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)

WEEK 74- Things Erda,Utah Has Taught Me!

Heeeellloooo!!

First things first. Got a call from the Mission President yesterday and he informed us that both Elder Burt and I will be getting transferred this Tuesday! They are combining 2 zones into 1 and so a lot of things are getting switched around. I'm headed to downtown Salt Lake to serve in the Pioneer YSA stake! I'm sad to leave Erda and the many friends I've met here, but I'm excited to see who and what the Lord has prepared in Salt Lake City!

I have learned so much over the past few months here in good ol' Erda. Here's a few of them:

1.) You can never have enough property to live on.

2.) How to castrate cows.

3.) Steak is the best meal a farmer has to offer.

4.) How to harvest honey from over 100 live bee hives.

5.) Many hands make light work.

6.)Farmers be packin'.

And now for more of the spiritual lessons learned:

1.) Patience is a virtue.

2.) We must care about others needs before our own. Turn outwards rather than inwards.

3.) The Lord is willing to give if we are willing to act.

4.) We must work hard to bring our standards/will up to God's, not the other way around. That's called apostasy.

5.) God is very aware of all of His children and their circumstances/needs.

6.) God knows what we need better than we do.

7.) We must always "stand in holy places and not be moved" (D&C 45). The second we put our guard down, the adversary can jump in. And he will.

8.) We must do all we can to keep our faith strong. Satan feeds on doubts. CPR.

9.) We as members have an ultimate duty to do all we can to help the missionary work move along in our wards. It's the only way.

10.) There is nothing the Atonement can't handle.

I love the mission and what the Lord and His Gospel have to offer. The Gospel is very true, therefor, very important that we do all we can to learn of it and of Him. We'll all be much better off, I promise.

I know Jesus is the Christ and salvation is gained through, and only through, Him.

Love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week-"Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself." (2 Nephi 2:16)

Write me at:

Elder Hayden Carroll

1535 S. Edison St.

SLC, UT 84115

WEEK 73- What Does The Gospel Have to Offer Us?

DECEMBER 8, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY TEMPLE pumpkin carving!

Our ZONE!!

People in Erda, love their guns!

Hey!!

I am eternally grateful for this marvelous opportunity that our loving Father in Heaven has given me to serve Him and His children full time here in the field.  My experiences have shown me many things.  I know what I want in life.  I know what can bring true and everlasting happiness.  I know what can happen when we start to think that we know better than God.  Being able to talk to so many different people and see all of their different viewpoints, I now see things in a different light than I ever have before!  Some of the things I've seen and learned hadn’t even crossed my mind before.  I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all that comes with it.

So what does the Gospel of Jesus Christ have to offer us?  Well just to name a few... Salvation, joy, peace, comfort and knowledge, just to name a few!  Are these things that we as individuals want?  I don't know about you, but I crave them!!  What is this life for if I can't find joy in it? It is sad to come across individuals who don't believe or can’t see how the Gospel can bless them.   All we can do is invite, testify, promise blessings, and live so they can see the fruits of it.  The rest is up to them, if they truly wish to have these blessings.

Recently, we have come in contact with a family who, just a few months ago lost their 13 year old son to suicide :(  They are great and wonderful people, but have never taken the Gospel to heart or considered what it has to offer.  The father mentioned to us that he was an Atheist up until a few months ago, at the loss of his only son.  They are now meeting with us regularly and have so many questions such as… what will happen to their son since he never was taught the Gospel or will they be together after this life? They are turning to God in their time of need.  Please forgive me if this might sound harsh, but it's really sad that it took their own son passing away for them to believe in God.   If we only turn to God when we're in trouble, then we're already in trouble. The Atonement is real and it is never too late in this life to turn things around.   But it would be so much easier if we would only turn to him NOW rather than later or after a horrible tragedy occurring in our lives.

Elder Bednar once said:

"Can the spiritual strength that results from consistent obedience to the commandments be given to another person? Can the knowledge obtained through diligent study and pondering of the scriptures be conveyed to one who is in need? Can the peace the gospel brings to a faithful Latter-day Saint be transferred to an individual experiencing adversity or great challenge? The clear answer to each of these questions is no." (Converted Unto the Lord - Oct. 2012 General Conference)

If you haven't seen or read this talk, I invite you to do so. He outlines the vital importance of being converted for ourselves so that in time a need or tragedy, we will have something worthy to fall back on.

READ Elder Bednar's talk HERE!

WATCH THE VIDEO!

The Gospel has everything to offer us.  If only people would test it out and see for themselves, the blessings it has to offer.  I know the Gospel has these things to offer because I have seen it work firsthand.  I have witnessed  the divinity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw and  I have no doubts of that!

Joseph Smith's First Vision of God & Jesus Christ

Hope all is well, stay close to the Lord.

Love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week: Alma 36:24-25 (24) Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

(25) Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;

My favorite quote this week: 

"I need thee ev'ry hour;

Stay thou nearby.

Temptations lose their pow'r

When thou art nigh." (I Need Thee Every Hour - Hymn #98 v.2)

Week 72- HE is the GIFT! #ShareTheGift

Tagging, branding, and castrating cows!!  OUCH!

Hellooooooo!!

I am happy to say that I am still alive and well (and 15lbs heavier) after having FIVE Thanksgiving meals this past week!!  Life of a Utah Salt Lake City missionary! Haha  They take good care of us :)

Thanksgiving "card" from my family! lol

So now that Thanksgiving is over, we roll into the great season of CHRISTMAS! What a wonderful time of the year. The Spirit is more constantly in the air. Why? Because there is MORE Christ! Mas in Spanish means… more! Get it? Haha I thought it was pretty clever!

For this wonderful Christmas holiday, the Missionary Council of the Church (or the First Presidency and the 12) have put forth a HUGE initiative. If you haven't already seen anything about it (which I’m guessing isn't true), it's called "HE is the Gift.”  Emphasis on the HE.  Because CHRIST is the gift.  A gift that is given free to all of us, if we choose to accept it.  Christ is the whole reason we even have Christmas in the first place! So many people are forgetting that.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in the money, gifts, and shiny wrapping paper. We must remember Him!

The Church is doing so many things to get this initiative to as many people as possible, including buying a billboard in Times Square NYC for all of December, buying the YouTube headline advertisement for a day on December 7th, making an amazing video, and making hundreds of thousands of pass-along cards for missionaries and members to hand out to their friends and families! It's crazy!! 

If you haven't seen the video, you can watch here.  

Also visit HE is the GIFT mormon.org/christmas 

Once you have seen the video, please use all your Social Media to post, share, and invite others by using the hashtag #ShareTheGift   Spread the word!!! :) Social Media is going to be a huge game changer for the Hastening of the Work. The Lord is in charge and is taking things to the next level.  Prepare yourselves!

This past Sunday while sitting on the pews in church, I felt a little tug on my shirt and I turned to see a small boy who drew a picture of me on his paint app on his IPad.  He was so proud of it!  Just another great reminder that we as members of His church, are being watched constantly.  Our family and friends (whether we can tell or not) are always looking towards us as an example.  Let us continue to follow in the steps of our Savior and be a "light" unto the world.

A couple of days ago I was able to attend the Temple with a recent convert named Sandy.  She is from one of my last areas! She was baptized before I came into the area, so I had the privilege to work with her on some of the "New-member discussions."  I am so grateful for her and her desire to come closer to the Savior. The Temple is what it's all about!  It's how we "endure to the end". The Temple is the goal!

Sandy (in pink) and her family the Tadler Family!  

They are awesome!

"Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord,

 I’ll share thy love again, according to thy word.

 I shall give love to those in need;

 I’ll show that love by word and deed:

 Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed." - Because I Have Been Given Much (Hymn 219)

"Because I Have Been Given Much" performed by Alex Boyé

What an awesome song!  We sang it this past Sunday and this verse really stood out to me.  We can find so much joy in serving others. We must always do our best to do as the Savior and turn outwards, rather than inwards in all situations.

Love you all! Keep up the good work. Hope you have a wonderful week. Stay close to the Lord and I promise he'll bless you.

~Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week: "And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise." (1 Nephi 4:14)