There and Back Again

Hello mom and dad.  Thanks for your emails this week. It sounds like the youth are doing really well. I see lots of future missionaries waiting to go out and serve. That’s great. We need more worthy and capable missionaries helping more people through the gates back to Father in Heaven. We sure had a great week ourselves. 

Talk about miracles. B and M got baptized this week, and we had very good attendance at each service (50+).

B was baptized on Friday and he and his roommates bore their testimonies. It was powerful. His roommate J talked about how it wasn't a coincidence that he moved in to be with B last year. B also talked about the moments where he discovered his testimony. He talked about how he was really troubled spiritually, and his other roommate gave him a Book of Mormon and said "Here's the Book if you ever need it". B disregarded it at first, but that night he picked it up, he started it and he felt something. He went to church, we met him, and everything fell into place.

 I remember when I was first introduced to B over a month ago they said "This is my friend B--he is Catholic". His friends made him a cake at the baptism that said "You're Mormon Now!!"  It was a good moment. There were lots of tears at that service. He already has a calling. I love him.

M’s baptism was just as special. He got baptized on Saturday. He didn't tell his girlfriend that he was getting baptized until Friday night. She cried for 15 minutes he said. S, the girlfriend, had gone to her bishop a year and a half ago to ask him what she could do to help her nonmember boyfriend accept the gospel, look at what her faith did.

M's future father in law bore his testimony at the baptism, something we have heard time and time again. He said that M was brought to St. George and to Dixie to accept the Gospel. M got up to bear his testimony too and talked about all of the influences that brought him to that point. The friend that baptized him was the point guard at Dixie 3 years ago. He was baptized three years ago too, and is now sealed in the temple and has a beautiful baby girl. He mentored M along, set a great example. Just like you said mom, M might go to Germany to play pro ball, but he is going to be a leader on and off the court wherever he goes.

This Church is true!! I just know it is. The Lord says over and over again "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you." Any honest seeker of the truth who asks in faith can know if this Church is true or not. The steps of reading the Book of Mormon and praying are keys to finding the truth. Everyone can know that these things are true. I know they are.

I really love these men. It has been a joy working with them, and we're not done yet. Next stop, the temple.

The Lord just poured out new people this week and new referrals, ask and ye shall receive, right? One of them is a girl named K.  She used to live here in St. George and was being taught by sisters, but that didn't really go anywhere, so she jetted back to Las Vegas. Well, while in Vegas, her life was a mess, but then she picked up the Book of Mormon again.  She felt the spirit, and hightailed it back to St. George, hunted down her old sister missionaries in the Visitor's Center. She said "I know the Book of Mormon is true, what do I have to do to get baptized?" One of the best phone calls we have gotten in a while. K came to M's baptism on Saturday, felt the spirit, and is excited for her own service. She will be in Vegas for a little while, but she went to church down there on her own.

This week we held Missionary Leadership Council and then we went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders in Mt. Pleasant. Sanpete County is just gorgeous this time of year: green fields, water towers on the move, livestock to feed, and people to be taught. I would LOVE to finish my mission in Sanpete County. We will see though. It sure is different teaching singles in St. George than teaching families in rural communities.  We drove a total of 14 hours for that exchange, good bonding time I would say.

I love what I am doing! Elder Campbell is the man. Ever since he has been here the key indicators across the mission and in our area have sky rocketed. The faith of one good man can make a huge difference in this world.

I want to leave you my testimony of the Book of Mormon this week. Throughout my mission I have learned to more effectively use this "missionary tool" to help others come unto Christ. I have seen people feel the spirit as they ponder and pray about the Book of Mormon, and I have seen people find testimonies of this most special book. I know that it proves the truthfulness of the restoration of the Gospel. It is a book that has changed my life, and I have seen it change other people's lives too.

Love you! Share the gospel this week! 

 Elder Michael George Stewart