Hey family, whats up? It sounds like everyone enjoyed conference. I loved conference, two of our investigators watched it, and loved it. One of them, Anne who is being baptised on the 16th, cried because she felt the Spirit. Everyone of those inspired talks either applied directly to me, or directly to the needs and concerns of the people I am teaching. The Spirit testified to me that President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's Prophet on the earth today. I know without a doubt, that he has been called of God, and receives revelation from God to lead and guide Heavenly Father's children on the Earth. I know this to be true. My prayers were answered during that conference, and things that have been taught to me by the Holy Ghost were reiterated. (D&C 6:22-23)
I have had so much fun this week; being a missionary is a blast. Elder Andreasen and I are working with our next door neighbor Alex, trying to help him to overcome his smoking addiction, his consumption of alchol, and his laziness. Alex is hilarious. He paces back and forth in front of our apartment window until we go out and talk to him. He is interested in the Church, and he has had tons of experiences with Mormons, but he is really non-committal. Every time we talk to him he gets distracted by something totally irrelevant. He tried to tell us that the story of Pinocchio is in the Bible the other day lol. I think he meant Jonah, but even Jonah had nothing to do with our invitation to pray and ask God if learning more about the church would help him reach his goals. He isn't really a progressing investigator, but if our appointments fall through, he is always there and wants to talk to us. I truely believe that if he exercises just a tiny bit of self-discipline (faith), and follows through with his commitments, he'll know that the Book of Mormon is true, he'll stop smoking and get baptized. From there he will feel more motivation and confidence to go back to school and do something worth while with his life. The Gospel is a huge blessing. It is easy to take it for granted, but I know that it has blest my life immeasurably, and I can see it blessing the lives of those taking the steps to embrace it and come unto their Father in Heaven. Heavenly Father wants to bless us, but we have to do our part. When we are obedient, the Lord blesses us.
The other day, we had dinner at a members house! (After alot of prodding, the Relief Society President finally made a dinner calendar for the Missionaries, and soon we should have meals on Saturdays and Sundays. We are super stoked lol.) One of the teenagers in the family invited his non-member girl friend over for dinner so we could talk to her. Haha we were so stoked! This girl should already be a Mormon; all of her best friends are LDS because they live the same standards that she lives. She is awesome. We asked her if she wanted to learn more about the Church and she said she wasn't quite sure yet. We asked her if she believed God answers prayers, and she said she did. We invited her to pray and ask God if taking the lessons is what he wants her to do. She said she would do that. If she asks, I know God will answer her prayer. Hopefully we will be able to start teaching her next week.
The best part is, we spent two hours walking door to door inviting people to learn about the Gospel. No one was interested. Then we go to this members house, and we meet this girl that has clearly been prepared by the Lord to hear his message. Haha, I love it. Because we were faithful, he blessed us with someone to teach. In the MTC I learned that God has been preparing people for years to come unto Him. Why would He trust a couple of disobedient missionaries with someone He has worked with for so long, when those missionaries could destroy all the work He did in preparing that person to hear His message. When we are obedient, we are telling the Lord that we love Him, and He can trust us. I know this principle is true, because these ridiculously wonderful people keep finding us. There is no greater joy than knowing that Heavenly Father is pleased with you. I have so much I need to learn, and often times I feel like I'm not qualified for this work. But, I take courage in the scripture Ether 12:27, and I get back to work. I have a firm testimony that I was called to this mission by Heavenly Father, so despite my weaknesses and my lack of knowledge, I know that if I work hard I will be successful. This Church is true, I wouldn't be out here if I didn't know that with every fiber of my being. I wish people would take a few seconds to think about our resolve as missionaries. I mean, do they think I enjoy going door to door just to be rejected and insulted? Come on, obviously our message is somewhat important or I would be else where right? Its okay though, because every person that listens to our message and I get to witness feel the Holy Ghost, makes everything else totally worth it.
Angela and Trevor, thanks for the Mickey Mouse, lol. It was great.
Mom thanks for the package, I loved it.
I sent David Tyler a letter in the mail, so keep an eye out for it.
I love all of you very much. Sorry, but I'm all out of time. I have gotten your letters and stuff, and I appreciate all of it. I'll talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Thornton
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