October 27th, 2014 - Notable Experience Week!

Hey Everyone!

This week was full of notable and memorable experiences that I'll address later on in my email today, but it also was full of cool miracles! I had a blast this week with Elder Kenison, who I forgot to mention last week is from West Valley, Utah - a suburb of salt lake. He's a pretty awesome dude so this should be a pretty exciting transfer, especially since it's only 5 weeks long and we're already over a week into it. I took more pictures this week than probably any one week since my mission started, so that was pretty neat - hopefully I make a habit out of it and I actually come home with pictures for you all to see! Well, I don't have a whole lot of time today since the computers at the first library we went to were full so we had to spend time going to another library and get on computers there, plus we're going down to the zoo today for Sister Curtis' birthday, so that should be a blast!

Anyways, this week was marked by some sweet lessons and delicious dinners along with the other memorable occasions that we had. Along with all that I had some pretty sweet studies that I wanted to share a couple thoughts from before I forget. First off, this week in my readings I came across some cool quotes in Preach my Gospel that I wanted to share and throw in some thoughts about. First, in chapter 1 it says: Along with your authority comes aresponsibility to live worthy of your calling. As the Lord’s representative, you areto be “an example of the believers” (1 Timothy 4:12)... Honor Christ’s nameby your actions." I found it interesting how as missionaries we're given the authority to teach people the gospel and baptize them as they strengthen faith in Christ and repent, but that also means that we have to ensure that we're always living in such a way that those we come in contact with will recognize us as representatives of Jesus Christ and bearers of his name - which all members of the church bear. So, the part I bolded "Honor Christ's name by your actions" really struck me because that's something all members must do, especially if they want to live up to the other portions of their baptismal covenant. Then in chapter 11 it states: "Boldness shows your faith that obedience to the Lord’s commandments brings blessings." I know that the Lord blesses those who keep His commandments, and in order to help others come to that knowledge it's super important for us to be bold in inviting others to learn more about the Lord and His gospel! It also reminded me of a saying I've heard that the difference between boldness and overbearance is love. The last thought I wanted to share in this part is from a talk by Elder Christensen of the seventy in the October 2012 conference he said: "We all have experiences with the Holy Ghost, eventhough we may not always recognize them. As inspired thoughts come into ourminds, we know them to be true by the spiritual feelings that enter into ourhearts. President Boyd K. Packer has taught: “The Holy Ghost speaks with avoice that you feel‍ more than you hear.‍ … While we speak of ‘listening’ to thewhisperings of the Spirit, most often one describes a spiritual prompting bysaying, ‘I had a feeling …’”¹⁸‍ It is through these sacred feelings from the HolyGhost that we come to know what God would have us do, for this, as stated inscripture, “is the spirit of revelation.”^19"

So for time's sake I'm going to have to move on to other less spiritual but still exciting things, like on Wednesday when we got to go to Pops! An awesome member couple took us out there for dinner and it was delicious. They're famous for the incredible selection of soda they have, with tons of flavors and brands. There's also a pretty sweet looking thing out front that is in the background of this picture we took that I attached on here. I also decided to throw on a picture of their rootbeer fridge, even though I didn't end up getting rootbeer since I instead got "stalinade" - some sort of red soda.

The next majorly notable event was on Friday when I got to go on exchanges with Elder Balch in Guthrie North. It was a blast, for the short time we got to spend in Guthrie, and then we headed to Stillwater for what proved to be an eventful night! The zone leaders had asked us to come help with the OSU walk-around that they do for homecoming weekend, and there was a ton of people there! It was an absolute blast, especially getting to go around and see all the different "Decks" that the frats and sororities built. It was just a blast, so I'm going to throw a couple pictures from that on as well. Sorry that's all I have time for today! Have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

October 20th, 2014 - Longest. Week. Ever. And the Greatest!

Hey Everyone!

I think this literally might have been the longest week on my mission yet... It's hard to believe that the last time I sent out an email I was still in Ardmore, since there's been a ton of things that have happened this week that make each day seem super eventful. So... I guess I'll just have to do a day by day type of thing and we'll see where that takes me. 

So... last Monday was my last time going to Confetti's, which was kind of sad... but I got to take some pictures there since I actually remembered my camera and it was a blast! That night ended up being a night to pack after an awesome dinner with the Griffith family. Then came the sad day of Tuesday, where I had to say goodbye to as many people as I wanted to on my last day in Ardmore. I was pretty successful in seeing all the people I absolutely had to... there were a few I didn't get to see, which was probably the saddest part of leaving, but it's all good. I got tons of pictures with people... but I don't really feel like sorting through those right now. while getting pictures though most families wanted me to share a scripture with them so I ended up sharing 2 Nephi 33:10-13 and also Jacob 6:11-13 a couple times along with my favorite of Alma 37:34-37. Suffice it to say that I got some pictures with people and it was good. 

Wednesday was definitely the longest day of the week, perhaps even the longest day of my mission. We got up earlier to drive to transfers since we had to be in Paul's Valley by 8 to meet up with the zone leaders before they had to be down there... so we ended up getting to transfers relatively early, which was alright. But then we had plenty of time to talk to people so I was able to catch up with a ton of mission friends who were also getting transferred. Of particular note was Elder Beus, my companion in Choctaw, who was going down to Ardmore South (the other area in Ardmore), so that should be fun for him. Eventually it was time to head out, but it turned out that one of the Guthrie Elders' investigators is moving down to Moore soon so we had a service project lined up to help her tear out some carpet in the new place - which was super gross. Eventually we did make it up to Edmond, and got some Chick-fil-A! Woooohoo! Sadly while there we talked to this fellow named Barry, who told us he was open to and searching for truth and then just spent the entire time we ate telling us things he thought were wrong about our church... most of which weren't true anyway. After that we went back to the apartment and Ashley - a girl going on a mission soon (she's waiting for her call) - dropped my stuff off at the apartment and then took all of us missionaries shopping at target! After we were done with all of that we went and got to talk to this fellow named Russell and then a sister in the ward who lives down the street from him. Finally it was time for dinner, which was at our apartment - supposedly something that never happens here, or so I'm told. After dinner we headed off on our bikes to try and see the Thompsons. On the way there my back tire went flat due to some evil spikey burr things, but we were already almost there so we just walked the rest of the way. We did get to talk to Sister Thompson, which was pretty sweet and we talked about practicing the lessons with her and her family, and they liked that idea so it should be fun! One of my favorite lessons to practice with people is the plan of salvation, particularly because of this one scripture in Alma 34:

" 8 And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
 9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish;yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made." Then while we were walking back toward the apartment my front tire went flat - again from the evil spikey burr things. So... that was kind of depressing and we called a couple members and eventually found one willing and able to come pick us up - Brother Orgill. He picked us up, and we dropped off the bikes at the apartment and then he was nice enough to take us down to wal-mart to get some new tubes, and then his son Josh convinced him to go to Braum's, so we snagged some shakes, and then finally made it back to the apartment. So... I was pretty tired, but it was quite the eventful first day! 

Thursday wasn't quite as eventful, since we had weekly planning in the morning where I was told a ton of information about the area, and then after lunch and fixing my bike we got to help Sister Champlin move some stuff around, and get stuff out of her attic with the help of her awesome home teachers in preparation for her move down to Pensacola. After that we had to change and stuff and by that time it was about time for dinner, so we had dinner and then headed out. That night we had a lesson at Connor's house with his friend Hudson, which was fantastic. It was a blast for one, and for two it was super spiritual, so that was neat. We talked about a ton of stuff, reviewing mostly since they hadn't gotten to see Hudson in a while, and we also watched this sweet video: VIDEO! We talked a lot about the Joseph Smith story and the restoration, and it was sweet. 

Since I'm of course running out of time, I'll breeze through the next couple of days... On Friday we had an awesome district meeting and district lunch, and then I got to go on an exchange with Elder Tracy in Guthrie South. It was a blast as we got to go out with a young man named Alex for the afternoon and then had dinner with his family before going out with President Larson the EQP for their ward. It was a pretty awesome day, and we got to see a few of their people they get to work with and it was just a blast. On saturday we got to do a service project with the Moon family, some members in the Guthrie ward, and they fed us a delicious lunch. After that we showered and go to work through the day until dinner with Sandy, a recent convert who is super awesome. Yesterday we had ward conference, which was a blast and there was a ton of people I had never met before, but we got to hear from President Bowman, which was awesome. After church we had studies and then dinner with the Larsen family, who had some of their family that lives down in the Village there as well. That was awesome, and then we got to go out and about and I met a few other fantastic families throughout the night. At one family we had an interesting discussion about second chances and why we get those even if we grew up with the gospel and just chose not to do the things we know we should, so that was good. I would share more about my studies... but I forgot my study journal and I also have a really long email already... so hopefully the things I've already included are good enough of a spiritual boost. But I also wanted to close with a quote from President Uchtdorf's talk:

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”

The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.

In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."

I hope y'all have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

October 13th, 2014 - Transfers?!?

Hey Everyone!!

Well it looks like my time in glorious Ardmore is coming to a close and I'm going to Edmond 3rd in another bike area! It's been a pretty crazy week here, with transfer calls and stake conference and lots of random other things happening, so I can't wait to tell you about some of it!

My new address is:

1700 Kickingbird rd. Apt 1753

Edmond, OK 73034

First off, a couple times this week we had the privilege of watching Elder Bednar's talk from conference again with people, so y'all should check it out here: Bednar!

So yeah, we got to watch that with the Isers and Ricky and Jessica, and it was pretty neat. It's a super good talk, especially addressed to those who aren't members of the church, but very applicable to members as well. Also of note this week is that the Isers moved over to the other side of town, so it was fun to be able to help with that one afternoon.

On Friday we got to have a good chat with Chris Nash, and he had watched part of President Eyring's talk in Priesthood Session ( Eyring! ) and it was neat because when I had listened to that talk I didn't think it really applied to our friends who aren't members of the church, but as Chris told us of some things he learned he really liked the principle President Eyring talked about when you have to reprove someone - how you afterward show and increase of love. Here's the quote: "You will remember the Lord’s counsel: “Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy.”

The word increase has special meaning in preparing priesthood holders when they need correction. The word suggests an increase of a love that was already there. The “showing forth” is about the increase. Those of you who are preparing priesthood holders will certainly see them make mistakes. Before they receive your correction, they must have felt of your love early and steadily. They must have felt your genuine praise before they will accept your correction."

Then on Saturday and Sunday we had a glorious stake conference! Elder Villareal, an area authority presided at the conference and had some incredibly instructive and inspiring things to share. Sadly I was silly and forgot my notes (I might have already packed them away...), so you all don't get to hear about that yet today. In my studies this week I've focused a lot on conference and the Book of Mormon, which has been pretty nice.  Sorry the email is a bit short and scattered today... transfers make my brain focus on other things... like how the heck I'm going to get everything packed and see everyone I want to in time :P

Have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

October 6th, 2014 - CONFERENCE!!!! WHOOOO!!!

Hey Everyone!!

This week was absolutely fantastic - with a ton of awesome things that we got to do! Foremost is of course General Conference!! I don't know if y'all liked what I did last conference or not, but I did the same thing again since I liked it... so here is the summary for this conference! As you go through the list, write down talks that stick out to you and research them further - Check it out online at gc.lds.org!

President Monson

-Saturday Morning: The work moves forward unhindered – 88,000+ missionaries, 143 operating temples and 27 more in the process

-Priesthood: A Man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder, so we must chart and sail a course straight to the Celestial Kingdom of God

- Sunday Morning: Physically walking where Jesus walked is far less important than walking AS he walked, which path will lead us safely home through his teachings and example.

- Sunday Afternoon: May you return home with a resolve to do a little better than before!

President Eyring

- Priesthood: All of us have an obligation to help other prepare through trust and caring to come unto Christ

- Sunday Morning: Revelation continues in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “the Prophet receiving it for the church … the father for his family, the individual for himself.”

President Uchtdorf

-Saturday Morning: The Process of Gathering spiritual light is the quest of a lifetime, and the more we incline our heart and mind to God the more we receive. By the same token if we remove ourselves from the Gospel our light will dim, for the Savior promised that if you seek you will find.

- Priesthood: “Lord, Is it I?” is something each of us must regularly ask ourselves as we assess our progress on the gospel path, which progress we need to see clearly through God’s eyes.

President Packer – We need everyone to apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ and apply all of their wisdom, insight, and spiritual strength to moving this work forward.

Elder Perry – To be a Christian is to admire Jesus so fervently to aspire in our lives to be like Him, and the home is the best place to begin as we fulfill the different roles described in the scriptures and the Family: A Proclamation to the world.

Elder Nelson – Do you and I really understand what it means to sustain the prophet?

Elder Oaks – As we strive to obey Christ’s command to “Love one another, as I have loved you” we must avoid contention through patience and kindness and pressing forward having a love of God and all men.

Elder Ballard – Stay in the boat (the church), always wear a life jacket (the scriptures) and hold on with both hands (through the atonement) until the old ship Zion arrives safely at the Celestial Kingdom

Elder Scott – The tools to find peace in this life are sincere prayer, studying the scriptures and words of prophets daily, weekly family home evening and going to the temple!

Elder Hales – To receive eternal life we must come to know God the Father and his literal son Jesus Christ, which is done through personal revelation and building upon his Gospel

Elder Holland – We obtain a remission of our sins by pleading before God, we retain it by caring for and serving others – Christianity is obviously not a statistical matter

Elder Bednar – “Why are latter-day Saints so eager to share what they believe?” Absolute truth exists still, so we urge you to come and see if the restored Gospel enlarges and enriches what you know!

Elder Cook –Our daily conduct and choices should reflect moderation, balance, and wisdom and be consistent with our goals, for our “Decisions determine destiny”.

Elder Christofferson – Personal accountability is the only way to achieve our full potential as children of God as we apply the Gospel of Christ and avoid relativism.

Elder Andersen – Spiritual questions deserve spiritual answers from God and every person must obtain for themselves from God a spiritual knowledge of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Elder Robbins – Remember which way you should face as decisions of character must be made by remembering the order of the two great commandments. Ensure you do not fear man more than God.

Sister Esplin – The sacrament needs to be a spiritual highlight and experience each week!

Elder Wong – To assist the savior in saving souls we should always be anxiously engaged and work together in harmony, each fulfilling our roles

Brother Callister – Parents are to take the responsibility as the prime gospel teachers

Elder Klebingat – We must increase our confidence before God by taking responsibility for our spiritual and physical well-being, whole heartedly obeying God, becoming really really good at repenting and forgiving quickly and thoroughly, and accepting the trials that will certainly come

Elder Gavarret – We all must feed the desire in our hearts to answer “Yes Lord, I’ll follow thee”

Sister McConkie – Following the Prophet and standing with the prophets is always desirable

Elder Hamula – The Sacrament needs to become more sacred and Holy to each of us as it helps us not only to Remember, but also receive the benefits of Christ’s Atonement.

Elder Godoy – Are you living in a way that the blessings promised to you by God (specifically in your patriarchal blessing) will be fulfilled? To do so, consider your options with the end in mind, be prepared for the challenges that will come, and share the vision with the people you love

Elder Allen Packer – Frequent small course corrections are easier and less painful than large ones, strive to fulfill ALL the requirements of exaltation. It’s time to take the cover off our hatchets and go to work!

Elder Martinez – “He who serves in some thing is good for something, he who serves in no thing is good for nothing”, so discover needs of individuals and families then tend to them as you strive to minister

Elder Kacher – “There are many currents in this earthly life, some safe and others not” - Where do you turn to find out which “currents” are safe or what is true? You must turn to God for absolute truth!

Alright... that pretty much covers general conference! That was two awesome days this week, but there were many other highlights this week! First off, aside from conference, the coolest thing that happened was that we got to watch "Meet the Mormons"! It was fantastic - I'd highly recommend it! We were told to write down some quotes we liked... so I did... and I thought about sharing them with y'all, but I think that'd spoil the movie... so here's just one: "Just as bad choices can spiral to despair good choices can turn into miracles." Since I don't want to spoil it I'll leave it at that... There's an awesome song from it with a few cool clips located at this link: Meet the Mormons! It was a dang good video, so you all should check it out! Since this email is already pretty long I just wanted to share two other experiences real quick. First, on Monday we were out and about and thought we should try one of our investigators we hadn't seen in ages, so we did and he was home! He also had a friend there, so we got to have a pretty cool discussion with both of them about opposition and trials and such, and it was pretty spiritual. The other highlight I wanted to share was from the funeral for sister Gooden we went to on Thursday. Bishop Newell spoke a little and shared a story about a man who opened a new business and his friend ordered a wreathe of flowers for him. When it was delivered the florist made a mixup and the new business owner received one that said "Rest in Peace". When he called his friend to ask why he sent that, the friend replied: "Just think of a dead man with the wreathe "Good luck in your new place!". I thought it was a pretty neat story, but I learned that day that sometimes funerals end up being pretty light-hearted.

That's about it for this week! Have an absolutely fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

P.S. I would have written a longer email... but I have a couple others to write today :)

September 29th, 2014 - Wake me up when September ends?

Hey Everyone!

So... for those of you who have been sleeping all summer it's time to wake up since September has just about ended! I can't believe that September has passed already... but such is life on a mission. This week was pretty sweet though, with some awesome things happening! There were also a couple noteworthy events that were a blast to go to, including zone p-day last week. We had a fantastic Specialized training meeting last Monday where we broke down 1 Nephi 17 and related that to building an area and ourselves, and it was a fantastic spirit. One verse that I loved was verse 15 which says:

"Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments‍ of the Lord, and Idid exhort‍ my brethren to faithfulness and diligence."

On Tuesday we got to see Joshua and the Iser Family, which was awesome. With the Isers we talked about a few things that are happening these days and then Alma 34:34 which says:

"Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, thatI will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which dothpossess‍ your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit willhave power to possess your body in that eternal world." and then left them to watch a fantastic talk from Elder Holland found HERE! 

Wednesday flew by, as we got to go out with Brother Robie most of the afternoon and got to visit with Brad, an associate Methodist pastor at one of the larger churches in town, and had a good visit about the plan of salvation. We also got to see a couple other people and at one home we got to watch the video I told y'all to watch last week found again here!

I spent some time in the Christlike Attributes chapter during my studies this week, specifically focusing on Hope and Faith. When I was reading the one on Faith a talk that referred to the account in Alma 32 was brought to mind, so I went and listened to that. At one point Elder Jensen shares that: (it's a bit long, but it's all good stuff)

"Alma compared the word unto a seed. I pause to emphasize that I have heard some in the Church cite Alma 32:28 and teach that Alma compared faith to a seed. The precise comparison is the word to a seed. I will read verses 28 and 30, and in each instance following the first sentence where the word seed appears, I will substitute the word word:
Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a [word] may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true [word], or a good [word], if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good [word], or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me. . . .
But behold, as the [word] swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the [word] is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good [word]; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow. [Alma 32:28, 30]
True words, true doctrines, and true principles planted by faith, like seeds, will sprout and grow. They lead to testimony. Listen again to three words from the last line of verse 30. They are “I know that.” These words often introduce expressions of testimony: “I know that God lives” or “I know that Jesus is the Christ” or “I know that the Book of Mormon is true.” We hear variations of this phrase in “I testify that” or “I declare that” or “I witness that”—all acceptable and appropriate."
(From Building Upon the Rock: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1827)

Anyway, it's a very interesting point to ponder about, and I've thought about it a lot the last couple days. In addition to that, I spent quite a bit of time studying "The Priesthood Man" by President Eyring since that's the topic for the lesson we got to teach in Elder's Quorum yesterday. It's a fantastic talk, and I've noticed a difference as I strive to remember and thank the Lord for the people who have blessed my life that day and how. There's lots of things President Eyring points out that we can do specifically to be great priesthood men, so I'm hoping to tackle them one by one and make them habits.

On Thursday we got to go on exchanges after weekly planning and such, and got to walk around and do some biking. We saw quite a few people, which was awesome, and I learned about luxury tax from one of them... something I only thought existed in Monopoly for all these years! Then on Friday we had a fantastic district meeting and got to help out with the Genealogy after hours event at the library here, which was pretty sweet. The speaker talked about using newspapers in research, plus the food was delicious.

On Saturday we had the fantastic opportunity to watch Little Oscar get baptized! There was a story shared by Bishop Newell at the baptism that went something along these lines: A man was hired by the road department and was assigned his first day to paint the yellow line that goes down the road. On the first day he painted 10 miles of road, which was fantastic! The second day he was assigned to the same task, since he had gotten such fantastic results, and he painted 7 miles - which was still above average! So, the next day he was assigned again to paint the line, and painted 5 miles - which is what everyone else does, so he was still doing well. The next day he was again assigned and only painted 3 miles. His supervisor was worried what was causing the decline, so he had a meeting with him and asked. The painter responded: "I keep getting farther from the paint bucket!" Bishop Newell then related that to how the gift of the Holy Ghost allows us to carry the paint with us - to have the spirit with us whenever we are worthy and searching for it. It was a fantastic service, and I'm glad I've had the chance to teach him a few times. ​We also got to help the young men serve the women and girls of the ward who came for the dinner provided before the General Women's Meeting. It was a fantastic day!

Yesterday, as mentioned earlier, we got to teach Elder's quorum, and also had a fantastic time throughout the rest of the day. In teaching we focused upon three quotes from the talk:

"Each of you will be a model of a priesthood man whether you want to be ornot. You became a lighted candle when you accepted the priesthood. The Lordput you on the candlestick to light the way for everyone who surrounds you.That is especially true for those in your priesthood quorum. You can be a greatmodel, an average one, or a bad model. You may think it doesn’t matter toyou, but it does to the Lord."

"I have observed three common characteristics of the priesthood holders whoare my heroes. One is a pattern of prayer, the second is a habit of service, andthe third is a rock-hard decision to be honest.

We all pray, but the priesthood holder you want to be prays often and with realintent. In the evening you will get on your knees and thank God for theblessings of the day. You will thank Him for parents, for teachers, and for greatexamples to follow. You will describe in your prayers specifically who hasblessed your life and how, during that day. That will take more than a fewminutes and more than a little thought. It will surprise you and change you."

"“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality‍ and eternal life of man.”
We are to help in that work. Each of us can make a difference. We have been prepared for our time and place in the last days of that sacred work. Each of us has been blessed with examples of those who have made that work the overriding purpose of their time on earth.
I pray that we may help each other rise to that opportunity."

That's all I got this week! Have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

P.S. Sorry for the long letter again? I had plenty of time again today :P

September 22nd, 2014 - Zone Conference!

Hey Everyone!

This week was pretty great! We got to have a zone conference on Wednesday, which was super awesome. In addition to that, we had some good visits and had a pretty great time throughout the week. A couple noteworthy events happened throughout the week, that I'll talk about in a bit. After I share this quote from Elder Holland that I found was pretty neat:

"A memorable account of the power of such teaching comes from the life of the prophet Jeremiah. This great man felt the way most teachers orspeakers or Church officers feel when called—inexperienced, inadequate,frightened. “Ah, Lord,” he cried, “behold, I cannot speak: for I am [but] a child.”
But the Lord reassured him: “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee. … Therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them.”
So speak unto them he did, but initially not with much success. Things went from bad to worse until finally he was imprisoned and made a laughingstock among the people. Angry that he had been so mistreated and maligned, Jeremiah vowed, in effect, never to teach another lesson,whether that be to an investigator, Primary child, new convert, or—heaven forbid—the 15-year-olds. “I will not make mention of [the Lord], nor speak any more in his name,” the discouraged prophet said. But then came the turning point of Jeremiah’s life. Something had been happening with every testimony he had borne, every scripture he had read, every truth he had taught. Something had been happening that he hadn’t counted on. Even as he vowed to close his mouth and walk away from the Lord’s work, he found that he could not. Why? Because “his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”
That is what happens in the gospel to both the teacher and the taught."

It's from the talk "A Teacher Come from God" and I thought it was pretty neat as I was listening to it this morning. Anyway, the first highlight I wanted to share this week was on Tuesday when a family invited all of us over for a Chicken Nugget Eating Contest, where I learned that after about 20 nuggets they just don't taste very good. The results of the contest were:

• Sister Ellis - 20
• Elder Neves - 30
• Aj McKendrick - 30
• Elder Hansen - 40
• Elder Hoopes - 50
• Sister Heaton - 53
• Elder Nielson - 65

Anyway, it was a pretty great time as we all struggled to eat as many nuggets as we could. In total we ate about 288 nuggets - just with those involved in the contest. Good thing they got them at Aldi instead of like McDonalds or something expensive like that. Then on Wednesday the highlight was that we got to go to zone conference! So, some quick thoughts/notes from that which I wanted to share!

• President Walkenhorst Shared some quotes from Elder Cook at the latest Mission President's seminar he went to:
• "If we have more faith we will have more success"
• "There is a large gap between the two" (D&C 10:53 and 29:7)
• "What is a mighty change of heart? A Hard heart to a broken heart to a healed heart to a turned heart (desire to share with others, especially your own family)."
• D&C Section 112:
• 10 - Be humble. God will lead you
• 14 - Feed my sheep
• 19-21 - An Effectual door to be opened. You have power to open the door
• 22 - Hearken to the voice of the spirit
• 28 - Purify your hearts before me, preach my gospel to every creature
• 30 - Power is given for the last time
• 33 - How great is your calling!
• President Satterthwaite shared some thoughts related to stakes that were pretty neat
• "What is a Stake?"
• Isaiah 52:2
• D&C 82:14
• D&C 109:39
• D&C 115:6
•  Lastly, at one point President Walkenhorst was talking about the church we are apart of and related it to a law firm - The people in the name are the key partners in a firm, and just like that the people included in the name of the Church are those who are important to it - D&c 115:4 says: "For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." It's not just the Church of Jesus Christ, it's the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - it's there for us and we have a key part to play in it. We're literally partners in his work.

The highlight/miracle from Thursday was that we got to see the Crofts! Brother Croft had been in the hospital the last couple weeks when he found out that he's got liver cancer, so we were able to chat with him a bit and hopefully next time we'll get to watch this cool mormon message that y'all should check out here!

For Friday the highlight was definitely our meeting with Bishop Newell, which was fantastic. We talked about the principle of visions that Elder Foster had taught us during the mission tour that I don't remember how well I talked about it last week... but basically he gave us 6 steps that are key to distinguishing between a vision and a goal. 

Hopefully that picture thing worked... Anyway, he talked a lot more about the vision side, since he said in general the church does pretty well with the Goals side. So, we shared that with Bishop, and then talked about it again in ward council yesterday, as we strive to share the vision with the ward that the Lord is Hastening his work to bring souls to Christ, and that he needs us all to be involved in it. But, the reason that was the highlight for Friday is just that it's always fantastic to work with people who have the same vision as you, and it seemed pretty clear that Bishop was on the same page. On Saturday we met a couple new people that will probably end up being highlights that you'll hear about in later emails, Joseph and then Brittany, but we'll see what happens.
​

Lastly, this week in Preach my Gospel I focused a lot on Chapter 10, as that's also what zone conference was focused on. It's all about teaching skills and a part from there I wanted to share with y'all along with a couple thoughts I had. It says: "The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have stated: “Our purpose is to teach the message of the restored gospel in such a way as to allow the Spirit to direct both the missionaries and those being taught.It is essential to learn the [missionary lessons] but these should not be taught by rote presentation. The missionary should feel free to use his own words as prompted by the Spirit. He should not give a memorized recitation, butspeak from the heart in his own terms. He may depart from the order of the lessons, giving that which he is inspired to do, according to the interest and needs of the investigator. Speaking out of his own conviction and in his own words he should bear testimony of the truth of his teachings.” As I was ponder this paragraph this week I noticed a couple distinct things that I've put in bold here. The first one, really struck me because of that last part - the spirit has to direct those being taught just as much as us. If we push too hard, or they choose not to follow it then it will be almost impossible for any conversion to take place. It then gives us the way that we can allow the spirit to truly direct both us and them - speaking from the heart. It reminds me of this quote from President Hinckley:

“We must strengthen ourselves and our people to get our teachers to speak out of their hearts rather than out of their books, to communicate their love for the Lord and this precious work, and somehow it will catch fire in the hearts of those they teach” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley[1997], 619–20).

As we strive to teach from the heart that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare - in fact I've learned that in order to do that you have got to be more prepared then you would if you were just using a memorized thing for in order to truly speak from the heart it has to be something that's in your heart and not just your mind - you truly have to know and feel the truthfulness of everything you teach and not just accept that it's what the prophets and apostles have asked us to teach. Another quote from that same talk by Elder Holland real quick:

"In this Church it is virtually impossible to find anyone who is not a guide of one kind or another to his or her fellow members of the flock... For each of us to “come unto Christ,” to keep His commandments and follow His example back to the Father is surely the highest and holiest purpose of human existence. To help others do that as well—to teach, persuade, and prayerfully lead them to walk that path of redemption also—surely that must be the second most significant task in our lives."

I know that the Lord places us where we are for a reason. Missions are tough, but they're also fantastic! It's not always easy for us... but then again it wasn't easy for our master and leader either, so why should it be for us? (See this talk for more on that). Anyway... I didn't really want to share this story since it's kind of embarrassing, but since I still have some time today I think I will. For those of you who suffered through the rest of this, perhaps this is a nice reward. On Saturday morning we were going through our phone contacts calling people we didn't know and deleting numbers that either we didn't need anymore - like people who have moved out, or that were disconnected. So, while doing that there were two noteworthy calls. The first was to a Brother Peterson... We had a less active brother Peterson on our roster, so that's who I figured it was... so we called the number to see if it still worked. After ringing for a little while someone answered, and I asked if it was Brother Peterson. It was, and then he asked who I was, so I told him. He asked what he could do for us, and so I asked if he was still living in Ardmore, he said that he hadn't lived here since 2006... so I asked if he was the Brother Peterson on our roster who was less active... and it turned out to instead be the President for the Lawton stake, President Peterson whom I had met a couple times while I was in Lawton... silly me calling him thinking he was less active, right?

The other probably not that funny story was a conversation with someone in our contacts named "City" It went something like this:

"Hello, City of.... (I couldn't tell what she said)"

"What?"

"City of Ardmore Answering Service, what can I do for you?"

"What is this for?"

"It's the Answering Service for the City of Ardmore...?"

"Oh... Thanks for answering!" - Call Ends.

Elder Hansen thought it was pretty funny... but I just had no idea what to even ask the answering service... and I would have felt rude just hanging up... so that's all I got. I dunno... it made sense to me at the moment?

Anyway, I've gotta get going now! I hope y'all have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

P.S. Sorry it's long today... Or I guess not sorry if you wanted a long email today... but I didn't have many other emails to respond to, and I didn't have anything else to do on the computer... so this is what happens I guess.

September 15th, 2014 - The Power of Counsels

Hey Everyone,
Here is Jordan's latest update! It's a great one!
-Spencer A. Nielson

Hey Everyone!

This week was pretty awesome, with a sweet mission tour with Elder Bradley Foster of the seventy and a couple cool miracles in addition to that. Aside from that it went by as a pretty normal week... no transfers or anything like that, and no super exciting changes really. 

Anyway, last Monday wasn't all that exciting, and then Tuesday was the mission tour so I wanted to share a few thoughts/scriptures from that in a bullet list!

• Alma 37:6-7 -> Small and simple means are key

• Trials are a lot like shampoo - if you look down they run into your eyes and make it hard to see the big picture, but if you look up they run off your back and don't interfere with your perspective

• Helaman 7:7-9

• Romans 8:16-17

• "You can't overcome temptation, you have to avoid it" - Elder Foster

• "The Greater the Agency, the greater the growth"

• Moroni 7:47 -> There is a difference between being "found possessed" and "possessing"

• Vision determines direction, goals are simply markers for the distance in that direction

• "The greater the vision, the greater the motivation"

• D&C 58:25-28

• Counsels are the way the Lord governs his church

• If people understand 2 things they will be motivated to act: (1) "I can do this" (2) "I or my circle will be blessed for it"

• "What I say unto one i say unto all" -> The Lord has told us this multiple times throughout the Doctrine and Covenants, do you believe it?

• Moses 1... pretty much all of it. 

• 2 Nephi 32:8

• 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

• Do you believe what the Lord says in D&c 98:1-3: "1 Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

•  2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

•  3 Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord."

So, it was a super awesome meeting, and pretty dang spiritual. I hope you caught the spirit of it. Two major things I got out of it were the importance of visions and of believing what the Lord tells us in the scriptures applies directly to us. 

On Wednesday we got to do a bunch of service and ended up with a nice looking flower bed instead of a weed infested patch of ground as the reward for our work - plus a nice lunch. Something I studied today was in Preach my Gospel chapter 11 where it says: "Repentance and change will help people conquer challenges, rid themselves of shame and guilt, and experience the peace and joy of God’s forgiveness." As I was pondering on that and striving to apply it I realized how important it was that we help people do things to move closer to God, for we all experience guilt or shame at some point and repentance, as this quote says, is the only way to rid ourselves of that. Also on Wednesday we got to have correlation and pow-wow which helped to get all the missionaries here in Ardmore on the same page. 

Thursday was pretty intense, with some planning and a couple sweet visits in the afternoon. Today we ended up focusing a lot on 2 Nephi 2:27-29 with those that we saw, as that's what we talked about with Jessica and the Isers. It says: "27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. 28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit; 29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom." As we discussed this with those that we saw it was pretty clear to me that these verses went along with the quote I had read yesterday... which was pretty neat. Something also reminded me of something that Elder Perry said about why missionaries have members with them. He said "While the full-time missionaries are responsible for teaching investigators, they can and should be accompanied ... Members who accompany the missionaries should bear their testimony of the principles taught in the missionary lessons and reinforce these principles between missionary appointments."

Anyway, the last highlight of this week was on Saturday when we got to go out with Oscar to see Cliff, David, and Jeff, a few guys we had met last week. We had a sweet lesson with them, and just had a blast as we discussed the restoration of the gospel. At one point the cups object lesson was brought up and brought out and seemed to help a lot, so if you've not seen the cups you could ask your local missionaries about it. But, it was a pretty great lesson, and it was awesome to be able to hear Oscar's testimony and some of his experiences as he joined the church last year. 

That's all I got for this week! Have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

September 8th, 2014 - Missionary Work Rocks!

So my brother only has 8 or so months left so I'm going to have to post every week so that you all can see what he says in the home stretch. Enjoy!
-Spencer A. Nielson

Hey Everyone!

This week has just been a blast. I forgot to mention it in my email last week, but transfers were this week and Elder Hansen and I get to stay together here in Ardmore! Anyway, it's been a pretty crazy week with some awesome miracles and some sweet happenings. So, I'm just going to get into it.

On Monday, since it was Labor day and I forgot to talk about it in my last email, we got to spend all day at Confetti, a bounce-house place owned by a family in the ward here and it was a blast. They have a ton of cool bounce-houses and there was lots to do. They're kind of hard to describe in words but they have quite the selection. I think they might have a website with some pictures, but I don't know for sure. 

Tuesday we had a couple sweet visits, but we also emailed and had a couple longer drives throughout the day so there wasn't as much time as usual for a typical Tuesday. But, after trying to see the Iser family a lady across the way said that she was heading to work but wanted us to come by on Saturday, which was her day off, as she was heading inside. We weren't entirely sure what to think, but we wrote down that we'd go see the trailer park lady on Saturday at some point, and moved on with the day. That night though we got to see Joshua and somehow ended up talking about fasting with him, and he decided to fast and we decided to fast with him the next day to help with some of the trials he was going through at the time. We then got to follow-up with him on Friday about how it went and he was much happier and said it helped a lot to get him spiritually in tune again with the Lord. It was pretty neat.

I'm listening to this talk right now and they just said: "Either the teacher and the learner are both having a great time, or neither one of them is having a great time."

On Wednesday night after having a couple meetings in the morning and various other administrative things done during the day we had a few awesome visits. First, we got to see Linda and Lonnie briefly and talked about the Book of Mormon and the line on the title page that says "And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ." After that we got to see the Isers and had a sweet discussion on prayer and faith with them, playing a bit of hangman and also using the "What's in the Box?" Analogy of asking the Lord what you really want to know instead of just questions that are related to it. Then we got to see Oscar and watched this mormon message: Video! It was a pretty sweet night, and the spirit was super strong throughout the night. 

Today I wanted to share a couple quotes from talks that I've read this week and apply some of those principles. First, a couple quotes from Elder Ballard:

"Brothers and sisters, can you imagine the impact if family and friends included things they are learning from their personal study of Preach My Gospel in their letters and emails to their full-time missionaries? Can you picture the blessings that will come to families when they know and understand better what their sons and daughters will be studying and teaching on their missions? Can you even begin to fathom the extraordinary outpouring of atoning grace that will be ours, individually and collectively, according to the Savior’s promise to all who bear testimony in the process of inviting souls to come unto Him—and then following up on those invitations?


“Ye are blessed,” the Lord said through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.”
“For I will forgive you of your sins with this commandment—that you remain steadfast … in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated unto you.”
If we follow up, the Lord will not let us down. I have seen the unspeakable joy that accompanies testimony-driven inviting and faithful follow-up among members of the Church the world over."
It is impossible for us to fail when we do our best when we are on the Lord’s errand. While the outcome is a result of the exercise of one’s agency, sharing the gospel is our responsibility."

To apply that real quick, I wanted to share something I've learned from preach my gospel today. There was a quote that struck me today in chapter 4: "Tell the brethren to be humble and faithful and be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord, that it will lead them aright. Be careful and not turn away the still, small voice; it will teach them what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their heart open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits—it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts, and their whole desire will be to do good” (quoted in Juvenile Instructor, 19 July 1873, 114)." As I was pondering how to keep the spirit of the Lord with you it reminded me of a section in Chapter 1 of Preach my gospel that talks about ways to teach by the spirit. 

Another quote from Elder Ballard real quick: "Brothers and sisters, fear will be replaced with faith and confidence when members and the full-time missionaries kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to bless them with missionary opportunities. Then, we must demonstrate our faith and watch for opportunities to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father’s children, and surely those opportunities will come. These opportunities will never require a forced or a contrived response. They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters. Just be positive, and those whom you speak with will feel your love. They will never forget that feeling, though the timing may not be right for them to embrace the gospel. That too may change in the future when their circumstances change.

Continuing with the week, Thursday was pretty great as well, we got to have a couple cool visits and also had a sweet dinner with the Nuzmans where we got to talk about prayer for a bit afterward. We discussed the "prayer" section in the Bible Dictionary that says: "We pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ—when His words abide in us (John 15:7). We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant. Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent His mind but spring out of the selfishness of man’s heart." We had a pretty good discussion related to that, and it was a very clear reminder to me personally that prayers are so vital. Brother Nuzman made a point that whenever we say "Amen" after someone prays we're agreeing to and basically saying that prayer along with the person so it's important to actually listen to what is being said. 

In the talk they shared this quote: "Effective teaching is the essence of leadership in the church. Eternal life will come only as men and women are taught with such effectiveness that they will change their lives. They cannot be coerced, they must be led." - President Hinckley

Friday was intense. I decided this day that I wanted to memorize a scripture most everyday of the week - or at least see if I could - and so today I picked Mosiah 2:22 which says: "And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you." As I was pondering and memorizing that scripture throughout the day we had some pretty sweet miracles. First off, we got to visit with and then teach Heather and John, and awesome couple that we met a couple weeks ago but hadn't actually gotten to really visit with as of yet. The discussion was super spiritual as we discussed the restoration and the truths that have been restored and how the Book of Mormon is evidence of that. They were quite receptive, and actually know quite a few members of the ward already it seems. Later that night, after dinner with the Laws - an awesome family - we got to see Joshua as mentioned before. So, that was a pretty awesome day. 

Saturday was awesome! I decided today that I'd focus on memorizing 2 Nephi 25:23,26 which says: "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." In the morning, while we were going over the ward roster and updating records we listened to a talk called "The Missionary Next Door" that's pretty good. The speaker talks about two different types of conversion - social and spiritual, and makes it clear that the social conversion is the responsibility of the members while the spiritual conversion is the responsibility of the full-time missionaries. Then we went out to lunch with Linda and Lonnie to the corner cafe and then visited with them a little bit afterward... and then it started raining... really hard... so when we were biking home to get our rain jackets, we got totally soaked. It was the best! It's always good to have a nice rainfall, and it was super nice that day since it was pretty warm before hand. Anyway, we later got to meet and visit with Reggie and Kristine - Kristine was the trailer park lady mentioned that we saw on Tuesday. They're super awesome, and we even though we didn't have as much time as we'd like we got to talk about the Book of Mormon and they were super interested. Then we got to see the Lords family and did the restoration cups lesson with them, and it was pretty sweet. 

Anyway, Sunday was pretty sweet, Church was awesome and then we got to have an awesome dinner and discussion with the Fenton Family, before getting to see Connie and give her the sacrament and it reminded me of the days back home where we were asked to give the sacrament to people who were homebound and unable to come out to sacrament meeting. It was a wonderful experience and a fantastic way to spend some time on Sunday. During fast and testimony meeting, one member said this fantastic line "I'm about as nervous as a fly in a spiderweb." and then preceded to share a fantastic testimony about the truthfulness and blessings he's received from the Gospel. 

That's about all I got time for today, but know that I love you! I'm glad to be here on a mission in Oklahoma, and super stoked to get to stay in Ardmore for another transfer! It's been a fantastic week, and I wish that I could share more of the miracles with you!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson