November 24th, 2014 - Woah!

Hey Everyone!

So, last week was absolutely insane, and I didn't actually have time to email anyone, which was super sad :( We ended up having to go to a funeral for a member of the Guthrie Ward, which was alright and happened to take up most of our p-day time. So, I'm going to try and give y'all an update on the last two weeks... we'll see how well I do!

So, transfers were this last week, and I get to stay here with Elder Kenison! But, due to the holidays they're going to be pretty insane for the next little while. There is one again on December 17th, and again on January 7th, so that people can go home when they would like, and there are quite a few going home each of those days.  

On Monday the 10th we had zone p-day in Stillwater and had a blast there with an awesome specialized training meeting afterward focused on Finding. After that I got to go on an exchange up in Stillwater with Elder Burdett until Wednesday morning, so we got to have a blast working in Stilly for a little bit. We had a pretty intense day on Tuesday, with lots of random things coming up and lots of things falling through, but we got to have a couple sweet chats with people, even though we didn't get to teach any of the regular lessons that day, we still had some good things that we learned and that others learned. For one, I learned that you can only buy floor mats from the Toyota dealership in a set of 4, random, but it happened that we needed to go get a floor mat for one of the mission vehicles. I also learned that a Mexican joint called "Fuzzy's" sells deep fried ice cream, which was pretty delicious. There was also a media referral we got to go see a fellow named Allie, who told us about a god named Jamar, who also had a son named Jesus... it was a heck of an interesting visit.... To brighten our day though we had a good discussion with a family about persecution and the reasons why so many people have negative connotations to the name "Mormon". It was a pretty good day overall :)

Wednesday was also pretty exciting, aside from al the driving and bike fixing that had to be done, we got to see a couple people and had a pretty good chat with Stanlee and Brother Dickerson after having dinner with them about the doctrine of Christ and the importance of apply each principle at the correct time in our lives. The awesome thing about that Thursday (the 13th) was that we got to go to the temple! There is a sister in the ward who was taking out her Endowments, and she asked us to come and be there for support as well as a whole bunch of other awesome people from the ward and it was just a blast to be able to go to the temple again! :)

On Friday the 14th, after a sweet district meeting I got to go on an exchange up in Guthrie North with Elder Hoopes and had a pretty swell time there. For the sake of time I'm going to fast forward and just mention a couple noteworthy events. We got to have dinner at Ken's Pizza with Paul and Sister Ramsey, and it was a blast with their awesome kids and some tasty pizza. On Sunday the 16th after Sacrament meeting they cancelled church due to snow and there were already a few accidents along the interstate that we saw on the Drive back. The rest of that day became very interesting since we weren't able to bike in the snow we had to walk everywhere and ended up walking a few miles that day and visiting with a few potential investigators and active members, along with a good bit of tracting.

Last Monday the 17th, as mentioned before we had the funeral which took up a good chunk of the day with setting up, the actual service, socializing and lunch afterward and then taking stuff down, plus all the driving, it was definitely a long day. The notable thing about Tuesday we the scripture study class we got to have at the Jensens' home where the sisters taught about Gratitude. It was pretty sweet, and we watched this awesome Mormon Message: In The Spirit of Thanksgiving Elder Oaks talks in part of it, and that was probably my favorite part of the whole thing.

Also, while I was getting the link for that one, there was a new Mormon message about the refiner's fire, which was absolutely awesome. You should all check it out:

New One!

The notable things about Wednesday the 19th, was the fun time we got to have doing service at the Hope Center and then for an awesome member family as well as the sweet and super spiritual lesson we got to have that night with Brother Brasher and a girl named Carson. She's super cool and we'll have to pass her on to the UCO sisters in the YSA ward. Thursday we got to go out to lunch with a pretty cool sister in the ward, but we had a pretty good day aside from Elder Kenison's tire slowly going flat and having to call it a day a little early. It was pretty neat because he didn't have to replace to tube (as of yet), so that was a pretty cool miracle.

On Friday the 21st we had a pretty good district meeting, along with finishing weekly planning and biking around with not many people being home the main notable thing was the chat we got to have with a potential investigator and her husband who we hadn't met until that day who was super awesome as well. Then we got to have a blast at dinner with our ward mission leader and his family, so it was a pretty sweet day even though not much worked out. Saturday it rained... and rained... and rained... but we got to visit with an awesome family and had a good lesson with them, as well as helped a new family move in... in the rain... but they were super awesome so it was totally worth it.

Of note yesterday, for sake of time, we had a blast visiting a few less-active families in the ward and having dinner with one of the many awesome active families here, along with getting to talk to Elder Balch since he wasn't able to go to church since he'd been sick the last couple days. Phew. That was a long time to review and go over... I've had a ton of studies during these last couple weeks that were pretty awesome, but since my email is already super long, I'll just throw a couple quick things here for y'all to check out:

• Phoenix Arizona Temple Dedication Prayer is super awesome, and deserves a read!
• Awesome article about applying conference - Check it out!
• #SharetheGift <- check it out! It's super awesome, and I want you all to click on that link!
• This quote from Preach my Gospel hit me this week, so I wanted to share it with y'all: "God is the Father of our spirits. We are literally Hischildren, and He loves us. We lived as spirit children of our Father inHeaven before we were born on this earth. We were not, however,like our Heavenly Father, nor could we ever become like Him andenjoy all the blessings that He enjoys without the experience of livingin mortality with a physical body.
  God’s whole purpose—His work and His glory—is to enable each ofus to enjoy all His blessings. He has provided a perfect plan toaccomplish His purpose. We understood and accepted this planbefore we came to the earth." We knew God, and he knew us before this life and each one of us accepted His plan that would bring about our happiness and salvation and progression. The key here is to remember that and live according to the knowledge that we have and continually seek more from God!

Okay... I've gotta get moving, but I love y'all! I hope you have a fantastic week!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

November 10th, 2014

Hey Everyone!

It's been a pretty swell week out here in Edmond, Oklahoma, although there wasn't a whole ton of remarkable things there were a lot of cool little things that happened throughout the week. It's been super nice weather all this week, which was awesome for those days where we got to do a lot of tracting or biking, which is pretty much everyday. Since I'm currently not entirely sure what I want to put in this email today, I guess I'll just start with some of the thoughts that have recurred over the last week. Recently I read a book titled "Believing Christ" by Stephen Robinson which focused upon actually believing what Christ says and what he can do and not just believing in Him. There was also a large emphasis on the doctrines of Grace, Faith, and salvation, along with a pretty neat explanation of the atonement throughout the entire book. One cool quote that kind of emphasizes his point is: "We often think that having faith in Christ means believing in his identity as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. But believing in Jesus' identity as the Christ is only the first half of it. The other half is believing in his ability, in his power to cleanse and to save - to make unworthy sons and daughters worthy. Not only must we believe that he is who he says he is, we must also believe that he can do what he says he can do." It's been a pretty good book to read this last week, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to have a pretty plain talk about some oft times confusing topics.

In my studies this week I focused a lot on Preach my Gospel and studying from that, and so I wanted to share a few quotes that struck me in my studies:

• "Preach My Gospel‍ focuses on the fundamentals of missionary work.It does not answer every question or situation you will encounter. Youwill be most effective as you follow the Spirit, search the scriptures,keep the commandments, and apply what you learn" - Introduction
• "Frequent study of this manual will enable them to fulfill theirresponsibilities as member missionaries and will foster unity with thefull-time missionaries." - Introduction
• "President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “We are commanded by God totake this gospel to all the world. That is the cause that must unite ustoday. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of itsown self-destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races andnationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, andsalvation to the human family” - Chapter 1
•  “Preach the first principles of the Gospel—preach them over again:you will find that day after day new ideas and additional lightconcerning them will be revealed to you." - Hyrum Smith, Chapter 1
• "The purpose of the gospel is to cleanse people of their sins so theycan receive the Savior’s mercy at the day of judgment. Therefore, thefocus of this book and, more important, the work you do each day isto invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive therestored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement,repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to theend." - Chapter 1
• "Repentance involves a change of heart and a desire to forsake sinand serve God. ... It requires that people increase their commitmentto live in agreement with God’s will. ... It is a positive experience thatbrings joy and peace." - Chapter 1

Anyway, this week we got to see a few people and with one family we got to watch a video the church recently put out about temple garments and such, and since I can't remember if I've given y'all a link to it before I'm going to put on here: LINK! Another topic we talked about a lot this week was daily scripture study and prayer and the importance that has in our lives. We watched the Daily Bread Mormon messages (Links: 1 2 3) and had some fantastic discussions about those topics. On Wednesday it seemed to be a family history kind of day as that was discussed, at least in some form, with most of the people we got to see that day. On Friday I got to go on exchanges up in Guthrie again, and it was a pretty swell day. We talked with a few people and got to have some good discussions about baptism and the Holy Ghost with a couple people where we got to emphasize the importance they have in our daily lives as we strive to come closer to Christ. The only really exciting thing that happened was on Saturday when I got a flat tire and some nice couple gave us a ride back to our apartment. Apparently the wife grew up with Sherri Dew, which was pretty neat especially since I found out today that she'll be doing some sort of lecture thing (check it out here) this week that I'll hopefully remember and get to listen to next week. That night we got to talk about obedience with Sandy - who got baptized a little while back and her daughter Michelle - who is getting baptized on the 21st of the month, and watched President Monson's talk "Obedience Brings Blessings", which is super awesome. Of note for Sunday was the awesome day at church, and then also a quote that I wrote down during dinner. It's a joke, so you have to read it aloud in a Jersey accent: "Why should you never play cards in the Jungle? Cause there might be a Cheetah!" Considering it was a little kid who told it to us, it was pretty funny.

Though there wasn't much that happened exciting wise this week, it was still an awesome week to be a missionary, since every week is an awesome week to be a missionary! We had some fun times, and some not so fun times (like the flat tire that I later found out was actually 2 flat tires... evil burrs), but the work moves forward. I hope y'all have a fantastic week! Love y'all!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson

November 3rd, 2014 - Winter is coming?!?

Hey Everyone!

Well it looks like winter is coming since this week we've had many days of suit-coat-weather. This week has been pretty interesting, and since I chose to listen to the CES devotional during email time today you guys are going to have a shortened email... so to make up for it you should watch the devotional - it's pretty neat! Check it out here: https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/ces-devotionals/2014/11?cid=HPSU110214549&lang=eng

Anyway, this week had a couple notable things - first off that we got to go to the Oklahoma City zoo last week for Sister Curtis' birthday where I took tons of pictures and we had a blast! They had the Halloween decorations up, so it was particularly exciting and full of things to take pictures of. But, I don't have time today to go through the pictures, so you'll have to wait in suspense until I get around to it. That night we had a blast with the visits that we had with people and the wonderful dinner appointment we were able to have. On Tuesday we got to help a couple in the ward in the morning and had lunch with them, before heading out to try and see people and didn't have much luck. We had a sweet dinner appointment before our scripture study class that night where we got to talk about building a sure foundation - the same thing Elder Hallstrom talks of in the CES devotional and it was pretty sweet. We watched this video:Video! In addition we discussed some of the following scriptures:

• Helaman 5:9-12
• Psalm 71:3
• Jacob 4:14-16
• Matthew 7:24-27
• Mosiah 4:9-10
• Alma 48:7-10
• Jacob 4:6
• Alma 33:22-23

On Wednesday we got to help a couple in the ward move down the street, which was pretty fun and then saw a few people before the ward Halloween party, which was super intense! There was a ton of people there, and we had a fantastic chili cook-off (of which we were the judges along with the sisters), with a ton of other activities and such. There were games/challenges in the rooms along the hallway and in the foyer and there was a photo booth and then at the end there was an awesome trunk-or-treat! There were quite a few less active members and friends from other faiths there, and it was an awesome chance to meet more of the members of this giant ward.

On Thursday there was much less of note that happened, though we did have to say goodbye to Sister Champlin, a recent convert who is moving back down to Pensacola and is probably there by now. I was pretty out of it most the day with an intense headache, but we did get to have dinner with an awesome family in the ward. Friday was Halloween, which was exciting in and of itself since we had to be inside by 6pm instead of the typical 9. There were a couple other exciting things that happened, but I don't have time to talk about those, or really much of anything else since I still have other emails to write today :( I hope you have a fantastic week! Love ya!

'Til Next Time,

Elder Jordan Nielson 

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.