The Hardest thing I've Ever Loved

Dear Family and Friends,

Well the time has come for my last weekly email - email #106. I always knew this day would come but I don't think I fully anticipated how quickly. Part of me is sad my mission is over but part of me is excited for change and the growth that lies ahead. Most of all though, I'm sad to be leaving the people of Oklahoma. I love them with all my heart. They have become my people. They will always be special to me :)

Monday evening we biked out and tried to visit our new investigator, Jeff, but he wasn't feeling well. We ended up talking to a hispanic guy on the street and I got to use my Spanish to talk with him which was fun :) After that we had dinner with Bishop and his family.

Tuesday morning we had a lesson with a potential named Elisheba. She's in her 20s, has 2 young kids, and has some family in Utah who are Mormon. The lesson went really well and we got to bear testimony about how the Book of Mormon can help her know whether or not God is real :) #NewInvestigator After lunch, I fixed a flat tire on my bike and then we had a lesson with Allan. It turned into a do or die lesson and he didn't make it to church yesterday so we might end up dropping him tomorrow, we'll see. After that we visited some less-actives. Funny story: While we were visiting with Sister Greene the cat that was on the couch sitting next to me had a siezure and peed on me. It was great :) Had dinner with our ward mission leader and then went over to Larry's for a lesson. When we showed up, Larry wasn't there but some teenage girls were and one of them was on drugs. Long story short, they borrowed our phone to call 911 and when the ambulance showed up and tried to take the girl on drugs to the hospital, one of the girls starting freaking out and so then the cops came. We told the cops what happened and they said we could go. So that was an interesting and really sad thing to experience... 

Wednesday morning we got do some service at the Grisso Mansion, had companionship council, ate lunch, tried to visit some people and ended up doing some finding. Found a super solid potential named Kyle #Miracle After dinner we met with Bishop and got things ready for the 5th Sunday lesson.

Thursday was my last district meeting in Pauls Valley. It was really fun and afterwards we drove out to Holdenville and then Wewoka. We visited some less-actives, had dinner, and then went back to Seminole.

Friday we had another lesson with Elisheba. She was kind of out of it at first but it turned out ok. She's moving to the Ada ward so we're going to pass her off to the Sister missionaries hopefully sometime this next week. After lunch we did some tracting and then went with our ward mission leader to Maud to have a lesson with Tonya and her son Koda. It was a great Plan of Salvation lesson and Koda joined us for the first time and he loved it. They didn't make it to church yesterday but they're making progress, I have high hopes for them :) After dinner we had our first sit down lesson with Timothy and then tried some former investigators.

Saturday was a slower day. We had a lesson with Larry in the morning and then in the afternoon we looked through our records for former investigators and less-actives to visit and then biked out and tried to visit them. We talked to lots of people but no one was interested. After dinner we went to the park to try a new approach. We got clipboards and printed off pages of the Book of Mormon and invited people to read just 1 page and mark any references to God they found. It went ok, it'll probably be a lot more effective at a booth at the college.

Sunday Elder Shira and I and our ward mission leader and his wife got to speak in sacrament meeting and it was awesome! The spirit was strong and for the 3rd hour combined lesson we did a family mission plan workshop to help the members make plans to share the gospel with their friends. It was a success! Also, we finally had some investigators at church!! :) A member from Norman brought his non-member family members who live in Wewoka to church. They stayed for the first 2 hours and had a great time :) Definitely a miracle and tender mercy. The Lord provides :) After church we had lunch at the Choate ranch, delivered the sacrament to Margaret and said goodbye, and then biked around for the rest of the evening. We talked to lots of people and at the end of the night I got to give a Book of Mormon to a high school kid that we've become friends with over the last couple months. Great last Sunday and day of biking as a missionary! :)

I think one of the greatest blessings that has come from serving a mission is the way that it has strengthened my testimony. Before the mission I felt that my testimony was pretty strong and I was satisfied with where I was at. I didn't realize just how much I was leaning on my parents and how much I still had to learn and experience. Serving in Oklahoma (the belt buckle of the bible belt) has exposed me to so many different opinions on just about every religious subject. My beliefs have been rejected, ridiculed, and attacked. There were times on my mission where it wasn't easy to stay faithful and stay believing. The opposition to truth is great. But through it all, my Heavenly Father has always been there for me. In the words of Nephi, "My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me. Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time." My testimony is now my own. It is my most valuable possession. I bear my witness as a full-time servant of the Lord Jesus Christ that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, and that God is our loving Heavenly Father. It's all real and it's all true, I know it with all my heart. God is a God of miracles! "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

My mission has been the hardest thing I've ever loved and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I want to thank y'all for your loving support over these past 2 years. You don't know and you probably don't realize just how much of an impact you've had on my life. I couldn't have done it without y'all and I look forward to seeing y'all soon! Thank you for the best 2 years!! :D

Love, Elder Tyler Larsen

Hymn #284

1. Margaret and I

2. Ron and Mary and I

3. Laura and I

Mission Bike Week

Dear Family and Friends,

Our mission wide bike week was a huge success! It was super sunny, hot, and humid every day (except for the rainstorm yesterday) and it was lots of fun :)

Monday for P-day we went and toured an old supposedly haunted mansion that a member of the ward works at so that was pretty cool. After dinner our lesson with Larry fell through but we ended up visiting Gordon and had a pretty good plan of salvation lesson with him :) He's been reading and wants to come to church sometime.

Tuesday morning we tried some former investigators. After lunch we had a lesson with a less-active recent convert named Elvis and he expressed his desire to get active in church again :) Then we had a lesson with Allan. It went pretty well, mostly because we insisted on staying on topic and not going off on random tangents. Elder Shira and I both got the impression during the lesson to give him some devotionals to study in addition to the Book of Mormon because he's such a logical thinker. We'll see what he thinks of "The Book of Mormon: Made-man or God-given?" After that we had lesson over the phone with a less-active who lives really far away so that was pretty cool #FirstPhoneLesson We visited a potential named Timothy and had a really awesome conversation with him. We weren't sure how interested he was at first but now we know he's pretty interested. Right before our dinner appointment we decided to try a former investigator. The lady who answered the door wasn't the person we were looking for but she invited us in and it turns out she's the daughter of another investigator we were teaching a few months ago. And she's super interested! #Miracle After dinner we got to spend the rest of the night biking around and talking to people :)

Wednesday morning we had companionship council and then had lunch with Mama P (sister Parsons, our ward missionary mom :)). Afterwards we tried a ton of former investigators without much luck and then biked a couple miles to the nursing home to visit a member we'd never met before. She's was a sweet lady but we couldn't understand anything she said. After that I prophesied that we would receive a media referral from church headquarters because we were biking everywhere and being seen by lots of cars. Then we went and tried some more former investigators and found a new investigator named Jeff because he was across the street from a former investigator who had moved away. #Miracle After dinner we had ward council and then we went out teaching with our ward mission leader which was fun :) And before the day was over, we got a text message from church headquarters with a media referral for someone who requested a bible :) #God'sHand

Thursday we had a good district council down in Ada and afterward I went to Pauls Valley on exchanges with my district leader, Elder Kurr. I was his district leader a year ago when we were in Norman and he goes home at the same time I do. We had a really fun exchange and got to talk to some cool people.

Friday morning we did some service helping some people set up a giant greenhouse and then in the afternoon we exchanged back. Elder Shira and I stopped in Maud on the way back and walked around to visit some people. We ended up visiting Tonya and we were planning on telling her that if she's serious about investigating the church that we need to meet on a more consistent basis. But as we were talking to her, she brought up that she wants to meet with us at least once a week, if not more. So we set Friday's every week as the day for us to come visit. It was a great visit :) Got back to Seminole, biked around and talked to people, and had dinner/FHE with a young couple who wants to get active in the church and work towards getting sealed as a family :) So excited for them!

Saturday morning we biked around and got back late for lunch because the Lord gave us so many people to talk to :) After lunch we went with a member to Wewoka to have a lesson with Chip. He didn't read any of the BoM so we might end up dropping him, we'll see. Got back to Seminole and biked around before our ward's pioneer day party. It was fun although we didn't have a very good turnout from the ward...

Sunday after church we went Bishop to visit people and deliver the sacrament to Margaret :) Then we had dinner out at the Choate ranch and then went out teaching with Bishop's son. Our appointment with a family in Earlsboro fell through but we were able to drive up to Prague to deliver the bible to the referral :) Got back to Seminole and biked around and talked to some really cool people for the rest of the night :)

One of my favorite BYU devotionals is "Becoming Men and Women of Integrity" by Tad R. Callister. 

"What then is this integrity that is such a dominating force in determining greatness? Integrity is a purity of mind and heart that knows no deception, no excuses, no rationalization, nor any coloring of the facts. It is an absolute honesty with one’s self, with God, and with our fellowman. Even if God blinked or looked the other way for a moment, it would be choosing the right—not merely because God desires it but because our character demands it."

In D&C 97:8 we read

"Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me."

Being a person of honesty and integrity is important because if our hearts are perfectly honest and true, we will know that we are accepted of the Lord. 

"Integrity is the very core of our being. It is who we really are. When all the scaffolding is removed, it is our integrity that both defines us and identifies us."

Let us all strive to become men and women of integrity :)

I couldn't be more excited for my last full week of full-time missionary service. I want to thank y'all for your continued support and prayers that have strengthened me and helped me in so many ways. I hope y'all have a simply fantastic week!

Love, Elder Larsen

Alma 26:12

1. A pig in Maud that was roaming the streets and acting like it was going to charge us :)

2. Elder Shira and I at a Chinese restaurant

3. The last exchange of my mission with Elder Kurr

Surprise visit

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, I can't believe how fast time is flying! It's seem like only a few days ago I was emailing y'all. The work of the Lord is continuing to hasten here in Seminole! :D

Monday for P-day the Sister Missionaries in Ada drove up to Seminole and we played board games with Margaret :) She gets lonely and so she really enjoyed the company and we all had a great time. Our appointment before dinner fell through so we did some finding. After dinner we tried to visit some people and ended up saying a prayer for guidance and talking to some people at some parks. One kid we talked to on the street used to go to our church for youth activities on Wednesdays and said he's been wanting to read the Book of Mormon #Miracle So we gave him a copy and bore our testimonies :)

Tuesday morning we visited Gordon but there was a lot of distractions/people around so we didn't really get anywhere with him. After lunch we had a lesson with Allan. He's still progressing really slowly, we'll see how this next week goes with him... After that we went to Wewoka and found a new investigator named Chip. He's an older guy and he's met with missionaries before. We taught him the restoration and said he was open to studying with us again :) We also found some solid potentials, one of whom hasn't ever heard of the Book of Mormon. After dinner in Seminole we visited some members and found another potential investigator :)

Wednesday morning we had a lesson with some recent converts, Jacob and Courtney, who are moving to Ada. After lunch we went to Maud and our 2 appointments fell through but we had some good visits with some members and tried some former investigators. When we got back to Seminole we tried some people and ended up doing some tracting. We ran into a crazy guy who believed that our purpose here in life was so that God could observe us and learn from us. So that was interesting. We dropped our investigator Chuy and had a great dinner and FHE with the Kimrays :)

Thursday we had interviews with President Mansell in Norman which was great as always :) Got back to Seminole and visited some less-actives before dinner.

Friday morning we did some service helping Jacob and Courtney move some stuff. After lunch we visited Larry. He had 2 of his granddaughters over and they were watching some weird youtube videos. So we sat down and tried talking with Larry but the spirit obviously wasn't there. Then Larry got a phone call and stepped out on the porch. So I asked the granddaughters if we could show them a video. They eventually said yes and so we watched the Stop Bullying mormon message. Larry came back inside as we started the video and they all really enjoyed it. The spirit just filled the house. It was so neat to see the difference between when we got there and when we left. As we were leaving they started watching more videos on the Mormon channel :) It was so cool! 

Saturday morning we biked to some parks, talked to some people, and ran into a less-active who just barely moved back to Seminole and wants to come to church #Miracle After lunch we drove to Wewoka and biked around. We had a couple lessons with less-actives and we read 3 Nephi 11 with Chip. He seemed to enjoy it and seems a lot more committed to reading on his own now. 

Sunday was day 1 of our mission-wide bike week. We can only use the car for grocery shopping and district council this next week so hopefully we'll get to talk to lots of people and see some cool miracles :) In sacrament meeting we had a high councilman come and speak to us and it turned out to be a member from the Norman 2nd ward. And he brought Martin with him to share his conversion story and testimony! It was such a neat surprise :) In the afternoon we tried to visit lots of people and didn't have much success. After dinner we got to go visit Margaret and deliver the sacrament to her #TenderMercy When we got back to our apartment I got a surprise visit from my Uncle Kurt, Aunt Shauna, Nathaniel, Nellie, and Anna!! :) I was so shocked to see them, they were some of the last people I was expecting to see. They brought me some goodies and we got to talk for a little bit. They got permission from my mission president to come and visit me and it was one of the funnest surprises of my mission. Thanks again y'all, I love you! Haha see y'all again in a few weeks ;)

I really love this quote from Gordon B. Hinckley from chapter 14:

"I wish to be up and doing. I wish to face each day with resolution and purpose. I wish to use every waking hour to give encouragement, to bless those whose burdens are heavy, to build faith and strength of testimony."

One of the reasons I love my mission so much is because it has strengthened my love of service. I believe that learning to love service is one of the keys to happiness and continued faithfulness to Jesus Christ and his gospel. Service is a remedy for almost any affliction or heartache or challenge that we may face here in mortality. Service and love is the very essence of the gospel!

Well I'm excited for another week here in the Seminole ward and I hope y'all have another fun week of summer! Thanks for your prayers and support :)

Love, Elder Larsen

2 Corinthians 9:7 

Surprise Visit

Kurt and Shanna drove through Oklahoma today to take Nathaniel and Nellie to Tennessee.  They called President Mansell to see if it was ok if they stopped by to say hi to Elder Larsen. He said it would be great and that it wouldn't affect Elder Larsen from doing his missionary work.  They surprised him at his apartment.  Right at 9:01 pm Tyler and his companion drove up on their bikes. I'm sure it was a huge surprise to Elder Larsen.  Shanna said he declined a hug two times and told her that he promised his mom that she would get the first hug. (sweetest thing ever! Love my missionary!!)  They brought a few of his favorite things...spaghetti, protein bars and mike and ikes. He got to meet Anna for the first time.  Fun memories.

Last Zone Conference

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been another amazing week here in Seminole! I feel like the Lord is opening the flood gates and blessing us in so many ways :)

For the 4th of July we got to go to Norman and have a zone p day with the other missionaries which was so much fun :)

Wednesday morning we went and did some yard work for Tonya which was great. She's started reading the Book of Mormon again and she was going to come to church but her son got sick so hopefully she'll make it this next week. In the afternoon we had a pretty good lesson with Allan. He's making progress and seems more and more committed each week so hopefully he'll make it to church soon. After that we visited with some less-active recent converts and they made it to church yesterday which was cool :) In the evening we had ward council and it went great!

Thursday morning we had comp council (President got rid of weekly planning) and we cleaned our apartment for inspections. In the afternoon we drove to Wewoka and then biked around. We got some potential investigators and had a couple of lessons with members. After dinner we visited Ron and decided it was time to drop him...

Friday we had zone conference in Norman and it was amazing! So much revelation. It was my last zone conference and so I got to give my departing testimony. It's starting to hit me a little more that I'm going home soon but I refuse to get trunky and I'm sprinting to the finish ;) After zone conference we started exchanges and I got to go with Elder Burton. I went on exchanges with him back when I was in Yukon so we had fun. The Lord blessed us with a new investigator and we had a great lesson with Gordon. Gordon is realizing how similar our beliefs are and is interested in coming to church and trying it out.

Saturday morning we went to Maud and biked around trying to visit people. In the afternoon we met up with the Pauls Valley elders and exchanged back. Then we went out to the booney's and visited a less-active, contacted a media referral who's already a member, and then had a great dinner with the Welsh's. Fun day with lots of driving!

Sunday after church we biked out to try a former investigator named Myra. She has a daughter and a sister who are solid members of the church. We talked with her for a little bit about the Book of Mormon and as we were about to leave Elder Shira asked an inspired question "Why are you interested in learning more about the church?" and she told us that she wants to change her life. She talked about how whenever she visits other churches something doesn't feel right but when she goes to a mormon church she feels guilty because she knows it's true. So yeah, she seems super solid! #Miracle After that we talked to a native american guy on his porch and he accepted a Book of Mormon and told us we come back sometime #Miracle Then we went to go try a potential named Larry. He's an older guy and when we rode by his house last week his grandkids were in the front yard. So we talked with them and gave them pictures of Jesus and as we were leaving, Larry called out to us and told us he wanted us to come back. So we went back and knocked on his door and he let us right in. He's in a lot of pain because his leg got bit by a brown recluse spider and he didn't get it checked out by a doctor quick enough and it doesn't look too pretty... So we started teaching him the Restoration but before we started, I felt prompted to offer him a blessing. But I decided I would just ask him at the end of the lesson instead. As we were teaching him, we weren't sure how much he was understanding, he seemed a little out of it. So finally, I followed the spirit and bore testimony about how Christ healed the sick when he was on the earth and how as representatives of him, we could give him a blessing. He said he wanted one so we gave him a blessing and afterwards his mind seemed a lot more clear and seemed to have more energy. It was a such a neat and humbling experience, definitely a miracle :)

I recently listened to a BYU-I devotional by President Eyring titled, "Raise the Bar". I love this quote from it:

"The Lord is anxious to lead us to the safety of higher ground, away from the path of physical and spiritual danger. His upward path will require us to climb. My mother used to say to me when I complained that things were hard, “If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill.”And as the world becomes darker and more dangerous, we must keep climbing. It will be our choice whether or not to move up or to stay where we are. But the Lord will invite and guide us upward by the direction of the Holy Ghost, which He sends to His leaders and to His people who will receive it."

I like to say that if life wasn't hard it wouldn't be worth living. We can know we're on the right path if we're learning and growing and struggling and stretching and becoming the person God wants us to and knows we can become. Life isn't easy but with the Savior's help it's possible to not only endure but also to enjoy the uphill climb to the summit :)

Thank y'all so much for all your love and support, I feel so blessed to have such amazing family and friends! :)

Love, Elder Larsen

2 Nephi 31:19-21

Flat tires and Independence Day

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy 4th of July!! You're probably busy getting ready to blow stuff up and have an epic party tonight so I'll keep it relatively short this week ;)

Monday evening we had dinner with Bishop and his family. Our other appointments fell through but we had a short and simple lesson with Chuy. We read 3 Nephi 18 and we committed him to start having family prayer every day with his 3 little kids and he loved it!

Tuesday we did a lot of biking and got to talk to lots of people :) 2 of our afternoon lessons fell through but we had a good lesson with Tonya on the doctrine of Christ. We also met with a less-active who expressed desire to do family history work and wants to work towards going to the temple to do baptisms for the first time :) #Miracle

Wednesday Elder Shira got a flat tire so we had to drive everywhere. We went to Wewoka and had some good lessons and found a potential investigator :)

Thursday morning we got to go do service for Rose out in Holdenville. After we helped her out with some yard work, we sat on her porch and had a great discussion about the Book of Mormon. It was so much fun! In the afternoon we had a breakthrough lesson with Allan. Elder Shira felt prompted to ask him about his testimony of Jesus Christ and we discovered that the reason he's meeting with us is to find out if Jesus Christ is really his savior. From there the spirit helped us to teach to his needs so hopefully he'll be able to progress now :)

Friday we spent almost the whole day in Edmond getting our 2014 Corolla ready to be sold and picking up our new 2017 Chevy Malibu (talk about a stupid nice car). It took a lot longer than expected so our patience was tested but it was a still a fun day :) We also got Elder Shira's bike fixed.

Saturday we had district council (formerly known as district meeting, President Mansell continues to make lots of changes to things) in Pauls Valley which was good :) We did some finding and then after dinner helped some people move some furniture.

Sunday after church we met with a couple of less-actives and the rains came down. We drove our car and still got soaked! Tracting in the rain is always the best :) In the evening we had a great dinner/FHE with the 1st counselor in the Bishopric and his family and they have a referral for us. Yay!

Yesterday was a regular proselyting day since they changed our P-day to today and made it an all day P-day. In the morning we went to some parks to try and talk to people but no one was there so we went to Maud in the afternoon and had a great lesson with Tonya. She opened up about some trials she's going through and instead of dropping her, she expressed her desire and reasons she wants to keep meeting with us #Miracle After dinner we went to Seminole's city Independence day celebration and volunteered our help. We got to go around and pick up trash and talk to people. Cool miracles: a former investigator that we've been trying to visit came up to us and told us he wants us to come by so we got an appointment and his phone number :) We also had a good conversation with a baptist who thought he could stump us by accusing us of telling truth (Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior and redeemer of the world) and mixing it with lies and asking us "do yall believe you can become like God?" We didn't take offense, we smiled and relaxed, and the spirit helped us to answer his questions. By the end of it he said he was going to do some more research since he realized he didn't really know what he was talking about :) (I got a nail in my tire on the ride home so that was unfortunate.. Flat tire #2)

A lot of people ask, "Why did God wait til 1820 to start restoring his church to earth? I don't believe that he would be silent for such a long period of time" I believe one of the reasons was that there needed to be a country with freedom of religion. And the United States of America was the first country to have such freedom. If the church had been started earlier, who knows whether or not it would've been able to survive. Even with the freedom of religion, the persecution and the violence almost destroyed the church within 15 years. But the time was right. And this truly is the promised land. How blessed we are to live in the home of the free because of the brave! Let us remember and pray for those who are protecting our freedoms and celebrate the anniversary of our freedom :) Happy Independence Day!

Love, Elder Larsen

2 Nephi 10:10-12

Martin's Baptism!!

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been absolutely amazing! I feel like the Lord is just too good to us sometimes. So many undeserved but greatly appreciated blessings :)

Monday we had zone p-day in Norman which was really fun :) It's so cool to be able to go back and visit. When we got back to Seminole we had dinner with some members and Elder Tureson was able to say goodbye to some people.

Tuesday morning Elder Tureson packed up his stuff and in the afternoon we had a lesson with Allen. We were about to drop him but he kept his commitment to fast for humility so we're still teaching him. Did a lot of biking around and talking to people and we found a potential named Gordon who told us some cool stories about when he was working as an EMT.

Wednesday was transfers and it was so much fun to see so many of my previous companions! My new companion, Elder Shira, has been out for 18 months and is from Northern Idaho. He's amazing and we've been having a lot of fun together :) After transfers we went to Maud for lessons with Wesley and Tonya but they both fell through/rescheduled. We were able to see some less-actives though. Got back to Seminole and had a great lesson with Veronica. She's a really cool, older lady who is helping raise her grandkids. She has a really strong faith and seems really in tune with the spirit so we're hopeful that the Book of Mormon will touch her heart :) After that we had ward council and dinner.

Thursday morning we went to a funeral at the church since I was asked to play piano for it. We were told it started at 10 but it actually started at 11 so by the time we got done there, we headed straight to Maud for a lesson with Tonya. She's been reading and praying about the Book of Mormon and likes it all so far. We read 3 Nephi 18 with her and discussed the sacrament and she really wants to come to church and bring her son with her. She didn't end up making it because she has trouble sleeping sometimes which was unfortunate but hopefully she'll make it this next week :) After that we tried to visit Wesley and he wasn't home but we found out that his girlfriend is interested too so we gave her a Book of Mormon :) When we got back to Seminole, our 2 appointments fell through and Donna dropped us so we visited Margaret. After dinner we did weekly planning since we didn't get to do it in the morning.

Friday we had district meeting down in Ada. Our district now consists of us, the Ada sisters, the Ardmore sisters, and the Pauls Valley elders. It was fun and afterwards we drove to Holdenville to do yardwork for Rose but she wasn't feeling up to meeting with us :( So we tried some less-actives, dropped a potential, and then I felt prompted to go try a referral who requested a bible about a month ago. We had tried setting up appointments with her but her work schedule was too crazy. But thanks to the Lord's hand, we caught them at just the right time. Elizabeth's boyfriend Chad answered the door and he invited us right in. We sat down and got to know them a little bit and then had an awesome restoration lesson with them. They seem really interested and when I asked, "Would it mean something to you if Jesus Christ had a church on the earth today?" they responded, "Well of course, we've been looking for a better church to go to." #Miracle #Solid After dinner we got to bike around and talk to lots of people, some chill, some not so much... :)

Saturday after lunch, we got to drive to Norman for Martin's baptism :) It was definitely one of the best days of my mission. I'm so proud of Martin and the amazing faith that he has shown. He's a good man and I feel so lucky to have a part in his conversion. After he was baptized he bore his testimony and it was SO powerful. He has his sights set on the temple and being sealed to his son for eternity. I now realize that he was one of the reasons I needed to be in the Norman 2nd ward for 7 and a half months. I also got to see a lot of the members from the ward and that was a special treat :) Especially to see the Williams family again, they're amazing and I love them to death! After the baptism, we drove to Wewoka to have dinner with some members and afterwards had an interesting lesson with Chris Camp. Not sure how sincere he is, we might have to drop him if he doesn't start keeping commitments. Our appointment at 8 fell through and we exhausted our backups so we said a prayer of guidance and ended up talking to a group of people at an apartment complex who were pretty chill and interested in learning more :) #Miracle

Sunday was great :) After church we met with a less-active and then had lunch out at the Choate ranch. Grandpa Choate passed away Thursday morning which was sad. He'd been sick for a while and so it wasn't a huge surprise, the family is handling it pretty well. After that we tried visiting some people, did some finding, and had a good lesson with Gordon. He committed to reading the Book of Mormon and giving it another shot (he's met with missionaries in the past) so hopefully it will go better this time :)

Recently I was listening to a BYU devotional by Elder Holland ("Remembered and Nourished by the Good Word of God") in which he quotes John Taylor. I think this is my favorite way to teach the importance of having a modern-day prophet. It just makes sense!

"We require a living tree—a living fountain—living intelligence, proceeding from the living priesthood in heaven, through the living priesthood on earth. And from the time that Adam first received a communication from God, to the time that John, on the isle of Patmos, received his communication, or Joseph Smith had the heavens opened to him, it always required new revelations, adapted to the peculiar circumstances in which the churches or individuals were placed. Adam’s revelation did not instruct Noah to build his ark; nor did Noah’s revelation tell Lot to forsake Sodom; nor did either of these speak of the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. These all had revelations for themselves, and so did Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jesus, Peter, Paul, John, and Joseph. And so must we, or we shall make a shipwreck" - John Taylor

It's always been crazy to me how many people reject the idea a modern-day prophet. Instead of the glorious belief taught in the 9th article of faith:

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

A lot people seem to believe:

We believe some of what God has revealed, none of what he now reveals, and we believe that he will not reveal anything else pertaining to the Kingdom of God and that the heavens are sealed.

The message of the Restoration is the declaration that the heavens are open again. God loves us. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It only makes sense that he would continue to speak to us. I know that we have a living prophet and 12 apostles on the earth today who lead and guide us. It is such a simple and beautiful doctrine and one that brings so much light, knowledge, and peace into my life :)

Thank y'all so much for all of your love and support! I wouldn't be where I am today without your example and care for me. Missions are simply the best :)

Love, Elder Larsen

Amos 3:7

P.S. I want to make a shout out to my good friend Maddie who just received her mission call to the Washington Kennewick Mission! She's going to be a great missionary because she's already an amazing member-missionary. Congratulations Maddie!

1. Elder Tureson and I having breakfast before transfers

2. Elder Russell and I at transfers

3. Martin and I at the baptism

4. So great to see the Williams family again!

5. Me and Elder Shira