Week 20 - loving the boonies!🤾‍♂️

 Hey what’s poppin fellas! I hope you’re all doing quite well. I am doing well myself. This week was pretty dope so let’s just get right into it. 

1. Guys, President is joining

2. Getting to Work

3. Other Mission-type stuff

1. Guys. President is joining.

So as you guys can probably tell, I like to have fun haha. Don’t worry, I am working super hard, but I like to have fun along the way. I have worked harder this week than ever, but also laughed harder this week than ever. Man so many hilarious things going on. But anywho, I take great pleasure in pranking people. So we were doing a zoom call on Elder Powell’s phone, which meant that my phone was still available. Then a spark of brilliance came to my mind. Using my phone and zoom account, I changed my name to “Trevor Bell”, which is our mission President’s name, and then changed my profile picture to his main mission picture too. Then, I joined the meeting on my phone as him. The sisters who were hosting the meeting freaked out. They were like “Guys. President Bell has entered the waiting room.” and then everybody started scrambling to prepare themselves mentally/spiritually/emotionally. They were like “Okay we’re letting him in. Everybody behave.”. 

Then they let me in the meeting. I joined without video, so all they could see was President’s profile pic. They were like “Hello President!”. I waited a couple seconds to add suspense. Then, with my face up close to the camera, I turned my camera on and was like “HELLLLLOOOOO”. Haha! It was great. I got them so good. 

2. Getting to work

But yea this week was super dope. I have gotten really good at taking initiative and just full sending on things/opportunities trusting that God may have a plan in mind. Anyways, so a couple of months ago when I was a young chap in the CCM (MTC), I sent in my weekly about Frieda and Urijah, two amazing people I met while doing summer sales. I had reached out to them during CCM and had made some good interaction, but since then haven’t really heard from either of them. Well this week I was thinking about that, and decided it was time to grow up and get to work. We don’t let moss grow under our feet when the Lord is involved. And now, since I’m in the field, I have the tools I need to connect them with their exact areas.

Using google maps, I spent a little while exploring the neighborhoods down in Lancaster CA and was able to track down both Frieda and Urijah’s addresses by memory. Then using our mission tools, was able to get a hold of the missionaries in both of their areas. On the phone they were like “how did you find them?” and I was like “so I did summer sales down there and using google maps tracked down their addresses”. They were pretty hesitant. I was like “I’m 90% sure they’re the right houses, just go and knock”. Haha and luckily, they were the right house's! Both Frieda and Urijah have been contacted and it’s going great! I’m super hyped. I’m so grateful for all these tools that are helping spread the work like wildfire. As Kip would say, “I loveeeeee technologyyyyyy.”. That’s been in my head quite a bit too this week. 

3. Other Mission-type stuff

But man, I am loving it right now. I really missed Frontenac at first, but now I am just vibing here. I love the boonies. The people here are amazing! A little bold sometimes but they are all great. I gave another talk in church and may-or-may-not have accidentally used some slang in my remarks. Then we had a lesson with a member after and they high-key roasted me for using certain words in my talk. So that was awkward. If any of you are offended/confused by my slang, I sincerely apologize. But everyone is super straight-forward which is dope. Helps us qualify better. But yea Shelina and her kids are making great progress! They have become some of my best friends, and accepted an invitation for baptism on December 28th! So I’m gonna meet with them three times a week until then. Super hyped for them! And Debra is getting baptized on Saturday so we’re super hyped for her as well! She’s had a really rough life, especially lately, but I’m really excited for her baptism and for her to feel the joy that comes from it. 

As a missionary, I am always striving to redirect people with their questions back to God. The only difference between our church and any other, is that we have God’s stamp of approval, so why would I waste time trying to convince someone of something that is true when God can tell it better to them than I ever could? If our church really is true as we claim it to be, people should be able to get their answer from God, not me. I can and should help of course, but as missionaries, we are nothing. God needs someone here to do the work, but nothing we say will convert anyone to Jesus Christ. It’s the Holy Ghost that does that, and the Holy Ghost that inspires us what to say so they can feel of it’s presence. But, we can’t teach by the power of the Holy Ghost if we aren’t being obedient, hence why it’s so important to be exactly obedient. I love the mission handbook so much! These “rules” aren’t rules at all, just opportunities for us to recieve blessings! It’s the best. But yea so when I teach people I really try to emphasize the importance of asking God about if it’s true. It’s shown great success. I love some of the responses we get. I did the same thing with Debra and she said that she just felt “warm fuzzies inside” haha. She also said that she always wants that feeling, and I told her that she is on the path to getting there. Which is so true. Nothing brings greater satisfaction in life than does diligently striving to live the commandments of God. It’s cool to start seeing that joy show in others. 

We’ve also found a lot of potentials in this area. The members are fire and we have a lot of work to do. We didn’t pick any of them up as news this week because we were so focused on telling everybody about Light the World! Which, you all need to participate in it! But yea, work-wise, we are doing fantastic. 

And want to know what the craziest part is? We are basically in quarantine! Illinois has new rules that basically for the next little bit we can’t see other people. So for the past week we seldom left our apartment, and this next week will be the same. Quarantine is no excuse for holding back on the work of the Lord. Yesterday was one of the busiest days in the mish for me, and we didn’t leave our apartment once. Just saying, whether stuck in the apt or not, service/mission opportunities are everywhere. 

Technology is the best idea ever. Instead of spending a ton of time and gas going to a members home, we click two buttons for a zoom call, and then right when that ends we can hop onto another one. It’s just so efficient. God is a smart lad. His ways are much higher than our ways, and I’m grateful that as a church we are better understanding the importance of missionary work and how to be most effective in it. 

But yea I felt the spirit big time this week. There’s this Book of Mormon song called “How Can I Be” that was the highlight of my week. I was listening to it and just felt the tears coming so hard. I fought them like a man, but boy it was difficult. I know the stories in the Book of Mormon are true. 

Another highlight this week was listening to “Praise to the Man - Folk Song” by Steven Sharp Nelson. I started whimpering during this too. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. Praying for the day when I can shake his hand and thank him for all he did for this Gospel. What an incredible man.

People all around the world recognize that our church is a powerful influence for good, but at the same time, they deny Joseph Smith. You can’t accept the revelations and deny the revelator. The reason our church is so good is because of the divine revelations Joseph Smith recieved through Jesus Christ. I hope you guys can see that. 

But yea that’s basically it for this week! We are doin pretty well. It’s crazy how fast the days go by. Feels like in one motion I wake up and then am back in bed. I’m starting to freak out realizing how fast life moves. Literally feels like just a small moment ago I was in 2nd grade fighting with this kid about whether or not Santa Clause was real. I knew he was fake, because my parents had told me that from the beginning, but this poor chap thought he was real, and I felt it my duty to explain it to him. Well things got out of hand, and finally I went to my teacher Mrs. Anderson to ask for a second witness. When I told her about the situation, she looked uneasy, and didn’t want to get involved. Then the kid who thought he was real and other kids in my class teased me for not believing in Santa. I was outraged. 

Not sure why I shared that story, but point is, life is moving way too fast. After elementary school, I was so excited for junior high. Went to Albion middle school for 6th grade, and absolutley hated it. Then for the next year, I decided to go to Churchill Jr. High for 7th grade. Feels like just yesterday I was 5’0’’ walking through the halls looking forward with great anticipation for the day when I could be an SBO like my big brother Joseph. Then, in a blink, I was there. The year flew by, and then I was in high school, sitting in the back of the band room with my brother from another mother watching bowling videos during class. Then suddenly I was a senior, looking forward to a dope senior year, and just as quickly as it started, covid broke out and it was over. Then I was knocking doors in the hood of Cali, and it felt like I would never leave. Then I was gone, back home waiting for my mission to start. Then I was at my computer in the CCM with my boy @Elder Hansen, then suddenly in Frontenac MO, and now I’m here in the boonies. I cannot even fathom how fast this has all happened. It’s exciting, but also a little frightening. Next thing I know I’m gonna be married with 40 kids on a pig farm in Kentucky. It’s wild. I am learning more and more every day that we need to find joy where we are right now. Too often we look back at old memories and wish we were there, not appreciating the moment that we're in right now. Reminds me of a scripture in Jacob 7:26-

“..the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream…”

This whole mortal life thing is just one big, confusing, exciting dream. One day we’ll all wake up in the eternities and have the same thought of “man, it’s over already?”. Then we’ll return with joy and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Parents who most graciously sent us on this mortal journey that taught us to much. I’m so grateful for life and for all that it has brought me. Some talks I would recommend to y’all would be “Our Great Adventure” by Dieter F. Uchtdorf (October 2019), and “The Great Plan” by Dahlin H. Oaks (April 2020). Perspective on life becomes a lot clearer when we better understand who we were before this life, and who we’re capable of becoming afterwards.

Sorry for the rant! Have a good week hermanas! Sorry if you’re offended by my slang! Email me if you so desire. 

--

- Elder Wride

1) thanksgiving

2) felt cute. might delete later

3) selfie time

4) talkin with the sis

5) me and the uke

6) talking with lil Pete!

Week 19 - Whitewashing in the boonies with my best friends dad

 What’s up weekly

This week was super interesante so let’s jump right into it. One of the big highlights though is that I’ve been having to shave almost every day!!! I’m so pumped! By the time I’m home I might even be able to grow a beard!!! 

1. New comp/apt/area/life info

2. The Paris Designers

3. Concluding remarks

1. So yea this week was interesting. It feels like I’m in a different mission now. I got yeeted out of Frontenac which was really hard. But just like I did when I first came to the mission field, I have accepted my fate and am doing much better. My future lies here in the boonies, and I’m going to have to accept that.

So yes, I am in the straight boonies. There’s like 10 people in the city, and that includes me and my new comp. Jk there’s more than 10 but still it’s super small. 

And my new comp is...Elder Powell! This is hilarious because Elder Powell is Elder Pugsley’s trainer, or “dad”. We were all pretty shook when we heard it. Elder Pugsley is training too so that’s exciting. I pulled aside his trainee at transfers and warned him about a weird language that Elder Pugsley will speak periodically and just told him not to worry about it. 

But yea my new area is PARIS!!!! (illinois). Yuh, it’s nothing like Paris. Not that I’ve been to Paris, but I know this aint it.

Our apt is actually super nice. We have a freaking garage!!! It’s hilarious. Good spot to put our new 2021 equinox. I was super sad to see Steph go, but am happy to have another equinox. We named him...Remi! As in Remi from ratatouille, because we’re in la fwance. So that’s cool. But anyways, it was also a sisters apt before us, so that’s been interesting. We’ve been finding weird stuff all over the apartment. There’s also little signs all over our apartment that say things like “Girl Gang!” and “Daughter of God” and such. But we’re both too lazy to take any of the stuff down so it’s still there. 

 

2. So me and Elder Powell are whitewashing, which means that we’re both in an area neither of us have ever been in, so basically we know absolutely nothing. But anyways, when we talked to the sisters at transfers they told us that we were the designers! We didn’t really know what it meant but we were super hyped about it. 

So we were both pretty sure the designer thing was for the facebook page, but when we came across some paint and canvases in our apartment, we knew we had to get designing. So before we went to bed we spent time creating art pieces to hang around the apartment. They are pretty stunning. We also had some other Elder’s stopping by our apartment and we wanted to hang all of these weird paintings up to confuse them and then for us to blame it on the sisters. When they came over and saw a weird painting we’d just be like “yea elders we don’t know what that is...it was just hanging up when we got here” haha. It was big time funny. 

But anyways, it’s been really weird taking over the sisters spot. We were still in a group message with all the sisters in the zone and they didn’t realize we were still there and literally, in the group chat that we ourselves are in, there were like “yea now there are Elders in Paris, which we all know was not the best idea”. I was like “WHAT” and then they called us and apologized. But apparently they were roasting us because since we're “Elders” we don’t know how to be “artsy” and “design”, so they are taking our designer role and giving it to a different set of sisters. I was outraged. I was like “all we’ve been doing the past week is designing” and then sent them some pictures of the paintings me and Elder Powell created to further attest to that statement.

That really confused them, and they were like “you realize it’s a virtual design” and we were like “wait wut”. Anyways, not sure if that story made any sense, but in essence: 

1. Me and Elder Powell took over a sisters apartment

2. Created really ugly paintings and hung them up everywhere so the Elders who came by would be confused

3. Got told by the sisters that we couldn’t be designers anymore because we’re not artsy enough

4. Sent the sisters pictures of our art and were like “how bout now!?”

5. Sisters officially kicked us out of our designer role

That’s honestly sort of it for this week. As far as teaching goes, we’re doing really well actually. The people here are just super chill or just super not interested in talking to us. We were at one of the stores here and I asked the cashier “hey wanna hear about Jesus Christ?” and she looked up and said “NO”. I was like “ahahahaaaa okayyyy” so that was awkward. If I was in the DR I think that the people would be more open. The ward members are seriously so awesome though! It’s weird how every person I see I’m just like “yup you live in Paris” haha. It’s a cool town though honestly. I’m starting to love it. Everybody has that accent and it’s starting to rub off on me too. No, not a french accent.

Idk if you guys remember the part in Monsters Inc at the end when the bad guy Randell goes through a door and into some trailer out in the boonies somewhere, and then the kid is like:

“Ma! Another gator got in the house!” and then the mom is like “Gimme that shovel!” and starts smacking Randell with the shovel. You probably don’t know what I’m talking about so go look it up. But that scene from Monsters Inc is what I think of with everybody we talk to here. 

But yea we have one of our friends Debra on date for baptism December 5! We’re so excited for her! And we’re already getting lots of momentum for finding other people. I miss Frontenac, but I’m super excited to be here. 

And I’m still teaching Shelina (with the help of Elders Pugsley, Kimball, Cordero, and Pantoja)! And she is making GREAT progress! She was gonna get baptized last week but I talked to her about it and we want to push it back a little bit so she can understand the doctrine a bit better and get to know the ward members more. But I love Shelina and her family so much. They are amazing people. 

Honestly fellas, that’s it! Thanks for your prayers in behalf of all the missionaries, especially your boys Elder Wride and Elder Pugsley! It’s been funny being comps with Elder Pugsley’s dad because of all the Pugsley stories I’m hearing...don’t worry Elder I won’t expose you. Okay but one that I thought was really funny is that Elder Powell said that Elder Pugsley falls asleep in literally 10 seconds, and then starts snoring super loudly. So Elder Pugsley, in case you didn’t know, you snore, and it drove Elder Powell crazy. 

Spiritual thought for the week: Spiritually, I’ve been a little distraught lately and feeling kind of empty. I am striving my best to be a good missionary, but feel like a failure a lot of the time. I also get stressed about whether or not God will fulfill the promises he has given me. Then, during personal study, I came across these verses-

Doctrine & Covenants 98:1-3

“1  Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

2  Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament - the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

3  Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.”

Love this so much! It’s a blessing to know my prayers are being heard. And with the new #givethanks thing going around, I have felt so much more peace. So I invite you all to continue to give thanks in all things, and wait patiently on the Lord. As we keep going forward, things will work out. Sometimes all we can do is press on, and show the Lord that even if we don’t really understand what the future will look like, we will trust that his plan is greater than ours. 

Alright see you guys aterlerb! Love you all! 

Week 18 - Andre tried to kill Bob + I'm getting transferred

Alright hermanas. Buckle your seat belts and hold on to your kids because this email is going to be quite the (w)ride. And don't be too alarmed by the title of this email. It will make sense eventually. Okay yes I know that last week I said I was gonna do short emails but guess what? I lied! I’m not making any more promises. If I have time to write something long I will, and if I don’t i’ll write something short. It's not even that long so don't worry. Whatever the Lord wants. But anywho, it’s been an absolutely insane week. Just found out last night that I’m getting transferred. More info about that in my concluding remarks haha. Alright but here we go boys!!!

1. Andre, the stickmaster

2. BOB

3. Spanish Ferb Latin

4. First time drinking alcohol

5. Sunday talk

6. Concluding remarks

1. Andre, the stickmaster

This story is absolutely legendary so I really hope I am able to recapture it right. So, me and Elder Morgan had just done a bunch of leaf raking for a member, but then we had to make like a tree and get out of there because we had another appointment with a member. So we were driving up the street, when I saw a family out raking leaves. So, we stopped the car, got out, and offered our help. They said yes so we went in the back and got raking. It was awesome haha. They have four boys who are 13, 12, 10, and 7. So we were all raking. The 7 year old is hilarious. His name is Andre. I don’t know exactly what was going on in his head, but he has a major fascination with sticks. While the rest of us were raking, he was looking for sticks he could destroy. I wasn’t super aware of his fetish at first, but I learned quickly.

I found a super straight stick, it was incredible. As Lehi would say, “It filled my soul with exceedingly great joy” (1 Nephi 8:12). It looked like a wizard’s wand. I showed Andre and was like “look! It looks like a wand!”. He looked at me and said, “can I see it?”. So I gave it to him. He looked carefully at the stick, and then looked back up at me. “Do you like this stick?”. “Yes” I said. Then suddenly his body and soul were filled with the utmost rage and contempt for this helpless stick, and with all the strength of his little 7 year old body, he grabbed both ends of the stick and karate chopped it in half with his leg. I was stunned. “Andre!” I said. “I liked that stick!”. I looked at him closely, tears gushing down my face, with some hope that he too would feel remorse for what had just taken place; but it was in vain. He didn’t care. 

Just kidding I wasn’t crying but I was kinda shocked at how much he hates sticks. However, I too am mischievous. I observed that he enjoyed breaking sticks, but had a much deeper fascination with breaking the sticks that I liked. For the next little while, I’d be raking leaves and he would approach me with a stick and repeat the previous ordeal. He’d ask me if I liked it, and when I said yes, he would murder the stick right in front of my eyes. It was horrifying. I let him continue his routine for a little while, but then my genius plan was created….in my mind. He came up again and said “do you like this stick?”. Ready for me to say yes so he could continue to destroy all of my hopes and dreams, I confused him greatly when I responded with “no”. He was stunned. He held the stick closer to my face. “This stick? Don’t you like it?”. I was like “ehhhhhh no.”. I really had him stumped, but he was greatly determined. He threw that stick on the ground and went searching for another stick. “How about this one?”. “Nah, I don’t like that stick”. After letting him struggle for a little bit to find a stick that suited my highly esteemed taste in sticks, I said, “Alright Andre, I’ll tell you what my favorite stick is, but you have to promise me that you won’t destroy it”. “Okay sure” he said. “Liar” I thought. But it was all according to plan. I then pointed to  the big oak tree we were standing next to. “That is my favorite stick. I love that stick.”. 

I wasn’t sure how he was going to react, but this little fellow was determined to crush my dreams. After processing what I said, he didn’t hesitate to get to work. He sprinted towards the tree, stick in hand, and started hacking at the tree. He was relentless. I felt kind of sorry for him to be honest. With a stick in either hand, for a good 10 minutes he hacked away at the tree as hard as he could. After a little while, I could tell he was exhausted. “How many more hits do you think until I destroy him?” he asked. I was like “I would say somewhere between 1 million and 10 million”. He’s probably still learning his numbers because this didn’t discourage him at all, in fact I think it boosted his spirits...oops. After another couple of minutes of hacking, a little piece of bark fell off. He was thrilled. “Look! I have created major damage!” he said proudly. I was laughing so hard. I was like “nice man! Keep going!”. After another little while of trying to axe down this tree with two twigs, I think he started to realize that he needed to rethink his technique. 

He then asked his older brother, “do you have any weapons I could borrow?”, after which his older brother replied “a weapon is the last thing you need”. That had me laughing pretty hard too. But again, Andre was so set on crushing my favorite stick, that he would not give up. His new technique I found quite fascinating. Using the two twigs he had been using to saw the tree down, he began scratching them together in the attempt to create fire. He told me with firm conviction “I AM GOING TO BURN YOUR STICK TO THE GROUND!!!”. This actually kind of terrified me. I hope I don’t hear something on the news later about a fire that broke out because a kid tried to light a tree on fire. Anyways he spent a good little while trying to start a fire, and I started feeling guilty again. I would occasionally give words of encouragement like “hey! I think I saw a spark!” and so forth. After a while, he started to lose hope of breaking my favorite stick, but it was a very enjoyable hour for me to watch him try and destroy it. During this whole time I had been raking leaves and bagging them, and then he came up to me and started punching the bag I was filling with leaves. I was like “dude tfeakwerb”. In his mind I thought that he probably thought the bag of leaves was like a punching bag, so I held it there for a bit and let him continue to punch at it. Then I had another genius idea. “You know Andre, I bet if we fill this bag up with even more leaves, it would make an even better punching bag, making you even stronger!”. His eyes lit up, and he started moving so fast to fill up the bag with leaves. After each bag he would fill, I would give him 10 punches and then we’d move on to the next bag. I took great pleasure out of watching him fill the bags instead of me. 

Anyways that’s basically the story of Andre the stickmaster. We named the tree he wanted to destroy Bob. More info about that in the next segment. 

2. BOB

Man, this was also so funny. Honestly this entire week was just filled with memes. I have dabbed more as a missionary than I ever have in my entire life. I’m sorry to admit that, but the mission does stuff to ya. Old memes just come alive. Hopefully this isn’t permanent. Anyways, so when we first met this family raking leaves Andre asked me our names. I was like “I’m Elder Wride and that is my companion Elder Morgan, but Elder isn’t our first name. My first name is Ethan and his first name is…Bob”. I don’t know why I told them Elder Morgan’s first name was Bob. Just thought it would be funny I guess, I mean, they call us by our last names anyways so it shouldn’t make a difference. Anyways I totally thought Andre had forgotten that Elder Morgan’s first name was “Bob”, but while we were talking about what to name my tree he was like “we could name it after Bob” pointing to Elder Morgan. I got a kick out of this and was like “haha alright sure” so we named my tree Bob, and Andre inscripted the name Bob into the tree.

Anyways, flash forward. So when we raked leaves with the family, we taught them the restoration and scheduled a follow up visit. So a couple days later we walked in and they let us take a seat at their dinner table, and the dad was like “thank you very much Bob and Ethan for coming by…” and I just lost it. So funny! Andre’s smarter than I thought because apparently the whole family thinks his name is Bob. I wish they would just call us by our actual missionary names. This is why you don’t tell people your first name in the mission. Anyways it was just pretty funny. They’ve been texting us too and they start off the text with “Hello Bob and Ethan…” and it just kills me every time. 

3. Spanish Ferb Latin

So me, Elder Pugsley, and Elder Kimball have been teaching this amazing family from Mexico over Facebook, and long story short….they’re getting baptized! We’re so hyped! So we got in contact with the missionaries in Mexico to help us teach the lessons. So we were in a lesson with me, Elder Kimball, the family we’re teaching (Shelina) and the Mexico missionaries. But Shelina’s connection goofed up and she got booted from the call, so me, Elder Kimball, and the Mexico Elders just started talking about stuff. I asked them if they knew any english, and one of them knew a little. So I did something horrible. After he told me he knew some English, I started speaking ferb latin to him. His mind exploded. Elder Kimball was laughing pretty hard because he knows about ferb latin, but both of the mexico elders were super confused. After letting them be scared for a little bit, in spanish I was like “nah don’t worry that was just gibberish”. It was pretty hilarious!

4. First time drinking alcohol

Last night we had another call with the Mexico elders and Shelina, except this time Elder Pugsley joined instead of Elder Kimball. We were teaching them the word of wisdom. As the mexico elders were talking about the importance of not drinking harmful substances, I had a bottle of apple juice. The container was clear, so it honestly did not look like apple juice. I would take sips occasionally, and then started to notice the somewhat confused look on Shelina’s face. Then it hit me. I interrupted the lesson and was like (in spanish obviously)  “this is apple juice, not alcohol”. It was quite hilarious. Then I pretended I was drunk. Haha jk. But the lesson was super good and Shelina and her family are the most amazing people ever. Kinda sad honestly that the most elect people that I am teaching live in Mexico. Man I wish I wasn’t in the US right now!

5. Sunday Talk

So those are some of the highlights for the week. Also on Sunday I spoke in church, so I’m going to attach a little bit of the end of my talk as spiritual edification for the day. 

Being a missionary is the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life thus far. Seeing something so amazing make me so happy and wanting nothing else but to see that change in others, and then for others to ignore it breaks my heart. I have never felt more related to Alma in my life. He says in Alma 29:1-3 in the Book of Mormon-

“1  O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

2  Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance, and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. 

3  But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.”

This is why missionary work is so hard, because we can clearly see what people need in their lives to get solutions to their problems, but they can’t. We called a guy the other day to do a lesson and he said “actually this is a really hard time for me and I’m feeling spiritually distant from God and I have a lot of trials, so I really don’t have time to hear more about Jesus Christ”. 

I’m just like “whaaaatt?” Bro! This is what will solve your problems! This is the perfect time to hear more about Christ!

Anyways, I didn’t think missionary work would be so hard, but at the same time, the fact that it’s so hard in and of itself testifies that this is indeed true. Jesus Christ came himself and dedicated his life to preaching His gospel, that of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. And yet, as it says in D&C 138:26 

“...there were but few who hearkened to his voice, and rejoiced in his presence, and received salvation at his hands.”

If Jesus Christ, the only perfect missionary to have ever lived, came and was ultimately rejected, I must be truly doing His work, because missionary work has been a ton of rejection. But it has also been full of tender mercies and miracles. I know that this work is true and important. 

I’d like to close with things that I know. I know that this church is true, and I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Praise to that man for everything he did. I know that he was a prophet called of God to restore the true church and true gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. The evidence of that is overwhelming. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he was a great man, who’s sole desire was to please the Lord and do his will. One of my favorite stories of him comes while he was translating the Book of Mormon. The account says - 

Emma (his wife) often acted as Joseph’s scribe after he began translating the record. One day, while he translated, Joseph suddenly grew pale. “Emma, did Jerusalem have a wall around it?” he asked. “Yes,” she said, recalling descriptions of it in the Bible. “Oh,” Joseph said with relief, “I was afraid I had been deceived.”2

This line in and of itself truly describes the prophet Joseph Smith. He had no education and no money. I am so confused as to how people think the Book of Mormon came about. Like, bruh, come on, Joseph was a prophet. One does not simply write the Book of Mormon. You write one! Try it! It’s impossible! 

There is no middle ground. Joseph Smith was either a prophet, or he wasn’t, and the Book of Mormon is either true, or it’s not! But yes, he was a prophet and anyone who truly studies will know that as well and will not be able to deny it. Had Joseph Smith been a false prophet, the church would not be as strong and as good as it is today. Through him, the Book of Mormon was translated and through that book, we are able to draw nearer to God than by any other way. Another story I love about Joseph Smith came near the end of his life. The account says:

“Once he was kidnapped by two men who held cocked pistols to his head and repeatedly threatened to shoot him if he moved a muscle. The Prophet endured these threats for a time and then snapped back, “Shoot away; I have endured so much persecution and oppression that I am sick of life; why then don’t you shoot, and have done with it, instead of talking so much about it?”

He was fearless, because he knew of his divine calling, and he knew God knew it, and in his own words “I could not deny it”. I invite anybody struggling with knowing of Joseph Smith’s divine calling to study and pray about it. You will come to know, as I and millions of others do, that he was and is a prophet. 

I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. I know it, and that can not and will not ever be shaken from me. Anybody who denies it has not studied and pondered it’s teachings with a pure heart, real intent, and faith in Jesus Christ. 

I am reminded of a story Elder Tad R. Callister of the seventy shared of a 14-year-old girl who had been discussing religion with one of her friends at school. Her friend said to her, “What religion do you belong to?”

She replied, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons.”

Her friend replied, “I know that church, and I know it’s not true.”

“How do you know?” came the reply.

“Because,” said her friend, “I have researched it.”

“Have you read the Book of Mormon?”

“No,” came the answer. “I haven’t.”

Then this sweet young girl responded,

“Then you haven’t researched my church, because I have read every page of the Book of Mormon and I know it’s true.”

I too have read every page, and I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. That is something I do not doubt even for a second, and that is something every one of God’s children is able to know as well, if they will humble themselves and read it. 

I can’t say enough about how much I know the Book of Mormon to be true, as I’m sure many of you feel the same way. You just have to read it. If you want a testimony, read it!

I want to go on and on, but nothing I say proves anything I have testified about. It is, and always has been, our decision whether or not to choose God’s path, the one that will make us truly happy. But please remember this. Elder Ethan Wride knows these things are true. God has a plan for you, he loves you, he wants to help you, just let him. I invite everybody here to remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the gathering of scattered Israel is the most important thing going on in the world right now. If you lose yourself to this Gospel, you will find it, and the Lord will help you in all things, both spiritual and temporal. 

I testify of Heavenly Father’s love for us, and the love I have for him.

I want to end with a scripture that better says what my heart is feeling. 

Alma 5:44-48

44  For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are to come.

45  And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

46  Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. BEhold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

48  I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sings of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.”

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

6. Alright fellas, so yea I’m getting transferred. I’m surprisingly sad. Nobody saw this coming. Our whole apartment is kinda sad. I’m gonna miss these guys. We all thought either Elder Morgan would get transferred or we would both stay. So yea. I’m leaving Elder Pugsley’s zone so I probably won’t see him for a quite a while. He’s gonna have major withdrawls. Pray for him. Also this week we had a time to go play frisbee with Andre and his family but that aint happening anymore. I’m big sad. Anyways, now I’m stressed about getting a new comp, a new area, new district, zone, etc. But overall, things are decent here on the mission. It’s not at all really what I thought it would be. I can’t even really imagine life at home anymore. This all just feels so normal. But anyways, pray that things will be really good in my new area. I’m stressed. And the saddest part is that I am leaving Steph. I almost cried. My 2021 Ford Equinox. I’m gonna miss her so much. Fingers crossed that my new car will be straight fire. But then again, nobody compares to Steph. I made Elder Morgan swear to me that he would keep calling her Steph even while Elder Bowles will strive to change it.

So I’m about to start a new chapter in my mission. From high school, to Lancaster CA, to MTC online, to Frontenac, and now to somewhere else with more weird people and interesting experiences. Fingers crossed. 

That's it for this week boys! If you read this whole thing, you should probably reevaluate how you spend your time. Haha jk. But yea I’d appreciate any emails. They are my favorite. 

Talk to you fellas next week!