Every member a missionary

This week was a great week. We are trying to work with the members of the ward a lot more. We had a meeting with our ward mission leader and we are trying to figure out how we can get the members more excited to do missionary work. We are going to try to be in members homes a lot more teaching them the lessons so they have sharing the gospel on their minds more. We have had a couple of new visits with members already, and we are hoping to see a lot of miracles by working this way.

We are still working with Wes, and he is doing really well! He is still preparing to be baptized on November 15th, and then in a year his family will be able to go to the Temple to be sealed for eternity! They are such an awesome family, and I am so grateful we have the chance to work with him!

We went on an awesome hike today. We hiked up to a place called Brandy Creek Falls. There were a couple of different pools of water and some pretty sweet waterfalls! I really enjoyed it, and we were able to run back down the trail so it was just like running trail back in Utah for cross country! We also got some really cool pictures on what is called the Sundial bridge. It is a huge suspension bridge in Redding that they light up during the night, and it looks sweet!

Our ward had their chili cook off this week, and Elder Page and I were the judges. Our ward mission leader entered the contest and he wasn't too happy with how the results turned out. He has been teasing us a bit for the past couple days about how we don't know what good chili is. Hahaha! I don't think I do know what it is, but it was a lot of fun!

I love you all, and I hope you have an amazing week!

Elder Nielsen

Have Your Heart in the Journey

Hello!

This week was great! Not everything worked out perfectly, but we were able to see a lot of tender mercies. We met with Wes this past week, and the lesson went really well. Wes's less-active wife, Eva, was there as well, so we were able to teach most of their family. We discussed the Restoration with them, and the Spirit was very strong. We talked to Wes about being sealed in the Temple, and he said it is what he wants for his family. We talked to him about the path to get to the temple, and how baptism is the first step. He said he would like to be baptized, and he is going to do so on November 15th! He truly wants the best for his family, and it is going to be amazing to see how they are going to grow closer together as they are all trying to be more like the Savior.

We were trying to contact some of the people that our Bishop does not personally know last Thursday. We visited somebody that said the person we were looking for does not live there anymore. We asked her how long they had lived there, and she said they had just moved from Brazil about a month before. They had talked to a couple of missionaries there and knew a little about the church, but had never invited the missionaries over to teach them. She invited us to come back on Saturday and meet with her husband. We came back and met with him, and we were able to talk to him for a bit. It was very nice because he was very friendly and open to us! We taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel, and he was very attentive during the entire lesson. He told us that he doesn't accept everything at this point, but he does want to know if it is true. We are planning on meeting with him again tonight, so we hope he has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying in order to receive his answer!

As I was studying this morning I ran across the doctrine of conversion. A principle was really impressed upon me; in order to become converted our desire to follow the Savior must increase continually. Action alone is not enough. We MUST have our heart in the journey as well. M. Russell Ballard wrote "...you find yourself wanting to do what He would do and respond as He would respond in an effort to bring your life into harmony with His." I know that Christ lived a perfect, sinless life. It is for that reason that I feel so much joy and peace when I follow and direct my heart towards Him. As I follow the example of Christ, the Spirit confirms to me that the way of life I am living is good. Alma once said "...it is discernible, therefore you must know that it is good." (Alma 32:35). I have never seen Jesus Christ, but I don't need to in order to prove all of His teaching to be true! I can discern that I feel good when I follow the Savior, so what else do I need? I know the way to pure happiness is by following Christ's example. I encourage you all to direct your thoughts and desires towards the Savior a little more today, and then recognize how you feel. There is no better way to live!

From the desk of...

Elder Nielsen

Faith brings miracles!

So we we were able to contact a lot of our people this past week, which is really good since we haven't been able to for the past couple weeks! We are just trying to be really consistent with everyone to help them progress, and it isn't the easiest thing to do because of the dynamic of our area and the people that live in it.

We worked hard throughout the week and were able to see some of the fruits of our labors on Sunday. We were just leaving the YSA branch when we met someone who decided to come to church with one of the members in the branch. He basically told us that he doesn't have a church that he goes to so he wanted to come check ours out. We are going to go back and meet with him this next week, so that will be
awesome! The other cool miracle was in the family ward. The husband of a member came for the first time in a little while. He told her that he wants to be married in the temple to her, so he is going to be coming to church from now on! We were able to let him know that we can help him prepare for his marriage in the temple, and he invited us over to go meet with him! We are really excited because the work is starting to pick up a lot more recently, and the ward really needs it.

I love you all. Have a great Columbus Day!

Elder Nielsen

News on news.

Hey everyone! Lots of stuff happened end this week, so I will try and recap it all.

Elder Page and I are officially companions now, and things are going well. We are getting along swimmingly, and it is a bunch of fun.

We got the chance to see "Meet the Mormons" this past Friday, and I loved it! All of the stories we so inspiring, and I want to see it again! All of you who are able should see it, and then tell people about it, and then go see it again. It is awesome.

General conference was so amazing. Alisha and I are definitely on the same wavelength, because Lynn G Robbins's talk was one of my favorites as well. I loved how he touched on whether our loyalty is in the Lord or in others.

And lastly, we were playing basketball for p-day today and I messed my toe up pretty bad. I came down on the tip of my right foot and dislocated my right toe. It didn't feel too bad at first, but I found out I couldn't walk on it after a couple steps. We went to the doctor and got some x-rays, and they looked pretty gnarly. The doctor happened to be LDS, and he was able to tug it back into place. It's all good now! Now I am just sitting here in a boot in the gym. Rocking the boot!

Love you all!
Elder Nielsen

Miracles and Transfers

This past week was a great one. We met with Dane, the 13 year old young man. The best way I can describe him is having the desire of Joseph Smith. He really wants to know what the truth is, and he has felt the Spirit confirm the truth as we have been meeting with him. We taught him the Restoration this past week and we invited him to be baptized. He said he would like to prepare to be baptized on October 25th. He is such an awesome young man.

So for transfers, Elder Harris is going down to Yuba City to continue to be a zone leader. Elder Page is coming up here to be my companion. I have met Elder Page before, and he is an awesome guy. We both served in the Red Bluff Ward, and it just so happens that the area we cover for YSA includes Red Bluff! We will have the chance to go down there as we are teaching the lessons to a recent convert.

I love you guys! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Nielsen

Redding is Righteous, man.

We had a number of really cool experiences this last week. It felt different since we had P-day on Wednesday instead of Monday, but it still went really well. I went on exchanges with Elder Cieslak, and we stayed in my area for the exchange. We started the morning off by going to contact some potential investigators that Elder Harris and I have never met before. We stopped by Julia's house, and she was very friendly towards us. She told us she is a single mom and is currently working for the forest service. She didn't have much time right then so we left her with a Restoration pamphlet. She told us she would be interested in learning more! It isn't much yet, but it is exciting to see how we are talking to more people every single week.

After Julia we went to contact one of our investigators name Brianna. We haven't been able to an extensive lesson with her since we need a male to go inside her house, but she is showing a lot of interest. We left her with a Book of Mormon and invited her to read some specific chapters. She said she really wants to know the truth about whether there really is a God or not, and we explained that there is no way to completely prove or disprove there is a God. That is why the principle of faith is so important.

We had a couple more neat experiences on that exchange, but I don't have the time to get them all down, so I will tell about another neat experience we had on Friday. We were trying to contact some less-active members that the bishop doesn't know. We were able to see a couple of them as well as talk to some people who now live where the less-actives used to live. After contacting someone we started to walk out of the apartment complex just as a young man named Dane came up to us and asked, "Do you guys give away Bibles?" We told him we sure do. Then we proceeded to tell him about the Book of Mormon, and he said he would like one. We set up another time to bring the Bible by, and then went back to our truck. It was such a neat and simple miracle to see.

We were on exchanges again on Saturday, and I was in my area with Elder Percival. We went back to Dane's house to give him the bible, and he told us he really liked reading from the Book of Mormon. We talked to him a bit more about the Book of Mormon and talked to him about church a bit, and he said he would like to come. He said he should be able to come this next Sunday, so we are looking forward to getting him integrated in with the Young Men in the ward!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so awesome. I have never been happier than when I am trying to be more like my Savior. Following Christ's example is the only way I would want to live in order to have a fulfilling and successful life. There is no other way for me. I feel the same way that Peter did when Christ asked "Will ye also go away?" Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:67-68).

I know I make many, many mistakes, even when I try my best. However, Christ knew I would do so and chose to suffer for my sins anyways. He loved me enough to choose to take upon himself my sins. He did that for YOU personally. Regardless of your weakness, He chose to die for you so you can live through Him.

I love you all so much.

Elder Nielsen

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves." (D&C 58:28)

This past week or so has been really interesting! Our P-day got moved to today since we had a Mission Tour with Elder Brent H. Nielson, of the Seventy. Everything has been a little out of sync because of that, but things are going well!

I was able to learn a lot from the Mission Tour with Elder Nielson. One of the biggest things that I received a greater understanding of is the principle of agency and our faith. In 2 Nephi 2:14, Lehi is speaking to his sons and talking to them about the Plan of Happiness. He says, "God...hath created all things...both things to act and things to be acted upon." Elder Nielson explained that almost everything in the universe was created to be acted upon, but we as children of God were created to act. We see things that need to be corrected, and Satan tempts us to be an object that is acted upon rather than an agent that acts. He wants us to wait for others to solve the problem without using the divinely given gift of agency ourselves. God has given us the power to act for ourselves, so we should use that agency to choose to follow Christ and help others along the way.

I went on exchanges with Elder Zaugg this past week, and we were determined to work really hard. We went around trying to contact some potentials. We were able to see some really cool miracles. We were having dinner at Carl's Jr, and as we were sitting there I saw a guy walk up to a table outside. I recognized him as a young man that the sisters in Red Bluff were teaching. He moved up here, and the sisters lost contact with him. We went to talk to him, and were able to figure some stuff out. He lives within the boundaries of the Young Single Adult branch, so hopefully we should be able to start teaching him soon! Miracles happen!

I love you all, and I hope you all have an awesome week! 

Elder Nielsen

P.S. We went up to the top of our zone last P-day to do some more hiking, and we were able to go to Weed, California. We decided to buy some souvenirs...

Elder Nielsen and Elder Bradshaw