December 13-19, 2011: T'was the week before Christmas...

Merry Christmas!

Phenomenal letter. I can't believe so much can go on back there in just one week! I also can't believe that Kyler is home. That blows my mind. Ok so for the Christmas call: We have sacrament meeting in Cactus View at 9:00 and then in the YSA at 1:00. But I think it would be good if YOU could call ME around 3:30. Yes, I still have the same number as last Christmas. :)

Some awesome things happened this week. One might include another long story about Mark Coleman. This week he came to our Monday night FHE which was a huge dinner and then White Elephant gift exchange. There were about 75 people there which is good for our YSA. My gift that I brought was a Book of Mormon in Croatian. People laughed. I was also the first to choose and happened to pick a Batman cape. It was a hot item and got stolen very quickly. Anyways, so Mark was talking to some members and started talking to one of them who just returned home from her mission. She found out that Mark is into canning foods and she asked if he would teach her. He of course said yes but didn't think that anything would come from it. She then said, "ok well how about Wednesday?" He was a bit shocked but set up a time to teach her. Tuesday night, Mark came to our Book of Mormon class and met with one of the bishopric members afterwards to see about getting him a temple recommend. Mark was so stoked. He asked him about being a full tithe payer. Mark said that he wasn't able to at the moment because of some giant loans he has been having to pay back from when he had surgery on his eye way back in the Spring. He was pretty bummed to find that out but when he got home, the Spirit hit him with a prompting. Mark is a huge fan of guns and remembered that he has a whole slew of them in his home. He realized the seriousness of being a full tithe payer and also a temple recommend holder. The next day at work he put a sign up at work in the window at his desk that he was selling all his guns. By lunch time, they were sold. He got the money a paid all the tithing that he owed, including some for the future. Wednesday came, the returned sister missionary and a friend went to Mark's house and upon leaving after canning blueberries, she turned around and randomly told Mark that he should serve a mission. Immediately Mark responded with, "well if I did that then I would lose all my credits at school, money would be hard, blah blah blah..." Her response, "You should pray about it." Right then he knew that if he prayed about it, his answer would be he needed to serve. That night he prayed. His answer came. He explained it by saying it was as if he was being held by someone in a very large warm blanket. He said the literal feeling of God's presence was undeniable and so powerful. He is determined to serve a mission. The next day he set up a meeting with the bishop to settle his tithing, get his recommend, and ask about the process of serving a proselyting mission. The only problem? He turned 25 in September, and he was baptized in November. Age 26 is the cut off to serve missions. Apparently there is special permission that can be granted for those who are recent converts. President Hettinger is on the ball and is going to be trying to get him permission. That would be so dang awesome! He would be a phenomenal missionary. He got us Christmas presents and brought them to church. It is a very nice framed picture of the Phoenix temple. I'll probably send it home sometime with the letter that he sent me.

Saturday our zone had 3 more baptisms. The total is now at a new record on the year. Though the 110 didn't get reached, it is still so cool to see 100+ baptisms two years in a row. The stake presidency and high councilman over missionary work are quite enthused about it all. At the beginning of the year, nobody really believed that we would be able to do as well as last year. The reason being that all the "part-member families" or "low-hanging fruit" as some call them were mined. This year the missionaries did phenomenal work at "finding the elect" and seeing them to baptism. It's awesome to go back and look at the records and see the percentage of those found through street contacting/tracting to those that were member referrals. This year there are many more found through the missionaries than last year. Hopefully next year both sides will contribute even more.

The mission Christmas Zone Conference was on Wednesday this week. We listened to some awesome musical numbers and then drove out to Mesa to do a session and see the lights at the temple. It was so cool to see Sister Keddington there. She saw me and pulled me right out of a crowd! I was pretty amazed that she even remembered my name. (She wrote to Colton's family and shared the following: “He looked fantastic and the spirit radiating from him was clearly visible. He seems so, so happy to be doing the Lord's work. You have every reason to be proud of the missionary and the man he has become/is becoming. Thank you for raising such a wonderful son and setting such a good example for him. Thank you for sharing him with the people in Arizona. Take it from me, they need him! I just wanted you to know that he is doing great, that he loves you, and that he is happy.”

I spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday. I'm going to send out the copy of my talk with the Christmas card that we made today. I don't really know how good it was but I hope you like it. My topic was "The True Meaning of Christmas - Becoming Christ-like."

I hope that you have an awesome Christmas. I'm excited to hear from you all.

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

December 6-12, 2011: "Never Tract Again," Katie's Baptism, and Mark Coleman's Conversion Story

Hey family!

That's too bad about all the damage that was done to the home. Hopefully it all gets worked out.

We had a pretty good week this week. Tuesday was Zone Leader Council. We talked all about our goals for the upcoming year and how we are going to progress. When Elder Kevin Duncan came and visited our mission he talked about Vision - Goal - Plan - Task. Our vision in our zone is to "Never Tract Again." When we presented that to our stake president he was like, "huh?" Then we told him the goals to accomplish that vision. The goal is to "Geo-Code" the wards, which has already proven to work in the areas where it has been implemented. I've talked to you about this before. The plan to accomplish the goal is to receive all the lists from the Bishops and Ward Clerks including the lists of part-member families, unbaptized children over 9, prospective elders, less actives, etc. Then the task is to categorize each of these (including potential and former investigators) and then to pound out the sections in the spare time that we aren't teaching. In our family ward that we just took over, we have already found a lot of good potential. It also seems that when you put forth the effort and hard work, the Lord blesses you in ways that you would not have expected. When I talked about this to the ZLC, some of the zone leaders called afterwards to get feedback and ideas on how they can present it to their stake presidents. I think it will help the work progress immensely. We put forth the effort this week and found a few potentials, but when we came to church on Sunday, some random kid named Skyler showed up telling us that he had already taken the lessons in California, lived in Rexburg for a while, and that he just wants us to help him prepare to be baptized. We were amazed. The Lord is truly blessing us every single week! Katie was last week, and Skyler is this week.

Katie's baptism was awesome. Elder Buttars baptized her and I confirmed her. She bore her testimony about how she has come to know the church to be true. She shared one experience that I thought was pretty cool. On Friday we went by to make sure everything was ok. I was on an exchange with a younger missionary. We started talking about the Book of Mormon and I asked, "Katie do you believe that the Book of Mormon is true?" She said that she did but that she hadn't really ever read it. In my mind I was thinking all about the phrase, "the feeling is enough." She said that since she has a testimony that Christ is real and the Book of Mormon talks about Christ then she doesn't doubt that it is. I told her to open up to 2 Nephi 33:10. “And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.” She read it, marked it, highlighted it, dog-eared the page, etc. because it spoke directly to her. Her testimony is very strong of the book and she's literally only read one verse. You don't have to eat the entire cake to know that it is a good cake. The feelings she gets when she bears her testimony and learns about the gospel are enough for her. Following her baptism, our good Relief Society President hung out with Katie for the rest of the day. Katie was able to meet almost the entire ward in one day - from going on a bike ride, to a RS party, to caroling with the elder's quorum, to chaperoning at a stake dance. She is already grafted in nicely.

Yesterday Mark Coleman spoke in church. I think the entire ward was in awe. His talk was phenomenal. He sent me a copy of it and I will forward it on to you. He seriously seemed like a general authority up there. I think he'll be up there one day. He is so intelligent and has such a strong testimony. He will definitely be one that I will stay in contact with my entire life.

Our zone is doing pretty well. Several families have succumbed to temptations and their baptism dates have been pushed back. As of right now we are at a total of 99 baptisms on the year. With the three scheduled this upcoming weekend, they will push us to 102, a new record. Not that the numbers are of any importance, but they represent souls. I'm grateful to have been involved in this great work for the entirety of 2011. I would not have wanted to be in any other place. I don't know a missionary who is able to say they stayed in one place for an entire calendar year either. I consider myself very blessed.

I have been reminded by a quote that was said recently. It's by Albert Einstein. "Great spirits often times receive violent persecution from mediocre minds." I was also reading in my patriarchal blessing recently and was reminded of the personal relationship that I have with my Heavenly Father. For some reason the picture that came to my mind was me returning to the feet of Him, shaking His hand and embracing Him, and telling Him of the effort and work I put forth in the errand He called me to run. I know that Heavenly Father knows each of us on a very personal level. I'm grateful that you shared with me the experiences that are going on in Grandpa Roger's life. I'm grateful to have the knowledge that our Father wouldn't send us to this earth to develop such powerful relationships with our family members to just have them end. That would give me no hope and desire to progress. I know that we will be with our families forever. This absolute truth gives me so much comfort and peace during the times of trial and distress in life. I love you all. Please, please know that!

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

Talk given by Mark Coleman on 12/11/10. It’s the remarkable story of his conversion and baptism. (We were on exchanges when Elder Buttars knocked on his door)

My Story

Good Afternoon, My name is Mark Coleman, I am 25 years old and I have been given the honor of telling you my story on this day.

Dear Heavenly Father gave us this gospel which has changed my life and brought me here. I would like to read a couple of verses that I found poignant. The first is from Jacob 5, during the parable of the Lord's Olive tree, the domesticated tree is withering and dying. Regardless of His and His servant's efforts of digging about and pruning and dunging, the tree continues to deteriorate. His final remaining option is to cut the dying branches from the tree and graft wild branches in their place so that he might preserve the root. He says He ought to cast the dying branches into the fire, but instead, writes in Verse 14,

14 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard went his way, and hid the natural branches of the tame olive tree in the nethermost parts of the vineyard, some in one and some in another, according to his will and pleasure.

He spared those branches they might take root and produce fruit for him again. He goes on to later in the chapter in verse 52 to say,

52 Wherefore, let us take of the branches of these which I have planted in the nethermost parts of my vineyard, and let us graft them into the tree from whence they came.

Those branches have been saved. And I would like you to think about that second chance as I tell you my story.

I was born in California. I was raised there as well as in Texas and have been living in Arizona for the last decade.

I was raised a traditional Catholic and attended Catholic school for the majority of my childhood. I can only tell you that of my experiences within my church.

We prayed in that faith. We prayed a lot...

The prayers were pre-manufactured. To pray adequately you would say 1 of 3 or 4 prayers repetitiously until the desired outcome was achieved. One of the most common prayers goes like this,

Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed are't thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, Holy Mary mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death amen.

After prayer you make the sign of the cross. You say, in the name of the Father (while touching your forehead), the Son (while touching your chest), and of the Holy Spirit (while touching the left and then right shoulder), Amen.

I want you to remember the last part here, the ← Holy Spirit -> while I traverse into another story.

At the age of twelve, with the coming of hormones and cynicism, I decided that I no longer believed in God. I only believed in that which was true and proven. I had a fascination with the sciences and I would only put my faith into that which is truth and law.

I addressed faith this one time and decided I knew all I needed to about my beliefs.

Later in life I began self-destructive tendencies like drinking and smoking.

I worked in grocery stores pushing carts in high school. I later became middle management for Albertson's and Sprouts.

Almost 3 years ago found myself working in my present job as a legal secretary for one J. Vance Andersen. He is an attorney. He is also LDS. In fact, there are several attorneys in our office. They are all LDS. There are several more secretaries, they are all LDS.

And I was the only godless wretch.

My boss, Vance, had moved to a new house with a plain and flat backyard. He paid me to come over on Saturdays and dig holes to plant massive trees in. The ground was so hard and full of rocks it required a jack hammer to break up. The remnants had to be shoveled out. Did I mention it was June? It was very hot and miserable.

We planted that side of the yard with citrus trees that are now flourishing. His children would aid us in our work.

It was on one of those hot mornings that I found myself talking to a 7 year old Christian Andersen. He was tasked with helping me, but couldn't do much, so instead talked to me about school and matters as such.

I was digging a hole for a 24” box tree that stood about 12 feet tall. I remember digging low enough that my knees were level with the ground. And Christian asked me...

'Are you a member of the church?'

To which I responded, 'No.'

He went on, 'Well, where do you go to church?'

And I said, 'I don't.'

Confused, he continued, 'What church did you go to?'

I replied, 'I used to be Catholic.'

At this point, I could see his curiosity leading me down to an awkward explanation. I had never told my boss I was an atheist. I most certainly was scarred to tell my boss's son. So I began digging. I thought that perhaps my busy working would change the subject or distract Christian. I dug with all my might and as fast as I could. My hole grew deeper and deeper. There was a silence among the two of us while I endeavored. Finally, I was almost sure my hole was dug and I could start a new one.

I found myself, almost waist level with the ground, covered in sweat and dirt, hot and tired at the bottom of a very deep hole, with a child towering over me and I asked Christian, 'Does that look deep enough to you?'

Ignoring my question, he said, 'So what do you believe in?'

Before I could stop myself, I said, 'Nothing'...

My mind reeled at the thought. I am no nihilist, I must live for something, I must have some belief.

I tried to satisfy my ego, by saying, 'Science, proven facts...'

It didn't work. That line of questioning opened up a hole in my psyche, in my soul that I could not fill. Even through all my analysis of faith as a teenager, I had never been forced to admit belief in nothing.

That tree was planted, many more were as well. Life went on and I continued college studies and work and thankfully I was not fired.

Almost a year later on my 24th birthday I decided to quit smoking and drinking for at least a month. 1 month turned into 3, and 3 to 6, and I felt the habits were something I could give up for the rest of my life.

A couple months after my 25th birthday, it was a Friday evening, I had gathered dirty laundry and text books to take to my girlfriend's house for the weekend as was tradition for me. There was a knock at the door (knock sound), I yelled, 'One second sweety' as I grabbed my keys and upon opening the door, my eyes took a moment to catch up with my mind.

I said to myself, 'there is only one of my girlfriend, but two people stand before me. My girlfriend also does not wear white dress shirts or a black name tag.'

These were missionaries. I had heard of missionaries. Another secretary's son had just come home from a mission. I came out front to Elder Buttars and his companion and asked if they were LDS, how old they were, and where they were from. I invited them back so that I could feed them and learn about what they do. It was simple curiosity. We made an appointment, I ordered the pizza and we ate together the next week.

After eating Eldar Buttars asked if I believed that Jesus Christ was the savior of our sins.

I looked at him, thought, you aren't going to trick me as young Christian Andersen did, and said, 'I don't know'.

We had a lesson, they asked to come back, I was surprised by the request, but obliged none-the-less.

I thought about that a lot that night after they left. My answer of 'Nothing' had changed into 'I don't know'. Why? Because 'Nothing' is uncomfortable, it's scary, it unappealing to the subconscious and the conscious mind.

For the first time since I was a teenager I re-examined what I thought faith was. Now as a pre-nursing student, I have a stronger understanding of science and truth.

Law and Truth as defined by science are that which can be repeated perpetually without a change in result. But the funny thing is, Newton's Law of Gravity was just dis-proven by Einstein's Theory of Relativity. The law by which we launched men into space, performed countless physics calculations and studied for centuries was not perfect truth.

You begin to realize as you think about things such as open heart surgery, that there is no defined fact or truth in the procedure. There is no 'placebo' group that proved the surgery works. There are only statistics. And something else...

There is FAITH!

Faith in your doctor, faith in all the times that the surgery worked. We practice faith with our most precious commodity every day, our lives.

When you cross the street or drive your car you exercise faith that you won't be run down by traffic. When you eat a restaurant you practice faith that the cooks will not make you ill. We put so much faith into so many things other than God every day.

And I thought to myself, 'If I can put all this faith into my fellow man, then why not God?'

Elder Mouritsen asked me one day, 'Do you feel the spirit?'

I thought, ← Holy Spirit → Amen, and said 'No, what does it feel like?'

I was perplexed, I was never told that I could feel God or his spirit in all my studies in Catholic school.

He described, it. And one night asked me to pray on this book.

And today I bear you witness to my testimony,

That walking home from Sister Sloughman's Book of Mormon class one night after a prompting from Elder Mouritsen, the spirit filled my heart and gave me the truth of this faith.

I bear witness that a child and two missionaries with simple words and questions, brought the word of the prophet Joseph Smith to me and introduced me to the plan of salvation as well as my own spirit.

I tell you that this church is true, because I have more faith in it and it's members than any other person I've ever had faith in.

And I tell you I was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ by Elder Mouritson on November 19th of this year and confirmed in this church by Eldar Buttars on November 20th.

While I cannot think of myself as a branch upon Jacob's tree, perhaps I was a twig, struggling to produce a leaf for the sustenance of good fruit one day. I feel that just as those branches were spared from the fire and given time away from their origin, I too was spared. And I feel that I am now grafted back to my tree of faith. That it is living here. That I am now surrounded with the fruition of desirable acts blooming all around me that the Lord can lay up unto himself against the season.

You all bear fruition to so many desirable acts...

You ALL bear fruition to so many desirable acts.

And I pray that I may endeavor to bear similar works to the Lord in offering up the entirety of myself to Him.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

November 29 - December 5, 2011: Agency...and one of the best weeks yet!

Hello!

Holy cow sounds like it was a crazy week up there! The damage received to homes reminds me of the hail storm we got down here over a year ago. Roofing companies are still backed up to this day with homes needing new roofs. Insurance companies were pounded. Hopefully everything works out. I love to hear about all of the service that was rendered from members and friends in the area. Sunday is a day of service. What better way to spend the Sabbath! Thanks for giving me a great example to apply to teaching people how to keep the Sabbath Day holy.

The week here has been one of the best of my entire mission. I'll give you an outline of what I'm going to say. 1. We took over Cactus View, the family ward that meets in our building. 2. Had an awesome lesson with two extremely analytical girls who were trying to catch us in our words. 3. We were passed the sacrament by Mark Coleman, recent convert of two weeks. 4. Met a girl for the first time on Thursday. Invited her to be baptized. Friday, we had another lesson on the commandments. Saturday, she came to the temple lights with the ward. Sunday, she came to church. She bore here testimony in sacrament meeting. Next Saturday, she will be getting baptized. AMAZING story. 5. Mark Coleman also bore his testimony about the "visceral" feeling of the Holy Ghost that has come into his life and helped him to gain a testimony. 6. etc.

And that’s about it! Hope you have a great week!

Just kidding...

First off, the two analytical girls. Every Friday night we have a lesson and it usually consists of questions all about myths, misconceptions, and biased people's opinions they've heard at one time or another. Prior to this appointment, we gave them the assignment of reading the first 8 chapters in the Book of Mormon. They read the intro, testimony of the witnesses, testimony of Joseph Smith, and the eight chapters. Right from the get-go I knew that it was going to be a "throw down." I remember saying a silent prayer to calm me down and help me to use the scriptures in my answers to their questions as my adrenaline began to rush. They then proceeded to ask questions about every little thing that stood out to them from their readings. Most of the questions were trying to find loopholes to prove us wrong and get us to change our ways. Each time, we responded with evidence from the scriptures to prove to them that it is true. When it came down to it, I had to interrupt them by saying that this discussion is going to get us no where without you sincerely praying to know if it's true. You can study the Book of Mormon all day long, even logically prove it to be true, but that won't do anything until a spiritual conversion occurs. They had questions like, "why would God tell Nephi to kill Laban if one of God's commandments is to not kill?" A great question. Because of recent studies from the Book of Mormon student manual, we were able to answer clearly. One of them even responded, "holy cow that was a very smooth answer which makes a lot of sense." Other questions like, "what is the time period of the Book of Mormon compared to books in the Bible?" "What was contained on the plates of brass?" "What changes have been made to the Book of Mormon since the original one was translated by Joseph Smith?" "How did Moroni visit Joseph if he was dead and had died prior to the Savior's resurrection?" To be honest, I don't remember my answers. But I do remember the way I felt and I was spitting out answers that I had no idea I had. It was a great feeling. One of the girls went from being very stubborn to nearly convinced. She's still against organized religion though because of some previous experiences. Upon leaving, we felt very good about how it went especially because of the spirit that guided the discussion. They will read the next 8 chapters in the Book of Mormon for next time.

Next, sacrament meeting was one of the best of my entire mission. We had four investigators there. Mark Coleman was the second to get up. He talked about how grateful he is to now have God in his life. He said that the reason he knows this is true is because of the visceral feeling from the Spirit on a constant basis. He is so amazing. All he wants to do is serve. He talked about the first time we came into his apartment and told him that God loves him. He said that was the moment he found out what he was missing. Katie Redd, our investigator we met for the first time on Thursday, also got up to bear her testimony. We were amazed! She talked about how grateful she was that we were able to come to her door, talk to her about the gospel, and help her to find what she has really been missing in her life. It was such a good feeling to hear that from the pulpit. Our new relief society president has been an amazing fellowshipper for Katie as well. As I said before, we met Katie Thursday, taught her again on Friday by going through the baptismal interview questions, she came to the temple on Saturday, church on Sunday, and will be baptized on Saturday the 10th. Most prepared person I've ever met in my life. She has 5-6 family-friends that are members of the church from her home town of Bullhead, Arizona and has loved their church ever since she was little. She just has never taken the step of baptism. One of her friends told her to go to mormon.org and research a little. She did so and talked to the missionaries on the chat room. Those missionaries then referred her to us. We just stopped by on Thursday because our other appointment cancelled and she just happened to walk up the stairs when we were leaving. The Lord is definitely in this work! I love it.

In my study this week in 2 Nephi 4 I read a quote by Dallin H. Oaks about overcoming sins and weaknesses. It stood out to me a lot for some reason.

"Perhaps these persons, as the saying goes, were 'born that way.' But what does that even mean? Does it mean that persons with susceptibilities or strong tendencies have no choice, no free agency in these matters? Our doctrine teaches us otherwise. Regardless of a person's susceptibility or tendency, his will is unfettered. His free agency is unqualified. It is his freedom that is impaired...We are all responsible for the exercise of our free agency...Most of us are born with thorns in the flesh, some more visible, some more serious than others. We all seem to have susceptibilities to one disorder or another, but whatever our susceptibilities, we have the will and the power to control our thoughts and our actions. This must be so. God has said that he holds us accountable for what we do and what we think, so our thoughts and our actions must be controllable by our agency...We need to learn how to live so that a weakness that is mortal will not prevent us from achieving the goal that is eternal...The efforts we expend in overcoming any inherited weakness build a spiritual strength that will serve us throughout eternity."

Sure we all may have certain temptations and sins that easily beset us but that does not mean that we are forced to give in. If this were true, it would mean God would go against his original plan of agency, and He would cease to be God. His plan will not be frustrated. This plan gives me great hope in knowing that I do have certain susceptibilities but that I'm not forced to fall. And through the atonement I can always stand back up taller than I did before. I know that Christ is my personal Savior. I also know that He wasn't able to perform the miracles that He just did because He was the Son of God, but because He lived up to every commandment and covenant He had made to the Father. What is stopping us from reaching such trust from God? I'm grateful for the atonement that is there for me to "become like Him" because He loves me and wants me back. I'm grateful for a plan that provides me to leave my family for two years so that I can help others be with theirs for eternity. I love this work and this gospel!

I love you all as well. I bought a sweet Christmas tie today that I'm going to wear to Zone Leader Council tomorrow. It's bombin'. (New word from down here...maybe up there too.) Thank you so much for all you do. I hope all is going well there with the damage. I love your attitude about it being a blessing to have not been hit again. Many people would curse God and ask why such a thing would happen. That doesn't get anyone there. I think this is why Paul prayed that he is thankful for thorns in his side or burdens on his shoulders. He also prayed that his "thorn in the flesh" would depart from him. The Lord replied, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." I don't think that would have been the response if Paul had had the original attitude of murmuring when trials came into his life.

Once again, I love you. I love the Christmas season. It's weird to say I will have my third phone call with you in less than three weeks.

Have a Merry Christmas and please be safe.

Love,

Elder Colt Mouritsen

November 22-28, 2011: Ammon and Me

Hi all!

It was a great Thanksgiving here. It's been cold though, a whopping 70-75 degrees during the day. Last Monday we played some flag football. A few elders got sunburned. It's real tough here... Hopefully I will get some sun today! :) For Thanksgiving we had a district breakfast in the morning, went to a dinner with the Owens family at 3, and then another dinner with the Capuano family at 5. We definitely ate mucho grande amounts of food and haven't been running it off haha. The holiday season destroys a missionary’s hope of staying in shape.

Thanksgiving is great and all but when it comes to covering a YSA ward, where a majority of the students (a.k.a investigators and members) go home, it can be quite slow. We spent a lot of time with other missionaries in their areas, planning out our Zone Vision for 2012, and working on our stake report that we presented on Sunday. When Elder Duncan of the 70 came a few weeks ago he presented an idea to "Geo-Code" the wards in our mission. This means to divide the ward into small sections and then categorize the less active members, part member families, un-baptized children, prospective elders, investigators, etc. in each section. That way when we go to a certain section of the map and an appointment falls through, we will know exactly who to go and visit during the open time. Elder Duncan said that if he could he would go down to the City of Phoenix officials and tell them to make it illegal for Mormon missionaries to knock on doors. We proposed this whole "Geo-Code" idea to the stake presidency and they loved it. Following the meeting they got called the stake clerk and the process is going to begin soon. Hopefully it helps the work progress. The members are definitely the best way to find people to teach. President Monson also has said that there is no substitute for a member-oriented missionary program and it works wherever we try it. The two wards that already have a "geo-code" are the two highest baptizing English wards in the zone so it already shows to have been successful.

So transfer news came today. I bet you can guess where I will be going. Yup! Staying right here! I'm pretty stoked about it. There is a chance that we will be taking over a family ward as well as the YSA. That would be pretty awesome. I've wanted to cover one for a while now. It's going to be a great Christmas! (Pictures of transfer day)

There were eight baptisms in our zone this past weekend. Thirteen were scheduled but there were some bizarre things that happened. One lady was married down in Mexico 15 years ago and never got a divorce so she isn't legally married to her husband she has now. So she and her kids didn't get baptized. The kids still will be baptized this weekend though so that’s good. Eight was a new record in the zone for one weekend though. We need 17 in the month of December to reach our goal. It's going to be very tough but it's definitely doable.

I've been reading in the Book of Mormon student manual recently. It's got some amazing quotes from general authorities and really helps me to understand the stories and application in the Book of Mormon. One that stuck out to me was by Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "...it matters very little what people think of us, but it matters very much what we think of Him [Jesus Christ]. It matters very little, too, who others say we are; what matters is who we say Jesus is." It seems that the life, name, purpose, and plan of the Savior has largely been pushed to the way side of the broad path of the world. I read Alma 26 this morning and it stuck out to me just how much Ammon's experience has been like mine and also in part, the Saviors. I'll list a few. Ammon says he didn't know he would receive so many blessings when he left the city of Zarahemla. I felt the same way when I left the city of Kaysville. Ammon tells us to count those blessings and give thanks for them. This past week has been a great week for counting those blessings. Ammon has felt it a blessing to have just been an instrument in the Lord's hand. I have felt the same. He helped thousands to rejoice and "gather to the garners." Elder Bednar has taught us that those "garners" are temples. I had an awesome experience going to the temple with the James family. I had dinner with them Sunday by the way. I love that family. Ammon taught the truth and helped to resolve misconceptions about the church and the Nephites. I have found many people who hate us and want to belittle us, but others that are humble enough to listen and change their lives. i.e. Mark Coleman. "Many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will sing to His praise forever" - Ammon. I've also seen some amazing miracles which are definite blessings from the Lord. Ammon couldn't say the smallest part of that which he felt. I feel the same way at times. He found out that repentance, faith, hard work, and continued prayers to God helped him to gain knowledge and help others to be brought to repentance. Ammon was laughed at for going on a mission to the Lamanites by his brethren. I was laughed at for going so close to home on my mission. At times he was depressed and wanted to go home but received comfort and patience from the Lord to endure his trials. Ammon was spit upon, and smote upon the cheek (by Lamanites). I was too, by Lamanites. haha. He traveled from house to house. Was rejected. Street contacted. Entered homes. Taught. Was cast out of homes, mocked but was delivered each time. He witnessed the sincerity of his converts. He was a wanderer in a strange land.

I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon and the power and application that come from it into our own lives. It teaches us that there is always hope in the arms of the Savior. I'm grateful for Him and I hope that I can continue to strengthen my relationship with him. This is a great time of year and I hope that all of you remember what it is all about!

I love you all and I'm thankful for each of you and the elias' you have been for me in my life.

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

November 15-21, 2011: "Then what do you believe?"

Hello family,

It was a great week this week. It was good to have a visit from Kennington moments after he was with you. I thought that was cool! Thanks for the cookies and cards. They were definitely needed!

Thanksgiving is going to be great! Sister Capuano and her husband, the same people that I ate with last year, are having us over. She is amazing and such a good cook! We were also invited over by the 1st counselor to the Bishop in our ward. Hopefully we won't eat too much. Thanksgiving is an "appointment only" day which means no tracting. I can imagine how annoying that would be to be sitting down with family and friends and have missionaries knock on the door. We will still have district meetings and weekly planning though. One of the district meetings is going to be in the morning and we are going to cook breakfast in the church.

Mark Coleman's baptism this week was awesome. He baked 5 trays of brownies, 2 - 2 layer cakes (one of which had real strawberry filling), ordered 12 Dominoes pizzas, and bought 6 bags of tortilla chips with salsa. It was a feast and many people showed up. It was cool to have Kennington there. I will quote what he said in his email to me last night:

"It was so good to see you this weekend! I can't even begin to explain how good it felt to be back there and with you guys. There is no substitute for feeling the spirit like a missionary feels the spirit. I know I took the spiritual experiences I had on a daily basis for granted while I was on my mission. . . But being away from the mission, and not having the same level of spirit with me has been a change. I couldn't keep my eyes dry while I watched Elder Mouritsen step into that font, and as Mark bore his testimony of what he knows is true, and as Elder Buttars confirmed and gave a blessing as directed by the spirit. What a wonderful experience that was for me to be reminded about what really matters in this life. It felt so good to simply be in your presence. You Elders are truly working miracles as instruments in God's hands. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve with you, I'm grateful for the example you set for me. You're all superstars in my eyes. I look up to you. Thanks"





In Mark's testimony, he shared an awesome story. I will do my best to summarize and paraphrase. Three years ago he was in his bosses' backyard digging a hole to plant a massive tree. While digging, his boss' 6 year old son stood over him to keep him company. Just as a young child would, he started asking Mark all sorts of questions.

The first was, "What church do you go to Mark?"

Mark responded, "None really. I haven't been to church for awhile."

"Well are you a Mormon?"

"Nope."

"So you've never been to church before at all?"

"When I was younger my mom took me to a Catholic church but I don't really associate myself with them anymore."

By now Mark was annoyed with the young boy so he began to dig as fast as he could to get away from him and away from the conversation. The next question came.

"So if you don't go to church anymore, then what do you believe in?"

Mark's voice quivered while recounting this experience as he replied, "Nothing."

At that moment he realized he was unhappy, godless, and couldn't figure out what it was that he needed in his life. For seven years to that point he had never believed in God. There he was, at the bottom of a deep hole, with a six year old boy towering over him who had a stronger testimony and knowledge of this life than Mark did as a 22 year old man. At the time, Mark didn't see that though. Now, three years later, he has found out what he was missing during those ten years. He talked about how in our second lesson with him we invited him to pray. For the first time in ten years he did so, and felt the spirit so strong that he will never be able to deny it for the rest of his life. It was one of the most powerful testimonies I've heard from a recent convert in a long time. Following the baptism, Mark was pulled aside by an investigator that was brought to the baptism by another companionship. This investigator is extremely knowledgeable in the Bible and is stuck on how we are saved by grace and not by works. He talked to our Bishop for about 45 minutes and then after everyone left, he grabbed Mark and asked him if he wanted to go get something to eat and talk about the church. Mark agreed. Five hours later, Mark was taken home. Apparently the guy wanted to hear Mark's life story, his testimony and conversion story. Then the rest of the time he just blurted out scriptures that prove that we are saved by grace and no works need to be involved. Mark was just like, dude you need to talk to the missionaries. I have no idea what you are talking about. We think that the guy was trying to persuade Mark to quit coming to the church. His goal is to obtain as much info about the church as possible from all different sources, create a Powerpoint of all the wrong things that we do, so that when the next missionaries come knock on his door he can pull out the Powerpoint and prove them wrong with all the info he's compiled. It's pretty ridiculous. It made me pretty angry to think he would do that to Mark. We talked to him after and Mark said, "If he was trying to take me away from my testimony, then he did a pretty horrible job at it cause he didn't change anything." It's sad to think that there are people out there that would try such things. Even missionaries have been known to be deceived. One right here in the APM actually. He started to read other churches’ material and even anti-mormon literature to expand his knowledge and prove theirs wrong. It got into his head and slowly but surely the flaxen cord of Satan bound him, and he literally became an Anti-Christ. For one year of his missionary service he was trying to bring missionaries and others down. It was so sad. Just makes me sick. I can't imagine what his parents thought when he was sent home. Missions are definitely not easy. Even those of the very elect can be deceived, just as Elder Holland taught in his talk "Safety for the Soul." Jacob 4:14 says it perfectly; "But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble." God will not reveal to us things that are "unknowable mysteries" if we have not dedicated our time, talents, and energy to the "things that matter most" as stated by Elder Uchtdorf. Plainness brings happiness. I love the Plan of Salvation, the knowledge of a restoration, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of it all. Sister Moody in our zone said it perfectly. She said, "it's so simple a child can understand it and know it's true, but so intricate it takes eternity to comprehend."

We were tracting this week in an apartment complex. We knocked on a door and it was opened by a kid who looked around our age. He said his name was Justin Hance and that he just moved down from Orem. I asked him what high school he went to and he said Payson. I asked if he knew Kyler Figgins and he said yes. I thought that was pretty cool. We hope to teach Justin pretty soon. He lives a little ways a way but we are planning to contact him soon and have him taught in our area. Small world.

We now have 37 investigators with a baptismal date and 13 scheduled for this weekend. That will be a record. Hopefully nothing crazy happens and it works out! I love this work and get depressed when I think about only having 4 transfers left! That's forever though and I hope to be here the whole time!

I love and appreciate all of you. Madison thanks for the letter this week. It meant a lot to me to hear about your missionary experience. Good work!

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

November 8-14, 2011: Vision, Goals, Plan, Tasks

With Mark at the Mesa Temple.

A view of the Phoenix North Stake

Elder Nelson and me on a Zone Leader hike. I was his trainer back in October 2010.

Elder Henrie and me on the Zone Leader hike. Elder Henrie is the A.P. and is a friend from Davis High.

The Celestial view from the top of the mountain on our zone leader hike.

Hey!

Great letter. Great pictures! I can't believe that Carson is home. He looks... the same! haha Andrew and Kyler get home in less than a month. That is mind boggling. I hate the thought of it all coming to an end. Sure it's exciting, but bittersweet.

The discussion with the "missionary department" was actually with the research development initiative group or something like that. They asked us all sorts of questions regarding how the work is progressing with the campaign and new website. It wasn't what I was expecting. On the ride over there we had to pick up another missionary from his area who was also going to be in the discussion. We picked him up at the church that borders the site of the new Phoenix temple. It was so cool to see how it's coming along. The hole is like 40 feet deep. It should be done within 18-24 months. We will have to come back and see.

Had some pretty cool experiences this week. On Friday we were on exchanges with one of our district leaders and his companion. His companion is brand new from the MTC. I was with the new missionary (Elder Marble) in our area. We had a few appointments scheduled during the day but each time we went to visit the person, they were not home. Ughhh... It was so frustrating! Each time we were stood up though, we decided to knock the surrounding doors. We knew there was a reason for us to be there. Though we didn't teach those that were already scheduled to be taught, we found others that we felt the Lord wanted us to find and teach. One example: After knocking a few doors at one of the appointment locations, we decided to head to the car. While walking through the complex, I noticed there was a young couple walking about 25 yards behind us. Already frustrated because of the cancelled appointments, I discarded the prompting to talk to them. The prompting continued to pulsate in my mind and after battling for a bit, I stopped. I turned around and started walking towards them. When we met them, we talked and quickly found out that he had already received a Book of Mormon, and had read several passages from it. He wanted us to come back a few days later and teach him more about it. It was very humbling to see once again just how much the spirit is needed to over power the "natural man/missionary" in this work.

Elder Duncan spoke a lot about the two different kinds of missionaries there are. There are those who do all things for themselves, and those who do all things for the benefit of others. Those who serve others will be happy. That's all there is to it. If we want to be happy, we will lose ourselves and serve all those we come into contact with. He said something to the effect of, "you will achieve that which you think about the most." I liked that. D&C 4 teaches us to serve with all our heart, might, MIND, and strength. Our minds must be centered on the work and the purpose of returning back to Heavenly Father, and helping others do that as well. He said we must have a vision, then a goal, then a plan, then tasks to perform. V-G-P-T. I think that goes for life as well. It applies to many aspects. The vision of being in the Celestial kingdom. A goal to get there. The knowledge of the plan of salvation. And the tasks; faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It's such a good feeling to know that we have no need to fear as long as we have said vision, goal, plan, and performed tasks.

We had a lesson with Nick this week. He thought he would be able to convince us that he could just get baptized without first paying his dues to society. As much as we wanted to tell him that he could, we told him he had to complete the repentance process. He was not very happy and it was hard for us to give him any form of comfort. Finally it came to me. I asked him where he was at three months ago before we met him. He said he had nothing going for him except coming home after work, drinking, smoking, possibly finding a girl, etc. He was not happy. No God in his life. No intentions of changing. And no knowledge of the need for a change. He then realized just how far he has come in the past three months. He really respects women now. No drinking. No smoking. He goes to church. Reads his scriptures. Feels happy even though trials never seem to stop. And has a goal to accomplish that which will benefit him largely in the eternal perspective. In three months he has come this far. Maybe in three months he will be able to be baptized. If he's come this far in the past three months, how far ahead could he be in the next three? His perspective changed and he realized it's just a small trial, yet blessing, that he will need to work through. When the day comes for him to be baptized, it will be that much more important for him then because of all the time and effort he has put in. I'm excited for that day.

I was reading in 1 Corinthians 2 this week. The first five verses stood out to me.
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

I find it interesting that Paul, the great orator, would start out a letter like this. I find myself with the same feelings though. I do not have excellent speech or wisdom. I am weak and nervous when in front of people. But when it comes to teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is something that stands me up and helps me to not worry about what others will think. I haven't felt the gift of tongues through speaking a different language but I can definitely say that there has been a miracle performed in my life which I consider a gift of tongue whenever I am called upon to speak about the gospel. I love the gospel. I love the feelings that come into my life and the lives of others. The feeling is enough and it outweighs any feeling of weakness, inadequacy, fear, or nervousness. It's true and can't be proven otherwise!

Well things are going well here. It's getting cold again...cold. Today I purchased a sweater vest at Ross. It's pretty nice. I don't think I need anything! Thanks for all that you have already done though! The package you sent a bit ago was a life saver!

Our zone now has 34 people with a baptism date. The Lord has blessed us so much in the past few weeks. A month ago we had 2. 34 is more than we have ever had in this stake. With the end of the year coming, we hope to reach our goal that was set by our stake president of 110. Right now we are at 83. It can definitely be done.

I love you all and hope for all the best this upcoming week. I won't lie I'm kinda glad I wasn't at that snowy football game. The coldest it's been here so far is 50.

Love you.

Elder Mouritsen

November 1-7, 2011: Angels are preparing the hearts of the children of men

iHola mi familia!

Great letter. I'm so dang proud of Hallie! I seriously can't imagine her getting up and dancing but that is awesome! haha. Sounds like you all had a great week. I swear in every one of your emails you tell me about either a guy that asked the girls to a dance or a guy they asked to a dance. Fun times! It's hard for me to think that I've been on my mission for 18 months. I had a sort of surreal, eye opening moment the other day when I realized I won't see another summer in Arizona, that I have one more general conference, one more...etc. I won't lie I was nearly in tears. Being in one place for the last 18 months has caused me to reflect much on what I have really done to make those 18 months the best 18 months FOR my life. I can remember telling people that I've been out 2 weeks. Now every time I see those same people they say, "Man you're still here? You must be going home soon right?" It's weird to be on the opposite side of it. In Zone Leader Council, President Taylor had me share with the other zone leaders how long I've been in this stake. I told them and he followed by asking, "what/how does that make you feel about that stake?" I responded by saying it makes me want to be there the rest of my time. President Taylor was emotional because of that response. I hope the Lord keeps me here for AT LEAST one more transfer.

Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy is coming to our mission this week and we get to hear from him tomorrow. That will be really neat. I have also been chosen to represent our stake this Thursday when the missionary department comes down and discusses the mormon.org campaign. I don't really know what I'm going to say because we haven't seen much success come from it yet but I do know that there are a whole lot of people that are seeing the ads and talking to their friends about it. The member's just need to learn that those conversations are missionary opportunities and those people need to be invited to either come to church or learn more from the missionaries. The most important step is to follow up as well. I'm grateful for my mission because it has taught me to not be afraid to talk to people about the gospel. It may be an adrenaline rush at times, but hey, so is jumping off cliffs into water (just as long as there's no inner tube in the way...right mom?)

We had a great week. On Thursday Elder Griessmann and I went on exchanges. We had lessons set up with several of our investigators. One of them was Mark, the same Mark I told you about last week. I'm always a little bit nervous to talk to investigators after setting a baptism date with them because Satan seems to throw anything and everything their way. Mark is so "steadfast and immoveable." In our lesson he made this comment: "Elders, I just want to thank you for inviting me to be baptized. I thought for sure that you would have wanted me to come to church for like a year before I could get baptized. So anyways, thanks!" We were stunned. Jaw dropped. Haha. Response: Uhhh.. Yeah of course Mark I mean when you’re ready you’re ready right? haha That's not really how we answered but that’s what I was thinking. He's already read 1 & 2 Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon, and half of Mosiah. He also understood and had some great questions from Jacob 5 (the allegory of the olive tree). We talked with him about the baptismal service and the interview he will have before his baptism. We went over the commandments; law of tithing, chastity, word of wisdom, and keeping the sabbath day holy. He told us that he had already discussed the law of chastity with his girlfriend. He's good with that. He was asking if he could write the tithing check out to "God" himself. haha. He's been prepared by the Lord in amazing ways. A year ago he quit smoking and drinking cold turkey just because he felt like it. A few months ago he realized he was drinking too much coffee. He decided to quit that randomly as well. Then we knocked on his door. He was so ready and prepared. It's true that, "...angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory" (Alma 13:24). He texted us today telling us about the program he wants to have. He asked me to baptize him. I'm honored. One concern, he weighs right around 300 pounds. Hopefully he's not too buoyant and I'll be able to get him under! It's awesome to see his excitement!

A cold front has come through recently. In the mornings when we get up to play racquetball it's like 48 degrees. Freezing! :) Last night it rained pretty hard. Today we are playing soccer for a zone activity and it's gonna be nice and muddy. Hopefully we get some good pictures and I'll be able to send them next week.

We had a pretty cool experience on Friday. One of our investigators lives with his member girlfriend. She told him that she wants to change her lifestyle and is going to move out of his apartment so she can become more involved in the church. Good for her! I wish there were more people with that attitude. We were helping her move in with her new roommate in the ward and our investigator (her boyfriend named Todd) was there as well. The girls needed to go and pick up another load of stuff so we told them we would just stay back and knock some doors. Todd has been really stand-off-ish to us so we thought he was going to go along with them. To our surprise, he said that since we were staying back he would just stay with us. As we sat around talking, he asked, "so were you guys serious about going and knocking doors?" Well yeah! So we went tracting with him. I think the purpose of him wanting to go with us was because he wanted to see us get rejected and bashed with. He thought that nobody would be receptive to us or want to learn more. Of the 3 doors that were opened to us, 2 of them were very receptive. The very last door we knocked was a super nice lady who was sincerely interested in learning more. She told us to come by next week after six and give her a copy of the Book of Mormon and teach her more about it. Todd was very surprised. He is also more interested now and has really opened up to us! He is now reading the Book of Mormon and has many questions.

Well it's now time to go get ready for soccer. Thank you for the package. I finally got it yesterday! The skittles and M&M's were much appreciated. Socks were definitely needed as well. As were the planners.

I love you all. I am doing very well. Not so sure about the mission being over so quickly but the next chapter must come some time. Such is life. I pray for you nightly. Be safe in the snowy weather. Get to the temple regularly.

Love,

Elder Colt Mouritsen

October 25-31, 2011: "Like a first kiss"

Hey Fam!

Wow it's Halloween... Yeah time flies, it's unbelievable. I'm fourth on the list in the ward sacrament meeting program? That’s nuts! I have not received your package yet... Maybe it came today? The office might be closed by now but I will try to get it tomorrow. Sorry my email is coming later in the day, earlier we had a whole bunch of things going on and I sacrificed my time to let the other elders use the computers. We played some "quidditch" around 1 o'clock which was a blast. The field was super muddy again and it's still 90 degrees outside. A nice, cool-down for us I suppose.

We had some great experiences this week. One of our investigators, Mark, now has a baptism date for November 19th. At first when we were teaching him, his mindset on learning was just that, to learn. The spirit does things to you though and changes such mindsets, even our desires. He came to church last week in a polo and jeans. Though he felt a little out of place he still felt the spirit and loved the members that he met. He showed up to our Book of Mormon class on Tuesday night. I sat next to him and helped him find the pages and answer certain questions he had. At the end of the lesson, I started talking to him and asked him if he had taken the opportunity to pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true yet. He responded, "well I didn't really know that I needed to!" UGH!! In my mind I thought about telling him we had told him that many times, but I held it in.. haha I took him to Moroni 10:3-5. We read it and I invited him to take the challenge that Moroni states; that is to ask of God whether or not the Book of Mormon is true with a sincere heart and real intentions. He said he would. I then told him about what the Book of Mormon teaches. I mentioned faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. After mentioning baptism, something in the back of my mind told me to invite him to be baptized on November 19th. My adrenaline started pumping. (The only way I can describe what that feeling is like is when you get the urge to make the move and kiss a girl for the first time...I'm sorry I know that is weird but that’s the only way that I can think to explain it...haha) So I asked him and he responded with a reassuring, "of course!" I then challenged him to pray and help God (by praying) to help him to know that it is true. He said he would. That night, while he was walking to the bus stop on his way home, he poured his heart out to Heavenly Father. He said that when he started the prayer he had all sorts of feelings of inadequacy, guilt, negativity, etc. But when the prayer was said, every negative feeling he had disappeared and he was totally calm and peaceful. The spirit told him that night that it is true. We've since had dinner with Mark in our bishop’s home, to which Mark brought the desert: Banana cream and Razzelberry pie. YUM! Sunday, he was helping his girlfriend move so he wasn't able to come to church. We texted him to tell him he was missed and his response was, "I missed church so much today. I prayed several times and read the olive tree parable in the book of Jacob. I can't wait to talk to you guys about it. I am free Thursday and Friday afternoons if that works for you guys this week." Great... the allegory of the olive tree. Great thing for us to hear though. :)

We had another lesson with a recent convert this week. She was feeling very down because she hadn't been treating her parents very well this week. There had been some things going on in the home that were bothering her and she seemed to take it out on her parents. At the beginning of the lesson she was very down and didn't say much. We didn't really know what to do for the lesson. She also said there had been rumors spreading around about her in her apartment complex. I prayed for a little inspiration. That morning I had been reading in the book of Romans. I read in Romans 5:3-5 where it says; “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. We talked about trials and tribulations leading to patience and then to experience which then leads to hope. My mind then remembered my farewell talk and the scriptures in Moroni 7. After talking about trials being a good thing and to learn from them, we went to those scriptures. Moroni 7 says that hope leads to faith, which leads to humility, and then to charity. Charity is the pure love of Christ. As we work through trials (which we all have) we can and will develop Christ-like attributes such as hope, faith, humility, and charity, to then be prepared to overcome the tougher trials that we will be blessed with. When she took this perspective on her trials, she felt much better and committed herself to talk to her parents and give them a big hug the next time she saw them. It was cool to see how the Lord's hand and purposes are literally in ALL things. I had no idea that my personal study that morning would be needed in a lesson later on in the day.

The zone meeting went very well. Thanks for the help with the leading and lagging indicators. It was much needed. I found out just how important the first three months of a missionary’s mission are. I'm grateful for a trainer who taught me those essential leading indicators. I'm also grateful for the atonement. When leading indicators begin to lag and lagging indicators develop during a missionary’s mission, the atonement is there to help and bring a missionary back. There is always hope through the atonement. I'm eternally grateful for that. Though time was lost during those lagging months, there is still the opportunity to press forward and "do as much as we can in the time that we have..." I'm grateful once again for a trainer who helped me learn to lead instead of lag.

Well I love this mission. I can't believe how fast it has gone. I got a letter from Kyler a little while ago and I sent him one back. I don't even know if it'll get to him in time though... Crazy to think that. I think Elder Garrett (Carson) gets home soon to so you should try to get to his homecoming.

I love you all. I'm grateful for you all. Thanks for being a blessing in my life.

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

These are photos from a stake service project during which time we painted over some graffiti.

October 18-24, 2011: Bad things happen to good people

Hello family!

Sounds like a good hunting trip... :/ haha It's funny how you described it because Laken just wrote me and said that his elk hunt was a bust as well in Star Valley. In three days of horse back hunting through the mountains, they saw a few does, a bull moose, and absolutely no elk. Where are all the animals? That makes for a very frustrating hunt. I'm glad you and Madi look at the blessings that come from the time spent together. Let's face it, how many people get to say, "Today, we get to go hunting" or "Today, we get to eat at Maddox chicken." I would love to be able to say that... haha We don't eat much here in the YSA. Family ward members are helping us out though. I love the members here. I'm guessing the girls had an absolute blast in St. George! They had 80's, we still have mid-upper 90's here. Fun stuff!

With transfers this week we were pretty busy. We have a stellar new district leader named Elder Perkins. He is one of the former assistants to the president. The work is going to take off. Elder Brayden Henrie replaced him as assistant. Cool!

We had a pretty crazy experience this week. On Thursday we were heading over to a lesson with an investigator named Mark Coleman when all of a sudden someone driving next to us rolled down their window and said that our truck was leaking something real bad. We stopped at a red light and another person told us that it was radiator fluid. We pulled right over and immediately the engine started steaming all over. We popped the hood and noticed that the heater connector that takes coolant through the firewall had snapped and was just dangling there. Elder Buttars and I know nothing about cars so we called one of our investigators (Nick) to come help us. He came right away and in the meantime we told Mark that we wouldn't be able to make it to our lesson. He said he would come and help us as well. So there we were with two investigators, working on our truck to try to get it running. Nick found the solution and started calling Autozones and O'Reillys to find the correct part. Of course, none of them hold parts for vehicles made in 2010 because they are too new. Frustrating. So we called Pep-Boys, and some more places until we found out that we could use a different model's part that is the same size. Nick, who was driving his friend's car, went and picked it up for us. He got the part and on the way home, didn't notice that there was someone in the median and rear ended them. Oh man this was devastating. He swears that it is the story of his life to do what he can to help somebody out and then get the shaft himself. He just barely received a temporary license and needs to pay off a probation fine or else his probation can't be waved. It was terrible. The car he hit was also a very nice Volvo. Bummer. We got the part and headed back to our truck to put it in. We ghetto rigged it up and got it to work but noticed that after we drove about a mile, the truck still wouldn't cool down. It was overheating realllll bad. So we stopped and checked to see if the coolant was going down to fill the radiator. It was so we added more. We tried to drive a little further and same story. So we sat there. By now it had been about 4 hours of car problems. Nobody would answer our calls and it was way past time we needed to be home. We finally got a hold of some other missionaries who came and picked us up and took us home. It was 10 o'clock by then. We were so dang tired! The next morning we got a hold of the vehicle coordinator and he hooked us up with a new vehicle. Heck ya baby we got to drive a 2009 Chevy Silverado! It's about the same size as the truck you have. It was fun and brought back a lot of good memories. We have to take it back and pick up our Colorado tomorrow. :( sad day.

Anyway, I've thought a lot about this experience and why so many ridiculous things have to happen to such a good person (Nick) at one time. He changes his life by quitting all addictive substances he had done, comes to church, wants to get baptized, makes great new friends, etc. And the girl he was liking who was a member, tells him off, he finds out he can't get baptized because of probation, gets in a wreck, has his $500 TV stolen from him by his cousin, and many more tedious things. Why would such things happen to someone who is striving to make such needed and good changes? I think that Heavenly Father knows the strength of one’s testimony and He also knows what we can handle. He won't put us through things that we won't be able to get through. Nick has a super strong, powerful testimony. When the day comes that he will be able to be baptized it is going to be greatly meaningful and exciting for him because he has been through so much to get there. I wish that before my mission I didn't take such things for granted such as the opportunity to be baptized at 8 years old. I don't think the significance of that ordinance is made as apparent as it needs to be. What about the opportunity to repent? How are we at being thankful for that? The Book of Mormon? A modern day prophet? I'm grateful for the knowledge I have.

Dad, I've been thinking a lot lately about the leading and lagging indicators of a successful mission. I drew out a little graph that shows a few leading indicators to becoming a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th missionary. The lagging indicators are also there. I realized just how important the first three months (trainee months) are to a missionary for the rest of his mission. In those three months he learns the importance of: waking up at 6:30, studying, exercising, having only 1 hr for lunch, daily planning, going to bed at 10:30, being in the apartment by 9-9:30, etc. All the basic rules of obedience during the day. Also, all things you can see and monitor from the outside looking in. Having a firm habit of each of those, will take a "green" missionary and help them to become: consecrated, optimistic, enthusiastic, happy, living their purpose on a daily basis, prayerful, grateful, humble, etc. All things that are measured inwardly. As a missionary follows the leading indicators, the blessing and benefits will be immense. This is a short version of what I am probably going to be training on tomorrow in our zone meeting. Hopefully it goes well. Thanks for all the info you have given me. If you have any more cool info like that I would love to have it!

Well sorry for the short email. Not much more to say. Thanks for all that you do! Yes the bumps in my arm pit have gone away. The antibiotics worked I think.

I love you all so much. Sorry I am not good at writing letters. There just is no time. Please tell Grampa Roger of my love and appreciation for him. When you said that even though he hasn't been to Dingle the past few times you have been there physically, but you can still feel him through the whole house, that really touched me. Grampa, I love you. Thanks for being who you are. I love the stories and find myself recalling an experience that I've had with you very regularly.

Love,

Elder Colt Mouritsen

October 11-17, 2011: Hunting parables

Good to hear from ya!

Yes transfer news has come and once again I am staying in the Phoenix North Stake. I'm pretty stoked about it. I am hoping to be here for Christmas now because it would be rough having to get comfortable in a new area right before the Christmas season. We'll see though! That would also mean that I would have spent my entire 2011 mission year in one single area. That would be nuts! I don't know any missionary that has ever done that.

Well it sounds like the hunt has been a drag thus far! Hopefully things will cool down and the bucks will come out of hiding. I won't lie I often think about what one of our hunter's education instructors said: "If all you see are does, are you truly hunting bucks? Or are you just out there hunting does?" (something like that). As a missionary the bucks can be likened to the elect children who are ready to listen to the message of the restoration. What are we doing to find them? Are we just going through the motions and finding a few does who get our attention on the immediate sight? Though there are often times when a trophy/elect investigator will be out there in the open waiting for us to teach them. Like the 1999 buck. Or the 2000 buck that was running with the elk. Or my first buck. If I remember right, several of those were on the last day of the hunt after wanting to give up and come back next year. I'm glad that we stuck it out, kept the faith, and succeeded when the opportunity arose. I know that the hunt can and will be successful whether you come home with one or not! I can't believe that your tag is good for a cougar or a bear though. That would be crazy! That adds a whole new thought to the back of your minds I bet. In the past, predators other than maybe coyotes never crossed my mind to be out in those hills. Be careful!

Dad I wish you could come and teach our gospel principles class! We could use one of your powerhouse lessons.

This week has been one of ups and downs. Nick hasn't quite paid his dues to society after a mistake he made several years ago. Because of this, he can't be baptized until he does so. It's part of the repentance process. That was a heartbreak. He is taking it better than we thought though and is continuing to strengthen his testimony. He was pretty upset and shed many tears because of the news. I'm grateful for his strength and dedication. Here are some photos we took with Nick at the Mesa Temple.

We had a couple other cool experiences. Friday night we were tracting in this wealthier apartment complex and came across a young lady named Angel. She said that she was the daughter of several "Mormons" who had just recently been baptized. I asked who they were and she responded by saying that they were two individuals that got baptized into our stake a few months ago. They are one of the most solid recent convert families I've ever been around. They have since moved to Washington D.C. though and Angel has lived here in the mean time with not much contact with them or the church. She has quite a different lifestyle and hasn't been too interested. When she saw us, she immediately let us in and started pounding us with questions that had been plaguing her mind about the LDS church. It was just one after another. We helped her to understand the need for the Book of Mormon, prophet, restoration, etc. She seemed to agree with all of it. Her testimony is based a lot on factual evidence and a little on faith. There is not much room to grow without more focus on faith. The logical answers to faith-based questions were good for her to hear and she began to open up to us. She said she was moving out of her apartment the very next day and we volunteered to help her. She was very grateful. We on the other hand, weren't too excited when we saw we would be moving three massive TV's into her small 2005 Honda Accord. The years of dad teaching me how to pack the car (tetris method) helped this situation greatly. Thanks dad! We hope to continue to teach Angel when she moves back into our stake at the end of the month.

The morning we helped her pack her car, we went back to the same apartment complex to tract. The very first door that was opened to us was a lady who swung open the door, saw our white shirts and ties, and made a sound as if to say, "I knew you would come." Her name was Linda, and she is a less active member who was baptized up in Utah after being ridiculed to pieces in her youth by LDS people who knew she wasn't of our faith. It's a miracle she was even baptized after such rudeness. Regardless, she moved down here to Gilbert, AZ. She is married to a non member and has two non member children, one of which still lives at home. While in Gilbert, she had been meeting with the missionaries to help her become active in the church again. The day before we knocked on her door, she was thinking about them and how she would be able to get in touch with missionaries in her new area. She invited us in and told us all about her story in Utah, family, and where she is at now with the church. It was really cool to see the Lord work in such ways that some would call chance, while others tender mercies or miracles.

With the theme of hunting season still going, this experience reminds me of 2005 when we went up to the top of Home Canyon for the first time at first light. The evening before, we went up and scouted around. We found tons of tracks, droppings, and other signs that just screamed "prime" country for a nice buck. The next morning, we went back to the same place. While Madison and I were watching two bull elk on the hillside, Dad had spotted a nice buck about 1000+ yards across the canyon. We pulled up the spotting scope and came up with a plan to get within shooting distance. After hurrying several hundred yards down the hill to get within distance, we had but a window in the pine trees to shoot out of and made it work. There were two bullet holes within several inches in the neck of that buck if I remember correctly. I think it was the next week we went back up with L-Mo this time and Dad got that "big" two-point. Like this hunting experience, we found success one evening at an apartment complex. The very next morning we went back and found more success. Hopefully we can go back there later this week and find success once again. The Lord works in mysterious ways and I'm excited to see what He has in store in the coming weeks.

I continue to be in awe about the progress of my shoulder. The past week and a half I have started doing strengthening workouts. My therapist said that I am so far ahead of an average person after a surgery like this it's not even funny. I've had a lot of atrophy in my left arm so it is still pretty weak but there is no pain whatsoever. Yesterday I actually started doing inclined push ups. I had to beg her to let me try them. It feels good to be able to work out again. Last week she had a student there who was doing some hands-on training. The student was dumbfounded at the fact that I was recovering so fast and asked my therapist why? Buttars and I looked at each other and smiled while the therapist tried to give some logical reasons as to why I was recovering quickly. "Well he's young. He's athletic. He wants to do the workouts.." blah blah blah. Why not the power of God? Is that unreasonable? I think not.

Sunday we had another pretty neat experience. There is a girl named Marissa from Ogden who lives down here and goes to school at GCU (Grand Canyon University). She has a non-member boyfriend that she lives with. She wants to start to better her lifestyle and has told him that she wants him to follow. His name is Todd and he is a national champion wrestler from GCU. Marissa was at church. I've only ever really shook her hand once and heard her name from others. When I saw her, I greeted her at the door, calling her by name. She smiled and said hello. After sacrament meeting, we were called out of our Sunday school class by a member of the bishopric. He and his wife were in a classroom talking to Marissa. They told us about how she wanted to change but she was torn cause she didn't want to lose Todd but that she would rather live a good, clean life than to be with him. She started to cry in the room when she told us about how she wanted us to teach him. She said that for the past couple weeks she has been wanting to talk to us and get some ideas about how to go about this. She said that her prompting was solidified when she walked into the building and I called her by name. She was like, "wait, how does he know my name? Must be a sign.” Call me a creep for knowing her name but I wanna believe it was the spirit! haha We set up a dinner in the bishopric member’s home for the very next day. We just shot the breeze for a while, broke the ice, and talked a little about the Book of Mormon. Earlier that day, Todd got another concussion and wasn't feeling too well from it. Marissa had told him about the Priesthood and mentioned that he should get a blessing. We did so and it was a great experience. Moral of the story is that there is power in our names and people love when they are called by their personal name. We should do what we can to remember the names of those we come into contact with because it leaves a lasting impression on someone when you see them again and remember their name. This was a unique experience for me because I am so terrible with remembering names. I am so quick to forget. I would hope that we would also not forget the name that we bear and our Heavenly Father's name that we bear as well. We represent our families and our Father more than any sports team or jersey. Hopefully we are at the forefront of the battle.

Well I love and appreciate all that you do. I'm grateful for each of your testimonies. Hopefully I will get some time to write back a letter or two in the next coming P-Days. I can't believe the holiday season is almost here. Crazy!

Love,

Elder Colton Mouritsen

P.S. My apartment number is #W294 if you want to send mail straight here. Sorry I didn't say that earlier.

Oh...and is there any other news about friends getting married back there..? I wanna be updated on that! That's big news! :)

Here's a photo of how cold it was here one night last week.