June 23, 2014~ We need to ask BOLD questions

Ohhhhhhhwoooahhohhh oh oh ohhhwaooaahhohoh ohoh! Fam!  I don't have much time today because there's nearly 28 missionaries in the library right now and they all want to email so I'm going to hop off and give someone the computer once I finish this big email.  This past week was awesome.  I met with Prezzy one last time before he takes off.  He gave me his trunky departing interview talk which  way sweet.  I told him that I'm pretty stinking sure the reason I was called to this mission was because he was the one mission president at that time serving that could change my life in the way that I absolutely needed. He then told me that a general authority in a mission president's seminar recently said that missionaries don't get called to missions, they get called to mission presidents.  At least for me that is so true!!  He really made me feel empowered and helped me recognize how much I've changed for the better.  Often I think it's a common thing among missionaries to wonder if we really served a successful and good mission and with Banks going home and all that it really got me thinking about all of this.  So talking with Prez was an absolute answer to prayers.

Likewise we had an investigator come to church yesterday, Mimi!  That was the first investigator at church in this ward in a year and a half.  She wants her year and a half old girl blessed so we will do that the first week of July.  We also found a new investigator named Justin.  So things are going pretty good! Yesterday we had a meeting with Elder Rhodes from the Seventy.  He's famous for ripping missionaries apart in the most kind and loving way after looking through their planners.  In that meeting he asked for my planner and I gave it to him.  After watching him look through it for a couple of minutes and a few skipped heartbeats of mine, he just looked at me and gave me the planner back.  Didn't say a word.  Haha it's a little thing but you have no idea how pumped I was on the inside after that!

Anyways I want to share something I learned from that meeting.  We've heard a ton about the hastening of the work and I learned that essentially the Lord's meaning of the word hastening is to get as many people to choose to and qualify to receive the ordinances of salvation.  We have the opportunity to provide the ordinances and the authority (Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-2.) So as we give people the opportunity to act upon an invitation, then we are leading them to choose and qualify for the ordinances of salvation.  Pretty basic but it was just awesome because I  realized the scripture I referenced really should be the charter, the commission, and the constitution of the ward council, PEC, and missionary coorelation meetings.  We need to ask the bold questions of "If I were Heavenly Father..."  and then proceed to think and reason.  I am grateful for those people God has placed in my path to help me become more converted and I am grateful as well for those that I can help in the same regards.  Fam, I love ya!

Elder Tyler Traasdahl