I get to stay another 6 weeks!

Hey fam!

Things are going so well here in Missoula!  The weather is fantastic and the people are out and about. It seems like now the sun is shining more everyone's spirits have been lifted.  We get to go hiking for exercise like every day and the views here truly are spectacular! I love that everything is all green :) also, why don't we have huckleberries in California? They are delicious! A member made us a huckleberry pie the other day and wow it was good :)

We are spending lots of time with all those that have been baptized recently to teach them the new member lessons. I love hearing each persons conversion story and how most people have had a real relationship with Christ but since they embraced the Gospel in His Church their relationship has increased exponentially.

We had dinner yesterday with a family in our ward and their neighbors. The husband is a member of the Church but has not come in years and she and her son are not members.  She has a strong testimony of the Bible and has found he teachings to be relevant to her in her life. We shared a lesson on the Book of Mormon and how it can strengthen our relationship. Truly the entire purpose of the Book of Mormon is to do just that.  She was fascinated and accepted a copy and said she will read and pray about it to know if it is true.  I love the effect the Gospel has on families! I am excited to meet with them again and watch how the doctrine of the Restoration of Christ's true Church blesses their lives.

When I first read the Book of Mormon I pondered often how a book that was written 2,000 years ago could be so relevant to me in my life.  For me, the answer didn't come until I was reading in Mormon chapter 8:35 which says, "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." I love how one of the authors of the book, Moroni, speaks directly to the reader and tell us that Christ showed us to him in a vision.  It makes perfect sense! He had thousands of plates and he and his father, Mormon, had to abridge what they say is only one one hundredth into what is now called, "The Book of Mormon."  The message of the record is perfectly congruent with this vision. Everything in the book teaches us to believe in Christ and His Atonement. I was not surprised a couple months ago when I learned Christ is mentioned every 1.7 verses in the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful to have this book and know with all my heart that it is true. I consider it an honor and privilege to be able to read it every single day.

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day and were able to take time to be grateful for the sacrifice of so many who made it possible for us to live in such a wonderful country today.

I love you all and am so grateful for your great love and support!

Elder Holland

Incredible week! :)

Hey Fam!

You know when things are going so well you can't help but just sit there and smile all the time?  I would def say that is how I feel about life as a Missionary right now :)

The Dempsey family was baptized into fourth ward this weekend!  Elder Bishop and I share fourth ward with 2 Sister Missionaries that primarily cover the YSA ward but they were the ones that taught this amazing family.  Brother Dempsey is originally from San Diego so naturally he and I get along ;)  They have 5 kids but only 2 are of baptismal age.  So, Brother and Sister Dempsey, along with their 2 oldest boys, were baptized on Saturday!  The oldest boy, Sam, is mostly deaf and so my companion and I with some of the members learned how to sign, "I am a child of God"  and we got to sign the song at the baptism.  It was a really cool experience.  There were between 50-60 members who came to support them in their decision to be baptized.  Then they all were confirmed in sacrament meeting yesterday.  It was amazing to be a part of their confirmations.  I have such a testimony of the Holy Ghost.  I have been able to be a part of many confirmations and I know that each of them truly did receive the Holy Ghost. 

I was on exchanges on Friday in Clinton and had the opportunity to teach a guy named new investigator.  The Clinton Elders had previously taught him about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation and he had accepted the invitation to be baptized but had not set a date to perform the ordinance.  We were able to teach Moroni's Promise to him.  The Holy Ghost was present and had a giant impact on him during the lesson.  He really is a truth seeker.  He has read almost a third of the Book of Mormon and had been praying for confirmation if it is true.  As I explained the formula Moroni gives us to qualify ourselves to receive an answer from our Heavenly Father something changed in his countenance.  Moroni says we need to have 3 things: A sincere heart, Faith in Christ, and real intent.  We established that he truly had a sincere heart and Faith in Christ and then I asked him how he can show God he has real intent.  He said he could show real intent by reading, praying, going to Church, and preparing to be baptized.  I then invited him to be baptized on the 31st of this month.  He thought about it for a moment, became quite emotional, and then was able to utter the word, "Yes."  Now he is a very big guy who seems quite tough.  He is taller than I am and has definitely spent some time exercising in his life.  As he accepted the invitation to be baptized the Holy Ghost manifested himself and confirmed to him the truthfulness of the of baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We asked him how he felt and all he could say was that a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders.  I have such a testimony of the cleansing Power of the Holy Ghost.

 

In Doctrine and Covenants section 84 verse 20 we read,"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of Godliness is manifest."  I know that even when we commit to make covenants and perform sacred ordinances such as baptism that the Holy Ghost can manifest Himself and confirm the Power of God in that ordinance.  I am so grateful to know that God is a loving Heavenly Father and to be a witness of Him and His Son.  I know the Gospel is true and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's Kingdom on earth today.  I love being a Missionary.  I feel I could do this for the rest of my life because as I witness the conversion and cleansing of so many of my Brothers and Sisters here in Montana I am cleansed and converted as well. 

I am grateful for all of you and the great love and support I have from you.  I hope you all have an exceptional week!

 

Love,
Elder Holland

Snow and then Sun...

This week was amazing!  We had crazy nice weather and then it snowed the next day... Mother

 

nature sure does keep you on your toes around here ;)

Our investigator was baptized on Saturday!  Her husband was able to baptize her and lots of her family was able to attend.  Many members of her family are not members of the Church yet so it will be cool to watch the ripple effect from the righteous example she has set for her family.

I love being a missionary and am so grateful for all of you and all you do for me.  Sorry this letter is super short but I'll write more next week!

Love, 
Elder Holland

Color Me Rad!

          Hey Fam!

This week was so awesome!  We got to visit lots of people and volunteer at Color Me Rad!

We did not run the 5k but we ran one of the stations where you just chuck paint powder at people.  It was so much fun!  We did it in a white shirt, tie, and shorts with our name tags on.  Everyone knew who we were and we got to talk to tons of people about the Church.  The guys that run Color Me Rad are LDS so they let us set up a table with pass along cards and pamphlets to give out to people.  I loved it and def plan on volunteering at these events again in the future! 

We have been meeting with a lady for the past 7 weeks.  She has been having a really hard time and has had to endure lots of trials in the passed few years.  She is just finishing her last treatment of Chemo for her cancer and things are starting to look up for her.  We met her at the perfect time in her life.  Her husband is a member of the Church but had not been to Church in a long time.  He fell away from the Church when he was like 10 because his family stopped going.  This saturday she is getting baptized!  Yesterday her husband received the Aaronic Priesthood and he will be performing the baptism!  :)  He is now active in the Church and is a worthy Priesthood holder.  I have such a testimony of the Lord's timing.  As a missionary we get to meet with so many people that have been waiting so long to receive the Gospel and somehow we show up just at the right time.  I know that the Lord is in the details of all of our lives and that He uses us to accomplish His great and eternal purposes. 

I am so grateful to be a missionary here in Missoula.  God is good, All the time!

Thank you all for all your love and support! 

Love,

Elder Holland

Spring is Here!

Hey Fam!

The world turned green this week!  most of the trees grew leaves this week and wow this place looks amazing :)  It rained most of the week so Missoula really looks like Portland right now.  There are also tons of people out and about.  I feel like most people just hibernate for like 9 months but now are ready to just let loose in the streets.  We had some amazing things happen this week!
 

We are teaching a bunch of people right now and I did not say anything about a Sister investigator last week because we were not completely sure she was going to get baptized last Saturday but she endured through her trials and was baptized!  I apologize for not writing very detailed letters about all the people we are teaching but she has truly conquered miraculous things in the passed few weeks!  We started teaching her about 6 weeks.  She grew up in another faith but has not been very active in the church.  The guy she is living with is LDS but had not been to church in a few years.  He is now active and has overcome the same trials as she is.  They both had smoked for years and had tried quitting multiple times before but never could.  We taught her the Word of Wisdom and told her she needed to quit before she could be baptized.  She had had many spiritual experiences that helped her to know the Gospel truly has been restored but was afraid she could not quit.  She had committed to quit Saturday the 19th.  We had an appointment with her that night but had no idea the struggle she was having that day.  We had promised her that whenever she felt the craving to smoke if she picked up the Book of Mormon and read that God would help her and take away the craving.  She told us that in the morning she had been really having a hard time and she was planning on telling us when we came later that night that it was too hard and she can't do it.  She prayed to receive strength and said she felt the most warm, comforting feeling come over her and she knew God had heard her prayer for help.  She said this feeling stayed with her brought her to tears.  A couple hours later she was having cravings again and said she prayed again for help and literally 2 seconds after closing her prayer our Bishop, Bishop Hanni, called her and said he felt he should come over and visit.  Bishop went and shared the new video on Christ, #BecauseofHim, and once again she was brought to tears.  Later after Bishop left she started to feel the same again and decided to read the scriptures.  She was reading just as we arrived.  She was crying when we got there and said that God had answered her prayers 3 times that day and now she knows she can do this!  She quit smoking that day and has remained smoke free ever since.  I have no doubt in my mind that God is aware of us and our personal needs.  I have no idea how He does it but somehow He is able to cater to ALL of our needs.  I know that because our Savior suffered for us that He can help us and enable us to do things we can not do on our own: Just as He helped Linda quit smoking so she can enter into the waters of Baptism.

I absolutely LOVE being a missionary!  We get to see things I never dreamed we could.  God truly is in the details of our lives!

Thank you for all of your love and support! I hope you all took my Book of Mormon challenge seriously!

Love,
Elder Holland