First area - Burbank, CA

We got a fun call last night from a retired couple in Burbank, CA.

They had just fed Mikah and his companion, enchiladas.  Good home cooking.  Mikah had said he was getting tired of the MTC food and enchiladas is on of his favorites.  Brother Smith asked where Mikah was from and Brother Smith had gone to most of high school at Boise High school before moving back to Twin Falls.  Of course, he gave us and Mikah accolades. Does anyone not? I guess they wouldn't say anything.  He's on a bike for this area.

Letter from Sister Hall

Hello from Sunny Southern California!

Well, technically it was a bit hazy today, but it is always sunny for us when new missionaries arrive!

Everyone arrived safe and sound, and as you can see from the picture, we had a large group—24 new missionaries and 12 of those are sisters.  It may be the record  number of sisters arriving in the history of the mission.

President Hall, the assistants and some of our senior couples met them at the airport and took them to the San Fernando Stake Center. 

There they had some pizza, filled out some paperwork, watched a safety video and then we sent them out with a great temporary companion to find people to teach.
They did a great job.  I’m sure you’ll get the details from your missionary, but we love that first day of finding and talking with everyone.  Miracles and baptisms happen because of the efforts of the new missionaries who’ve been here only hours.

Tomorrow is the transfer meeting.  Everyone in the mission who is being moved to a new area will be together to receive their assignments.  Over half of the mission will meet tomorrow and it is a great way to feel a part of this great mission.  President Hall has just finished interviewing all the new missionaries and will spend considerable time tonight on his knees determining which missionary will go with which trainer.  As you pray for your missionary, pray for their companion as well. 

We are super excited to love and work with all these wonderful servants of the Lord.

Love,

Sister Hall

MTC - First week

Hello guys!

 

So, first, we just heard yesterday that the email policy has changed: we are now allowed to email friends, family, converts, etc. SO!  If anyone wants my emails, just tell them to send me an email and I can add them to the mailing list on my end.

 

Now, for the answers to your "dumb" questions:

 

I got very lucky with my residence, all of the elders in our room have their own bed, and two of the elders in our district have their room to themselves.  As for how I'm sleeping, I am sleeping quite well, but I think I'm doing better than some of the other elders in my room, but that was during the first few days. Especially since I'm such a heavy sleeper. ;-) One thing, though. The gym shorts I packed were actually too short.  I picked some up at the bookstore, though, so you don't need to send any.

 

I'm enjoying the food a lot because for the most part they prepare very good food and you can get as much as you want.  And, of course, it's already prepared.

 

My companion is awesome!  His name is Elder Mathews, and he's from a small town near St. George.  He's just a little bit taller than me.  We actually were chosen to be the zone leaders from our district.

 

It's not quite what I thought it was going to be, but at the same time it's better.  I'm learning way more than I thought I would, and there's so many great missionaries in our district.

 

We have 12 missionaries in our district; 6 elders and 6 sisters.  Almost all of the elders are going to California San Fernando, but two of them are going to the California Arcadia Mission.  All of the sisters are going to Canada Halifax, and all but one of the sisters are from Canada.  Sister Lee is the only one from the States; she's from Las Vegas.  We are all loving our classes and teaching experiences.  I'm especially loving the other elders in my room. They're all great and really fun to be around.

 

Mom, that winshield is way more angled than all the other cars, it really bothered me too when I started that car.  What do you mean by it has more gas?  And don't let Connor drive it, he'll just make a mess of it. :-)

 

It's cold in the mornings, but we spend most of the morning inside.  By the afternoon, it warms up.  As for the scripture for my plaque, I found one that I really liked, but I don't have it with me.  I'll try to get it to you soon.

 

We got onto our missionary logon page and looked at the mission map; the mission is actually being split as of July 1, 2013.  It'll be just the San Fernando area, cutting off a few miles north of Santa Clarita.

 

Even though I can email everyone, it's still nice to get actual mail.  The DearElder.com site is great for that.  You should just be able to look up my name and they can get it to me, but just in case, my box number is 238.

 

We will be leaving the MTC next Monday at 8:00 AM.  I don't think I'll be able to email you, but I'll try to call from the airport.

 

I'm out of time, but I love you all and I will talk to you later!

 

Elder Mikah Chapman

 

On to the MTC

We got up bright and early (5 am) Wednesday morning to send Mikah off.  We decided we would have more time with him flying him down to the MTC then driving down.   It was emotional.  Connor hopes to leave next summer for his mission, so they boys will not see each other for three years or so.  For me that goodbye was the hardest to watch.  We have pictures to compare heights with Alexia and Trevor when he comes back.

It is an interesting feeling sending your first one off.  You hope they will do OK and remember the things you taught them.  At least we know he's heading in the right direction.

Mission farewell

                            

We it's finally here. Mikah is leaving on a mission.  G & G Chapman, cousin Ben Williams and his son, Julian, Uncle Steven and Aunt Silvia with their three children, Nicholas, Alex and Leslie came from out of town.  The Kuikens, Bonnie and Nate Hart, Carmen French, Camille McCashland, Alan Evans and Melanie Polcock came from outside the ward.  Aunt Connie Williams and cousin Cheryl Leithead called and checked in.

He did really well on his talk.  I hounded him for a few days.  Here's a copy.

President Monson said during this last General conference, “The purpose of mortality is to learn and to grow to be more like our Father.”

We are instructed not only to learn in schools and training programs, but also to increase our knowledge of the gospel through study and prayer.

During a training conference, President Boyd K Packer said, “I learned early on that there is great value in listening to experience in older people. I had a stake president once who said, "I always tried to be in the presence of great people." He was in a little town in Idaho, but he said, "If there was a lecturer coming or something special, I would always try to be there, because I could learn."

Which I think goes quite well with Proverbs 1:5, which says “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels”

In the topical guide under learning, it says to also see Mission of the Holy Ghost and Value of Scriptures. The holy ghost helps us to learn by witnessing of the truth of all things and bringing them to our remembrance.  The scriptures are an invaluable resource to learn the principles of the gospel needed to return to our Heavenly Father. The Savior says in D&C 19:23, “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.”

In the Feburary 2010 Ensign, Elder Bednar said, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ and the agency afforded to all of the Father’s children through the Redeemer’s infinite and eternal sacrifice are divinely designed to facilitate our learning.”  Without our free agency, we would have no ability to choose what or where to learn.  We have the freedom to learn whatsoever we desire and where we may learn it.

Now, it isn’t necessary (or even practical) to try to learn everything.  Some information is useful to have and put to use.  However, we should give priority to gospel principles which are essential to understand and live if we are to become more like our Heavenly Father.  A scripture mastery from the New Testament shows examples this in our time; in 2 Timothy 3 it says;

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...

7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We are here on earth to prepare for eternity; to learn things that are important in our lives and essential gospel principles, and to help others to learn and to come unto the gospel of Christ.

President Brigham Young only had 11 days of formal schooling, yet he knew that he had to learn the teachings of the gospel and the ways of the world. During his life, He was a furniture maker, a missionary, a colonizer, a governor, and a prophet.

President Young made the following statements to emphasize that our purpose in mortality is to learn:

1        “The religion embraced by the Latter-day Saints, if only slightly understood, prompts them to search diligently after knowledge. There is no other people in existence more eager to see, hear, learn, and understand truth.”

2        “Put forth your ability to learn as fast as you can, and gather all the strength of mind and principle of faith you possibly can, and then distribute your knowledge to the people.”

3        “We are in the school [of mortality] and keep learning, and we do not expect to cease learning while we live on earth; and when we pass through the veil, we expect still to continue to learn and increase our fund of information. That may appear a strange idea to some; but it is for the plain and simple reason that we are not capacitated to receive all knowledge at once. We must therefore receive a little here and a little there.”

⁴              “We might ask, when shall we cease to learn? I will give you my opinion about it: never, never.”

Elder Bednar proposed a test to determine our ability to learn and how willing we are to do so; “When you and I do not know what to do or how to proceed to achieve a particular outcome—when we are confronted with a problem that has no clear answer and no prescribed pattern for resolution—how do we learn what to do?”

In answer to Elder Bednar’s test, we should be like Nephi- after roaming in the wilderness for eight years and arriving at the land Bountiful, he was commanded by the Lord to build a ship to carry his family across the ocean to the Americas.  Having grown up in Jerusalem-an inland city- it was very likely that he had never seen a ship before.  It was unlikely that he knew how the ship should have been built to keep from sinking.  Undeterred, he asked the Lord where to find ore to make tools.  He was directed by the Lord as to how to build the ship.  He did not know how to sail a ship, but he knew that through prayer the Lord would teach him.

We may not have our knowledge base or ability to learn challenged quite as much as Nephi was, but our ability to learn will be tested continually in this life- especially in this time which we live in where technology is advancing very rapidly.

Our ability to learn is fantastic when we are effectively taught, but is severely hindered if we do not put it into action and have the desire to learn.  My junior year of high school, I took an online history course.  My parents and several of my teachers can tell you that I am not very good at actually studying and doing homework.  In most of my classes, I was able to get by because the course content was discussed in class.  In my history class, however, there was no classroom, and no real scheduled class time.  And honestly, I didn’t have much interest in that history class. If I find something that is more interesting or more suited to my skill set than classwork, it usually got done before homework.  And with my interests in computers, those projects almost always took longer than I planned.  These caused me problems; I finished the class with a B in the first semester and a C in the second semester.  I really don’t remember anything from that class either.

My parents will also tell you B’s and C’s are below my abilities, and they’re right.  In other classes, when I applied myself and wanted to do well, my grades were much better.  My classwork and learning in high school could be related to Laman and Lemuel’s learning of gospel principles.  They were content with the things of the world and were disinterested in anything pertaining to the gospel.  Several times, they lost sight of the gospel and murmured against their brothers and father.  When they were chastised, they returned to the straight and narrow, only to wander away again.

If we have a true desire to learn the principles of the gospel, then our understanding will be greater and we will be in a better position to receive blessings.  We cannot just sit in a class and let learning “happen” to us.  It is not a passive activity- we must be engaged in the process.  Not only must we be ready to understand what we are being taught, we must be willing to let the Holy Ghost testify to us of the truth.  We should also ask questions.  Asking questions is an important part of learning, because we then want to find the answers to those questions.  Many of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants was written in response to a question the prophet or brethren asked of the Lord.

Elder Bednar said, “We perhaps might be inclined to rely primarily upon our individual and collective capacity to reason, to innovate, to plan, and to execute. Certainly we must use our God-given abilities to the fullest, employ our best efforts, and exercise appropriate judgment as we encounter the opportunities of life. But our mortal best is never enough.”

We do not need to worry about our best being insufficient.  Heavenly Father will not leave us alone when we feel the most need for him. President Young said, “My knowledge is, if you will follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, every man and woman will be put in possession of the Holy Ghost. … They will know things that are, that will be, and that have been. They will understand things in heaven, things on the earth, and things under the earth, things of time, and things of eternity, according to their several callings and capacities.”

It is the Lord’s intention that we learn while we are here in this mortal state, and he has provided so many ways for that to be accomplished.  If we take upon ourselves the task of learning to learn, we will be better prepared for this life and the life to come.  I know that as we more fully learn the principles of the gospel, we will be blessed.

Guinea Pigs

                    

Proudly introducing Cody and Zac, respectively, to the Chapman family.

Alexia had a friend that was needing to find a new home for the guinea pigs.  I told her she had to keep her room picked up for a month and then I would think about it.  (She hasn't since then.)  I was thinking they were smaller, so when they arrived I was a bit surprised.  She used her birthday money to pay for them.  They are really sweet and don't require too much work.

Work and Self Reliance

How many of you are familiar with this booklet?  (For the Strength of Youth) How many of you have read it?  This year we are going to focus on the standards in the Strength of Youth.  We would like you to think about it as for the Strength of YOUth.

The first presidency has this to say about the study of this book:

We promise that as you keep the covenants you have made and these standards, you will be blessed with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, your faith and testimony will grow stronger, and you will enjoy increasing happiness.

Our Father in Heaven has placed great trust in you. He has a work for you to do. Seek His guidance in prayer, and counsel with your parents and leaders. The decisions you make now will set the course for much of what will follow during your mortal life and throughout eternity.

Today we are going to discuss Work and Self Reliance.

Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent.

Doctrine and Covenants 60:13

Work is honorable. Developing a good work ethic will help you contribute to the world and bring increased sense of self-worth.

What are some ways we can help our children and families develop a good work ethic?

Goals are a good way to develop work.  It’s the first of the year.  What are some of the goals you have set for yourself?  We need to set goals and be willing to work hard to achieve them. Develop self-discipline, be dependable and doing your best in all of your worthwhile pursuits.  Heavenly Father has given gifts and talents to each of us and knows what we are capable of achieving. Seeking His help and guidance will us achieve our goals.

The Lord has commanded us not to be idle. Idleness can lead to inappropriate behavior, damaged relationships, and sin.  What are some things, as sisters, we could be caught up in that would be considered idleness?

One of the blessings of work is developing self-reliance. When you are self-reliant, you use the blessings and abilities God has given you to care for yourself and your family and to find solutions for your own problems.

Lehi and his family, after wandering in the wilderness for eight years, came to a land they called Bountiful because it was a place of much fruit and wild honey. They came to a great sea, and they rejoiced unto the Lord because He had preserved them. After they had been in the land Bountiful for a space of many days, the Lord spoke to Nephi and said, “Arise, and get thee into the mountain.” (1 Ne. 17:7.)

Nephi obeyed the Lord; he went into the mountain and prayed. And the Lord commanded Nephi, “Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.” (1 Ne. 17:8.)

What did Nephi then do?  Did he say, “What?! I don’t even have the first idea of how to build ship.” “And, oh yeah, I left any tools I had back in Jerusalem.”

Then Nephi asked the Lord, “Whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” (1 Ne. 17:9).

The Lord instructed Nephi where he could find ore, but then Nephi was on his own. In 1 Nephi, chapter 17, we read:

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire. …

“And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.”

Why is this story so interesting?  Tells of an instance in which the Lord provided help but then stepped aside to allow one of His sons to exercise his own initiative.

Are there other stories that shows individuals using the blessings and abilities God has given them to care for themselves and their family and to find solutions for your own problems?

Nephi and the brass plates

Nephi and the broken arrow

Self-reliance does not mean that you must do all things on your own. To be truly self-reliant, you must learn how to work with others and turn to the Lord for His help and strength.  The Lord will help us in times of need, especially when we are committed to His work and respond to His will. But the Lord only helps those who are willing to help themselves. He expects His children to be self-reliant to the degree they can be.

Brigham Young instructed the Saints, “Instead of searching after what the Lord is going to do for us, let us inquire what we can do for ourselves.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1978, p. 293.)

Independence and self-reliance are important to our spiritual and temporal growth. Whenever we find ourselves in situations which threaten our self-reliance, what happens?  We feel our freedoms threatened. If we increase our dependence on anything or anyone except the Lord, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act. As President Heber J. Grant declared, “Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant.” (Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1937, p. 627.)

ELDER PERRY’S Family tradition:

My parents established a family tradition in our home which was fun for me in my early years and has become even more meaningful as I reflect back on it as the years have passed. On the first birthday of each child the family would gather in the living room. In the center of the living room floor, our parents would place articles for the one-year-old child to select. The selection to be made might indicate an interest the child would pursue in life. The articles were the Bible, a child’s bottle filled with milk, a toy, and a savings bank, filled with coins. The child was placed on one side of the room and the family on the other side. Family members would encourage the child to crawl toward the objects and make a selection. This was all in fun, of course.

Scriptures represent our need for spiritual nourishment.

In the scriptures, the Lord reveals His will to us. He has instructed His prophets to record His communications with them for our benefit. The scriptures have eternal values and are the foundation we can build a successful life on. We become more self-reliant when we study the scriptures, which teach the principles that provide a divine center to our lives.

We have the best text which has ever been written, or ever will be written, as our guide.

We can turn to 2 Kings, the fifth chapter, and learn about obedience.

We can study the life of Job and learn integrity.

King Benjamin’s address in Mosiah teaches industry

The life of Joseph, as told in Genesis 39, tells us what we should do when our standard of morality is being tested.

These are just a few examples of the lessons, can you think of others?

The bottle filled with milk symbolizes the physical body’s need for nourishment.

Our Welfare Services program has taught us to define the essential elements of temporal self-reliance. The elements are education; physical health; employment; home storage; resource management; and social, emotional, and spiritual strength.

FEBRUARY ACTIVITY

STRAWBERRY STORY

The toy represents the acquisition of things of the world.

We are bombarded with “acquire now and pay later”, no payments no interest until 2015. We live in an impatient world where everyone wants everything now, instant gratification over any kind of lasting satisfaction.

Using what we have wisely and extending their life will help us become more self-reliant. I’m sure there are many mothers in here that held or are holding on to clothes for a younger sibling.  Trevor is currently wearing a shirt that has been worn by both his brothers.

We live in a world blessed with so much abundance. Let us be certain that the resources with which we are blessed are never wasted.

The fourth item, the bank is a symbol of our financial well-being.

Who can give me a definition of interest?    Elder Perry’s boss gave this definition: Thems that understands it, earns it; and thems that don’t, pays it.”

Now it doesn’t take a genius to understand that before you can collect interest, you must first have some savings. Having savings while continuing to increase one’s standard of living requires understanding of one simple practice and then religiously applying it. After paying your tithing of 10 percent to the Lord, you pay yourself a predetermined amount directly into savings. That leaves you a balance of your income to budget for taxes, food, clothing, shelter, transportation, etc. It is amazing to me that so many people work all of their lives for the grocer, the landlord, the power company, the automobile salesman, and the bank, and yet think so little of their own efforts that they pay themselves nothing.

It is by consistently and regularly adding to your investments that you will build your emergency and retirement savings. This will add to your progress in becoming self-reliant.

The principle of self-reliance is spiritual as well as temporal. It is not a doomsday program; it is something to be practiced each and every day of our lives.