Feed My Sheep

Well guys, I don’t really know where to begin this week. It’s not like its been particularly exciting, I just feel like there’s been a lot of growth and learning, and set up for success in the future. As far as teaching goes, we’ve got a few people we’re working with. One is a lady from a polygamist background, named Cheri, and her son, Xander. They both want to be baptized, its only a matter of going through some big long interview process and making sure they’re getting to church. They’re golden! We also started meeting with these two kids named Justin and Kylie. Both of them want to be baptized and we even set at a baptism date for early July as a goal. The only problem is that neither of them are too excited to sit for the lessons and aren’t too fond of reading scriptures, saying prayers, or going to church, the small and simple things that are like the most important things anyone can do in this life. So if y’all could pray for them, anything is helpful. There’s one more woman we’re trying to teach. Her name is Dominique. She wants to meet, but is always so busy working that it’s hard to meet. But I’m optimistic!

There were other things that went on this week, namely lots of service and finding, but the thing that really stole the show this week was the Jordan River Temple Dedication on Sunday and the Youth Cultural Celebration that preceded it on Saturday. Starting with the celebration, it was just a really awesome opportunity to learn more about temples and specifically the Jordan River temple. I have to admit, I was really jealous at a lot of points because I never had the opportunity to participate in a cultural celebration like it, and I was kind of jealous of all the youth who were so talented at things I could’ve been talented at but never took the time or worked hard enough. The Spirit kept prodding me with the same response to those thoughts that was honestly really comforting, and I hesitate because I don’t want to make it seem like you don’t need to develop talents or anything, no please work hard and keep working on your talents and skills that you can use to bless the lives of others. The impression that I kept getting was this: in the end, after all is said in done and in the judgement at the last day, it isn’t going to matter what skills I did or didn’t hone or if someone was better than me at something. The salvation, exaltation, and eternal life that I receive won’t be any less glorious than anyone else’s, at least as long as I am faithful. I am just as eligible for all of the blessings of heaven because Christ’s atoning sacrifice is infinite and God is no respecter of persons. The only thing we should be worried about in this life is how faithful we are to are Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.

The next day during the temple dedication the session was really special. I won’t go into too much detail because it is a sacred ordinance, but I will say that President Eyring bore one of the most powerful testimonies I’ve ever heard of the sealing power of temple marriage and the promise of resurrection. It was all the more real when he mentioned the fact that his wife is in failing health. I won’t say that it made me cry, but I was honestly so close. Guys, the message and importance of temples is really so simple. We can be with our families forever. For those of you who have lost loved ones, I know what it’s like and I know it hurts now, but the “sting of death” is really, honestly, truly, and completely “swallowed up in Christ.” (Mosiah 16:8). I promise you that you can have greater peace and happiness through learning more about these things, so please let me know if your interested, we’ll get you set up. I’d love to hear from you, but until then peace out!

Elder Orchard

“Feed my sheep” -John 21:17

Happy Mother's Day!

Hi there friends and family, it’s good to get to talk to you all again. Well some of you. Kind of. I guess with these I’m the one doing all the talking. But anyway, its been a good and busy week, which is always nice. Transfers happened and I’m up in Riverton now. It’s a zone, but it’s also small enough that it’s only one district, so it’s been interesting getting used to that. I did my Mother’s Day call on Saturday evening since it worked better for my family, so Sunday was kind of just like every other Sunday, hour after hour of church. I did get to give a talk in one though! Well, it was more of a testimony by the time my turn came around. I was told to prepare for 12 minutes, but after two testimonies from former members of the relief society who got released, four youth speakers, a special musical number from the primary, and my companions talk, we were already over time and I didn’t want to take too much more. So yeah, another week in the books. They keep going faster and faster. It’s crazy whenever people ask me what my plans are after the mission. I’ve been able to say that I’m going to school this fall, which is still crazy to think.

So for my talk, we were asked to share about the influence that the Spirit of Motherhood has had in our lives, or something like that. While I was preparing, I decided that the spirit of motherhood, at least to me, could be summed up in three characteristics: love, nourishment, and example. All three of them are important things I saw in my own Mom growing up, both in spiritual and physical ways. I’ve also seen them in my step-mom Lisa as she’s taken on the role of mother in our family since my Mom passed away. From Lisa’s example, I also noticed that motherhood isn’t reserved to those with biological children. Motherhood, in my opinion, is determined by a desire to care for and cherish a son or daughter of God. Because of that, I am deeply grateful for all of the Mother figures in my life, both before my mission and my mission. I’ve changed and grown so much from the influence of those women in my life and I am forever indebted to them for their selfless services to me. I hope that I can at least in some small part repay them through my service to others.

That’s it for this week folks, remember to go out and hug a mother or two and make their day. Even if you don’t know them. Just make sure you get their permission first. Have a great week!

Elder Orchard

Only picture this week is a Nativity LEGO set I found in our apartment and built. Sorry guys, I’ll try to have more next week!

Shakin' Things Up

Hey there boys and girls, it’s Monday again. That means another week has come and gone, and let me tell you what, it’s been a riot. Forget the formalities, I’m just gonna jump right into the details.

First off, we started the week strong with MLC on Tuesday. It was a really long meeting and lasted from 9:00 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m., but really the only part that mattered was the first hour and a half. To be honest, I didn’t really pay that much attention to the rest afterwards. Elder Brian K. Taylor of the Seventy came and gave a training about being bold and giving both the blessings of obedience and the negative results of disobedience. He used Doctrine & Covenants 33:1 a lot and even had a real life sword to get his point across. Needless to say, he made a big impact on all of us. I just wish I would’ve heard that training 21 months ago because now I feel like I’ve been doing missionary work all wrong. We even got a sword ourselves to use in our Combined District Meeting, so we got to have a lot of fun with it.

We did a lot of service throughout the week, things like weeding a garden and building a chicken coop. We built the coop on Saturday before going to one of our ward’s Cinco De Mayo parties, which was an event you’d have to be at to truly appreciate. Not because the chips and salsa were special at all, but because of our new friend Josh. Josh was visiting his sister that lived in the ward. He’s from somewhere in the southeast United States. Josh stopped attending church a while back, and since it was a holiday, Josh had had a few drinks. After talking to him for a while about how he believes there’re more than one Savior and a pretty entertaining game of pickup basketball with members of the ward, we decided it would be best to walk Josh home. The whole way back he was giving us a pep talk about how we need to make sure and do something meaningful with our lives and how the church has truth, but not all of the truth. He was very adamant about us searching for more truth. He kept using the logic of “Do we know who killed Tupac? No, so we don’t know everything and we need to keep searching. Don’t stop flipping searching!” (Disclaimer: He didn’t actually use “flipping”, I just figured it’d be best not to use his actual words). That whole experience was an adventure, and I will cherish it forever as I continue to look for who actually killed Tupac.

To wrap it all up, we got our transfer calls on Sunday night. Sadly, I’m getting transferred out of Saratoga Springs, and out of Utah County completely. I’m heading up to Riverton, which will most likely be my last area since it’s the start of my second to last transfer. I’m pretty pumped about transfers, but a lot of other missionaries aren’t. President Killpack is shaking a lot of things up, whitewashing a lot, moving people around, and a lot of people aren’t real happy about their new companions. But oh well, life goes on and we continue serving the Lord, not ourselves. I’ve been reading a lot in the New Testament, and the early apostles, especially Peter and Paul, suffered a lot for the sake of spreading the gospel. Those two considered themselves lucky to suffer for the Lord, and while I don’t think I’m quite there yet, and I’m not really suffering that much, I still like to think that I’m getting there. I hope everyone tries to get to that point, because anything we suffer for the Lord is only a token sacrifice to Him who suffered everything for us. Think about that this week. I hope y’all are able to be a bit more Christ-like, cause I’m trying to be myself and I need some accountability buddies. That’s all I’ve got for this week, enjoy the extended edition and God bless!!

Elder Orchard

“Hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, whose word is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword” -D&C 33:1

Jordan River Temple

Hey Everybody, it’s been a good week. We went to the Jordan River Temple Open House. We did a lot of yard work. I didn’t get as burned as I thought I would, so that’s a plus. We also had exchanges with one of our district leaders. So yeah, lots of excitement this week. I’m still charging along through the New Testament, I just read all of the epistle to the Romans yesterday. Life is good. I’m really tired, so I don’t really feel like writing any more. Peace out.

Elder Orchard

Scriptures are the Words of God

Hey friends! I don’t really know how to start out this week, so just hi, I guess. Last week was full of a lot of administrative stuff, like cleaning our area book and meeting with Ward Mission Leaders. We knocked a few houses each day, but never got anywhere. But that’s okay! The best missionary work is done through the members anyway. Like with Chris! He’s still on date for the 9th of June, mostly because he’s set on getting baptized in Utah lake. It would be so much easier if he would just do it in a chapel, but he’s the one getting baptized so we let him make the decisions. Anyway, I brought him up because he’s a prime example of why member missionary work is so amazing. The number one reason behind why Chris is getting baptized is because his member neighbors and member wife have just loved him to death. Now, that’s not what is converting, that’s the Holy Ghost doing that, but he wouldn’t even have been open if he didn’t have so many wonderful examples around him. Anyway, that’s my plug for member missionary work, kudos to the Fox Hollow Ward for being a great example. So most of the week was spent doing that, except for Sunday, we taught a lot on Sunday. Granted, most of it was in church classes like Sunday school and mission prep, but still it was pretty fun. Yeah, that’s pretty much a summary of the week.

On a more spiritual note, the Book of Mormon is amazing! I had the opportunity to finish it again this week. It’s almost sad when I get into Moroni because it’s like counting down the last chapters, and when you get to chapter 10 it’s super surreal. It’s like parting with an old friend after a long journey. And then meeting right back up. Because you start the Book of Mormon again. That’s just the way it is, it might seem ridiculous reading the same book over and over again, but that’s the beauty of it. No matter how many times you read it, you learn something new. It’s still the word of God. The spirit still speaks to you as you read. Even though the revelation you receive is different each time, it’s still revelation. It is my personal belief that in time the Book of Mormon will be considered the single most influential book in human history, closely followed by the Bible, which is just as much the word of God. I just love the scriptures so much, and I just want others to feel the same way. So go read the Book of Mormon! Read the Bible! Do something to further your eternal progression. I promise you it won’t hurt you to take some time away from a screen (I say that as I’m typing this on an iPad 🤣) to read the LITERAL word of God. You’re welcome in advance.

Have a great week!

Elder Orchard

Post Zone Activity. I was a little tired.

Post Zone Activity. I was a little tired.

 Caught mid-sushi bite.

Aloha!

Well everyone, looks like its Monday again. I honestly don’t know where the weeks are going, it really seems like a blink of an eye and then its p-day again. I’ve only got about 15 more of these left, which I guess seems like a lot when I think about it, but honestly they’ll be here and gone like nothing. Anyway, now that the surreal thought of the week is out of the way, let’s get down to business!

Shon’s baptism happened this last Saturday, with the confirmation on the same day. It continues to amaze me how powerful the Holy Ghost is when we just open our hearts, and there really is nothing He can’t do. Shon’s adoptive grandma gave a short talk on the Holy Ghost and spoke about how He prompted Shon’s mom to adopt first his younger sister Camille, and then a year or so later He prompted her to adopt Shon as well. I know that what she said is true because of the light and joy this gospel has brought into Shon’s life, and the light and joy Shon has brought into the lives of his family and us as we’ve taught him. He’s truly an incredible kid, and now he’s part of an incredible gospel family.

Another really awesome part of last week was stake conference in the Israel Canyon stake, particularly the leadership and adult sessions on Saturday. Yes, I thought both sessions were wonderful and I came away spiritually fed. No, it wasn’t because in one of them we watched a scene from Moana and related it to ministering, or because the stake president did a phone survey about google reviews he’d read. Well, maybe just a little. The theme for the conference was “The Aloha Spirit”, which if you think the way I think, was a little profound, pretty ridiculous, and slightly racist for an all-white stake presidency to do. But to be honest, the message hit right home on what the stake needed and made me think a lot about what I can do to improve as a minister to others and as a good friend and neighbor in general. Moral of the story: don’t judge a book by its cover.

Everything I’ve talked about took place on Saturday and a little bit Sunday. The rest of the week was slow and kind of boring. We were stuck inside most of Monday night, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday while Elder Wood recovered from his wisdom teeth surgery. I capitalized on the time and finished reading the Old Testament (which means I finally officially graduated from seminary, Lisa!). I guess we did have zone conference on Friday, I got to conduct and we gave two 20+ minute training sessions, so that’s exciting too. But yeah, the gospel is still true. Always has been, always will be. Sometimes I don’t show it, others times I try way too hard, but I really care about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church that espouses it, and I really care about all of you as well. Thanks again for all you do, and thanks for bearing with this book I wrote today. See y’all next week!

Elder Orchard

Elder Johnson, Wood, and Me with Shon after his baptism

He was more interested in his gifts then in talking to people

In case you didn’t believe me about Moana...

We found out why one of our mini fridges stopped working

One of Shon’s baptism pictures where he looks like a G

General Conference and Easter!

Hey Everybody! Life’s good here in the Utah Orem Mission. Most of last week was spent dealing with transfer stuff, with three of the people in our apartment packing to leave, saying bye to a few people, cleaning, traveling, and moving stuff in and out of people’s apartments. Since I’m still fairly new to the area myself and Elder Wood is brand new we’ve spent most of the days just trying to get our feet under us and figure out the area.

The best part of the week had to be Saturday and Sunday. We got to watch General Conference pretty much all day both days. For those of you who don’t know what General Conference is, its where you sit and watch people talk for 8-10 hours. I know, it sounds super boring, I used to think the same thing. But honestly it’s the most spiritually uplifting thing there is. The speakers are inspired men and women that seem to know exactly what to talk about and what things need to be said. The talk I enjoyed the most was given by President Nelson. He spoke about the importance of receiving personal revelation and not just following blindly. I loved it because people think that’s what we do but it’s really not, there’s so much more to it.

The only thing better about this week than General Conference was Easter Sunday. Not that anything about the day was particularly special, but more so the feelings and emotions felt while reflecting on the significance of the day. I’m so grateful for our Savior. There’s really nothing anyone can ever do to repay Him for what he’s done for us, but we can at least try. He accepts the best we have to offer and in return offers so much joy and peace. I hope you all were able to feel that yesterday. Or really any day for that matter. Have a great week everyone, and don’t forget your worth in the sight of God!

Elder Orchard