Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Monday, September 14, 2015 -Progress and Happiness

This week has been absolutely amazing. I have loved every moment. Let me just hit the big things!

Well, we did lots of contacting this week, and we were able to get some help from members by going on splits. We also got lots of referrals due to members wanting to visit friends with us. It turned out to be a week of miracles for that because all the people that we met in this week have turned out to be very serious investigators, and a couple have already made commitments of reading the Book of Mormon and praying about Joseph Smith. Big steps, since this area has been struggling with the amount of people that actually want to hear our message!

We went to the temple on Friday! Amazing experience and exactly what I needed. First time I went without Elder Hope though, that was strange..... but it was a great experience, and I felt an overwhelming peace, something that I was really needing. I love the blessings we get from the temple. 

On Saturday we had a big "Leave With the Elders" day. Its when all the members of the ward leave with us to go visit and contact. Our goal was to invite everyone we met and taught to church for our Ward Conference. So after contacting for a couple hours and inviting every single investigator we have to come to church, we successfully met 15 new people that accepted our invitations, and we had about 30 members leave with us. This is a big step for our ward, because they don't normally leave with us due to their jobs or schedules. But I felt a different spirit with the members testifying of the truth of this gospel. 

On Sunday we had our Ward Conference. We had 7 investigators show up and 6 less actives. It proved to me how the hard work really did pay off. I have never worked so hard and so closely to the leaders in my mission before. We were literally calling the bishop and his councelors every night to keep them informed on what was happening. After seeing the results, we have decided to continue doing that. The Lord will bring the blessings when we do the work. Of that I am sure. After church, we were invited over to eat with a member who made us some amazing Cordon Blue. Good stuff, and FUNERAL POTATOS! Holy Utah!!!!!! So Utah! I loved it! Also, at night, we visited a member who has a big tree in her backyard that was full of bats! So I took pictures of bats as they flew right about my head and all around me. Check that one off the checklist. :)

So here is some cool doctrine I learned this week. I watched a movie called "The Moutain of the Lord", approved by the prophet and apostles. Great movie, made by the church. At the end it talks about how Utah originally was going to be named Deseret, but a man came up with the word Utah, coming from the Ute indians. The prophet at the time received revelation that that should be the name of the state and so it stuck. Now why was that a revelation?? Because the word Utah translates to "atop the mountains". Now, in Isaiah and also 2 Nephi, we read how Zion is to be built "atop the mountains" and that all will flow into this great place. So what is it referring to? Most think its the temple of Salt Lake, which is true in a part, but it is actually Utah in its whole! Which means, one day in the future, everyone will gather to Utah. CRAZY!!!!!! 

So great week overall. Sorry I wasn't so detailed about every little lesson we did. Each lesson was a first lesson, where we went over a basic overview of the restoration of our church. But by next week I hope to share some great stories of these people that are making great sacrifices to learn about the gospel and change to obey the standards of God. I love you all! Time is winding down ever so quickly. But I am loving every moment. I hope I can keep putting my shoulder to the wheel every step of the way!

Love,
Elder Weiss
Mother's Note: While we were chatting online my sister sent everyone an email announcing she gave birth to her baby girl. Parker was so excited he got to see a picture of his new cousin at the same time we all did!  Perfect timing! :)



Sunset and I

Sunset over the city

Random pic's.

Elder Weiss and Catmull together again
at the Santo Domingo Temple

A failed attempt at a jumping picture! Elder Catmull,
Weiss, Hermana's Hansen, Balls,& Black, Elders
Campbell, Stephens and Unruh-outside of pic.

The picture of the bats! (Ick)