8/28/18 | Zone Conference! President McMurray is the man!!

  Another great week as a missionary here in Casper Wyoming!  I’m lovin it! We had a great lesson with the random man, Ken, and his wife this past Tuesday.  We talked about what he has learned so far.  We had a great discussion about this, and what the plan is going forward!  Ken wants to continue to progress and learn so he can get baptized and sealed to his wife, who is returning to activity!  How amazing is that?  I mentioned this last week, that they just moved here from Las Vegas, and they just showed up to church last week.  Miracles!  We will be teaching him again tonight again, so that will be awesome!
     I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Fuller this past Wednesday, and we had a pretty good day together!  We did some nice quality service at a thrift shop, and had to help out some other missionaries at a service too.  We had a very strange lesson with some people we’ve been working with as well.  Their son attended, and he has some strange views....... we weren’t able to teach them to effectively, but we are hoping our next lesson goes better.  We went Tracting after dinner, and we were able to find four people with interest, and they all accepted copies of The Book of Mormon!  So awesome!  The last 30 minutes of the day, 8:30-9:00 we didn’t have many people answer, and those who did weren’t too excited about seeing us, but we were grateful for the four people who were nice and interested!  So many blessings!  I love it!
     Elder Godfrey and Elder Fuller had to go practice their musical number, so we met them up at the Morado Building, and the Zone Leaders were there with another set of elders setting up for Zone Conference.  So we helped them out while those guys practiced.  We headed to go and Weekly Plan, and we got a message from Elder Tippetts!  He was in Casper visiting, so he came and said hi to us.  It was so fun!  I was able to meet his parents, and they are just as amazing as I thought they would be!  We had a great visit, and it was so nice that Sister Tippetts sent you guys a Happy Anniversary video from me!  Glad I could wish my wonderful parents a happy anniversary!  Man do I love the Tippett family, they're amazing!  Glad they could say hello to Elder Godfrey and I.
     We had our Zone Conference last Friday, and it was just as amazing as I was expecting!  We had amazing trainings by President and Sister McMurray, as always, and some amazing trainings from the assistants and STL’s. We learned a lot about the importance of Diligence and working with members!  President McMurray shared a General Conference Talk by Elder F. David Stanley from April 1993.  Wow, this was powerful!  If you have time, go find it on the Gospel Library!  Truly amazing!  It is our decision to joyfully endure to the end!  We need to all make that decision and do what is necessary to remain happy in this life!  Overall it was incredible!   Crazy thing is I was asked to give my departing testimony......... wow, how crazy..... but it went very well!  I’m so glad I had the opportunity to bear my testimony to the zone.  We had a nice training from the Zone Leaders in our Zone Breakout session, and they invited us to talk with everyone!  I love that!  I had the chance to see the Bakers from Riverton, they were visiting for our Zone Conference.  It was so fun to see them!  Elder Godfrey and I were the last interviews, so we waited and talked with Sister McMurray until that time came.  Sister McMurray is awesome!  We had some great discussions.  It was finally my turn for my interview.  This interview with President McMurray was absolutely incredible!  We talked about a lot of things to help me stay on the covenant path.  Such amazing advice and counsel!  He shared a scripture that really impacted me that I wanted to share with you.  It is Mosiah 2:41 which states,

41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

      The key to being happy in our lives is keeping the commandments!  Do all that God needs us to do!  How amazing is that?  He invited me to follow God’s Commandments, and to do the little things each day and week to do so.  I will heed upon his counsel!  I would invite you guys to think about any way you can keep God’s Commandments for us, and how you can better do the small and simple things to build up your testimony each day.  You will be blessed as you do so!  Anyways, just some thoughts from this scripture.  President McMurray, I’m truly convinced, the best mission president on planet earth!  Bold statement, but with the amount of love, power, and conviction that comes when he testifies and teaches you is astounding!  I love him and Sister McMurray so much!  After our interview, it was about 7:30 when we got out.  President asked us if we had dinner plans, and we told him that dinner had never gotten back to us.  He offered to take us out to eat!  How nice of him!  We followed them over to Dsasumo Thai and Sushi, and boy was it good!  We had some great talked with President and Sister McMurray over dinner, it was great.  I’m so grateful for them both, they are so kind.  What a treat to end off an incredible day!
      On Saturday, a member family had us over for dinner and they have this new foreign exchange student that just came here to go to school.  She is from Moldova!  So cool!  It is between Romania and Ukraine.  We had caught wind of this a few weeks ago, so we had the assistants bring up a Romanian copy of The Book of Mormon for this girl, Julia.  After we ate with the family and got to know her, we had a great lesson about Alma 32:21 centered on Faith!  We gave Julia the Romanian copy of The Book of Mormon, and had her follow along in her own language!  (They speak Romanian in Moldova:) It was really cool!  The Spirit was definitely present.  The family attended a friend’s child of record baptism, so she has already seen a baptism, and she came to church yesterday!  The bishop welcomed her from over the pulpit, so she felt very welcomed!  Amazing!  We are hoping she learns more and gains a desire to eventually enter into the waters of baptism.  Baby steps, but she will continue to learn and have a desire to be baptized eventually!  Julia is so ready!  I love little miracles like these! :)
      We had Jeri come to Sacrament Meeting as well with her returning to activity member friend Brother Thomas!  That is exciting!  Four weeks in a row!  Long live the streak!!!  Hopefully she continues to attend.  Julia, the foreign exchange student, came as well.  Super awesome!  Ken didn’t make it.... sadly, but we should see him tonight and see what is up!  

       We received a referral from a member from another ward, and we are going to contact the guy tonight, stay tuned to hear how that goes next week! :)

       While we were eating dinner with President McMurray, a random senior couple missionaries came up in conversation, and apparently president had been looking for this couple for a few months.  They are in our ward, and work at the interpretive trails center up here in Casper!  They are apparently assigned to our mission, so president was eager to meet them.  Him and Sister McMurray visited them last Saturday, and invited them to Zone Conference and district meetings!  So now Elder and Sister Thorup are in our district!  How fun!  We called them up and invited them to our next district meeting, so that should be fun!  Great news, and glad we found them.  Heavenly Father definitely guided our conversation to talk about this senior couple so they could start being a part of everything!  I love it!  (Hope this all makes sense haha)

     
In D&C 58:26-28 it says,

26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

       

       It is our choice to act, we are agents unto ourselves!  Choose this day to serve God forever and always!  I know that I will do this, and I hope and pray that we can all become true servants and disciples of Jesus Christ!  I love you guys, and I hope you have another fantastic week! 

Love,

Elder Bailey

Pics:

1: Cam the Man!

2: 5 generations!  Love these guys!

3. Brother and Sister Baker from Riverton!

4. Dinner with President and Sister McMurray!

5. Nice bear we found

6. Pday hike today!

8/21/18 | California's making us Smokey!!!

 What a great week!  As you can tell by the title of my email, Casper has been super smokey, especially the last couple of days!  It has been super weird, sad to think how many fires are happening around.  Hope they get put out soon!  Other than the smoke and some rain, it has been a great week!  Like I mentioned last week, I had the opportunity to perform another Baptismal interview for man named Eric.  It was so amazing to hear Eric’s testimony and how he found out for himself that The Book of Mormon is the word of God, Joseph Smith and Russell M. Nelson are prophets of God, and that this is Jesus Christ’s church on the earth today!  What an amazing thing to hear someone bear testimony about!  I love it!  Every time I hear someone’s testimony, it strengthens and reaffirms my own, because of the strong spirit that it invites!  I love this gospel, I love my Savior, and I am grateful for my opportunity to be a full time missionary!
     The second counselor in the bishopric in the Casper 9th Ward, Brother Whitlock, brought us with him to share a message with two people last Wednesday.  It was awesome to be out with a member to visit those in need.  With one of the people we visited, we were able to share a brief message about our Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement!  Truly amazing!  The other individual we visited we did not have time to share a message, but we listened intently to what she had to say, and administered the sacrament to her because she cannot attend church regularly.  It was very neat to visit these people!  Brother Whitlock brought us out to lunch afterwards, so that was so nice of him to do!  I love the members here, they are awesome!
       We were Tracting this past week, and decided to use the last five minutes until we had to head to dinner to walk down a street and talk to anyone who was outside.  We met this man, and he let us talk with him a little about the Restoration.  He listened, but politely told us that he was not interested.  We asked him if he knew of anyone that could use an uplifting message or who was going through a rough time that we could reach out to?  He thought for a second, and said that there was someone from work.  He told us he didn’t know his address, but that he would text it to us.  So we gave him our number.  Honestly, we did not expect him to text us.  We hoped he did, but usually when people have taken our number in the past, they don’t call us or text us.  The next day however, we got a call!  We had no idea who it was, then he said “I’m the guy you talked to yesterday on the street!”  We were a little shocked, but glad he called!  He told us that he got the address and would text it to us.  But he said it was funny that the guy was already Mormon, but would love to have us stop by!  Crazy right?!  Turns out he is in another ward, so we told the missionaries to go visit him.  He is an inactive member who has a desire to come back.  So amazing that we were guided to that guy to get in contact with this member!  Cool little miracle!
      We received a referral for an inactive lady in our ward who wanted us to stop by.  She had recently left her place and is staying in a motel in a sketchy part of town until she find a permanent residence within our ward again.  We met her at the motel, and there were a ton of very interesting people there!  When we got there, a lady’s car had died.  So we helped her push her dead car into a parking spot.  We met on the balcony of the motel and read Alma 7:10-13 with the inactive lady and talked about Jesus Christ and His Atonement with her.  She expressed a great desire to attend church and start to come back to church!  How amazing!  We have another lesson with her this Thursday, so we are excited to meet with her again!  That same night we taught Jerri and Brother Thomas.  Jerri is not a member. Her and Brother Thomas have been best friends for years, and we are reading the Doctrine and Covenants with them!  We had another great lesson with them, and they came to church again for the third week in a row!  We truly know that our visits are helping them continue to progress in the gospel!  I love it.  We met with them every Thursday night, so that will be another great lesson again this week!
       After those lessons that night, we went out to contact some of the people with interest we are working with, and we set up many return appointments and talked to a man in a trailer park who accepted a copy of The Book of Mormon!  We actually met all of our daily finding goals after dinner, so that was a huge blessing and miracle!  It is amazing how the Lord provides the people and a way to further his work on His timetable, that is an amazing thing to witness daily!  

       On Saturday we had a lesson with the recent convert in our ward, Scott!  He took ur to eat lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, and then we had a lesson at his apartment afterwards.  He just received his patriarchal blessing last Sunday, and he loves it!  He has now received new guidance and instruction on how he will go forth and serve God for the rest of his life.  It was amazing to hear his thoughts about his blessing and answer any questions he had about it.  Patriarchal blessings are truly amazing!  I would encourage and invite you guys to take it out and study it this week.  I have been studying mine a lot recently, and have found new knowledge and guidance as I’ve prayed and studied about it.  Patriarchal blessings are incredible!  I love them!  If you haven’t received one yet, talk to your bishop about it and work towards receiving your own!  It will change your life and your perspective!  I have felt a tremendous amount of God’s love for me as I’ve studied mine!  You will too I promise! 

       That night we had a “drop/stop teaching” party!  (Wasn’t really a party, it was kind of sad, but this helped us be happy about it!). We tried visiting a lot of people with interest, and they were not interested anymore.  They will be someday, and we hope and pray that they will remember their interaction with us!  God will provide another chance for them to receive the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ again!  All on the Lord’s timetable!

       This past Sunday, we had two people being taught attend sacrament meeting!  After the Casper 9th wards sacrament meeting, our Bishop came up to us and introduced us to two random people we haven’t ever met before.  He told us that they wanted to meet with us.  We got talking with them, and they have just moved to Casper within the past week, and Ken is not a member of the church!  His wife is a returning active member, and Ken wants to be taught and be baptized!  Amazing!  Heavenly Father has blessed us with an elect person to teach!  We have a lesson with Ken and his wife tonight at 7, we can’t wait to teach him!  It will be a fantastic lesson!  Wahoo!  I love these small but incredible miracles!!! 

       Yesterday, we had four lessons set up, and they were all pretty solid lessons we had set a few days prior.  Throughout the whole day, everything went wrong...... all four lessons ended up cancelling, and it was a bit sad, but just a normal day as a missionary! We pressed forward and made the best of it.  We hope we can meet with those four people latter this or next week.  Crazy how sometimes our days just don’t go according to plan, but God is still mindful of each of us.  He knew those lessons were going to cancel, but we still had a good day through all the cancellations.  I love this work!  

       I was reading in 3 Nephi this past week.  I wanted to share these scriptures.  3 Nephi 14: 7-8, 13-14,

7 Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat;

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

       These are truly amazing!  I love that promise, that as we ask, seek, and knock, we will receive answers to our prayers!  Interesting thing is, what do all three of these words require?  Action!!  It needs to be our choice to act, choose to pray and utilize the gift of prayer in our lives!  Those last two verses are very profound as well.  It is easy to be disobedient, and follow the path to destruction, but it is hard to follow the narrow path to eternal life!  As we choose to act and pray to our Heavenly Father fervently, and do all that is necessary to stay obedient and keep our testimonies strong, we will be able to stay on that narrow strait path to eternal life!  I know that Jesus Christ is at the helm of The Church, I am grateful for this Gospel that has been provided for each of us.  I hope you all have a great week, love you!  Thanks for all the support!

Love,

Elder Bailey 

Pics:

1: found this bird in the middle of the road while we were walking, he didn’t move so I thought it’d be a NICE pic with him, haha (he may have been sick with something, so I kept my distance!) 

8/14/18 | Casper 9th Ward comin in clutch!

What a week!  This was legit one of the fastest weeks of my entire mission, all of our days were absolutely packed with stuff to do!  We didn’t even have time for Companionship Study most of the week, it was that packed!  Elder Godfrey is such a funny guy!  He is an exact copy of Mike Burr, it is honestly a little scary how much they are the same.  So it feels like I am companions with my cousin, so that has been fun!
    Last Wednesday was our transfer day, and my previous companion headed down to Cheyenne.  I was companions with Elder Fuller for a little bit of the day.  We did studies together, I helped him clean his apartment from his last companions, and we tried for a service opportunity but they cancelled on us.  We had a good time trying to contact some people with interest as well!  We were able to go to the Stake Center and meet our new companions, and Elder Godfrey seemed like such a stud!  After the past week of being his companion, my guesses were definitely on point, he is such a stud!  I love him, and we are doing some great work.  I’m grateful he wants to be diligent, obedient, and work hard, what a miracle!
     We got a call from the bishop in the Casper 9th Ward the next day, and he told us that the ward council had set up a bunch of appointments for us so that we could be effective and busy while we are serving in their ward!  I’ve never had a whole ward council come together and set up appointments for us, that was just amazing!  This is partly why our days have been so packed, because of all the appointments we have had with less active, and part member families.  It has truly been a miracle to behold!  I’m grateful that I have the chance of serving in the Casper 9th Ward again!  We’ve literally been fed lunch every day this past week except for Sunday and Saturday, so the members are truly helping us stay busy and productive!  Actually, while I was writing this email, we got a call from a member who wants us to have lunch with him and an inactive member at a restaurant in 30 minutes, that is how incredible this ward is!!  I can’t express how grateful I am for them, they are going to help progress the work within their ward so well!  Casper 9th Ward is truly comin in clutch!
   I had the privilege to perform two more Baptismal Interviews this week, and it was again some great experiences!  As I have said before, I LOVE performing these interviews and hearing the testimonies of every individual who has a desire to be baptized.  Each interview always reminds me of Doctrine and Covenants 20:37, which states,

37 And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning the manner of baptism--All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.

     I love this scripture!  It is amazing to see individuals have all of these qualifications within their hearts, and truly have that desire to be baptized!  It has been such a blessing to have the opportunity to perform so many of them as I have served throughout my mission, especially up here in Casper.  There is actually one tonight that we are going to perform tonight as well, so we are looking forward to that!
     One of the appointments the Casper 9th Ward set up for us was an appointment with a returning member.  He is a single man who sincerely wants to change!  We got to know him, and had a lesson centered on Jesus Christ and His Atonement! We read Alma 7:10-13 with him, and asked him how he has seen the Atonement affect him in his life.  The Spirit was strong within his trailer home, and it was amazing to see how it touched his heart.  We invited him to read, pray, and attend church.  He told us he would love to attend church, and we asked if we could text him and remind him about attending on Sunday morning, and he said that would be fantastic!  We texted him and he wasn’t able to attend, but we are looking forward to our next visit.  Reading The Book of Mormon truly invites the Holy Ghost!
      This past week we got a strange call from another set of missionaries.  They needed us to pick them up because one of them got bit by a Saint Bernard (a.k.a. Big doggy...)!  It was actually Elder Burke who got bit, he was one of my past companions!  We took him to urgent care and he got all checked out and didn’t have any issues!  However, the next day we got another call at around noon from the same companionship.  We had just gotten done with a returning active member visit with a member of our Elders Quorum Presidency.  Elder Burke asked if we could come pick them up.  He kinda sounded a bit nervous, so we asked them why.  They proceeded to tell us the address to where they were at.  We asked again why they needed a ride, then they finally opened up and said that Elder Burke’s companion had been attacked pretty viciously by a Pit bull, and Elder Burke had been bitten as well.  These elders just can’t get a break!!  Haha.  We met them at the urgent care once again, and the neighbors of the people who’s dog bit them drove them there.  Elder Burke’s companion had a blood soaked towel wrapped around his calf where he got bit.  He got out of the car and showed us the bite.  It was really bad...... like super deep and bleeding all over.  The Elder didn’t have his insurance on him, so we discussed it with the mission nurse.  She told us to go to the ER at the hospital, so they could start treating him, then they could worry about insurance later.  We did, and had to rush to attend the baptisms we performed the interviews for!  He got all treated and fixed up, and everything turned out good.  But that bite on his leg was super bad....... sheesh...... Glad both of them are okay.  That’s probably the craziest thing that happened this week!  Haha.
      We had two of the people we are teaching attend church this past week, so that was amazing!  Also, the recent convert we have been working with in the Casper 6th Ward received his patriarchal blessing as well, how amazing!!  He was so excited to receive this!  He cannot wait to get it so he can read it.  How amazing is that, to see Scott’s progress within the gospel, even after he was baptized!  So incredible!  

       In my studies this my week, 3 Nephi 9:21-22 stood out to me!  It says,

21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.

22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.

       These verses  reminded me of how much Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, truly loves each of us personally!!!  He gave His life for us, so we can live with our Heavenly Father once again.  He is our ultimate source of happiness and peace, but we have to be humble and submissive in order to inherit all the blessings God has for us here on earth!  You may ask, how do we know how to be humble and submissive?”  Well, guess what, we honestly have the perfect example in our lives, that is our Savior Jesus Christ!  As we always remember what He has done for us, and follow His example, we can become more like Him and our Heavenly Father, and in turn come closer to them both!  I love this gospel, I love being a missionary, and I am grateful for Jesus Christ in my life!  Have a fantastic week! 

Love,

Elder Bailey 

Pics:

1: while we were doing service, we found this nice thing to put on our dash.  We named him Juan Pablo :)

2: Don’t really have any other pics from this past week, but I like this gospel pic a lot! :)

8/7/18 | Staying here in Casper!

 Wow, I honestly cannot believe how fast this past transfer went by, it is so crazy how fast time truly flies!  Tomorrow is transfers, and we found out last Saturday night that Elder Williamson and I will not be companions anymore, and that he is headed down to Cheyenne.  I found out that my new companions name is Elder Godfrey!  I kind of know him, but not really.  He came out a little over a year ago, and I’m excited to work with him!  This next transfer we will be covering not only the Casper 6th Ward, but now we are covering the Casper 9th Ward too!  So I get to serve in the Casper 9th Ward once again!  That will be pretty fun.  Both of these wards meet at the same time in two separate buildings, so it may be a bit tricky to work out, but we will probably switch off every week!  We now have a car as well because the ward boundaries are so far apart.  Things should be good, I’m looking forward to this next transfer!  Can’t wait to make it the best one yet!!!
      This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to perform two Baptismal interviews for a set of sisters.  Man do I love participating in this way, and seeing the amount of conversion with each individual, it is amazing!  Elder Williamson and I walked into the church building and we saw the little girl, Tori, who was going to be baptized, with her mother.  They were happy to see us!  They started to talk with us and they asked us if we have ever baptized anyone before.  Both me and Elder Williamson replied that we have not.  They proceeded to ask me if I would perform the baptism for Tori!  I told them I would love to!  It was a bit of a shock to the both of us, but how amazing!  Her Baptismal interview went absolutely amazing, she was so ready to be baptized!  The next interview went just a good, the individual is very ready to make this covenant with God!  Tori’s baptism this past Saturday was awesome!  It was so strange actually being the person to baptize someone.  It was the neatest experience.  I’m grateful that Heavenly Father provided me with this opportunity to perform Tori’s baptism!  It was so fun to see how she was so happy and shiny after her baptism.  I will remember that day for a long time.  What a miracle!
      We were able to have a dinner appointments with the Howard’s, some members of our ward.  For our lesson afterwards we shared the #BecauseofHim Easter video from a few years back.  Man does that video invite the Spirit!  As they watched the video the Spirit filled the room!  We then asked these members how Jesus Christ has been an impact in their lives?  Their responses were amazing.  They bore powerful testimonies to us of our Savior Jesus Christ and what He meant to them.  They both were in tears near the end, and the Spirit was so strong!  I’m grateful for Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!  Without Him we are truly nothing.  He gave His life for each of us, and as we remember that great and last sacrifice and utilize the Atonement in our lives, we can truly be blessed!  I cannot express how much I love Him!  I hope each of us remembers what Jesus has done for us.  He is the way!
      We said goodbye to a lot great missionaries and dear friends of mine.  Elder Tippetts, Elder Judd, Elder Campbell, Elder Littlewood, Elder Johnson, etc.  Some of these elders were past companions, but all were my friends.  Sad to see them go, but there comes a time when you can’t be a full time missionary anymore....... can you believe that!?  I truly feel that I’ve done this my whole entire life and that this is where I’m going to stay forever.  Time comes and goes, but the Gospel will always remain constant, what a blessing that is to each of us!  I’m grateful for the time I have to be a full time missionary and to be able to teach The Gospel of Jesus Christ!  So far my mission has changed my life, and I cannot wait to see the changes that are still in store for me!
      We had another lesson with Angel last Friday, and it went so well!  We focused on studying The Book of Mormon, and helping her understand it a little better.  We brought the Marshall’s, the fellowshipping family who is picking her up to bring her to church each Sunday, and they were able to help explain to her in kid terms what we were reading in 1 Nephi 3.  Angel is understanding the scriptures better now!  We invited her to read and pray, and she told us she was going to do better at both!  Amazing!  She will get baptized, hopefully she can be prepared while I’m still here, but if not that is okay. :)
      This past Saturday we had some good time after Tori’s baptism to walk around.  A recent convert in our ward, Scott, picked us up for the baptism, attended it with us, then drove is home.  He loved seeing another baptism and supporting other new members, he told us it reminds him of when he was baptized just seven weeks ago, how amazing!  We walked towards dinner and talked to everyone we could on the way!  We were able to talk with a bunch of people, but no one wanted to hear our message.  It was hot, no one listened, but it was a great time serving the Lord and doing our best!  I love it!  We had a great dinner, and talked to more people on the way back with little to no people interested as well.  I believe and know that success is truly in the invitation!  We cannot force people to believe, we can only invite.  I am so grateful for Heavenly Father’s plan for us, and how agency is such a huge role in that plan.  

       Elder Williamson and I had the opportunity to bear our testimonies this past Fast Sunday.  I’m so grateful I did!  It was amazing to testify of Jesus Christ and His Gospel! In my studies this past week, I read in Helaman 13.  This is when Samuel the Lamanite is prophesying to the wicked Nephites.  It is all centered upon Jesus Christ and is amazing!  Specifically in Helaman 13:11 which states,

11 But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God I will turn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus saith the Lord, blessed are they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that repenteth not.

       Jesus Christ has provided us with The Atonement, but it is our choice to act upon what He has already given and paid for and to repent each and every day!  All we need to do is choose, and have a willing heart.  Jesus Christ and His Everlasting Atonement will always be there for us and He is constantly beckoning us to utilize it in our lives!  May we all choose to do so and participate in the greatest thing to ever happen to mankind!  I love you guys, and I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Bailey 

Pics:

1-2: Tori’s baptism! 

3-4: Western Trails Museum today!