Lord, Save Me

Hey folks!

We were pretty busy this p-day so I'll keep this short.

We had a pretty good week this week! We had an awesome zone conference that was really great for me, I've had a lot on my mind lately and literally every one of the trainings that was given addressed something I've been stressing about. President Griffin's was especially great. He gave a really powerful training on how we recognize the Spirit. It is unique to each one of us but we all feel it and we all receive guidance and encouragement from Him. We must learn to tune out the outer and the inner noise in our lives in order to hear it.

We had a fantastic lesson with a guy named Marvin who is easily the most golden investigator I have ever seen on my mission! He is looking for the truth and has so many desires that will be met by the restored gospel. Our bishop has known him for a few years and last week he felt prompted to ask Marvin if he would be willing to meet with us. Marvin prayed about it and felt that God wanted him to meet with us. The lesson went super well. He even asked if it would be okay if he read ahead in the Book of Mormon! 

And Cameille and Camron are doing great! We met with them twice this week. They seem to be feeling good about being baptized, which is good because the plan is to do it this Saturday. We are finishing up final preparations now and it's exciting. I especially love seeing how happy their grandparents are. They waited and prayed for 15 years hoping their daughter would come back, and now she finally has come back, and the joy that has filled her life and the lives of her kids is beautiful to see. They are happy to see their daughter truly happy for the first time in years.

My message this week is from a talk given in sacrament meeting. The man who was speaking brought up the story of Peter who, when he saw his Master walking on the water late one night, called out to him, saying "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Jesus bade him to come, and miraculously, Peter came, walking a fair distance on top of the stormy waves. "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and [began] to sink..."

I think Peter's experience is common to many of us. For me, it seems I have times when my faith is strong, and, like Peter, at my Savior's bidding I am able to leap out of my figurative boat and walk a good distance upon the stormy waves of life on the strength of my own faith. But then as I look around, I begin to see the storm around me, and feel the wind blowing and the waves rocking. My faith falters and I begin to sink. I make some efforts to stay afloat, but compared to the storm, they suddenly seem so feeble. I wonder why I no longer seem to have the faith I once had, and I begin to slip into despair.

The adversary will try to convince us in these moments that we are at fault, and that therefore we are alone. He wants us to abandon ourselves to hopelessness. But we mustn't forget who called us from our boats in the first place. Like Peter, we can cry out, saying, "Lord, save me!" We can have faith that Jesus is there, as He has been the whole time, waiting with outstretched arm to help us in our efforts to come unto Him. Faith is not just getting out of the boat and walking on the water; it is also trusting that when we begin to sink, He is there and He will help us out of the stormy waves again.

Our faith is not yet perfect. It falters at times. But if we will exercise our faith in Him and reach out for His help, trusting that it will come, "immediately Jesus [will stretch] forth his hand, and [catch us], and [say] unto [us,] O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matt. 14:28-31)

I love the words of President Hinckley: "YOU HAVE NOT FAILED UNTIL YOU HAVE QUIT TRYING."

I love you all! Make yourselves a great week!

Elder Alex Swindler

El Photoritos:

1-2) Took a bit of a detour on the way home from zone conference because we were passing my old area in Knoxville. It was just long enough to take a picture of the front door of my old apartment.

3) Elder Frederick falls asleep in the car a lot...

4) See that huge green blanket that's overtaken an entire massive field and even a tree or two in the background? That's kudzu. It's a vine that grows about 12 inches per day and is eating huge chunks of the South. It boggles my mind that this stuff exists... It can take down entire forests. Also it looks kinda cool, which is mostly why we took this picture. Haha

5) Um...?

It's Monday again?

Hey folks!

I can hardly believe it's been another week. Things are going well for us! Here are some of the highlights from our week:

We found a neat new investigator named Grey on Monday while out tracting. We felt prompted to knock on his door even though it was after dark, and he came out and started talking with us. He told us that he's always been impressed with how persistent missionaries are. When he lived in Maryville, missionaries once trekked all the way up his huge steep driveway when it was covered in an inch of ice just to knock on his door. He talked to them just because he was impressed, and after that he said they wouldn't stop trying his door for over a year. This time around he actually seemed somewhat interested, especially in the idea of a modern prophet. He promised to read from the Book of Mormon. We'll see where things go with him.

Wednesday we did some tracting and went on splits with the priests in the evening. We were actually able to see a couple less actives with the priests so that was good. One of them is this really sweet old guy named Bill, who used to be a coal miner. He's one of the old faithfuls of the ward here, but his health keeps him from church. He loves visits from anyone, he's really lonely after his wife passed away. I visited him with a really cool priest named Wiley. We're trying to sneakily convince Wiley to serve a mission haha. 

Thursday was awesome! We had three lessons that day. The first was with a teacher at the high school named Will who we found tracting last week. Since meeting him last week, he told us he has read some of the Book of Mormon and had even looked up the BYU channel on TV and watched some program that compared a chapter in the BoM to a chapter in Malachi. He is impressed with the Book so far and we had a great first lesson. We're pretty excited for him. He has a lot of potential. He doesn't know he's searching for the gospel but he totally is.

The second was with Camille, Cameron, and Crystal, the part member family that's on date for baptism. We've been struggling to find out what, if any, 15-year-old Camille's concerns are. She's really shy and doesn't give us much to go on. But this time when we asked about how she's feeling about her baptismal date in two weeks, she actually gave us a timid nod, which is more than we usually get! So that's good. We're excited for them. Please keep them in your prayers, that they can be ready by the 24th!

And that evening we had an appointment with Michael, a less active member. Our last visit didn't go so well, we got hung up on his concern about the degrees of glory. But this time went muuuch better. It was cool, the lesson went a totally different direction than we had planned but ended up being exactly what he needed. Definitely was led by the Spirit. He admitted to us that this all basically comes down to whether he believes the Book of Mormon to be the word of God or not, and that though he has been praying about it, he hasn't been putting in the effort to study. As James wrote, faith without works is dead, being alone. So he promised to start reading a chapter of the BoM a day, and we promised to read right along with him and come back and discuss together. Big progress from last time!

My message for the week is from something that struck me at church this week and also from 1 Nephi 10. In this chapter, Nephi relates some of the words of his father Lehi as he prophecies concerning the coming of a Messiah. Then he says this:

 17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men. 

 18 For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.
 19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.

As Nephi learned about the Savior from the words of his father, he felt a desire begin to grow inside of him, a desire to come to know this Savior for himself. I think this is common to all of us: as we hear about the Savior, who He is, and what He has done for us and can do for us, and as we hear the testimonies of others, we begin to feel a desire to know these things - and to know the Savior - for ourselves. Nephi teaches us an important lesson here. No matter who we are or when we live or whatever our circumstances - no matter what - we can all come to know the Savior and have a testimony for ourselves. Even if we already believe and have a testimony, we can have a stronger one. The way is simple: repent, and come unto Him. Seek Him diligently and you will find Him. The way to come to know the Savior is to make use of His Atonement: to turn to Him and work diligently with Him to be healed and changed by His grace. It is then that we will come to know Him personally and have an unshakeable testimony of His divinity and Atonement and love. If we will seek Him diligently, repent and come unto Him, and follow His Spirit, we can and will come to know Him for ourselves.

Wherever you personally are in your relationship with the Savior, please take time to strengthen that relationship. Make a more full and deep use of the healing and changing power of His Atonement. I promise you your life will change for the better and you will have greater happiness and peace.

I love you all! Make yourselves a great week!

Elder Alex Swindler

 

Pictures:

 

1) Elder Frederick and I 

 

2) District pic. From left to right, Elders Nelson, Merrill, Nelson, Bateman, me, Frederick

 

3-4) Double chin selfies 

 

Hey, It's Actually Kinda Short This Time!

Hey folks!

I'm really sorry, I don't have any time for an email this week. Suffice it to say that our investigators are doing well and so are we. We had some cool experiences finding and following promptings. Also the ward here is awesome and they seem to be really trusting us a lot. The ward council keeps giving us referrals and it's awesome.

Crazy story! We got the number for the missionaries in the area in Nashville where Esther moved, and when we called to explain more about Esther, the sister missionary who answered introduced herself and her name sounded really familiar. I asked her a couple questions and sure enough, it was Sister Abby Harward, a girl from my home stake! Of all the people who could have answered, we ended up calling someone I went to high school with. It blew my mind. Haha it was neat to talk to someone I know from home, and even more neat that she'll be taking over working with Esther.

My message this week is brief. The Savior's gospel is designed to help us become perfect eventually. Remember that perfection is His job; improvement is ours. Let go of perfectionism! Take time to feast upon His words every day and to communicate with our Heavenly Father in prayer, and listen to the Holy Spirit as you do so, and He will help you to know how to improve right now. That's something that stood out to me this week, because I get pretty hard on myself sometimes for not being perfect. That's not how it should be though. Our lives are not just a time of probation, they are also our loving Father's gift to us. So if you're anything like me, maybe consider being a little kinder on yourself. Improve whatever you need to improve, repent of whatever you need to repent of, but be patient. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Well. Somehow this still turned out to be longer than I meant it to. I love you all! Make yourselves a great week!

Elder Alex Swindler

Duh Pics

1) Found this lovely sight when we came home one night

2)Video: #missionaryfood

3) Selfie outside the children's museum where we volunteer. Love that place.

The Unrated Pics: Some slightly more PG pics and things. View at your own discretion.

1) Courtesy of Elder Lambert

2) No captions necessary

Videos) Elder Frederick discovering the (fake) poop I left all over his toilet seat hahaha

It Was Almost a Short Email

Hey folks!

This week was crazy fast. And so was p-day, actually, I'm literally beyond out of time. So, for once in my life, this email is probably gonna be really short.

We had a cool experience while out tracting where we were totally prompted to knock on a door, and no one was home, but then we tried the neighboring door, and we found a super cool guy named Sam! He's a young guy, maybe 2-4 years older than us, and is really interested in what we have to say, he's dissatisfied with his own church and is looking for something more. Plus he plays guitar and loves bluegrass. So we are going to have to come back and jam with him because that is my thing. Haha

That same day we had a bit of a letdown appointment. We were on a teamup with our bishop and we went to see Andrea, the one who came to church last week. We asked her what she thought of church and she told us she wasn't very impressed. She pointed out that nobody seemed to be paying attention, none of the speakers even opened the scriptures, and she didn't really feel the Spirit. It was disappointing to say the least, and even more so when she didn't come again this last week - if she had given it another chance, every one of her concerns would have been answered. It was a really good meeting this week.

A lot of her concerns are just the consequence of having an unpaid ministry. Sometimes you just kind of get what you get. But at the same time it was sobering for me as a member of the church to realize that people notice everything we do.

But hey, it was a good week. I wish I had more time to tell you about it. Another highlight that came indirectly from our teamup with Bishop that night was that on Sunday Bishop told the ward council sincerely that he trusts us a lot, and that he feels they can trust the two of us with anyone that is prepared to receive the gospel. Even though we don't always have the greatest successes, it was nice to know that the ward does notice our efforts and appreciate them. It's encouraging to know that we have earned the ward's trust.

Well, it is very very late. I hate to leave you without much of a message... I'll just invite you to consider that everything you do as a member of the Church reflects on the name of the Savior and the name of His Church. Even if you aren't doing something necessarily wrong, your careless actions or negative attitudes may cause others to have a bad taste in their mouths. And vise versa as well: your positive attitude and your small yet devoted acts of commitment may cause others to change their minds about the Church and its members. One thing Andrea did say in favor of the Church was that she is very impressed with its members. She thinks it's incredible and unlike anything she's seen before, the level of sacrifice and commitment found in the members of this Church. So remember that people are watching. We are all missionaries all the time, whether we realize it or not. People notice us, and often that is what draws them to the Gospel. Jonas, one of our investigators, told us he is investigating largely because he sees something in the lives of its members that he's never seen anywhere else, and he wants it. He wants to be like us. So remember who you represent!

I love you all! Make yourselves a great week!

Elder Alex Swindler

Attitude and Excuses

Hey folks!

We had a good week once again. It started out a little slow but ended really well. Wish I had more time to tell you about it but once again P-day is basically over so I'm going to have to at least try to be brief.

We had a lesson with Michael, one of our less active members, again. He is great. We taught the plan of salvation and he took it well and learned a lot. Although we did hit a doctrinal roadblock at the degrees of glory. He's got some concerns there that are super hard to figure out and get past, and we ended up having to cut the lesson short. It's got us both thinking and studying a lot though which is good.

We also mowed and weed whacked Crystal's lawn for her. It was actually Elder Frederick's first time ever mowing a lawn - I guess they don't have lawns in Arizona? It was fun, especially when it started dumping rain out of nowhere right near the end. Tennessee rain is crazy, it can be totally dry one minute, and then literally 60 seconds later it could be absolutely pouring. I love it.

Had a really great zone training meeting. President Griffin was late (he was actually taking care of Elder Lakko's current companion Elder Smith, who got hit by a car which only nearly missed Elder Lakko, and he is in pretty bad shape...) and was super tired but still gave an epic training, as always. He talked about a story involving the prophet Samuel and King Saul. Saul was given a specific commandment by the Lord to wipe out everything living in a particular city, in consequence of that city's earlier attack on the Lord's people. Saul obeyed at first, but then decided to hold back just a little, and spare some of the animals and the King of the land as trophies. He then tried to justify his disobedience by saying the animals were for a sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel replies to his lame excuse by teaching him that "to obey is better than to sacrifice." What figurative sheep are we holding back from the Lord? What small things do we continue to hold back in disobedience, perhaps even justifying them as somehow helping us be better disciples and Christians, or as not really applying to us? It is tempting to hold back just a little, and to try to justify ourselves, but that is not God's way. Obedience is the first law of heaven. The Lord asks for all we have, not just most of it and some lame excuses.

Those are just some of my thoughts from the training. It was super good.

After that, we went on exchanges with the other Elders. I went with Elder Nelson and we ended up talking a lot more than we should have, but it was still fun and we still were able to see Crystal and Camille and Cameron. Elder Frederick went with Elder Merrill, his mission "grandpa." They sounded like they had a ton of fun.

We taught Esther for one last time this week before she moved to the Nashville area. It was super powerful. We drew out a chart with her of what Nephi and Laman and Lemuel were each commanded of the Lord by the prophet Lehi to do - first to leave Jerusalem, then to obtain the plates from Laban - and how each of them responded to those commandments. Then we drew another column for Esther and what she has been commanded to do - first to be baptized, and then to tell her parents about her decision to be baptized - and how she has chosen to respond. She was able to see that she has responded like Nephi to the commandment to be baptized - she has prayed, she has studied and exercised faith, she has followed the promptings of the Spirit - but more like Laman and Lemuel to the commandment to tell her parents. It can be really hard to help Esther understand some things sometimes, but this time it seemed to really get through to her. I'm a little sad to see her go, but I'm sure she'll be in good hands with the Hermitage missionaries.

Found a couple new investigators this week as well. One is named Amy. We saw her name in our phone and didn't recognize it, so we called. She's the ex wife of an inactive member. She's going through a tough time right now and is really reaching out to God - finding her when we did was actually really well timed. We had a good visit this week and she wants us to come back.

The second is named Andrea. We were about to leave an area when we were prompted to knock on a specific door, and sure enough, she answered and was really friendly. It is crazy how it all lined up actually. She only answered because she didn't see us through the peep hole, and then she only talked to us because of my hot pink tie that gave us away as not being Jehovah's Witnesses. She is just now starting to try to get back in church for the first time in years. We came back this Saturday with a member and had a really great first lesson, and she came to church on Sunday! We are really excited about her.

We also had a second meeting with Crystal and Camille and Cameron on Sunday at the Valdez's house (awesome members here in the ward). Crystal is doing great still, she's slated to give a talk next week actually. Camille and Cameron have started reading the Book of Mormon together now, and they accepted a baptismal date of September 24th. Cameron feels ready, but Camille feels a little unsure because she is struggling to recognize answers to her prayers. But she is willing to trust the Lord and work towards a date.

Wish I had more time for a message. I'll leave you with the bits of President Griffin's thoughts I shared above, and a challenge also to examine your attitude about the Lord's commands to you. Are you choosing to be more like Nephi, with an attitude of "I will go and do," seeking for ways to do as you have been commanded and moving forward with trust and faith even when you do not know exactly how to act, or when you don't feel like it, or when it is hard? Or are you choosing to be more like Laman and Lemuel, making excuses and seeking ways to get out of doing it, or even trying a few times but giving up when success is not immediate? Is being a true disciple of the Lord a priority in your life, or an annoyance? I think we are all like Nephi sometimes and about some things, and also like Laman and Lemuel (and Saul) at other times and about other things. Let's choose to be more like Nephi. And remember, "it is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today."

I love you all! Christ lives, He loves us all, His gospel is true, and His Atonement is real! Make yourselves a great week!

Elder Alex Swindler

Pictures and Things

1) "Hey, this porch is actually pretty nic--oh gosh, is that a dead rat??"

2-3) We tracted into a master woodworker. This guy is seriously incredible. I am going to go back and take as many pictures of his work as I can. This is like the least of it, but I didn't think to take pictures until he showed us this at the end. He didn't even make it, his friend did, but the wood grain is incredible and the work is so pretty, I had to take a picture.

4) Elder Frederick examining the local wildlife

5) Goodbye to Esther

6) Hillbilly clothesline

Video) Elder Frederick fell asleep

Promptings and Selflessness

Hey folks!

We had a pretty great week this week! It went really fast though, I can't believe it's already Monday. Let's see if I can remember any of it.

I will give you some highlights and we'll go from there. Hopefully this doesn't end up a mile long like it somehow always seems to do.

On Wednesday we had a really good lesson with a less active named Jacque (pronounced "Jake"). He has a lot of worries about what has been going on in current events and how it will affect his family. We talked about Lehi's dream and what it means to "hold fast" to the iron rod. It really struck him and was definitely inspired by the Spirit. We were also inspired to talk about weaknesses and how they actually come from God, and the reasons He doesn't just take them away when we ask. They are for our benefit and when we choose to humble ourselves and exercise faith in Him, He responds with help and strength and makes us better instead of just taking them away.

On Thursday we had a great lesson with Andrea and Justin (Justin is the one who's father just passed and they are both asking a lot of questions). It was super long but they are genuinely interested and really seemed to like a lot of what we taught.

On Friday we had several cool experiences following promptings. We resolved in studies that morning to talk to as many people as we could, and also to follow everything that felt like it might be a prompting. We ended up talking to quite a few cool people and also finding several of our hard-to-contact investigators just as they pulled in the driveway. Probably the coolest experience, though, was when we went to contact a potential investigator named Johnny. I'll give you some background first though. So back home, Elder Frederick was in the temple one day, and one of the old guys who was there that day asked where he was going on a mission. Elder F told him TN, and the guy said he had a referral for him - his member grandson named Travis who wasn't coming to church. The grandson lived in a town called Oak Ridge. Well, sure enough, Elder Frederick gets sent to Oak Ridge his very first area. So we check the ward roster and can't find Travis's info anywhere.

Well, we go to knock on Johnny's door, and he isn't home. But we both feel prompted to knock on the next door neighbor's door, even though we've tried it before. This time though, someone was home. When we introduced ourselves, she told us "Oh, we're Mormons! Well, at least my husband and kids are." We asked her husband's name, and guess who it was? Yup, the same Travis that Elder Frederick was asked to visit. Crazy right??

The last highlight from our week is also my message. On Wednesday we went to the New Missionary Orientation meeting with President Griffin and all the new missionaries and trainers. It was really great. Some of the things that stood out to me were when President Griffin talked to the Elders about how we are preparing to become fathers. God has put in me a desire to be a father, and He has done so for a great purpose. Ultimately this desire can help and enable me to become like Him. He also talked about how my life from this point on is no longer about me. As a priesthood holder, my purpose for the rest of my life is the missionary purpose (to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end"). Right now, that purpose is for investigators, and it will also be for those I serve in my Church callings throughout my life. But not too long in the future, that purpose will be most of all for my family. Everything I do now and for the rest of my life is and must be for my family, both current and future. As I learn to serve God and work to improve myself now, as I get an education in the future, as I work in a job, as I serve in church callings... Everything I do is to help, and to support, and to serve, and to strengthen, and to show an example for my family. That is where true happiness is - selflessness. If we want the eternal happiness God enjoys, we must learn to live as He does, losing ourselves in the service of others. We must make our purpose His purpose. His happiness and joy is beyond our comprehension, and His whole purpose is utterly selfless: "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [His children]."

So that's my challenge to you. Don't let the little details of life distract you from the grander purpose of our lives. Yes, we all have struggles and challenges, and we mustn't neglect to take care of ourselves. But if we want to live like God does and enjoy the happiness He enjoys, everything we do - even taking care of ourselves - must be for the higher purpose of serving and blessing others, first and foremost our families. Make the missionary purpose - His purpose - your purpose.

I love you all! Make yourselves a great week!

Love,

Elder Swindler

Picktchyers

1) Sunsets here are super pretty

2) Lots of geese!

3) Gotta protect mah wheels, bruh! (Yes, that is a jazzy chair next to the bike)

4) Another sunset

5) Post-haircut selfie

6-7) More selfies

Video) Fun with ice water

Oops - The One Not Everyone Got to See

We were messing around one night and feeling a little slap happy, and we started talking about how there are quite a few people we meet out here who've died and been to heaven and come back to tell the tale, but for some reason, we never seem to meet anyone who's died and been to hell. So this was the result. Figured it was probably best not to include it in my mass email though - not sure if people would quite appreciate the Southern (or is it the Swindler?) in me making its appearance right at the end. :)

Elder Alex Swindler

(Captions added later, courtesy of Sam)