August 25 Letter

  Hey, got your email.  Yeah, so there are some things you could send me. The first thing you could send me is a couple cases of Wingers Sauce, one for me and one for the assistant and one for Pres. and Sis. Seal (their request not mine, ha, ha).  Oh, and I've lost like 15 to 20 pounds.  It's just pants I need, my shirts actually fit fine now, before, like in the MTC, they were really tight around my neck. Now I can breath, so, yeah, and depending on pants, I know I can fit in a 36 waist dockers, but any thing else will have to be a 38, but make sure they are 34 length if you send, so, whatever, and hey, a few super sweet, nice ties every once in a while wouldn't hurt either.  So I think that should cover everything.
  (This next part is in reference to a comment I made to Skyler to encourage him if times get tough and to remember that someone in the Oklahoma, Tulsa Mission needs him there.)
  Don't worry Mom. I know why I'm here, and there isn't just one person for me to find, there are way more than that.  It's good your praying for missionary experiences, but when we pray it is an act of faith. Just like faith without works is dead.  It's not just you, it's everybody.  I know that there are lots of people who work for us that could use the gospel that Dad or Chris could talk to.  Remember, people won't change unless asked to do so.  Are you studying preach my gospel?  Do you have one?  Do you know why members should have preach my gospel?  Do you know why I feel strong that members should do missionary work?  Well, (1) the prophets and apostles said so, so that basicaly came from the Lord, and (2) the church has split China up into 300 missions.  Right now there are only about 300 missions in the United States, which means a lot of missionaries will be sent to China instead of other places.  Right now, as missionaries, our job is to teach and establish a foundation for member missionary work.  Because when the Lord says go to China there won't be any missionaries in the U.S. and other places, so it will rely solely on members, and this applies to me too because this won't be while I'm out.  Well, hopefully it didnt sound like I'm ridiculing, because I'm not, I'm encouraging.  If I could go back to high school, I would have talked to everyone who wasn't a member about the gospel because I know why it's important.  We have something that non-members don't. It is up to the members to bring the world the truth.  One thing I thought was interesting, was someone was interviewing Pres. Eyering, and they asked him what his fear was.  He said, "I'm scared of my friends who weren't members coming up to me and saying you knew about this the whole time and you didn't tell me.".  That to me is powerful. Our mission doesn't end in 2 years, and mine didn't start 6 months ago. It started when I became a member of the Church, and it will last the rest of my life.  I just feel we, as members, forget that sometimes.  I know I did.  Mom, you and Dad have some of the strongest testimonies I know of.  Tell me, how did it feel when you got to testify of something that has greatly blessed your life to someone who wasn't of our faith? How did it feel?  Remember that (feeling), and like it says in Hebrews 2:1, don't let them slip.  We should personally invest in our testimonies.  So I know you are doing missionary work all the time, you just don't realize it.  So keep up the good work and be an example. The believers, just like it says in 1 Timothy 4, should remember that sharing the gospel isnt just lip service.  We should always preach the gospel and SOMETIMES use word.  Well, the Spirit "constraineth" me, so hopefully you see where I'm coming from.  I'm not condemning, I'm just testifying of what I have come to know to be true, with hopes you understand. Oh, and thanks for being the best examples in the world. loves