September 10, 2018

Eric Henry Johnson
12:24 PM (2 hours ago)

Tuesday Elder Rencher and I went on trade-offs. I've literally served my entire mission with Elder Rencher in the same district. It's a little weird watching him die (in missionary lingo, that means finishing the mission) and go home. 

Wednesday was a pretty good day. Last Friday I got the scriptures dad and mom sent me. Elder Magalei and I added our testimonies to both the Book of Mormon (triple combination) and to the Bible. We printed off a few pictures of his baptism and glued them right in. When we met with him we talked about some longer term discipleship goals. He wrote them into his triple combination. He really, really appreciated the gift.  

Our mission is striving to "flood the world" with the Book of Mormon. We use the Book of Mormon simply because it's the keystone that establishes the truthfulness of the Restoration of the Gospel. In the words of Bruce R McConkie, "Either the Book of Mormon is true, or it is false; either it came from God, or it was spawned in the infernal realms." Trying to use the Book of Mormon more in our finding efforts we've had some fun experiences. 

The first was with this one lady on Saturday. We spoke with her and briefly explained the Book of Mormon and read with her Moroni 10:4-5 and 3 Nephi 11:3-7. Moroni explains that one has to pray to gain a testimony by the power of the spirit, and 3 Nephi 11 contains the moment when Jesus appears in the Americas. Truly powerful scriptures. As we read with the lady we all could feel the spirit testify that the record was true. She asked for a copy which we happily supplied her with along with a return appointment. 

The other cool moment happened yesterday. We pulled up to the home of someone we are teaching. Outside was a hispanic family of 10 or so people so we walked right up to them and started talking with them. We introduced the Book of Mormon to them. Unfortunately people began to slowly filter away until we were left with just one person. We spoke with him and testified of how the Book of Mormon was written for our days and contains the fulness of the gospel. You could tell something clicked and he was extremely interested, he wanted to make changes in his life and we promised that through the gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of the priesthood that has been restored he could receive the ordinances of the gospel that help in that process. 

The Book of Mormon truly speaks for itself. Occasionally we get people who try to be faith shakers but without exception they haven't really done that with the Book of Mormon. No argument stands up against truth. The spirit I feel reading the stories of Jesus in the Bible is the same which permeates the pages of the Book of Mormon. Though there are a bunch of cool things which have been learned after the printing of the Book of Mormon that support the veracity of the truth of the record, my testimony is founded in the power of the Holy Ghost. Truly, it is by the power of the Holy Ghost by which we may know the truth of all things. 

On the same train of thought we had a lesson with Jorge this week. He is very intelectual, which isn't bad (2 Nephi 9:29), but has given up in part on the Book of Mormon. He has allowed, or pins an unexpressed concern, on one small insignificant detail which has eclipsed the magnificence and miraculousness of the Book of Mormon. We planned out a lesson which if it carried a title, would be, "seek learning by study and by faith," using the principle found on D&C 88:118. We used a bunch of scriptures and it was pretty direct. We outlined how truth is the knowledge of how things are, were, and will be (D&C 93:24) and that while study is necessary it is incomplete without the spirit of truth to accompany any finding. Jorge seeks out to prove or disprove the Book of Mormon by the current understanding of the American continent between 600 BC - 400 Ad (the time period of the Book of Mormon with the exception of the book of Ether), but shies away from trying to accompany that study by seeking the spirit of truth. Moroni 10:5 is pretty clear, we can know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost. "All things" is a lot of things, and it's not going to be until he accepts that principle that he will find the answer that satisfies him. 

We watched the face-to-face yesterday and it was really impressive up to one point. They seemed to have practiced their responses significantly. The point I referred to was when poor Elder Quintin L Cook misspoke when he said that "the Savior was martyred in Carthage jail." Surely someone has already taken advantage of taking this out of context. It's comforting to know that God will still work with imperfect people. 

-eric

22 January 2018

fam,

Monday we had a really interesting dinner appointment. As usual we had good food. We were transitioning into our message we were going to share. We basically just discussed the Book of Mormon and why it's important. At first we got the typical answers about how it's evidence God speaks through prophets in our days as he has in all of time and that it's the keystone of our religion. Things were typical and we asked Jorge one of the kids in the family. He paused for a moment and told us that the Book of Mormon is important because as we read it we start having questions. Those questions are then taken to God to get answers and getting answers to questions help us to actually come to a knowledge of the character of God. He concluded his answer by saying that the Book of Mormon was written to come to know God and those who read it with real intent can obtain that blessing. The spirit was like, "you should remember that." Most of the members who feed us live on this side so I don't really have a lot of experience doing the meal and message thing but our most powerful messages have all been in that member's house. 

Tuesday was pretty good. We watched the broadcast at the chapel with the Zone leaders and the other Elders. It was interesting, a little awkward at least in my opinion, I was expecting something more spiritually powerful. The day ended with a mission correlation where we actually had our Branch Mission Leader and it was super good. It's basically been a mini district meeting for the last few months.

Wednesday we had a powerful lesson with the recent convert Gasper. He's moving down to Nebraska for a few months. We spent our last visit with him putting him in contact with the local bishop and the missionaries down there. We also had a mini testimony meeting with him that turned out really well. The spirit was super strong and it seemed to really lift his spirits. 

Thursday was fun. We meet with a less active named Axle. Such a good kid. We were just talking about life and he mentioned he was struggling with the stress of school at the moment and not being able to keep up. The talk given by President Nelson clearly came to mind and we first opened with prayer and showed the talk. In my mind the promises made by President Nelson to those who read the BOM daily would really apply to him and figured that was why the talk came to mind. We watched it and I could see the spirit was working with Axle and at the end we asked him what he thought. He totally took the talk in a different but very important way. The spirit revealed what we had to do to help Axle but in a way I would never have known if he didn't tell at that moment. I just found it interesting that through the soft nudging of the spirit we were able to put Axle in a position to receive pretty strong revelation on some things he needed to change and start doing. 

One things Elder Rencher and I have started was simply reading with members for a few minutes every week. We only have two members right now who we prayerfully picked and we've seen some impressive changes. I really like the scripture in Alma 31:5 which says, "And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to that which was just- yea, it had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." That principle is true and really is one of the reasons I know the BoM is true. There really is a power in that book.

Elder Rencher is the district leader so we had a trade off with the Zone leaders. I spent the day with Elder Guerrero and it was like we never left, comp unity was spot on.


Transfers
Elders Rencher, Magalei, Guerrero, me, waters

27 November 2017

fam,

We meet with the Francos like three times a week. It's pretty great. We've had a series of really good lessons with them and they are progressing decently. Unfortunately, December 23 won't be met. Marco wants to be baptized but there are some things we have to work on and they have to work on before baptism that will likely take some more time than we have so they took themselves off date. We were able to talk about everything going on and set some goals to keep them progressing. On another day we went over to learn how to make tortillas and horchata. First off they both turned out so good. The members and the people we work with keep their recipes under lock and key, although "recipe" is a pretty loose term. Cooking here is more like "a little this and a little of that" with zero measurements, I took loose notes. The tortillas were pretty hard, probably took me about 10 tries to get the pressed masa from tortilla press to grill, the darn thing kept tearing. They also gifted us a tortilla press. We have already put it to good use. 

Tuesday was good. I had a good trade off with Elder Rencher. They have an investigator getting baptized who is finally getting baptized. She is so awesome. I remember my very first trade off when I met her and thought she was a member. Her situation didn't allow her to be baptized but after many months of working hard she was able to get away from a bad situation that wouldn't allow her to be baptized. The interview process is really simple. There are a set of defined questions that are designed to make sure the person who wants to be baptized understands what they are doing and are willing to live according to the standards by which they promise to live by. President Brennan came to give the interview and I "translated". It was pretty great. We walked into the bishop's little office and President Brennan just asked me to do the interview, he added a few questions and then we closed in prayer. All went smoothly.  

Friday the church launched "Light the World". I'm really impressed with how it has turned out. I wasn't in the loop last year but apparently it's pretty similar. The basic premise is that you do some type of service every day leading up to Christmas to help people remember why we celebrate Christmas and get people in the true spirit of Christmas. It's based on 25 different things Christ said or taught and the video the church put up is stellar. 

Light the World videos

Unfortunately the Westons return home on the fourth. They spoke in church on Sunday and it was really good. They are both such good examples. They definitely make me want to serve a senior mission when I'm old. Elder Weston shared an insight that I liked in his talk, he said that church is a tool and the gospel is the way of life. A lot of people tell us that the either don't believe in religion but believe in God or don't believe in organized religion. Their point makes a little sense if the only reason you go to church is to study the bible and or go to some social gathering. The sacrament is why we go to church. It's the way we can recharge our spiritual batteries for the week and receive forgiveness for the sins from the previous week and recommit to be a little bit better the next week. We then take what we learn in church and apply it in the coming week. Application of the gospel is crucial. If you don't apply it, it is of no worth. Alma 41 makes an interesting point on application. 

My Book of Mormon reading has been going pretty well. I'm coming up at the end of the Book of Alma. I don't think I've read through the war chapters so fast. There is no doubt that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It's super awesome. No one can dictate a book of this level or close in under 90 days (or at all) while having other responsibilities like raising a family, protecting said family from mobs, moving from state to state and other crazy stuff like that. Aside from the confirmation of the spirit of its truth there is no other explanation for such a book. Yes, it's different from the Bible. No Revelation 22:19 is not referring to the still uncompiled Bible, and yes God can reveal more of his word and has through living day prophets and the Book of Mormon. Read it and study it daily. It's pretty good. 

-eric 

8/21/17

Fam, 

Life is good mid transfer. Last P-day we got an email from a former missionary in our zone who just got home and is now married. It only took him 21 days after returning which is a little insane. The previous transfer we heard of someone engaged after 4 weeks and I thought that was fast haha. 

This week we did a lot of finding work. We knocked and visited many former investigators. It's always a huge testimony builder when we prayerfully pick out a few names and visit them. This last week we caught about 70% or so of the people we chose as they were walking into their homes. That is such a huge blessing because no one likes people knocking on their doors and people are far more open when we just talk with them on the street. People get the false idea we are trying to sell them things when we are on their door step. Also we look like the migra (immigration) which is really unfortunate. 

We had two exceptional lessons this week. 

The first was with Pedro again. We had a lesson where were going to talk about the importance of the BoM and the bible. Normally he doesn't open up very much but this time he did. He expressed some confusion over why we need the BoM. He said from what he has read that it teaches basically the same stuff as the Bible, which it does. There is a really good quote I wish we used and knew about when we walked into that lesson. 

President Ezra T Benson said "It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance." 

Most of our lesson was just testimony of the Book of Mormon and it was awesome. Hopefully that was what Pedro needed to start progressing. Quietly at the end he told us that he needed to start reading and praying more. 

The Book of Mormon is a powerful book of scripture that has made me who I am and is continually helping me become a better person. I know its true because I've read it and have felt the confirmation of the spirit of its truthfulness. There is no other way to gain that witness than by reading the message it contains and asking if it really is true with a willingness to make the necessary changes to live in accordance to its principles. 

The other lesson was with the Aguilar family. The last few lessons we've focused a lot on understanding the spirit and recognizing it. We've given them little booklets to write little experiences they've had. Gilda had to leave to pick up their son from work, but Natividad had a few stories to share. He talked about the peace he felt as he read through the BoM at work during his lunch break, he also mentioned that he felt something nice as he was praying about his family the night before. Natividad is definitely ready to be baptized but his wife isn't quite ready to take that step quite yet. She has only said she hasn't felt like she has received a spiritual witness of the truthfulness of the BoM. I'm not certain but I think she is just holding something back. Progress is slower but hopefully something changes soon. 

We had interviews with the President this week. It was really good. We had quite a bit of time compared with the few I had with the previous Pres. We just talked about how I've been doing for almost 30 minute, it was pretty nice. With Elder Barrows leaving it's going to be interesting to see what happens to our district. Apparently there were two elders coming in next transfer, which would have meant Elder Rencher and I would train, but sadly one went home from the CCM. Elder Guerrero is coming up on his year mark so he is the closet to leave. Also he has trained before (me). Elder Rencher trained Elder Barrows, which leaves me being the only one who hasn't trained yet. We'll know what happens in about 2 weeks. The new elder is Elder Magalei from Utah and he is Polynesian. I'm not sure which MTC he is in.

24 July 2017

fam,

Monday we cooked again with the Aguilars. I'm not sure I'll be able to replicate what we did, but we made dessert empanadas which were really good. We basically feasted. 

As a family, the Aguilars are still progressing. Natividad is really where he needs to be and has progressed a lot, but as a family we think they lack a strong foundation on Christ. They still read as a family and know and have a strong foundation in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith being a prophet. What they need is a stronger foundation of Jesus Christ and everything he did but more importantly why it's important. Anyone can say Christ died for us, but once that sinks in you won't change all that much, commandments stay rules and testimonies don't really grow.

We had an unfortunate lesson with Enrique. He is slipping back into what his progress record has shown for the past five years. He says he wants to change but won't do the last few things we asked him to do to help him in that process, so not a whole lot we can do. Everything about receiving a testimony in the gospel is by experimentation. To know if the Book of Mormon is true you have to read it with an open heart and pray about it. God will not force anyone one way or another.

On that point we had an interesting lesson with the two people who speak English we've taught a few times. We haven't felt like we could pass them off like we normally do because they are just not at that point. Chris and Caryn have been really fun to teach because they come with hard earnest questions. That's starting to change though which is really unfortunate. We had two lessons with them over the last few days and Caryn just picks things apart. Her idea is to compare everything with the Bible, which isn't bad but the ultimate test of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is not if it lines perfectly with everything in the Bible and contains nothing new. The spiritual witness from the Holy Ghost is the key to everything. Our first lesson this week was really good. We covered the importance of the Book of Mormon and answered all of her questions, the spirit was there and we were able to have a good time. She said she will do some research on the Book of Mormon so obviously I told her there is a ton of anti material out there and most is flat out wrong and the rest is twisted half truths. I read the line in the Joseph Smith history that says that Joseph's name will be known for good and evil around the world and also told them to read the first chapter of Nephi. 

We came back a few days later and they said they read alot. Interestingly there was a visible difference between their two countenances. Chris was reading the Book of Mormon on the porch as we pulled up and almost looked like he was glowing. He looked way better than the day before and Caryn just looked angry. I didn't think much and we started talking about how they were doing. After they prayer we asked them what they read. Chris said he read the whole book of Moroni, I thought that was funny and asked why. He said that our last visit we answered the majority of their questions from various chapters of that book so he figured it was important so he read it all and really liked it. Caryn said she read all of First and Second Nephi and said there was good bits of advice about Joseph Smith in there and that she had some concerns about some of the incorrect things she found. In my head I though, "Oh so you didn't read..." The Book of Mormon is not about Joseph Smith, and anyone who reads the first line would know that. I didn't call her on it though. We talked with Chris first and he talked about how everything he read so far is really good. He thoroughly outlined what he learned and said that nothing struck him as wonky. He said that Moroni 8 actually confirmed a lot of things he has thought about and that he thinks the Book of Mormon is true. He pulled out a few bible scriptures that he liked that affirmed a few points he liked. We moved to Caryn and asked her which points she didn't like. She opened up her phone and read out of an anti website. "The Book of Mormon teaches xyz while the bible very clearly teaches abc" kind of stuff. So we opened to each individual verse she was "worried about" and oh my gosh anti material is so dumb. We just went verse by verse. She wanted to so we let her. Every single point she brought up we answered with scripture and testimony. We were able to for the most part keep contention out of it, but she was really pushing so it wasn't super easy. She then asked us about the necessity for baptism and tried to catch us in a lie. I didn't want to but the spirit said to so I did and mentioned baptism for the dead and how there is a way for everyone to accept that ordinance in the next life, this was the only contentious part of the whole lesson. She pointed at me and in an elevated voice said, "okay that is not scripturally based." Not going to lie I sighed a bit. The killer point is that it's not mentioned in the Book of Mormon but it is in the Bible. We opened up to the verses in Corinthians and First or Second Peter and read them together. 

The Bible is a great book of scripture, don't get me wrong, but the spirit is far more important than anything. The spirit has all truth and through him we can know that truth. We told them we can answer all their questions with scripture but it's through the spirit that we really know what the truth is. Chris understands and has done what we asked. I turned to him in the lesson and asked him what he thought and he thinks the Book of Mormon is true but that he wants to know more about the prophecies of Joseph Smith. It took me a minute but I pulled out one from the Doctrine and Covenants that I knew. I also told him my testimony is not in the prophecies of Joseph Smith but by the spirit I feel when I read the Book of Mormon and other books of scripture. I worry for Chris. He won't progress if his wife won't let him. There is a big gap between their spiritual progression and that is a hard ravine to cross. 

Also interestingly if Caryn actually read like she said she did, Chris added something important to the lesson. He said, "together they are Readers Digest." He explained that by saying she can read a whole book in a day and he goes slow and ponders things. If Caryn told the truth it's important to notice that just reading the Book of Mormon isn't sufficient. Moroni 10:3-5 says we need to read ponder and pray. Key terms being ponder.

I spent more time on that than I should have and am near out of time. They have one lesson for us to turn Caryn around. We will see what happens.

We had a crazy powerful church tour with Carmen. Like my most powerful lesson possibly. Pathways was going on and I was worried that was going to mess the tour up but it was better this way. She met a few people and got an in-depth explanation of the program and how awesome it is. We then finished with the Bible video of Jesus' baptism. It was awesome. We talked about baptism and bear testimony and we asked her if she thought this was the path God wanted for her and she said yes. It was a powerful moment and we put her on date. I think she will actually make it. We had a good lesson on the Word of Wisdom and she said she is coming to church. In our WoW lesson in her closing prayer she said she knew the Church and the Book of Mormon was true. Hopefully everything lines up like it seems to be. 

3/13/17 Jails, dog walkers, polygamy, immigration and people getting ready for baptism

Family and friends,

Every week is better from the last. Every day we meet interesting people I don't think I would have ever talked to, and we've definitely had some small miracles this week.

Monday was fun. We knocked doors and met some interesting people. We normally struggle getting into people's home from the doorstep in order to teach a lesson, which is understandable, but we had an awesome experience with this mid 20's black guy. He was a little hard to understand, but Elder Guerrero and I talked to this guy for a few minutes. We taught him about repentance and that God can help him with the things he said he was struggling with. He seemed openly touched by what we were saying, and he talked about how he used to be in this gang and the life he had that was destroying him on the inside. He talked about the horrible things he did and how it changed him for the worse, and that after he got out of jail he has been working to put that behind and clean himself up for the daughter he had before he was incarcerated. 

The spirit was there and I'm certain he felt the power of what we were talking about. Elder Guerrero and I taught with more unity than ever and it was perfect. It was a little crazy. We both testified that through the atonement we can really come back from anything we have ever done, and become the people we want to be. It was a great moment, but at the same time once we left, we knew we had to pass him off to the English elders who cover the area we were knocking in. 

Tuesday we had a little miracle. We were getting ready to go knock doors and were sitting in the car. We said a prayer to find someone ready for our message as well as some other things. Literally the second we were stepping out of the car, someone pulled into the driveway of our first house. Elder Guerrero and I looked at each other, laughed a little and walked over to the lady. We talked with her and she talked about the miracles she has seen in her life, it was a pretty nice experience and she was really open to listening to more about what we had to say. 

Wednesday we had trade-offs again. I went with Elder Rencher. We did a fair amount of door knocking that day. We talked with this lady who was walking her dog for almost 10 minutes. It was a little funny, because she never stopped walking, but after a minute or so I realized she was in a hurry so we just walked with her. Really an awesome lady, we talked about how we are here to become more like our father in heaven and that that doesn't mean going to church on Sunday and then going crazy the rest of the week. We were able to pick her up as a potential. 

We knocked some more doors and found a lady who said she already read the Book of Mormon. That got me so excited, in my head I was thinking of all the crazy stories of people who randomly find the Book of Mormon, read it, pray about it, and find out on their own its truthfulness. I asked her what she thought about it, and she said it was alright, she just hated the part where it said that men had to have multiple wives. That was a little more than surprising because the Book of Mormon actually has a chapter that talks about the evils of polygamy when it isn't commanded of God (Jacob 2). If she didn't slam the door on our face before we could say anything of value it would have been awesome to actually talk more about it.

That same day we had a lesson with one of Rencher's and Water's investigators who has really been progressing. We just talked about baptism and its importance, showed one of the bible videos about Jesus' baptism, and walked her through the baptismal questions. 

Video depicting Jesus' baptism

Going through the questions was SO cool. She bore her testimony multiple times, and I was just sitting there loving every second. The Gospel has changed her life so much. She talked about how she has always had doubts about God and when the Elders found her, taught her, and invited her to both read the Book of Mormon and follow the promise/challenge found in Moroni 10:3-5 she found all the answers she was looking for. It was incredible to see that there are people out there ready to hear the word of God, and that truly their only barrier is that they don't know where to find it. 

Friday we stopped by a less active teen we have been working with. We didn't plan on teaching him anything but were just planning on seeing if there was a time we could come back and talk more. We walked in and he was happier than I've ever seen him. He has been to church the last three weeks and has started praying again. 

https://www.mormon.org/worship

(This link has very helpful FAQs about attending LDS church meetings and you can enter your zip code to find the closest meetinghouse.  Visitors are welcome!)

He talked about things he has been struggling with. As a missionary I've never felt more guided by the spirit. We were sitting with this kid, and all these ideas kept coming to me to tell him, and we had an powerful conversation about repentance with him. He said he really has felt a difference now that he is coming back to church. We read through Ether 12 which is pretty awesome. My favorite part is verse 27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (italics added). It's super rewarding to watch people's testimonies grow and watch them feel the truth of what we talk about.

Chicago, IL LDS Temple

Saturday was by far the best day. We got permission to go to the Chicago temple with the branch. Our branch is pretty small, only around 60 people are there each Sunday. Saturday we had nearly 40 people go. It was such an awesome experience. We were planning on doing everything you can do in the temple, but everyone showed up late in the morning so we lost about an hour of temple time. We were able to do an endowment session and baptisms. We missed the start time of the Spanish session, but the temple president was able to switch some things around and created a new Spanish session just for us. The temple is such a powerful place. The spirit inside and around is like no other place I've ever been, it truly is the house of the lord. The nearest temple to our area is 3.5 hours away, and many of the branch members go once or even twice a month, which is at a considerable sacrifice to many based on the economic status of much of the branch. It really is inspiring. 

Sunday we learned some interesting things about the new executive orders and laws surrounding illegal immigration. Everyone is really nervous and just scared about getting deported. Turns out one of the Catholic churches in the area has been working with illegal immigrants to gain citizenship, which is great, but have told everyone who is illegal to not open their doors to anyone they don't know. That kind of explains a lot. When we knock areas with a lot of Hispanics, we never get a door open, and this has happened in the past two weeks or so. It's pretty sad. People are just scared.

First Week at the Mexico MTC

12 January 2017

Dear family and friends,

Getting to Mexico was pretty easy. I had a layover in Atlanta that was more than enough time to get from gate to gate. The day I left it was raining, so when I was getting ready to board, I was watching the planes take off. I flew first down to Atlanta, so I was also at the front of the long line. 

The two ladies at the front desk were talking their time, so I was able to watch about 6 planes take off before I boarded. I wasn't the first on the plane but I was close. It was really cool watching the planes, because as they'd take off the jet blast out the back of the planes would throw a massive wave of water into the air. Two planes seemed to have been going faster than the others and when they pulled up water condensed out of the air on top of their wings.

On the plane to Mexico I met Elder Conklin and Sister/Hermana Perkins as well as Elder Pearson, my current companion. I was pretty tired and slept nearly the whole way to Mexico. 

I sat next to this kid flying home, he asked me why I was going to Mexico. I told him what I was doing and why and we talked about religion for awhile. At the end of the flight He asked if I had a copy of The Book of Mormon. I was laughing in my head because I can't imagine that giving away a copy of The Book of Mormon will be any easier than it was then. Luckily I had an extra copy and gave it to him.  

The Missionary Training Center is really pretty. It sits on a 90 acre lot in Mexico city, which is a little insane. It's basically an oasis from the craziness of Mexico City.  Ten foot concrete walls with another 8-10 feet of barbed wire fence surround the campus, so we are completely isolated from the city. Wednesday it seemed like something was going on, but we were never told what was going on until the afternoon. Supposedly there were some "security issues" on the other side of the fence. We were later told there was rioting in the city. So if someone could email me some information on the riots that would be great.

Palm trees and this other tree, which I don't know the name of, are scattered all over the campus and like I said before, it's super pretty.

The weather is also super pleasant. It's around 55-65 degrees all day and night, also it is slightly more dry than I was anticipating. We are at about 7000 feet, or so I've been told, but the air doesn't feel as thin as I would've expected. Parakeets fly and nest all over the MTC. They're bright green and super loud sometimes. 

Spanish is kind of interesting. Every single Spanish teacher I've had before now was absolutely horrible. Some were mean but taught way too fast, and others were nice and never taught. We have two sets of teachers, one for language study and one for teaching lessons. Our language teacher is really awesome. Hermana Gonzales served a mission in the San Antonio Texas mission Spanish speaking and was born and raised in Mexico City. The teacher who teaches us how to teach is named Hermano Velallobos. He is about 5 foot 8, slim build and the deepest voice I have ever heard. It's slightly hilarious. 

My companion and my other two roommates are great. It's funny, everyone warned me about bad roommates at BYU-I and bad companions on the mission but so far everyone has been awesome. Two prayed to have dreams in Spanish one night. Elder Forsburg said he had a dream Hermana Gonzales was getting mad at him and talking in reeaally fast Spanish, while Elder Henrikson said he didn't remember any dreams from that night. The only dream I've had so far had to do with flying a float plane and some weird art, but beyond that I couldn't remember much.

The first week here everyone was extra nice. At each meal time, the missionaries that have been here for a longer amount of time come and talk with the guys who just got here. Everyone said if you can make it to Sunday, you're set. The first week is the hardest, but once you get through it you can rely on Sundays, Costco pizza day, and P day to get through the week comfortably. Your first week you don't get a P(reparation day) so it's long and harder than all the others. 

Sunday, as expected, was an awesome day. Sacrament meeting was 75% in Spanish. Before the prayer the person presiding calls on a few missionaries to speak. Everyone gets speaking topics on Thursday so it wasn't horrible. At the very beginning  I was called to say the opening prayer. I heard Johnson, but didn't understand anything else. The Elder behind said I had the prayer. I was way nervous, I had never given a prayer in Spanish without reading, but when it was time I got up and said the prayer in Spanish. It was really short, but I said it all without reading. 

Everyday feels shorter and shorter than the last. Each 15 minute segment is planned out for the whole day, everyday. Never has my life been so organized. The first few days were a little rough. We had no idea what we were doing, or what books to take to each class. We have 12 pounds of materials, from about 20 different books in both Spanish and English, so we didn't really want to take everything everywhere. We later learned we only had one major classroom we used, and we could leave everything there. That was day 3.

We had a devotional our first night and one of the area authorities asked if anyone felt stressed over the past week. About 3/4 of the 300 missionaries here raised there hands. He said that while we are here there is no reason to be stressed. He told us that while we are here we will never have to run 5 miles so fast that we vomit at the end or we go home. Never will we have to take a single test that if we fail we will be sent home.  And never will we have to deal with any situation that if we fail we will be sent home, so there is no reason to stress if we do our best everyday. After the devotional my roommates and I read a chapter from the Book of Mormon. The chapter we read was about the sons of Mosiah and their mission. They preached the word of God to the Lamanites for 14 years, a group of people that would try to kill every Nephite they saw. Missions are around two years long, not 14 years, and we are not preaching to people who want to kill us.

Today we are going to the temple visitor center for a few hours. I'm not sure what we will be doing, because the Mexico temple is currently closed for the next two hours. When I got here I received a tablet, so there might be pictures coming later this afternoon, but no promises. 
Lastly I was able to see my cousin Ben Johnson before he left. I have a picture with us two but I don't know if I will be able to get it off the camera. I also saw him Sunday and was able to give him a goodby hug after we talked for a little bit.

Sorry for any typos, Mexican keyboards have slightly different key locations and the spell check is on Spanish, so I have a wall of red lines.

Questions I can't answer
Why is Christmas pronounced chris-mass and not christ-mas?

My first few days I had some free time to draft this email, so the next few might not be as long.

- my district is 16A for mail. Don't send packages from the United states they get stuck in customs often. There is a service that sends stuff from Mexico, but I don't know what it's called.

A campus view at the MTC

MTC Campus

Who knows the name of this tree?