WEEK 79- Walking With a Clear Conscience Before God

JANUARY 20, 2015

East High in Salt Lake--The school were they filmed High School Musical! 

We decided to try out for the cast with this photo haha

 Took a tour at the State Capitol Building! The Governors office!

Hello friends!

The weeks are seriously flying by!! The Lord is good to us. A non-member showed up to church randomly yesterday by himself and we are now teaching him!  He just came from California, to go to school at the U. He once dated an LDS girl, so figured he might as well check it out while he's here!  His name is Danny.  We'll see where it goes. We are teaching quite a few others and they are doing well! :) Liz (from Vietnam) is still doing her best to recognize an answer to her prayers. Please pray for her! :)

Elder Kacher of the Seventy came to our leadership meeting this past week!  You might remember him from the previous General Conference. He gave an excellent training!  I know modern revelation is real because he trained on exactly what I have been learning from the Lord over the past few months!  I wrote an email about this subject a few weeks back (Does The Lord Trust Me by Elder Carroll).  Elder Kacher spoke to us on exactly the topic of the Lord being able to trust us.  In short, the more the Lord can trust us, the happier we will be.  Let us be obedient to Him and all he has to offer can be ours.  Love, joy, peace, comfort.  We just must pay the small price of obedience to Him. Trust me, if there's one thing I've learned here in the field, it's that we will be much better off in doing so :)

Highlight of Elder Kacher's Conference Address

The Lord is able to "refine" us when we obey him. If we go about doing what we wish to do, we can hardly, if at all, grow into what He knows we can become.  Each one of us has a Divine Potential.  On the other hand, if we do not obey him, we are only asking for a world of hurt.  We as mere mortals may not always be able to see clearly the eternal perspective, but we must do our best to do so!

A few days ago, we ran into an inactive member of the church. She served a mission a few years back, but unfortunately has been led far from the Gospel.  She lives in a house with a few other people and when we walked in, immediately everyone scurried back to their rooms like hermit crabs! Haha  One guy came out and his eyes were bloodshot. The house reeked with weed. This girl has let herself come so far from the Lord. She admitted that she never reads from the scriptures and prays only "once in a while.”   She said she'd  "come back some day.”   I was sincerely sad to witness this situation.  We invited her to read Alma 34:32-34 and testified that by living by God's laws, we can find true joy (Mosiah 2:41).  I know this is true, because I've witnessed it firsthand.  The happiest people that I know are the ones who live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The people that are "doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22).

We must keep our faith strong.  Even when a grand oak ceases to receive nourishment through water, good soil, and light, it will shrivel up.  Our "strong" testimonies and personal conversions will waver just as fast if we do not nourish them constantly with what they need.  Remember, CPR! :)  I'm grateful for these experiences that the Lord has allowed me to be a part of here in the field.  It helps me to see even more, the black and white of living and not living, the Gospel.

During studies the other morning, I came across a verse in Mosiah, when King Benjamin is addressing his people. He mentions in Mosiah 2:27 that he is "walking with a clear conscience before God." It made me think... It is completely unnecessary and frankly unhealthy to carry around the burdens and guilt we receive from sin. It is not a good way to live life!  "Men are that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:27)  Not sorrow!!!  It's so much easier to just use the Atonement that has been freely given to us. The Lord can help lift us, as we do our best to repent and follow Him. The Gospel is so simple. The repentance process is not always easy (nor should it be. It was never easy for Him.), but so completely worth it. Trust me. Repent often. It feels so good.

The mission has taught me so many things. I am lucky to be serving here in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission, under my current Mission President. I know my assignment was very inspired by the Lord. I am eternally grateful to see firsthand, people accept the Gospel of Christ, and His Atonement. And see them literally change. There is so much joy to be found in and in sharing the Gospel. My mission call letter was right:

"As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.. The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children." -President Monson

As my old seminary teacher used to always say, "The Gospel is true. Learn it, live it, love it, you'll be happy I promise you!"

Love you guys! Keep up the good work and stay close to the Lord.

Love,

Elder Carroll

"Two people can do anything, as long as one of them is the Lord." -Unknown

"Press forward, feasting on the word of Christ.
Receive his name, rejoicing in his might.
Come unto God; find everlasting light." (Press Forward Saints, Hymn 81 v. 2)

WEEK 81: Daily Bread

FEBRUARY 2, 2015

Hey everyone!

Great things are happening!  I love the mission and feel incredibly privileged to be serving the Lord here in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.

This past week, Elder Boyles and I had a great experience. A recent convert in one of our wards needed help picking up a food order from the Bishop's Storehouse. We offered to pick it up for him. I had never been a Bishop's Storehouse before. It was overwhelming and humbling experience, even though the food wasn't for us. This is the Church of Jesus Christ.  I'm always surprised when I encounter individuals who say the Church "could use their money on much better things than they do, like helping people who actually need help."   If those people would only go into a Bishop's Storehouse and see what I saw!! The Church is amazing when it comes to it's Humanitarian efforts. It simply amazes me!  It was an experience that I will never forget.

Recently, I’ve been studying the importance of receiving our "Daily Bread" from the Lord. The Master once petitioned, “Give us day by day our daily bread."  Remember CPR? Church, Pray, Read. If there's one thing that I can teach somebody that will help them come closer to Christ, it would be this.

A quote by Elder Bednar: “In my office is a beautiful painting of a wheat field. The painting is a vast collection of individual brushstrokes—none of which in isolation is very interesting or impressive. In fact, if you stand close to the canvas, all you can see is a mass of seemingly unrelated and unattractive streaks of yellow and gold and brown paint. However, as you gradually move away from the canvas, all of the individual brushstrokes combine together and produce a magnificent landscape of a wheat field. …

“… Just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. ‘Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great’ (D&C 64:33).”

Talk on "Daily Bread" by Elder Christofferson. Read it if you have a minute!

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread by Elder D. Todd Christopherson

The little things MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. If we can't do the little things that the Lord asks us to do, then how can we ever expect him to trust us with the big things? The more the Lord can trust us, the happier we will be. Can the Lord trust you?  Repentance is an amazing thing.  I strive to apply the Atonement daily.  If there is anything that we are doing that might lessen the Lord's trust in us, I invite us to repent, now.  It's the only way! Christ paid the price already for our mistakes.  It's up to us on whether we want to use that mercy that he has provided for us. Otherwise, the demands of justice must be satisfied.

The Gospel is an amazing thing, isn't it?  So many things to learn.  I know if we will commit ourselves to put the Lord and what He's asked us to do first in our lives, we will be so much better off.  We will have a strong foundation built upon Christ (Hel. 5:12).

I was able to go on a companion exchange with an Elder in the Zone from Thailand.  We had a fun and effective day together. He's only been speaking English for 6 months!  Doing well though.  We had a lesson with Liz and invited her to bear her testimony in church on Sunday.  She did and was awesome!!  We also asked her if she could and would prepare herself to be baptized on Feb. 21st.  She is shooting for that date.  So excited for her! 

Liz!

I love the work, and am eternally blessed to be just a small part of it.

Stay close to the Lord, He'll bless you.

Love,

Elder Carroll

My very first companion and trainer Elder Allen!

He is living back in Kaysville and came by for a visit!

Bowling with Elder Rudy!

WEEK 80- Trial of Your Faith

JANUARY 26, 2015

Dear friends and family,

It's been a roller coaster of a week, to simply say the least.  Emotions up and down.  A few surprises.

If you haven't already heard, Sister Hansen, our Mission President's wife, unexpectedly passed away this past Wednesday night.  She was lively and healthy at 69 years old.  President was at a meeting late Wednesday night and called her after he got out.  When he got no answer, he started to worry and rushed home.  When he arrived, he found that his sweetheart had collapsed.

Here is the article from the local newspaper: 

Desert News Article about Sister Carol Hansen

The entire mission (220+ missionaries) and the Hansen family gathered together on Saturday morning for a sweet memorial.  No one was really sure what President was feeling or how he was going to be.  As we walked in, he shook every single missionaries hand with that big grin on his face, as he always has. He gave a beautiful sermon and testimony.  I hope to someday have a marriage and love for a companion as strong as his.  He held up his Sealing Ordinance Certificate and as he always has, reminded us that this was what it is all about.  Getting to the Temple.   Being faithful to the Lord.  Being obedient, even when times get rough.  His faith and testimony are so incredibly strong, even in this moment of great trial for him.  His foundation is built upon Christ.  What an amazing disciple of Jesus Christ!  My calling to serve the Lord in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission has even more deeper meaning to me now than ever.

There was a funeral this morning for all family and friends of the Hansen's.  We were privileged to hear from Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles and Elder L. Whitney Clayton, 1st councilor in the Presidency of the 70.  Also in attendance were Elder Rasband and Hallstrom of the Presidency of the 70.

President Hansen will be getting released and we will be getting a new mission President in the next few weeks.  When I heard this news, my heart ached.  I've never lost anyone that I've been so close too, and now to lose both President and Sister Hansen at the same time.  I've never shared so many spiritual and uplifting experiences with anyone other than with President Hansen, whether it was in personal interviews, training's  or any other setting.  After the funeral this morning and before President Hansen left to the cemetery, he was giving hugs to a few of the missionaries.  As silent tears rolled down my cheeks, I stopped by and gave him one last hug and had a good few last words with him.  I know there is a reason the Lord took Sister Hansen as suddenly as He did.  I don't know why (at least not yet), but I do know there is a good reason for it.  The work will go on continue to move forward.  I will forever be grateful to the Hansen's, for who they are, and all they have done for me and for the Lord.

"And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end." (Mormon 7:7)

On another note, there a few other things that have recently happened.  First, transfers are tomorrow and my new companion is Elder Boyles--Again!  I'm excited to serve with him once again and tear it up down here in Pioneer YSA stake.  Second, our mission (and I think most North American missions) will be getting iPads in the next 2 months or so.

My faith in the Lord has been eternally increased by the experiences he has allowed me to witness in the past 18 months.  I know that as we do our best to be continually faithful to Him, we will be blessed.  We will be happy.  We will be able to face the challenges of life with greater power, power from above. 

Stay close to the Lord, and I promise He will bless you.

Love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite scriptures this week: "And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;

But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead." (Mosiah 15:18;20)

"I have a fam'ly here on earth.
They are so good to me.
I want to share my life with them through all eternity.

While I am in my early years,
I'll prepare most carefully,
So I can marry in God's temple for eternity.

Fam'lies can be together forever

Through Heav'nly 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." 

(Hymn #300 Families Can Be Together Forever)

Found a Green Day truck!

Dinner with Liz and friends!

WEEK 78- We Must Know the Gospel is True, & Be True to the Gospel!

Ran into the Shaytards at Deseret Book!

They are an awesome LDS family, who make daily videos on Youtube!

They have like 3 million subscribers!!!  

They live in Idaho, but were here in SLC for their anniversary :)

Click Here for the Shaytards Youtube Channel

Gilgal Gardens!

An old Bishop back in the day (1940's) 

sculpted a whole garden full of LDS doctrine.

Yeah, that's Joseph Smith as a Sphinx.  Kinda weird. lol

Click here to visit Gilgal Garden website

Hey!!

Some days can feel like weeks, but some weeks can feel like days! That was definitely the case this week. 

A lot of great work is going on here in the downtown Salt Lake Pioneer YSA stake. Everyone is just getting home from holiday and there is so much potential that we will make the most of in the next few months! We fasted yesterday with a girl we are teaching named Liz, from Vietnam! She is 18 and is currently going to LDS Business College downtown. She lives with her sister who is a recent convert, so she is surrounded by great people. We fasted with her in order to help her receive that life-changing answer she is looking for. Good things are in store for her!

Yesterday at church, 6 of 7 recent coverts in one of our wards came to church yesterday and one of them taught the Gospel Principles class!! It is great to see retention and to see them progress in the Gospel!  Brittany, who was just baptized about a month ago, went to the Temple for the first time to do baptisms for the dead this week! Darius, baptized in September, got the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday.  Like I said, great things are happening! :) How blessed we are as missionaries to see the conversion process of these individuals, first hand! I love it! It strengthens my testimony and conversion.

Yesterday, I was privileged to speak in one of the wards that we cover.  Bishop told me I could pick any topic, so I decided to speak on the subject of Personal Conversion.  Over the past 18 months or so, the Lord has made it very clear to me that only the deeply converted with survive.  Here are a few points from my talk…

Why is being personal converted unto the Lord even important?

In order to be able to stand strong against the trials that life has to offer, we need to do all we can to build our foundation upon Christ.  I've seen many people out here in the field who, when faced with a difficult trial, have nothing more than sand to stand upon.  When they do not have a solid foundation to stand on when challenges come, there is a loss of hope and courage. I know that as we do our best to become converted unto the Lord, he will be able to help us through those trials. If we don't, unfortunately, we are on our own.

Testimony and Conversion, although both essential, are not the same thing.

"Knowing that the gospel is true, is the essence of a testimony. Consistently being true to the gospel is the essence of conversion. We should know the gospel is true and be true to the gospel." -Elder Bednar 

Testimony alone will not be enough to stand up against the adversary. We must be consistently true and faithful to the light and knowledge we receive from God. That is how we become converted.

May I suggest 5 simple ways that we can help ourselves to become more converted unto the Lord:

1.) Use the Atonement. Repent daily. We need to humble ourselves, get on our knees, say "Heavenly Father I know I’m doing these things wrong, please forgive me and help me to be better." Then change.

2.) Drop our "weapons for rebellion" (Alma 23). Such as pride, disobedience, selfishness, nasty habits. We can't keep fighting against the Lord with these things. He can't help us until we are ready to help ourselves.

3.) Recognize and remember your Divine Potential. We are each a son or daughter of a Heavenly Father. We have potential to become as He. Every single one of us has this potential!  A missionary from China, in our last Zone Meeting, gave an analogy in his broken English. He said, a puppy grows up to be a dog. A kitty grows up to be a cat. What does a son or daughter of God grow up to be?

4.) CPR. Visit the Temple regularly. Family Home Evening. Be in places where God can work with us. Do what you know you need to do and go where you know you need to be. Make goals to accomplish these things.

5.) Strive to have a Christ like character.  Faith, hope, love, charity, diligence, obedience, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility. Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel outlines this very effectively. Study it!

I know as we all do all we can to become personally converted unto Him, our burdens will be lighter. We will have so much for power to overcome challenges that are thrown at us. We will be able to prove ourselves worthy to return and live with our Loving Father. The only lasting happiness available can be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Keep it up, the Lord will bless you for it!!

Love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week: "And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away." (Alma 23:6)

WEEK 77- Where There Is No Vision, The People Perish

January 5, 2015

Morning scripture study

Fellow missionaries in my Zone!

Hey everyone,

2015. Where in the world did the time go? We have to make the most of every single day of our mortal lives and not "procrastinate" anything! The time to do what we need to do, is NOW! :) (Alma 34:32-34)

We are currently working with multiple individuals and they are all progressing at different rates. We are lucky to be working with a few recent converts and helping them get to the Temple! Lots of people (including people we are teaching) are finally getting back in town from the holiday so we plan on finding a ton of new people soon! :)

Over the past few weeks, probably because of the new year, my studies have often taken me to the topic of goals—or goal setting. A few months ago I was lucky enough to come across a book from D.I. called "Success Is..." by Paul H. Dunn. If by any chance, you can get a copy of this amazing book, I would invite you to do so and read it!  Within a total of only about 50 pages, this book will change your life if you apply the principles taught!! I wish to share a few points that Bro. Dunn makes in the wonderful book.

He makes it a point to lay out how the world views success and how God view success. While the world usually views success through external goals and achievements, God views success on the internal goals and achievements.

Bro. Dunn makes another good point that while pretty much all Latter-Day Saints (and non-Latter day Saints) have great intentions while setting goals such as daily scripture study/prayer, church/temple attendance, reading the entire Book of Mormon/Bible within a certain amount of time, etc., those are are external goals. The goals that we should really be making are internal goals. Goals such as to increase our character to be more like Christ, to build our relationships with God/family/friends, to build our faith/testimony/conversion, to increase our knowledge of God, etc.. The external goals we usually set are the steps we must take to achieve these goals, but should not be our ultimate goals. We must see beyond the external goals we usually set. Read the book, you won't regret it!!

A senior couple missionary gave a great training to our zone this past week on goal setting. He outlined S.M.A.R.T. goals:

Specific

Measurable

Act

Realistic

Time Frame

If a goal we set does not have each and every one of these principles, we are most likely not going to achieve that goal we set. An example would be...

Specific - I wish to increase my charity (internal goal) so in order to do so I will do 5 hours of service for my neighbors (snow shoveling) every week for the month of January.

Measurable - Yes. 5 hours.

Act - Snow shoveling.

Realistic - Yes. I have all the supplies I need to achieve this goal.

Time Frame - Every week in January.

It takes practice to make SMART internal goals, but when you get it down, you will be so much more effective in achieving things in life.

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.” -Elder M. Russell Ballard (PMG Chapter 8)

We must set goals and make plans. That's what God did. He had and has the goal to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39), so he made a plan that we know as The Plan of Happiness! A SMART goal! And now he is doing all he can to achieve it. Everything in the Gospel just seems to fit right together :)

I know that as we set goals, the Lord will help us achieve them. We must humble ourselves and ask for his help. With Him, all things are possible.

Love you all, keep up the good work. Stay close to the Lord and I promise he'll bless you.

Love,

Elder Carroll

"Where there is no vision, the people perish..." (Proverbs 29:18)

"There is not effort without failure." -Theodore Roosevelt

"If the Savior stood beside me,
Would I do the things I do?
Would I think of His commandments and try harder to be true?
Would I follow His example?
Would I live more righteously if I could see the Savior standing nigh,
watching over me?

If the Savior stood beside me,
Would I say the things I say?
Would my words be true and kind if He were never far away?
Would I try to share the gospel?
Would I speak more rev’rently if I could see the Savior standing nigh,
watching over me?

If the Savior stood beside me,
Would my thoughts be clean and pure?
Would His presence give me strength and hope and courage to endure?
Would His counsel guide my actions?
Would I choose more worthily if I could see the Savior standing nigh
watching over me?" 

~If the Savior Stood Beside Me, Primary hymn

Week 76- Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority

DECEMBER 28, 2014

Temple Square on Christmas!!

It's finally snowing!!!!

Helloooooo Family & Friends!

I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as mine! It was good to see the families face's thru Skype! After 25 days into December we finally received a decent snowfall! It has snowed every day for the past 4 days and just keeps coming! I love Utah…The people are amazing, it actually has all 4 seasons, and the Lord has blessed this place to be the Headquarters of his Church.  I can testify confidently that people are being brought here from ALL around the world, for the purpose of investigating and joining His true Gospel.

Skyping with my family on Christmas Day!

As I mentioned in my last letter, we are teaching people from all around the world! It is such a blessing to be able to become acquainted with these wonderful people on their pursuit for happiness & purpose. The Lord works in mysterious ways, one of those being how he prepares individuals and send them to Zion to hear His word.

I wish to write today boldly and in plainness, that "no man can err". Elder Oaks gave a beautiful talk in April of 2011 titled, "Desire" in which he speaks of the importance of desire. Please read this talk if you have a moment now or in the near future.

VIDEO: "Desire" April Conference 2011

He states:"Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming."

As my past Tahitian companion would say, it all starts with a desire. With no desire, we can get nowhere. Our desire to learn of and obey God ultimately determines our Salvation. If we have no desire to obey God, we mustn't be surprised when we do not receive the blessings we want in this life or in the eternities.  As Lehi states, we must "act for [ourselves]" (2 Nephi 2:26). We can only expect to receive the blessings of the level of laws that we are willing to follow. We were put here on this earth "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;". We are here to see if we will live the Higher Law (3 Nephi 12) as taught by Jesus Christ.

Elder Scott of the 12 teaches that, "Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!" If you haven't read his most recent Conference talk on this matter, I invite you to do so.

VIDEO:  "Make The Exercise of Faith Your First Priority"
October 2014 Conference

He concludes that prayers, scripture study, family home evenings Temple and church attendance are of most vital and essential importance. Are these our priorities? We aren't just asked to do these things for the sake of just doing them or for obedience. We are asked to do them so that we can build upon a sure foundation of the Rock, so that we can withstand the tornadoes that life has to throw at us. Only through these simple things can we expect to become "converted unto the Lord" and stand strong through the trials of mortality.

Wrapping this all back up to the point of desire… We must (if we do not already) have a deep desire to follow the Lord in all things. It all starts with a "particle of faith" (Alma 32). I invite you to look deep within yourself and honestly evaluate yourself on the meter of desire. If you don't feel as if you have a strong desire to do these simple things, I invite you to repent and turn to the Lord in prayer to ask for that desire and then get up off your knees and go to work. Do what you know needs to be done.  I promise the Lord will bless you for it.  If you feel like these things are too hard, overwhelming, time consuming or that there isn't enough time in the day, I invite you to repent and slow your life down to a point where you can put the Lord first in your life.

If you do have a strong desire to follow Him, I invite you to continue do what you know if right. Don't slip up one bit. The adversary will be joyous to jump in at any chance he can get. Stay strong in your words, thoughts and actions, and He will take care of you. 

The Lord will bless you as we do our personal best in following Him. He, through the Atonement, will make up the rest for us. He is a Just God, but also infinitely merciful. I know Jesus is the Christ and that He is doing all He can to help us, as we help ourselves.

I love you all, keep up the good work. Stay close to Him and I promise he will bless you.

Love,

Elder Carroll

"Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." (2 Nephi 32:3)

"It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the straight and narrow path. The scriptures are called "the words of life" (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance." 

-Ezra Taft Benson

" I believe in Christ--my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I'll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan's grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above." 

(I Believe in Christ, Hymn 134 v. 3)

pic1- (12/25/14) Temple Square on Christmas!

pic2- (12/25/14) Snowwwwww

Week 75- Merry Christmas! #ShareTheGift

Random bird we found at our apartment complex!

My companion Elder Price & I 

(and some photo bombers)!

Merry Christmas!!

What a wonderful time of the year when so many more people in the world remember our Savior and his priceless gift to us--The Atonement.  As I've learned to more fully use that Gift, I've been able to feel more joy in my life.  I can testify confidently that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ and that They want the best for us. I can feel my Savior's love.  It amazes me how Heavenly Father can change us, when we do our best to have a Christlike character and help others around us. Truly remarkable!

Although serving in the Young Single Adults Stake is soooo different than serving in Family Stakes, I am LOVING it!! We cover 4 wards. Our area goes up to the University of Utah Campus, so we cover two student wards!  Our area also reaches down to 40th South in SLC, which is about 20 blocks out of the mission boundaries!  But we are given permission to go because two of our YSA wards meet down there :)  It's so much fun!  We are teaching quite a few people.  Liz is an investigator from Vietnam.  Aubreyis an investigator from Maine. Darius is a recent convert from Chicago!  And there many more!  We were able go with a recent convert to the Salt Lake Temple to watch her do Baptisms for the Dead for the first time!  We were able to do confirmations and be the witnesses for the baptisms :)  I love being able to meet new people and for the opportunity that I have to bear my testimony so frequently. I love the mission!

My mission President, President Hansen!

This past week we had our Mission Christmas Party. President Hansen (Mission President) shared a story once told by President Hinckley that I wish to share with you, because it touched my heart.  If you have just a second to read it, please do.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

“Years ago there was a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough that no teacher had been able to handle them.

“A young, inexperienced teacher applied, and the old director scanned him and asked: ‘Young fellow, do you know that you are asking for an awful beating? Every teacher that we have had here for years has had to take one.’

“‘I will risk it,’ he replied.

“The first day of school came, and the teacher appeared for duty. One big fellow named Tom whispered: ‘I won’t need any help with this one. I can lick him myself.’

“The teacher said, ‘Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school.’ They yelled and made fun at the top of their voices. ‘Now, I want a good school, but I confess that I do not know how unless you help me. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me, and I will write them on the blackboard.’

“One fellow yelled, ‘No stealing!’ Another yelled, ‘On time.’ Finally, ten rules appeared on the blackboard.

“‘Now,’ said the teacher, ‘a law is not good unless there is a penalty attached. What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response from the class.

“‘That is pretty severe, boys. Are you sure that you are ready to stand by it?’ Another yelled, ‘I second the motion,’ and the teacher said, ‘All right, we will live by them! Class, come to order!’

“In a day or so, ‘Big Tom’ found that his lunch had been stolen. The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old. ‘We have found the thief and he must be punished according to your rule—ten stripes across the back. Jim, come up here!’ the teacher said.

“The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to his neck and pleaded, ‘Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please, don’t take my coat off!’

“‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“‘Oh, teacher, don’t make me!’ He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The boy had no shirt on, and revealed a bony little crippled body.

“‘How can I whip this child?’ he thought. ‘But I must, I must do something if I am to keep this school.’ Everything was quiet as death.

“‘How come you aren’t wearing a shirt, Jim?’

“He replied, ‘My father died and my mother is very poor. I have only one shirt and she is washing it today, and I wore my brother’s big coat to keep me warm.’

“The teacher, with rod in hand, hesitated. Just then ‘Big Tom’ jumped to his feet and said, ‘Teacher, if you don’t object, I will take Jim’s licking for him.’

“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’

“Off came Tom’s coat, and after five strokes the rod broke! The teacher bowed his head in his hands and thought, ‘How can I finish this awful task?’ Then he heard the class sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”

To lift a phrase from this simple story, Jesus, my Redeemer, has taken “my licking for me” and yours for you."

This story brought quiet tears to my eyes as I thought back to the times when I have so fully depended on Christ to take away my shame and guilt for my mistakes. I have felt the enabling power of the Atonement--the cleansing power.  I cannot accurately describe it to you in words. How merciful our Redeemer is, to take our "licking" for us.  I am eternally indebted to Him.  I know I must devote my life to serving and following Him.  It is the least I can do.

We recently watched a video series by Elder Christofferson called "Daily Bread". He outlines the importance of daily scripture study, prayer, and other simple yet essential things to help us keep on track to joy in this life, and on the road back to our Heavenly Father.  If you haven't (or if you have) seen these three, 3-minute videos, I invite you to watch them (again)!

Daily Bread: Pattern

 Daily Bread: Experience

Daily Bread: Change

So many great things are happening. Life is good. I wouldn't ask to be anywhere other than here in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission. The Lord is good. I hope you have a very merry Christmas and that all is well! Stay close to the Lord and I promise He'll bless you!! :)

#ShareTheGift #HeIsTheGift

Love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite quote this week...

"As I walk daily here on earth,

Give me thy Spirit as I seek

A change of heart, another birth,

And grow, dear Lord, to be like thee." - With Humble Heart (Hymn 171 v. 4)