February 2nd, 2015 - Groundhog's day!

Hey Everyone!

Happy Groundhog's Day! I have no idea what the groundhog said... but I'm going to assume that he said spring is coming soon since that's what I wanted him to say! This last week has been pretty sweet, though nothing was super noteworthy, it was just a good week.

First off on my list of fun things was Tuesday! The whole day was pretty sweet, with a couple particularly awesome things happening. For one, we got to talk to a cool older guy in the afternoon and ended up reading "A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon" with him. I don't know how many of you have read that, but it explains what the title page talks about - with all the different plates and stuff - in a one page dealio. Then that night we had our scripture study class and had an awesome discussion about prayer and the importance of applying Moroni 10:4 which says:"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." We really emphasized the importance of sincerity, real intent, and faith in our prayers and had a good talk about different things that people have done to increase those three key aspects. One thing that was mentioned was the devotional from Brother Ridd that talked about real intent (by me), that if you still haven't taken the chance to watch it I'd still highly encourage it ;)

Wednesday was a relatively sad day, especially when compared to Tuesday... I had to take the time to sign up for college stuff today, since we didn't have time on Monday or Tuesday... and it was just sad... It's great to move on and stuff, but to know that I'm already registered for classes that start in the middle of June was kind of depressing since it means my mission will definitely be over by then... But after that was taken care of it was a pretty sweet day! We had a fantastic dinner, and then after that got to go up to the church for Michelle's baptismal interview - which she passed with flying colors! She's going to be baptized this Friday, so that's going to be awesome!!

Thursday was good, but nothing super noteworthy happened... Same with Friday... We did a lot of driving those two days since we had a few extra miles, and we still had plenty for Saturday! Saturday was a pretty awesome day, since we got to go out to lunch to the "Cow Calf-hay" with an awesome couple, and it was delicious. I'd highly recommend it. Especially if you like greasy food. Also on Saturday we got to have a sweet lesson with Michelle and Sandy where we discussed many an awesome quote. A couple ones I particularly liked were: "For each of us to ‘come unto Christ,’ to keep His commandments and followHis example back to the Father, is surely the highest and holiest purpose ofhuman existence. To help others do that as well—to teach, persuade, andprayerfully lead them to walk that path of redemption also—surely that must bethe second most significant task in our lives." - Elder Holland
"The responsibility to teach the gospel is not limited to those who have formal callings as teachers. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you have the responsibility to teach the gospel. As a parent, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, Church leader, classroom teacher, home teacher, visiting teacher, coworker, neighbor, or friend, you have opportunities to teach. Sometimes you can teach openly and directly by the things you say and the testimony you bear. And you always teach by example.The Lord said, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). As you think of the role of gospel teaching in the salvation and exaltation of God’s children, can you imagine a duty more noble or sacred? It calls for your diligent efforts to increase your understanding and improve your skills, knowing that the Lord will magnify you as you teach in the way He has commanded. It is a labor of love—an opportunity to help others exercise their agency righteously, come unto Christ, and receive the blessings of eternal life." - Teaching, No Greater Call P. 3

We had an awesome discussion on the basic principles of teaching in the gospel, and it was super spiritual. We were able to testify of the importance of relying upon the Lord and His Spirit, since as missionaries whenever we try to teach from our knowledge I've come to see that it really doesn't help anyone. When it all comes down to it our whole role is to help invite the spirit to allow it to testify unto the person, for there really isn't any other way. On Sunday we had a fantastic time at church, with a pretty solid testimony meeting, and good classes. We shared this quote from President Packer that says: "Individual doctrines of the gospel are not fully explained in one place in the scriptures, nor presented in order or sequence. They must be assembled from pieces here and there. They are sometimes found in large segments, but mostly they are in small bits scattered through the chapters and verses. You might think that if all the references on baptism, for instance, were assembled in one chapter of each standard work, and all references on revelation in another, it would make the learning of the gospel much simpler. I have come to be very, very grateful that scriptures are arranged as they are. Because the scriptures are arranged the way they are, there are endless combinations of truths that will fit the need of every individual in every circumstance."

That's all I got for this week! I hope you guys have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,
Elder Jordan Nielson

January 26th, 2015 - Missionary Storm Troopers?!?

Hey Everyone!!

So, today we don't have a whole ton of email time, since this morning we went to a member's home and took some awesome pictures... which I'm going to put right here since they're sweet!

​This last week hasn't been super eventful, but it's been awesome nonetheless! I hope you guys had as sweet a week as we did, but if not there's always this week!

Of particular note this last week was our scripture study class on Tuesday, which was just a blast! We had a sweet discussion on things people do to get the most out of their studies, and it was super spiritual. After that we got to visit with Michelle, who is getting baptized on the 6th, and we had a few awesome discussions this week about the spirit and how it feels and why it's so vital! We also got to watch the devotional that I shared a link to with someone this week, so if you haven't taken the time to check it out, I'd highly encourage you to do so now at this link! It's still super awesome, and if you haven't watched it yet, by the time you do you'll regret you didn't take the time today to watch it! 

Also of note this week we got to help a lady haul some water and clean up after her horses on Friday and it was a pretty good time. It's always nice to get to do some manual labor sometimes and let the spiritual side rest a little while. Last thing I had on my list for this week - again sorry for the short email but we have to drive to stillwater still and it's a ways away - we got to visit with Brother Dinges on Saturday and had a pretty sweet time with him! We watched this sweetVIDEO! plus we had a solid discussion on commandments and how they help us to get the most out of our time here on Earth. 

Sorry it's short, but that's all I got for this week! Have a great week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

January 20th, 2015 - Another week has flown by!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I missed you yesterday, we were too busy celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day to email since the library was closed! We had a pretty solid week, with lots of things working out and just a fantastic time each day! Since we don't have a whole ton of time today to email (since we have things to do!), I'll just make a buzz list in bullet form and see how that works out!

• Delicious food each day (spiritual and physical)!
• Awesome video that we used for a dinner message! (Sharing your beliefs)
• Another awesome video! (Our True Identity)
• Alma 8:26: "And now, [Awesome people], because thou hast fed me and taken me in,thou art blessed..."
• One of my favorite videos! (You Know Enough)
• Service Opportunities!
• Sweet Discussions!
• Exchanges with Elder Toiava!
• Family History work is awesome!
• Awesome studies!
• Baseball Analogies in sacrament?!?
• Commandments are a blessing? Mosiah 2:22-24,41

Well... I don't know how much I like this format anymore, so I'm going to talk for a minute about a few things that I feel like talking about. I guess you really don't have to read all this if you don't want to, but I'm putting the effort in to write it, so I hope you get something out of taking a few minutes to read it! So anyway one visit we had that particularly sticks out in my mind was with a super nice lady named Susan. She has a giant family, like 22 or 23 grandkids or something like that, and we were out with a member who also has a very large family and so once we got there they instantly started talking about their families. It eventually led to the member sharing his conversion story and testifying and then we talked a bit about the plan of salvation and it was a super spiritual experience. It really showed me the impact that members of the church can have with people and the pull they have that us 20 year old punks just don't have. For example at one point she turned to him and talked for a minute about what we had just said regarding our life on earth, and they had a short discussion where the member bore testimony about some of the church doctrine and resolved her concern (it was something related to experiences and stuff I didn't know anything about). So, it was a super powerful experience for me and the entire lesson was just a sweet chance to bear testimony of the things that I know - like families being eternal, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that our life on Earth is a privilege that not all of Heavenly Father's children got to have. 

Another cool experience was on Thursday when we felt that we needed to go visit a member family, we were able to have a short chat with them and right as we were about to share a message some guys that they were expecting a little later in the afternoon showed up and it was super convenient since we got to help with that exchange and then had a good spiritual thought with them. Then right after that we went to visit a family and it turned out that while we were there one of her friends pulled up and we got to meet her! It's just been a week that's truly shown me how important timing is and that the Lord will work things out to bring as many of his children back to him as possible! It reminds me of a couple scriptures in the Book of Mormon: "20 Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee. 21 Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work" (2 Nephi 27:20-21). Those verses plus this sweet quote from President Kimball have really emphasized to me why it's important for me to be on a mission right now: "...Jesus trusts his followers enough to share his work with them so that they can grow. That is one of the greatest lessons of his leadership. If we brush other people aside in order to see a task done more quickly and effectively, the task may get done all right, but without the growth and development in followers that is so important. Because Jesus knows that this life is purposeful and that we have been placed on this planet in order to perform and grow, growth then becomes one of the great ends of life as well as a means."

So I hope you guys have a great week! I know that the Lord is able to do his work, but that he allows us to help so that each of us can grow and become more like him! Love y'all! Have a great week!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

January 12th, 2015 - Transfers and Other Good Stuff!

Hey Everyone!

This week has just flown by! We had transfers on Wednesday so I'm with Elder Fuller now. He's from Monroe, Utah and has been out about 14 months. He started out in Duncan, then was in the Edmond 2nd ward, and most recently was in Ada. He's a good kid, so it should be a blast this transfer. We saw lots of people this week, had a ton of delicious meals, and had a fantastic time at church yesterday. I don't know how many of you watched the "Worldwide Young Adult Devotional" last night, but Brother Randall Ridd gives an incredible talk about finding purpose in life. It's about an hour long for the entire devotional, but I'd highly recommend it based on what I've listened to so far, but I'm listening to it while I type this.

Before Elder Kenison left, we spent a good deal of time on Monday and Tuesday saying goodbye to people, but for our p-day activity we went up to Guthrie and went to the Scottish Rite (Masons) building up there. I took a ton of pictures, and it was a beautiful building and was pretty neat with lots of different types of architecture throughout. I'll try and go through some of my pictures and throw a few on here. That night we got to go out to the Jefferys' and had some delicious Tamales there, along with a very spiritual time talking throughout the meal and during the message. Then we went around and took pictures for the rest of the night. Of particular note on Tuesday was getting to have lunch with Brother Kregger at Johnny's, a delicious burger joint in town. Then we also got to have a sweet chat with Connor before the Mckinleys took us to Qdoba for a tasty dinner. Then there was more pictures before calling it a night. 

On Wednesday we had transfers, and it was freezing cold. So, everyone went inside... and more than half the mission was there, so there was no shortage of socializing going on throughout the morning. Eventually everyone headed out to their areas and since Ashley had driven us down she took us and a couple of the Guthrie Elders to lunch at Freddy's and introduced us to her friend Joel, who is a pretty awesome kid. Then we had a blast that afternoon and evening visiting with people and introducing Elder Fuller to everyone we talked to, so it was a good time. Something we focused a lot on today was Alma 31:5 which says: "And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." We've been emphasizing the fact that hearing the word of God, which is what people do when we preach, is a way to increase faith as Romans 10:17 says. As their faith increases people have an increased tendency to follow the implications of that faith and do good - or change their behavior. 

Of note on Thursday, aside from Weekly planning, we got to visit with a few of our investigators and had some awesome visits with them. We talked a while with a guy named Curtis who is super unique in his beliefs and views, but very open to talking with us and to reading from the Book of Mormon. We also got to see the Sharps and Sandy and Michelle with Brother Confer and had a blast getting to know them better and introducing Elder Fuller. We talked about 3 Nephi 14:7-12 which says: "7 Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find;knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh,findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 12 Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets." As we've shared this scripture with a few families we've really emphasized the importance of really praying to God and asking for things that you really need. On Friday, after walking around in the cold for a while and trying to see a number of people, a few of which were home, we got to have dinner with an incredible family who fed us Calzones. 

Brother Ridd just asked: "Are you going to do what you want to do or what the Lord wants you do?" Throughout this week I've been working on making what the Lord wants me to do what I want to do, because if we just do what the Lord wants, but still want to do what we want we'll end up like what Elder Corbridge says in the 4th missionary: "He is like a person described by the Christian author C.S. Lewis, who is honest and dutifully pays his taxes hoping that there will be enough money left over for him to live on and to use as he wants, afterward. "As long as we are thinking that way, one or other of two results is likely to follow. Either we give up trying to be good, or else we become very unhappy indeed. For, make no mistake: if you are really going to try to meet all the demands made on the natural self, it will not have enough left over to live on. The more you obey your conscience, the more your conscience will demand of you. And your natural self, which is thus being starved and hampered and worried at every turn, will get angrier and angrier. In the end you will either give up trying to be good, or else become one of those people who, as they say, 'live for others' but always in a discontented, grumbling way-always wondering why the others do not notice it more and always making a martyr of yourself."

Brother Ridd just quoted Socrates saying: "An unexamined life is not worth living." Then he admonished us to ponder how we spend our time and ask "why?" Of particular note from Saturday was the time we were able to spend out with Brother Sharp when we got to visit with the Manzers and talked about scripture study and making it effective. Of particular note on Sunday was our church meetings - we had a fantastic sacrament meeting with a great talk from Brother Kregger, our ward mission leader on missionary work. He talked about some different types of member missionaries, like "the perfect example", the "excited to the point of annoying person", and the "anxiously engaged in a good cause person". A couple cool quotes were: "Being Perfect is helping others grow to become better versions of themselves." He also said: "How can I share the gospel, as me?" We also got to have some sweet visits that night, with Brother Parry, and we had a good spiritual time. In one visit we shared the Mormon Message: "Moments that Matter Most", and it was pretty good. Brother Ridd just shared a parable about oranges... so you should definitley go listen to that talk.It's on LDS.org at this link! But... I've gotta get going, so I hope you have a great week! Love y'all! 

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

January 5th, 2015 - Happy New Year!

Hey Everyone!!

Happy New Year! We had a pretty sweet start to the year, but you'll hear more about that later. This week is transfers (again), and Elder Kenison is heading off to Elk City and I'll be getting Elder Fuller here in Edmond 3rd! It should be a pretty sweet time, and there's definitely plenty of awesome people to work with here so I'm pretty stoked. This week has just flown by, along with most of the last few weeks. I'm not entirely sure where the time has been going... but hopefully it's somewhere that it enjoys being since it definitely hasn't been sticking around here for very long! For my studies this week I've been focused on reading in Preach my Gospel, the Book of Mormon, and a talk by Elder Corbridge called "The Fourth Missionary" I'll throw some quotes from my studies in throughout, since they're typically connected with things that happened throughout the week. 

Last Monday was a pretty crazy day, the library was super busy and we only had a little while to email due to other things as well, so I'm sorry the update was pretty short last week. We also had a pretty interesting night last week, when as we were leaving a member family's house there was a dog sitting there right when we opened the door to leave. Luckily, we were able to keep their dogs from doing anything to the lost one and luckily the lost one had a collar with some tags that allowed us to contact the owner and he was able to get back home :) It was super neat that it all worked out, but it was pretty startling to find a dog where you were about to step. Something that struck me from my studies that I saw in our visits on Monday particularly was this quote: "Each person or family you teach is unique. Even though you will not understand all of their interests, achievements, needs, and concerns, you should seek to be sensitive to their circumstances. Regardless of needs or problems, all people are best helped as they accept and live the gospel."

On Tuesday we had a pretty sweet day - a few fun visits, lots of people not home, and a couple delicious meals. Paul and Sister Ramsey took us to Ted's Cafe Escondido for lunch, and it was delicious. Elder Kenison hadn't ever gotten to go before, and it was on his Edmond bucket list so he got to check that off. As we visited with them during lunch, the principle of regular scripture study was really emphasized, and it showed the truth of this quote from PMG: "Your ability to teach with power from the scriptures comes in large measure from the time you personally spend studying them. As you daily feast upon the word, your ability to teach from the scriptures will improve. In addition, your invitations to study and ponder the scriptures will be more powerful because you are doing the same thing in your life." We also had dinner with a fantastic family that night, and tried a bunch of other people who weren't home after that, but it was still a pretty good day. On Wednesday for New Year's eve we were told that we could be out until 10:30pm, but that we weren't supposed to do much in the way of contacting people that we didn't know very well. So, we did some service at the Hope Center and did some cleaning before seeing a couple families and then having dinner with an awesome couple that has a 1 year old son and then we played some games with them to relax and celebrate the new year. For dinner, Brother Jensen had gotten a box of meat through a series of events and so they fed us a steak that was literally as big as my plate... and it was dang good. 

Of particular note for Thursday, we woke up and there was ice on the roads... so our cars were grounded most of the day. Something I was pondering throughout the day from my studies was this quote from the 4th missionary: "We plan many things in life. But, have you planned your greatest work? Have you envisioned who you will become? Do you plan for what kind of person you want to become? Can you see in your mind who you want to be? Do you know?" Even though our cars were grounded, we got to go out to dinner with a family at Sumo, a japanese Hibachi grill place that was super tasty. It was pretty neat, since if you go there on your birthday they take a polaroid of your group (or at least they used to), and the family had gone for their son's birthday in 2005 so it was cool to see the picture from back then! While we were visiting with Brother Hicks that night we talked about Luke 17:32 which says: "Remember Lot's Wife." Throughout the week we shared this video with quite a few people: Video! 

On Friday after district meeting in Guthrie, I got to go on an exchange here in Edmond 3rd with Elder Schwartz, and it was a pretty sweet day. Something that was really emphasized to me throughout the day was this quote from the 4th Missionary: "To believe that weaknesses and deficiencies in your character are unchangeable is to reject the central truth of the plan of salvation (the atonement). You are not cast in stone. You not only can change but you do change all of the time. You are a dynamic, changing, evolving being. You are always changing. You never stay the same. You cannot stand still." We got to have dinner at Ted's with an awesome family in the ward and it was delicious yet again! I got something different this time, just so you know! We also got to visit with a few member families throughout the day and had a fantastic visit with Sandy and Michelle after dinner. Brother Rudd, their home teacher, came with us and it was a super spiritual visit! We found out last Monday that approval for Michelle to be baptized came in and so she's working towards being baptized on February 6th! It'll be a blast! 

Of particular note this weekend was church on Sunday being at 12:30... it was really weird and felt super late. But, we had a fantastic fast and testimony meeting, so that was sweet. We also had another fantastic dinner and then got to go out and see the Dinges family and Paul and Sister Ramsey, so it was a pretty fun night! We had some good discussions, and this quote from PMG was particularly relevant: "You can help people gain a correct understanding of God as our Heavenly Father and develop faith in Jesus Christ by helping them have personal spiritual experiences rather than simply telling them about the nature of God."

Anyway, I've gotta get moving onto other emails and such, but I hope you guys have a great week! Love y'all! 

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

December 29th, 2014 - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hey Everyone!

Merry late Christmas! I had a blast skyping my family last week, and I hope they enjoyed it as well! This week of course is New Year's, which will be a fantastic time to set some goals and review how the previous year has gone. This week was pretty fantastic, especially because of Christmas, but also in other aspects! We had a blast with some sweet visits, a ton of delicious food throughout the week, and some awesome presents given and received.

Sorry the email is going to be short today, but I wanted to start off with a couple thoughts and quotes from the talks in Sacrament meeting yesterday since they were particularly insightful. The first one was a quote from George Q. Cannon that says: "If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. . . . No man ought to say, “Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.” He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them. If a man lack wisdom, it is his duty to ask God for wisdom. The same with everything else. That is the design of God concerning His Church. He wants His Saints to be perfected in the truth. For this purpose He gives these gifts, and bestows them upon those who seek after them, in order that they may be a perfect people upon the face of the earth. " It was a dang good quote, and I particularly liked how he focused upon the fact that we are striving to be perfect - and that it's possible, but only through God and Jesus Christ! Another cool quote was from President Monson where he said, after telling the story of losing some sugar beets: "Paraphrasing the farmer’s commentsconcerning the sugar beets, I say of these souls, precious to our Father and ourMaster: “There’s just as much value in those who have slipped off. Let’s goback and get them!” It was a neat concept to consider the statement that the worth of each soul is great in the sight of God, one just as much as the others.

Alright, so a quick breeze through of some other things that have happened this week. For one, we've still been watching "He is the Gift" with lots of people... I really hope that you've watched it, maybe multiple times, since it's super awesome. If you haven't there is still time - just go check outChristmas.mormon.org and watch the video! Along with that video, we've shared the passage in Ether 12:8-11 with lots of people that says: "8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.
 9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.
 10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were called‍ after the holy order of God.
 11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift‍ of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent‍ way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled."Occasionally after that we would watch "Because of Him" (found oneaster.mormon.org) and focus on the things that are possible because of him.
Well, we've gotta get going, but I hope y'all have a fantastic week! Love y'all!
'Til Next Time,
Elder Jordan Nielson 

December 22nd, 2014 - Christmas is here!

Hey Everyone!

Merry Christmas! It's only a few days away now, so I hope you're ready! I know that here we have a rough plan of what we're going to be doing, part of which involves skyping our families, which will be a blast! We've also got some solid appointments this week, which should be a blast and help keep us busy! Plus, I hear the weather is supposed to be super nice for Christmas here - in the 50's or something like that, which I'm looking forward too :) No white Christmas for me though!

This week has absolutely flown by! It's just been a whirlwind with a mini-transfer for all the people going home, some fun lessons, lots of planning, and a fun exchange with Elder Hoopes here in Edmond. In my studies this week, I spent a good deal of the time studying from Preach my Gospel chapters 6-8, and it was a blast! One quote that stuck out to me was in Chapter 6 when it says: "Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you lookfor opportunities to serve others and give of yourself." It just emphasized to me that in order to develop any attribute, be it faith, charity, patience, etc. you have to work for it and act as though you already have it and eventually it will come. It was definitely something that we put into practice, because for a lot of this week, we've spent time helping out a family in the ward by handing out flyers for a "Cup for a Can cocoa stand" that they did this last Saturday, after being inspired by this fantastic article in the Friend this month: Article! We had a blast handing out the flyers, since there were quite a few people who opened the door, said they weren't interested, and then talked to us for a minute once we told them we were passing out flyers for a food drive. The family said that they had a lot of people come, and filled 3 boxes of food, so it sounded like a worthwhile experience for everyone! We also met a few people who were willing to let us come back, which is something that doesn't happen super often while tracting around here. But, it was definitely a fun experience to see the reactions various people had when we talked to them and gave them the flyers.

Another thing that stuck out to me was how much God works in his work. There were multiple experiences this week, particularly yesterday, where our timing couldn't have been any better - 2 times yesterday we planned to go see someone and our timing ended up that we were walking to/from their door and they pulled up and invited us to come in and visit with them. It was super neat, especially once we started considering all the little things that added up to end up with us being there when they pull up. It reminds me of a quote from Preach my Gospel that I read this morning in chapter 8: "Meaningful goals and careful planning will help you accomplish what the Lord requires of you." The Lord has required that we seek his guidance as we strive to help and serve others and a key part of that is making sure that we do things when He wants us to, not when we want to in order to help the greatest number of His children come closer and return to him. As we watched "He is the Gift" with people this week trying to prepare them for Christmas, we also would watch "Because of Him", the video the church put out around Easter to help emphasize the impact that the Gift of Christ has in our lives, so, here's a couple links, just do it! Gift!Because!

One other quick highlight from this week before I've gotta get a move on, we had a fun visit with Brother Dinges on Friday, and had a great chat about the Priesthood, why it was taken away from the Earth, why it had to be restored, and how we've come to know that it has been. A key part of it is of course covered in the "Restoration" lesson in preach my gospel, but it was fun to be able to bear testimony and take it out of a lesson setting and just make it super personal since he really wanted to know how we knew. It was a pretty fun week overall, and the principle in 1 Nephi 8 verses 11 and 12 which says: "11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. 12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."

I hope you have a great week and a very Merry Christmas! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

December 15th, 2014 - Christmas Celebrations for Days!

Hey Everyone!

This week has been pretty sweet! We got to have our Christmas conference with half the mission, and we also had our ward Christmas party, and people are starting to just really get into the season of Christmas! It's pretty dang sweet, with lots of fun stuff going on, pretty much all the time. Well, there is a mini transfer this week with all the people going home early for school, and with it the sisters area in this ward is being closed. Sister Phelps is going back home and they're sending Sister Curtis over to Sulphur! Elder Kenison and I will be responsible to cover the entire ward, which is a pretty large area with a ton of awesome members, so it should be good. This week has been pretty sweet! In my studies this week I focused a lot on Preach my Gospel, and spent some time in chapters 4 and 5 about the Spirit and the Book of Mormon. There were a few quotes that I'll throw throughout my letter, so just expect them ;) We've had some cool miracles, awesome dinners, a fantastic conference, a cold to get rid of, and just a fantastic time. Sadly, I forgot my notes from Christmas conference, so y'all will have to wait until next week to read about that! 

Of particular note throughout the week were a couple of the things we got to talk about with people. For one, we watched this sweet video! Check it out: Video! It's called "the Reason behind Christmas", and it was super sweet. We also watched "He is the Gift" multiple times this week... so if you've somehow still not seen it do it now! Christmas.mormon.org <- Check it! We got to see Gene this week, a pretty awesome friend that we met a few weeks back and have recently started teaching, we read 1 Nephi 11, which actually has a pretty awesome Christmas story in it about Nephi prophesying about the birth of Christ! I've seen this quote from PMG applied throughout this week: "God loves you and all His children. He is anxious to support you in yourpractical and specific challenges. You have been promised inspiration toknow what to do and have been given the power to do it." Particularly on Wednesday after we were visiting with Gene we weren't entirely sure what to do and ended up feeling like we were supposed to go back to our apartment and finish our studies (since we had cut them short earlier to go to the hope center for service), and it just happened that our ride to the ward Christmas party ended up having to pick us up an hour early to help set up so were were back at our apartment right in time. 

On Thursday was Christmas conference, which I don't have my notes from, but which was super good! This quote from President Hinckley in PMG is super awesome: “If it invites to do good, it is of God. If it inviteth to do evil, it is of the devil. … And if you are doing the right thing and if you are living the right way, you will know in your heart what the Spirit is saying to you. You recognize the promptings of the Spirit by the fruits of the Spirit—that which enlighteneth, that which buildeth up, that which is positive and affirmative and uplifting and leads us to better thoughts and better words and better deeds is of the Spirit of God”

On Friday we did exchanges with the zone leaders after district meeting, so I got to work with Elder Bender again (it's been a long while since the last time!), and we had a blast, seeing a few member families and sharing the gift with them as well as having a blast with a family for dinner. We invited them to watch this fantastic Mormon Message found here: Video! It's called "The Hope of God's Light", it's not super new, but it's super awesome! Then we had a good night out with a Brother Eckman, one of the fantastic members of this incredible ward. 

This week our mission president sent us this cool inspirational scripture chain thing, so I thought I'd share it with y'all! Proverbs 3:27 states, " Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." I Cor 10:24 states, "Let no man seek his own wealth, but every man another's wealth." As I ponder these two scriptures I see that God expects us to do all that we can to help others (seek for their wealth) and that if we have the power to help someone (anyone), we have the obligation to do so. In Mosiah 8:18 Ammon wrote, " Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings." somehow it always seems that God requires more from us than we have the ability to give. I will refer to the scripture from last week in D&C 43:16, "...Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may GIVE..." What a blessing it is to be able to give beyond our own abilities. 

Anyway, that's all I have time for today! Have a great week everyone! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

December 8th, 2014 - "I'm a Sugar Cube, I'll melt!"

Hey Everyone!

This week, including and especially today, has just been a whirlwind! It's totally flown by, and there's been a ton of things that just pop up and make sure that I stay flexible. It's definitely been an exciting week though, even though I've definitely slacked in the picture taking department so there won't be any of those with this email. 

Anyway, on Tuesday we got to help a part-member family put up their christmas lights, so it was a very good thing that Elder Kenison isn't afraid of heights like me. That took a bit of time, but it was a blast, especially since it was freezing cold and we felt kind of bad since Brother Dinges had hurt his knee in the Turkey Bowl, so we had some good motivation to move fast but be careful. Then we got to go around and share "He is the Gift" with a bunch of people, which was just a blast and a good time. I've probably watched that video at least 20 times since it came out… so if you haven't watched that incredible video yet then I'd highly recommend it! christmas.mormon.org just do it now, since you obviously didn't read my email last week if you didn't watch it… Anyway, so last week from Monday night to Thursday afternoon the sisters didn't have their car - which was part of the reason it was an exciting week, so we ended up getting rides all of the place for those few days. So, a quick quote from my studies this week in Preach my Gospel: "Members who share the gospel experience joy and have the Spirit of the Lord more abundantly. As we share the gospel, we appreciate how precious and meaningful it is to us, and we feel a greater love for God and others. " I loved this quote when I read it this week, as it promised some fantastic blessings for those who do missionary work and share the gospel, and those blessings are definitely given to those who share the gift of Christ and his restored gospel this Christmas seasons! 

On Wednesday, after we helped out at the Hope Center, we got to share "He is the Gift" with more people, and ended up getting fed randomly by a friend of ours who lives down the street from a member family, so that was delicious. Aside from that Wednesday just included a lot of biking and walking trying to find people to share the gift with and invite to learn more. On Thursday we got to go out with a fantastic brother in the ward and caught a couple people that we hadn't seen in weeks, and one that we had never met! It was awesome because we got to share the gift with them even easier since he was able to download it onto his tablet and just whip it out and show them without having to mess with their technology and such. Quick scripture from my studies this week in Alma 36, verses 24-26: "24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors; 26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God." I have definitely seen the things Alma talks about in these verses in my mission, because I know that because of the word of the Lord, there have been changes in my life, and in the lives of people I've met on my mission that have just been absolutely astounding! 

On Friday we had a good district meeting before doing exchanges with the Guthrie South elders, so I was with Elder Hirschi here in Edmond 3rd. The first thing on our agenda was the Hope Center Volunteer christmas party, which had some delicious food and quite a few people there. After that it was raining so we went and grabbed our rain coats before heading out to share the gift and message of the restoration with people and got to have a couple sweet visits with people before an awesome dinner appointment! After dinner we ended up trying to see a bunch of people who weren't home, but ended up feeling like we should knock on a member family's door while we were in a neighborhood and ended up catching them right as they were about to cut the cake for their 3 year old daughter's birthday, so they invited us in and we got to share that memory with them, which was super tasty and pretty awesome - especially since it included watching "He is the Gift" with them! Then we stopped by a less active family that's super awesome… and she ended up being in the middle of making some sort of cookie that was super tasty… so it was a good night ;) 

On Saturday we got to spend some time helping Paul pack up some of his stuff, and then had a great discussion with him after doing the rat trap object lesson! Then he took us to lunch at this place called "Johnny's" that was super tasty, before we went to our appointment that happened to be at the same time as the Bedlam game (OU vs. OSU), which is typically a super hard time to find anything to do here… so we were glad Brother Dinges was willing to record the game and visit with us instead of watching it live :) Then we walked around and shared the gift with a couple other people, including the Miller family where the quote from the title came from, before going to dinner out at Sandy's (she's a recent convert that we eat with regularly), which was super delicious. After dinner the Sisters were planning on watching the Testaments with them, and since they were our ride we started watching as well. Luckily, the member we had asked to come out with us ended up being able to (when earlier he had said it wasn't likely), and so he picked us up and we went out and had a great time. Even though nobody was really home or able to visit with us, he was able to share his conversion story with us, which was super awesome. So, it was a pretty sweet day! 

Sunday was fantastic, with an absolutely awesome fast and testimony meeting with some super awesome quotes/principles/ideas that I wanted to throw down here:

• It's vital to regain your testimony often (see Elder Andersen's talk from Oct 2014)
• We need to give the Savior of our time this weekend more than anything else
• We don't always know, but God is always there for us and we just have to realize it
• When we make a conscious effort to be obedient, God is able to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon us
• The Lord's tender mercies might seem meaningless to others, but they often have great personal impact
• Answers to prayer come in the Lord's timing, and often uses other people to fulfill his purposes
• Our spirits can do great things!
• The Lord wants, most of all, for us to sacrifice our sins

In addition to that awesomely spiritual sacrament and fast and testimony meeting, we had a great gospel principles class where we talked about the second coming and ended up just having a good time with some memorable quotes. Then in Elder's Quorum this awesome quote from elder Maxwell was shared:

"The highest challenge we have in mortality is to use our free agency well, making right choices in the interplay of time and talents. Time is one of the blessings we are given. Generally speaking, it is we who let ourselves get fragmented too much. It is the result of not establishing (and then persisting in) certain priorities in our life. I am not denying the reality of the challenge you put, but neither do I think it is unmanageable” (Deposition of a Disciple, 68).
“Does all this mean that in letting go of the world, it will be easy to set priorities? No! It is often harder, for now we choose, not between task A, which is a tainted task, and B, which is good; but now we must allot time and talent between C, which is important and good, and D, which is good and important” (Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, 19).
“Just as the Lord was able to summarize His priorities so succinctly that it is his ‘work and … glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39), so we, too, will need to be able to manage our time and talents in such a way that we, too, know our real priorities and focus on them. When we are settled in our hearts on that which really matters, then our talent and time as well as our treasure will be thus deployed!”(We Will Prove Them Herewith, 66–67).

I loved it, so I thought I'd throw it in here for y'all. After church, we got to go to ward choir, since our ride to church is in the choir, so that was awesome :) Then we got to study before heading to dinner with the Evans, which was a blast. After dinner we headed down to where we were going to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which was just fantastic! If you missed it, check it out here: https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/archive/first-presidencys-christmas-devotional/2014/12?cid=HPSU120714557&lang=eng

I hope you guys have a great week! Love y'all! 

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

December 1st, 2014 - Christmas Season in Full Swing!

Hey Everyone!

I hope that you've had a fantastic start to your Christmas season, because we definitely have! Of most particular note this week is the "He is the Gift" initiative the Church is putting on that's got this video as a major part of it:

"He Is The Gift"

It's a dang awesome video, so you should click on that link and watch it now. It's only 3 minutes long. So, just do it. Now. Then you can keep reading. 

So, I hope you actually watched the video. Seriously. It's only 3 minutes. If you haven't, go watch it! Either way, I can't really make you watch it... but I'd highly encourage it...

Moving on, Last week for p-day we went to the Cowboy Museum! It was pretty sweet, with a ton of awesome (and super expensive) artwork and historical stuff that was pretty neat to see. I took a ton of pictures (again), and haven't gone through them yet, so you'll just have to sit quietly and wait for when I actually get around to it. Considering I still haven't gotten around to going through the zoo photos it might be awhile yet. Then on Tuesday we got to have dinner with an awesome couple in the ward and had a fantastic visit with them focused on revelation and the Book of Mormon, where we watched the Patterns of light videos from Elder Bednar located here: Video 1 Video 2 Video 3

You don't have to watch those right now unless you really want to... I'd rather that you go watch "He is the Gift" first, but it's up to you. On Wednesday I got to fix another flat tire that I had gotten, and since it was the day before Thanksgiving we got to go to a "Greedy Pilgrim Feast" that a family in the ward was hosting. Pretty much it's just where a ton of people get together and eat pie the day before Thanksgiving, since we all know that on Thanksgiving you're always too full to actually enjoy the pie that you are eating. So, that was a delicious blast, along with getting to see a few people throughout the day and share a Thanksgiving themed message with them, which was pretty fun. I also happened to read Alma 26 today, which was pretty sweet. There was a passage that stood out to me that said, after talking about all the work that they had been doing and how blessed they were to serve the Lord: "Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever.Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

On Thursday for Thanksgiving we got to go to the Turkey Bowl that the ward was having, and it was a blast, aside from the injury or two that occurred (and almost always come with Turkey Bowls), we had a pretty good time. Then we got to help a family rake up some leaves that covered their lawn, which was pretty fun. For our Thanksgiving meal, yes we only had one (thankfully), we got to spend some time with a couple of the families in the ward and eat some incredible food, play a few games while it digested, and then partake in some awesome pie! It was a pretty sweet day, with lots of things to be grateful for throughout the day. 

Friday was awesome. We got to have a zone meeting where we talked about the "He is the Gift" Initiative, and watched the video, that you all should have watched by now, and if you haven't, here is the link again... seriously just watch it. "He Is The Gift" There really isn't any point in not watching it... so you should just do it. But, the meeting was fantastic, and we were highly encouraged to include that as a major part of our missionary work for this month and help others remember the true meaning of Christmas and learn more about Christ's restored Gospel. So, the rest of the day was spent sharing the gift with people while I was on an exchange with Elder Balch here in Edmond. So, you all should totally share the gift - just go share it on your facebook page or twitter or something. On Saturday we had to do our weekly planning, which took a while, plus we had to exchange back, and we had a fantastic dinner appointment, so it was a pretty good day. 

On Sunday we got to go to church, which was a blast. During the 3rd hour they introduced a site that is supposed to help link volunteers with organizations who need volunteer help, called justserve.org it might not be available in your area yet, but it looked like a super awesome deal, so if it is you should totally check it out. Even if it isn't, I think you'd enjoy checking it out periodically in case it does start getting some use in your area. Later that day we got to share the gift with a few people, which was awesome, and also had the chance to give one of our friends who is learning more about the church a blessing since he hurt his knee in the turkey bowl. Then the awesome member we were out with took us to deliver some food that he had collected at his office as part of a drive before Thanksgiving, to a family in need, so that was pretty awesome.

And then we have today... where my notes include things that I've studied over the last week. I've definitely spent a lot of time in Preach my Gospel this last week, and there were a few quotes that stood out to me:

• "The Savior satisfied the demands of justice for those who repent of their sins and endeavor to keep all of His commandments when He stood in our place and suffered the penalty for our sins. This act is called the Atonement. Because of this selfless act, Christ can plead with the Father on our behalf. Heavenly Father can apply mercy, withhold punishment from us, and welcome us into His presence. Our Heavenly Father shows mercy when He forgives us of our sins and helps us return to dwell in His presence. However, Jesus did not eliminate our personal responsibility. He forgives our sins when we accept Him, repent, and obey His commandments." (PMG p. 61)
• "Before baptism we show our willingness to enter a covenant to keep all the commandments for the rest of our lives. After baptism we show our faith by keeping our covenants. We also regularly renew the covenants we make when baptized by partaking of the sacrament. Partaking of the sacrament weekly is a commandment. It helps us remain worthy to have the Spirit with us always. It is a weekly reminder of our covenants." (PMG p.64)
• "Faith in Christ; repentance; making, renewing, and keeping covenants; and being cleansed by the Spirit become a pattern of living. Our actions in daily life are shaped and governed by these principles. Peace and joy come by following this way, and we gradually grow in Christlike attributes." (PMG p. 66)

Well, I've gotta get other things done today, but I hope you guys have a fantastic week and enjoy the video! "He Is The Gift" Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

P.S. If you have read this entire email and didn't watch the video, you must be pretty stubborn... so I applaud you... but please just watch the video! "He Is The Gift"