March 9th, 2015 - BIRTHDAY!!!

Hey Everyone! 

Thanks so much for all those who sent me various forms of birthday wishes! :) I really appreciated the thoughts! It was a pretty fantastic week, crazy weather aside, and this week is looking like it'll be pretty awesome as well! I had a request that I throw my address in my weekly email, so I'll put that here this week and in the future throw it after my name at the bottom:

1700 Kickingbird Rd Apt 1753

Edmond, Ok 73034

So anyway! This week was good, like I mentioned already - mostly because we got some things done! I've been trying to live by an article that I read last week that was super awesome located here: ARTICLE! It focuses on using your time effectively and managing yourself, and it's helped me to realize that as a missionary I've spent a lot of my time simply doing things - or staying busy - rather than trying to just stay busy for the purpose of being busy. It's a pretty good article, I'd highly recommend it. So anyway, on Monday we had an awesome evening with a delicious dinner and a couple good visits making it well worth being out on a mission :) Tuesday flew by as well - with some fun visits, baking cookies for class during lunch, having a delicious dinner and good conversation there, then we had a fun time at scripture study class. We focused some more on the plan of salvation - a topic I greatly enjoy discussing, but we focused on what happens between this life and judgement day and read a bit from Alma 40, a very good chapter. A quick verse that I particularly liked: "3 Behold, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.But behold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now, I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might know—that is concerning the resurrection." I love this verse because he emphasizes the point that when we inquire diligently we can come to know some of the mysteries of God - the Lord loves us enough to keep us in the loop if we're worthy :) It's just a thought that I like. Then on Wednesday we went out to do service at the Hope Center... and learned that it was closed because the schools were all closed for the bad weather that was supposedly coming... so we went home and changed and went out to do stuff. We had lunch with an awesome family in the ward... and then the snow started and we were told that our car was grounded and we weren't supposed to drive anywhere except home if we weren't already there. So... we decided to just spend the day with the family we were with instead of bored at the apartment and they were nice enough to let us :) It turned out to be a good day :) On Thursday we still had some nice snow on the ground in the morning, and luckily we had weekly planning to do so by the time that was all done we were able to get out and do stuff! It was a good day, and we got to watch this quick video that was super awesome - you've possibly seen it before but it's still great:VIDEO! 

Then came Friday - the beloved birthday! It was a pretty great birthday :) We had district meeting, so I got to see a bunch of awesome missionaries and they all proceeded to sing to me - it was pretty terrible but enjoyable in a weird way. Then we had lunch at a delicious mexican place where I got to wear a huge sombrero :) It was fun - there's a picture of it somewhere! Of other particularly noteworthy things on my birthday was the dinner we had! We got to have dinner with an awesome family in the ward and the sister happened to also have her birthday on Friday! It was a great day :) On Saturday we had a pretty fantastic time - except Elder Fuller hurt his leg playing basketball in the morning so we were pretty limited on what we could do. So, for a decent chunk of time I helped a brother in the ward build some bookshelves while he laid on the couch and rested and iced his ankle. The weather was super nice on Saturday so for dinner we had a picnic in the park with Michelle and Sandy and the food was delicious, plus they made a super delicious cake :) So, the birthday celebrations continued! From what people have told me they'll still be continuing all this week... since I didn't tell very many people it was my birthday until after the fact and most of them have now said they're going to make me a cake when we eat dinner with them this week... so we'll see how fat I get! It was pretty great though on Saturday since we got to go to a baptism for a family in the Guthrie ward and it was a super spiritual service :) Then on Sunday it was just a great day! We were going to follow up with one of the families in the ward... and showed up literally at exactly the same time as their home teachers - so we gave them double duty and the home teachers home taught and then we shared a quick message and followed up on the challenge we gave them, so that was pretty funny since we had both set up an appointment and they had us both come at the same time. So, it was a good week! Sorry it's a shorter email than I typically like, but we've gotta get headed!

Hope you have a great week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

March 2nd, 2015 - MARCH Is HERE?!?!

Hey Everyone!

It looks like March has sneaked up on me again! I can't believe it's already March, especially since there is still white stuff outside. But, the shower of Happy Birthday emails made it pretty clear that y'all were on top of things and weren't caught off guard by the change in month like I was... This week was pretty good though :) We had a great day at church yesterday, with a delicious "break the fast" ward potluck after, plus the snow didn't hinder us working too much! 

On Monday we didn't get a whole lot done missionary work wise, since nobody wanted to drive anywhere once the roads started freezing again, but it was still a nice day! On Tuesday we had to drive up to Stillwater pretty early in the morning for zone conference, which was a blast! We had "Tiwi" boxes installed in our cars as part of a driver accountability program - they're not super restrictive... I think I sped more the day after we got them than I had in many months just seeing how much grace period the box gave us before telling us to "check your speed". But, the actual conference was quite inspiring, with a focus on planning and using the Book of Mormon. A quick quote from President Benson related to the Book of Mormon that was pretty sweet was: "Missionaries need to know how to use the Book of Mormon to arouse mankind’s interest in studying it, and they need to show how it answers the great questions of the soul." It was neat to have President Walkenhorst explain to us how important it is to arouse people's interest in reading the Book of Mormon - not just explain it to them and ask them to read it. Also on Tuesday we had our scripture study class and focused on the Atonement, which was pretty sweet. We spent a bit of time talking about Matthew 11:28-30: " 28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." It's a very powerful passage of scripture, especially considered in the context of this sweet Mormon Message: VIDEO! 

On Wednesday we had a pretty sweet day, with the weather being super nice and getting to do service. Plus, we got to visit with a few people, and it was just a super nice day. Thursday flew by, with going out to the middle of nowhere and catching a few people out there and then having some delicious meals it was a great day :) On Friday we had district meeting here in Edmond and then we went out to lunch - during which it started lightly snowing and some super nice guy paid for all 13 of our meals! It was super intense, especially since none of us knew who he was. So, that was an incredible blessing. That evening we got to have dinner with another awesome family, and a lesson with one of our investigators who's been reading faithfully from the Book of Mormon and it was pretty sweet - plus the apple pie was delicious! Saturday came and went pretty quick, mostly because our car was grounded all day so we walked around a little but didn't get a whole ton done. 

Then came Sunday! Sunday was a blast, with a fantastic fast and testimony meeting, that kicked it off just right. The spirit was super strong for most of the meeting and it focused a lot on prayer, which was sweet. There's a sweet video on prayer that I think you'd enjoy, so check it out here: VIDEO! After fast and testimony meeting Michelle taught gospel principles again and did a fantastic job with the lesson on Prayer! There was a sweet quote that said: "A heart without words is more important than words without heart." or something to that effect. It was a good class, and then we had a fun time in Priesthood with the deacons talking about repentance. After all that we had the ward "break the fast" potluck that was filled with delicious food! It was a great time, and was a solid way to end church. After we got home we headed out to the middle of nowhere and finally caught a less active member and got to have a great visit with them! We focused on agency - since he had asked why there were so many different religions in the world if there was only one true one, and the verse in Joshua 24 stuck out to me: "15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood,or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." So that was sweet. After that we visited with a few other people and started using the nails object lesson that we recently got the materials for and it's been fun! The scripture we've decided to share with it is 3 Nephi 13:33 which says: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Essentially in the object lesson you have a nail that's been hammered into a block of wood and your objective is to balance 10 other nails on the top of that one without them touching the block of wood or the floor/table. It's pretty fun :) So, it was a good week! 

I hope y'all have a fantastic week this week! I certainly will :) Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

February 23rd, 2015 - And... MORE SNOW!!!

Hey Everyone!

It seems to just really like snowing on Mondays here... because it's snowing again today, and this week was definitely pretty clear. Regardless we've had a pretty awesome week, even though it went super fast! I can't believe another week has gone by, but such is life! 

After we got everything done p-day wise last Monday we got to have dinner with an awesome family in the ward and some of their friends and it was a super good time. We had some delicious Mexican food and then headed over to their home for Family Home Evening and had a good lesson and a fun time :) Tuesday was pretty great, as we got to go out to the middle of nowhere and actually caught a family at home that we had never met before! We got to have a good visit with them and built a solid relationship, so that was pretty fun. We also had a delicious dinner with an incredible family here and then our scripture study class was a blast! We had a solid crew there, and a very good discussion about the Plan of Salvation focused on the Kingdoms of Glory ensued. We watched a sweet video that I've probably thrown on here before, but it's awesome. It's called "Our Eternal Life" and I'd highly recommend it, especially if you just want a basic overview of the plan of salvation. We focused on a couple verses in the Doctrine and Covenants which state: "21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.
 22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.
 23 And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
 24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory." We also challenged them to read Alma 7 before class this week, since we're going to talk about the pivotal role of the atonement in the plan of salvation! 

Wednesday came and went pretty quick, just like the rest of this week, and our time is quickly leaving me so I'll have to make the rest of the week pretty quick. We had some sweet visits out with the Priests in the ward this week since they wanted to set up a "Priest Week" where each night we had dinner with a family that has a priest and then take the priest out with us. It went super well, so on Wednesday we had a blast with the Priest! Thursday was weekly planning for the new transfer, plus a solid night with the Priest of that night, so that day was also quite good! Something I learned in my studies this week was a quote from "Jesus The Christ", which I was reading in preparation for the talk I was supposed to give on Sunday. It's a bit long so I'll throw it in a P.S., but it's pretty sweet.  Friday came and went with a fervor - we were driving out in the middle of nowhere after district meeting in Guthrie and ended up finding another new family to work with! It's kinda fun sometimes to drive out to the middle of nowhere, as it helps us burn through conferences pretty fast (we typically listen to conference talks in the car), so it's always a good time! We also had a delicious dinner and a fantastic night out with a priest on Friday, so it was sweet.

On Saturday we got to help a recently moved in family in the ward put up their Sauna... it was pretty intense. It's a pretty neat set up though, and it was a good time and a solid chance to get to know them. We also got to see some awesome families that afternoon and had an incredible dinner that night with some of my favorite people here :) Then came the dreaded Sunday... we were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting, and it was very lightly snowing in the morning so we thought we might have gotten off the hook, but to no avail. The roads were totally fine, so we went to church and had an awesome sacrament meeting! One of the deacons in the ward gave a fantastic talk on an overview of the plan of salvation, then I spoke on the creation and fall, and Elder Fuller rounded out the three pillars or eternity concept with a talk on the Atonement. A quick quote I used in my talk real quick: The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “The great plan of salvation is a theme which ought to occupy our strict attention, and be regarded as one of heaven’s best gifts to mankind.” Then we had an awesome Gospel Principles lesson taught by Michelle :) Sunday night was pretty great, but we've gotta get headed so that's all you'll get today!

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

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

P.S. Here's the Talmage quote:

"The principle of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto Adam. All the essentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in his immortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made of it a thing of earth. He was warned against that very practice. He was not told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not told to look upon it as the fakir of India has come to look upon his body, or professes to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly condemned; but he was told that he must not take into that body certain things which were there at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose the power which it then held of living for ever, and that he would become subject to death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed out to you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, to be enjoyed. We believe in enjoying good food. We think that these good things are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment out of eating that we can; and, therefore, we should avoid gluttony, and we should avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told unto Adam, so is it told unto us: Touch not these things, for in the day that thou doest it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die.

“Here let me say that therein consisted the fall—the eating of things unfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body a thing of earth"

February 16th, 2015 - Freezing Rain!

Hey Everyone!

So... last night we got a spell of freezing rain! Yay! Not. It meant that our car is grounded and so we had to walk a mile and a half to the library in the freezing cold... which I really enjoyed. Took me back to my BYU days. Seriously though... I didn't mind it back then, but on a mission it really slows you down when there isn't a whole lot to do within a mile or two of your apartment and you don't have a car. But, before today this week was pretty swell! Before the freezing rain started last night we had transfer calls - and I'll be staying here with Elder Fuller! We had stake conference, which was fantastic, and just had a blast throughout the week!

Last Monday, since the weather was much nicer, we got to play tennis with a couple of the sisters in the ward and Elder Fuller has slowly been coming to like it more :) That evening we got to have dinner with an awesome family in the ward, and we talked a lot about inviting people to do things and why that's so important to become a part of how we function. I've noticed a lot on my mission that personally I want to improve, but I have a difficult time recognizing the little things I need to change to accomplish that improvement. It reminds me of President Uchtdorf's talk this last conference found: here! It's a pretty good reminder that we often need to turn to the Lord and seek his acceptance in order to know what things we need to change. Other people often help too :)

On Tuesday we had a pretty solid day! We got to talk about the pre-earth life with one of our investigators and watched this sweet video! It's pretty neat to talk with people about things that they had never really considered before, because they're typically pretty open, especially when it doesn't contradict the views that they already have. We also got to talk about the Priesthood in our scripture study class, and it was pretty sweet. It gave me an excuse to make cinnamon rolls - which I still love :) Wednesday came and went pretty quick, we did service at the hope center, did paperwork, had an awesome dinner, and got to visit with a few less active members, so it was fun! Thursday was weekly planning, which flew by, along with the rest of the day! There's a lot of awesome things coming this week - but you'll have to wait until next Monday to hear about them! We got to have a couple good visits on Thursday with a few recent converts and investigators, so that was nice. There was one family that we talked about the concept contained in this talk by Elder Bednar: TALK! It's a very well done talk, and very instructive. I'd highly recommend clicking that link back there and just listening to it while you read the rest of this email - it might be rather boring if you don't!

This weekend flew by, for many reasons, not just because it was stake conference! On Friday we had a sweet district meeting, with lots of good council happening and lots of action to go and do afterward. After the meeting, we went with a less active brother to help a less active member clean out her garage since she's not supposed to lift very much. It was pretty fun, since there was lots of old things - one of which was a Super Nintendo with a box of games that she was pretty sure still works! So, she gave it to the brother who was with us and it was like it was Christmas again :) It was pretty dang fun, with lots of other random things but that was probably the most notable for my nerdself. Also on Friday we got to have dinner with a less active couple in the ward and had a pretty delicious meal and also we helped them hook up their chromecast and we watched the new Mormon Message about family history with them - check it! So, Saturday was stake conference - and we were drafted to sing in the choir, so we ended up being in Stillwater from 2:30-7:30, with an hour drive there and another hour drive back, so it was most of the day. But, the session was fantastic! Plus, before we headed up we got to have lunch with an awesome family in the ward and it was just a solid day! At stake conference I got to see a lot of the members from Ponca City... boy it's been awhile for some of them! But, most of them said they remembered me and that the work was going well up there, so that was fun. Quite a few asked when I was coming back... so I'm going to have to figure something out with that! Sunday was a sweet day - with an excellent stake conference session and just a solid day with lots of visits with people. It was good stuff :) But, that's about it for this week! I slacked off and didn't take any pictures to send out, but that's how most weeks have been so I guess y'all are used to that one...

I hope you have an excellent week! I know we will :) Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

February 9th, 2015 - Michelle's baptism!!

Hey Everyone!

This week was pretty fantastic, with the highlight being Michelle was baptized and confirmed! It was a pretty sweet experience, plus there was some other awesome deals throughout the week. So, I'm going to get right into it since I don't have as much time as I would have liked due to signing up for college housing and all that jazz today... It has to be done eventually though! 

So, first things first, last Monday we had Family Home Evening with a family in the ward and the lesson was on Family History, and it was a good reminder to me that I have a lot of work to do! There are some incredible blessings promised to those who do family history, but I don't have time to go look them up, so you should study that in your free time. On Tuesday we had a pretty solid day, with a good scripture study class (with some delicious brownies for treat!) and a couple other lessons that were just a blast. Our class focused on becoming and using the habits of scripture study, prayer, and keeping the sabbath day holy to move forward to becoming what God wants us to be. There's a great quote from Elder Oaks that we shared that I wanted to include here, it's a little long but fantastic:

"From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.

A parable illustrates this understanding. A wealthy father knew that if he were to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably be wasted. The father said to his child:

“All that I have I desire to give you—not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours.”

This parable parallels the pattern of heaven. The gospel of Jesus Christ promises the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness of the Father, and reveals the laws and principles by which it can be obtained."

It's a fantastic talk titled "The Challenge to Become", and I'd encourage you to read it enough that I put a link to it ;) On Wednesday we had to do our weekly planning, and we did service at the hope center, along with trying to see people it wasn't a very noteworthy day. But, that's because Thursday was a pretty noteworthy day! We got to go to the temple! It was fantastic, and a great day :) A couple scriptures from my studies on Thursday that I wanted to share were: D&C 6:33-34; Moroni 7:31-32; Moses 7:62-63 and D&C 107:99-100

Friday was just a fantastic day :) We got to have district meeting, and then we did service for a lady that the sisters were working with and it was a blast. Then we headed up to prepare and set up for Michelle's Baptism! It was a fantastic service, with some great comments/insights in the talks and the spirit was super strong :) Plus, it made me take a few pictures that I can attach on here! So, that was a super special and awesome deal. A quick verse from my studies is Alma 29:5 which says: "Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men;he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience." 

Then came Saturday, which was a blast! We got to visit with Brother Dinges and had a good time with him, talking about repentance and why we call each other brother/sister. A neat quote from Preach my Gospel says: "Sincere repentance brings several results. We feel God’s forgiveness and His peace in our lives. Our guilt and sorrow are swept away. We feel the influence of the Spirit in greater abundance. And when we pass from this life, we will be more prepared to live with our Heavenly Father and His Son.
 Even after we have accepted Christ and repented of our sins, we may fall short and sin again. We should continually try to correct these transgressions. In addition, we should continually improve—to develop Christlike qualities, to grow in knowledge, and to serve more effectively. As we learn more about what the Savior expects of us, we will want to show our love by obeying Him. 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." It was super spiritual, and just a good time. Plus, we went with a member who has a really nice car, so that was enjoyable to ride in. Then we got to go out to Pops with a fantastic family in the ward and it was a good time! The rest of the day was fantastic as well, with going to dinner with Sandy, Michelle, Mary (Sandy's 2nd cousin that she had met Friday), and Justin at Ted's (a delicious mexican joint). Plus we got to see some other folks and it was just a very good day! 

Sunday just flew by, as most days seem to, and it was fantastic! Michelle was confirmed, which was super spiritual, and then the rest of church was absolutely fantastic, with Sister Merkley giving her farewell talk, and some solid classes. Then we got to have dinner with a wonderful family in the ward and then got to go visit some less active members with another great brother in the ward. That's about it for this week! I hope you have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

 

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