Read Your Scriptures!

Hello all!

This last week was full of fun experiences and miracles! Yesterday (And don't tell my Mission President) before we attended real church we attended The New Life Church. It felt like more of a tech conference and concert then a spiritual experience. They practiced tithing but not ten percent as it dictates in the Bible. They just passed around a bucket? What if someone steals the cash? As soon as we got in they tried selling camp outs and stuff to us. It felt like they worshiped the cross as well, and only saw one picture of Jesus the whole time I was there. They didn't teach any false doctrine but that is because the only doctrine they taught was "Jesus loves you" which is absolutely true. They didn't teach literally anything else though. It was a nice place and the people were nice, but our church is clearly true!

Our investigators are doing awesome! Unfortunately we were not able to meet with Raul again. His wife is having medical issues that need to be resolved. We dropped off a huge version of the triple combination for him however!

Michelle is doing spectacular. We taught her the plan of salvation and she accepted and loved it. However because of her Jewish background she still needs a testimony of Jesus. As we work with and meet with her I am confident her testimony of Jesus will grow!

I am loving this ward and all the wonderful things it brings. So many awesome and wonderful people are here. They have done so so much for the missionaries. They will receive so many blessings for everything they do.

President Nelson is coming September 15th to the mariners baseball stadium. Apparently it is not gonna be televised so it is a Washington exclusive! Over 30 stakes will be there. The missionaries get a section way up in the nosebleed seats. I am just grateful to be there! However, with the coming of the prophet, the adversary does his best to increase trial and delusion. I definitely see it. But when he comes this whole city will be blessed!

I love you all so much! Read your scriptures!

-Elder Burt

The Malleyboat

Hello everyone!

Another fantastic and super busy week here in Viewridge! I love this ward so much! It is full of wonderful amazing people. They have really helped me stay comfortable and feel needed and wanted and useful. It feels like my second homeward. Transfers are soon so I hope I stay just one more transfer. I have a great sense of thanks and respect for the people here.

As far as investigators go this week, we still have the same ones! We have Gunnar who is 12, Michelle, and Raul. Gunnar still very much wants to be baptized and bore his testimony in sacrament meeting. It was simple and powerful. I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach him and talk with him. We are meeting with Michelle tomorrow night and are going to discuss the plan of salvation with her. She seems open so we are both excited. We will also be teaching with John Pedigo again who is a spiritual powerhouse. Raul's wife got sick and we couldn't have a lesson with him, however we were able to drop off a big Book of Mormon to him so he can read it. Excited to report on that!

Me and Elder Hewitt are getting along great! We love our car which we have nicknamed the Malleyboat, and we are extremely grateful for it. It allows us to do missionary work far quicker than before and has helped us find many people who are now potential investigators. I am so thankful for Elder Hewitt's desire to work hard. It is awesome and keeps us spiritually focused on our purpose.

This week I encourage all of you to read 2 Nephi start to finish. I I have learned so much from just reading it this past week. Instead of trying to read it as fast as I can, I have been reading it with the intent to actually learn what it means . This means that I might only read a few verses a day because of how dense and packed it is of doctrine . However I'm getting far more out of it than I would otherwise .

Love you all!

Elder Burt

Wyoming is the most under-rated state ever!

      A nice older lady asked the Elders to take some pictures with her pet rabbits. As you can see they were happy to help out!

Hello Everyone!

I have a lot to talk about this last week. So first of all Elder Ericksen got transferred! That was quick! He was awesome and I will miss him! My new companion is Elder Hewitt. He is a freaking stud! We get along super well and he loves working hard! We talk a lot and often about the gospel and we have already found loads of investigators and worked very very hard these last few days! He is also from Wyoming which is the most underrated state ever!

So unfortunately Deloris dropped us. She has decided to stay non denominational. It is a shame because she knows that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was called of God to be his prophet and restore Christ's church. It is her decision and agency to choose what she does.

Luckily for us we have loads of new people to talk about! So we have Michelle, who has had a lot of very sad and tragic things happen in the past to her. She admits that she is still looking for God and thinks God might have sent her to us.

We also have a women named Toni. She is also interested in the Book of Mormon or as she calls it "A Mormon Bible" and says she is super interested in what we have to share. She is an Older lady so we will meet with her on Tuesday with Brother Pedigo.

Then we have Craig. We don't know much about him. He lives on casino road, and admits to have had drug issues in the past that fried his mind. He is looking for a change and was very happy when we gave him a Book of Mormon.

I am so happy for all of the fun and progress me and Elder Hewitt have had. I am looking forward to another awesome week! Something I would recommend everyone to do is look into the Joseph Smith papers project. It is a project to find everything that Joseph Smith ever wrote and compile it. The church has an awesome series on it and you should all watch it!

Love ya all! 

"Feeling Amazing"

Hello!

This week has been great! We have a new investigator! Raul is a great guy. His whole family is baptized members of the church, and he never was baptized. He describes how they feel so awesome actually coming to church and "feeling amazing". Of course we all know exactly what he was feeling. We were with Brother Hudson (our ward mission leader) and he had a very good time baring his testimony to Raul. I helped break down the way God works through prophets, and it really helped him understand how we could believe in Joseph Smiths prophetic calling. The Spirit was very strong in the room, and I am looking forward to meeting with him again this Saturday.

Deloris is still on date for July 28th, although we might talk to her about pushing it back a little bit, just to give her more time to make sure she is ready. She shares a lot of doctrinal ideas on facebook, both from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and she gets a ton of anti Mormon misinformation from people. She doesn't bug into any of it though (neither do I) and she is staying strong. I continue to pray for her

Me and my companion are getting along very well! We struggled a little at first but we get along great and are awesome when we teach together. Elder Ericksen is super awesome and I am glad I can be companions with him.

I am really developing a love for cars out here! The Malibu we drive is super rad. The Malibu we drive is super huge too. It's a freaking land yaught! It also has a turbo, and we may or may not have raced a guy in his dinky 4 cylinder and smoked him.

While we were driving one time to dinner, a guy started yelling at us at a light. He was asking us for a Book of Mormon! I threw it like a Frisbee and it landed perfectly in his car! Talk about planting seeds!

The food has been especially awesome lately! We have been helping out and eating at the Pedigos a lot. They have 2 houses right next to each other. The senior Pedigos are super awesome and spiritual, and the younger Pedigos have a pickle ball court. We go there every morning to play pickle ball for our morning workouts. Great family!

I myself have been doing a lot better. I have been struggling a little bit with feelings of inadequacy and it has been rough. I feel like I never do enough. But I have to remember I am far from perfect and God understands that. As long as I do what I can and I bring people closer to Christ, I have done my job.

I can't express how grateful I am for the packages I have received from people. I love them and cherish them so so much. It really does make my day. 

I love and I pray for all of you!

Elder Burt

Elder Burt sent us this picture of him and his mini me buddy in the ward! How cute is that? I mean seriously!

Elder Burt and Elder Erickson

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mother has been such an inspiration to me, and has always been there for me. She has put up with me so much haha. I feel like I take her for granted so often. If any of my siblings are reading this, or any younger kids, be nice, respectful, and obedient to your mother. She is a guide and will probably be there for the rest of your life to guide you and help you. I love you mom. I miss you.

This last week was pretty rough. Elder Ericksen has been pretty sick so we had to stay in a lot so he can get better. It has been really rough, but I just focus on the scriptures and on the lord and it keeps me going.

We were able to meet with Deloris again and that is still going well. She is very smart and is good at reading and understanding the scriptures.

Nothing to crazy this week, sorry it's another short one. I will keep praying for all of you. I ask for your prayers too. 

Love you all!

-Elder Burt

(Love you and miss you too!)

I Love this Country!

Hello all! 

This last week has been great. Elder Conk has left me and is now in Granite Falls. He was a great trainer and an incredible friend and he is almost done with his mission. I am super excited for him and the rest of his life. I will hold all the awesome memories we have deep in my heart. Love ya BRO!

My new companion is Elder Erickson. He is going home in four months, and is a great companion. I am looking forward to serving with him. 

We also got a chevy Malibu to drive around our huge area in. My bike legs are gonna go away but that is OK! I have been eating a lot better I think haha. I have also been learning about cars a lot from my companions and stuff. I have decided muscle cars are sick and we should replace all the cars in the mission with the dodge heckcat.

We put Deloris on date for baptism July 28th. It is a goal she will be working towards. We look forward to continuing to work with her and everything she brings to our knowledge and mind.

I don't have much more time to email, but I want you all to know I love you, I love this country, I love freedom and the Agency that was paid for by Christ, and I love the Book of Mormon! 

Elder Burt

Have a Happy Fourth of July!

Hello world and all who inhabit it!

We spent all week trying to find people with no success. However it has a lesson of humility about it. Being a missionary isn't always rainbows and sunshine. Especially out here where it is all clouds. But it's OK. I looked to the scriptures for comfort, and the writings of our apostles and General Authoritys. The Disciples of Christ were few. It wasn't long until Christ's church was completely corrupted and lost to the world. It's a true miracle and blessing that it was restored in the Latter Days.

Although it is hard to be a Latter Day Saint, remember who's team you are on. Don't give in to worldly temptations. Let the scriptures and our prophets, and most importantly the Holy Spirit, guide you. 

Fast Sunday was super awesome. It was very relaxing, and it's nice to be the one getting taught. We had an awesome dinner with some of our favorite members the Campbell's. They are very good cooks and super kind. And they laugh at my jokes! That is always super awesome.

Me and Elder Conk have become quite good cooks as well. We made cinnamon roll pizza and brownies all week. It was great! It's awesome to come home from a hard day and make some food! He is probably getting transferred out, and I am going to miss him. He is an awesome missionary and a great guy. I wish him well. He is after all going home soon! 

I love you all. This fourth of July remember D&C 101:80. The constitution is inspired by God himself, for the freedom and agency of mankind. It is far from perfect, but this country is surely the best and most free. The founding fathers were not perfect, but they too were inspired by the Lord.

Have a Happy Fourth of July! 

-Elder Burt