A Wonderful Goodbye and My Testimony

The Washington D.C. temple (photograph used with permission), Temples are places where members are taught, make promises and are, in turn, promised blessings.  Ordinances (sacraments) are performed here for time and all eternity for both the living and by proxy for the dead. We believe that those who upon this earth have not received the gospel of Jesus Christ will hear it in the after life and will then have the opportunity to receive it or reject it. In this way all of God's children may know of Christ and his atonement, be judged accordingly and that God wants to save as many of his children as possible. On each temple is written the words "Holiness to the Lord" and "House of the Lord." Psalm 24,
1 Peter chapters 3 and 4

June 29, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I was wondering why I did not receive an email last week. I was not sure what was going on. So, I sent you an email; and then, I thought it odd you sent me things in return. And I went on. Then, I received a call from Sister Sopp, explaining the situation. I checked during our mormon.org time; yeah, I still have yet to receive that email. I do not know why. I will read it when I get home.

It has been fun, this last final week. It has been one of greatness. Our progressing investigator entered into the waters of baptism and is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has entered into the path of discipleship.

Monday, Elder Day and I enjoyed browsing through Staunton, one last time together. We had a baptismal interview for our progressing investigator. It was a bit delayed, because the heavens opened and the floods came rose up. The district leader was in Harrisonburg and got caught in the storm. Which meant we were delayed to dinner. The dinner was with the young couple who loves us. We warned them enough ahead of time and strove to head there as soon as the interview was done. Our progressing investigator did indeed pass the interview.

Dinner was great. It was very emotional for me, because I realized that it would be a while before I would see them again after I leave Virginia. We headed home afterwards, because it was late. 

At this point, I was not looking forward to the rest of the week, except for the baptism and the temple. I talked to Elder Day about all of these feelings, feeling a bit upset. Thank goodness for prayer. I decided that there was nothing I could worry about going home, that it is inevitable and part of the mission experience. I then talked to God about my decision and the rest of the week has not been emotional at all.

Tuesday, we tried to contact a few people before heading to the lesson for our progressing investigator. We saw the man first who is in pain and is struggling a bit. We gave him some encouragement. We, then, had the lesson with the progressing investigator. We covered a majority of laws and ordinances and encouraged her to go to the temple. The temple is a foreign idea to her, but she is trusting and will understand at some point. From there, we made many phone calls for the coming week. We had dinner and tried to see and contact a few people.

Wednesday, Elder Day needed his foot to be checked on; his wart is nearly gone. From there, we used our mormon.org time; then, we visited people in the hospital. The one man we usually visit is finally out of the hospital; the lady who used to belong in the health center also got moved back to the health center. We had dinner and tried to contact a few people. We headed in a bit early, because it was going to be an early morning.

Thursday, I woke up at 3:50 in the morning. I got ready to go to the temple and at 4:45, our ride took us to the Waynesboro Elders' apartment. Elder Day was subsequently dropped off and had his own day with the Waynesboro Elders'. I headed down to Richmond. From there, I joined the departing missionaries. I rode up with the assistants to the president and the majority of my MTC district. I was also with Elder Clifford and others. I got to hear some updates about Tappahannock, which was fantastic. The mentally disabled convert is now driving; I thought that was a bit impressive. The young kid convert is moving. The man who went to hospital-- that convert-- is doing well, other than a few medical bumps in the road. The family I stayed with is doing well, too. Happy to hear all of that.

From Richmond, we headed to Fredericksburg to pick up other missionaries. From Fredericksburg, we headed up to the Washington D.C. temple. The Washington D.C. temple is huge and beautiful. I really do think that I was able to see what heaven was like, in a unique way. President addressed us, that we needed to stay together, and that certain members from our previous areas might be here, such as the second convert from White Oak that was going to be sealed (Matthew 18:18).

(Used with permission Washington, D.C. temple at night fall.)

 I saw some members from White Oak even before I got into the temple. I went inside and met the bishop and the wife of the elders' quorum president from Appomattox. I loved the things that we did in the temple; I got a lot out of it this time around. It was really beautiful. It is really, really beautiful inside the Washington D.C. temple. We headed out about 1:35 pm. I was afraid that I had missed out on seeing the convert from White Oak. I didn't. I was really, really happy to see them.

We had lunch inside the visitors center, then we headed to the Christus statue. 

When were done at the temple we headed into Washington D.C. Man, the traffic. The traffic there is really scary, but it did not mar the experience I had in the temple. We toured a bit by driving past buildings and finally we were able to exit the car to see the Lincoln Memorial. It was really, really cool. From there, we headed to Fredericksburg, back to Richmond. 

Finally, I with a member headed back up to Staunton and got caught in the middle of a storm. It was pouring and pouring more days after. I enjoyed the rain, especially while I could. Then, we picked up Elder Day and made it home about 10:30 pm.

Friday, we got up and went to a meeting. From being condensed in a car for a period of 12 hours in total, I was sore and not looking forward to going back into the car. (I was extremely exhausted. So, do not be surprised if I am extremely tired when I arrive. For the next couple of days after Thursday, I had shadows underneath my eyes.) We had the meeting, had lunch, and headed to a lesson with our progressing investigator. We talked about the temple; still is learning about the function of temples, because it has never been taught before. I said goodbye to a family. We did some planning. Then we had dinner. Dinner was amazing; I had a salad, a really, really amazing tasting salad. We checked up on the man who was baptized when we got into the area. He is doing great; we are trying to encourage the family to continue to progress. 

Saturday, we got up and headed to the building where our investigator was going to be baptized. We began filling it up and cleaning it. Yeah, there were some creatures in there that did not belong. We bravely fought them off. We did some planning. Then, the baptism.

She was so happy to be there. She was happy to be baptized. She said that never in any of her previous baptisms had she been so emotional. (She had cried in the bathroom after being baptized; she was nervous and excited.) I know that she will stay active because she realizes how much this blesses her life. Understanding will come over time for her. She will continue to progress.

After the baptism, we had a lesson with some grandchildren of a member. We reviewed the baptismal interview questions and received understanding on what to teach. It is a complicated situation, making it hard for us to teach frequently. From that lesson, we headed to dinner, which was half an hour away. We had dinner and checked up on the people in the health center, including Dan the Man. I said good bye one semifinal time. He is still plotting his escape.

Sunday, our newest convert was confirmed. She was really happy. She decided to wear something really, really nice. Church was great. I was happy to be there. The Gospel Principles teacher asked us to teach next week... then she realized that I was not going to be there. From church, we did planning, we checked up on a few people and we headed to dinner. Getting to dinner was a task in itself. We decided to be there early, but we hit every single red light. I was tired of it and decided to go around the stoplights by going in a different route. I went the different route and there was an elderly couple in front of us. We were turning left and they were turning right... until they realized that they needed to go left and decided to cut us off completely. Then, we get stuck behind them, slowly going... Oh Virginian drivers. We made it to dinner unscathed. After dinner, we contacted a few people, but nobody was really available. We finished our weekly planning.

So, it is, my final week. I have done a lot. I am actually quite surprised how much I have done. Time has really gone by.

Believe me, I have not been plotting my return. I have been preparing, but that preparation really came over time. You are right; I will no longer be a full-time missionary. I am always a missionary in every other aspect. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ; and part of that means to stay peculiar. There are things I will not watch nor listen to anymore. I realize how happy I am now and what it will take to stay this happy. It is matter of staying spiritual; keeping the Sabbath Day holy, reading the scriptures, going to church and the temple, etc. I will go forward.

What I have to adjust to is, yes, the world. I feel like I understand the principle of living in the world and not of the world by living the commandments, keeping the standards; by those things, do I keep my self consecrated to the Lord. My future involves this, having a tie to God. What I do for a career; I am not sure at this point. I will discover that on my own.

I am Seth Todd, a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will follow in the footsteps of my Savior. I will listen and obey to His counsels, even the counsels given by the prophets and apostles. This declaration is not a pillar to set myself above others; it is a step to help lift others, to serve the Lord, and to continue to progress.

I know that Jesus is the Christ; he suffered for my pains, afflictions and sins, so that I could have faith and to repent. Through the Atonement, I know we and I can be cleansed. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God; God speaks and He loves us for He is our Heavenly Father. I know that because of this love, He gives us prophets today to guide us, so that we can have peace in the midst of our trials. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God; this book teaches us the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, testifies of the truths that are in the Bible, and witnesses that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know it is true, because I prayed to know, yearning for the living waters that I may no more thirst. What a blessing it is to be living in these days to rejoice in the abundance of gospel truths.

All is well for he that trusts in God will not be led astray.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

(Mom was overwhelmed with preparing for his homecoming. She survived and glad he made it safely home. The first one to hug him was his sister Bria on a layover in Salt Lake City where she lives. She met him at the airport. She allowed him to use her phone to call his mother which helped tremendously to calm her nerves. Dad is doing well, too.)

Welcome!

Добро пожаловать всем моим читателям в России. За пределами Соединенных Штатов Америки есть несколько человек, в России, кто читает этот блог.

Welcome to all my readers in Russia. Outside of the United States of America there are several people in Russia who read this blog.

Be in the Right Place, At the Right Time, Doing the Right Thing

Elder Todd's dog Carly with Sister Gomez a missionary serving in Lemoore, CA.

July 14, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I loved the pictures. Thank you for sending them.  And I am glad my dog is cheering people up. She may be skittsh, but she is love-able. I am glad to hear about Rita. It is always good to share in one another's success. I have heard some good news yesterday. A person who I found and taught in Woodbridge is still learning and has a solid testimony. That was great to hear. I have not heard anything about our special investigator in Powhatan and I am still trying to get permission to write to her. I failed to do it during interviews.

To answer your question about the apartments, I do not foresee as such. There are a good amount of empty apartments in the mission. President Wilson, with good intentions, is trying to keep the missionaries as far apart as possible. If at possible, he does not want two or three sets of missionaries living together. That means more apartments. Certain areas have recently closed, such as White Oak for Elders (I was a bit sad). President also wants to open more areas, which means more apartments. The mission is already over budget with apartments. I know that Powhatan has an empty apartment, possibly White Oak and other areas in Fredericksburg have one or more, and here there is an empty apartment. There may be an influx of missionaries that are soon coming in; I do not know. 

Bear with me that this may be short. I lost my planner and I have no idea where. It could have slid out somewhere unbeknownst to me. And thus, now I am relying on my memory. 

Monday, we had P-Day. Shopping took a while. It seemed as though everybody was there. And everybody brought there families with them. With driving, Elder Avison, who is the driver, yells at the people. It is rather humorous. 

Tuesday, we had lunch with a less active due to illness. He is the one who has raccoons chattering in his chimney. Those raccoons are getting bigger and it is a rather curious thing to wonder if the mother will toss her babies down the chimney into his house. That has happened before to him. He fed us a wonderful meal of fried chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and green beans. He gave us spice cake as well. It was delicious. And then he gave us some of it to take home. Now, I am beginning to figure out the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. You see, we had nothing in our refrigerator and hardly anyone signed up this past week (partially due to us forgetting the meal calendar the previous Sunday). Yet, we were able to take home leftovers from that, somebody who did sign up gave us a lot of food, and we raided a wedding reception (more on that story). So, essentially, we have enough food to last us a while. And we have other leftovers. There is a lot of food; we have an abundance of it. Somehow we started with nothing but bread, cheese, and meat. Now, we have a lot of other things. God has been blessing us.

Wednesday, our investigator who is being baptized had her interview. Then, I went on exchanges down in Lawrenceville, where I became the designated driver. We saw all kinds of people and attempted to see others. I met a lady who had four kids under the age of six, some of them adopted. She was feeling depressed that day and told us that she decided to not have any more kids. I met one of their investigators who is going through a lot, but she is making it through. As much as I did not want to be on exchanges, I am glad I was. I needed a break, because I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed. I had a lot on my mind since Sunday after that nightmare and there were a lot of things that needed to be done. And sometimes it does feel that I am doing it alone. As I have discovered time and time again, God is watching out and knows my situation. Hence the exchange. Meanwhile, over here in the Appomattox ward, my companion and our district leader tracted. They found some nice potentials and a person who was waiting for the missionaries to come back. I am excited to work with them. And my companion and our district leader went to missionary correlation. Our ward mission leader was at it again. They talked about missionary work for about five seconds and then, the ward mission leader got excited about the gospel. Thus, he went off on a tangent about the Creation again and gave questions to the district leader to try to figure out, giving him two weeks to come up with an answer for them. The district leader has yet to figure it out. I know the answers, because the ward mission leader told us the previous time of correlation. Yesterday, I met a ward missionary; she approached me. She asked about correlation and I explained that it just depends on the ward mission leader showing up. Perhaps if that person shows up, maybe, just maybe, things can be centered.

Thursday, I finished the ward roster. I was so happy. I figured our where mostly everyone lived, which should make life a bit easier on us. We saw a recent convert and watched a video with him. He responds quite well to videos. 

Friday was an absolute off-day. We were going to help somebody move, but we needed a ride to spare miles. Our ride was supposed to show up at ten. Well, he did not show up until one. We were with two youth; one youth put in a little more effort than the other. We had no clue what we were supposed to move, but we were expected to do something. It was a bit frustrating. We got home at about 4:30, showered and changed. Someone had invited us to a wedding reception for their daughter. I was tired and so was my companion. He knew the family a lot more than I did. So, I relented and we went to the wedding reception. It was all in the idea of supporting the family. Albeit, it was the oddest thing I ever went to see. We show up at 6, when it was supposed to start, and we were the first people there. The first person we meet is the groom, who did not know we were showing up. It was awkward. There were plenty of non-members there as well.

Saturday, we tried to see certain people. All of it failed, except one. He is a less active who we are now working to return to church. And we planned after dinner, because we had yet to do that. 

Sunday, we had church. It was centered on temples and families. Well, our investigator who is being baptized soon went up to the temple yesterday. Some member and her daughter invited her to come and visit. Well, our investigator had a wonderful time. She was invited by the bishop to come bear her testimony of the temple. She did an excellent job of bearing her testimony. She wants to serve a mission. It was awesome. After church, we saw a few people.

So, yes, things are moving ahead. There have been off days and down days, but there also has been up days. Progress is taking time, but I like time. Time is a friend, not an enemy. I know I am at the right place and at the right time. I know that, because Satan is trying to throw a lot of things at me. I am not giving up. I do not care how tired I am. I do not care what happens as long as I am doing the right thing and as long as I am obedient and hearken to the word of the Lord.

All is well! I would say I do not need anything, but I know it has been nearly a year and the count is coming close. I need Aller-tec and perhaps some more nasal spray. Thanks!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Fire Nation Attack: or the Midlothian Switch

May 12, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I do not know how to say this, that rule for forty minutes for us is try to stay under an hour. We did try, but regardless, it was great talking to everyone. I hope Mom enjoyed her Mother's Day card; I meant to ask her about that. What I wrote was to remind all of the good times we had. It has been a long time, so I tried to remember what I could. There were other things that I forgot to mention, which you helped remind just now. So, remember that golden investigator, the one I was privileged to baptize? Well, I was able to get an update on him recently. His fiance dumped him and she was the one that introduced him to the church. While he was sad over that, he is still attending the church and has recently received the Melchizedek Priesthood. That was really good to hear.

It sounds like everything is busy over on the "Left Coast." Keep on doing what is right and press forward. And remember the eternal perspective. While it is hard in this life, things will turn out for the better.

So, I guess I will proceed to tell you of my week. Monday, we had zone P-day, where we headed to the stake center to have fun as a zone. This was with the Midlothian West Zone. I got to say good bye to people that were leaving, but did not really say good bye to others, thinking that we were safe. We never received any calls, so we, the people who were still there, were excited to be together for another transfer. We had played basketball, soccer, and it was a lot of fun. Tuesday, we cleaned, for it was that time of month, and tracted. We also helped with the food bank that day. It was a fairly well week thus far.

Well, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked (another reference to Avatar: the Last Airbender, just to bug his parents). So, Wednesday, it was starting off good. We just got done with studies and were about to have lunch. Then, we got the call that started the week wrong. It was zone leaders of the Midlothian East Zone. They had called a couple weeks previous for a question about a member of the Powhatan ward, so I picked up, thinking it was follow up. No, not at all. We were being welcomed to the Midlothian East Zone; I put the phone on speaker, so my companion could believe this. We were both confused and it was a blindside. We called our previous district leader, who called the zone leaders. We went about our way, hoping the situation would be resolved. When the zone leaders of the Midlothian East Zone called, I promptly told them my issues with this, thinking that they were confused. Our district leader and zone leaders of the Midlothian West Zone had no idea either. So, the East called the West and there was nothing West could do. We are now part of the Midlothian East Zone. Well, I was extremely agitated at that point. Do not worry I put a smile on my face.

While, yes, there is nothing really I can do, but smile, and accept it, I still have feelings about it. Couldn't we have a little more warning? We just had zone P-day and we did not get to say goodbye to anyone, really. I felt like I had actually found friends and was included. It is bit hard being ripped from friends without warning. My other zones I really did not get out much; that, and I did not feel that included. So, it was hard, but hey, I will make some new friends. I know it is a bit selfish to feel that way, but I made friends. Major accomplishment on my part. And Powhatan is in the middle of the Midlothian West Zone; it literally splits the zone. But, hey, I know it does not make sense, yet President is inspired. What takes the cake for me is that I have fears of not being included and the area not understood. I came into this area with the idea to tract and find new. However, six weeks later, I realize this area needs to focus on the less active members; this will be a major boost for the area. It is what it needs. Yes, we still will go out and try to find people. I am not at all giving up on baptizing people and trying to help them. I just see that this area is more geared to less active work at this current moment. If we baptize someone, my fear is that the people will want another; after all, it has been four years since they had a baptism. It is an odd fear, I know. But, this area needs to gradually build itself up, which can be accomplished through less active work. Having a sudden peak through baptism will only ensure a quick and faster descent that will hinder the work. I prayed about this and felt right about it. This area needs time; while yes, we have two investigators who are potential for baptism, they need more time. I have that fear about the zone and it is hard not knowing what is going to happen, because it is not just two people in a new zone, it is an entire area. It just is a bit frustrating to know this and having no one else know. It does not help when you receive nearly daily texts about people being put on date. We are trying and we rejoice in people's success, but as I have learned in the MTC that can really get on people and actually burden them. Another fear is for whoever comes in. Is it odd for me to feel this way? I do not think so. I have seen what this area is like and know now what this area needs. I feel right about it.  And we had basketball that night and I have been doing a bit better with defense.

Thursday, we worked extra hard and nothing came about. We received anti-Mormon material, which was a bunch of garbage.

Friday, we talked with an investigator who has been investigating for three years. We finally got down to the meat of the issue. She had a problem at first with the priesthood, but Dallin H. Oak's talk helped clarify that. Now, she has an issue with tea. She also feels more included in her church that she has been going to for the sake of her mother. At first, it was an obligation, now it is her actually taking a liking.

Saturday, we talked to our investigator who has been having issues with the Word of Wisdom, who wants to be baptized, but just actually wants a clean slate. We saw our less active who is in a nursing home. It was so awesome to see him; his brother came to get him and they and us spent time at the less active's house. We celebrated his birthday, which was back in April. (We weren't able to celebrate in April, because he went to the hospital.) And Sunday, we talked for a while. It was good day. So, our week was okay, up and down, Satan trying to get at me. I woke up this morning feeling good and ready to overcome.

And the checks.... So, I went to Well's Fargo, in the hopes I could cash them. Nope. Why? I did not have an account with them neither did Grandma. So, I looked at where the nearest Bank of America is. Three words: out of area. Which means required permission, miles, etc. I looked at Fredericksburg; also, out of my area at that time when I received the checks. Woodbridge, very dependent on members. So, it may be a while if I can see if they can be cashed. I will update you. I get to be out of the area this coming week for district meeting.

So, I am good. Happy now. I just had a lot of feelings to get out. It was great to see and talk to you. I was glad to see Joy and Bailey as well. I was glad to see Carly, Coda, and Buddy. And more importantly, Mom and Dad, it was great to see you. It was nice to talk. Things will definitely have to be done with the Spirit. Thanks for the chronology. I am almost to the epistles; Paul has yet to go on his third missionary tour.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Love the quotes, especially Sister Hinckley's. And do not worry over the zone issue, it is not bugging me, it is nothing that you should worry about, it will be what it is.