Email November 17, 2014

Hello family! Man, it feels like it has been forever since I last emailed home! Not in a bad way because this was a great week, but it just has felt really long. Probably because we had a lot of tedious things to take care of like getting my new companion Elder Dixon all unpacked and set up, getting our groceries and laundry taken care of, and more things that are required when picking up a greenie fresh out from the MTC. But when we got all that taken care of, we had a really good last couple days of the week! We had 3 member present lessons which hasn't happened here for a while and picked up a new investigator! Unfortunately, however, that new investigator actually doesn't live in our boundaries. Go figure. :/ We didn't figure that out until after the first lesson. So we're going to teach her another lesson or two and then hand off to Nevada City Elders to teach and most likely baptize. The lesson we had with her, her name is Marian, was awesome! We taught the Restoration and committed her to read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and pray about Joseph Smith as well. And then invited her to be baptized if she came to know it's true and she said yes! She talked about wanting to go on a journey to find God and we basically said that meeting with us and reading from the Book of Mormon will be that journey and that she will find God and His church if she goes through it faithfully. She seems so prepared to receive the gospel, I can't wait to see her progress! And I would love it so much if she entered the waters of baptism and endured on to the end!!! She wants her 4 year old daughter to have a belief in God and high morals and likes that we believe in forever families. It's just all kind of falling into place. So cool. We had a lesson with Brad that was very interesting. Let's just say that from these books he has, he believes that he can get a "sacred power" that will allow him to do things like fly, change what he looks like to other people, breathe underwater, etc., and will allow him to control demons and "put them [the demons] to work for the benefit of man." Weeeeeeeell. Not quite right. At all. In any sense of the word. Ever. This was already obvious but then the book adds on top of all of that, that this sacred magic will allow him to make a woman desire to commit fornication or adultery with him. He says that the book only has it in there to make it "complete" so that you know both the good and the bad, but that you should only do the good or else you'll be smitten. Yeah. No bueno. This book = not true. And it is very evident. It's just sad that people get caught up in things like that! I can't speak for other people, but for Brad I worry for him because he doesn't have a 'standard of truth' so to speak. He just compares books to each other and whichever combination of books he finds has more links and truths with each other, those are the books he considers true. So he hasn't really prayed about any of the books he has right now, except for the Book of Mormon that he says he'll pray about when he finishes, despite our asking him to pray whenever he reads. Brad is just...interesting. I feel he is an honest seeker of truth but has gotten stuck in the interpolations of man. We had a lesson with Megan and Heather as well! We got to know them a little better, how they got into contact with the missionaries and started having them come over, what they have thought so far, etc. They started reading the Book of Mormon with missionaries in the past and got all the way through Alma, but since they moved into our ward they haven't read because the books have been all packed away. But we committed them to reading Alma 32 before our next lesson, tomorrow at 5, and we're excited to keep working with them. They came to church a week ago and said they liked it and said that they'd want to come again, but then jump out when relief society starts because they don't like large groups of people, especially large groups of women. Our member present, Brother Woytus, told them he was the same way (except for the large groups of women in particular, he just didn't like large groups of people in general) but that when he read the Book of Mormon and found it was true, he went forward with faith and was able to move past it. They said they'd be willing to give it a shot if they knew it was true as well. So, woot! Super cool. Those were our lessons for this week and we have them all set up again for this coming week which will mean another good week! Sorry, I just said week a lot. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it all. Elder Dixon and I are doing great! He's from Saint Angelo, Texas, he's 19, he's the youngest kid in his family, and he's awesome! He's really funny and really prepared to work hard. He has a really good outlook on missionary work and wants to be a good missionary and be obedient, but knows that joking around and having fun isn't a bad thing. He can take a joke and gives jokes back really well too! It's just great. He's really open to being trained, which is a very nice change haha. He also told me that in the MTC he was praying really hard that he would get a good first companion and then when we were being assigned our companions in the mission office he felt like I would be a "really, really good trainer." And then we got assigned as companions and he tells me that he's super glad he got me and thinks I'm the best trainer in the mission! Hahaha. He even said that in front of the ward when he bore his introductory testimony. I can honestly tell you I didn't train him to say that haha. He's just awesome, I love this kid. One of the things he does that he's slowly got me into doing is when something awesome happens saying, in the voice of Crush from Finding Nemo, "Righteous! Righteous!" Crush says it at the part where they are following the EAC and they hit the roller coaster-like current. It's funny when Elder Dixon does it. He's great, I like him a lot. We're going to see miracles together! Well, that's kind of it! The Spirit is bringing a lot of things to my attention and understanding and I'm getting a lot out of my scripture studies. I love my studies so much! And then when we do the training hour of our studies I see myself improving in those areas as well which is so awesome! The church is just true. There's no other way to describe it. The witnesses I have received out here on my mission and the witnesses that I received when I was home just continue to add onto what I already know and love. This gospel fills my life with hope, joy, comfort, peace. It gives me purpose. It gives me knowledge. It is the best thing to ever happen to my life and the best thing to ever happen in the history of the world. I know it's true, with all of my heart and soul. I love you guys! I hope you have a fantastic week! Pray for, look for, and have missionary opportunities! How great shall be your joy if you should bring one soul unto Heavenly Father! And how great shall be Heavenly Father's joy! And how great shall be your brother or sister's joy when they receive the gospel of Jesus Christ! Love, Elder Jacob Cevering