So Much for Transfers (1/25/20)

I thought I was going to Gainesville on Friday, buuuttttt we were in contact with some other elders on Monday who got Covid. Heh. Oops. So right now I don't want to unpack anything because I'm stubborn, so I have like 3 pairs of clothes that I am cycling though. It's not like we are going out and seeing anybody sooo, heh. The elders next door to us also tested positive. Basically all of Tallahassee is in quarantine.

It is kinda tricky packing up and leaving an area you have been in for 8ish months because you realize how much stuff you have acquired over that time. You don't really know where to put it all because books and other random stuff don't fold like shirts do. I hope in the future I move only 2 times: once to college, and once out of college to a home I will spend the rest of my life in. That's the ideal. Will it happen? I dunno.

We were getting ready to leave to go have a little BBQ with somebody when we got the call saying we were going into quarantine. We all just hung out here instead. The 6 of us had given up a bit, so we all joined the institute call together which was fun. 

But on a different note, quarantine has given me more time--believe it or not. I thought I already had way too much time on my hands, and now I have even more. I read somebody's weekly email and it was super spiritual, and then I re-read mine from last week--not so much. Extremely boring, as a matter of fact.

So, perfectly timed, my mission president decided to have us read the Book of Mormon in 65 days. This is how long it took Joseph Smith to translate it. We started on January 21 and the end date is March 26, the date scholars have deemed when the first vision happened 201 years ago. 

So, for the spiritual part now. Usually when we read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, Old Testament, or New Testament we read a chapter or two, and we might see one little story or even a few. But with reading 8 pages a day, this is what I got from just a few days. 

Day 1. Lehi receives a vision, he tells people, they try to kill him. He takes his family and leaves. They are in the wilderness, Nephi prays, the Lord speaks to him, they go back and get the plates. In 1 day of reading I just read weeks or months or so of activities. 

Here's day 2. Nephi and his brothers get Ishmael's family, they pack up and leave too, they try to kill Nephi (again), Lehi sees the Tree of Life, describes it, tells of the things in the vision, he talks about the Jews being taken captive and tells of the coming of a Messiah, a Savior, a Redeemer, and what will happen to Him and what He will do. 

Day 3. Nephi is curious; he prays and ponders. The Spirit shows him the things his father saw and it is explained to him, he sees the Tree of Life, the great and spacious building, the promised land, the birth of the Christ, His baptism, ministry, and crucifixion, the 12 apostles, and the great and abominable church. 

In just 3 days this is what I read. This is probably about what Joseph received, and I can't even imagine receiving something this fast for the first time through. One of the suggestions given to us from our mission president is from Bruce R. McConkie. He said to pause after every chapter and ask yourself, "Could an unschooled farm boy have written this book?"

No.

The answer is no. Every single chapter. 1 Nephi chapter 1. No. Chapter 2. No. Chapter 3. No. Not a single chapter in this book could have been written by him. This came from God. There is no doubt to it. No question to it. If you do have questions and doubts about it, I invite you to do what I am doing. 

If you do not believe or think the Book of Mormon came from God, read the Book of Mormon in 65 days, all 531 pages, and ask yourself after every single chapter, "Could an unschooled farm boy have written this book?" I promise you that God will tell you through the Holy Ghost. If you seriously and legitimately want to know, want to learn and find out, He will tell you. Any sincere reader will gain a testimony before reading Moroni 10:3-5. You will feel it, and you will know it.

I know the Book if Mormon is true. It will bless your life, change your life, and bring you close to God. You will learn more about Jesus, that He is the Christ. That He loves you, cares for you, and wants the best for you. Seek Him, learn to hear Him and what He wants you to do. I promise you that every day you read the Book of Mormon your day will be better, your mind will be clearer, and you will have more energy. You won't want to put it down. 

Anyway, hope y'all had a good week and are taking this blessing of extra time to grow closer to God, Jesus, and your families, both on this side of the veil and the other side. 

Breakage (1/18/21)

We had quite the last 2 weeks with things breaking--the most notable was our heater. We got it "fixed" on Tuesday, but they didn't fix it because they said nothing was wrong. After some more time they found it. They came back on Thursday, fixed it, it worked great, then Friday it broke again haha. So they came back on Saturday, and we looked kinda dumb because of course it started working again when they showed up. Hmmm. Oh well. 

We got transfer news, and I'm going to the Gainesville 2nd Ward. I can't tell if I'm happy or sad, but sometimes a little change is good. I got here back in May, and now I'm leaving. We were joking about having my records transferred here. But now I'm going. 

I gave my testimony in the YSA, and I got up there super nervous because, of course, I forget everything when I get up there. I'm like wait, what is a testimony? Then I rambled about something and said Jesus was cool and then sat down. We got hot chocolate and donuts after, so that was cool. 

We are playing sand volleyball right now and I served it over the net like 3 times in a row and now I'm basically an Olympian, so catch me in the next Olympics. You get a weird sense of confidence when it's sand and you dive, but you forget to close your mouth so you stand up with a mouth full of sand. Yuck. 

I got a Costco card and thought it was the coolest thing ever, so I bought a pair of jeans because I thought they would fit and they were 12 dollars. Oh how I was wrong. So we came back today to return them. Then I found out Bass Pro Shops has a water zoo. And I bought a sweatshirt there because it was on "sale." They'll get you to buy anything because it's on "sale," and I guess it works because I'm a sucker for that stuff. 

We got another big pizza and a cheesecake, and if that's not a breakfast of champions I don't know what is. We also went to Waffle House for the first time. Not sure what I expected, but it was great haha.

Good Smelling Trees (1/4/21)

I always thought that only pine trees in the mountains smelled good, but I found something new--I found a tree I cut down that smelled really good. That's all. Nothing more to it. 

We had zone conference, and it was a good time as always. We learned about our 2021 mission goals, and it is all about invitations. Really good idea. Seven a day, follow up within 7 days, some good stuff. We watched The Other Side of Heaven 2, and it was good. I didn't understand a whole lot because there were some people in the back chatting up a storm, and I also haven't seen the first one, but it was still good. 

We helped somebody clear out their backyard, and that's when I discovered the amazing smelling tree. If I could blend it up and make it into a body wash or deodorant I probably would, but I'm not sure how to put a tree into a blender and then make it into soap. Oh well. 

New Years was good. I have discovered a new game that, for some reason, I am obsessed with. It's called Uno Flip, and all the cards have a back side. It's a weird game but way fun. I had my first energy drink since scout camp I think, and I had a few sips and that's about it, and I had way too much energy and no headache. Caffeine, who would have thought?

Sunday was nice. We had the YSA again, and we got a new bishop. He's from the 3rd ward, and he's just the coolest guy. It's sad to see our old bishop go, but sometimes a little change helps somewhere. 

The moon and some bread