Howdy

Busy, warm week.

We had 4 baptisms this Saturday.  I got to perform two of them. It was way sweet. Except for one of them the water was too low so it took a couple tries to fully submerge Libbie, in the water.

Elder Pearson, Libbie, Elder Tutt

Alyssa & Mikayla Parkin (and dad) with Elders Evensen, Pearson and Tutt

Buffy

Since we baptized 4 people, we were short on people to teach. This week, as we've been looking for more, chances have suddenly been showing up to teach. I'm really excited for the upcoming little bit.  We get to meet new people and prepare them for the saving waters of baptism. One of the people we're going to start teaching soon, is the sister of Alyssa and Maikayla, who talked to her all about their own baptism this last week and got her interested. The sister will be in town for about a month, so it'll be hard teaching her, but if there is gonna be a miracle, I think it'd be for someone trying to do the Lord's work in His church.

I heard something interesting during a talk this Sunday. It was if you were arrested, charged, and tried in a court of law for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to condemn you? I thought of Matthew Chapter 5, verse 16, which says: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." We all need to be an example of what we believe and why we believe it. I know I've had times that there wouldn't be enough convincing evidence to put me in jail for being a Christian.  All I can do is try to live my life right and let the light shine.

This work is amazing! I've had such great support from my family and friends. Keep it up. I'm so happy to be out here helping people in whichever way I can.

Elder Pearson

Great Week To Be A Missionary

We've had a great week. Another missionary, Elder Kreiberg, and I had a way sweet lesson with a guy named Jacob. He was cool, but made sure to let us know how much he knows the Savior. He even knows his favorite food, which is obviously spaghetti. It was pretty awesome.

We had a baptism this Saturday and it went really well. The spirit was definitely there and felt by all.

Alex Ashby with Elders Pearson and Tutt 

We have 4 more baptisms this upcoming Sat. I'll be baptizing one of them. I shouldn't be excited because it's better that someone from the ward does it, but oh well. I'm excited. Now we just need to find more people to teach. We're losing them all.

One of the people getting baptized this Saturday, Libbie has a way cool story. She recently moved here to Utah from Colorado, where she heard about the church for the first time. And she is planning on going back to Colorado. But she had been here just long enough to learn about the church, find out for herself that it's true, quit smoking, and get baptized on Saturday.

I know that the Lord brought her here where she'd hear about the church. All we have to do is look and we can see his hand in all things. Now Libbie will go back home and be a great example to all her friends and family.

Cool scripture I found. Alma 15:8- "... If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed" I've seen too many people healed physically, emotionally, and spiritually to not know this is true. The atonement was made so that Christ would know how to best heal us and so he could do this. I've seen it in my life and know any of y'all can too.

Elder Pearson

Snow This Week in Utah?

Bi-polar Utah weather strikes again. We had a cold few days. but it's back to warm now, so I'm happy.

This has been my first week with Elder Tutt. He's awesome!

(Elder Tutt)

He's got a Basketball scholarship for BYU waiting for him after the mission, so we've been playing a lot, and I'm getting a lot better. Wouldn't say good, but better. He's from Tri-cities Washington. 

Our area is rockin and rollin right now. We have 7 people who have a date to be baptized. And hopefully one more after tonight. The Lord has definitely helped us out in finding people to help,  and guided us as we teach them so they can feel the spirit and know the truth of the gospel. Tutt is picking up the area well and we're both learning a lot from each other.

Last week I was reading through the Conference Ensign and read through President Uchtdorf's talk on patience. Amazing talk. One part that stuck out to me was: "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience.  Often we can't see the Lord's hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness."  I know there are many times that things turn out differently than I'd like or imagine. When that happens is when we grow.

--

Elder Pearson

Utah, Ogden Mission
 
 

(Elder Pearson's shoe after nine months!)

 

Baptize -se

Transfer week. Elder Evensen, who I've served with for 4 1/2 months, is going to Syracuse. I am staying in Clinton and am going to serve with Elder Tutt. I don't know anything about him because he's only been out for 6 weeks, but he seems like a sweet missionary so it'll be exciting.

We're going to have a very young district. If you combine the time that all four missionaries in our new district have served it'll be 18 months. So it will be young, but we're going to get a lot of work done.

I got to go to a baptism this week of some one, Christie Morris, who I taught back in the Terrace.

(Elder Pearson and Christie Morris)

She had 13 missionaries total teach her. It was really cool to see her finally get baptized and have her husband baptize her. Pictures that coming.

(Some of the 13 Elders who taught Christie)

The past couple weeks, we've been teaching Libbie Smith. She's prayed about the Book of Mormon and found out for herself it was true. She accepted a date to be baptized and goes to church every week. She's golden. This past week we found that she was trying to stop smoking.

Not only is it a good idea, but something that has been commanded of us from God through a modern prophet. And something she would have to stop before she could be baptized. We had a lesson about it and she showed the faith she had to follow all the commandments she would be asked to follow, including not smoking or drinking coffee. We asked if there was a date we could set as a goal to stop smoking. She sat and thought for a second and said, "I just won't smoke anymore. I'll stop tonight." It was awesome! We got to take away her ashtray, coffee pot, and all the coffee she had. It was great to see the changes she was willing to make, quitting smoking and drinking coffee cold turkey, just because it was asked of her and she knew it came from a true prophet of God.

She's now gone 7 days strong without touching the stuff. Ignoring co-workers, and surviving as being a single mom with 3 kids all under the age of 8. I just think, if she can do all this, I can do anything I've been asked to do. I'm reminded of a scripture in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 4:27 says: "...for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength..." I know anything that we're asked to do is supported by the Lord and we can accomplish anything with his support.

Love Yall, write me!

Happy Late Memorial Day

This week has been sweet. To start it off, Elder Evensen got bit by a dog. We were talking to a ward member and she was holding a little chihuahua. The little guy was growling at us while we were talking. So Evensen stuck out his had so the dog could smell it and be his friend. It sniffed for a sec... then bit down hard. It was so funny. We had to go home and wrap his hand up. He was not very happy with the dog.

After that, we had a week of teaching people. We had at least one lesson every day this week. So every day made me happy. We had an 11 year old, Maikayla, answer her own question. She asked why we end prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. Which is a really good question to come from an 11 year old.

Almost as soon as she asked it she thought about it and gave a perfect, pure doctrine answer for her own question. It was awesome! She and her sister are getting baptized in a couple weeks. They haven't been raised in any belief and get so excited every time we come over so they can learn and feel the spirit.

Yesterday we talked to a guy on the street. He said he was a Non-Denominational Christian. He told us he has been contacted by missionaries several times before and wasn't interested. After some persistence, he opened up a bit and told us some questions he has. We answered a few with scriptures from the Book of Mormon. There was a noticeable difference in him after he heard the scriptures. He asked for our number and told us we were welcome over any time. It was so sweet to see the spirit that the Book of Mormon brings and the change it makes in people as they feel closer to Christ.

Hope all is well with yall. Keep in touch.

Elder Pearson