Exciting Things!

Eating lunch with Brandon and Whitney was so awesome! I got a little piece of home! It is so crazy how we came all this way, and then we are two minutes away from each other! We had a nice dinner with them. 

Things are starting to heat up here pretty nicely, so that’s good. I was using the backpack from my carryon, but my back would get super sweaty while riding bikes, so now I use the side bag, and I like it much better. 

I have been reading a lot out of the Book of Mormon in Portuguese. It’s really cool because it makes me think of things differently, it like opens up new understanding. I think it is really helping my Portuguese, too. I am on 2 Nephi 5 now. 

Oh, and we are getting really creative with food. Well, not really, just more than I have ever cooked. I thought you would be proud to know I make egg muffins in the morning, and hamburgers for lunch, and Saturday for dinner we made Hawaiian haystacks! This family gave us supplies for those.

So anyway, thanks for all those inspiring quotes and thoughts! You are right…I do love them! I like the one you said Scott T quoted in his talk, also.

“In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited...hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know...in this Church, what we know will always trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to walk by faith.”  -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland-

It went along with something really cool I learned this week from President Holmes. The way we can gain more knowledge is by being true to the laws we have already been given. By doing this, we are given more. More knowledge enables us to have more power to act, and not to be acted upon. I think the coolest thing is comparing it to the Wright brothers. They followed the laws of aerodynamics, and were able to fly. They were able to act on gravity and not be acted upon by gravity.

I was thinking about it last night, the commandments and word of God are truly given to us for us to be happy. Why would He give us these things to bind us down? It is insulting to think the commandments bind us. They really just enable us to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and so many more blessings. God has so much wisdom, and how small are we to question His way…to question His plan and promises that we are blessed with by keeping the commandments, to question His ability to bless us. 

There is a scripture that says something like, if ye being evil think you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much greater gifts can God give to you. Heavenly Father has things He wants us to become, greater than we can imagine. This is a blessing on its own, having a Father in Heaven who wants us to become as He is. This fact is just perfectly aligned with His character though. We are His work and His glory. We are everything He cares about, just like our children are everything we care about. Teaching them to walk in the ways of righteousness, by example, is the most important thing, especially in this day when it is so hard to be influenced for good. 

The only way is to seek the good, to read the scriptures, and to be filled with knowledge and light to guide us. Heavenly Father carefully sets up each aspect of our lives to help us grow and learn to the greatest potential possible. He stretches us and gives us strength when we fall short. He asks that we communicate with Him through prayer, and He listens to us. He encourages us countless times in the scriptures to ask Him, to come to Him with anything…rely completely on Him, and He will never leave us. 

Sometimes I find myself selfish and ungrateful, like my whole life. How incredible is the love Heavenly Father has for us…everyone one of His children, even those who rebel against Him! I know He loves us more than we can understand. The knowledge is not for us to just say, His ways are higher than our ways, and give up, though. We can gain knowledge upon knowledge, as we are obedient to what we have been given.

So, anyway, there’s everything in my head. Now some exciting things from my week! So, that guy that called to us from his car, and we followed him home has not been following through with the appointments, unfortunately. But there is a lady who called to us from the street, right outside our apartment, and she asked us for a Bible. We said, Book of Mormon? And she was like yeah! And so, we met her and gave her the Book of Mormon, and she was all excited. She said she used to meet with some nice guys like us, and they would have nice discussions. We made an appointment with her and met with her yesterday. She talks a lot, but it’s really nice because we know a lot about her, and exactly what she thinks about everything. She has an extremely strong testimony of the Atonement and prayer and the Bible. All good things! It was incredible…she is like golden! She was telling us how she knows it is important to be living our religion, and not just go on Sundays! She said she is looking for the true Church. We taught her the Restoration, and she loved it all. She agreed with everything, and showed so much faith. She doesn’t doubt that the Book of Mormon is true. She still needs to pray about it, though. But she wants a quad combination just like us, so she can have it all together. We committed her to baptism for June 22nd, and she said, “Yes, of course,” and wants her daughters to be baptized also. She has definitely been prepared to receive the Restored Gospel. I’m not sure if she could be more prepared! So that was incredible!

Other than that, we have been teaching a lot of less-actives, and finding new investigators. Things are going great! The best way to teach with the Spirit is to care for the people you teach, and truly listen. That is something I have learned, it’s like night and day. When you care for them, you are guided, when you don’t, you’re not. Simple as that!

I love you all! I know this Gospel is true! I truly, honestly, love reading the Book of Mormon because it can guide us in every aspect of our lives. It is truly the word of God. Thanks for writing me letters and supporting me! I hope you all have a great week! Love you!

Love, 

Elder Hoyt