Thirty-Second Letter Home 02 April 2012

What's up?

It sounds like everyone really enjoyed General Conference. I love Conference. Yuki, our recent convert watched it in Japanese online. We watched one Saturday session with our investigator family; and Sister Hampton, who I've been trying to get to come to Church for 10 weeks, came to the Sunday afternoon session. Clara, our "German grandma" lady watched Sunday morning's session of Conference. Ha-ha, I love conference because the talks our investigators heard where exactly what they all needed. It worked out perfectly.

The Apostles and Prophet re-iterated principles we taught our investigators last week. It was cool for me personally, because things that I've studied and promptings that I've received from the Holy Ghost were re-iterated and confirmed by the Lord's chosen servants. Many of the talks were exactly what our Ward and Stake leaders needed to hear also. I took good notes, and this morning as part of my study, I reviewed them. Then, I read out of the Book of Mormon.

The Holy Ghost, through the Book of Mormon, once again confirmed the words of the Lord's servants to me. I have so much fun studying with the Holy Ghost. He is always teaching me cool things, and the best is when he teaches me things that I get to use that day to help explain the gospel to someone.

Many of the talks focused on the importance of being converted to the Gospel, and having an eternal perspective, or vision. As a missionary I've noticed that many members of the church don't know what the Gospel is, and as a result get caught up in "club Mormon," missing the point of why the Church was restored in the first place.

The Gospel, as defined in 2 Nephi 31, and 3 Nephi 11, is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. Everything else we do in the Church should support these five principles and ordinances. Christ's gospel is so simple that a child can understand it, yet so complex and perfect, that it takes a life time to master it. For investigators, it unlocks the full power of Christ's atonement in their favor. For members of Christ's Church, it renews the solid ground beneath our feet, keeping us on the rock of salvation. Baptism is the only ordinance we continue to renew for ourselves, through partaking of the Sacrament. Other ordinances are done by proxy, in the behalf of others.

In 3 Nephi 18:6-7,10-12 Christ says that by partaking of the Sacrament, we are securing our place on the rock. Helaman 5:12 tells why we want to hang out on that particular rock. Understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us an eternal perspective. It gives us hope, and that hope is re-inforced by Heavenly Father's blessings to us. These principles, are the center of the plan of salvation, the plan for happiness. Christ is our benefactor, He paid for us in blood. D&C 19 captures what that entailed. If we don't want to suffer as He did, we have to accept his Gospel. If we don't want other people to suffer that agony, we need to share his Gospel. "A religion that doesn't require a sacrifice from it's members, will never have the authority, or power to live with God." It is through applying the principles of the Gospel in our lives, that we make that sacrifice, and choose to follow our Savior. This Saturday is transfers... we'll see what happens. I'll let you know on Monday.

Elder Thornton

Thirty-First Letter Home 26 March 2012

Hey, hows it going?

This week has been rather mundane; not to much new happened. The progress we've been making with our investigators is slow. We can't get any of our contacts to come to Church. People promise they will come. We set up rides for them, and then they don't show. It's super frustrating.

Then yesterday a member brought his boss and his boss's wife to Church with him. It was their first time, so they attended the Gospel Essentials class. We don't have a teacher, so I've had to wing the last three lessons. My companion doesn't want to do it, so I've been teaching all the Gospel Essential classes lately. I don't mind teaching though, it puts me in the position where I can steer the discussion, and hope to meet the needs of the potential investigators. But without fail, someone will feel the need to bring up something irrelevant and shift the class away from the lesson. I was talking about the Atonement and about the Gospel of Jesus Christ when a member interrupted me and said they wanted to learn about the war in heaven. Then they wanted to learn about the 1/3 that were cast out of heaven. Then they wanted to talk about Celestial Glory, and Endowments, and... can we give some milk before we try feeding them steak please? It's ridiculous. Our investigators get so confused. Ha-ha, so that was Sunday School, but we are very grateful for the member bringing them to Church, and we got a solid referral from the ward we've been trying to get one for nine weeks now. This week the member is going to have us and his friends over for dinner. I think there is some definite potential here. We gave the couple a copy of the Book of Mormon.

We continue to work with our other investigators. Austin was upset at us because we couldn't go shooting with him the other day. He was even planning on having friends there who we could talk to, but the handbook says no guns. President Weaver says no guns. This means Elder Thornton had to say "no guns" also. Trust me, that was difficult. But I'm glad I was obedient.

The Ward here is difficult to work with. We announced in Ward Council we had a family on date to be baptized for Easter Sunday, and they flipped out. (Forgive me for trying to baptized someone on the day Christ rose from the dead. It's not like baptism is symbolic or anything.) Apparently the problem stems from missionaries in the past who just went behind the Ward's back, so-to-speak. They would show up with baptism records after the fact. You would think now that the Ward has missionaries trying to communicate and work with them and do things the right way, they would be excited; but all they gave us was flack. They ate us alive in Ward Council. Totally uncalled for. First time missionaries have even bothered to show up to Ward Council in months, and they kicked us out after ten minuets. It is frustrating!

I'm trying. At the same time, I'm not going to allow their pride to deny people entrance into the Lord's Kingdom. I've got a job to do. It' will take time, and I will work at it. I promised Heavenly Father that I was going to leave this area better than I found it. And that's what I'm going to do.

That's about it, that was my rant. I'm sorry. I try not to complain. My companion does enough of that for the two of us, lol. Ha-ha, I like Elder Bowser, and though he hesitates to admit it: He is starting to like being a missionary. His testimony is growing. We've had quite a few little miracles this transfer. I told him, if you want to enjoy your mission, you've got to have the Holy Ghost with you. Galatians 5:22 "The fruits of the spirit are, joy... faith... peace... long suffering...." The influence of the Holy Ghost is what makes this work awesome. But, if you want him to hang out with you, you have to be obedient, and you've got to work. I think he is starting to see that. Yesterday, he told me to wake him up at 6:30 — "except on P-day!" Haha, the Spirit is getting to him.

Anyways, I hope you have a great week. I'm going to have a great week because I'm going to do everything I can to have the Holy Spirit with me. He makes everything good.

Bye guys.

Oh, another highlight of the week: I got to go take a tour of the 160th SOARs Spec Ops helicopters. Ask me about it in a couple years.

Love,

Elder Thornton

Thirtieth Letter Home 19 March 2012

Hey, whats up?

So... this week has been crazy. Crazy awesome! I'll start from the beginning.

Tuesday, we were trying to decide where to go tracting for our 5-7. We'd already tracted all of Tillicum twice (I live in Tillicum), so we decided to go tract the new area we inherited when the Wards split. We got in the car, got on the freeway, and headed to the area. As I was driving, the impression came to me that we needed to tract Union street in Tillicum. I listened to the prompting, but thought to myself, "we've already tracted that street twice." Again, the prompting came, "go tract Union Street." So, I did. I exited the freeway, flipped around, and headed back to Tillicum.

During that 5-7, we gave out 5 Book of Mormons, and found a very sweet Mexican family. The mom and the daughter took Book of Mormons, and said they would read them. I was happy we found them, but didn't think too much of it because we regularly give out at least two Book of Mormons every day, and we usually never hear from anyone.

Two days later, we were following up with people we had given Book of Mormons too, and Elder Bowser said he felt like we should go back to the Mexican family. We went to their house, and they invited us in. The mom said she had been reading the book, and that she was at the part where Nephi just got the plates back from Laban, and Lehi was reading them to his family. I was shocked. Elder Bowser was like, "can we read another chapter with you?" The family said yes, and we taught them the Restoration using 1 Nephi chapters 1 and 2.

The mom told us how she has been stressed out because her ex-husband, who just got out of jail, has been banging on their door in the middle of the night harassing them. She said she couldn't sleep; she has been so afraid. But, when she started reading the Book of Mormon, it brought her peace. She said she didn't want to put it down. She read it until she fell asleep.

I taught her about the fruits of the Spirit — that the Spirit brings us peace when we are doing the things that are acceptable to the Lord. She said she knew the Book of Mormon was true, and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, because of the feeling of peace the Book of Mormon gave her.

So cool. She told her kids the stories she was reading, and her kids loved them. They all wanted Book of Mormons also. We asked the family if they wanted to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding God's priesthood authority. They all said YES. The youngest, Paul, said he wanted to get baptized again, this time by the priesthood. He is nine. We had one problem though, the family was moving to California the next day, to escape the crazy ex-husband, and to help their ill grandma. The family wanted to be baptized before they left. We prayed about this, and asked Heavenly Father what he wanted us to do. He said, "Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe." -Alma 32:16- He brought this scripture to the forefront of my mind, and along with it, the feeling of peace you get when you know something is right. I called President Weaver, and he said, "Baptize them, and font-side, confirm them." So, that's what we did. Yesterday, we baptized the Delgado family. Probably the sweetest family I have ever met. Then, we gave them the Holy Ghost. It was a missionary baptism, Sister Miranda, a dear friend to the missionaries was the only member from the Ward who attended. Our whole zone was there, and though it was a small gathering, the Spirit was really strong, and the family was beaming. They were so happy.

That was my miracle this week, a true testimony to me, that Heavenly Father directs this work, and that when we follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and when we boldly share His gospel, He will lead us to those of His children who have been prepared to hear the gospel and are willing to accept it. It was awesome.

I love you guys,


Elder Thornton

Twenty-Ninth Letter Home 12 March 2012

Whats up? 

Yuki got baptized on Sunday! It was so cool. She was so happy. Sunday was Stake Conference, and she was going around inviting everyone to her "special day." It was cute. I was so happy for her. I love fulfilling my purpose. 

President Weaver our mission president attended our Stake Conference. I had previously explained the organization of the Church to Yuki. I told her that President Weaver was called by the Apostles, and that he pretty much answers directly to the Quorum of the Twelve. Missionary work was the commission given to the Apostles by Jesus Christ (Mark 16). Full-time missionaries are a direct extension of the apostleship. Our commission comes from Christ through them. That is why we have the title "Elder." Yuki was so excited to see President Weaver. She invited him to her "special day" also. He showed up, and she was really happy. I think she might of thought he was an apostle... but that's okay. 

I'm still working with Austin. It's tough though, because he isn't progressing very well. I don't want to leave him; I really don't, but I can't make him live the commitments; I can't make him gain a testimony, and I know the only way he will develop greater faith in Jesus Christ is through keeping the commitments. He needs to read the Book of Mormon. He needs to pray about it. He has to apply the teachings in his life. These are the tools Heavenly Father has given us so we can establish a relationship with Him. 

It is a direct cause and effect. The right patterns of behavior will improve our faith, knowledge and ability to live happy and fulfilling lives. Commandment keeping brings blessings, which in turn helps us to realize those blessings come from God. In this pattern of obedience, our faith increases until we get to the point where we are like the Brother of Jared, who's faith and trust in God was so great, that he couldn't be kept from seeing the Lord and beholding all things. Faith isn't blind. It is a hope and power which leads to action, which in turn brings blessings, and establishes the truth of a principle. "Faith is a hope of things which are not seen, but are true." I will work with Austin as much as I can. Heavenly Father loves him. I love him. I would do anything for all of my investigators. But, I can't give them faith. That is something they must seek for themselves. 

We are working really hard. It has been tough though; I kind of got doubled into a new part of town because of the Ward boundary changes, and a lot of our potential and progressing investigators went to the Elders serving in the other Ward. It is becoming more and more apparent to me how little I actually know. I am so inexperienced. I'm a very young missionary, and my companion is only three months out. He has a bit of attitude: He doesn't try to learn the area, and though he is slightly more obedient then Bailey, he complains constantly. In times like these we define who we really are. Am I going to be valiant, and turn to the Lord with all my heart for guidance, or am I gonna just coast through, and wait until transfers. I am trying to be valiant! The fact that I don't know what I'm doing causes me to humble myself and seek to do things the Lord's way. His way is the only right way. 

I like my District, and I think the other Elders are beginning to accept me better as their District Leader. Elder Bowser is a good Elder; I like him. I think we are getting along well -- which is good, because he doesn't seem to like anyone else in the Zone, lol. 

Well, that's all the news I've got. We're trying to schedule more people on date so they can access the full power of the Atonement in their lives. What an awesome job I have! I love you, have a great week.

 

Love,

 

Elder Thornton

 

 

Grandma,

Thank you so much for the package, and weekly letters. I really enjoy hearing from you. I'm not very good at writing hand letters, but I wanted to let you know I appreciate your support. I love you.

Love,

 

Elder Thornton

Twenty-Eighth Letter Home 05 March 2012

Ha-ha, what’s up?

So...Yuki didn't get baptized... She was in Seattle. But, she should get baptized this weekend? That's what we are shooting for anyway. We have people with potential, their faith in Jesus Christ is increasing, but the application of that faith requires constant nurturing and encouragement. We have to get a couple married, we need to get Yuki in the water, we need to help Austin give up his boos and cigs, its crazy.

The other day someone said to me, "If your church is true, where are the miracles?" As I thought about that, later that night, I realized that perhaps the greatest miracle is that 19-year-old kids can go out into the world, into the ghettos, and actually get people to quit smoking, stop drinking, give up their drugs, get married, stop beating people up, and become true followers of Christ. How do we do it? We don't. Christ does it; and in our weakness, inexperience, and lack of skill, He shows forth His power. He shows that He is the true and living God, and that he never ceases to do miracles in the behalf of His children. It's cool; it's fun, and I love being a part of it. 


We are working hard, and the Lord is helping us. Every night I pray about how I can help specific people. When I sit down to study, I study with specific people in mind. Last night, I was praying about how I could help a soldier we are teaching who has served in combat. He is having a lot of difficulty coping with the many horrifying acts of war. It is because of these  experiences he turned to alcohol to drink away his pain everyday.

For most of his life, He didn't believe in God, but now he does believe. 

I met him five weeks ago. Bailey's previous companion didn't want to meet with him, but Bailey felt like this person had potential. So he introduced the soldier to me. The lesson we had with him that first day was probably one of the most spiritual lessons I have ever had. The soldier was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he prayed that he would be able to hold onto that feeling. He understood the feelings he felt came from God. He wants to believe in Jesus, but he says his pride is getting in the way. I want desperately to help him. He wants to stop smoking and drinking. He knows they are bad for him: they are expensive, and they limit his liberty. But, he doesn't know how to quit. I know how to help him quit. I know that the only way one can truly replace addictions is through Christ, but I have to be able to help him realize that.

Heavenly Father answered my prayer and told me how. As I prayed, 1 Nephi 19 popped into my head. I pushed it aside not really wanting to look it up. Again, 1 Nephi 19 followed with, "go look it up." I got up, grabbed my military scriptures, and looked it up. I've read that scripture a hundred times. I've used it in lessons, but this time it took on a different meaning. The scripture is about likening the scriptures to yourself; and I realized that if the soldier is going to be able to progress, he needs to be able to keep commitments. Those commitments need to come from the Book of Mormon.

In Lehi's dream, the only way to get to the tree of life is by holding onto the Iron rod, and moving forward. The iron rod is the word of God, and keeping commitments is called repentance which must occur before one can be baptized, or partake of the "Love of God." What commitment does he need most? He needs to read the Book of Mormon, and pray about it. He knows what the Spirit feels like, and by having him ask a specific question, he will be able to connect his answer straight to the source. 

The placebo effect from the awful war experiences will eventually be of no concern to him anymore. It will be replaced with the peaceful, comforting assurance that Heavenly Father loves him and has great blessings in store for him and for all who truly seek the Savior. With that clear answer, and the connection established, he will know that Christ is real. And with that testimony, he will be able to focus his faith, use the Lord's atonement to overcome his addictions, be baptized, and further unlock the blessings of Jesus Christ in his life. He won't have to suffer the effects of war anymore. I know what I need to do, and it came from Heavenly Father, so I know it will work.

I love fulfilling my purpose. An interesting thought came to me today during companion study. Bowser likes deep doctrine, and he asked me about Cain. I told him that Cain was cursed to stay on the Earth until the end when Christ comes back. There are four other men who will also remain on the Earth until the second coming of Christ: John the Beloved, and the three Nephites. In their case however, remaining on the Earth until the Lord’s coming is a great blessing. Today the thought came to me that the difference is that Cain has no purpose, and thus he is miserable. The other four are here to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to bring souls unto Him. They have a purpose, the greatest purpose of all. Unlike Cain, they are happy, and they will be happy for the rest of their eternal lives, because they are fulfilling their purpose. I know from experience, that I am the happiest as a missionary when I am fulfilling my purpose.

Anyways, these are things that I've been thinking about, and experiences that I've been having. I love you all, and I hope you have a great week.

Love,

Elder Thornton

P.S. I like Elder Bowser. He is a good Missionary. He got chewed out hardcore by the investigator the other day for not being "sincere or straight forward." Poor Elder... The investigator told me I need to teach him how to "argue better," lol. I don't argue; I listen. I take in the words he tells me, and expound upon them with the scriptures and analogies the Spirit gives me to share. I think he understands that though, because last time we saw him, he thanked Heavenly Father for giving me the ability to speak to him, understand him, and teach him. Elder Bowser was a champ though. He is humble and teachable, and he handles criticism very well.

Twenty-Seventh Letter Home 27 February 2012

What’s up? This has been a challenging week.

Yuki did not get baptized. I have never seen anyone get “antied” as much as she has, but she still comes to Church. She has really gotten a lot of opposition: As soon as her friends found out she wanted to be baptized they told her that Mormons are eloquent and skilled deceivers who work for the devil.

First of all, if we were in the business of deceit, would the Church send 19-year olds out? Most of us barely passed English class, lol; the thought is so ridiculous. Worse than the Anti-propaganda though, Yuki had a nightmare in which she said a scary man was trying to strangle her, and yelling at her not to get baptized. She got scared, and backed out. But I talked to her about it over the phone and explained that someone who was good and trying to warn her wouldn't try to kill her in the process. Kind of counter productive. Then I read to her the Lord's Prayer, and told her to pray that she would be protected from evil as she sleeps. She came to Church, and she said that she realized that the man in her dream trying to choke her was the devil and that she still wants to be baptized. As we talked, I felt inspired to read Joseph Smith's first vision with her and this time include the part where the devil bound his tongue that he could not speak and tried to [strangle] destroy him.

As she read Joseph Smith’s testimony she said, "This is exactly what happened to me." I told her that the devil was forced to leave once Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ came to him, and that when she gets baptized, she will have the Holy Ghost, and the adversary will be forced to leave. She knows now, that the devil is going to try to stop her from getting baptized, and that the sooner she is baptized and receives the Holy Ghost, the sooner the devil will be forced to leave. Yuki and I have really good conversations.

She told me, "Elda Donton, thank you so much for all your patients, and help. No one else answers my questions, because they can't understand my accent."

Ha-ha, it is funny, I can understand her accent because I grew up around Mom's accent. Yuki hopefully will be baptized next Sunday.

We got our transfer calls, but they could be changing soon. The Stake just shifted a bunch of boundaries, and created a new Ward.

Some things that go on in the Mission field really try my patience, but I promised Yuki the Holy Ghost would give her more patience; so I can't allow myself to get upset – I’ve been given the Gift of the Holy Ghost and I need to Follow His promptings. As for now, my transfer call is this: I'm serving as District Leader where I am here in Fort Lewis, and I'm training a brand new elder from the MTC!  I'm stoked, I'm going to have a brand new companion. I can't wait. It'll be an opportunity for me to go back to the fundamentals, and really learn them well. Plus, we get to start fresh, which means hopefully we won't have any obedience issues. Fingers crossed.

I love you guys, I'll talk to you later.

Love,

Elder Thornton

Twenty-Sixth Letter Home 21 February 2012

Hey everybody, 

I couldn't write yesterday because it was Presidents' Day, and the library's were all closed. But, President Weaver is letting us email today, so here it is. 

This transfer is almost over. This is week six, and we'll be getting our transfer calls this coming Saturday. I've been working really hard, but we don't really have much to show for it. We've only baptized one person this transfer, which is frustrating because this is supposed to be one of the higher performing areas in the Mission. I was starting to get a little discouraged, feeling like the reason we weren't doing well was my fault. These feelings of inadequacy were compounded by the fact that I'm the youngest District Leader in the Mission, and I felt like a few of the older missionaries in the zone didn't really like me for that. I don't really think that is true anymore though. It was just the adversary trying to bring me down. So dumb. 

We had a really good Zone Conference where I was able to receive advice through the training given, and from one of the APs who served here. He said that Fort Lewis is an up and down place. Sometimes they baptize a ton, and other times you have to re-build your teaching pool. The truth is we are working hard, and I know that the Lord blesses us when we are diligent and obedient. 

I love personal scripture study so much; I always learn such cool stuff. My scriptures are my most prized possessions, they are filled with notes and markings, all of which are insights I've gained from the Holy Ghost. He is the best study buddy ever. I'm in 1 Nephi right now, and I only get through maybe two chapters in an hour of study because I cross reference a lot. So it takes more time. Elder Bailey isn't really used to working hard all the time, and he doesn't like to participate in companion study. He is a good Elder though, and I'm trying to help him develop good habits for the rest of his Mission. 

He's so funny: He writes his girl friend every day, lol. No joke, every day. I hope he doesn't get DJ'd, because it's gonna tear him up. Poor kid. 

I think I told you guys about our Japanese "eternal," named Yuki. We witnessed a miracle on Sunday. It was so cool. We've been working with Yuki every Sunday since I've been here. We sit next to her in church, answer her questions, etc. She is such a good lady, and she really just needs to get baptized. Last Sunday, she asked me why Jesus told us to forgive one another. I explained to her that Jesus suffered for everyone, and that He suffered for us as if He was us. In other words, when you fall down and scrape your knee, Jesus Christ felt that for you. Jesus did that so that we wouldn't have to suffer. Interesting to note, when human beings experience too much pain, they pass out. Jesus atoned for us so we could overcome our hardships, and continue forward in our progression. When we aren't willing to forgive one another, we are telling Christ that he didn't suffer enough for us to forgive and forget. What a slap in the face for Jesus. She didn't really say anything, besides, "really?" (Look of surprise on her face) But, this Sunday she told me that she has been thinking about what I told her, and she is thinking about getting baptized. I Holy Ghost jumped on that, and I started encouraging her to do it. I can't even describe it, I opened my mouth, and everything just flowed. I was pulling out scriptures to answer her questions. It was awesome. It was really funny too, because everyone keeps trying to "anti" her. She is always showing up with anti-Mormon stuff. No joke. Last time she had sixteen pages of some of the funniest anti I have ever seen. 

This time she had a little Baptist pamphlet, that was preaching hell fire and brimstone, and she was asking me questions from their pamphlet. The Holy Ghost helped me take the truths quoted in the scriptures they used and expound upon them using the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was so cool. I had all the scriptures marked already from my personal study, but the Holy Ghost told me how to use them, and when to use them. So fun! I invited her to get baptized this Saturday, and she said that she would! I am so stoked, what a miracle. Heavenly Father set it all up so perfectly. I pray that she will have the courage to go through with it. It's like the story of Ammon. He knew how to use his sword. I'm sure he was well trained, and very competent with his blade. Because of this, when he went to defend the king's flocks, the Spirit was able to tell him, when to block, when to dodge, when to strike, and where to swing. 

Anyways, I am really having a blast everyday being a Missionary. It is so fun. I love all of you, and I hope you have an awesome week. I hope that story makes sense, but it is really hard to explain. Just know that the Lord blesses us, and He knows exactly how to touch the hearts of his children.

Love,

Elder Thornton