SNOW IS AWESOME!

I love that Landon loves the snow, because he's going to get a LOT of it! I sent him some thermals just in time! If any of you want to send him some beanies, gloves, scarves, etc...I know he won't mind. Also something I know he can use is gift cards (Walmart, Visa, etc.) These are good because he can pack them easily when he transfers and he always has added expenses that pop up, (like dry-cleaning). Also, if anyone is planning on sending Elder Towers something for Christmas, you should probably send it to his mission home address (the Boise address) because he may be transferred soon. I won't know his new physical address until mid-December. Thanks for all of your love and support for our boy!

Howdy!

I am on a REALLY tight time crunch today, so my email will be really short. But anyways, I WOKE UP TO SNOW TODAY!! Early Christmas! It is even better than I thought it would be. Elder Murphy and I went on a run to the other Elder's apartments and surprised them with an early morning snowball. I honestly thought that snow would be 10x colder than it really is, this is fun. It was snowing while we were running, and I was still sweating while wearing hardly any layers. So far, so good! Now I just have to get past the windy days.

Light the World is SO GOOD! I have probably watched it about 30 or so times at people's houses, and it is still good every time. Even the little things we do can be miracles!

Scripture of the Week:

 6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. 

 7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
 8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.

Essentially, obedience to God's commandments isn't enough. Even if you are giving up what you desire in order to serve Him, we must do it with a real, true intent out of charity and love for God. Are you merely sacrificing your will, or are you turning your entire being over to Him? This includes ALL desires, not only unrighteous ones. Everyone can reach this point. All it takes is praying unto Him for charity, and asking what we need to change in our lives to become totally submissive in both thoughts and actions. Then do it!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful season, and remembering Jesus Christ in everything that you do!

My first snow angel!

Pranked the bishop on our morning run.

 

My morning view. (All those footprints are mine and Elder Murphy's; we may have gotten carried away and ran around too much)

A few things from Landon last week:
He had some fun on Halloween night! It looks like he and Elder Murphy pooled their resources and enjoyed a night of coma-inducing junk food. It was nice to see him eat like this...if you knew the pre-mission Landon, he weighed about 120 if he was lucky! Not much of an eater...it looks like things have changed a little in the last three months. He even looks like he's put on some weight. I love it!

A few awesome things happened this week...

First of all, we were given the opportunity to preview the video for the Church's Christmas campaign called Light the World, and it is AMAZING! It launches on November 25th, and everyone had better drop everything to watch it. No, like really, pretty much everyone cried while we watched it. It is based on the two scriptures, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12) and "Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14).

The AP's bunked at our apartment before our zone conference because one of them was Elder Murphy's trainer, and they needed a place to stay. It was pretty cool to see how they work when they aren't training the other missionaries.

I honestly kept forgetting about the election, like I didn't even remember that an election was going on until we talked to a guy and he asked, "So how do you feel about the results?" I replied, "What results?" So yeah, being on a mission right now is quite the blessing!

I was reading in D&C 121 today, which talks of Joseph Smith's experiences in Liberty Jail, in which he famously pleads with God to stop the oppressions and sufferings on the Saints. His reply was, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." HOWEVER, it doesn't end here. After this comfort, God reminds him of the blessings he is still allowed to retain, such as how he still has many people around him that love him and are his friends. "Thou are not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee. neither charge thee with transgressions, as they did Job."

If God tells Joseph Smith to count his blessings and retain his courage, even in one of the darkest times in Joseph Smith's life of constant public persecution and humiliation, then how much more are we to do so? We have it much better than Joseph Smith did in that cold cell (which you should definitely study about if you have forgotten the details). Be thankful for the things you have, no matter low little.

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Elder Towers

I don't think I'll be worrying anymore about if he's getting enough to eat.

Elder Towers, wearing the silly glasses I sent him for Halloween. And Elder Murphy...nice coat! :-)

Before...

AFTER!!! Beast mode eating!

Elder Towers calls these his "free spiky boots"...I have no idea where he got them, but he seems to be quite proud of them!

I'm a week late with Elder Towers' last email. The following email came in on Halloween last week. This week, he took a break on sending a devotional in favor of a more personal email to his mom. Sorry...you don't get to see that one. :-) I hope you enjoy this latest devotional as much as we did!

P-Day is on Halloween! WHOO! And Halloween has a missionary curfew of 6:30! You know what that means? ALL DAY P-DAY! It's going to be a great day. Elder Murphy and I are buying pizza and soda and throwing ourselves a pizza party for two, and we received about 6 pounds of cinnamon rolls on Friday, and a vanilla birthday cake for Elder Murphy's 20th birthday yesterday. I can't wait for this food coma tonight! Also I didn't buy enough food this week and I'm completely out of everything except bread and tomatoes, so yeah.

We also got to go to the Temple on Saturday, which was awesome! We did initiatories because the endowment session was full.

Last night, we got caught in a massive storm that came out of nowhere. We were in the area farthest from our apartment, on foot (my bike tire popped AGAIN), and in clothes that were in no way waterproof. It had as much rain as a typical Florida storm, except way windier, way colder, and way less fun. But we saw someone in this storm that we hadn't seen in a long time due to their work schedule! Tender mercies :).

And yes, Elder Stevens is now in my zone so I see him frequently, haha!

I have recently done some studying on the topic of baptism, but specifically on the second half of baptism that has been forgotten by many modern sects of Christianity, which is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is vital to completing the role of baptism, as the Holy Ghost is what allows us to be cleansed of sin and of the desire to sin for the rest of our life, as opposed to just during the act of being baptised. This will cover why and how to receive this gift, as well as how to keep it and utilize it for the rest of your life.

John 3:5

We must be born of water AND of the spirit. What does this mean? It means that a baptism by water is incomplete and inadequate unless followed by a baptism of the spirit, or receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. So how does one receive this gift?

Acts 8:14-17

After the day of Pentecost (which I won't go into detail about), the gift of the Holy Ghost was available for all those who had been properly baptised through the Priesthood authority to receive. These verses document Peter and John, who had recently received this gift, giving the gift of the Holy Ghost to those who had been properly baptized before. Note that this was done by a blessing, not an automatic receival following baptism. It is a separate event following baptism in which you receive this gift. (There are a LOT of references to the Holy Ghost and the gift thereof throughout Acts, and is a great place to study if you don't believe my words and would like to seek out the answers yourselves.)

2 Nephi 31:17

The preceding verses also explain benefits of the of Holy Ghost, but this one is the most clear. After explaining how baptism is the gate to the strait and narrow path back to God, it explains that a remission of sins by fire and the Holy Ghost follows. In other words, it cleanses ALL of you. Not just your sins, but your mind and desires, too. With the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will have less of a desire to continue in your past sins, and have a true drive to follow God's commandments. With this gift, you will learn to hate all sin.

Mosiah 4:3

This is the most important part of baptism. Rather than just cleansing your sins in the moment of being baptised, the Holy Ghost allows for you to feel that same forgiveness throughout your lives, as these individuals were able to feel. By having previously received the gift, they were able to feel that cleansing of fire and true joy as they repented and changed their ways. This is one of the main roles of the Holy Ghost, to give us a continual remission of our sins. Seek after this gift always, and you will find following God's commandments to become easier and easier!

I don't have time to really go back and check my emails for spelling, grammar, or continuity errors, so hopefully this makes sense to everyone!

Here are some pictures from a long time ago that I never uploaded. They are from the City of Rocks, which is a famous rock climbing place! You can see little people in the distance in some of them.

Until next week!

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Elder Towers