September 29th, 2009 (Email)

Hello again!
Elder Harris and I had an amazing week last week. On Tuesday Elder Craig C. Christensen of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy came to the mission and taught us about what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. It was an amazing conference and I learned a whole lot. He taught us that the Atonement is the substance of everything we do and that we (the missionaries) are the evidence of the reality of the Atonement. He also taught us how to receive more personal revelation during our studies. Elder Christensen was really happy with the work going on in our mission and he said that the only suggestion he had for us was for us to ask the Lord for more miracles. Elder Harris and I applied that and a miracle happened.
Jessica Maulion was baptized on Sunday!! After a lot of prayer and thought and some revelation during the mission conference Elder Harris and I realized that we needed to invite Jessica to be baptized on September 27th. She prayerfully considered it and she followed through. She's made friends with some amazing sisters from the ward. About a month ago I felt an impression that Jessica needed to meet one of the sisters from the ward named Yolanda Fulcher. So we brought her to some of the lessons with Jessica and they turned out to have a lot in common. Sister Fulcher speaks spanish and she's a convert and her previous religion was catholicism. Sister Fulcher helped us a lot and I know that the portion of the Spirit that she brought to those lessons really helped convert Jessica. So we asked Sister Fulcher to give one of the talks at the baptismal service. Jessica looked really positive on Sunday. A lot of people from the ward came to support Jessica at the baptism that night. Jessica had asked me to baptize her so I did that and everything went well. Jessica couldn't stop smiling after she was baptized so I know that she was ready for that big step that day.
Elder Choi, Elder Clegg, Elder Harris and I all gave talks during sacrament meeting. Elder Harris and I talked about virtue. While studying I realized that I needed to speak about virtue in relation to having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Preach My Gospel says that virtue is prerequisite for that Gift. Sister Christensen during the mission conference taught us that virtue means "power" and that it may have been the Savior's virute that made Him who He was in the pre-existence. Here's my talk in a nutshell: Through the ordinance of confirmation it is made possible for us to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Through the power of virtue we can remain worthy of that gift. Virtue is power over your thoughts, words and actions- power over all that which could offend the Spirit. I shared an experience with the ward about when I went to Flaming Gorge with the priests last summer- the time we saw all those rattlesnakes. While on that trip we saw several rattlesnakes. One evening I went hiking with a couple of the priests and we started to realize that the snakes were waking up so we headed off to find the trail. All we had was one little flashlight to guide us through the rocks and the bushes. We saw one huge rattlesnake on our way so that made us a little more anxious to find the path. When we finally got to the trail it was night but it was easier to see with the flashlight while on the path. Suddenly we heard a loud crazy noise and we immediately saw a really aggressive rattlsnake right in front of us on the trail. The priests wanted to go off the path to go around the rattlesnake but I told them to stay put and wait for the snake to leave- after all, we'd be able to see that snake much easier than the ones that were probably in the bushes off the trail, right? The priests were eventually convinced to stay on the trail and the rattlesnake slithered off into the bushes, which enabled us to safely walk back to the campsite. I think you can already see the spiritual significance in this story in relation to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost - it's easier to detect the things that will harm you when you have the Spirit guiding you on the path to eternal life. Virtuous living is what will keep you on that path. I also shared an example about how when I go running with Elder Harris every morning we pass a big poster of a lady with a revealing leg. I use scripture memorization to help me concentrate away from that poster. The ward thought that story was funny.
Thanks for all your advice for last week's number dilemma. Tell Mogie thanks for sharing that miraculous mission experience with me. After a couple days I started to realize that I didn't need to worry about anything. I'm doing my best so whatev. I e-mailed President and asked what I needed to do and he hasn't said anything to me so I think that means that he thinks I'm okay. President Sexton came to Jessica's baptism! That was a surprise. He called a little bit before the service and asked if it was still happening and said that he was planning on attending. That was neat.
So time for Mom's questions: Last week I cut Elder Harris' hair and he cut mine. We both think we did splendid jobs. I think I'm good with my stuff for now. Got some groceries today and I'll have more dinero on my card next week. Dogs are doing better now. I just have to fake being short and tiny when I'm around them. We're probably going to drop that spanish family tonight because they're just NOT keeping any commitments! Argh! Sister Heather Norris went through the temple and she looks like she's feeling great. Her health is doing a lot better now and she's going to General Conference this weekend and then she's going through the Salt Lake temple. I think we'd only get to go through the temple with our converts. The Norris famly's doing just dandy. And yep we get to see all the sessions of conference this weekend yay!
Thanks for all your prayers and support!
I love you!
Love,
Elder Tyler Lewis