It has been a great week and we are pumped for the next one!

Sorry but I don't have a lot of time this week. We have had a great week though. We picked up a new investigator, Margret. She is super solid and has been prepared. We taught her the restoration and she came to church. We meet with her again this Wednesday. We will also be stopping by a family this week who will hopefully start taking the lessons and we will be able to pick them up as new investigators. They are a super nice family and we are very hopeful. We did a lot of tracting this week haha. It was a blast! 

The zone is trying to hand out as many copies of the Book of Mormon as they can so that what we have been doing. Elder Pugh and I handed out 28 copies this week. But 14 of those were on Sunday alone. So this week we are going to try to smash that record. We want to try to hand out a whole box of them. That would be 40!!! We are totally going to pull it off. We have seen some great responses and found some potential people we are going to follow up with. It has been a great week and we are pumped for the next one! 

Hope you all have a safe week!!!

Elder Anderson

#JustKeepSwimming!

Elder Jake's new companion, Elder Pugh
Jake said he is "super sick" which in Jake language means AWESOME!

(Just a side note from a mommy perspective, Elder Pugh has only been out for 3 months.  Elder Jake has been out for 16 months.  I only mention this because the color of their shirts speaks volumes.)

Well this has been a good week! We have been really busy and the work is catching on fire! It's sweet! We are getting lots of people to teach and lots of referrals from members. This is going to be a really good transfer.  Here are a few cool experiences from this week. A less active man asked us if we could teach him, a less active family moved in to the ward and want us to teach their son who's about to turn 8 and be baptized, and we set up a lesson with a new investigator for tomorrow. Not to mention we stopped by a potential and got a great response that will turn into teaching opportunities. Plus we picked up a new investigator who is crazy and a druggie hahaha. And we had a great visit with a part member/less active family that was over an hour long. Super solid visit.

So a couple months ago (maybe) I wrote home a message about Lot and his wife. About how she looked back and got turned to a pillar of salt. Well this week I have a similar message, with a slightly different twist. In the Bible, in Philippians chapter 3, Paul talks a little about what the past is for. He says:

 

"13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Not only do we have to let go of the things in our past, but we are to reach forward to the future and embrace it. There will be times that come which will be trying and hard, but we must have those experiences in order to grow. 

This scripture talks about "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." A prize is something you get when you have accomplished something. The prize we are striving to achieve requires trials and hardship. It requires some suffering. So suffer a little. Feel a little pain. Struggle and fight to overcome Satan. Fall down. Fail a couple times. But never forget that the whole point, the most important part, is that we are always pressing toward that prize. The most glorious prize of all time. The amazing reunion we will have in the life after this with our friends and family. The joy we will feel as we conquer our trials. The strength we will gain as we get back up. And the love we will have for Jesus Christ as we come to better understand all that the Atonement enables us to do. 

"Press toward the mark" and never look back. Move on from mistakes. Forget about the failures, and prepare for the battle ahead of you. Ephesians 6:13 "13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." After we have done all we can, Christ gives us the power to stand. To stand tall and unshaken before our foes. To stand tall and not back down. To stand tall and keep moving forward. 

I know God is with us every step of the way. I know he will be at our side when we need him. And I know that no matter how many times I fall, no matter how many times I slip, or forget who I am, or forget what I am striving to achieve, there will always be another chance for a better life. #JustKeepSwimming! I can't think of a better phrase. 

I love you and hope and pray that you are all safe. God be with you til we meet again.

Elder Anderson

We are here to gain experiences that will help us grow closer to our Heavenly Father

Man what a week!  Thursday we had transfers. I literally moved across Macleod. I am super close to where I was. It's pretty sweet! My comp is Elder Pugh (Sounds like puke without the k). He is sweet. He's from Rexburg Idaho. He's been out for three months so I'm greenie busting him haha, but he's a super solid missionary already. He's a stud. So far we are getting along great. I think it will be a good transfer. Right now we are living with our zone leaders because the basement where we live is having the floor redone so it's under construction. It's kinda crazy. But the place where we are supposed to be living isn't even in our area so the mission office is trying to find us a place in our area. So we probably won't even be living there anyway. Living with the zone leaders is pretty sweet though haha. They are a ton of fun and I think by the end of this transfer I will have a six pack because of how hard I have been laughing. So fun! And the two wards we cover, McKenzie and Sundance ward are sweet! They are super nice and welcoming! I feel right at home already. The young men especially are super nice. They came up and introduced themselves to me. This is going to be a great area. I am so pumped!

The best part so far about this transfer has to be how much work we are getting. When I got here, the area was pretty dead. There wasn't much teaching going on. Over the past three days we stopped by a former investigator who was super nice and said that she would love to have us over at the beginning of May. She seems golden and was so nice it was crazy. We thought she was a member when we first started talking to her. Then the next one was a call that we got from a member who said she has a friend who lives in the ward and wants to be taught by the missionaries. Pretty much loco. This almost never happens so we are super pumped for that. We have an appointment set up with them on Friday. Then at church, a member stopped us to tell us that he got an email from another member who also has a friend who wants to be taught by the missionaries as well. Not only that, but she said that she already knows who she wants to have baptize her. She has already started making plans for baptism!!! We haven't even met her yet! It's seriously insane all the work that is just falling into our laps. We can't believe it!

Anyway, just a quick spiritual thought before I go. The first verse in the Book of Mormon is Nephi speaking. He is the son of Lehi. This is what he said:

 "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceeding in my days."

There is a lot we can get out of this one verse. What I want to focus on is how Nephi says he has seen many afflictions in his days. If you look that scripture up in the Book of Mormon, you will see that there is a cross reference to the topical guide. It will take you is to "blessings". The cross reference for afflictions is blessings. How on earth is that right? Well in order to understand this, you have to understand God's plan for you. The purpose of this plan is to come down to earth, gain a body, and grow. We must progress. We must learn how to deal with hard things, how to overcome trials, and how to endure to the end. We are here to gain experiences that will help us grow closer to our Heavenly Father. When we go through a tough time, we are forced to turn to him and ask for help. When he helps us, our faith and love towards him and our Savior grows. Trials are necessary. It was the trials that gave Nephi his testimony of the gospel. It was trials that helped him understand the "mysteries of God". And it is trials that allow us to become all who God has created us to be. I am grateful for the trials I have had to face so far in this life because without them, I would not be where I am now. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Those are my thoughts for the week. I hope they will help you with the things you will be facing this coming week and that you will have a better perspective throughout the trials you will undoubtedly face. I am praying for you always. 

Elder Anderson

Because of Christ's incredible atonement, we all have the opportunity to return home again.

Well I am getting transferred. I will be staying in Calgary. I won't know exactly where until Thursday. It's been fun in this area but I'm excited to go to a new area. Here is a little spiritual thought I typed up a few days ago.

I wanted to talk a little bit about the Parable Jesus gives in Luke Chapter 15 known as The Prodigal Son. In this parable, Jesus talks about a man with two sons. One son asks his father to sell the inheritance that is his and give him the money for it. The father does as he is asked and the son leaves home. Well he spends all his money right away on "riotous living". Now without any money to support himself, he found any job he could. Which happened to be a servant for a man. The man sends the son in to his field to feed his swine. The son being hungry and poor eats the husks of corn that the swine ate. Realizing how pathetic his situation was, he realized that his father's servants were better paid and taken care of than he was currently. So he decides to go to his father, apologize, and ask if he can he be a servant for him. Well, on his journey home his father sees him far off in the distance.

"20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

His father was overjoyed to see his son return. The son asks for his father's forgiveness for being so foolish and asks if he can be his father's servant. His father's response is truly touching and, I think, life changing.

" 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."

There are times in our lives in which we see friends and family go astray. We see them choose a path that is not good for them. Make mistakes. Fall away. Get lost. Because of Christ's incredible atonement, we all have the opportunity to return home again. No matter the mistakes or bad choices we have made along the way. And when it is us who sees a friend or loved one return, we must have the same reaction as this father had to his son. We should run out to our loved ones. Reach out to them. Show them that we have missed them. And most importantly, show them that we love them. More than they might know. No matter the person. No matter the mistakes. No matter the circumstances. God's commandment remains the same, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Mark 12:31).

I hope all is well back home. Stay warm and stay safe. Until next time!

Elder Anderson