Elder Crandall and Elder Horan

Happy Birthday Milo

Something I learned this week in my study of the Book of Mormon was that if we see a sign before we develop our faith then we are quick to forget what we've seen. We need to consistently have spiritual experiences or we will let doubt and fear creep into our life.  The Nephites  saw the signs of Christ's birth and just a few years later had already begun to doubt that Jesus Christ was really the Son of God.  The way we have these consistent experiences is not just going through the motions... but setting goals in front of us and using God's help to achieve them... whether it be for school, work, family, or whatever.  I know that God wants us to feel His spirit often and will provide opportunities we just have to look for them!

Elder Horan and I were out street contacting all day on Saturday and had no success. We were both getting wiped out and dehydrated so we were about to take a break for dinner.  We decided to go by one last referral.  As we were parked outside his house I figured we had better stop and say a prayer to be led to a miracle or we would just keep wandering without seeing any fruit.  I prayed that we would be led to someone who was prepared and ready to act on our message.  So we went and knocked on the referrals door and he let us in right away and even called us Elders.  We thought he might be a member.  We sat down and talked with him. We found out that he lived in Las Vegas for a time and had spent a lot of time around mormons.  He had met with missionaries before.  He said he watched Byu channel almost daily and that he really liked the Book of Mormon.  We decided to read 3 Nephi 11 with him and see what he thought about Joseph Smith, and the priesthood.  He said he believed He was a prophet.  We invited him to be baptized and he accepted! I asked him why he wanted to be baptized now but not in times past and he said "I just really feel the overwhelming power of the spirit and I haven't felt it this strongly before!"  Elder Horan and I walked out of there with big smiles and couldn't believe the miracle we had just prayed for and seen!

We talked to a lot of part member families this week about the importance of getting married and not just living together.  In this day and age people make it sound normal and ok in God's eyes to live with someone before you marry them.  Trust leaves such relationships that would otherwise be there if they were married first.  The point of marriage is to learn and grow together!  I'm grateful for my parent's example of a happy and eternal marriage.  I hope that I will be able to treat my wife the same way that my dad treats my mom.

Shout out to My main man MILO!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I can't believe you are already 2 years old! It seems like just yesterday I was driving down to provo with Mom and Jen to see him for the first time!

p.s. I broke my camera... so idk if you are going to be seeing many pictures!

Cody and his companion had the cameras of the 27 departing
missionaries at the Los Angeles Temple.  They came up with
a very effective process.  Cody's arm held all the cameras,
and Elder Matheny took the pictures as they dangled.
Nice work Elders.  Great teamwork.

They had a huge rain storm in Bakersfield. 
Cody and the kids ran outside to enjoy the rain.
Cody said it made him miss the rain and
lightning stores in Sierra Leone, which were
absolutely spectacular.

A fabulous baptism of a beautiful lady.