Week 63- Let Us Look On The Eternal Perspective

An amazing family that we have grown to love!

Augh!!!! My companion left me!!!

Hey!

I love this mission! I have grown and learned so much.  Although I have looong ways to go, I am grateful for the light and knowledge my loving Lord has blessed me with.  With the 2 hours to study every morning, I have come to have such greater and stronger faith in my Savior Jesus Christ.  The word of God (scriptures) is so amazing. There are soooo many things to be learned.  If we would only read and apply the principles we can learn from the Book of Mormon and the Bible, we would be so much better off! (Mosiah 2:41) I know the Book of Mormon is true and can strongly testify of its divine nature.  It's true.  I know it!

With all of the cares, confusion, and worries of the world, it is sometimes easy to get lost in the not-so-important things we encounter in our mortal lives.  We get so busy with work, school, and play, that we often forget the purpose that we are here.  It is by looking through the eyes of the Eternity that will help us focus on things that are most important--The things that the Lord would have us focus on!  We chose to come to earth for (mostly) these reasons… To experience having a body, trials that will help us grow and having joy through choosing the right and following the Lord.  We chose to leave our pre-mortal life to prove ourselves worthy of living once again in the presence of our Father in Heaven in His Celestial kingdom. That is the purpose of life! If only we constantly reminded ourselves of this divine purpose... We will still have trials and hardships that help us grow, but making day-to-day decisions would be a whole lot easier and we would be led to make the righteous decision more often than not, if not, ALWAYS.

Because we (mostly myself) all make mistakes every day of our lives, we have to choose to repent, or change. We must change our thoughts and actions from what we want, to what the Lord wants. Something that I'm sure we are all working on every day is Self-Mastery--mastery over the fallen flesh. We do this by doing things consistently. We repent daily by reading our scriptures, praying, faithfully attending our church meetings and the temple if possible. If we are not doing these things, I invite us to repent, and become better. Life is about doing things consistently.  If someone wants to become strong, they must exercise consistently.  If someone wishes to become a more skilled musician, they must practice consistently.  If our goal is to master our fallen-state mortal bodies, we must consistently strive to stay close to the Lord.

Revelations 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

The Lord is always standing at the door, knocking.  It is up to us to open it. Now, how do we open this door?  Again, we do it by reading, praying, and inviting the Spirit into our lives.  We must be consistent. His grace is sufficient for all men.  For every one of us, no matter what we have done.  A sinner big or small, there is nothing (besides the unpardonable sins, which I'm almost positive we are safe from) we cannot receive forgiveness for.  I am eternally grateful for the love that our Savior has for me, and for you.  His Atonement is infinite.

Notice, there is no door knob.  We must open it from the inside.

It is "Because of Him"

Check out this AMAZING video!!

" And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." - Moroni 7:41

This past week we were able to attend a Family Home Evening with a young family. The lesson was short and to the point, but I couldn't help but notice the Spirit that was present in the room with us.  The important of FHE in our homes is so great.  We must teach our children the Gospel, in our homes.  This is where they will learn.  Sure they'll learn at church, but it won't be the same without the correct principles of the Gospel taught within the walls of our individual homes.

General Conference is coming up fast this next weekend!!  So stoked!  What an amazing opportunity we have to listen and receive counsel from our beloved prophets.  I invite everyone to attend as many sessions of Conference as they can!  Please do not miss out on this wonderful privilege we are blessed with.

Thanks to everyone that still reads my letters (some missionaries and friends call them "sermons" haha)! Thanks for your continual letters, emails, love, and support. Love you all, keep up the good work and I promise the Lord will bless you!!

Much Love,

~Elder Carroll

Week 62 Ogden, UT Temple Re-dedication!!

Hi all!

Another amazing week of the Lords work has come and goneeeee!

I was able to attend 2 baptisms back in one of my old area of Bountiful—one for Chelsea and one for Amber!! Chelsea is married to a Returned Missionary who recently has gotten back into activity.  She was raised Catholic but never really went to mass.  I am soooo happy for her, her husband Joe and her decision to more fully follow her Savior Jesus Christ in her life.

Chelsea and her husband Joseph at her baptism!

Amber is a similar situation. Her husband was raised in the church and only became active about 7 years ago. They've been married for only about a year.  I am so blessed to have been able to work with them and enjoy the Spirit in their home as we taught the discussions. Both Chelsea/Joe and Amber/Tim are planning on getting sealed in the Temple in a years’ time :)

We have transfers this Tuesday, and I will be staying in Erda!! I will be getting a new companion, Elder Burt!!!!! I've been lucky enough to know Elder Burt for about a year now and I am soooo stoked to serve with him! He's from Washington state and has been out for about 17 months!

I have worked the hardest I have ever worked on my mission, in these past 6 weeks. If you haven't noticed, I haven't been writing too much about the people we're teaching... and well it's because we didn't have too many people to teach! haha. But! This past week, we have picked up 6 new investigators, 3 of which are on date for baptism!! The Lord has truly blessed us and shown us miracles. I have such a strong testimony that The Lord works in mysterious ways, and in His own due time. If we will just have faith in Him, trust Him, and obey, everything will work out. I know it.

We have the amazing opportunity and privilege of attending 1 of the 3 Temple Re-dedications for the Ogden, UT Temple. The temple was closed down in 2011 for renovation. But, was eventually just torn to the ground so that they could start from scratch. The dedication was awesome! A truly kindred Spirit could be felt as we were taught by our beloved Prophet and Apostles, as well as during the dedicatory prayer itself.

The Ogden Temple

Elder Bednar spoke and mentioned a few great points about the contrast between the Temple and the world we live in today, that I would like to share. First, he mentioned that as the things of this world are quickly tearing families apart, the Temple is strongly sealing families together by the power and authority of the Priesthood. Second, as the world is struggling in constant confusion, in the Temple we are able to gain knowledge and wisdom about so many different things. And lastly, in this world today, people are so worried about their image, and what others think about them.  But in the Temple, all are equal and dress in white.  God is no respecter of persons. Being able to attend the Temple Re-dedication was such an uplifting experience. I am so grateful to be able to partake in the blessings of the Temple that God has in store for all of His children.  I know true doctrine, covenants, and ordinances have been restored to the earth in our time.  What a great blessing and knowledge we have.

I had the great opportunity to interview an individual for baptism this past week. I am so blessed with the chance to do so. I love being able to talk to soon-to-be recent converts. Their faith is so simple, yet powerful. Whenever I have the chance during the interview, I ask each and every candidate why they personally want to be baptized. Answers vary from person to person, but this week I think I got my favorite answer from Derek, who is about 40 years old.  After asking him why he wanted to be baptized, he smiled and said "I want to go to the Temple and be sealed to my family forever."  I can't explain to you the joy that filled into my heart when those words came out of his mouth! Ahhhhhh! I just want to jump and scream for joy!!! This is what it is all about!! Getting to the Temple. being sealed to our families and partaking in the blessings of our God. I love it!!

I invite all those worthy and able, to go more often to the Temple! To feel of the Spirit more fully in our lives. As a personal representative of Jesus Christ, I promise you that as you do so, you will be blessed-- both temporally and spiritually. Please do not deprive yourself of the blessings of the Temple! They are truly amazing and we are so incredibly blessed to be able to attend. Especially if you live in AZ or UT! How blessed we are to have so many Temples, so close to us. Let us do our best to attend the Temple regularly and make it even more so part of our lives :)

"There was no other good enough

To pay the price of sin.

He only could unlock the gate

Of heav'n and let us in." 

- Hymn: "There Is a Green Hill Far Away"

This is a line from one of my favorite hymns. I am so grateful and appreciative of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know it is by Him that all mankind may be saved as long as we obey and love him. We all fall, but our Brother is right there with his arm extended, to lift us up. It is up to us to grab ahold of his all-saving grace. He will not make us clean against our will. We must come unto him and partake in the saving ordinances that he has provided for us. What a marvelous knowledge we are blessed with. I cannot express through words, my love and gratitude for our beloved Redeemer.

I can strongly testify of the truth of this Gospel, and the happiness that comes by living it. I know that by following the Prophet of our day, treasuring up the words of life, and loving and obeying our loving God, we will find joy in this life and everlasting joy in the life to come.

Love you all, thanks to everyone for your emails and letters of love and support! Keep up the good work, stay close to the Lord and he will bless you!! :)

~Elder Carroll

Write me at:

Elder Hayden Carroll

1535 S. Edison St.

SLC, UT 84115

Preachin’ amongst the alpacas.

On an exchange in Wendover!

Week 61 Anxiously Engaged In a Good Cause!

Hi all!

This has been a fantastic week!! I LOVE this work!!!!!! :)

First off, a young girl that I was privileged to teach in Bountiful, was baptized this past Saturday! Cami is her name! She is 9 and her family went less-active when Cami was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago.  With Cami undergoing chemo, radiation, and a bone-marrow-transplant, she was not able to go outside the house for months. Thus, the family didn't go to church.  After Cami got better(cancer free!), they were just in the habit of not going.  But Cami's dad was able to baptize her, and the family is now returning to church :) I love the mission!!

For her baptism, Cami sang "Families Can Be Together Forever."  

Here is a version of that song.  Take a listen...

"I have a family here on earth.

They are so good to me.

I want to share my life with them through all eternity.

Fam'lies can be together forever

Through Heavn'ly Father's plan.

I always want to be with my own family,

And the Lord has shown me how I can.

The Lord has shown me how I can."

The lyrics stood out to me so greatly. This is what it's all about, people!! Although baptism is a huge step, it's only registration, not graduation! :) Graduation would be for a family to be sealed in the right place, by the right authority! How blessed we are to be apart of this great and wondrous Gospel!

Speaking of the temple, we just got back from a session at the Salt Lake Temple!! I love the temple so much. What a kindred Spirit to be felt within the walls of our Father's house.

This past week, one of the ward members let us help him out with a service project.  We got to help him harvest honey from his 100 beehives that he farms!  It was good work and a great experience. Something that stood out to me today in the Temple... There are beehive symbols all around the entire temple! On the walls, on the ground, on the doorknobs, everywhere!  As I’m sure there are so many things to be taken out of this symbol, I would say one of them would be the symbolism of the honey bee's and how they are always busy and working hard.  As with the Saints, we should always be "anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27). An Idol mind is the devil's playground. We must fill our minds and lives with good things and enjoy the joy and blessings that accompany them! :)

A few days ago, my companion and I went to Wal-Mart to get some missionary supplies. As we were swiping our items at the self-checkout line, a guy runs up behind us and says "Hey Elders! I got this for you!" After thanking him and talking for a second, we came to find out that he served right here in the Utah Salt Lake City mission ('98-'00).  His first area was here in Tooele, and he covered the entire valley--just him and his companion!! Their area went all the way to Wendover, NV! Through conversation, he mentioned that he was able to see over 130 people enter into the waters of baptism while he was serving! We asked him if he still kept in contact with any of them and he said "No way man, I’d be lucky if even 2 of them were still active. They were just all numbers to me."... My heart dropped!  As the conversation continued, it was very apparent that he was not proud of his actions on his mission service, but I could tell that he had repented. He was a good man!

It really just made me think... the people that we invite into the Gospel are REAL people! They are not a number or statistic!! They are a beloved soul of our Heavenly Father and he needs them back.  We must put some real urgency into this Hastening of the Work of Salvation! I know that as we do, we will be blessed. We will find joy. We will spread joy.

D&C 18:10,15 - "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"

I had the great blessing and opportunity to interview a young girl for baptism this past week.  Because she was over the age of 8 (9 yrs old), she had to be interviewed by a missionary.  She was such a cute little girl, so meek and humble. It was just a reminder to me how we all must be as little children, in order to enter into our Fathers rest.  We must drop completely our pride, grudges, or hatred towards any other who may have done us wrong. It may be hard at times, but we must remember that we may only obtain forgiveness, once we are willing to forgive.

I am so grateful for this amazing service that our God has blessed me with.  I know, with every fiber of my body that this is God's true and living kingdom once again restored on the Earth. The Prophet Joseph truly did see what he said he saw. He saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. And for this my knowledge I am eternally grateful.

Love you all! Thanks so everyone for the emails/letters! I love them!! Hope you have a wonderful and eventful week! Stay busy, stay safe, and stay close to our Lord! :)

Much love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week- Alma 26:12 - " Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

Write me at:

Elder Hayden Carroll

1535 S. Edison St.

SLC, UT 84115

David Bowie Chicken!!!

Week 60 Are we willing?

Hey!!

I love the mission!! Another eventful week has come and gone!

This past week, I was able to go with one of the District Leaders in the zone out to Wendover for a 24-hour companion exchange! Let me tell you… Wendover is an interesting place!  It kinda has the feel of Globe, AZ if you have ever been there.  It’s just a super small Hispanic desert town. The elders out there are both Spanish and English speaking elders, so I spent the day contacting Spanish referrals.  One of the things that the elders told me was that unfortunately, there are so many people who are pretty much slaves to the casinos in Wendover. A lot of Hispanics go out there for work and end up never being able to leave because of their circumstances. So they are stuck working at the casinos, with really crappy working environment and hours. Along with that, the casinos destroy families and create horrible lives for the people that get caught in the snare of gambling.

"Wendover Will"

It just goes to show how important it is that we so closely follow the council of our modern day Prophets. We can't even get close to the edge.  As President Kimball says it, "We must never even flirt with temptation." It's just not worth it.  We have to stay so close to the Lord in our everyday lives.  Life's a battle, but if we stay on the winning side without falter, we'll be taken care of.

This past week my companion and I were able to give training on "Our Purpose" as missionaries, for our Zone Conference. Our purpose as missionaries is "To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end". I am blessed to be able to preach this wonderful Gospel and joy that I know comes from it.  I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have as missionaries to learn from one another, as well as the Spirit.

With Elder Arnold of the 1st Quorum of the 70, coming to visit our mission last week, he decided he wanted to have individual PPI's (Personal Priesthood Interviews) with my companion, myself, and the other zone leaders that attended the conference. Towards the end of the interview, he informed me that I would be helping him train the missionaries during the conference on some idea and methods that we have effectively been using in our area.  Boy did that catch me by surprise! haha The conference went great and everything went smooth! :)

This past weekend, we had Stake Conference in our stake. It was a great meeting altogether, but one of the talks particularly stood out to me.  One of the councilors in the Stake Presidency gave a great talk on our baptism covenant we made at the waters of baptism. Mosiah 18:8-9 says: "..And now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;  Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—"

Are we, brother and sisters, desirous and willing to obey our loving Father in Heaven? Are we desirous and willing to magnify our church callings?  To faithfully attend our church meetings? The Temple? Go home/visiting teaching? Pay our tithes and fast offerings? Are we desirous and willing? Or do we do some things grudgingly? Or just out of pure assignment? Do we have a desire and willingness to serve our Lord full heartedly? Well if we don’t, we should!  We covenanted with Him that we would be!  Do we love him? If we do, we should do our best to obey him with. We should commit ourselves to the Lord and to His ways. I know that as we serve with a desirous and willing heart, we will be blessed. And I know that if for some reason or another we do not have a desirous and willing heart at this moment, that the Lord can help us with that. He can bless us with that gift. We just must be meek and humble enough to ask Him for His divine help. Oh the joy that can come from serving our great Lord willingly in all things that he requires of us. I love it.

One last thing I would like to mention is the love I have for the Spirit that comes with music. In our Stake Conference on Saturday, there were 2 high school kids who played a special musically number--"If You Could Hie To Kolob".  One played piano and the other switched off mid-song from flute to the piccolo. It was the most beautiful arrangement I had ever heard in my entire life. The Spirit was there in such abundance. It was quite amazing. Music is amazing and I am eternally grateful for our Fathers love in blessing his children with the ability to create it.

                                     

This is NOT the performance that Elder Carroll 

refers to, but it is the song.

D&C 25:12 - " For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

Loving it out here, hope you all as well are enjoying where you are at this moment :) Stay busy, stay safe, and stay close to the Lord!! :)

Love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week: Mormon 3:22 - "And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ."

Please write me at:

1535 S Edison St.

Salt Lake City, UT 84115

Typical P-day!

Missionary Humor!

Week 59 Our faith is like a seed!

P-day at the Great Salt Lake!

My good ol' MTC companion, Elder Westlund!!!

Hello!

Great news! I just got word that Carrie, from my first area got baptized a few weeks ago!! I am so happy for her. I wasn't able to attend the service, but I heard it was great! :) It brings me so much joy to know that I am able to be a part of such a great work. I am so happy to know that others are coming more fully unto their Savior.

This past Friday for our Zone Conference, we were able to be taught for about 8 hours by a General Authority, Elder Arnold of the 70! It was a great meeting and I took many things from it that will help me greatly in my efforts as a Full-Time missionary.

Funny story... The other night we were just walking through a neighborhood, trying to meet the members. We knocked on this door and a 3 year old little boy answered. We asked if his parents were home and he said yes, and kind of opened the door as if to let us in. We asked him if we could come in and he said yes, so we stepped inside. About 5 seconds later, his dad comes around the corner and the first thing he says is "We're not interested!" Turns out, they were Lutheran hahaha. They were super nice and talked with us for a few minutes, but made it very clear that they were comfortable with their religion.  I'm guessing they had a stern talking with their little son after we left.  What an awkward experience it was haha I love my mission!

I am so grateful for my mission experience. I am so grateful for all of the amazing people that I am privileged to meet. I love that fact in the church, that as soon as a member sees us, or invites us into their home, we are instant friends! Conversations easily flow and legitimate love can be left. The Brotherhood and Sisterhood that we have is truly a blessing. The members here in Utah are truly amazing.

This past week, we have come in contact with 2 people who, although once very strong and devout members of the Church, have fallen away completely and lost entirely their faith. One of them who faithfully served a Full-Time Mission and was an Assistant to his President. It is so sad to see. It seems mostly to be caused by Anti-Mormon material. They are such wonderful people but have let lies and "unanswered" questions lead them astray. Our faith is truly like a little seed. We must constantly be nourishing it. It doesn't matter if our faith is currently this huge and magnificent thing. An idle mind is the devils playground. If we do not fill our minds with wholesome thoughts and desires, the adversary can so easily sneak in. He sees one doubt in our minds feeds off of that, unless we are anxiously engaged in a good cause, doing all we can to strengthen our faith and testimony, every day. We must resort back to the basics, every day. The "primary answers".  We must continually pray, read, magnify our callings, have Family Home Evening, attend our Church meetings, and the Temple, if at all possible. We must constantly feed our souls with light. If we do so, the Lord will be with us.

A quote by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

"The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity."

Hope is a Christlike attribute and gift from God. When everything in the world seems to come down on us, hope is what pulls us through. I stress the great importance of hope. Hope in God, His plan, and our Savior. They are there, they are real.  They love us and are cheering us on every day. They want the best for us, and know what's best for us. We must "press forward with a steadfastness in [them]". I know that as we do so, we will find great happiness and joy from the increase of our hope, faith, and charity we will gain by following them in all of our doings.

" I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!

From him I'll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."

I believe in Christ; so come what may,

With him I'll stand in that great day

When on this earth he comes again

To rule among the sons of men." 

- I Believe In Christ - Hymn #134 - Verse 4

Full song version by Eclipse

I cannot wait for that day that our great Lord and Savior will once again walk among us. I know He will return and that we will be able to feel the marks in his hands, feet, and sides. What joy we will feel in our hearts and souls.

I know this is God's true and living church upon the face of the Earth at this time. I know that Joseph Smith was a truly a prophet called by God and that he restored the true and everlasting Gospel to us in our day. For that I am eternally grateful.

Love you all, stay busy, stay safe, and stay close to the Lord! :)

~Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week- 3 Nephi 9:14 - "Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."