"They were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin..." Alma 24:19

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week was amazing and I had an awesome Easter celebrating the resurrection!

Monday evening Bradley and Shyanne fed us dinner and then we went to Weatherford for a noche de hogar (Family Home Evening) with Laura, Ruby, and the Spanish group leader's family. It went really well and Laura definitely got a lot out of it! It was all in Spanish but we survived and our Spanish abilities are improving :)

Tuesday we found a new investigator and set a baptismal date with her which was awesome! (even if she didn't make it to church) In the evening we went out with Bishop and had a lesson with Bessie. Bishop was lovingly bold with her and we read Matthew 10:34-39. So now we're waiting for her to make a decision and we're hoping, praying, and fasting that she makes the right one. At the very least, the gospel has changed her life, she's quit smoking, and she's found a church family. But she still needs to get baptized at some point...

Wednesday morning we had a legendary lesson with Carl. He relapsed on smoking (again) and so we had him read Alma 24 with us (He has glasses now so he can actually read!). After we discussed the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis burying their weapon of rebellion, we challenged him to bury his remaining cigarettes in his backyard and he accepted! We dug a hole and buried the cigarettes once and for all! He is now working towards receiving the priesthood on April 10th. In the afternoon we had a lesson with Laura and her friend Maria. We extended the baptismal invitation and she gave the typical catholic response, "I've already been baptized" so we brought that concern back to priesthood authority and the Book of Mormon. Hopefully she will read and pray so she can gain a testimony. In the evening we did some family history with Bradley and Shyanne. They are so excited to discover more of their family tree and to go do proxy ordinances in the temple for them :)

Thursday we did lots of planning, Brother Reyes took all the missionaries to Weatherford for a Chinese buffet, we unloaded the church's food truck, and then found a new investigator!

Friday after district meeting we had exchanges with the Elk City missionaries. Elder Aebischer and I had an awesome and crazy exchange! Apart from getting cussed out, helping an old lady catch her dog, and getting some snacks from some other random lady, we were able to teach some lessons and in the evening we went down to Cordell for dinner/lesson with Beth and Karie. Beth is still doing good with smoking and tea, and she is planning on giving up coffee today! We taught her about tithing and she accepted it without any question or concerns so that was really cool. She has so much faith and is changing so much! So excited for her baptism on April 8th!

Saturday was another crazy day full of random events but we were able to teach quite a few lessons and to find some new investigators!

Easter Sunday was a super spiritual happy day :) 10 minutes before sacrament meeting started one of the counselors in the bishopric asked me if I would share my testimony in sacrament meeting. So I got the opportunity to get up and bear my testimony of Easter and the resurrection and eternal families which was really cool :) Elder Knight and I also got randomly asked to teach Elders quorum so that was another cool opportunity :) The rest of the day was pretty good. We visited the Pools (Bradley and Shyanne) and Carl. We found a new investigator and some solid potentials as well! 

One of my favorite hymns is "He Is Risen" (No. 199)

"He is risen! He is risen!
Tell it out with joyful voice.
He has burst his three days' prison;
Let the whole wide earth rejoice.
Death is conquered; man is free.
Christ has won the victory.

He is risen! He is risen!

He hath opened heaven's gate.

We are free from sin's dark prison,

Risen to a holier state.

And a brighter Easter beam

On our longing eyes shall stream."

Not only will we all be resurrected and be together forever as families because of Jesus Christ, but we can also find new life in Jesus Christ. We can become better and happier everyday as we apply the enabling power of the atonement in our lives. Not only are we made free from sin, but we also become changed until we are able to abide the celestial law. "For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you." (D&C 78:7) I know that families are forever, that death is not the end. I know that he is risen and that he still lives today. Let us rejoice everyday and strive to continue to draw closer to Christ.

Well I hope y'all have a wonderful week watching conference and receiving revelation through modern prophets and apostles!

Love, Elder Larsen

2 Nephi 9:6-10

Another Miraculous Week in Clinton

Dear Family and Friends,

Things are still going great in Clinton and I had an awesome week filled with miracles and lots of learning experiences :)

Monday evening we had a lesson with Laura and Ruby. Laura (the mom) is totally ready to be baptized but Ruby (her 13 year old daughter) is struggling to develop a relationship with God. She wasn't raised going to church or believing in God so she is having a hard time finding desire but she was definitely able to make some progress this week. We read out of Alma 22 and 30 which talks a lot about whether or not God really exists. We showed her some quick mormon messages throughout the week as well which seems to be helping.

Tuesday we did service for Sharon again. She is finally all moved in to her new house so that's good :) We had a lesson with Carl about John 21. Carl loves fishing and so he really enjoyed the story. Hopefully he can now apply the "Lovest thou me more than these?" question to his life and focus on the most important things. Carl wasn't able to make it to church yesterday because he went and visited a family member in the hospital but he lived the Word of Wisdom all week so he is back on track :) That night we had a dinner in Weatherford and then we had a lesson with Bradley and Shyanne. They like to talk about politics sometimes which is kind of distracting (and against the missionary rules) and it reminds me of the days when I was more involved in politics. I don't miss those days, it's really nice being on a mission and not having to worry about that stuff :) #John16:33 

Wednesday we taught some lessons in the afternoon, had some members take us out to dinner, and then ended up teaching some less-actives :)

Thursday we had a 2 hour lesson with Bessie. She has finally been able to quit smoking and her health has stabilized for the most part. So we were talking about getting her baptized on the 26th and she said that she wants to be baptized but she doesn't want to become a Mormon. Apparently there was a miscommunication when she talked to Bishop a while back and so she thought she could get baptized and not automatically become a member. At this point in the lesson I had no idea what to do so I said a silent prayer for help. Eventually, through asking questions and talking about priesthood authority we finally got to the root of all her concerns. When her parents were on their deathbeds they made her promise that she would stay a catholic for the rest of her life and she doesn't know if she's able to break that promise. So that was an unexpected curve ball. But we told her to read and pray about it, and I think once she gets a chance to talk to Bishop again that she'll come around. She knows in her heart that the Book of Mormon and the church are true, she just has one last hurdle to clear. That night we went with Bishop to teach Bradley and Shyanne about family history and temple work (something that Bishop absolutely LOVES) and so Bishop ended up basically teaching all of us some pretty cool stuff :) It was pretty cool though because Bradley had just started doing a bunch of family history that same day and we hadn't told him what we were going to be teaching that night. #Miracle

Friday after district meeting we had splits with the zone-leaders which was a blast! It was super cold outside but it reminded me how bad the weather used to be and made me a lot more grateful for the good weather we have been enjoying recently. We didn't really see much success but we found lots of potential investigators :) Elder Knight and the other zone-leader went to Cordell in the evening to teach Beth about the Word of Wisdom. They had a super spiritual lesson and were able to leave with all her cigarettes, coffee, and tea! Beth is seriously a golden investigator and she is getting baptized on April 8th! So cool and humbling to watch the gospel change people's lives :) #Miracle

Saturday was kind of slow. We had a member come out with us but stuff fell through and so we ended up reading the Book of Mormon with a super sweet 80 something year old less-active member :) We did find a new investigator later that day which was awesome! After dinner we had a zone power hour. Basically, every missionary in the zone spent the whole hour out trying to find new investigators. We all saw lots of miracles and it was a really cool experience :)

Sunday we had a pretty good turn out. Bradley and Shyanne were there as usual. Beth came and she has stayed strong. 3 days now without any tobacco, coffee, or tea! Laura and Ruby also came to the Spanish group which was really good because they haven't been able to make it to church for a while now. They are getting fellowshipped really well by the Hispanic members. After church there was a baptism for a girl who just turned 8 in a part-member family so that was cool to watch :) 

So Carl is on track to receive the priesthood this coming Sunday, Bradley and Shyanne are still set for their marriage on April 18thand their baptism on April 23rd. Laura and Ruby are set for baptism on April 2nd if they make it to church this Sunday and Ruby feels like she is ready. Bessie is set for baptism on April 2nd as well which will hopefully go through, we'll do everything we can this week to help her. Beth is set for baptism on April 8th. So excited to see some baptisms in the near future! :)

 A cool scripture I found this week is in 1 Nephi 18:15-16. This is when Nephi had been tied up on the boat while they were sailing to the promised land.

"15 And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea. And after we had been driven back upon the waters for the space of four days, my brethren began to see that the judgments of God were upon them, and that they must perish save that they should repent of their iniquities; wherefore, they came unto me, and loosed the bands which were upon my wrists, and behold they had swollen exceedingly; and also mine ankles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.
16 Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions."

I love this scripture because it shows that no matter what happens to us, no matter what trials or afflictions or sorrows we face, we can always be grateful. One of my favorite hymns to sing when I am feeling down or discouraged is "Because I have been given much." Having an attitude of gratitude helps us keep an eternal perspective and helps us to always find joy in the journey. One of my favorite conference talks is "Grateful in Any Circumstances" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He says, 

"We can choose to be grateful, no matter what. This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer. When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace. We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain? ...  May we live in thanksgiving daily."

Well I hope y'all have a wonderful Easter weekend celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is Risen and He Lives! #Hallelujah

Love, Elder Larsen

Mosiah 16:6-8

Hallelujah

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been another solid one and hopefully this next week will be even better! I forgot to bring my journal with me so I will try my best to remember what happened this past week...

Monday night we had a lesson with Laura and Ruby. It went really well and we were able to learn a lot more about our new investigator Maria (Maria is the lady we found on the street who happens to be best friends with Laura). Apparently, Maria is like a President or something at the catholic church in Clinton. Her daughter was killed in a car wreck about a year ago. She is a super sweet and nice lady :)

Tuesday we had dinner with a former investigator. We dropped her a while ago because she wouldn't keep commitments and she wasn't too happy about it. So we went and taught her a lesson before dinner and basically dropped her again until she is able to stop smoking. It's hard to drop investigators sometimes but it's something that has to happen.

Wednesday morning we had an appointment set up. It fell through. So on the way to our backup (The Ellis Family), we tried to talking to people on the street as usual but got rejected by everyone we tried. The Ellis family wasn't home so we were about to leave when Chabon (the dad) pulled up in his car. We set up an appointment with him and got his new phone number which was awesome! Afterwards, I realized that if we hadn't bothered to talk to all the people on the street, we would've left before he got home. #ObedienceBringsBlessings In the afternoon we taught a guy named Juan that we ran into on the street last week. He met with the missionaries a while ago but apparently they stopped coming by. Anyways, we taught him the restoration and he seems really interested! In the evening we tried to teach Maria the Plan of Salvation. It was a lot harder than teaching the Restoration so hopefully she understood what we were saying. She's going to Mexico for a couple of weeks though so we don't know when we'll see her again.

Thursday we did 4 hours of service for Sharon again helping her move her furniture and stuff to her new house so that was fun :)

Friday we had a special Zone meeting in the city for the Church's new Easter initiative "Hallelujah". If you haven't watched it yet, make sure to go to followhim.mormon.organd watch it! After we got back to Clinton we went on exchanges with the Weatherford Elders which was fun :) We had a member take us out to Cordell to have dinner and teach with Beth and Karie. Beth is doing super awesome and making really good progess. She has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and wants to be baptized on April 8th! Her main obstacle right now is the word of wisdom but she said she is going to try and quit smoking now. 

Saturday we had like the best day ever planned and we were so pumped for it but then (as typically happens on exchanges for some reason) everything fell apart. All our appointment fell through and the member who was planning on taking us to a trailer park a couple of miles out of town cancelled on us. So we rode our bikes all the way out there just for the appointment to cancel on us. Everything is awesome! :)

Sunday was a good day :) It was Wyatt's Angel day which was hard but it was also super spiritual. We were able to teach so many lessons and I got multiple opportunities to bear my testimony of this glorious restored gospel. I don't know what I would do without the knowledge of eternal families. Just thinking that some people don't have that same peace is a great motivator for doing missionary work (Mosiah 28:3) I feel blessed beyond to measure to have the opportunity to proclaim this gospel with the sound of rejoicing! The bands of death have been broken! (Mosiah 16:6-8) Hallelujah!! :)

As far as our other investigators go, Bradley and Shyanne are still doing really well. They're basically members of the ward now and they have their sights set on temple sealing. So excited for them! Laura and Ruby didn't make it Church yesterday so their baptismal date will need to be pushed back but they are still progressing and learning.

Carl had a pretty rough week and gave us quite a scare. He started smoking a little bit on Tuesday and Wednesday (and lied to us about it which made it that much worse). On Thursday he thought his bank account got compromised and so he got super stressed out and started smoking and drinking really heavily. When we walked into his house I thought we were walking into a bar. We tried to soften his heart and were finally able to commit him to pray to God for help. When we visited him on Friday, he had repented completely. He hasn't smoked or drank since then. He got his money situation figured out after he prayed and he says that he's learned his lesson. So he wasn't able to receive the priesthood on Sunday but hopefully he will be able to this coming Sunday. So glad he was able to get back on track.

Anyways, things are warming up and it's getting brighter in the evenings! Hope y'all have a wonderful week filled with Hallelujahs! #FollowHimAndFindNewLife

Love, Elder Larsen

D&C 137

Picture: Elder Whetten doing a wheelie on exchanges

Pictures from Elder Knights mom. Oklahoma is beautiful!!

Transfers

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been super awesome! Things are back to normal for the most part and I'm excited for this next transfer!

Monday evening Bradley and Shyanne took us out to dinner which was really nice of them :) After that, we went and taught Laura and Ruby. We taught Ruby about the Doctrine of Christ and she feels good about what we're teaching and what she's reading in the Book of Mormon. We extended the baptismal invitation and she committed to baptism on March 26th! We also moved Laura's date to the 26th so that they can have the special experience of being baptized together! So excited for them!

Tuesday we spent the whole day in Weatherford/Watonga. We were able to teach the restoration while we were out tracting so that was a cool miracle. In the evening we did a noche de hogar (Family Home Evening) with the huge Hispanic family in Watonga. The tamales were delicious but sharing the lesson was really intimidating because none of us are fluent Spanish speakers.

Wednesday Elder Knight and I were left stranded in Weatherford while everyone else went to transfers to get their new companions. So we went tracting and found the Weatherford Elders some potential investigators :) When we got back to Clinton, we went and did some service for Bessie's sister in law, Sharon. Throughout the whole week we did a total of 7 hours of yard work/painting which was really fun :) In the evening we got to go to the Lewis's (Ward Mission Leader) for dinner and a lesson with Bradley and Shyanne so that was really awesome :)

Thursday we visited Carl and he's still doing really good :)

Friday we had Bishop come out teaching with us. We taught Laura and Ruby, and Bishop threw down about going to college and getting an education. Then we went down to Cordell to teach Beth and Karie. They're doing really well and Beth really likes the Book of Mormon :)

Saturday morning we had a lesson set up a with a Hispanic lady named Maria. We showed up and realized that she was single and therefore couldn't go in without another male with us. So I was somehow able to explain the rule and say that we would go try and find someone. It was definitely the gift of tongues because I still have no idea how I was able to do that. So then we ran over to Elvis's house and got him to go back with us so we could teach the restoration. After we taught her the restoration in complete Spanish (first time ever!) we found out that she is really good friends with Laura which is a complete miracle because we found Maria by talking to her on the street days ago. So that was a really cool experience and the most prominent miracle of the week :) The rest of the day was really slow and entailed lots of biking but the weather was perfect so that was a tender mercy.

Sunday we had Bradley, Shyanne, Beth, Bessie, and Bessie's friend Sharon at Church which was awesome! Bessie bore her testimony again and this time it was only 7 minutes instead of 15 like last time! #Progress After lunch, we had one of the most successful Sunday afternoons I've ever had in Clinton. We taught lots of lessons and found lots of new investigators and it was fantastic :)

One of my all time favorite quotes is by President Ezra Taft Benson,

"When Obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power."

This statement is so true! Obedience is an act of faith because we don't always know the reasons behind commandments. And even if there are obvious reasons, the ultimate motivation for obedience is a trust and love for the Lord. Through love and obedience I have seen so many miracles on my mission. Sometimes it seems like all the little rules don't really matter but as we strive to be exactly obedient we receive amazing blessings even if the blessings aren't directly related to the commandment. Selective obedience brings selective blessings!

Well things are still going great in good ol' Clinton, Oklahoma and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to serve the people here :) I hope y'all have a wonderful week and remember: There's only 25 more days til General Conference! #GetPumped

Love, Elder Larsen

Alma 26:16