worked hard this week. The area is struggling to be alive, but, I can feel something coming. A lot of something coming. Something wonderful.

The one experience that I really want to hit on happened early in the week. We had a lesson cancel on us, but we got a call shortly after the cancellation from the sister missionaries asking us if we were available "right now" to give a priesthood blessing. Well, of course we were, our appointment had just canceled. We rushed over, and met someone named M (and a few others, don't worry). She was feeling distanced from God, she felt He was very far away and she didn't know if He was really there. So, we took the opportunity to teach her about Henry B. Eyring's talk from October 2012

"In the depths of his anguish in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out: “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”¹ Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done,”² create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time.

"Our feelings of separation from God will diminish as we become more childlike before Him. That is not easy in a world where the opinions of other human beings can have such an effect on our motives. But it will help us recognize this truth: God is close to us and aware of us and never hides from His faithful children."

We in essence taught her these things, testified of truth and then gave her a blessing. When you give a priesthood blessing by the spirit, it feels like you are just watching it happen, and someone else is really doing the talking. You feel such incredible love for the one you are helping and your soul burns with the power of the spirit. Tears were flowing from my eyes and from hers as the blessing concluded and I knew that the Lord had touched her. Shortly after, we left. And she committed to come to church. I don't know if she did, but it is undeniable that the Lord touched her.

The priesthood is powerful. It is real. I know it works. I have felt it. Tad R. Callister related the following story in the April 2013 General Conference:

"In 1878 my great-grandfather George F. Richards was 17 years of age. As was sometimes the case in those days, he had already been ordained an elder. One Sunday his mother was groaning in intense pain. As his father was not available, the bishop and several others were invited to give her a blessing, but no relief came. Accordingly, she turned to her son George and asked him to lay hands on her head. He wrote in his diary, “In the midst of my tears for my mother’s suffering and the task of performing an administration such as I had never yet done, I retired to another room where I wept and prayed.”

"When he became composed, he laid his hands on her and gave her a very simple blessing. He later noted, “My mother ceased her groaning and received relief from her suffering while my hands were yet on her head.” He then recorded in his diary this most insightful observation. He said he had always felt that the reason his mother did not get relief from the bishop’s blessing was not because the Lord failed to honor the bishop’s blessing but because the Lord had reserved this blessing for a boy, to teach him a lesson that the priesthood in the boy is just as powerful as the priesthood in the man when exercised in righteousness."

Priesthood power is real, and it will work for all who live righteously and seek to magnify it. 

I know this Gospel is true. I love you all so much. Have an amazing week.

Peace, love and temple marriage. In that order.

Elder Taylor J. Hill

The LIght and Power of God -- 27 May 2013

You may remember my friend from work. Well, I shot her an email this week, and got this back:

"We went through the temple May 4^th. We took out our endowments and are going to be sealed on our 1 yr anniversary! It is amazing! I know you say we helped you grow but I don’t think you will ever understand the influence you had on me. You are one amazing person. I have missed my friend that truly cared about me. The day I set our dates for the temple I thought, Man, I wish Taylor was here. I played out the whole story in my head with your reaction and all.  It made me smile! That is why I was thinking of you. I was wanting to share my incredible news. Share it with the person that helped me through some of my darkest days. I am crying just thinking about it."

I know you know this, but this is why we do what we do. This is where it all comes together as the Lord takes us through His home and lifts us to Him. They will be sealed in September. I could not be more excited. I am so grateful for a merciful God who has blessed me to be a part of this miracle.

I love you so much, Mom and Dad, thank you for teaching me all I know and for being there when I've needed you.

Your Son,

Elder (:))Taylor J. Hill

A Fast One Full of Miracles -- 21 May 2013

This week we went to trainer's training where I was retrained on how to be a trainer(go figure). Before the meeting I was talking with the Assistants to the President about my area. They know basically everything that has gone on in the area for the past while, and have a special interest in it (I think they're trying to split it, like they did in Medicine Hat, only 3 different ways). I expressed my concerns about not yet being able to find any new investigators, and they offered some very helpful advice.

Just so you know, Elder D from West Jordan is one of the AP's out here. He's a boss.

Specifically, they advised me to be giving very specific prayers for miracles and to be able to find people to teach and baptize.

So, that night when we got home, we prayed as a companionship that we could find a new investigator to baptize, that we would see miracles, and that we would recognize them when they came.

So, the next day we were walking down the street, praying in my mind in preparation to contact someone walking toward us, when he yelled, "ELDERS! It seems like any time I get to a certain point in my life, you always seem to show up!" :D Well, go figure. He invited us to his home where we learned that he was a less-active member who had had a lot of struggles, but who really was looking for some guidance in his life. We invited him to church and taught him a little more about Christ. I hope things will continue to progress with him.

That night, we made a few phone calls to set up some lessons in Diamond Valley with some members. We set one up after making several phone calls, and decided we should stop there. The next day, at church the member that we had set the lesson with told us that they would have a non-member in their home who was ready for the Gospel.

So we went. The Spirit was there, and He agreed to baptism. :D

Miracles.

And thus we see that as we plead with the Lord for help in all that we do, He will answer our prayers. He Loves us, and He wants us to succeed.

I love you all very much!

Have a wonderful week.

The Miracle of Member Missionaries -- 13 May 2013

Hey Everyone!

My story from yesterday is the following:

So, there is a young man in our ward who is leaving for the MTC on Wednesday. He will be going to the Canada, Vancouver mission (sounds like I'm going to need to make a trip to Vancouver... and tour the rest of Canada someday). His family invited us over for supper at their place so we could say, "Goodbye!"

After supper, we asked if we could gather everyone together to share a brief message. (there was a non-member there) They agreed and we taught about the purpose of the Atonement, why people serve missions, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and why we should all be sharing the Gospel with those we love. Elder Burrows is a rock of a man, and he bore beautiful testimony of his knowledge of the truthfulness of this Gospel. It was such a sweet moment. We had soon-to-be-Elder-Smith bare his testimony as well. In short it was a spiritually guided 20 minute message, that was absolutely beautiful.

But what would the ice cream be without the cherry on top? ;)

We asked if anyone knew someone who needed this message in their lives. (For those of you who aren't missionaries, you know that usually this question is usually answered with something like, "My next door neighbor." or "I don't know any non-members." or "Nobody right now, but I'll let you know if I ever do.")(p.s. the way to escape those answers is to ask if they have any non-members on facebook, committing them to invite their neighbor over for dinner, or asking them if they are currently home teaching anyone who needs help---- a few other things have helped, but those are the ones that do the best for me.)

There was a teenager who spoke up and said she knew someone who she had had a random conversation with about the Gospel, and who still had a lot more questions. We committed her to invite them to meet with us. Then the soon-to-be missionary spoke up and said he knew someone, then his mom spoke up with several someones, and then her sister added someone else!!!!!! Referrals to the max and more! It was incredible to see a family that was willing to share this beautiful message.

6 Wherefore, ^aredemption cometh in and through the ^bHoly ^cMessiah; for he is full of ^dgrace and truth.

 7 Behold, he offereth himself a ^asacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto ^bnone else can the ^cends of the law be answered.

 8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, ^asave it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who ^blayeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the ^cresurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

One word? WHITCHICKABAM

And it gets better. I got to talk to my family yesterday. I saw Willis, my mom and dad, my brother, my sisters, and a few of my cousins. :D it was exactly what I needed.

We taught a couple members yesterday as well, still no investigators to report, but I've come away this week with a lot of good finding ideas that we are going to put to the test. :D

I love you all so much, thank you for your love and support. I hope to keep hearing from all of you!

Rock on. Peace, love, and temple marriage. In that order.

Elder Taylor J. Hill

6 May 2013

The truth is we saw a lot of miracles this week.

Nothing ever happened the way we anticipated. Nothing ever does.

The Lord has been working us hard, and teaching us good lessons.

As we have tried to find, and teach, and fellowship, and gain the trust of the members, we have seen success. No new investigators to report, but the tender mercies of the Lord are still there.

We went by someone named Linda who is a less active member of the ward. She was baptized about three years ago and she doesn't come to church mostly because she doesn't understand why it's important. So, we shared lesson one with her again with a focus on "revelation through church attendance" and, guess what. She came. :D Miracle.

We are purging into Okotoks, which basically means we are in an area where we are building the foundation, because it crumbled beneath the last missionaries. No information in any of the area books that is currently valid, the members don't trust us, and we are covering 3 areas. Challenge accepted. We certainly need all the help we can get from the Lord, but I'm not about to let Him down.

We are busying ourselves with working with the members and less-actives. We try to help the members do missionary work on their own. It's difficult to find meaningful things to do other than member and less-active work, but we just need to do what the Lord needs us to do.

My new comp is sweet! Training this time around is so sweet. I feel like I understand what is going on, but that doesn't mean it's free of challenges. The difference this time, I suppose, is that I have more faith to complete them. Also, he reminds me a lot of Logan, which is great because we get along and talk and laugh and he listens and wants to do what is right in the right way (the Lord's way). He is humble, kind, funny, smart, and a great friend. He wants our family to move up to Eden, Utah so we can hang out more, I told him we're looking at Daybreak and Herriman, to which he responded, "Well, I guess it's cool to be right next to a temple...." :D What a boss. I have been so blessed this transfer so far. But, as we know, with blessings comes opposition. Beelzebub has been working on my heart as well, it's taken a lot of faith, courage, and extension to make it through... but, through Christ, all things are possible. I've learned that lesson over and over and over again. I don't know why I forget so much :D I guess I'm just imperfect and prideful, but I am trying, mom. I am giving it my best. Sometimes I falter or fail completely, but I am still fighting.

This transfer we are going to bring 3 people unto Christ. I don't know how, yet. I also don't know who, but if it is the will of the Lord, we will.
The gospel is true. I love you all so much.

Rock on. Peace. Love. And Temple Marriage.

In that order.

Elder Taylor Hill

My New Boy -- 25 April 2013

Well, it's only been  three months since I've written a letter like this one, but here we are again; training.

My boy's name is Elder Taylor (get that, eh? Named 'im aftah 'is fathah) B. Elder B for regular. He's the man. He's really quiet, but he's slowly speaking up. He really really wants to do the right thing and has a moral compass that points directly North. Complete boss.

In the meantime, I am still district leader, however I have been transferred to an area known as "Okotoks." We are purging out the last Elders, meaning we know nothing at all about the area. However, so far the ward has reached out to us directly, and we've walked into a couple of investigators. We are covering three wards, Cimmaron, Sheep River, and Black Diamond (sounds like Pokemon names, I know, but trust me, there are no Pokemon here, but there are a lot of deer).

We have housing inspections tomorrow, which is a total gong show (Canadian for "This is crazy.") because when we got here our pad looked like a terrorist attack (maybe I shouldn't be saying that with everything that's happened lately....). There was garbage everywhere, the washroom had yellow streaking everywhere (don't ask me why, or how, but I mean EVERYWHERE) and it took us 4 hours to get it cleaned up and looking like it might pass inspections.

Guess what, my trainer is going home in two transfers. Guess what else? I'll be a year in two transfers! How in earth did that happen? I was just telling Elder B how quickly time flies on the mission, but I'm not sure I fully believed it myself.

Well, it's time to go and work. I love you!

Rock on, peace, love, and temple marriage. In that order.

Elder Taylor Hill

The Miracle of a Mission -- 29 April 2013

I'm learning all kinds of great things from my mission as you already know. Let me tell you just a little about my current situation.

I am training again. We are purging (or white washing) our area. Purging is great because you learn so much, it gives you a unique perspective on the basic foundation on which effective work must be built.

 In a lot of ways, we learn a lot of foundational principles as we serve missions. Elder Holland teaches this in a talk he gave at the MTC in 2000 entitled "Missionary Work and the Atonement."

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/03/missionary-work-and-the-atonement?lang=eng

He teaches the importance of having difficult experiences, and why those kinds of things happen. He really puts it all in to perspective:

"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” ¹⁶ then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I testify that the living God is our Eternal Father and that Jesus Christ is His living and Only Begotten Son in the flesh. I testify that this Jesus, who was slain and hanged on a tree, ¹⁷ was the chief Apostle then and is the chief Apostle now, the Great High Priest, the chief cornerstone of His Church in this last and greatest of all dispensations. I testify that He lives, that the whole triumph of the gospel is that He lives, and because He does, so will we."

Anyway, this week I have learned the importance of involving the Lord in all of our decisions. We are purging into an area that does not have any work left from the previous missionaries. so we needed to get a good start. So we studied and prayed, and decided that the best beginning was working with the members. So, we called our WML and got all kinds of different lists that we requested and began to pray over who was ready. Because of that, we have gotten in so much contact and set up many many appointments. We hope that this will yield much fruit, but because we were led by the Lord, I'm sure that He will provide.

I love you all, have a wonderful week.

Rock on. Peace, love, and temple marriage. In that order.

Elder Hill