The Airport and Home

 Welcome Home, Elder Mouritsen!
Link to Colton's "Homecoming" talk

Final Photos of Phoenix North

May 1 - 7, 2012: The Arizona Phoenix Mission has become my own personal Sacred Grove.

Hello!

Wow so much in just one email. I got a little teary eyed when I read "your last letter as a missionary." That's awesome that you and Madi both got to bear testimony yesterday. I did the same. I told the congregation that it's a hard realization to come to when it’s your last opportunity as a missionary to bear your testimony (on fast Sunday). It was a very emotional meeting. Madi, I feel your pain when it comes to doing all that you can and then not making it in the end. We have been doing all in our power to get people to church and baptized and in the end, something happens and the goal isn't met. Often times, it's hard to accept, but it is necessary for one to be able to strengthen their testimony and go from good, to better, to best and to realize that it's in the Lord's hands and He has a plan. That is another one of my "absolutes," the Lord's hands are in the details. I promise you that He does. Your example is powerful to me. Thanks.

I had the opportunity to teach gospel principles class in each ward yesterday. It was a great experience. The topic was "The Church of Jesus Christ today." For an outline, I used a timeline that showed important dates in history that lead up to the gospel being restored. Some of the dates were: 30 a.d., 33, 96, 101, 320, 1200, 1300, 1492, 1515, 1620, 1776, 1785, 1805, 1820, 1830.

• ·         Year 30-33 was the Savior's earthly ministry which was capped by His crucifixion & resurrection.
• ·         Roughly year 96 was when John (the last apostle) was exiled to the island of Patmos.
• ·         Around year 101 the apostasy was complete, leaving no more men on earth who held the Priesthood to receive revelation regarding the church.
• ·         Year 320 was the first Nicene Council, where men gathered together and voted on what would be the basic doctrines of the church. This is when the idea of the trinity was born and the reign of the popes began.
• ·         Year 1200, the advent of the printing press which allowed common folk to have an opportunity to read the bible for themselves and seek answers for themselves (necessary for the reformation and restoration).
• ·         1300, renaissance in Europe begins.
• ·         1492, Columbus sails the ocean blue and a nation is found.
• ·         1515, many reformers including Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and even King Henry IIIV break off from mainstream teachings and start their own faiths.
• ·         1620, pilgrims come to America, nation is born.
• ·         1776, Declaration of Independence and revolutionary ward, which if anyone does a study of will find that it was a miracle that we won.
• ·         1785, Constitution (Freedom of Religion).
• ·         1805, Joseph Smith born.
• ·         1820, first vision.
• ·         1830, church organized.

It's amazing how the Lord had a plan and line upon line, precept upon precept, the necessary changes were made to create an environment where the church could survive. The purpose of this outline was not to downgrade the other churches. Rather, to help understand the need for a restoration and the reality of an apostasy. Clearly the teachings of the Savior and the apostles were lost as certain men's thoughts were mingled with the scripture. I concluded with talking about how each of us has been reserved for thousands of years to be on the earth during the dispensation of the fullness of times. We need to ask ourselves why the Lord waited to send us here at this crucial time. He has a mission for each of us to perform. It wasn't just chance or a malfunctioning blip out in the cosmos that caused us to come to earth when we did. We are here during this time to help build the kingdom and prepare the world for the second coming of the Savior. Because of that, we don't have a right to mess around with the temptations of the adversary. It's just not worth our eternal life.

One of my best friends I've met out on the mission, Ben Rowberry, is leaving for the Johannesburg MTC tomorrow. Yesterday, after the gospel principles lesson, he pulled me aside and said, "I want you to know that you were my first trainer. Though I will have a trainer out in the field, you are my first." Ben has been coming out to lessons with us a lot. He is amazing. He's 22 years old, is the lead singer of a very good band called the Stencils (haha), and is 6'5". If I could, I would send some pictures but for some reason the library computers are blocked so that I can't load them on.

We had a neat experience this last week with finding. We were tracting a certain street, finding no success, when we decided to leave and go stop by some less active members and potential investigators. We left for about 15-20 minutes and then felt like we needed to go back to the place we were tracting and knock a few more doors. We only had a few minutes before our next appointment but we did anyway. The second door we knocked was a lady, her son, and her daughter. I said, "Hi my name is Elder Mouritsen, and this is Elder Brothers. We are representatives of Jesus Christ and as representatives of Him we are offering prayers for people to bless them with whatever they need. Could we offer a prayer for you and your family?" (Something to that effect). She paused for a minute and then said yes and invited us in. We sat on the couch and talked about certain things that they would like us to pray for. It was the typical family, work, health, etc. We said the prayer and left. They told us we could come by again two days later. We did so. When we got there they invited us in again. We sat down and began asking them questions regarding religion in their past, their beliefs, expectations of us, etc. We then proceeded to teach about the doctrines of Christ and how His doctrines were restored. I've never taught anybody who listened so intently! The mom's name is Chantelle and she told us that she had been waiting for someone to come and get her to start coming back to church. I told her our experience of coming back to knock on her door. I told her that we actually stopped for the day but decided to come back. We assured her that the Lord had sent us there and that we could help her. She accepted the invitation to be baptized and to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. It was a good feeling leaving the home. She owns her own restaurant and has to work on Sundays but hopes to be able to get off to come to church. Great potential.

Regarding the phone call next week, We have church from 10-4. Then a member is feeding us at 5. My exit interview with President Taylor is at 8:15 p.m. Would it be ok if I called around 6-6:15? Justin King is taking us out to lunch on Friday. Dingle is definitely high on the list of places to be asap :). But if you have prior engagements I wouldn't want to intrude on them.

What a neat experience you had at FHE! The topic you have decided is awesome. I think about that scripture quite regularly. I would love to be at a softball game before going to Kaysville. That's a priority. Thanks for the idea about writing a letter to myself. I will definitely take you up on it. Mom, Elder Brothers wrote you a letter for Mother's day. Don't open it until then! Hopefully he said some "ok" things. Haha

I love you all. It's very bittersweet to have this be the last time I will ever close an email with a black tag over my heart. It's been the greatest two years of my life. I wouldn't trade the opportunities, blessings, and experiences I've had for the world. Over 27 months ago, I was quite distraught with my call to serve so close to home. I really wanted to go somewhere far. I vocalized that in my farewell talk. I know this is where I was supposed to be for the last two years of my life. I wouldn't have it any different. The Arizona Phoenix Mission has become my own personal Sacred Grove. As Amy Leo would say, "I LOVE MY LIFFFFFEEEE!!!"

Thanks again for being so awesome. See you next week.

Until then,

Elder Colton Mouritsen

April 24-30, 2012: Feeling the answers

Hello Hello,

Sounds like you had a great week! Rim to rim to rim sounds pretty awesome. I would love to do it sometime. Maybe next year after a little bit of training? Those members I ate with last night said they are planning to do it in the spring of next year. They told me to meet them there. haha Probably won't happen. When I told them that you were running R2R2R they were quite shocked. They said that they nearly die just hiking to Havasupai. Both would be pretty sweet though! Seeing a river like that with all that red rock makes me so happy. I haven't seen a river in person in two years. It's amazing the beauties that we take for granted. Those pictures of you guys are awesome though! What a crew.

I've been getting Elder Brothers out and running in the mornings. We mapped out a 2.5 mile run that we do 4-5 times a week. It's really the only amount we can do in the amount of time we have to exercise but I've gotten down to the 18 minute mark. I know that is nothing special but I hope to be under 17.5 by the time I come home. That would be a 7 min mile average for 2.5 miles, which would be fine with me!

We had some stellar lessons this week. Some investigators were brought to tears as they accepted the message. Each committed to come to church. We were so sure that we would have 4-5 people there. Even our ward mission leader, who came to several of the appointments and witnessed the change in the people, said that we should count on having several there. Sadly, sacrament started, and once again none showed. It's in these hard times that an introspection of one's self begins to occur. I constantly am asking what I am doing to keep these people from receiving the blessings of the gospel more fully in their lives. I've beaten myself up over and over again, praying to find some comfort. This morning in my study I was led to read through my patriarchal blessing. I found comfort in it and was then led to my knees for some serious prayer and further comfort. I realize that it's a major part in our Father's plan that agency be used wisely. I can't force or coerce people into action, I can only invite. They still have their agency and I need to respect that. Still, it makes me wonder what more I could have done to help them choose differently. It really hurts. We do have a baptism on May 12th though that is going to be great. It'll be a great way to leave the field.

I had a pretty neat experience this week in receiving an answer to a prayer. I have been feeling like I've been learning so much and focusing on so many different things at so many different times that when a time comes for me to remember what I learned long ago I've forgotten certain details of the key learning. I've been praying that my mind can be focused, and be given the strength to retain the information that I study and learn. I prayed for an experience where I would know that the knowledge I've gained over the last few years can be brought back to remembrance. We came across certain people this week who had false pre-conceived notions about the church and then some questions. At the beginning of my mission, I would never have been able to hold an intelligent conversation regarding the bible and specifically certain stories from it. In my conversations with these people, it was neat to "feel" the answers come and be able to respond comfortably and confidently. What could have become hostile, "bashing" sort of scenarios, turned out to be great experiences that subtly answered my prayer.

Regarding my topic for my talk on the 27th, I think you should just choose a topic for me. I can never decide what to speak on. That way I can just adapt and find certain stories that I can tell. Otherwise, it will turn out chaotic and I won't know where to stop or what to share! So you should decide as a family and let me know next week or something. Each vote on it or whatever. Haha

Sorry this email is so short this week. One of the missionaries I live with keeps getting bed bugs. Don't worry they haven't entered our room. It's funny because he's poisoned his entire bed several times and they keep coming back. Also, he is on the bottom bunk and the bugs don't mess with the elder on top at all! He finally called the front office and they told us what we have to do to get the apartment sprayed. It's quite a ridiculous list of things and it includes bagging all of our clothes for two weeks. Yeah, not gonna happen. I'm probably just going to have to load everything up into my suit cases and live out of them. I know that sounds like the typical definition of "trunky" but I promise I'm not trunky at all. It's inevitable that it's coming to an end but that just implies urgency and sprinting to the finish.

Thanks for all you do! I love you all lots. Remember that next week is my last email I will ever send as a missionary. Sad day. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

April 17-23, 2012: Urgency

Hello there!

Well speaking of the nice weather, we had our first few days in the 100s. Elder Brothers is going to die I think haha. He's not too used to that yet. Saturday hovered right around 101-102 and then Sunday was supposedly around 105. You can definitely feel it when you come out of church wearing a suit jacket.

Ok so the important things first: You know the website dearelder.com? Well the man who is the creator/owner of it has a nephew that is serving here in my zone. Apparently they need photographs taken of missionaries for the website so he came down here and talked to President Taylor. President gave permission and there are like six of us missionaries who will be getting our pictures taken and we will be on the website! Kinda cool! Might as well just start pullin' out the red carpet... haha

It's been really hard getting people to come to church lately. Super hard. We commit everyone and in turn they commit to us that they will be there. Some send us text messages 15 minutes before the meeting telling us they are coming. Even then, none show up. It's quite disheartening. Honestly, the extent of the hurt that I feel because of it is a feeling I would say I haven't felt yet my entire mission. This is because in the past I have always been able to say, 'Well I'm still gonna be here for a while so we will just alter our teaching/committing method and hope and pray that they come next week.' That doesn't seem to work anymore. We had interviews with President this week. During the interview he asked me if anything was going on that I wanted to talk to him about. I told him my concern. Tears rolled down my face as I told him how hurt I am because our investigators won't keep commitments. I told him I've never felt such urgency and desire to have these people come to church. For what seemed like about five minutes, we just cried together. I know that we have done all that we can to bring it "unto" their hearts but it takes their wise use of agency to bring it "into" their hearts. It seriously hurts. He responded to me by recounting the last week of the Savior's earthly mission. He must have felt some of the same pains that I have been feeling. He too must have wondered about the commitment level of the saints. He knew that He would have His apostles to carry on what He had done, but He must have also known that they too would be rejected and killed. I at least have the knowledge that Elder Brothers will carry on and help these people make and keep commitments. At least I hope that he doesn't get rejected and killed. It helped to heal the pain/discouragement I have felt. It reminded me of my talk I gave a few weeks ago, "He's Been There Before."

We had a pretty neat experience on Tuesday night. We have been teaching a man named Chris who is about 6'4" and 270 pounds of muscle. He works out to be an MMA competitive fighter. He's a super nice, humble guy though. We were standing around in his kitchen as he was baking a cake when he told us that he had read the Book of Mormon the previous night. It got quiet in the room and we asked him how it went. He said that he prayed about it. My heart started beating really fast and I asked if he got an answer. He said that he thinks he did and went on to tell us that later that night he woke up randomly with a scripture going through his mind over and over. The scripture was the one from Revelations 22 that says that if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues... blah blah blah. We get that all the time...... Now my adrenaline was rollin' pretty fast and I felt like it was going to be a pretty good throw down lesson. He also said that he feels like whenever we teach him we only ever use the Book of Mormon and he wants to hear from the Bible. We then started making an appeal to the Bible to answer his concern. As we started going from scripture to scripture, Chris's next door neighbor walked through the front door to join us. He is a non-denominational Christian who loves his Bible. Once again, I thought it was going to be quite a throw down. He pulled out his phone and read along with us. We started in Amos 8:11-12 which talks about the apostasy, then we went to Amos 3:7 (God reveals secrets to prophets), then to Acts 3:19-21 (there would be a prophet to bring about a restitution of all things, or a restoration), to Ephesians 4 (one Lord, one faith, one baptism - to bring a unity to the faith). They agreed that the modern faiths were not unified and there needed to be unity to have the true church on the earth. We then went to James 1:5 and related the Joseph Smith story. The room got really quiet as we stated the first vision. It's amazing how as soon as the words "I saw a pillar of light" are said, the spirit fills the room. It was awesome to see Chris's entire countenance change. Charles (the non-denom Christian) told us that we were spot on with our teaching. That was exactly what Chris needed to hear. Chris went on to tell us that we were always welcome in his home, anytime we needed anything. He really wants to come to church but is just super busy with his kids and work. We ended the lesson with a prayer. Charles actually offered it and it was cool to hear the things he said regarding us as missionaries. After Charles left, Chris told us that he is really searching hard for truth. He wants this to be true, he just wants to know without a doubt so that he won't join another church just to leave it a few months later. We were ok with that.

Sorry this is such a short email. I hope all is going well back home! Thanks for all that you do! I love you all. Talk to you on Mother's Day!

Elder Mouritsen

April 10 - 15, 2012: Why is it that I was so blessed to be a part of this church?

Hi how are ya?

 It's amazing how time flies when one is busy isn't it?  Sounds like you guys are quite busy there.  That always makes life more fulfilling and enjoyable. That's cool that you got to go and chaperone at Prom.  I bet it was a blast.  Be sure to send me some pictures asap!  Or don't and surprise me in a few weeks by everyone dressing up in their dresses at the airport... :/ You too mom.  You can be off the hook though dad.

 This week has been pretty ok.  We were so psyched up with so much good stuff going on.  We are teaching four part member families that have a lot of potential.  We had good lessons with each of them and each committed to come to church.  Along side them, there were several other investigators that said they would come as well.  Sunday came, we got the entire ward council ready to fellowship them, and no one showed....  I was pretty dang bummed out.  It's so frustrating sometimes when you work your heart out in a good cause and then agency is used unwisely and the desired result isn't met.  Discouragement weakens faith though so we aren't letting that happen.  We just keep on pressin' on and seek for understanding.  One of the less active families we are teaching was very excited to come to church.  There is a non-member nine year old in the family and apparently sometime during the weekend she fell on her scooter and broke her middle two knuckles on her hand.  The growth plates were involved in both breaks as well.  So that kept the family from coming to church.  She is going to need surgery apparently.  It just seems like one thing after another with this family that Satan keeps on throwing at them. 

 We did have a pretty neat experience this week with our mission's new "prayer approach" to contacting.  We chose a street to tract for about an hour.  When we got to the street we prayed that someone there would be prepared for us to teach and invite us into their home.  The VERY FIRST DOOR we knocked was a young (20s) girl.  We stated ourselves as representatives of Jesus Christ, told her that we were there to pray with her and her family and ask for blessings from God on her home and her family.  She agreed and let us right in.  This was the first time it's ever happened to me when using this approach.  We sat down on the couch and she went and got the rest of the family.  Several more young mothers came into the room.  We got to know them for a little bit and found out that there are actually 13 people living in the home, nine of which are baptism age.  After I picked my jaw up from off the ground, we asked them if there was anything in particular that they would like us to pray for in regards to their family, home, work, etc.  They told us a few things.  We then knelt down and offered a prayer.  It was neat to see how grateful they were.  Following the prayer, one of the girls then said that she actually had another thing she would like us to pray for.  We did so.  We set a return appointment for a few days later because they said they wanted their husbands and boyfriends and other kids to hear the message. We hoped that it would go well.  The day came and we went by.  One of the girls was there and invited us in for a few minutes but said that they were going out to be with the family for the evening.  We said another prayer with them and they committed to come to church.  Of course, they weren't able to come because of some issues that came up but they are interested and we hope to continue to teach them. 

I told you in the past about how we have been going to Glendale Community College to talk to the kids on the campus.  Well this past week was a unique experience.  We got there and a TON of kids from the "Christian" Club were there passing out their own flyers and DVDs.  We stayed and talked to as many as we could but had several encounters with these "Christians" coming up to us and attacking our beliefs.  One of which actually used a video camera and taped the entire conversation.  I wonder what they will use that footage for?  It's amazing how the adversary ups his game as soon as too much good is going on in a certain place.  There were seriously dozens of kids passing out hundreds of materials.  I tried to talk to a few of them and they didn't even know what they were passing out.  They were only doing it because their friends had told them to.  It's so amazing to me to see how far the world is getting from the truth.  Twice now in my study of the doctrine and covenants have I found that the Lord inspired our forefathers to write the Constitution of our nation.  Satan is doing all that he can to skew the truth.  I'm glad we have the assurance and knowledge (as does he) that he will lose in the end.  He too knows our potential and delights in how miserable we will be if we don't live up to it.  We know too much and don't have the right to fool around with all the "dumb stuff" he tries to throw at us.  In my conversations with younger missionaries who are having issues with their leadership calls I have often told them that they have too much to offer to this work and especially to the Lord to just give up.  They were called to serve in that capacity because of what they have to offer and it's their choice to live up to the potential the Lord has given them.  I know this because it has helped me through difficult times as well.  That goes for all of us though.  We have been blessed with the gifts that come from the gospel of Jesus Christ and it's our responsibility to take it and offer it up to the world.  Just like light from a candle gives light to other candles but doesn't lose any light of its own, we can give our light to others and actually can gain more light in doing so.  We have so much to offer!  We have been blessed greatly.  I often times think about all the other people in the world.  The nearly 7 billion worldwide.  Why is it that I was so blessed to be a part of the mere 14 million members of this church?  I continue to answer that question daily and I'll leave it up to each of you to answer it for yourselves.

 I love you all!  Thanks so much for all you do.  The church is true.  Always remember the Savior.  We should never have to question our worthiness to have His spirit or enter His house.

 Love,

 Elder Mouritsen

April 4 - 9, 2012 Easter Weekend: Food Poisoning, Baptism, Speaking in Sacrament Meeting

Hey family!

Dang I'm sorry to hear that you are sick. Similar experience down here. Friday I went to bed fine only to wake up at 2:30 a.m. with a terrible stomach ache. I tried to sleep it off but realized that I would never be able to fall back asleep. I got up to try to go to the bathroom and fix the situation. For the next hour and a half I was stuck in there throwing up the dinner I had the previous night. It was a bad case of food poisoning and for the next 8-10 hours I would get up and my body would attempt to vomit every half hour. It really took it out of me! It was the worst time to happen also cause we had Kolt's baptism Saturday night, and then our talks on Sunday morning. All day Saturday, and all day Sunday, I never had any real nourishing food. I still haven't as I write this email now. My body is pretty weak but it's been amazing to see the strength be given at the very moment that it is needed. Some other elders gave me a blessing on Saturday so that I might be able to accomplish the plans that we had for the afternoon and evening. That evening was when President Taylor told us to go on to mormon.org/easter and post a comment on Facebook. Mark Coleman then took us out to dinner. By the way he says that he is planning on attending my "return and report" to the ward. Then at 7:00 p.m. we had Kolt's baptism. With the little energy I had, I was able to conduct the meeting and give the intermediate message because Elder Brothers was in white. It was a very neat experience and Kolt bore a powerful testimony about how it just feels right.

With Kolt getting baptized we were hoping that we would be able to find another to set a date with. It turns out that the Lord had prepared two! We had dinner last week with a part member family where the 16 year old boy in the family is super active, while the mom and other younger kids don't attend. The 11 turning 12 year old boy is the one we began teaching. He is super smart for his age. He could honestly teach us the lessons. He committed to be baptized on April 28th and his brother will be the one to baptize him. It will be a very neat experience for the entire family. Next was a family who happens to be 2nd cousins to Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Hannah, a 12 year old, lives with her less active dad and non-member mom. Her grandparents are active in Justin King's ward (I think) and she goes to church with them quite often. As we taught her, we saw a smile slowly creep onto her face as she told us that she really wants to be baptized. We just hope that we will be able to get her to come to church and meet the other young women. She is quite shy. Her baptism date is for May 5th. There is another less active family that we are working with who has a 9 year old non-member. She is praying for the 28th of April also. Those three should be baptized by the end of the transfer and we are working towards another one for the 12th so that the last week of my mission can be in white!

I've wondered a lot why the first couple months in this area went so slow. My nightly prayers would often consist of questions regarding that concern. I've learned that the Lord knows the amount of time that we will have in certain areas. Some missionaries are transferred to areas with only three months left. The Lord uses them with the time that they have. The first two transfers here for me were more for myself and the members of the wards. The ward members were not very happy with the previous missionaries and weren't too excited to graft in any recent converts because of the lack of trust with the missionaries. Now that the trust is back, the Lord is blessing the ward with baptisms so that they can be easily grafted into the fold.

Our talks yesterday went very well. Elder Brothers was freaking out sooo bad. Haha I will try to give you a run down of mine...

I started off with an intro about myself (where from, siblings, areas, length on my mission... I told them I've been out a "few months now", etc). I then shared a brief intro story regarding my mission call. About how my five close friends were all called to foreign missions and 4 of the 7 continents were represented. Because of that, my mind thought, "well I don't think they send missionaries to Antarctica, so that leaves either Asia or Australia!" I told the congregation that I had only one desire, one prayer regarding my mission call, and that was that I did not want to go somewhere freezing cold. I then said, "it's my testimony brothers and sisters, that God hears and answers our prayers." They got a good laugh from that.

I then read this poem to open my topic:

The alarm rings at 6:30; I stumble to my feet

I grab my companions' bedding and pull off his sheet.

A groan fills the room. "It's already time to arise?

It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my eyes."

The morning activities follow: study, prayer, and such

When it's time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much.

"We have a super day planned," my companion says with a grin.

I lowly utter a faithless breath, 'Yeah, if anyone lets us in.'

With the word of God and my faithful schwinn, we ride off in the street.

Prepared to face another day of scorching sun and heat.

It's 8:30 in the evening, the day is almost through.

My companion and I are riding home, not accomplishing what we thought we'd do.

We ride up to the mailbox hoping to receive a lot.

Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "AIR BOX"

We go up to our apartment; the day is now complete

the only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet.

It's past 10:30, my companion is fast asleep.

Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep.

In the midst of sadness I kneel down to pray;

I need to talk to Father, but I"m not sure what to say.

"Oh Father," I begin, "What happened to us today?

I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away.

My hands, my aching hands worn, hurt and beat

If our area was any smaller, we'd have knocked on every street."

"Why on missions are the days so much alike?

the only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike.

Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me!

I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes. It's very hard to see.

"Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough?

People always laugh at me and call me stupid stuff.

Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack;

I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back."

"And what about my family? The don't have much to say.

I'm sick of not hearing from home day after day.

Oh Father, why am I here, am I just wasting my time?

Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind."

My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?

The way he rides his bicycle I don't know if he can even see!

Now you have it, I can't go on. I don't know what to do!

That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I leave you."

My prayer now finished I stand up, then jump right into bed.

I need my feet for tomorrow; we have another long day ahead.

Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away.

Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day.

I'm standing alone on the hill, the view is very nice.

A man walks towards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ."

Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet.

"Arise," he states, "follow me to the shade, you and I need to speak."

My attention towards my Savior, total and complete,

He says, "Your mission is similar of what happened to me.

I understand how you feel, I know what you’re going through;

In fact, it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you.

"I even know how you felt when no one listened to you

At times I felt not quite sure what else that I could do.

I know you don't like to ride a bicycle for a car would be sweet.

Just remember the donkey I rode was not equipped with 21 speed."

"I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hate.

I remember when I sweat blood from every pore, Oh the agony was great.

I see you don't like your companion you would rather have someone else.

I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth.

"

"It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you.

I remember when they put thorns in my head and called me King of the Jews.

So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack,

I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back."

"Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day,

I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way.

It's hard not to hear from home when your family was not there to see.

I lost communication on the cross and cried, 'Father why hast thou forsaken me?'"

We have a lot in common, but there is a difference between us you see.

I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me."

He embraced me with His arms, His light filled me with His love.

With tears in my eyes, I watched as He went back to the Father above.

I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head.

I listened and hear the alarm, when I realized I was in my bed.

My companion lets out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!"

I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!"

No matter what we go through when we feel we can't take more,

Just stop and think about Jesus Christ, He's been there before.

-Testified that "He's been there before" no matter what the situation or circumstance.-

Bruce R. McConkie said, "His atonement is the most transcendent event that ever has or ever will occur from Creation's dawn through all the ages of never-ending eternity." That is my topic I wish to discuss, the atonement of Jesus Christ. Elder Bruce C. Hafen said, "The atonement of Jesus Christ applies to all of life. The Savior can wipe away all of our tears, 'after all we can do'...The Savior's atonement is thus portrayed as the healing power not only for sin, but also for carelessness, inadequacy, and all mortal bitterness. The atonement is not just for sinners." Let's think for a moment about tears. What sort of experiences most commonly invoke tears? Tears of sadness (emotional). Tears from physical pain. Tears from guilt that breeds repentance. Tears from fear. Tears of joy. The Savior knows each of these.

So why do we celebrate on Easter? What is the significance? To truly paint the picture of the significance of the celebration, we must go back nearly 2000 years ago outside Jerusalem's walls. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland recounted the experience of Orson F. Whitney while he was serving as a young missionary.

As a young missionary, Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931), who later served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, had a dream so powerful that it changed his life forever. He later wrote:

“One night I dreamed … that I was in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior’s agony. … I stood behind a tree in the foreground. … Jesus, with Peter, James, and John, came through a little wicket gate at my right. Leaving the three Apostles there, after telling them to kneel and pray, He passed over to the other side, where He also knelt and prayed…: ‘Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt.’

“As He prayed the tears streamed down His face, which was [turned] toward me. I was so moved at the sight that I wept also, out of pure sympathy with His great sorrow. My whole heart went out to Him. I loved Him with all my soul and longed to be with Him as I longed for nothing else.

“Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender reproach, untinctured by the least show of anger or scolding, asked them if they could not watch with Him one hour. …

“Returning to His place, He prayed again and then went back and found them again sleeping. Again He awoke them, admonished them, and returned and prayed as before. Three times this happened, until I was perfectly familiar with His appearance—face, form, and movements. He was of noble stature and of majestic mien … the very God that He was and is, yet as meek and lowly as a little child...."

Of His suffering, Chieko N. Okazaki said, "We know that Jesus experience the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that He experienced everything-absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience individually. That means he knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer-how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana towards Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced Napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism."

Following Gethsemane, He was betrayed by a trusted friend, led as a criminal with a rope around His neck to a cruel, undeserved execution. 39 lashings with a whip woven with sharp bones and metals tore into His back. Afterwards, He was mounted with a crown of thorns, mocked, and spit upon by the Roman soldiers. He rose from such cruelty, and carried His cross outside Jerusalem’s walls once again to a hill called Calvary. Nails of iron were driven into His hands, wrists, and feet as they lifted Him up before the world. Bruce R. McConkie stated, "The heavens grew black. Darkness covered the land for the space of three hours... There was a mighty storm, as though the very God of nature was in agony. And truly He was, for while He was hanging on the cross for another three hours, all the infinite agonies and merciless pains of Gethsemane recurred." After the atoning agony had taken its toll and the will of the Father had been fulfilled, though we don't know what was stated last, He said, "It is finished," and exclaimed, "Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit."

His body was laid in the tomb only to be brought forth triumphant over death just three days later. And so it was, as Mary Magdalene and other women went to the tomb for further anointing and embalmment of the body, the angels sat waiting and said, "Fear not, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified, He is not here, for He is risen." And that brothers and sisters is why we celebrate on Easter. Elder McConkie goes on to say, "His rising from death on the third day crowned the Atonement. Again, in a way incomprehensible to us, the effects of His resurrection pass upon all men so that all shale rise from the grave."

Of the dream I cited earlier by Orson F. Whitney, he goes on to say...

“All at once the circumstance seemed to change. … Instead of before, it was after the Crucifixion, and the Savior, with those three Apostles, now stood together in a group at my left. They were about to depart and ascend into heaven. I could endure it no longer. I ran from behind the tree, fell at His feet, clasped Him around the knees, and begged Him to take me with Him.

“I shall never forget the kind and gentle manner in which He stooped and raised me up and embraced me. It was so vivid, so real that I felt the very warmth of His bosom against which I rested. Then He said: ‘No, my son; these have finished their work, and they may go with me; but you must stay and finish yours.’ Still I clung to Him. Gazing up into His face—for He was taller than I—I besought Him most earnestly: ‘Well, promise me that I will come to You at the last.’ He smiled sweetly and tenderly and replied: ‘That will depend entirely upon yourself.’ I awoke with a sob in my throat, and it was morning.”

-Testimony, saved by grace--after all we can do. He's been there before. Etc-

That was it! Sorry it's so long. It took a while to type out but it'll be nice to have a digital copy of you.

Thanks for all you do. I love you and hope you all have a great week. Good luck with all your endeavors.

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

March 27 - April 3, 2012: General Conference

What’s up family?

Fantastic letter. Yes, this has been a very bittersweet week. Thursday in our weekly planning session, I had to pull out my last planner that was made by you back home. Specifically it's the one made by Bailee. I saved it for the last. Maybe it's because it has a gigantic picture of the temple on it.

Sounds like things are great back there. I hope you got my package from the member that moved up to Utah. He said it got a little wet during transportation but hopefully it wasn't too bad. I will probably be sending a few more home in the next couple weeks. I have acquired a lot of goodies. I got a text from Mark Coleman on Friday saying that he was on his way up to watch the Saturday afternoon and Priesthood sessions. I was amazed! I told him to visit with you but I don't think he got my text and you were in Idaho anyways. He is going to take us out to lunch next week. I love the wards here. Last week for our FHE activity the Phoenix North YSA came to a barbeque in the park with our ward. It was awesome to see them all again. There are several groups that are planning on coming up to my "Return and Report" to the ward on May 27th. The James' are planning on being there also. A few members of the Phx No YSA bishopric might come as well. It will be neat.

Last week was a great week for teaching. We had a lot of great lessons and found a couple great new people to teach. They all came from part member families. It's funny how right when you think there is nothing left that you can possibly do, if you but do just a bit more, the Lord opens the windows of heaven and pours out blessings. Even through a couple of faith demoting experiences, Kolt is enduring well and will be baptized this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Example; he was on his way to our lesson at the church and his brake pad fell off. :/ His rotor was scraped down like crazy and he ended up having to drive home by using the emergency brake. He's fine though and continues to have spiritual experiences which propel him through to the waters. We had a very powerful lesson with him last night. We had planned to teach about the baptismal covenant and how it applies to the sacrament. That ended up only lasting about ten or fifteen minutes before it turned into a testimony meeting where we shared experiences and stories that have built our faith and encouraged our progression.

General Conference was fantastic wasn't it? I think I say this every time but it's like the Super Bowl or World Series for missionaries (if the Yankees are playing). I loved Elder Holland's talk once again. I felt like it was speaking directly to some of my recent converts. One convert in particular had always questioned why she didn't find the gospel until later in her life. Why wasn't she one to have been born into the covenant. We told her that it was because Heavenly Father trusted her enough to put her in a situation where he knew that she would accept it when she heard it. Elder Holland made the comment that whether you receive it early or late you will still receive the same wage. The blessings and potential are there for all. I also liked Elder Nelson's talk. "If a printing shop exploded, could it create a dictionary? And then could that dictionary produce other dictionaries?" There is so much evidence that there is a God and that He loves us. SOOOOO much evidence.

Had a pretty neat experience visiting a less active member this week. Her name is Kim. We had never been able to get into contact with her in the past. On Tuesday night we had a few minutes to kill so we decided to go and stop by. As I was about to knock on the window, a hand appeared on the other side of the door and peeled back the curtain. I heard a faint "hello?" The only way I can describe the voice is to say it sounded like Wendy from the movie Hook when she is at the top of the stairs and says, "Hello boy." Yeah, it scared me for a minute. I jumped back and introduced myself. She came out and sat down at a table that was on her front porch. We could tell she was a smoker and wasn't active AT ALL in the church. As we talked we found out she was baptized in the early 90s, still believes in the church and has children that have families which are active in the church. It was really hard to get any sort of conversation going so it came to that point in the visit where we just share a spiritual thought, say a prayer, and leave. My thought turned to Ether 12:27. First, I talked about how God's hand is in the details of our lives. Sometimes things happen to us that we don't understand, but in the end we see that we grew substantially from the trial/experience we were given. Before I could even read the scripture, her eyes got dark. She cut me off and smartly said, "Even if you have a gun held to your head and you are forced to take the blame for a crime you didn't commit?" I looked at her puzzled with dozens of questions running through my mind. The only thing I could say was, "Uhh, what happened?" She said that her son (non-member) was cornered by a group of "thugs" (as she puts it) and with a gun pointed at his head, forced him to take the blame for a crime he didn't commit otherwise they would kill him and his entire family. He followed their command. She then told us that this had just happened five days earlier. Her eyes got teary and she looked up at heaven with a clenched fist saying that she was mad at God because of what had happened. My brain was spinning! Finally my thoughts focused and I don't know where it came from, but I started talking about how God gives us experiences such as this to humble us, and His "grace is sufficient for all" who humble themselves before Him. I shared the experience of Tom Hughes, who also was falsely accused in jail. I talked about how Tom had an amazing experience, gaining a testimony while there and teaching the others in prison. Suddenly her countenance changed. She looked at me, and as if to have just scratched the winning lottery ticket, and said, "I have actually been praying for years that my son would find God and develop a faith in Him. Do you think that this could actually be an answer to my prayer?" I hoped and prayed that it was because I told her that I would have to say that was the case. Her tears turned from tears of anger and hate to tears of hope, faith, and joy. I asked her if she would like a priesthood blessing for comfort. She agreed. Elder Brothers gave her the blessing and she was in tears through the whole thing. As we left, she smiled and thanked us many times for helping her change her perspective on the experience. It was one of those "tender mercy of the Lord" experiences. Hopefully things go well.

Lastly, I've talked a lot about an investigator named Preston who was supposed to get baptized a few months ago but has to wait a little while to work some things out. His member girlfriend broke off their engagement. He was pretty distraught. He called saying he needed to receive some answers to questions from us. At about 9:30, he came by and we talked in the parking lot. His girlfriend had told him that they can't get married because they each have to be perfect before they go into it. He wanted to know the doctrine behind that excuse. We helped him to know that that was actually the opposite of truth and that we will be far from perfect and need to work through our imperfections before, and after marriage. He went to conference with many questions in mind. He let us know that they were all answered. His testimony is unshakeable.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the "absolutes" I've learned on my mission. Some come from one-liner quotes, others are single principles. You will probably recognize some. Here's a few:

There is no comfort in a growing zone, but no growing in a comfort zone.

You are as happy as you are obedient.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real.

Our potential is incomprehensible.

Submitting to the Father's will, obedience, and righteous actions breed spiritual and even temporal/professional education and knowledge. (Just look at the apostles and prophets). Callings are seldom convenient...they come first.

It's a choice to be happy and to get along.

"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven."

“The opportunity of a lifetime can be missed by not seizing it in the lifetime of the opportunity." We are saved by grace, after all we can do.

Attitude is everything.

The church is true.

I love you all very much!

Elder Mouritsen