This Week I Actually Considered What I Would Say -- 29 October 2012

Okay, let's start with Saturday... Nah, Monday.

Once Upon a Time -  being monday while I was reading my Email, I ran accross a certain letter that dealt with very spcific and special interest. Elder M. Russell Ballard would be coming to our mission and giving us a special training on Saturday (you can already see how all of this relates...). We were told to keep it quiet until he was actually out of Calgary, because we don't want the entire Mormon world following the prophets.... you know what I mean. My first thought was probably along the lines of "WHITCHICKABAM," but you could also say, "Wow, this will be a very special and sacred experience." Anyway

Following said Magnificient news the rest of the week seemed to sail by. We have taught a lot of members this week, we picked up a new investigator and dropped an old one. We received terrible news regarding an investigator on date for baptism ( I don't wan to talk about it...). I went on splits with the Spanish missionaries (I would like to proudly proclaim that I can actually catch most of what they say.I still had to bear my testimony in English, but I was on topic and was even able to share a scripture from the spanish BOM... yeah... I was feeling pretty good about that, it's pretty great what God does for missionaries, eh?) We taught the Beeza's again, and they are just sailing through the lessons, I don't think anyone really understands how ready they are for the fullness of the gospel. Some day.... grr.

Oh! I bumped into a friend of Momma Plouzek's serving here in the mission (shocking!). I love Momma Plouzek... It's a shame I don't have her address (help?!).

All of that bringing us to Saturday. We were told that we were not allowed to leave our apartments any later than 9:15. We had a few Elders staying in our apartment (because it's pretty spacious) and they carpooled with us to the Chapel. We got there and learned that their (Elder Ballard's and the seventies [Craig C. Christensen and .... Elder Walker whose first name I can't quite remember...]) (I just realized I do this :"..." a lot. Sorry.) flight had arrived early, and it's a good thing we had left at 9:15 because if we had been late, it wouldn't have been good.

So, we were all nervous that we were about to be rebuked by an apostle of the Lord, but as he entered the room there was a definite spirit of peace that filled the hearts of almost 200 missionaries. He joked with us for a few minutes, and taught us about how to be more effective missionaries. He taught us about what it meant to be a representative of Jesus Christ and---not surprisingly---he answered all of my concerns and questions that I had brought with me before he even opened it up for open discussion. At which point, he taught us about keeping the faith, the importance of "greenie fire" and how to renew our faith that the Lord would provide for us (even when there is a lot of snow).

It was sweet, maybe when I get home you can read my notes, because it was a gift from God. Speaking of which, journal writing at night helps you sleep better. True story. I discovered this through personal experience.

So, on top of all of that, the dedication for the Calgary Temple was yesterday. It started 30 minutes late because (this is a direct quote) Salt Lake told us, "President will start when He's ready to start." Hahahahahahaha the Elders just about died in their chairs of laughter as we heard the attitude from our stake president. What a man. Anyway; we watched the gongshow of sealing the cornerstone (President Monson was just telling joke after joke after joke, he talked about being slapped by an old woman and made the sound effect, he invited dozens of children to participate he fooled around with Elder Ballard) and then listened to the simple loving doctrine that the temple presidency had to share, along with the words of Elder Ballard (again) and President Monson. (President Monson talked about speaking at hundreds of funerals, and the power of temple work, it was amazing)

It was a beautiful experience marred only by the fact that we were not able to leave between sessions to get food or water... for complex reasons.  So, we were fasting without expecting it, which left every 19, 20, &21 year old a little grumpy.... a lot grumpy. My companion (who has IBS) was particularly frustrated by the news, so by 7 PM when we were able to eat he had basically given up on life. It was a mess as he ranted and raved about how nothing ever goes his way. I sat quietly and listened, pretending to be concerned by his outburst of pent up frustration and kept my mouth completely shut, patiently waiting for the food to come. Fortuantely, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so, when we ate, he was much happier, but said, "I've thrown my spirituality out the window for the night, I'm done." So, I talked him out to the car, and we made some stop-bys for the last hour of the day, just following the plans we had made the night before. It was a sweet experience as I watched him really kick it into gear at our last stop by. We got home a little late because we had an unexpected lesson (total gift) and he thanked me for taking the lead and being patient. Which brings me to point number one for the day: Patience will get you so much further than being quick to anger. You will experience the gospel in greater abundance and you will come to see greater blessings from the Lord as you roll with it. :D That's what I learned yesterday. Just be patient.

This is where it gets good, thank you for reading this far.

Also, I heard two really sweet thoughts: 1. President Monson once (apparently) said: "95% of happiness in life will be based on 3 decisions: Who you marry, When you marry, & Where you marry." I just wanted to send out a shout to my parents who did it right. They married the person the Lord told them to, who they also loved (don't forget that love conquers all). They married after my dad's mission in the amount of time which was decided (by God... I think, I don't know that part of the story). They married in the Temple. Eternally. Boom. My parents are amazing and I love them.

2. At the temple open house, the patrons had an opportunity to fill out a comment card. One of the cards was filled out by a six year old boy who said the following: "When I was in that white room, I felt like I loved something." This is probably, maybe, most likely... definitely the sweetest mercy I've ever included in any letter I will probably ever write.. I challenge you to read that strikingly divine statement again and consider the following: The Lord gave us two great commandments; "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart might mind and strength, and the second is like unto it; love thy neighbor as thyself." You know, I'll let you work this one out on your own, I'll just list a few more scriptures. "16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the ^acondescension of God? 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."

"When I was in that white room, I felt like I loved something."

I'll just end it here with my testimony. For the past few months, I have been blessed to represent Jesus Christ and enjoy the blessings of the "white room" in one of the---if not the most focused way imaginable. While I have been here, I have, like that boy, felt always like "I loved something." Someone. I know Jesus Christ loves all men. I know that God, our Father, loves his Children, and that we are capable of doing the infinately unimaginable: loving "something" more than we love ourselves. I love this Gospel. I love My God. I love my Savior. I love my Family. I love the special gift of this life. I love the people of Canada. I love President Monson. I love my mission. I pray that someday I will be worthy of the simple, sweet love which has been shown me throughout my entire life. I know that my Redeemer lives. I promise that as you make the temple the ultimate priority in your life, you will always feel like you love something. You will be blessed with a special something. A special someone. A special Faith. A special Life.

I love you all so much. Thank you for your support, your love, and your examples. Have a wonderful week.

Love,

Elder Taylor J. Hill

p.s. maybe someday I'll be grown up enough to just be able to see it all that sweet. I love you.

I Really Ought to Start Considering What I Will Say Before I Sit Down -- 22 October 2012

Hello all,

Well... I'll start with something hilarious that happened. As you know by now.... hopefully... the Spanish missionaries live in the same apartment building as we do. This has made for some good times and a few great moments. One of these great moments occurred at the beginning of the week when Elder Holderness (Spanish missionary) snuck up to passenger window where Elder Church was seated. We had been recording clicks (kilometers), and Elder Church didn't notice the Elder right next to his window, giving him a terrifying look. Laying hold upon my opportunity to get a good laugh out of it, I twisted my face and pointed out the window. Elder Church looked up, looked at my face, my finger, and then out the window. With a girlish scream he jumped, hit his head on the roof of the car, and punched the glass in an effort to slam his would-be-attacker.

Elder Holderness and I just about died of laughter.

Later in the week, we stopped at the church to make copies, but first we used the washroom. As Elder Church went to exit, there was Elder Holderness, and with another girlish scream he jumped, and swung... CRACK. He popped Elder Holderness right on the kisser with all of his might. Elder Holdernesses lip was instantly swollen and bleeding. Hilarious! I can just picture my mother saying, "It serves him right!"

Anyway, following the Fiasco of the Fat Lip, we had interviews with our mission president, President Nicholas. He's an amazing man. Before we went in, he had us fill out a survey which was meant to help us check our own progress.... I filled it out as honestly as I could (and in true Taylor fashion was maybe a little too hard on myself). We went over my numbers and, President Nicholas, having the gift of discernment, decided quickly that I was too hard on myself..... I was a little frustrated, but he gave me some advice that has really helped.  I get a little teased because of my "greenie-fire" and desire to give nothing but my best. I don't really see a problem with it. I guess everone is just concerned that those who push themselves too hard and expect a lot out of themselves, are often disappointed. No worries, I expect some hard times, but I also expect to be better than average. I don't want to settle for any less than my best, because I really REALLY love what I am doing and would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't. So, there will be some change in my attitude and certainly in my numbers, but I won't stop working hard and pushing myself.

We had a very nice  lesson with Mike and Mary the other day. It wasn't a "thrown down" in classic "Taylor" fashion, but spiritually, we needed to make sure the spirit testified to them more strongly than it ever had before, because we needed them to start progressing, or we needed to drop them (I really loathe the idea of dropping them.... Mike is sooooooo ready. We just need to get Mary on board.....). So, we prepared a lesson with a single purpose: to testify to them without any room for doubt or defiance that The Book of Mormon was the word of God. So, how was this accomplished? Elder Holland, of course. When in doubt, call the general authorities. Check this oot: http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages?lang=eng&id=2010-03-08-testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon#2010-03-08-testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon

Then, we turn to the Book. Alma 32. Boom.

Then, we testify.

And, it completely changed their perspecitve. As a result, they told us they want to be baptized. We told them to pray about a date and gave them specific reading assignments. (Alma 32 and Moroni 7... we might call and also give them 2 Nephi 31 [by the by, you should familiarize yourself with each of those chapters]). I hope that as our coming appointments appraoch that they will have submitted themselves to the will of God. They need it more than they know.... Whew..... Good stuff.

I love you all very much. Alma 32:26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

Before I finish that thought, look here : http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages?lang=eng&id=2012-01-003-waiting-on-our-road-to-damascus#2012-01-003-waiting-on-our-road-to-damascus

Okay: Faith is not a perfect knowledge, because without faith, our belief is almost purposeless. As we continue to study Alma 32 it explains that as you exercise faith in one thing....: 34 And now, behold, is your ^aknowledge ^bperfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your ^cfaith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your ^dmind doth begin to expand.

Obtaining a KNOWLEDGE of specific aspects of the Gospel is ESSENTIAL. We must always be working to exercise our faith in the Lord so that we can come to a knowledge of His existence, so that we can reach the point when our faith is strong enough to withstand the "scorching of the sun." But we must never forget that faith is an ACTION, "faith, if it is without works, is dead." What is the point of having faith if we don't use it? "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye ^bhope for things which are ^cnot seen, which are true."  "Now ^afaith is the ^bsubstance of things ^choped for, the ^devidence of things not seen." Faith is the guiding light that leads you to hope in all good things, which drives you into meekness and into humility (check out the first definition to "meek" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it's sweet), it also moves you to charity, which is the pure love of Christ, by which all things are possible.

Breathe, Elder Hill, breathe.... I just get so excited.

The point: ACT on your faith. Believe in God, believe that He is.... and do something about it. Show Him your faith,and I promise and testify that He will show you HIs love. For a missionary, faith is often believing that something good will come of a day of tracting, or that the Lord will touch an investigator, or that the bishop will actually TRY to help you, or simply that the Lord will overcome your weaknesses in order to bring to pass his righteous purposes. For regular Joes: Faith is having the guts to stand up for your religion, believing enough to read your scriptures before you go to bed, to put aside some time to prepare a talk or do some service, or simply to pray every morning and night.

I love you :D I know that the Lord is watching out for you. You are in my prayers :D Have a sweet week.

Strange Week -- 15 October 2012

This week I've been pretty sick. Seriously. It's been ugly... but, nevertheless, the work goes on. Just because a mother is sick, doesn't mean she stops caring, eh?

So, M and M: We went by their place a few times this week (once they fed us dinner, they're amazing) and we taught them. Or we tried. Whenever we bring up the Book of Mormon, M seems to try simply to look for the imperfections in the book. So, we discussed the importance of faith and looking for the good things instead of searching for the imperfections. Elder C was pretty angry with me after that particular lesson, because I answered a lot of their questions, and didn't really give him the chance..... I'm an idiot. So, I am still learning about teaching in unity and trying to address their concerns. But, we had a nice comp study about it and we will get on top of it. I'm still really hopeful for them because they recognize a change, and once we focus them on how they feel instead of what they think, they will be able to see the miracles.

The Ms.... Baptism this Saturday.... maybe.... hopefully.... She's waiting because she wants her brother to do the baptism. They just need an interview.... So stinking close.... but everyone is on board.

Other than that things have been pretty slow this week, but I've been learning a lot.

I don't really know what else to say.

This morning I was reading in Mosiah 4:

19 For behold, are we not all ^abeggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a ^aremission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his ^bSpirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with ^cjoy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.

Oh! I've got it.... 2 Nephi 6: 17 But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; ^afor the ^bMighty God shall ^cdeliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contendeth with thee—

There are some days when we feel captive; when we are harrowed up by our sins and we become beggars to the Lord, God for our own salvation. Unfortuanately, these days are not few and also unfortuantely, our begging is not always due to our own sins. This week in Canada there was a young woman who killed herself because of bullies at school. She had to switch schools many times in order to get away, until it turned into too much, so, she ended her life.

When I was a jr. in high school, I was up late doing homework (hard to believe, but it's true) when I felt I needed to call a dear friend of mine. I called and she answered in tears. She had taken a knife to her stomach and was bleeding badly. She was in the pit of dispair. I can't remember exactly what it is that she said or even what I said, but somewhere in the course of that conversation I (rather, someone through me, I'm sure) convinced her to drive herself to the ER where she received medical treatment (obviously I won't say a name, and obviously this is a story I don't share lightly).  After she graduated, she kinda disappeared off the face of the earth, until about a year and a half later when I bumped into her whilst on a lunch break at work. She was engaged to a good man and had made a complete turn around, she was an institue graduate and was only a year away from getting her bachelors in some form of medical study that I can't remember.

She had changed.

It was beautiful to see.

Regarding repentance, Preach My Gospel states the following:

As we repent, our view of ourselves and the world changes. As we change, we recognize that we are children of God and that we need not continue making the same mistakes over and over... Thus, as we repent daily, we will find that our lives will change and improve. Our hearts and our behavior will become more Christlike. We will come to feel great joy in repenting daily.

So, Elder Hill, what does all of this have to do with Mosiah, 2 Nephi, and your friend? Well, calm down, and I'll tell you.

There are certainly days when we seem to feel theneed to beg for our lives. We are brought to our knees before our Divine Creator and we hope simply that we will be able to be delivered from the pain and/or sin which binds us. This is something that every person experiences, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, age, sex, family situation, etc. We are all beggars, and He is the ultimate benefactor. He will not see us drop silently into the night. He will "pour out his Spirit upon [us], and [will] cause that [our] hearts will be filled with joy, and [will] cause that [our] mouths [will] be stopped that [we] [will] not find utterance, soo exceedingly great [will be] [our] joy." He promises that the "prey of the terrible shall be delivered..." The Lord will not suffer us to be comfortless if we will simple turn to Him. I suppose begging for our lives makes it sound very humbling, and very serious. God did intend it to be that way.

Let us, therefore, humble ourselves. Let us get on our kness and beg to the one who will lift us higher than we have ever been. He loves us. He will not see us alone. He will not see us comfortless. We are never alone.

I love you all very very much.

Shout out to Elder Call who leaves the MTC  soon!

Week one... transfer two... year one... mission one ; | -- 9 October 2012

Well,

Tuesday is our p day this week. Elder Church and I picked up three new investigators this week bringing the total to (drumroll, please): 15 investigators. 9 progressing. Wow.

Danielle and Ryelan are a single mom and her son who are both very VERY familiar with Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible. She is looking for a church that encourages having a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ and not just accepting His grace (her words). She would also like to be a part of a church "family" where everyone takes care of each other. Is any of this sounding familiar? It should. We covenant to do both of those things when we are baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am very hopeful for both of them. Ryelan has an autism, but he is very VERY high functioning. There's no way I would have guessed. He's a good boy who loves his momma very very much, therefore, he and I relate well :)

The other new guy is a gentleman by the name of Jay Applegarth. Jay is native (Cree by tribe) and is very adamant in fulfilling tradition. We gave him the first lesson just two nights ago and while we were over he had a friend over who was playing the drums with him and singing native music. I'm not a hundred percent sure if we were allowed to do this or not, but it felt like the right thing to do, so we joined in. Very VERY VERY cool experience. So, we later found out that he has been taught by the missionaries before and he was strong in the traditions of his fathers (see Alma 18). We discussed the differences between what his culture believed and taught versus what the church teaches, and he concluded that they are very close. How could this be? Well, could it be possible that his people are decendants of a certain tribe coming out of Israel? It would seem so (see Enos). So, we asked him to pray after establishing expectations and setting up a date to come back and he prayed that he would be able to know when it was right to be baptized and that he would be able to recognize the path through Jesus Christ that would bring him the most happiness. Wow. I sincerely hope that we will be able to resolve his concerns and lead him into the fold of God. Goodness, I've been blessed.

We're not sure if we'll have a baptism this week, because Kylan needs to attend church one more time before he qualifies. So, it may be pushed to next week if they didn't watch general conference. Dang it, Satan! Hate that guy. They were in BC over the long weekend and we couldn't call and remind them, so we won't know until they get back if we need to plan for a baptism or not.

Temperatures have dropped in Canada to below freezing at night and the days are loaded with temperatures of a stunning 8 degrees celcius (I'm told it's like... 50 farenheight....). As you well know, I don't get cold very easily, but I've been wearing my suit jacket during the day because of requirements, but have also been wearing a nice, thick, two-layered coat (thank you mom and dad) when the sun goes down (which has been happening at, like, six). It's been an adventure, no Canadian snow yet [DANG IT], but I'm stoked for when it does happen. I love the snow. Everyone up here is dreading the winter, and everyone asks me if I am, too. When they find out I'm not it's often associated with a comment along the lines of, "You haven't been here long, have you?" The question is rhetorical. I'm just thinking they know something that I don't. Often, people get a look in their eye and say creepy Canadian-Maine stuff, like, "Going way up there, eh?" and I think, "Yeah. Why? What are you not telling me?!" Terrifying, I'm telling you.

Oh! Canadians are afraid of the dark. True story. Nobody is outside after it gets dark. Nobody. Seriously. 

Anyway, our zone was split in half and Elder Tulane (one of our zone leaders) is suffering. There isn't a single person left in our zone that enjoys playing basketball. :D Good news. Volleyball and dodgeball are on their way. :D

I've been working on getting JACKED (must be said with such emphasis or it doesn't sound like you're doing anything at all). Jump rope (500 times a morning... at least, unless I decide to go for a set amount of time instead, in which case it can get above a thousand.... at which point I just stop counting) Usually around 50 pushups, 30 pull-ups (I inherited a free pull-up bar!!!!) 30 25lb curls, and planks like crazy. I hate planking. I also hate pull-ups. Depressing times of the morning. But, if I want a good core and a good back, I need them.

I've lost weight, thank goodness, and have been eating 6 small (fist sized) meals a day instead of 3 large-ish meals. Lots of vegetables and protein. When I do eat carbs, it's usually something that a member is feeding me, or a piece of bread with peanut butter on it.

Last thought (getting past the boring regular things): WASN'T CONFERENCE AMAZING!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!? (I'm not sure I put enough there..... one more time....)?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?? (better, I think)

So, the missionaries were the only ones in the stake center when they announced that they were allowing 18 year old graduated men to go out and 19 year old women.  We LITERALLY stood up and cheered. There were tears shed and it was a beautiful moment. Why? Because God knows who we are. He knows how to succor his people. We, as missionaries, understand that the year between high school and a mission is the hardest year of our lives (I'm not the only one that feels that way) and having men come out sooner, whill (doing WHat WHat WHay? I WHill!) enable so many more young men and women to come out. "The work will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent..." Heavens to loving betsy. The gospel is true. It is so comforting to know that the Lord knows me and all of His children so personally.

Conference highlights? The obvious announcement behind missionary work. Then the other obvious---Elder Holland, duh. Amazing. I love him. Goodness his talk was SOOOOOO good. It made me ask myself, "How much do I love God?" My personal committment to serve was strengthened. I loved the themes of missionary work, and becoming who you are destined to become, choosing to be happy, and helping your children live up to the potential they have been given. Priesthood was amazing. There's just so much I could say.... But instead I'll ask a question: How did any of the talks from General Conference strengthen your testimony and help you become more converted to the Gospel? Also, what are you going to CHANGE in your life in order to bring yourself into closer harmony with those teachings?

One more word about General Conference: WHITCHICKABAM.

I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers and your love. Have a wonderful week and an amazing upcoming Thanksgiving (I say that because it was Canadian Thanksgiving up here... lame holiday. People LITERALLY have no idea what they're celebrating.).

Week Six of Transfer 1 -- 2 October 2012

Well. That was quick.

Mostly, people just want to know about my investigators, eh?

Well, there's M and M who have been having a tough time with a combination of diabetes and the flu, but have us over as often as they feel healthy enough. They are science fiction geeks, so we get along really well.

The B family... She has MS and he knows it's true, but will only join if we can get his wife to join, because he doesn't feel he can hold it on his own. They are very faithful and we have connected a lot. Every time we go over it is just such a spiritual experience.

The W Family. Part member family who have endured lots of hard times and have found stability in the gospel. They are all very dilligent in everything they do. They are all car junkies, which means I relate well with them. They are also book junkies, which means I relate doubly well. They are altogether wonderful people who have always worked hard to get what they need. Heavenly Father is definitely watching over them.

The M Family. Gold. She is a single mother with 3 kids. Two of them are baptisimal age. K and K. K straight up just told us he believes and wants to be baptized. K speculates a little more because her dad taught her to ask quesitons (way to go dad!), but she listens to the answers as well. So, she has learned to accept and love the church as well. K (the mother) is an incredibly sweet woman who recognizes the need for it and has also told us she wants to be baptized. We have baptisms for her and her kids scheduled on October 13th. Boom. God is amazing!!!!!! (Alma 26:12-everything-in-that-chapter anyone?)

We have several very solid potentials. D and her son R are very interested, but she is head nurse at the local hospital, and is called in A LOT. So, we got there once, but she got a call and had to leave within like, 2 minutes of us being there. It's tough.

In other news. Elder P is going home to Salt Lake. He had a tough day yesterday.

Elder C is the new District Leader.

Life is just wonderful and nuts.