April 9th, 2012

Hey everyone!

This week was awesome! On Monday, I got to shake President Brown's hand! (the President of the MTC) Vai Sikahema, the first Tongan to ever receive a football scholarship to BYU gave us a devotional on Tuesday, and he was great. He is a Chief Broadcaster for NBC in Philedelphia, so he had some really funny stories for us, but his message was mostly how important missions, and missionaries are to the world. My classes have been going really well, and I am learning so much about the role the Spirit plays in teaching, and conveying the message of the Gospel. Because of that, I am getting much better with sharing the lessons with "investigators" in ways that they can feel and understand the Spirit. Being in the MTC for Easter was even better than being here for General Conference. We had a huge MTC-wide sacrament meeting in the gym, and President Packer was presiding! He was there with his son, Elder Packer of the 1st Quorum of the 70, and we all took the Sacrament together. President Packer shared a message with us about the Atonement of Christ. It was centered on the scripture, "Repentance could not come unto man save there be a punishment." He told us anytime we sin, it is like we break our spirits, and the only way we can fix it is through the Lord Jesus Christ. We can't expect everything to be ideal, and that the trials we experience are what make us strong. If we follow the Atonement, we can have happiness, and that we need to remove fear from our lives, as it is the opposite of faith. I enjoyed his talk more than any i have heard by him in recent memory. He was more lighthearted than i have ever seen him, and he even told a couple of jokes. I am very glad that I had the opportunity to be here for that. Later, on Sunday night, I was able to watch, "Joseph Smith, the First Prophet of the Restoration." I have seen it a couple times already, but I still love watching it. I have always found Joseph Smith and his life fascinating, and I love learning about him. After the movie, my companion and I were walking back to our residence hall, and I was telling him about my experiences at Nauvoo, Carthage Jail, Liberty Jail, and other Church history sites. I was very young when I visited all of those places, but I still remember the feelings I experienced. As I was telling Elder Hendrix about them, I was overcome with the Spirit. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I can't wait to share these feelings and experiences with others in Brazil. There is nothing I would rather be doing right now than serving a mission. I love and miss everybody, and I am having a great time here!

Love,

Elder Day