2 John 1:12

"Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full."


See you all this week!

It's Finally Here!

And I'm not talking about the end of my mission; though that's here, too.

I'm talking about the Hartford temple!

Since it was announced in General Conference in October 2010, I've anxiously awaited the day when we'd see a picture. This week, the Church released this artist's rendering of the building and I absolutely love it. I think it is perfect. I'm so excited for the great people of Connecticut! This will be such a Heaven-sent blessing to so many and I can't wait for it to be completed.

A Man of Superb Equiptment

Since we last spoke, I've been transferred to North Adams, Massachusetts and my companion is my best missionary-friend and MTC companion, Elder Bleazard. So I'm pretty happy. North Adams is a very rural area that reminds me a lot of Island Park with many Rigby influences. For those of you who are familiar with Eastern Idaho, this should give you an accurate picture of the scenery, the people, and "downtown".

In addition to covering this corner of MA, our area extends to a township in New York and a few towns in Vermont, where we went for dinner yesterday. One of these Vermont towns is Whitingham- the birthplace of Brigham Young. It was strange that in a town of (no lie) zero stop lights and (to my knowledge) zero Mormons, we saw his name on probably 10 different signs.

Since I am a descendant of Papa Young, I found it especially interesting to see the monuments erected in his honor, the spot where his house once stood, and the school he attended. That school, by the way, is now a museum that houses many of his belongings. Unfortunately and ironically, it's only open on Sunday.

President Evans always speaks of New England as "the cradle of the Restoration of the Gospel". As I stood on the steps of a monument (not pictured here) honoring this great pioneer and man of God, those words sounded in my mind and I couldn't help but feel like I was standing on hallowed ground and that something marvelous happened here. Then I remembered: something marvelous did.

I'm Alive!!

For those of you who were wondering, I am still alive (if any of you even check this still). I am now serving in Massachusettes in the mission office and finding it fun and chalenging. For those of you who have written me recently, thank you and I promise you will be receiving letters from me shortly. For those of you who haven't written, shame on you. You should just take a minute to do that. Love you all!