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It has been 4 years....since we were all together.





It's a beautiful day in sunny California! I love the Temple :)

Best last week a missionary could ask for :)

Hey Fam!  (Holy smokes that's the last the last time I will get to write that...)

This week was so crazy! I always thought things would slow down at some point but they definitely got even crazier this week! I don't think this letter could ever do this week justice but I will do my best to share what I learned.. And then I'll tell you all what else happened when I see you this weekend ;)

First off, we drove over 1000 miles this week! We had a mission wide conference in Bozeman and the entire mission was there. This is the first time the entire mission has ever gathered together and it was so awesome!  Elder Craig Zwick and Brother Mike Hemingway came and as a start to the meeting they wanted to personally greet all the missionaries so we all got up in rows and were able to have a few seconds with both of them. Haha it was funny cuz I walked up and said, "Hey I'm Elder Holland" and shook his hand and he goes, "Yes you look like an Elder Holland" and I asked him if he remembered an Elder Holland who gave him a tour of the Santiago Mission and went to dinner with him in 2013. Elder Zwick was like, "I sure do! Are you related to him?" I got to tell him he is my younger brother and immediately after serving there he came to Montana to be my companion for a transfer. We ended the conversation with him asking me to tell my brother hi from him. So, Jaromy, Elder Zwick says hello :)

Elder Zwick is such an inspired man. He spoke for the majority of the 4 hour meeting. The primary focus for this meeting was our iPads and how we can use them correctly as a tool to help others come unto Christ. As part of this the entire mission, except for those going home this week, were told they would receive a new iPad and be trained on how to use it. Elder Brock and I spend a good amount of time driving out to all the missionaries in our zone to configure the new iPads and train on how to use them properly. That's a big part of why we drove over 1000 miles this week.. But interestingly enough Elder Zwick focused, initially, on the need to be one with our companions and then transitioned to discuss all types of companions and made an emphasis on our eternal companions. He made some pretty cool promises to us if we keep our covenants. On this same topic he said, "What really matters is that we are willing to follow each other on a covenant path. That's protection. And everything else simply doesn't matter."

President Mecham followed up these thoughts and he and Sister Mecham stood together and testified of the importance and need of marriage in our eternal progression. President Mecham said, "If you love your companion you will share your thoughts and reflections."  It made me wonder how often we learn things that are pertinent to our spiritual growth and salvation that we simply do not share. I feel I grow and truly learn what I need to only after I have shared and discussed certain topics with those who are closest to me. I invite you all to make a conscious effort to share and discuss the things you are learning with those "companions" who are closest to you. I know great blessings are in store for those that teach and discuss true principles of the Gospel.

Then there was the McIntosh family! They all got baptized on Saturday and were confirmed on Sunday during sacrament meeting :)  it was so fantastic. There were so many people there to support them on Saturday that we had to move the service into the chapel and then everyone crowded into the nursery room to watch them as they were baptized. Brother McIntosh, who received the Melchizedek Priesthood last week, performed all of the baptisms. I have never seen him smile like he did as he helped each of his daughters in and out of the water. It truly was an amazing thing to be a part of and something I will never forget.

There are lots of things I am looking forward to this week! Karl will be baptized on Wednesday so I will tell you all about that on Saturday :) The Sisters in our ward have been teaching this guy named Keern who will be baptized on Thursday and today in church he asked me to baptize him! So I will get to do that before I leave too. On Wednesday Elder Brock (who eats more than anyone I have ever seen...) and brother McIntosh will be having a wing eating contest! Brother McIntosh is such a beast of a human being too! He is 6'7" and can also eat tons of food. They are getting the super spicy wings from Pizza Hut and I think they will have around 100 so this will be super interesting. I will definitely take lots of pictures :)

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve the Lord for these last 2 years. I thank Him on my knees every single day for this opportunity. I have learned and grown more in this experience than anything else I have ever done. I have seen the hand of God in the lives of so many. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know He loves us. I know we are children of our Heavenly Father. I know we have the potential to be like Him. I know that there are no coincidences in this life and that God is in every detail of our lives. I know the Church is true. I am so excited to begin my studies of the early years of the Church. I am so grateful to have seen and felt so many incredible things while here in Montana. This place will always have a special place in my heart.

I am so grateful for all of you! The love and support I have felt is tremendous and I could never thank you enough for all you have done for me. I look forward to catching up with all of you soon! In person! I love you all! See you on Saturday :)

Elder Holland

Hello Family and Friends,

Spencer is returning to San Jose from Montana.  For the friends in the Bay Area Spencer will be giving a homecoming talk on Sunday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m. in the Saratoga Stake Center on Allendale.  For the San Diego friends Spencer will be speaking on Sunday, March 29 at 9:00 a.m. at the LDS church on Black Mountain Road.  For the Utah family Grandma Ruth is having everyone to her house on Saturday evening, April 18 to welcome Spencer home.  I add my thanks to Spencer's to all of you for your prayers and support while Spencer served his mission!  Love, Teresa

Only 2 weeks left..

Hey Fam!

This week was so awesome!  So much happened.. I feel like we were just running around like crazy people but we got a lot done :)  Our investigator family is all set and ready to go for their baptism on Saturday! The family as a whole has made so many incredible changes to prepare for this day. The dad in the family is already a member and was ordained an Elder yesterday (By his Dad) and received the Melchezedik Priesthood!  It was such an amazing thing to be a part of :)

We had a really cool lesson with this new investigator. We have been meeting with him for a while but 5 weeks ago he got a job at a gas station and has been working like crazy to pay the bills for his family and has not had lots of time to meet with us. Before he got the job he did make some significant changes in his life to come closer to God and to prepare for baptism. He got married, quit smoking, and really did all he could to follow the commandments of God. We had a lesson last week about the Gospel of Christ and we were talking about how we receive blessings from keeping the commandments. I asked him what kinds of blessings he has seen from keeping the commandments. He said he has a job to pay for his family, his health has improved significantly in the last 2 months, he and his wife do not fight like they used to, and he has a much better relationship with his kids and family.  Then we talked about covenants and the promises that God gives us as we make covenants with Him. We focused on the baptismal covenant. He would never set a date for baptism because he is the type of person that wants to know EVERYTHING about the Gospel and the Church before he joins. It was amazing because in that moment the Holy Ghost testified of the blessings he will receive from being baptized and he just said, "Wow.. I need to be baptized!" He asked me the date I leave to go home and then pulled out his phone and said he wanted to be baptized on Wednesday, March 11th! it's just like the scripture says, keep the commandments and God will IMMEDIATELY bless you! (Mosiah 2:24)

About a week ago President Mecham told us we are going to have a special mission wide conference in Bozeman!  It will happen on Wednesday and the primary focus of the meeting will be online proselyting. As far as I know this is the first time the entire mission will be gathered together in one place AND Elder Craig Zwick of the Seventy will be there! The meeting will last just 4 hours and then most of the mission will head back to their areas.  We will be staying Wednesday night and having another Mission Leadership Council on Thursday. I'm stoked cuz they said I can go around Bozeman and visit people I have not seen in like a year :)  this week is gonna be so awesome :)

I have less than 2 weeks left on my mission.. I'm still not really sure how to feel. I LOVE it here and am super sad this time is coming to a close but I am also so excited for what will happen this year :)

I know this Gospel is true!  I read through 3 Nephi chapter 8 yesterday and it just hit me, again, how the Light of Christ is literally everything. When He died and left the world for 3 days they couldn't even light a candle! I have seen the Light of Christ enter and fill so many people on my mission. I know that there is no sickness, pain, or trial that is not within the reach of His Light. He is who the scriptures proclaim Him to be. I have been so blessed and feel so honored to have been able to spend these last 2 years testifying of Him.

I will keep working hard all the way to the end but I am so excited to see you all again :)

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

Elder Holland

Remember

Hey Fam!

I love all of your thoughts on what it means to remember what the Lord has done for us! Thank you for taking the time to write down your thoughts, I will add all I received into my study journal :)  I am always looking for formulas in the scriptures. I have been pondering the ways we can protect ourselves from falling off the path. I'm now reading I. The book of Helaman and it hit me a couple weeks ago WHAT we can all do to always stay on the path.  Lehi, as he is preparing to die, gives counsel to his children.

 In 2 Nephi 1:12-13 he says,

 

"12 Yea, as one generation passeth to another there shall be bloodsheds, and great visitations among them; wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto my words.

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe."

What are these "chains" that Lehi is talking about? How do we prevent ourselves from being bound by them?

When Alma and Amulek are contending with Zeezrom Alma says how important it is to have an open mind and then explains what the "chains of hell" are. He says,

 

"11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell." Alma 12:11

The key to keeping ourselves free and on the right path is knowledge and our integrity to the knowledge we have.

I wrote down a giant list of scriptures that I have seen in my reading and was going to include them in this email BUT the list has disappeared.. I think I lost it when we were shopping earlier.  But it's okay. 
 

Ultimately when we remember what the Lord has done for us and all those who have lived with and before us we end up living in a state of gratitude.  President Uchtdorf said, "Gratitude is a catalyst to ALL Christlike attributes." 

I know when we remember the things the Lord has done for us we always keep our eye on the "Mark".  It doesn't mean we never fall or make mistakes..  it does mean when trials come we will turn to the Lord.  The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to turn one to the Lord.  I feel this is why I was inspired to invite you all to read it a while ago.  My invitation to you all is to pay attention in your personal reading to each time the scriptures talk about remembering anything and really try to understand what they are saying.  There are examples ALL OVER in the Book of Mormon!  For example, as Mormon is writing in the book of Helaman he recounts the words of Helaman to his sons, Nephi and Lehi.  The words are recorded in Helaman Chapter 5:5-12.  In just these short 8 verses the word "remember" is said 14 times!  Just these 8 verses alone can change a persons life.  Please take time and read them :)

I have so many things going through my mind but the greatest of all is gratitude.  I am so grateful to have been able to serve a mission.  This is the most amazing thing I have ever done!  We have 7 people currently preparing to be baptized in March and it is so amazing to see each of them progress in their own conversion process.

I am thankful to all of you for your great love and support!  I love you all,

Elder Holland

Time is just flying by way too fast...

Hey Fam!

Holy smokes this week went by fast!  I find myself just wondering where the time went.. This week was a crazy week.  We drove over 700 miles this week!  On Wednesday I got to participate in my last Mission Leadership Council in Helena.  It really was a bitter sweet experience.  We stayed in Helena that night and went on splits with some Elders there and then had zone conference the next day.  I am always so impressed with the way President Mecham recognizes and acts upon spiritual impressions.  One of the things I will miss the most about my mission will def be him and Sister Mecham.  Then that night the whole  zone of missionaries drove up to Fort Benton to have a meeting with our Stake President, President Pfile.  We discussed a few things that I really want to share.
 

First we talked about how to have Faith supersede fear and he gave this formula:

1) Follow the prophet
2) Create a true spirit of the gospel in our hearts
3) Be a light to those among who we live
4) Focus on ordinances and covenants
5) Isaiah 60:4 "Lift up thine eyes round about, and see..." always look up, upward pull
6) Remember that we believe our Savior. Faith in Christ sustains us at every intersection in life.

Then President Pfile said, "The best decisions make sense at the intersection of practicality and spirituality or revelation."  As I pondered that statement I really do agree with it.  Lots of times when I am feeling angry or uncomfortable I consciously ask myself why I feel that way and then think of scriptural or spiritual accounts of people who felt that way and overcame it and I usually know exactly what I need to do to better the situation.  This is def something I encourage all of you to consciously do. 

I have a thought for you all to ponder that I will attempt to explain in my letter next week. When a Prophet or teacher is giving a sermon to a city or even ministering to the one he usually invites the person to remember the past. To remember how merciful the Lord has been from the creation of Adam all the way down to that specific person. Why do you think this is? What kind of an effect do you feel this has on a person? I am super interested to hear your thoughts!

I am so grateful for the time God has given me to serve his children here in Montana.  The Lord truly is hastening His work.  We had an amazing lesson with a guy last night and he is now preparing to be baptized on March 28th!  It is amazing how we came into his life at exactly the right time.  Def not a coincidence, 

Thank you all for the great support you are to me!  I love you all

Elder Holland