Conferencia General

Conference was great! I like conference. One thing I'm really grateful for is how the mission has helped me in seeing why things are important and what sort of things are important. I remember before the mission I would sometimes wonder, "Why are they talking about this?" but not so much now. I feel like I understand the talks a lot better and get a lot more out of them. Some of my favorite talks (of many) were from Elder Scott, Elder Holland in priesthood session, and the guy from the Sunday School Presidency who talked about teaching by the Spirit.

One of the less active members we helped to come to Conference told us that she felt really good when President Monson spoke. She didn't even know he was the Prophet, and she was listening in English (she speaks a little English), but she said she felt good when she heard him speak. That was a cool experience for her. It's amazing to have a true Prophet here on the earth today.

This week went a little better than last week. We have one investigator currently with a baptismal date. His name is Eddy. He's pretty awesome. He's about our age and his girlfriend's family are members. He really wants to follow Christ, and just needs to build his faith little by little. We had a very spiritual lesson with him on Monday. I felt like I knew exactly what I needed to say to help him accept the invitation to be baptized with a specific date.

The mormon.org campaign is starting in Phoenix today. It's exciting, although its effects on the Spanish population might be a little limited. I liked Elder Ballard's talk on using the name of the Savior's Church correctly, and in certain cases uses the nickname "Mormons." When they did the training for mormon.org in our mission, they told us that the goal of using the term "Mormon" is to get people to connect it to the actual name of the Church. I have to admit, being a missionary, that nickname can get a little frustrating. It's hard to know we're Christians with a name like "Mormons." It makes it seem like we worship something named Mormon.

I've been trying to become more of a mormon.org sort of missionary. Mormon.org really tries to make the gospel relatable and personal. I've been trying to use that more. Sometimes I get into a doctrine dump where I just start pouring all the information I have into a person's head. That is a pretty poor approach. I'm trying more now to share what the Gospel means to me and to help those I teach see what it means to them. Really, if we don't see what the Gospel does for us, it's pretty pointless. We have the Church to help us in our desire to become more like our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and to have the true happiness that comes from doing that. I think that's why I liked the talk from the guy in the Sunday School Presidency. He talked about teaching people instead of lessons by making the Gospel personal and relatable, perhaps at the expense of the information we could share. I also have noticed that some of the most memorable parts of General Conference are when they share a personal experience or story. It just makes things more real and relatable. For instance, I like the talk by Elder Cornish where he talked about praying to find a quarter to buy a piece of chicken. I like simple little tender mercies like that.

Most importantly, Conference really showed me how far I've come in the past six months. I feel like I have a lot more faith now. I understand the Gospel a little better. I know a little bit more about what's important. My love for and testimony of the Book of Mormon have been strengthened. I just love the Gospel and my Savior a little more six months later. I'm excited to see where I'm at in the next six months.

Love,

Elder Grasley