Date: July 22, 2015 at 8:23:02 PM GMT+2
To: (Elder Nyholm's Parents)
Subject: We all loved the cookies
(Elder Nyholm received his box of birthday cookies from his mother. He had fun sharing them with his fellow elders!)
Sunday, July 26, 2015
From: Christianne Jacobsen
Date: July 24, 2015 at 6:42:54 PM GMT+2
To: (Elder Nyholm's Parents)
Thank you so much for loving and supporting your missionaries. They are good men and we love them.
They have been helping us get rid of piles of logs. This picture is taken from the spot in our yard that was filled with logs and because of their help it is now EMPTY! The one in the middle is my husband, Brother Jacobsen.
Sister Jacobsen
From: Christianne Jacobsen
(Written to Elder Nyholm's parents)
Date: July 24, 2015 at 6:48:16 PM
Subject: Your Missionaries hauling wood
Although you cannot see your missionary very well in these pictures you CAN see one of the loads of wood they helped load up and take to the city clean up area for brush. In the close up of the cab you can see Brother Jacobsen driving, Elder Nyholm in the yellow shirt in the middle and Elder Maaelopa in the passenger seat. I still can't believe they got all three of those big guys in the cab of that mini truck! And it is NOT an automatic.
Thank you for your love and support of these missionaries. They are such good people, we have enjoyed their help and especially their testimonies and insights about their scripture studies.
Sister Jacobsen
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2015 7:58 AM
Subject: Road Kill
Subject: Road Kill
This week went really quick (just like every other week I guess). It was a pretty good and entertaining week though. I've got a few good stories for you :)
So Monday we were driving in the country and ran over a bunny. So what did we do? We grabbed a plastic bag, put the bunny in it, and brought it home. We ended up skinning it and cleaning it real good then we breaded that sucker and fried him up and ate him. We had to throw out the back half of him because the meat was super bruised up, but the part that we ate was pretty yummy. So I'll send you some pictures of that with this e-mail. Yes, I believe I am turning into a redneck up here in the sticks. But hey, rednecks have fun so I'm not too worried about it :)
We had exchanges this week so Elder Taylor (from somewhere in northern Utah) was with me here in Trenton for a day. We had a super good exchange and got a lot done. And it turns out that he has a lot of the same hobbies/interests that I do. He's 6'6" and doesnt play basketball at all. But if he's on your team then he still makes the most points because he just stands next to the rim and picks up all the rebounds and puts them in. He's an awesome kid so I was pretty excited to be on exchanges with him.
I fried fish for the first time in my life this week. It turned out super good and I didn't even have to use tartar sauce with it because it was so good by itself. So I'm becoming a better cook :) Little by little...
We went and did service at Sister Nicholsen's ranch up near Iowa. She asked us to bring some boxes upstairs in her barn so we walked over to it with our boxes and found out that she has like 27 horses there. Well I've never really been around horses at all and everyone else was too scared to walk through them all (because they were all standing in front of the door we had to go through) so I ended up going first. It was super cool because they were all super nice and would just follow us around the rest of the time. I was just really nervous walking in back of them because I didn't want to get kicked, but luckily I didn't so it was all good. And after all we were lucky there were only 27 horses. She used to have more than 100.
On Saturday we went to a free fish fry at the Methodist church. We work at the food pantry in town with some old ladies who are part of that church and they invited us to come. There was super good food and Linda Antle made some dang good sour kraut (yeah, I ate it... and I actually like it. Crazy what the mission does to you). It was kind of weird though because everyone else was looking at us like "What the heck are these Mormon missionaries doing at our fish fry?" But, I didn't really care so we just went around and talked to people we knew and helped clean up plates and stuff. It turned out to be a really good experience and the people in charge of the fish fry were grateful to have our help cleaning up.
On my Birthday it was POURING rain in the morning. Lighting was striking across the street from us so it was shaking the windows and stuff. It was awesome. I love the storms here so I was standing outside our front door watching it. We have a little overhang over the front so I wasn't getting wet but then the wind started blowing so hard that in like 3 seconds I was soaked from the rain haha. Then we got a bunch of flood warnings and stuff. Trenton is on a hill though so nothing here actually floods, just the highway coming out of town. I heard that some people around town got about 5 inches of rain within about 2 hours. Then the same thing happened the next day. I just hope the weather stays this way so that we never have to deal with real summer heat. We've only had a few really hot days because it's been raining so much.
While on exchanges we were walking up to a house and I saw this guy holding a tiki torch like a spear. I was thinking "what the heck is that looney guy doing". Then all the sudden the torch flew like 50mph through the air and stuck about a foot into a hay bale in front of the guy. So it was definitely not a tiki torch haha. We went up to him and asked him about it and it turns out he was using a native american-style atlatle and atlatle darts (which are about 7 feet tall). This guy makes the atlatles and the darts and now he has started hunting deer with them. He hasn't gotten anything yet but he will soon. He told us that atlatles/darts are what they used to take down mammoths in the day. So we are going to go back and he's going to teach us how to use them/make them. I'm looking forward to it.
We've got a few investigators who I am really excited about. They are progressing pretty well but each of them just has a small little roadblock. 3 of them have quit smoking within the last 2-3 weeks. All of them are super interested in what we are teaching them and really want to be part of the church. So hopefully in the next few weeks I'll be able to announce a baptism or two. We were supposed to have one this coming Saturday but the family hasn't been coming to church so we need to help them a little harder to get here I guess. We'll see what happens :)
This week I read a talk from President Uchtdorf titled "You Are My Hands". Most of you probably remember it but I'd recommend rereading it. But there was one quote that really hit me that said "As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit." I know from experience that this is true. The only way you can find true happiness while on a mission is when you are giving everything you've got to the Lord and his children. Sitting around doing nothing doesn't make you happy, but as soon as you truly lose yourself in service to those around you, you begin to forget your own needs and find joy in fulfilling the needs of others.
Well that's it for the week. I love you all! Make it a great week :)
Love,
-Elder Nyholm
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2015 7:22 AM
This week started off a little crazy but kinda slowed down a lot towards the end of the week. It all started on P-Day. We went down to Liberty for joint zone P-Day. As we were getting in the car to leave after sports the tornado sirens went off. So about 20 of us missionaries went back in the building and had to stay there until the sirens went off, which was about and hour and a half. Later we did find out that at least one tornado did touch down in Liberty that day. But we were protected so here I am e-mailing you :) Well, after we left I found out that Elder Maaelopa was limping a little (well... I guess a lot). So after our appointments on Monday night we went to the Hospital. We were there until 1:30 in the morning and they sent him away telling him that it was a sprain. So they gave him a big knee brace and some crutches. Then a few days later we went to the mission doctor and he said that Elder Maaelopa probably tore his ACL. So on the 24th we go to the hospital to get an MRI done and see what's really wrong with him. So yeah, it a was a crazy Monday.
On Tuesday we went and saw Jim. He committed to quit smoking so we were able to set a baptismal date of July 25th for him. We are super excited for Jim. He's an awesome guy and I love working with him. We were teaching about the Plan of Salvation and showed him a video about it and when the video said that "eventually we all die" Jim just said "COOL!". We were cracking up and asked him why he thought dying was so cool and He just said "Because then we all get to go see God". But yeah, Jim is awesome :)
Wednesday we went to the Visitor's Center with Roger and Linda. Now that I'm writing this I am thinking that I should have taken a picture with them there. Too late now I guess. But we had a great visit over there and it was a really good experience for all of us. That's the first time I'd been to the VC in over 6 months so I was pretty dang excited to go back. In two weeks we are planning on going to the Liberty Jail with a different family so I am pretty excited for that as well.
On Saturday we spent the morning helping to put a transmission in that truck that we took the transmission and engine out of a few weeks ago. We got it bolted in pretty quick so hopefully we did everything right haha. While we were there we were also told that "a good mechanic always has bolts left over". I'm not quite sure about that but it sounds good I guess :)
On Sunday in Priesthood meeting Brother Kelley got up to conduct and welcomed everyone there. Then he welcomed all the visitors. Then he said "There are a lot of strange faces here... But I know you". Hahaha he had us all laughing pretty good.
Oh, one more thing. On Tuesday we went and helped the Smith's (the ones who wrote you an e-mail). We knew if we told them that Elder Maaelopa hurt his knee that they wouldn't let us come help. So we didn't tell them and went to help. And it was 100% worth it because Sister Smith made us an awesome shrimp and tilapia lunch. I haven't eaten fish in a long time so I really enjoyed it a ton. So that was definitely a highlight of the week.
During church this week we were talking about the importance of having the spirit in all you do. There was a quote that really stuck out to me that said "When we have the Spirit, we will love to serve, we will love the Lord, and we will love those with whom we serve, and those whom we serve." Each of us is commanded to have Charity, the pure love of Christ, for all those around us. It is through walking somewhat of the path Christ walked, providing somewhat of the selfless service He provided, that allows us to develop this love for those around us. As Mosiah 5:13 says "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" I know that as we follow the Spirit in providing service to those around us that we will develop charity and grow closer to those we love and serve, and closer to our Heavenly Father.
Well that's it folks. Make it a great week. I Love You!
-Elder Nyholm
Sent: Monday, July 6, 2015 6:52 AM
So we are in our new apartment and I love it. It's so much more clean and big and organized. No ant problem in the bathroom (no matter what we tried those ants would just keep coming into our bathroom in our last apartment). We no longer have the worlds smallest laundry machine so we can wash more than 4 shirts at a time. So yeah, we are really enjoying all the work and effort it took to move into our new apartment.
This week was a little slow with the holidays. Everyone seems to leave the small towns and go into Kansas City so there weren't too many people around here to talk to. We were able to visit with Jim B a few times though. He is determined to quit smoking and really wants to be baptized on July 26th so we are looking forward to that and doing everything we can to help him quit smoking. I swear, everyone in Missouri just loves their cancer sticks. And no one can quit using them. I guess that's why some people call Missouri "The Ashtray of America".
This week we tried to go do some service with an Amish guy that owns a saddle shop in Jamesport. He wasn't there though so we didn't get any service pinned down. We will probably stop by again this week though and try again. I've heard that it's basically impossible to teach religion to the Amish but I'm hoping that through our service that we will influence the younger generation. There are A LOT of Amish kids that grow up and leave the Amish community when they are in their late teens and early 20's. So we'll see what we can do.
Trenton does things a little different I guess. We had our fireworks show on the 3rd of July. Lucky for us, our new apartment is less than a half mile from where they were firing the fire works so we got to watch the whole show even though it was after our curfew. Before the firework show we wanted to go around and talk to a bunch of families but then we realized that everyone was drunk so it wouldn't do any good anyways.
We did a lot of special stuff on the 4th of July. My favorite thing we did was.... pulling weeds for a part-member family. I really dislike pulling weeds, especially because we always had to pull weeds as punishment and it was 90 degrees outside and we were in the sun. But we got it all done and set up a fountain outside and now we are going with the family to the Independence Visitor's Center this Wednesday, so it was all worth it. I haven't been to the Visitor's Center in over 6 months and I really miss it. So I'm super excited to be able to bring a part member family there :)
On Sunday we ate dinner with the Lichfields. Lucky for us, they live about 5 minutes away from Adam-Ondi-Ahman so they brought us there right after dinner so that we could show Elder Maaelopa around since he had never been there before. It was a pretty fun little visit and I'm super grateful for the Lichfields and their willingness to bring us there.
I was reading a conference talk this week called "The Privilege of Prayer" and it said "please believe how very much your loving Heavenly Father wants to bless you. But because He will not infringe upon our agency, we must ask for His help. This is generally done through prayer." It's so important for us to always remember that Faith and Blessing require some work on our part. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and truly does want to bless us, but as Christ himself says "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek,and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Luke 11:9-10) I know that Our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers and that prayer is an essential step in obtaining for ourselves the blessings that our Heavenly Father is already willing to grant us.
Well I think that's about it for the day folks. Make it a great week. I love you!
-Elder Nyholm
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2015 2:50 PM
So this week has been just a little bit nuts. Monday through Wednesday we were packing for Elder Wright. It was a pretty boring and unproductive few days. We also went and visited a bunch of the members so he could say bye to them and tell them he was going home. Thursday he took off back to Highland Utah and I grabbed Elder Maaelopa who is now my companion. Elder Maaelopa is from American Samoa, plays rugby, has biceps the same size as my thighs, and loves to eat (except for pasta). He's been on his mission for about 14 months. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks with him.
This week we are also moving into the Sister Missionaries old apartment and they are moving into a new one right next to our old one. The problem is, they can't live in the new one yet and we have to be out of ours by midnight tomorrow so I think we will end up staying with a member for a few days while we wait for them to get permission to live in their new apartment. Today was just full of moving and stuff. It doesn't feel productive or useful but I guess it just has to be done.
We are almost into July and it still hasn't heated up too much. It rains most of the week every week it seems like. Some people don't like it but it keeps the sky overcast and therefore keeps the temperature down a little bit. The humidity gets pumped up but I'd rather have more humidity and less heat than high heat and still a lot of humidity.
This morning I was reading in Mosiah 15 and verse 9 stuck out to me. It says labout Jesus Christ "having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice". I really loved it because it made me remember President Packer's talk about the Mediator. That Jesus Christ has paid our debt therefore He has fulfilled justice, and that we may be forgiven of our sins, thus being extended mercy. It is awesome to me that our Heavenly Father has laid out such a perfect plan for us and that he has made it possible for us to return to him despite our shortcomings and mistakes.
That's sweet that Paul is going to build one of those teardrop trailers. I think that would be a pretty fun project. While I have been out here in the country I see a lot of stuff that people have made in their own shops at home. It's giving me a lot of ideas of stuff to build while I am at BYU and have free access to all the equipment in the labs there haha. I wouldn't think one of those trailers would be too hard to build though and I think you can find all the plans online from what I remember. I'm kind of bummed that I won't be there to help build it. But if Paul can wait then I will definitely help out :)
This week we went and helped pull a V8 engine and transmission out of a 1990's truck. It was a pretty fun project and we learned a lot from doing it. We also learned its probably easier just to take the them out separately rather than together. So now we know.
Thats pretty much it for the week. I hope everything is going well for you all. I Love You!
-Elder Nyholm
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2015 6:36 AM
Subject: My first dying companion
Well, Elder Wright dies this week. He ships back off to Highland, Utah on Friday. So we have a lot of packing in front of us. It's going to be super weird for me to see someone actually going home because I've never had to be around people going home before. But his 2 years is up so see ya buddy. So that means that I'll get a new companion on Thursday so wish me luck that I get a good one :) Elder Wright was a super great companion so the odds are not in my favor. It seems like I always get a companion that I have a really hard time with right after I have a companion that I've gotten along with well.
Yeah we just wrote to you so I don't know how much more I'll be able to add to this letter. Sorry.
Saturday we went to Ridgeway (47 miles away) to do service with a new family in the Branch. Well it was like 97 degrees or something like that and they had no A/C and their ceiling fan didn't work so that was a problem. Luckily we fixed their fan and put in one of those tiny little A/Cs that goes into the window and plugs into the wall so that should help them out a bit. Also, Angus Wright came to do service with us (he's 17) and he found an airsoft gun and blasted the heck out of me. Luckily they don't hurt too bad but I have to admit I do have a few little welts on my back and legs. It was a fun time though trying to escape him, reminds me of the days when we used to have airsoft wars in Young Mens.
After we did service in Ridgeway we went and planted corn and beans with Angus at his house in Cainsville. Luckily we beat the storm so that stuff should be popping up pretty soon. I don't know if I've told you but Missouri is GREEN. Everywhere you look is just green green green. It's kind of weird after living by the brown California hills for so long.
Yesterday was Father's Day so the Primary kids brought all the men brownies. Luckily the missionaries count as "men" so we got some too. Also, there were lots of extras so we got to snag some of those. They were pretty great brownies :)
Another cool scripture that I found in Isaiah that I really like is Isaiah 54:10 "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed". I thought that was such a cool verse because it really shows the extent of the love and mercy that our Heavenly Father has for us. With all the crazy trials and events that go on around us, our Heavenly Father still loves us. That will never change. It's a promise that He has given to us and His promise can never be taken away. Even through our mistakes He will always love us and be there for us to help us to become better and correct those mistakes that we have made in our life.
This is for you Mom. Tips for studying Isaiah: Read these,
Study the Bible Maps
Highlight/Underline as you go
Study out of Isaiah, not out of the Isaiah Chapters in the Bom. The footnotes explain more when you read it out of the Bible
Always look for what the City he is talking about represents (Babylon=Wickedness, Lebanon=Pride, Canaan=Idolatry, etc...)
To answer your question about P-Day and the Temple. We have to go to the temple on P-Day. However, the temple is closed on Monday so we switch our P-Day to whatever day we go. So last week my P-Day was on Thursday.
Well I think that's it. Love you! Have a great week.
-Elder Nyholm
Friday, June 19, 2015
From: Peter Nyholm [mailto:peter.nyholm@
This week went by super fast and a lot of pretty cool stuff happened. First off, Sister Miller called you haha. I know her as Sister Cyborg though. And she always calls me Cyclops or Nyborg. She is so stinkin' awesome. Most of the missionaries get scared of her because when you first introduce yourself she says "Get away from me. You're annoying. I don't like missionaries". But then if you're persistent then you find out that she is really jsut a big teddy bear. If Sister Cyborg reads this then I'll just have to let her know that I won't share my secret with other missionaries so that they won't bother her :) But it was a pretty cool spiritual moment that she recounted huh?
#1 Sam is the daughter and Donna is the Mom. Jim is the Dad and Jason is the son. Jason was not baptized this last Saturday but the plan is that he will be baptized this coming Saturday. #2 Yes we got our "devices”. They are a pain. It would've been better if they just waited until I left to give them out. Maybe I'll learn differently, but as for now it just seems like another good distraction for most missionaries. There are a select few who I think will actually use them wisely and they will be very effective. I'm thinking I'll just put mine in a drawer and forget about it. #3 The Luau went SUPER well. We had about 150 people there and more than half were non-members. The hogs turned out great and tasted amazing. We didn't get to learn the Haka but they did teach us a different dance if we were willing to embarrass ourselves in front of the whole group, so naturally all us missionaries went up and learned haha. There are no Polynesians in Trenton at all. The dancers all came up from Independence.
I've never been up on Brushy Peak. I want to do a bunch of hikes when I get back though. I miss going hiking now. I hated it before. So I guess we'll have to do Brushy Peak and Del Valle when I get back.
For those pictures, I just wanted them digitally :)
Tell Dad that if he procrastinates the table for long enough that I would love to help him with it. Kaitlin isn't happy about me saying that because now maybe she'll have to wait a few more months, but since I've been out here I've really wanted to learn a lot more about wood working and metal working and auto-mechanics. We get to provide service doing a lot of that stuff and now I have kind of a new found interest in it all.
We had a mini-missionary (Braden Moser 16) with us for Friday through Sunday. He's an awesome kid and we had a lot of fun with him. He's a heck of a lot more prepared for a mission than I ever was haha. But yeah, that was a pretty good experience.
Something that stuck out to me from the scriptures this week. Mormon 8:23 says "Search the prophecies of Isaiah". Then Christ commands us the same thing. And so does Nephi. So now I have to study Isaiah haha. It;s crazy though if you think about it because Isaiah talks 100% about four main topics which are 1) Christ's Mortal Ministry; 2) Christ's Second Coming; 3) The Gathering of the Tribes of Israel; and 4) The Restoration, all of which are extremely important to us. So here goes my journey on studying Isaiah :)
That's it for the week. I would write more but this place is too loud and I can't concentrate. So I guess I'll save up some details for next week. Love You!
-Elder Nyholm
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 4:53 PM
Well to start off with, Jason did get baptized this Saturday so we are super excited for him. We had a great baptismal service and everything went according to plan and there were a lot of people there to support Jason. He was way excited to get baptized and so were we and his family. So Congratulations Jason :)
Last week were taken to China 1 buffet two days in a row. It was super delicious both times :) But I guess I didn't eat enough because I weighed myself a few days ago and I'm starting to lose weight again. I guess I need to pack in the food a little harder. Or exercise more. Yeah that doesn't sound like a good plan.
This Saturday we also went to the Baptist church to watch the Grand River Valley Choir and Orchestra perform. It was a pretty good little concert. They played 3 or 4 Mac Wilberg arrangements and we got to talk to a lot of people from the community while we were there. Also we had quite a few members of our branch perform with the choir/orchestra.
Today we went to the temple with Brother and Sister Cyborg (Miller). We had a super great time and had a way good experience. Then on the way home the Cyborgs brought us shopping and brought us to lunch at a little shop called Longboards. It was a really good restaurant. I'd definitely recommend it.
This week I've been studying Isaiah a lot and Isaiah 30:19-21 really stuck out to me. They say "...thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." I just thought that was such a cool scripture because it helped me to realize that even though times might get tough for us, the Lord will still hear and answer our prayers. Even through the midst of every trial we have we can still hear the Holy Ghost guiding us on the correct path through this life. God cares about us. He won't leave us out in the cold. He's here with us, cheering us on and giving us guidance when we ask for it. So don't ever question whether He cares about you or whether he is guiding you in your life. He is.
That's pretty much it for the week. Make it a great week. I Love You!
-Elder Nyholm
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Missionary Talk 5.31.2015
Brothers and Sisters, Missionary Work
is defined by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20 when he declares unto his
apostles “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”. Therefore, missionary work, simply put, is helping
others to learn and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. This missionary work
can be carried out in many different ways, including setting a Christ-like
example to those around you.
Today I wish to speak on
how each of us can carry out missionary work among the youth of the church. As
quoted by Elder Holland “There is no battle more crucial and evident “than
that being waged for the minds and morals, the personal purity of the young.”
Satan knows that the youth are the future of this Church, that they are our
future Bishops, Teachers, Quorum and Class Presidents, that they are our Future
Missionaries. But in order for us to win this battle for the purity of Youth we
must follow the instructions stated in Mosiah 18:9 to “stand as witnesses of
God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in”.
By doing so, we support and encourage the youth of our generation to prepare to
serve as member and full-time missionaries; We help those who will come after
us to flood the Earth with The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the
wonderful blessings that it has to offer us.
Parents obviously have a
key role in preparing their children to be our future missionaries. Harold B
Lee said “The most important of the Lord’s work that you will ever do will
be the work you do within the walls of your own home.” The example that
parents set for their children therefore is the most influential example that
children will have in their lives. It is this example that will set the course
that the youth of this church are to follow, for better or for worse. No wonder
the role that parents play is referenced so periodically in the Scriptures.
The Family: A Proclamation
to the world states “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in
love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and
to teach them to love and serve one another [and to] observe the commandments
of God.” By doing so, parents perform Missionary Work among their own
children and prepare their children to perform missionary work among those of
the world.
*** “Young men are sowers. Young women are sowers. Who trains
and guides these sowers? Who points out to them which is the right grain to
place in the sower’s bag? Who teaches them how to place the sower’s bag on
their shoulders? Who teaches the young sower going out into the field for the
first time whether the season is right, or how far to scatter the seed? Hopefully,
a caring father, a loving mother, teachers and quorums, or other loved ones
will guide their footsteps.” David B Haight
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So how do parents rear
their children in love and righteousness? To begin with, parents must be
unified in the teaching of their children. This unity can be developed by
“companionship study” of the scriptures, by “companionship prayer”, and as we
work as a companionship to achieve common goals. Preach My Gospel pg 178 says “The
Lord has commanded, “Ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my
gospel, two by two” (D&C 42:6). Your teaching will be more powerful...
if you and your companion work together in unity... Support your companion by
offering a second witness to the truths of which he or she has testified.
Follow your impressions when the Spirit prompts you to say something.” As children see the
unity that has been developed among their parents, they will have a greater
desire to follow the counsel and direction that their parents have given them.
They will see that their parents are guided by the Holy Ghost and that the
counsel that they receive from each individual parent will not vary from the
counsel that they would receive from their other parents or from that of their
Heavenly Father.
Elder Holland, in
talking about those who are being taught by missionaries said “These
[children] are not lifeless objects... They are children of God, our brothers
and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask
these [children] what matters most to them. What do they cherish,
and what do they hold dear? And then listen. If the setting is right you
might ask what their fears are, what they yearn for, or what they feel is
missing in their lives. I promise you that something in what they say
will always highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear
testimony and about which you can then offer more.” Brothers and Sisters,
as you show sincere concern for your children they will see that you love them,
that you want what is in their best interest, and that you will always be there
to help and guide them on the path through life. You will have more
opportunities to teach them to follow the commandments of God and the Gospel of
Jesus Christ as a whole. Your children will be prepared to preach the Gospel
because they will have seen and felt the love of Christ in their lives and
desire to share that same love with those around them.
*** “The interpersonal relationships between missionaries are among the choicest
blessings we receive as the result of missionary service. The friendships and
the positive influence of one missionary upon the other can be eternal.” James M Dunn
Next, Parents are to
provide for the physical and spiritual needs of their children. I am reminded
of the story of Alma the Younger. His father obviously carried out this act of
providing for the needs of his son when it is stated that he and his people “did walk uprightly before
God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to
their needs and their wants.” However, for the time being, Alma the Younger did not pay heed or
appreciate the counsel of his Father, for he went around destroying the Church
of God and leading many souls unto destruction. In this act he, and his
friends, were visited by an Angel. Later, while recounting this experience, Alma
the Younger states the the Angel said unto him “the Lord hath heard the
prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy
father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be
brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come
to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his
servants might be answered according to their faith.” We all know the story of Alma
the Younger. We know that he repented of his ways, that he began to follow the
counsel of his Father. But most important of all “Alma began from this
time forward to teach the people, and those who were with Alma at the time the
angel appeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land, publishing
to all the people the things which they had heard and seen, and preaching the
word of God... And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing
many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.” (Mosiah 18:29 ;
27:14,32,36) This is the result of a loving parent providing proper and
complete spiritual nourishment for their child. The simple prayer of a loving
father was exactly what Alma the Younger needed in order to change the course
of his life and give selfless missionary service for the remainder of his time
on this Earth. Each of us has the opportunity of providing this same outcome
for our children as we carry out daily family prayer, daily family scripture
study, weekly family home evenings, and other family activities.
A Similar story of
lifelong missionary service as a result of proper spiritual nourishment comes
from the story of Enos who said “Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he
was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it... and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning
eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.” Here we can see that the Father of Enos had spent much
time bringing him up in the ways of the Savior, teaching him his duties and
responsibilities as a Priesthood holder. We see that Enos was conscious of the
time and effort that his Father had dedicated to his spiritual nourishment. And
as a result, after his conversion, Enos says for himself, “I, Enos, went about among the people of Nephi,
prophesying of things to come, and testifying of the things which I had heard
and seen... Having been wrought upon by the
power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the
word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all
my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.” (Enos verses
1,3,19,26) Brothers and Sisters, the
spiritual nourishment you provide for your children will extend far beyond the
lives of your children. It will extend to those who your children encounter as
they place their lives in the service of their God. The missionary service you
provide now, to your children, through proper care and nourishment, will effect
countless generations to come.
I remember my Mom
sending me a letter a few months ago. She told me that my Dad had given her, as
a Mother's Day present, a book titled “The Proper Care and Feeding of
Husbands”. Although she wasn't particularly thrilled with the gift my Dad had
given her, (and actually wanted to throw it out) she found, several years
later, that this book was actually very beneficial to her progress as a wife
and mother. We similarly have a book that can help us to become better
missionaries, Mothers and Fathers, Sons and Daughters. It could be titled “The
Proper Care and Nourishment of Children, but in reality is called “The Book of
Mormon”. Do not waste this precious resource that you have been given as a gift
from your Heavenly Father. It will provide the guidance that you need in order
to Provide for the physical and spiritual needs of your children. Read it
Daily, as individuals and as families. This alone will greatly increase your
ability as a spiritual and physical provider for your family.
*** Regardless of needs
or problems, all people are best helped as they accept and live the gospel. You
will be able to adjust your teaching as you listen to the promptings of the
Spirit... Make sure that you ask enough questions and listen carefully to their
answers so you have a firm understanding of how quickly and how well the
investigator is learning and applying the doctrines you are presenting... Trust
in the promise that the Spirit will give you “in the very hour, yea, in the
very moment, what ye shall say” -Preach My Gospel Pg 177
*** Elder Russell Nelson
told me once that one of the first rules of medical inquiry is “Ask the patient
where it hurts. The patient,” he said, “will be your best guide to a correct
diagnosis and eventual remedy.” If we listen with love, we won’t need to wonder
what to say. It will be given to us—by the Spirit and by our friends. -Elder
Holland
It is the Duty of Parents
to teach their children to Love, Serve and Keep the Commandments. The
Proclamation to the World: The Family, says “Successful marriages and families [and
missionaries] are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer,
repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome
recreational activities.” (Proclamation to the World)
These principles were taught to me very well by my
own parents. One example of this that comes to mind is the service that my
Mother asked me to provide to a neighbor named Denise Termini. Here is some
background on her situation.... Lives alone....Cancer..... Shoulders...... I remember
the countless opportunities that I had to give her rides to Church each Sunday
(and when she could not attend church, to bring her the Sacrament), an
opportunity that she had not had the privilege of having for most of her later
years due to medical issues. She has since passed on, but has left a lasting
sense of love, compassion, and service in my heart, which is something that I
greatly wish to carry on to my future children. I am grateful for the
opportunity and encouragement that my Mother gave me to provide service for
Denise and I know that those experiences have been a blessing to me during my
missionary service. They are experiences that I can look back on and say “My
service means something to someone. No effort is wasted. Don't give up now, even
when doors are slammed in your face, or you are run off a porch, or you are
threatened for the service you wish to provide. Your hard work, the love you
share and the desire you have to share it, your service, means something to
someone”. I know for myself that this is the result of a loving father and
mother who taught me to Love, serve, and keep the commandments of God.
Brothers and Sisters, I
know that as you similarly teach your children the standards that have been put
forth by our Heavenly Father, that your children will “Wax strong in the
knowledge of the truth... [become men and women] of a sound understanding [who
have] searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God”
and become as the Sons of Mosiah who “had given themselves to
much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the
spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and
authority of God.” (Mosiah 17: 2-3)
I know that as we Rear
children in love and righteousness, provide for their physical and spiritual
needs, and teach them to love, serve, and keep the commandments, that they will
become successful missionaries in times to come. As you continue to teach them
“Their faith, happiness and expression will be sufficient to awaken the
interest” (Elder Holland) of those whom they will teach. As Elder Holland said
“We can all do more to transmit this tradition [of missionary service] to
those who come after us”, for, As Joseph Smith stated, “After all has
been said, our most important duty is to Preach the Gospel” (Joseph Smith).
I want to leave you with one last quote from Preach My Gospel
from the section “No Effort is Wasted”. When people choose not to investigate the restored gospel, your
work is not wasted. Your consistent efforts in serving and teaching as many
people as you can is one way God prepares His children to eventually receive
His servants. He often reaches out to His children through you. Even when
people do not accept the opportunity to learn the gospel, your service and
words are evidence of God’s love for them and may plant seeds that future
missionaries and members of the Church will harvest.
When people do not
accept the gospel, do not be discouraged. You have raised a warning voice. You
have given them a clear choice. Disciples of Christ feel sorrow when people
choose not to repent, but they maintain a vision of who they are and what they
are doing. They continue to diligently move forward.”
Testimony =)
Sent: Monday, June 1, 2015 6:52 AM
This week went pretty swell. We had a baptism on Saturday for Sam and Donna. It was a super great baptismal service and the spirit was there super strong. Jason (the son) will get baptized on June 13th and Jim will get baptized when he gives up smoking. We just gave him some cinnamon flavored toothpicks which are supposed to help somehow. We'll see. I have pretty high hopes for him :) But yeah, that was definitely the highlight of the week.
To answer your questions, I am still with Elder Wright. Elder McLaws just got moved. I never remember Ruby bringing flan at Christmas time so now I am really bummed that I missed it. That stuff is so dang good.
We had the All Mission Conference on Friday. Elder Clark from the Seventy came and spoke to us. no we did not get "devices" but supposedly we will get them this Friday. I'm thinking it'll actually be another year or so. Elder Clark was a dang good speaker. The best speaker I've heard since I've been on my mission. We had no breaks so it was 5.5 hours of sitting in one spot. Here's the breakdown. 1 hour of device training, half hour of rebuking, 4 hours of marriage and dating advice. And that's pretty much it. My favorite tip was to bring my perspective wife on a hike of Mt Timpanogas. "If she complains, dump her, no one needs a complainer". Then he told us "I really quite like your mission president. He happens to have less hair than I do". Hahaha the guy was hilarious.
This coming week we will be having a Hawaiian Luau as a Branch Missionary Activity. We are going to roast two whole hogs in the ground and have Polynesian dancers there. We are planning on 350-400 people in attendance. I'm pretty excited :) I suggested that the dancers should teach the entire group the Haka and have everyone perform it at the same time. Can you imagine 400 people doing the Haka? I think we would scare the rest of Trenton away.
Well this week I'm going to give you an excerpt from the talk I gave on Sunday about missionary work and then I'll send you the whole talk.---As quoted by Elder Holland “There is no battle more crucial and evident “than that being waged for the minds and morals, the personal purity of the young.” Satan knows that the youth are the future of this Church, that they are our future Bishops, Teachers, Quorum and Class Presidents, that they are our Future Missionaries. But in order for us to win this battle for the purity of Youth we must follow the instructions stated in Mosiah 18:9 to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in”. By doing so, we support and encourage the youth of our generation to prepare to serve as member and full-time missionaries; We help those who will come after us to flood the Earth with The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the wonderful blessings that it has to offer us.---
There you go. Now hopefully you will just read my whole talk. Don't worry I didn't just look down and read the whole thing :) I'll send it in a different e-mail though because this church computer doesnt have MS word.... Well I'll try to just send the file, I don't think you'll be able to open it though...
Well I think that's about it for the week. Looking forward to next week. Love Ya!
-Elder Nyholm
Monday, June 1, 2015
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 8:49 AM
Subject: Well Shoot
Subject: Well Shoot
I forgot to write down in my planner everything that happened this week. So now I don't remember it all. Bummer. But I remember some of the important stuff so I guess I'll still have a bit to write about.
Yesterday we had an awesome Memorial Day Breakfast on Adam-Ondi-Ahman. One of the families in our ward, The Hagans, brought hard-boiled quail eggs. Well, they told me that they were super good and that you could eat them even with the shell on and then finally convinced me to eat one, even though no one else did. So I ate it, shell and all, (and it was actually pretty good) and then they told me that neither of them had tried a single one, not even a peeled one. So yeah, new adventurous food choice of the week. I recommend them.
A few days ago we ate dinner with the Lichfields in Gallatin. They have a pretty big property and we were down there at night and all the fireflies came out. There were thousands of them, way more than I've ever seen before. It looked like there were fireworks going off on the ground because there were so many. Also, if you hit a firefly on the highway and it splatters on your windshield it actually glows on your windshield for 30 seconds or so. Pretty cool huh?
Last night we were driving home from Ridgeway, 47 miles away from Trenton, and a huge storm was coming in. It was following us the whole way home, lighting and all. We didn't get rained on at all and then last night it dumped out about an inch of rain. I'm pretty surprised that we didn't have any tornado warnings or anything last night. I though for sure we would have them with the big temperature change and the huge storm front coming in.
This Saturday we will have a baptism for Donna and Sam. They live in Jamesport and we've been teaching them for about 2 weeks now. They are a super awesome family and they remember and apply everything we teach them almost immediately. It's just an sweet experience to see a family progressing so quickly. We are still working with Jim and Jason to help them stop smoking so that they can be baptized as well. Today we will teach them their last lesson and tomorrow they will be interviewed for baptism :) Also, they fed a us dinner the other day and it was chicken that they fried in butter. That's some good stuff :)
Today I'm taking off to Gallatin for exchanges. Elder Edginton set up an appointment with a Spanish family there (The Manzano Family) So we are going to cook some Mexican food with them and I will have an opportunity to practice my Spanish. So I'm really looking forward to that. And Sister Manzano is going to make us a Flan, which is one of my favorite desserts of all time. Good stuff to look forward to.
I was reading in Mosiah 5 and some parts of verses 7 and 8 stuck out to me. They say "this day [Christ] hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name... There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives." I really like these verses because they show that when we have true faith in our Savior Jesus Christ that we will be obedient to the commandments that he has given us. A mighty change of heart will come to those who are obedient to the commandments of the Lord and we will be named as Christ. We will be the Christ-like example that those around us need in order to have the strength to make it through their own trials and struggles. We can be the light that others need in their lives, to give them hope and confidence in order to "endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ".
Well that's all that I can remember for the week. I Love You! Make it a great week!
-Elder Nyholm
Pictures: The storm that we outran. Elder McLaws got transferred :( And Elder Edginton (The one in the truck with me) is the one who teaches me how to cook
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