December 26, 2017 - Murray, UT

Hello! 

This week has been an awesome, hard working week! We spent a lot of time out serving, knocking on doors, and spreading some Christmas cheer. At this time of year many people think about all of the material gifts we have and are given. I have often reflected on spiritual gifts, and would like to share some thoughts. I recently finished reading the Book of Mormon again, and in the last chapter, Moroni 10, it talks of spiritual gifts. (Moroni 10:6-20.) We are all given a variety of gifts and talents. It becomes each of our own responsibility to develop these talents. In verse 20 it speaks of charity. We show charity by helping others and reaching out in love. Using and developing our talents to bless other's lives is truly why we are given so much. I love to help others, and I know by turning outward to focus on others I will grow better inside. I love Jesus Christ and all He does for each one of us. May we remember Him and His sacrifice as we start a new year in search of the joy that comes from loving others.

Love you all!

Elder Adams

p.s. The pics are our Christmas tree, it was awesome. And some snow, and some tracting fun. 

December 18, 2017 - Murray, UT

This week has been interesting with lots of highs and lots of lows. On Tuesday I got assigned to, and now have the opportunity to train Elder Larsen. He is from Preston, Idaho, and is visa-waiting to go to the Philippines. He is learning Tagolog, and is a hard working missionary. One of the first things we do as a new companionship is to set some goals together, and then set plans on how to achieve them. So we set some high goals, and then got to work. It was awesome. 

Wednesday we had the Mission Christmas devotional. We got to first enjoy an hour of listening to Kenneth Cope. That was incredible. Then Tad R. Callister, Sunday School General President, came and spoke with us for about 45 mins. That was also incredible. It was so cool to hear from them, and hear their testimonies. I would encourage you all to look up and listen to President Callister's last conference talk on lds.org, he absolutely rocked that.

Saturday came, and Elder Larsen and I got sick somehow. Not a very productive day, but we jumped right back into work Sunday morning. We spoke in a ward, and I got to speak for over 20 mins, which was really fun. I had only prepared not even 10 minutes, but it went just fine, the Spirit filled my mouth. 

Very excited to have a fresh, full week to work and help people come unto Christ! Being a missionary is awesome, and at Christmas time even more so. As a representative of Jesus Christ people notice we are different, which brings lots of great conversations. 

Well, this has been a truly incredible 5 months, I am pumped for the next 19!

Hope you all are well!

Love,

Elder Adams

December 11, 2017 - Murray, UT

So another transfer is coming to a close, and Sunday morning we received the transfer  on who stays and who leaves. I will remain here in Murray with the Little Cottonwood and South Cottonwood Stakes for another transfer. Elder Fisher is off to other things in a new area which he will learn of tonight. It has been a blast to serve with him, he is an excellent missionary and I know he will do great wherever the Lord sends him.

Last Monday after we emailed we went down to see temple square and took some pictures. There is a wonderful Spirit there, it is so great to see the beauty and peace the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. 

A fun tracting story: we offered service to some people and this lady needed one of here gutters cleaned because it was clogged up and causing a leak in her house. So up the ladder I went to chisel away at the solid dirt packed ice. That was pretty fun. (Note: Elder Adams does not like heights, so I’m sure that was a challenge for him.)

We have just been working hard here, it has truly been amazing. I love being a missionary so much, it is an incredible experience. I was able to watch the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional, and it was awesome! Elder Duncan is a really cool guy. I've met him before, and he actually came to our mission for the mission tour in October. I loved Sister Franco's talk on the gifts we can give; I invite all to truly give of their best self to others this Christmas season. 

I have come so much closer to my Older Brother and Savior Jesus Christ. I love Him, and am thankful for all He did for me and you. Remember His humble beginnings this time of year, and humble yourself to His will. 

Stay warm, it is starting to get colder here!

Love y'all! 

Elder Adams

        

December 4, 2017 - Murray, UT

Hello again! It feels like I just emailed yesterday, but so much has happened this week, so it feels like it's been two weeks! 

We have been working hard every week, but because we knew p-day was just a few days later. I hardly remember everything we did, but we taught lots of lessons, knocked lots of doors, and tried to help as many people as we could with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

We have Facebook, and that has been both weird and a blessing. We are really only ever on messenger. On Friday one investigator after another cancelled….four total. The 4th one called earlier in the day, and was super sick. We were bummed because we were going to invite her to be baptized with that lesson, and we felt she was progressing and ready. We were watching some more Facebook training videos, and came across one about doing lessons over messenger. So we did one, and it was amazing. We were able to discuss with each other all the things we needed to say, and answer a lot of questions. She even practically taught us the Plan of Salvation, God's plan for each of us to gain eternal life and happiness and live with Him again. We also invited her to be baptized, and she accepted for a date later this month! It was incredible to see the Lord's hand blessing us with technology. 

So we walk everywhere. It is really awesome. The weather has been nice. Yesterday was beautiful, and we stepped into a church building to call some ward mission leaders, and 20 minutes later we went outside and it was snowing and freezing cold. So of course, we went and tracted more. It was awesome. Nothing stuck, but we woke up this morning to a little snow. I love it. If you look at the light in one picture, you can see it is still snowing. Excellent. 

One more fun thing from the week, we were able to go with a recent convert to the LDS Genesis Group. They are an African American group that holds monthly firesides on the first Sunday evening. They have a gospel choir and a keynote speaker each month. It was really cool because they held their Christmas program last night, so the keynote speaker was the Unity Gospel Choir led by Debra Bonner. It was held at a stake center just like 100 meters from where our area ends, and we had no idea about it. So we had to go! It was really different, but awesome. Look them up, it is really neat. Yahosh Bonner was there singing, and he is a very well-known LDS singer, so Elder Fisher and I enjoyed that. 

Things are going great here, love you all!

Love,

Elder Adams

November 29, 2017 - Murray, UT

Hello! So much to tell about!

So first, we have done so much service. It seems as if every day last week we went and helped somebody rake, or move, or something like that. It was awesome, because I love to serve and help lift others up. 

Then we had Thanksgiving. We had a dinner at 1 with our whole district. That was really fun, we were super grateful to be able to be together. Then we enjoyed a regular dinner at 5 with a family in one of our wards. We had a nice time talking, eating, and playing foosball. Then we went and had a piece of pie at one another members home, and that was the day. 

Friday was another story. I slept maybe 4 hours all night, and woke up very sick, and we stayed in for the whole day. It was actually terrible. Elder Fisher was able to work some miracles via phone contacting. 

Back to work the next day though, just a 24 hour virus or something I guess. We went on exchanges and I got to stay in my area with Elder Gregory. It was great to get to know him and work hard. 

Then Tuesday was zone conference. We got both Facebook and smartphones. We were trained on what Facebook is for, and really it is just a means of better communication. It has been great to see the effect already. I got to sing at zone conference with some other elders. The song will be sent in another email. 

Wednesday morning (like 2 hours ago) we got to go to the Salt Lake City Temple. It was an incredible experience; I always love to feel so close to My Savior. 

Well, love you all, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Love,

Elder Adams 

Pics: from the temple, I didn't take any other pictures this week. 

 

November 20, 2017 - Murray, UT

Hello! Another week has just flown by. It has been incredible. We have had lots of opportunities to serve and it has been awesome. We have really focused on finding those humble hearts who are willing to listen and learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and then change their lives to follow Him. It is amazing to see people open up their hearts to us so we can teach them how the gospel can bless them personally. I testify that Christ can reach each of us individually, we just need to turn to Him. 

We had interviews with President Hillier last week, so this week, Elder Fisher and I have been applying the things he instructed us to do, and while the "success rate" looking at numbers has not increased, our diligence and obedience has increased and we know we are doing our Father in Heaven's will. 

It is a wonderful experience to have a free moment out on the streets and offer a prayer to be guided in what to do, and then follow the Spirit right to the perfect person who needs you right then. 

One funny story: we received a referral to go visit this one gentlemen who worked at a dry cleaner. It sounded really promising as he had been listening to General Conference, and we were excited. After a 30 minute walk, we reached the guy, only to find out he is an active, involved member of the Church already. That was slightly disappointing, but really more funny than anything. 

Thanksgiving will be fun this week, we have so far a dinner, and a second place for dessert. So we won't be hungry much at all. 

Also, next week we are going to the temple on Wednesday the 29th, so that will be our p-day. I'll email then, not Monday. 

I am so grateful to be able to serve my friends out here in Murray, Utah. It has been so incredible, and I am super excited for the next 20 months! 

Love you all so much, have a happy thanksgiving, and remember to always give thanks and remember Him! 

Elder Adams 

Pics: First snow! And this guys car... 

 

November 13, 2017 - Murray, UT

Wow, this week absolutely flew by. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting and emailing, but that was a whole week ago.

This week, not too much happened. We had a lot of great teaching opportunities, and great experiences meeting new people and helping them gain a better understanding of Jesus Christ's gospel.

At church Sunday these people walked up to us and just handed us 11 packets of seeds. It was extremely random, but really funny. That is what that picture is.

One day knocking some doors, we saw a funny sign. You bet we still knocked on that door, and the person has yet to have answered anytime we try.

We had a correlation meeting with a high councilman one morning, and he cooked us a delicious breakfast. This inspired Elder Fisher to one morning whip up the delicious picture of bacon, eggs, toast and potatoes. It was phenomenal.

Truly, I love this work so much. I am so grateful to be serving a mission, I wouldn't rather be anywhere else right now. I know that the Lord has great things in store for all of us, and I want to help others find out who they need to become.

I love you all so much! Always remember, God Loves You!

Elder Adams

  

November 6, 2017 - Murray, UT

Hello! This week has been another week. It absolutely flew by, it feels like yesterday was just last Monday! And a lot has happened! First, Tuesday we went to the Salt Lake City Temple for Halloween. That was a really awesome experience. I absolutely love the Salt Lake Temple, it is so beautiful, and I feel the Spirit so strong when I am there. 

So another fun thing this week was the amount of Spanish I have had to use. We are teaching this one boy, and his grandma only speaks Spanish. So to set up return appointments, we have to speak Spanish. It is really fun, my Spanish is getting pretty okay. I can understand almost everything that is said to me, and most of the time I can respond very simply. We are having too much fun with it.

Saturday was a great day. We helped a gentlemen move out for an hour, had a baptism, and then helped someone move in for 2 hours. Then, wrap up the day with a fun dinner, lots of lessons, and dedicated work and biking, and it was super awesome. I absolutely love this work, and am so grateful to be able to represent my Savior Jesus Christ everyday, doing and saying the things He would do and say if He was here. 

Truly, God lives! He loves each one of us so much! In this month of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for my knowledge of God; His existence, powers, love, and promises. Always remember Him in all you do! 

Love you all so much!

Elder Adams

Pics:  Bronson' s baptism (hair courtesy of a bike helmet). You are probably wondering why I am wearing glasses. Simply enough, I ran out of contact solution, so Saturday and Sunday I had to wear glasses, and then I put in fresh contacts Monday, and bought some solution today.

October 30, 2017 - Murray, UT

Every day of your mission you are tired. That is a fact you have to deal with. This last week though has been an even more tired week. That, added with 7 Halloween parties, made for an interesting week.

Despite the tiredness we pressed forward and worked hard! We taught a lot of lessons, and biked lots of miles! We had many opportunities to serve, which I always love. B, who is getting baptized on Saturday, is very fun to meet with. He is a young boy and has the energy and appetite of a crazy teenager. It is fun to talk to him because of how he responds to so many things. He is hilarious.

Crazy story from this week: we were walking home Monday night and this lady pulled over and handed us a $100 bill. She said she has a son serving, and wanted to help us out. That was crazy awesome. Truly I am in an area where I am able to focus on work and serving others, as my personal needs are well taken care of.

A fun dinner was on Sunday night. We had some chili, and then we also had blood to drink, witch's fingers, brains and hearts. It was really kind of fun and gross at the same time. The brain really got to you as you ate it and looked at the large part in front of you. Fun times. (See picture below.)

A spiritual story from this week: we were teaching these 3 brothers the plan of Salvation. It was really cool to see their interest, and when we finished the oldest boy sat back and was like Woah! We then invited them to be baptized, and they all said yes within half a second! The Spirit was so strong during that lesson, it was a really great experience.

Well, I love you all, the work is true and doing great. Transfers this week, Elder Fisher and I are staying together! It is gonna be a great transfer of hard work!

Be great!
Elder Adams 

(Below: Halloween fun. And the other picture is my cover for my mission album of funny things.)

October 23, 2017 - Murray, UT

Matumaini yote ni pia! (Hope all is well!)

Jinsi ni kila mtu kufanya? Wiki hii tumekuwa kushangaza!( How is everyone doing? This week has been amazing! In Swahili) Elder Fisher and I are learning a little bit of Swahili for fun. It is pretty good. I can kind of bear my testimony in Swahili. So anyways, it got pretty cold earlier this week, so of course we just worked harder so we could get warm. One day we knocked 100 doors straight, looking for someone we could teach about all that the Savior has blessed us with.

We had lots of opportunities to serve this week, which is awesome because I love to serve others. First, we replaced a dryer on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex. Had to carry a new one up, and an old one down. We helped a person moving clean out a storage container. Then we helped pushed this guys car that went dead in the middle of the road. Then we stopped randomly and trimmed some lady's bushes. We also stopped and helped some people rake some of their yard and have a lesson set up with that family now. So this was awesome because I love helping others. That is a big part of why I am out here. The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help everyone so much in their lives!

Thursday we had member of the Seventy come and speak to us. His name is Elder Kevin Duncan. It was absolutely amazing! I learned so much, and learned how I can become a better missionary! It re-motivated me to work in more effective ways. Truly he spoke to us inspiring words!

I finished the Book of Mormon again this week. I love this book so much! I know it is the word of God! Kitabu cha Mormoni ni ya kweli! The Book of Mormon is true! I have since restarted, and plan on finishing it again by Christmas. I invite you all to join me in this challenge, I can promise that as you study the Book of Mormon each day, the Lord will bless you so much in every aspect of your daily life!

I was able to speak in a sacrament meeting again today. I spoke on prophets, and obeying the word of the Lord. I invite us all to more fully commit to be obedient to the Lord's commandments, as they will bring us protection and peace.

I love you all so much!
Until next week! Tutaonana baadaye!
Elder Adams

October 16, 2017 - Murray, UT

This week has been such a great week! The biggest theme and part of this week has just been the amount of diligence and hard work Elder Fisher and I have put in. We are striving to utilize the Lord's time to the best of our ability. We have been doing more tracting, more lessons, and more praying than ever.

We had the opportunity to go on exchanges with our district leader this week. I went with him, Elder Mushet. He is a great guy who is very experienced, and it was a great opportunity for us to counsel together on how I have been doing, and ways I can improve. We also had a lot of fun, we get along very well. Elder Fisher and I spent the night at their apartment, it was a great chance to talk and enjoy one another's devotion to God.

We had another baptism this week. This one was for C. It was averaged size, with only about 30 people there. But she had a lot of family attend, and the most tender part was the fact that over the last 4 weeks, her husband who has been less active and smokes, gave up smoking, and came back to church, and was able to baptize her. That was neat. The Atonement of Our Savior Jesus Christ can help us overcome anything if we truly desire to change and start a brand new life. C, in her own way, bore her testimony after she was baptized, and it was very sweet. They had us over for a steak dinner a few nights before the baptism as well. It was a great experience.

A neat experience we had this week: One of our dear investigators was going to be home alone on Saturday. We did a lesson at a friends house, and as we were walking out, we felt as if something was off. It turns out that this young boy was not only home alone, but also he was not going to have any food for the rest of the day. We considered buying him a burger from Wendy's, but eventually texted a neighbor to have them help out. Then we went to do some contacting at a little league football game. We showed up late, but the concessions people were like "Elders, here are some hamburgers!" We took them, had 2 each, then thought of the young man with no food, and brought him 2 hamburgers as well. The Lord truly does provide for us, because He loves us!

I love you all so much, I love to hear how everyone is doing! Feel free to email anytime!
Be Great!
Elder Adams

October 9, 2017 - Murray, UT

Hello! This week has been full of lots of fun times. We finally got Elder Fisher a bike and on Tuesday, our first full day with a bike, we contacted 21 people as opposed to the 10 the previous week on foot. We are being blessed by the Lord so much, as we are being given opportunities to teach and serve His elect and humble in heart. The Lord is keeping us busy with good things to do. I love it so much!

We had a baptism this week for L. It was an absolutely incredible experience. I was honored to baptize her, and it was an amazing opportunity. She is such a strong spirit, her and her family will be blessed so much for her righteous desires. It was an incredible evening.

Not anything crazy happened this week, just a lot of solid hard work. Like I mentioned, we got Elder Fisher a bike on Monday. Then on Wednesday, my bike broke. When we put it in the shop they said it was gonna be about a week, and not very cheap. Like close to $100 dollars. Well, Friday morning we went to pick it up, they fixed it in one day! And it didn't even cost $11! That was such a miracle, and we were able to get right back to work!

I love this work so much. I love Our Savior Jesus Christ so much! I know He lives! This gospel has brought me so much joy! I love sharing it with others and serving my brothers and sisters.

Pictures from General Conference and L's baptism.
 

October 2, 2017 - Murray, UT

So this week has been really amazing! First off, last Monday I got the package you sent! It made me so happy to have, I love the clothes so much! And when I saw the food, I almost cried because it is some of my favorites that I haven't had in a long time. The granola is delicious, and everything is so good. I loved the card, thank you so much! I love you lots Madre!

Then, we had some incredible opportunities to just work as hard as we could, to try and invite all to come unto Christ. It is hard work, and we walk 15+ miles a day, but it is all so worth it. I love it so much.

Then the weekend rolled around, and things got crazy awesome! First, on Saturday we were blessed to go down to the conference center with a recent convert and his wife. They were so fun, and it was an incredible experience. As the large room slowly filled, and the apostles started to go to their seats, the Spirit was so strong. Then, when President Eyring and President Uchtdorf walked in the huge room just went absolutely silent. It was an extremely powerful meeting, and I loved every second of it. Then we worked the rest of the evening, and missed the priesthood session because we had missionary work to do. Last night we were getting ready for bed and as I was saying my prayers I felt a really strong prompting to text Bishop Tingey and ask him if he had any extra tickets for Sunday afternoon session. He had just told us that he was going to give the tickets away, and I almost talked myself out of texting him. But I popped up in the middle of my prayer, texted him, and then went back to my prayer. A couple of minutes later Bishop texted back and said that he had exactly one ticket left over. That was so cool, so we got it immediately, and then contacted J and L (she is getting baptized on Saturday) because they had 3 for that session. That was a great way to end the day.

So then Sunday came, and we put on the morning session at a church building for some investigators. J and L dropped us off at the Hatch's house for lunch. We had waffles. Then, it was down to the conference center for the 4 of us. The session was extremely memorable, for a variety of reasons. First off, the talks were all so poignant as to what we needed to hear. And MoTab was so amazing, I thought of you a lot Mom. The news of Elder Robert D Hales passing is sad, but I know it is all part of the Lord's plan for him and his family, and for the 12 apostles. Oh yea, at the Saturday afternoon session they did the sustaining of the general authorities, and it was so cool to be able to sustain them while I could see them all and feel their strong spirits and love.  Conference was absolutely amazing this weekend, I am so grateful for a living prophet and apostles who lead and guide this church under the direction of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So then we had dinner with a Tongan family. It was quite the experience. They had salmon and full crabs, and some potato thing. They also had mussel, squid, and full fish you eat whole. Those were actually really good. If you look at the picture, you can see its fins, tail, and head. I just ate it whole, bones and all. And the squid was not fun in my tummy, and the mussels weren't too bad. They also had garlic bread and juice to help with the taste. It was really quite fun. 

Then, we worked really hard and finished the week off well. It has been an incredible week to serve, I love it so much. 

 

 

September 25, 2017 -Murray, UT

I am doing very well! I love it out here more every day! So Elder Fisher is my new companion. Super crazy back story to that. On Saturday evening, Elder Jolly and I were informed, as is customary, of the upcoming transfer. We were told we would be staying together. That brought great joy! At about 4pm Monday, as I sat watching while Elder Jolly was working with a physical therapist, I received a phone call from President Hillier asking me if I would accept the calling to be a trainer. Of course I responded I would, but then expressed my concern that Elder Jolly and I were going to be together still. About 2 hours later, in between our salmon fest and a second dinner, Elder Jolly received confirmation that he would be transferred out. So this left us one night to pack, and we had lessons all evening. So we had to rush his packing, and then say some last minute goodbyes to 3 different families. Then we went to the mission office Tuesday, where Elder Jolly took off with his new companion, and after about 5 hours of meetings I got paired with Elder Fisher. He is from Medford, Oregon. I am training him. He is fresh out of the MTC, and an absolutely dedicated, hardworking, sharp elder. It has been awesome to work with him!

It has been cold and rainy, but the Lord has kept us safe and sound. We do get soaking wet a lot, but we dry quickly. I have found not one, but two very large winter coats, so I am doing well with that! We may still do a DI run in the next couple of weeks. The mountains are getting snow, but it will just go away next week.

The work is progressing greatly, we are working diligently to find more and more to teach!  A cool missionary experience is we had a lesson with our golden investigator. While we were teaching their daughter suddenly started crying, and testified about how ever since her dad started going back to church, she has been so happy. That was really powerful. 

I hope all is going well, love you all so much! 

Letter to little brother:

Elder Cody (in a few years),

I have been great. Sounds like you are having fun! Way to go, you are rocking the season! The races coming up are my favorite! You will do great! Way to get a medal,  that is so awesome! The mission has been the biggest blessing ever in my life. I feel so close to Our Older Brother Jesus Christ. I love Him so much, and I know He lives. I got to pass the sacrament in church today, and I thought about how you get the opportunity to do that too! I am so proud of all the good things you are doing in your life! Keep it up! I love you Co-co! 

Letter to little sister:

Dear Heidi,

I am having quite the most incredible time! That companion I am with in the dinner picture is my new companion. He is only 6 days out on his mission! We were not on exchanges, but I am so impressed you know what exchanges are! That is great that you fed the sister missionaries, I know that they are thankful for it! I love YOU very much. Keep being a good missionary too; being a friend is the best way to start! Love ya mucho!

Pictures: Elder Jolly and young friends, a Prep-day picture, and my new comp Elder Fisher

September 18, 2017 - Murray, UT

This week has truly been one of the most grueling and difficult weeks of my mission. But it has also been the most successful and joyful week yet. This whole week we have been working as hard as we can to try to do all the things we need to do to be successful missionaries. We set goals, made plans to accomplish our goals, and then went forth and persevered to reach our goals. We had 2 baptisms on Saturday, for Bryan and Jose. I had the privilege to baptize and confirm Bryan, and it was such a great experience. There are also 3 other people we have scheduled to be baptized in October, and maybe more to join them. One of those people we met with on Friday, and we were able to teach them the Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Salvation is God's plan for each of us to be able to become more like Him so we can live with Him again. This message of hope resonated with the lady we were teaching very powerfully. There was not a dry eye in the room. The lady was sobbing tears of relief and joy, and even her husband, a huge tough looking guy, was choked up (I did not cry because I am heartless). 😉 It was an absolutely special experience; she is such a strong Spirit. I can testify that God truly loves us all so much, and He wants us to come back to live with Him, which is why He provided our Savior Jesus Christ.

A fun story from the week: On Wednesday we had 9 minutes left on the day, and no new investigators, so a rather unsuccessful day, but then we thought we should stop in and update Bishop Tingey on the names he has given us. Once again, at 8:58, Bishop was like, "oh I got a call, some guy who lives in the neighborhood is attending an institute class at SLCC, and he wanted the missionaries to come by!" So Bishop was going to get the information on that for us to visit, but first his wife was having contractions so we told him to focus on his wife and soon to be newborn daughter. He was really casual like, I might be having a baby tonight, no big deal. It was impressive. We were able to later visit with the young man and he is planning to be baptized in October.

I love my mission so much and I am so grateful that I get to serve our Lord and our fellow brothers and sisters.
I hope all is well, I love you all!
Take Care,
Elder Adams

p.s. transfers this week. Elder Jolly and I are staying here. Our whole district didn't even change!

September 11, 2017 - Murray, UT

So this week has been quite the week. We have worked so hard, and experienced many days of hardships and struggles, but we have kept obedient and diligent, and the Lord is rewarding us richly. We were able to teach a lot of lessons to people, and do some service. One day this week we got a phone call at 8:58, 2 minutes before we have to turn in for the night, from a Bishop of one of the wards we cover. He shared that he had someone for us to teach, and that this lady had actually requested the missionaries. We taught her yesterday, and she was so sweet, humble, and cried because of how happy the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ made her. She is on date to be baptized October 7th. We are also having some baptisms this Saturday, for Bryan and Jose, brothers we have been teaching for a while. The family is very excited for them. Missionary work is so awesome, it is hard for me to describe. The best way I have seen it described is in the Book of Mormon, in the book of Alma, chapter 26. In there a guy named Ammon just finished his mission and is sharing his feelings about it with his brothers and friends. It is my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon. I would invite you all to read it!

I had my first exchanges this week. Exchanges are when one companionship flips one guy with another companionship. Elder Jolly went out for a day with our District Leader Elder Mushet, and I took his companion Elder Hardt into our area for a day. We did a lot of contacting people who we had been referred to, and we got yelled at from some doors. It was actually quite hilarious. We did meet one young guy, Tyler, who we are going back to teach on Wednesday. That was cool because he was the last door we tried on that street, right before we called it quits. We spent the night at Elder Mushet and Elder Hardt's place, it was really fun. We worked out in their workout room, and just had some really fun conversations. Morning came, and it was back to work as normal. 

We got to speak twice in church meetings yesterday. I honestly didn't prepare at all before either, yet both were 10-15 minutes solid. It was very cool to be able to do that. I love being in tune with the Holy Ghost, I know we are guided and blessed as we listen to the promptings we receive. 

I have heard about the hurricanes, we pray for those people affected often! Thanks for letting me know that Grandpa Smith passed away. I know it is better for him, just like you said. Your testimony of where he is now is so true, and I hope you always remember that! That is a great photo of him, one of my zone leaders said I kind of look like him.

As for Elder Gundred, yes, we were in the same district in the MTC. Four of the elders (from that district) are serving in the San Antonio Texas mission actually. Elder Gundred and I worked closely together in the MTC, as I was District Leader, and he was Zone Leader. He is a great guy, solid soccer player, on full ride to Utah State, and we are gonna actually try and hang out after our mission. That is so fun that he is serving in Grandma's area, know she is in good hands there.

Time is flying, and I love it out here so much. That is a great quote you shared dad. “Faith in God engenders a love for the Sabbath; faith in the Sabbath engenders a love for God”  (Elder Russell M. Nelson, The Sabbath Is a Delight).  It speaks so simply yet profound. Aren't modern day prophets and apostles great?! I love them, and am excited to go to general conference this month. (We have tickets for the Saturday afternoon session!). I heard about Grandpa Smith from Mom. Praying for you all, I know that he is in a better place, and we will see him again and be together for eternity living in the presence of God and Jesus Christ.  

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I know this church is true. I pray that all is well with you!
Love you very much!

Elder Adams

Oh, tell Heidi and Cody and Carson this cool story: You know the Michael Vey series? Well the author Richard Paul Evans has a brother named Boyd, and he is the young men's president in one of my wards! His daughter (the author’s niece) is named Tara, and that is where the author got the name. So that is cool! Also they are gonna get his autograph for me, maybe even in one of the books, and I'll send it home! Fun stuff out here! 

Below picture: Adams' Peanut Butter and Jolly Rancher Time

 

September 4, 2017 - Murray, UT

This has been an absolutely incredible week. The last few weeks have been rather slow and unsuccessful, and really a tough time, but Elder Jolly and I continued to work hard, be obedient, and stay diligent. And wow! We have been richly blessed! This week, we started just being very bold with people, and inviting them to read from the Book of Mormon, go to church, and be baptized. We have 5 people scheduled to be baptized in the next 3 weeks, with many more to come. While I sometimes talk about baptism, I should clarify that I, or any missionary, am not out here to just baptize everybody we see, and that is it. No, baptism is simply a goal we help others come to by building their Faith in Jesus Christ and helping them commit and show they want to follow the Savior. It is so awesome to see people make those choices that bring so much joy and blessings into their lives.

Back to what I was saying about the good times after the hard times, I think that we can all learn from them. I would offer two pieces of advice, one a voice of hope, the other a caution and warning. Whenever we find ourselves at a low point in our lives, it is so important that we always remember that the bad times will end. We can have hope that God will help us, through His Son Jesus Christ. Unfortunately whenever things are going well we often become prideful. This leads us down an unhappy path, and we are low. But, we can always climb back up to the top with the help of Our Savior Jesus Christ.

Fun story this week, we were knocking on some doors in an apartment complex, and we met this guy who was an 84 year old member of the Church. He graciously offered to feed us anytime, and we actually had our dinner appointment that night canceled, so we went out with him. And oh boy was it a treat! He (Brother Wahlquist) took us up into Mill Creek Canyon, to eat at a restaurant named Log Haven. Look it up, it is expensive! Anyways, it is a beautiful drive in and out of the mountains, which is where those mountain pictures are from. My entree alone was $45 dollars. I got some elk. It was delicious. He also made us get a side, a salad, and a dessert. The total bill, with tips, was over $200! And we got valet parking. It was pretty awesome. This guy served a mission in Sweden, and has met 4 prophets, including our current prophet, President Monson, 3 times. It was a really neat experience that we had!

I am so grateful to be out here serving a mission, I have learned so much that will bless my life infinitely. I hope all is going well with everyone! I love to hear how things are going, feel free to email anytime! 

Hope all is well!

Elder Adams

Pictures: The water bottles got too big and messy so I cleaned them up. 

My track and the view (I run about a 15 miles a week)

Elder Jolly and Elder Adams fresh haircuts.

 

August 29, 2017 - Murray, UT

Hello! I am still here! Sorry I didn't email yesterday, I forgot to tell you last week that our P-day switched to today for zone conference. We got to go to the Salt Lake Temple today, which was such an incredible experience. We have the actual conference tomorrow so that will be a blast. I get to be the music conductor. Anyways, this last week has had a lot of ups and more ups. The parts that might have been down are just lower ups than the higher ups. 

Some fun parts of this week have been the relationship with the members. We have had a meal every night in a member’s home, and every time we try to buy something it is either paid for by some random person in the store, or they give it to us for free. It is quite crazy.
The missionary work has been pretty slow lately. Other than the 3 people we have on date for baptism, and 3 others we are teaching, we really don't have any other investigators. Addressing those on date, Dutch and Brian both came to church this week. Dutch wasn't gonna be able to go, but then Brian slept in, and when we got Brian, we went ahead and checked to see if Dutch could go to. So they both went, which was awesome. We are working with a guy named Paul, and another named David. Both have such strong testimonies of Jesus Christ, and it is awesome to see. Paul is more willing to learn more, whereas David is still working on if the Book of Mormon is historically accurate. We have great discussions with both. We did pick up a new investigator yesterday, Mary. She is very curious, and has since seen and read many things about the church. We are able to clarify and help her recognize some important things. She seems willing to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, so that’s awesome. Cody is another one we have, he has gone to church twice now, and hopefully we can put him on date for baptism soon.

There was a really neat experience that happened this week. One of the bishops asked us to visit a less active member. He was outside when we showed up, and what followed was really neat. He is a recovering alcoholic, and was trying to come back to church (grew up a member), and had been doing pretty good, but had actually just 30 minutes previous to our arrival gone out and bought a beer. He still was fighting off the temptation, didn't drink it, went out to mow his lawn, and then was kind of praying for help to be strong, and also wondering when the missionaries would show up because Bishop Tingey had said they would visit. And then, he said that not even 2 minutes later, we pulled up. That was really awesome to see his faith and recognition of God in his life, he said he wasn't gonna drink tonight, and we are gonna make sure he doesn't drink again.
A funny story. We ran out of toilet paper early last week, so one night we were visiting with a member, and Elder Jolly was like, hey can we get a roll of toilet paper? They gave us a pack of six rolls.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. We all know Him. He is our brother. We loved with Him before we came to earth, and someday, we will all have a chance to live with Him again. I am so grateful for this gospel; it has changed my life so much. I love the joy of living the gospel, and the blessing that come with obedience. 

I love you all so much, I hope that all is going well!
Take Care,
Elder Adams

P.s. happy birthday Madre on Saturday! Love you mucho! 

P.ps I have been able to run a lot every morning, that has been amazing. Staying pretty fit actually. 

Pictures: Salt Lake City Temple and Elder Jolly and myself and some of our zone, and my water bottles. Also, the mountains are beautiful.