Bishop change

Dear Family and Friends,

Some announcements for ya'll! Recieved all the letters that had piled up because they were still getting sent to the Zone Leaders house and the zone leaders kept forgetting to deliver them to me, (which I didn't know they were getting sent there and apparently my MSF card was sent there and since I didn't know, I called the office and they cancelled the card so now I have to wait ANOTHER week for MSF. Goodness.) So thank you mom and dad plus two for those letters, the awesomely patriotic package, thank you Ryan for your letter, and thank you Dallin for yours (Thanks Levi for your E-mail, hope you read this so you know I cannot respond to you except through Post Mail.)

We had a change of bishop in our ward this week... He moved out of the ward! It was pretty crazy. The new one is Brother Dixon. He is pretty awesome. We probably didn't help the stress at all because the first thing we addressed him with was that our investigator Kymberli was being evicted and needed some financial assistance because she IS working in Deseret Industries and has already surpassed requirements for financial aid. Poor lady. She is awesome. She is so trusting in God, but it is still extremely extremely tough for her.

We are teaching a fantastic family! The Halleys. Sister Halley is a long time convert who served a mission, but has become less active. Brother Halley works for world vision and they don't really like the church and so he has adjusted his view a little bit to coincide with theirs. Sister Halley was so excited to see us and has started attending church again with her beautiful and intelligent daughter, Kathleen. Oh I already told you about that family! well we taught them again this week! They are awesome! Kathleen is fantastic and she understood all of the First half of the plan of salvation that we taught her. She is super intelligent.

Aside from that we met a kid named mitch while we were tracting and he was looking for truth. He was studying science, went to church, and a bunch of other facets to find the truth. But he opened the door to us and heard us out and took the book of mormon very gratefully and promised he would read and pray about it and if he got an answer of its truthfulness, he would call us and ask us more questions and likely recieve baptism.

Well here is something I have thought about for this week. Elder Holland is a genious in understanding the atonement and the personality and commandments of the Savior. He adresses the concerns and several mission presidents and Missionaries world wide who he says will have many occasion to ask: "Why is it so hard?" "It is true..." he said "we believe in angels... the holy spirit... why aren't people simply flocking to the font?" He had a personal opinion to offer. He said it was not doctrine per se. But his thought of the troubles one faces on a mission is because "Salvation is not a cheap experience!" It was paid by the best blood of the world and it wasn't easier for its donner. With the words of president Holland, perhaps this will work as an admonition to aspiring missionaries. "Mark my words," says Holland, "for those who promise to take upon the name of Christ, it means you will have to walk something of the path he walked, to experience something of the journey he experienced, to shed some of the tears he shed. To pay a token, only a token, of what he paid. I am not saying we will suffer anything close to what He suffered, that would be presumtuous and frankly sacriligious... Why would we wonder, why would we think, that it would be easy? Someone much earlier... someone much better, asked the same thing." I testify, that these words are true. Missionaries in the feild and returned from it can probably testify of it too. I hope and pray that all those who desire to someday embark in the service of God, will do all they can to prepare themselves for the challenges they will face. Read the Book of Mormon every day. And I say that in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

--

Elder William Lloyd Lovell
Washington, Seattle Mission
10675 NE 20th Street
Bellevue, Washington 98004

D&C 6:36 - "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not"