Christmas Day in the Brazil MTC

The day after Christmas we received this email from a Sister Stephenson.

"I am a missionary at the Sao Paulo temple. My husband and I serve at the MTC on Sundays. Your son is in our branch. For a Christmas present to you I took a picture of him and his companion today during the Christmas festivities. It was casual dress for the afternoon. Really, he is usually in a suit and tie. Merry Christmas!

Sister Stephenson"

Elder Applegate and Elder Bleazard
Christmas Day 2012

We were so happy to get this!
Here is a excerpt from a letter I received from Craig about Christmas:

"Christmas here was great!  We had a devotional from President Costa, the Area President and General Seventies.  It was pretty sweet.  Then we had a wonderful lunch of ribs and potatoes, then time for board games and watched "The Other Side of Heaven."  After that we got together and sang the Twelve Days of Christmas.  I was in the Five Golden Rings group and one round I sang it solo extremely high, like soprano, and everyone laughed and applauded.  It was probably the funniest, silliest rendition of that song I have ever sung! Every group would try to out do each other.  Then we had dinner and watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.
They gave us a lot of chocolate today and President and Sister Degn (the CTM President) dressed up like Santa and Mrs. Claus and gave us all a tie.  It was very, very nice.  What a wonderful Christmas!
Eu estou muito anima ser um missionario.  eu te amo.  I'm very excited to be a missionary. I love you.
Um Ambraco
Craig

Merry Christmas!!

December 25, 2012

Well today is Christmas!!! Woohoo!!! What a wonderful time of the year. Even without the snow :) Although we had a huge thunderstorm yesterday evening that shook the building. That was pretty cool. It was during our fireside. The narrator said "i am Moses" and then the first thunder struck. it was very well timed and it caught the elder off guard. very funny. :) There is so much going on down here today, so they are keeping us very busy with a lot of fun things to do. and they have given us a lot of candy and chocolate. Last night the Missionary Couples and CTM staff came down our hallway with jingle bells and homemade cookies for us all. The Elders and President Degn had Santa hats on. It was very nice of them.

I am very excited to be in Brazil this Christmas and to be where I am at. I get the unique opportunity to feel the spirit of Christmas every day on the mission. This is really a wonderful opportunity for me and I know all of you are going to be blessed by it as well. Remember that Christmas is the time to remember Jesus and to serve others. I love you all and I wish you all a very merry Christmas, There is not very much time to say everything, but I will try to include it in a letter this week to Mom. I love you all so very much!

Feliz Natal!

Elder Applegate

Semana 6- Brazil MTC

Elder Applegate picking up the 'gifts"
we ordered at Mr. Cheneys.

December 18, 2012

Oi,

Está semana foi muito boa. Eu sou aprendendo mais português e falando é mais facíl. Eu posso falar com brasaleros e ser comfortivel com isso. ta bom, agora eu vou escrever em inglêsh. 

Hi,

This  week was very good. I'm learning more and Portuguese speaking is easier. I can talk to the Brazilians comfortably now. okay, now I'll write in English.

So things here are going very well. I am loving being here at the CTM, they treat us well. This has been just a little crazy, just like every other week. We had 85 elders leave for the field today, which was about 1/3 of the CTM, so it was a crazy week. I've had a pretty busy sunday this week. We had a special devotional on Joseph Smith to celebrate his birthday. Elder Adams spoke about him and some of the things said about him and went over the big things in his life, The first vision, establishing the church, and then his martydom. The spirit was really strong that night, especially with the musical numbers. A small group sang Joseph Smiths first prayer, then the Whole CTM sang praise to the man and then after talking about his martydom a quintet of us sang A poorwayfaring man of greif. This devotional brought a new understanding and a stronger testimony of Joseph Smith. I especiallly became more thankful for his martydom and i understand it a lot more now after singing the song the was the last song he heard. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He sealed his testimony in his blood. Eu sei que Joseph Smith foi um profeta de Deus.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

Also i was made Assistant to the President for our branch this week. So i've been given more opportunities to help and lead and I am grateful for these chances. Things are still great here and everyone is preparing for the christmas season. I've got choir rehearsal everynight this week to prepare for next week, and districts are caroling in front of the CTM every night this week. The spirit of christmas is truly found in christ.

Com todo meu amor  With All My Love

Elder Applegate

Translation

Companions and Other News

Excerpts from a letter Dec 13, 2012

...Cheney's is wonderful and if you wanted to get me cookies that would be ok. They make good presents to keep my teachers happy and they are really tasty! 
 (Cheney's is a shop across the street from the MTC that carries american cookies, bakery items and american products.  It caters to the MTC and parents can send gifts from there to the MTC to their missionary.)  

...My companion is Elder Bleazard from Logan.  He is nice and pretty chill.  My roomates are Elder Smith from Boise, Elder Wilding from Brigham City.  They're pretty chill.   I've sung in my sleep at least once and they laughed the next day.  

Others in my district are Johnson (Virginia), Cherry (NM), Eddington (Morgan UT), and the four new guys from Provo.  Brown, Allen, Bedford, Griffin.  (Arrived after waiting for visas in the Provo MTC)

Semana 5- Brazil MTC

Dec 11. 2012 

Hey y'all,

I can't believe that I’ve been out an entire month already!! Thats crazy!!! So here is the basic run down of my week. We've been studying and teaching like crazy in Portuguese. The language is coming well and I apreciate all the thoughts and prayers that help me. Thank you all! Life is pretty much the same here everyday. Learning and studying like crazy and speaking portuguese as much as I can. Both of my instructors are sisters who have recently came home and they are insane. I am extremely grateful that I already know english because it is extremely hard to learn and even to explain to our Brazilian teacher when they have a question in english. We've got some new people in out district who came from provo after getting their visa, so our room is very crowded and it is miserable when the AC doesn't work, but i guess thats brazil. Sempre Quente.

Cultural experiences of the week: Today we went to a churrascoria for lunch and we did just fine talking with the people, it went slowly, but we got our point across, it is a lot easier to understand what they are saying to us, than it is to speak it. The food at the bbq joint was really good, very brazilian, but very good. oh in other news i became a Brasalero (brazilian) this week. Sis. Steadman came and asked me on saturday if I would be willing to sing with a group of brazilians and hispanics and help them out with the harmony part. We had a practice that night and it really was a bunch of brazilians and hispanics and then two white guys there to help. A couple of the brazilians were impressed I could roll my r's so well and that I read the spanish easily. Then at the fireside that next sunday President Degn announced that we would now hear a special musical number from a group of brazilian and hispanic elders. When I got up there with them, i saw people look at me and whisper, "is that applegate?" So according to President Degn I am a brazilian now. Eu sou um Basilero agora!

Also in the way of music I am singing a solo this coming sunday in the Fireside. A quintet of us are singing A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief. it is a pretty cool arrangement too. I am super exicited for that. Anyway life is good here and I am enjoying it. P-day is pretty short and 30 minutes for email is not very long, but i am happy for the time I get. Love you all and thanks for the Prayers!

Um Abraco

Elder Applegate

Note from Mom:  I am leaving his letters just the way he writes them, without correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  It will be interesting to see the change in his English skills as he continues to learn Portuguese.

Semana 4- Brazil MTC

I'm getting better at reading emails quickly and having more time to write. I've still got 23 minutes of my 30 left! Wohoo, I'm going to try to attach some pictures, I hope they work. My MTC exit date is Jan 8 and we will not be calling on Christmas,  but Sister Steadman told me that we are going to watch Muppets Christmas Carol. It’s pretty safe to say that Christmas will be good here. We've already begun to sing carols on the front steps of the CTM on weekends. We sang two accapella songs on sunday night and it went well. I'm singing 2nd tenor because there are way to many basses, but most of them are leaving, so I might get to move down :) I am still perfectly happy being here in the MTC, I don't know enough Portuguese yet to be out in the field, I can teach, but I can't really share an experience yet, that's what I am working on this week. I am sending a letter through Cheney's with more details about it here to you. The brazillians didn't like the seasoning of the turkey, they thought it was weird and they didn't understand the concept of gravy.

Nothing so funny on the language except for my companion said in a prayer that we were grateful for nossos filhos Jesus Cristo, which means Our children Jesus Christ. The teacher had a good laugh. Oh wait I just remember a funny one. I was teaching about the Law of Chastity and the investigator asked if it was ok to date, or so I thought, She had asked if it was ok to have a boyfriend, and I told her that before my mission I had many many girlfriends and she just started laughing. I basically told her I was a major player.

Anyway I am excited to be here and things are going well, I hope you get the letter from Cheneys it has more details in it. 

So the pictures are not all of what I have, The food is what ii bbuuyy oonn pp ddaayy,, ssoorrrryy tthhee kkeeyy bbooaarrdd iiss ffrreeaakkiinngg oouutt. TThheerree iiss aa ppiiccttuurree ooff mmyy ddiissttrriicctt aatt cchhrriissttmmaass aanndd hhaavviinngg ppiizzaa aanndd bbuurrggeerrss. aanndd tthheerree iiss aa ppiiccttuurree ooff aallll tthhee eellddeerrss iinn mmyy rroooomm.

LLoovvee yyaa!!

  Translation:  The food is what I buy on P Day, sorry the keyboard is freaking out. There is a picture of my district at christmas and having pizza and burgers and there is a picture of all three elders in my room.  I Love ya!

The pictures didn't send, the internet here is too slow to send quickly, I"ll try again next week.

Craig

Thanksgiving, Brazil MTC Style- Week 3

November 27, 2012

The time is short so I will have to be brief. Thanksgiving here was so wonderful, it felt just like I was at home. They fed us turkey and potatoes and stuffing, plus beans and rice, the brazilians didn't really like it very much, but I sure did. Things are going well, the language is coming easier and easier.  That is the focus here, I am so glad I studied the gospel before I came because it makes the language easier to understand. Sorry this is so short, but the time is never enough. Love you all and I hope things are going well.

Um Abraco

Elder Applegate

Funny Language Story- Week 2

From a Nov 20th email:

Elder cherry was trying to have Irma Elizabete write the sentence I was a therapist on the board, (we were learning about past tense of ser and estar) but he didn~t stay thereapist he said Puta, which translates into whore and Elizabete was like, QUE? then she explained it and we all laughed pretty hard. Yeah thats my funny language story from this week!

Brazil MTC - Week 2

Nov 20, 2012

Ola Meu amigos e minha familia!

Boa Tarde from Brasil! Today is my last day of week 2! It has been quite an ordinary, yet eventful week. The weather has been just as crazy as Utah weather is. During the day it can get super hot, then in two minutes turn into a downpour, then it can get pretty chilly (well, relatively). The food is really good, i´m getting sick of beans and rice, but there are a lot of other things available to eat, so i don't have to eat beans and rice every meal of every day! 

This week we got two Brazaleros in our room. Elder Moreais speaks decent english slowly and Elder Baptista speaks none at all. They are both really really nice people. Elder M was in the brazillian army before he came on a mission, so i know to always been extra nice to him because he could probably kill me in 25 different ways. (don't worry mom, he is really nice and i am not in any danger of being murdered) ;)

We've been teaching two "investigators" all week in complete portuguese, and i think things are going well, at least i haven't said anything super strange or offensive, although i did tell someone to dance badly after they sneezed. Sacugir means to dance poorly or shake and Saúde means health (equivalent to bless you), but thats about the worst its been. we all got a good laugh from that.

I just love missionary work, it is a wonderful wonderful thing. The days here at the CTM are pretty much the same. wake up, eat, study, class, eat, class, study, eat, study, gym, study, eat, plan, sleep. lather rinse then repeat. still it is so wonderful. I pretty much get to have choir practice every night too because Sister Steadman signs me up for all the small group numbers and i love it. We get to sing in english, portugues, and espanhol. It is helping me with the language. 

The firesides and devotionals are so great, even though they are usually in portugues and translated (sometimes poorly) the spirit is still strong. One quote that I liked from our last fireside on Sunday was from President James E. Faust. He said "Você pode falar por Deus en Françua, en Espanhol, e en Inglês, mas Ele poda responder en português." (You can talk to God in french, spanish, and english, but He will answer you in portuguese.) Sometimes that really seems very true, but that also may be because we only pray in portuguese and its what i hear all day, but still I love it.

Thank you for all your love and support. Til next week

Um Abraço,

Elder Applegate

P-Day Visit to Mr. Cheney's Cookies.... Missionties.com

New Missionaries 1st P-day

Craig has discovered Mr. Cheney's Cookies!  It is a shop across the street from the Brazil CTM (Portuguese for MTC) that sells American goodies and products to the missionaries.   I am guessing that one of these elders is Craig's companion Elder Bleazard from Logan, UT.

We can order goodies and things on missionties.com from this shop and Craig can pick them up on PDay. It is a pretty cool site.   It will also print out emails and deliver like regular mail.... only faster.  I will probably subscribe this week and then he can deliver hand written letters and they will scan and email them to whoever he wants.  Cool and it's all good with the MTC.

First Email from the MTC

Family!

 

First off, pardon my grammar and spelling, portugues has really messed with my brain and i am typing fast because i only have 30 min for email and i'm down to 15 already.

 

Answer to your questions:

 

I met Elder Rex (hesh as it is said in portugues) at SLC and we flew all way down together, so yeah i know him pretty well. It really is a small world.

 

They have an extremely large choir. Everyone is required to participate. Choir practice is every Sunday night and Tuesday Night. As for being in charge, not yet, but Sister Steadman (the choir lady) and I have had some great conversations about music and Eric Whitacre and such. Besides just singing in the choir there are so many opporutunities to sing! i am in a small ensemble group singing My shepard will supply my need for a devotional on wednesday. We've only practiced once, but it sounded really good. It is the best of the best singers.

 

So far there isn't anything that i've needed that I couldn't get here, but  don't worry about sending me packages to the CTM, they will never get there. Send anything to the mission home, that is ok, but don't send anything expensive as there is a tarriff i have to pay to get it. I'm in the CTM for 9 semanas. So i'll go out at the beginning of the year.

 

 

Alright, now to the good stuff.

 

Those mission calls are so great!!!! Wahooo!!!! Will you send Nate Kramer a FB message telling him this:

Congrats Nate! I am so proud of you, you will be a great missionãrio! Remember to work hard and to pray always! Love ya bro!

 

7 minutos AHH!

 

The flight was very long, but nothing crazy or challenging. Customs was a joke, the didn't even check our bags or look at us twice we just walked on through. The schedule is packed. Wake up at 6:30, breakfast, classes until noon, lunch, classes until dinner, then study and practice. I am learning so much. I'm already learning so much portugues. we are praying in portugues and teaching in portugues already. although its a litlle rough. I'm just getting into the swing of things down here. The food is pretty good, lots of meat, fruits, vegies, all sorts of stuff. Oh yeah and a lot of rice and beans.

 

The brazalanos are really nice people. so kind and always saying obrigado(a). Our teachers speak little to zero english, but we can understand what the are saying.

 

My companion is Elder Bleazard from Logan UT. We were just made district leaders. Things are going great. The spirit is so great up here, and its wonderful to be here. I love it. I wish i could tell you more, but i am out of time. and i need to be obedient.

 

Grandma and scott will be in my prayers as will all the rest of you!

Love you all

 

Um Abraço,

Elder Applegate

First LETTER!

This came a week after he got there, but was sent on the day he arrived in Brazil. 

(The handwriting was hard to read and looks like he hadn't slept in a long while)

Well I got here safely and without incident.  The weather is warm and a couple of the rooms are stuffy, but it is just great here.  We haven't really slept since Monday night, but it's still great.   Food news...They do have peanut butter here!  Don't send me anything expensive because there is a tariff on packages.  I can buy almost anything I need here, so don't worry about me. 

We teach our first investigator tomorrow and in portuguese!  Yahoo.  The people are so great and the city is totally awesome.  Very busy, very packed first day, but it's been great.  the food is pretty good, although my body will have to adjust to heavy lunch, light dinner, but I'm ok. 

Post this address to facebook and the blog as it is correct.  Don't even try to send me things in the MTC...oops, it's the CTM here.  I've already got some portuguese down, like como voce? and tu bein!  

Love ya and you'll be getting and email on P-Day!

Love 

Elder Applegate

Safe Arrival at the Brazil MTC

Sao Paulo Brazil MTC - November 7, 2012

This is the Picture and email we received from the MTC President when Craig and this group arrived.

Dear Parents,

We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC.  What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time. We promise to take good care of your missionary.

They now have companions and are settled into their rooms.  They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study.  The branch presidents and their wives, will soon give them a second greeting.  These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.

The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs.  He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.  This will be either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.

Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others.  We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “ There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an Elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children".

Please accept our love,

President Ralph Degn and Sister Mary Ann Degn

ADDITIONAL  INFORMATION . . .  

DO NOT SEND PACKAGES to the Brazil Missionary Training Center. All packages must be sent directly to the mission where your missionary will be serving, not the MTC. If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC and it arrives after your missionary has left for the field, please understand that the package cannot be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you.

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE SENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS. Please write your missionary´s first and last name. Your missionary will provide you with his district and box number. Also, please DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers.  The cost to get this type of correspondence is exorbitant.

And He's Off!!

Craig was so excited to finally leave on his mission!  It had been a long 5 1/2 months since he got his call.  His Visa came two weeks ago, so we knew things were in place for him to leave as scheduled.
His setting apart on Monday night was wonderful.  All of his siblings and his Grandma Bradford came to the meeting.  He was so calm and so ready.
 Bishop McIntier, President Weight and President Silcox gave him some great counsel and advice on being a great missionary.
President Silcox was excited to send a missionary to Brazil.  (He served in Brazil and speaks Portuguese.)  He gave him a wonderful blessing and set Craig apart as a missionary. He gave him some wonderful promises and blessings.

We got Chinese food and met at the house for a last time as a whole family for two years.  Everyone got the opportunity to say goodbye to Craig and get one last hug. Craig's brother, Scott, was the last to leave and gave Craig some good advice on being a missionary.
Luckily, I got to say my real goodbyes after everyone had left and we had a nice visit before going to bed.  I got a good hug goodnight...which was a good thing considering the next morning....

Getting ready to go!

Dad helping load the luggage.

We had to have Craig to the Salt Lake International Airport by 9 am on Tuesday.  His flight was scheduled for 11:10 to Detroit and then after a layover on to Sao Paulo Brazil.  He was up and ready early and the bags were closed, weighed and loaded.  He seemed to take one last look around and was ready to be out the door.  After giving our dog, Lucky, a final scratch on the chin, we loaded up the car and were off.  We had to make a quick stop to exchange phones with Scott and then an All American breakfast at the McDonalds drive thru, were were on our way.

Weighing in.... did we pack too much?

Delta airlines is very good to the missionaries.  When they weighed his first and largest bag, I saw the readout say 52, but the agent said it weighed 49 lbs and checked both bags through to Sao Paulo.  She didn't even charge him the regular checked bag fees. They really took good care of him.
We saw another Elder and found that he was travelling with Craig to Brazil.  His name was Elder Larson and we got a quick picture of them.  Craig said that 4 Elders and 1 Sister travelled from SLC to Detroit together.

Checking in at the airport

Craig and  a travelling companion, Elder Larson.

Craig was so anxious to get on his way that we didn't hang around the check in too long.  We headed up the escalator and up to security.  I don't think Craig has traveled through airports enough to realize that once you go through security, you are gone....

The Flights are on Time!!

"Really Mom, a picture on the escalator?"

So once we got to the 2nd floor, he just walked into the security line without looking back.  He was so excited that he totally forgot to say goodbye!  Luckily I got a good hug before we got on the escalator. We just waved and said "See you in 2 years!  Have great mission son!"   He did come around to the other side to talk to us for a minute, but we couldn't get too near the RED LINE, so it was brief.  It was like ripping off a bandaid, unexpected and sudden, no long goodbyes.  We were there and done in less than an hour.  Not the way I had pictured saying goodbye at the airport, and I regret that his Dad & I didn't get that last hug at security, but in the end, maybe it was better this way.  Craig hates teary goodbyes anyway.  So Craig is off at last on this wonderful adventure

Wait, ...going through security... already?

Here I go!  

Security at SLC airport

See that Red Line.... I can't cross it to say goodbye, so this happy pic will have to do for two years!

The time has come folks! I am now officially a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints. Thanks to all the people who got me to this point. I am so blessed. I am excited to go spread the truth of His gospel to the people in Brazil! I love all of you and wish you all the best! I'll see you in 2 years

Pictures and Stories from the Farewell Party

Here are some of the pictures of those who came to say FAREWELL to Elder Applegate.
So many good friends came!

Kandalyn, Kayla, Rachel, Seth

Myley, Megan, Kandalyn, Ciara, Maddy, Steven

Good friends, good food

Rachel trying to sneak a kiss

Rachel had been plotting to give Craig a kiss all day 

and ALMOST succeeded, but not quite!  

He was too quick for her!

More great friends

Brandon and Craig have been friends since the 6th grade.
They remained close even though they went to different high schools

Cute or Goofy?

Scott, Julie and Michelle are always ready for a photo shoot....

Cute!!

So grateful for a wonderful family that comes to support us.  They came bearing platters of cookies too!!

Aunt Laraine and Uncle David

Most of them got away without having their picture taken though. 

Craig got to see his two brand new nieces, Evie and Reagan before he left, but they will be two years old the next time he gets to hold them again.

Won't see these little ones until they are 2!

Craig with Reagan

Evie

Reagan and Evie with grandma and grandpa

What a beautiful day!!

Sacrament Meeting Talk

Excerpts from the Sacrament Meeting Talk: Oct 28, 2012 Salem Third Ward.

Elder Craig Applegate

Brother Dietz asked me to speak on the 4th Chapter of Preach My Gospel which is on recognizing the Spirit.  First I'm going to start off with a little story.  On Friday I was just finishing up my talk, but while reading through it I got the distinct impression that what I was reading was not the talk I was supposed to give on Sunday, and you know that when you're giving a talk about the Spirit and He prompts you to do something then you better darn well listen and do it.  So I deleted my talk and started over.  I got about halfway through my second draft on Saturday morning, took a short break to help with an Eagle project and when I came home my computer had crashed and I had lost everything.  I guess I wasn't supposed to give that talk either.  Now I was stuck doing what I promised myself I wouldn't be doing with this talk, writing it at 9:00 the night before I speak.  So I am really relying on the Spirit to help me know what to say and to guide my words to somebody's heart.  I pray for the Spirit to be here today and to enter into each of our hearts.

Who is the Holy Ghost and how does he work?
"The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead.  He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. (True to the Faith, D&C 130:22)  He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter."

That gives us a basic idea of who the Holy Ghost is. ...Moroni 10:5 states that "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."  notice that it doesn't say that by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of things you learn in church and seminary, no, it says the truth of ALL things. ALL.  The Holy Ghost bears truth.  I remember one day in calculus, we were going over a really difficult principle that I had been having a hard time with all year long.  All of a sudden it just clicked in my mind, I understood it completely!  I knew it was the spirit helping me understand the concept because in seminary that morning we had discussed  the spirit and how it bears the truth of all things.  I was like HOLY CRAP, I just felt the spirit in the middle of calculus!!  It was amazing, but even more amazing is that through the spirit we can gain a testimony of the principles of the gospel.  The Holy Ghost communicates directly to our spirit.  This line of communication carries far more certainty than anything we can receive through our natural senses.

"As you strive to stay on the path that leads to eternal life, the Holy Ghost will show unto you all things what you should do.  He can guide you in your decision and protect you from physical and spiritual danger." (True to the Faith)

Many times the Holy Ghost has helped me make decisions.  As many of you know, my favorite thing in this world is Timberline.  I have had some powerful experiences with the spirit during my six years at Timberline and the spirit helped me make a lot of important decisions during that time.  (Story about SPL decisions, choosing ASPLs and Chaplains aide.)

"Through Him, you can receive gifts of te Spirit for your benefit and for the benefit of those you love and serve."  
There are many spiritual gifts that God grants us with, and every single one of us is given a gift of the spirit.  Here are a few of these gifts:

• The ministering of Angels
• Working of miracles
• Gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues
• The gift to have faith to be healed and the Gift to have the faith to heal
• The gift to teach by the power of the Holy Ghost

(Story of Todd and Brandon's blessing)  (Story of 2012 outpost camp)

Preach My Gospel says this about spiritual gifts:

"These are only some examples of the many gifts of the spirit. The Lord may bless you in other ways depending on your faithfulness, your needs, and the needs of those you serve.  You should desire spiritual gifts and earnestly seek for them (see D&C 46, 1 Corinthians) These gifts come by prayer, faith, and works, according to God's will.

Another role of the Spirit is to be the comforter.  This is something that I think most of us have felt many times before.

"He is the comforter.  As the soothing voice of a loving parent can quiet a crying child, the whisperings of the Spirit can calm your fears, hush the nagging worries of your life, and comfort you when you grieve. The Holy Ghost can fill you with hope and perfect love and teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom."

Through the holy ghost we can feel perfect love.  Our hearts fill with love for others and we can feel others love for us.  There is an indescribable joy when you fell that perfect love, and at these time we feel God's love for us as well.

• Moments of perfect love - realizing how blessed I am to have had such amazing friends and experiences.
• Timberline - perfect love that I felt from others
• SL Temple Trip- my heart filled with perfect love for Kyle and Charlie

Recognizing the Spirit and his promptings in our lives

Now that we have a better understanding of who the Spirit is, how can we recognize his promptings.  Preach My Gospel states:

"The Spirit is always available to guide and direct you.  However, the Spirit speaks quietly, through your feelings as well as your mind.  One great challenge for you and those you work with is to recognize the quiet, subtle promptings of the Holy Ghost."

It is important that you are always in places where you can hear and feel the Spirit.  In this day of electronic media galore, it is easy to get lost in all of it.  When you are surrounded by unwholesome and degrading media it makes it difficult to feel the spirit.  Music is a big part of my life and when I choose good music it makes it easier to feel the spirit.  Some of my sweetest spiritual experiences have been through music, so I know the power that it can have on one's ability to feel the spirit.  I also know the importance of friends.  Choose good friends who make it easy to live gospel standards and feel the spirit.  I am so grateful for the friends I've had because I never worry if I was in a situation where the spirit could not be.  I had wonderful friends whom I look up to.  Many of these friends are great examples to me and are currently serving missions, and many more have their call or are putting their papers in.  My friends have been a huge influence in my life and have helped me grow closer to my heavenly father and the holy ghost.

How can I tell if it is a prompting from the Spirit or just one of my own thoughts?  Moroni 7:13, 16-17 gives us the answer. 

" 13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is^dinspired of God.

  16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him."

After reading that scripture President Hinckley said,  "That's the test, when all is said and done.  Does it persuade one to do good, to rise, to stand tall, to do the right thing, to be kind, to be generous? Then it is of the Spirit of God....  If it invites to do good, it is of God.  If it inviteth to do evil, it is of the devil.... And if you are doing the right thing and if you are living the right way, you will know in your heart what the Spirit is saying to you."

There have been many times where I think, I need to text/call this person and see how they are doing.  Sometimes it is just my own idea, but I told Heavenly Father that if I ever thought that I need to do something, then I would do it as long as it persuades me to do good and doesn't make me disobey any gospel commandments.  I've noticed after doing this that the promptings come more frequently and are easier to recognize.    The scout slogan is "Do A Good Turn Daily,"  why not let the spirit help me do a good turn.  It is all about putting ourselves in places where we can be a tool in God's hand. The times I feel the spirit's promptings easiest is when I am serving others in some way.  Whether it be through physical service or through talents God has blessed us with.

I think many of you there can remember the first time you felt the Spirit strongly.  The first time I felt the spirit and recognized that it was the spirit is a very vivid memory for me.  It was June 2007.  I was 13 years old and at a point in my life where I needed to decide for myself if God loved me and if the church was true.  I was a participant at Timberline and had just had the greatest week of my life. It was Friday night and we were having our patrol outpost camp.,  We were in a clearing on the  side of a mountain with the most beautiful view of the valley just around sunset.  When we got there Ryan, my troop guide, had us sing "The Spirit of God, " I noticed a swelling in my heart and it felt good.  Ryan then told us he loved us and shared his testimony with us. We were each given an opportunity to share our thoughts about the week and as each person in my patrol shared, the spirit just got stronger and stronger.  Just as the sun was setting Ryan told us three words that have stuck with me to this day.  He said life is glorious.  This is when the spirit penetrated deep into my soul and I knew that God loved me and that I was a  member of his true church.  I knew I had to live my life better and help others feel that way. That is the reason I returned to staff at Timberline for 5 years and the reason I am going on a mission.  To bring other to he knowledge of the truth and so they can feel God's love.
Testimony....