Duty to God

Hey, it's me again!  I can't believe its already my last p-day in the MTC! I've had such an amazing experience these last three weeks, and I am going to miss it SO much! But at the same time, I am beyond excited that I'll actually be in Iowa this week! So yeah, lots of emotions going on right now.  On another note, here's a quick recap of this week!  Sunday  was incredible! We had a very powerful devotional that night, that was basically a call to raise the bar for all of the missionaries we interact with. So that was super cool! Then later that evening, we went to watch another recorded devotional that Elder Holland gave a while back. It was called Open Your Mouth. Wow. So powerful. But while we were waiting for it to start, the lights were all off, but the projector wasn't working properly, so we all just started singing hymns, and it was so spiritual. It really set the tone for the entire devotional, and it made the experience that much more rich...

Hi all!  ​Well, I'm fairly certain that it's actually been a month since I got here. But everyone tells me it's only been ten days. Either way, I've loved every second of it. The MTC is definitely a sacred place, and I'm going to miss it so much when we leave.  To start off, last Sunday was probably the longest, most spiritually educational day of my entire life. The whole "day of rest" thing, does not apply here. Basically it's 18 hours of church, with about 1 hour to eat during the day. It was crazy, and I got pretty dehydrated, had a migrane, and was feeling pretty lousy. Someone mentioned around  5 o'clock  that we really aren't physically capable of doing the work we're asked to do on our missions, and that the only way we survive is through reliance on the Spirit.  That hit me pretty hard, and I started praying to be supported in my weakness, and it was crazy how fast I felt power flowing into me, the headache was still ...

Hello Brothers and Sisters!  I made it to P-day! It's only been three days since I arrived at the MTC, but it feels like weeks have gone by already. It's absolutely incredible how much you can learn in so short a time, when the spirit is your teacher. And the spirit has definitely been the greatest teacher, companion, and comfort during the time I've spent here. There have been very few times when the spirit wasn't present. It's beautiful, and a great confirmation that what I'm doing is the will of our Father.  The first day we arrived was a madhouse. There was so much to do, and so little time to do it. We met our district briefly, and then had a bunch of classes. My companion, Elder Orme (no relation to the Ormes at camp) is incredible! He's from West Point, and has a very logical approach to the gospel, but that logic is fueled by a fierce emotional desire to share the gospel with as many people as he can. He's going to be an amazing missiona...

Click link for Audio. Text below.  Talk-Audio File I have written, and rewritten this talk way too many times, trying to fit far too much into far too little time. I’ve felt a little like Jacob as he tried to convey a similar lesson in a few short verses; “O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. 12 O be wise; what can I say more?” (Jacob 6:11-12) This verse finally gave me some direction. I kept getting caught on the word, “wise”. What does it mean to be wise? As I studied that word, and tried to find something sophisticated to say about it, I was left only with a line from a primary song. “The wise man built his house upon the rock.” It is about that rock, and how we can build our faith on it, that I would like to address my remarks. For the sake of understanding, allow me to please describe one of my favorite kinds of rock. The kind you can climb. More ...

Dear Elder Housholder: You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Iowa Des Moines Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months. You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president. You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of th...