24 SEP 2018 ~ Week 5 in MTC: The Church is On Earth Once More!!!

여러분,

Well we hit our halfway mark on Friday. Only one more month and I’ll be in Australia! Crazy stuff, time flies. If only Korean flew faster haha. Kidding it’s actually coming a lot faster than expected. Thanks to God. 하나님과함께할수있습니다!! WITH GOD, WE CAN DO IT!!

So this week has just been a week of Spirit kicks in the gut, chest, tear ducts, everything. First time was Tuesday devotional. I testify that we have prophets and apostles who lead and guide the church in our day. We were blessed to be spoken to by an Apostle of Jesus Christ, Elder Andersen. Every Tuesday and Sunday I go to choir practice, because why sit around and enjoy free time when I can go and be uplifted by music and surprisingly get inspired by the comments and testimony of the choir director who is also an institute teacher. So I actually learn a lot and I always leave inspired. Look into the history behind songs, you never know what they have in store. Additionally my companion (동반자) may or may not like to go to choir. I may or may not get to go on splits with the other missionaries to go to choir.... the world may never know. All I’ll say is that I’m always uplifted going and coming from choir. That’s all I’ll say. 

But anyways back to the story. I was sitting in choir and there were rumors that we were having an Apostle, but I didn’t care. Whoever speaks always does a great job and I always end up inspired. I was sitting in the 2nd row from the bottom in my “international” seating (because the MTC likes to display the color in the front of the choir. I oblige because it’s usually good seating), when I look up as the door opens up and I see Elder Andersen standing there waiting to come into the room. As he later walked into the room and we all stood. The Spirit and love of God filled the room. The Holy Ghost filled the room, testifying to each and every one of us that this man was a man of God. That he was truly an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart and soul was full my chest swelled as the Spirit testified to me and I was filled with the love of God. He testified of the holiness of temples. Do you treat the temples as holy as they truly are? As the HOUSE OF GOD? Do you go to partake of His peace, love and knowledge? Do you keep your covenants? He stated that he has been surprised in the past with those who break their covenants. Surprised that they would ever take these things lightly. But he later realized that he’s gotta be patient and remember that they haven’t had the experiences or knowledge of the Gospel that he has. I’ll just say that truly spoke to me, in addition to all the emails I’ve received. 

After the meeting I was filled with love and joy that we are God’s church on earth. That God loves us enough to continually send prophets to lead His kingdom through them. I sustain and testify that President Russell M. Nelson is the Prophet on the earth today, much like Noah and Moses. He is the only one who holds all the Priesthood keys. Through these keys we hold the authority and power of God to do God’s work on earth. Such as Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, temple marriages and sealings that allow us to be with family and loved ones for eternity, forever after death. The Priesthood we hold as men of the church is the power Jesus Christ used to perform miracles, and the same power used to create the earth and everything within it. If we are faithful, that same Priesthood can be used to perform miracles in our lives. If you need a blessing of comfort or healing, ask the missionaries or your closest priesthood holder. Then don’t be afraid to give a blessing to perform miracles. Have faith in the Priesthood you hold. By you not giving the blessing to perform the miracle, you are basically saying Jesus Christ can’t do this... come on. Have confidence. Most of all have faith. It’s only on your faith and the other persons that miracles can be performed. When giving a blessing, BLESS them don’t just give a prayer. 

The Priesthood has been restored in these latter-days through the Prophet Joseph Smith. For our Sunday night movie, we watched the Joseph Smith movie... I left the movie just astonished and dumbfounded. Yes I’ve seen this movie before. However, watching it this time took me back to when I first watched the movie over 7 years ago. I was meeting with missionaries and they invited me to the Mesa Temple Visitors’ Center. We ended up watching this film while we were there. It was at this time that I first felt the Spirit testify to me that Joseph Smith was a prophet and I first gained a testimony of him. I invite you to go to this link: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/topics/joseph-smith?lang=eng

It’s a short 5-6 minute video depicting Joseph Smith’s First Vision. The vision where he literally saw God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Before you watch it, offer a simple prayer to God, desiring to learn if this event actually happened. Watch it, and listen to the feelings in your heart and chest. The tingles you may feel flow through your body. Pay attention to it while you watch it. Those good feelings you have, is the Holy Ghost testifying to you that it is TRUE. Then pray again to know where to go from there. God will answer you. I promise you. You have to listen very carefully, because it’s a very soft, quiet voice. 

After watching the movie, I said I left speechless and astonished. How could a man, that went through all that Joseph Smith went through, continued to stay firm in his belief for a Book... a book that he may have made up?? You know why he endured all that? Why he endured the criticism, persecution, mocking, tar and feathering, time in jail for fake accusations, being driven from state to state? You wanna know why? BECAUSE HE DIDN’T MAKE IT UP. BECAUSE IT’S TRUE. BECAUSE HE ACTUALLY SAW GOD THE FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST IN PERSON. (https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-03-08-testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng) Face to face. He spoke with them. They told him that none of the churches were fully true. They didn’t have the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they were missing portions of it. Think about why there are so many churches who interpret the Bible differently. Why wouldn’t you want more scripture to provide further guidance and clarity on what God’s plan for us is? That is what the Book of Mormon does. 

We came back to the room and I just dropped. Filled with so much gratitude and joy for my knowledge of this Gospel. Do you realize that through Jesus Christ you can be forgiven and made right of all your wrongs? While I dropped, I just lost it. Everything, like not just tears (unfortunately), but I couldn’t help it because that’s how grateful I am for this knowledge. It’s true. Please, please, please understand how great this Gospel is. I wish I could go to each and every one of you and bear testimony to you in person. This is what life’s about. The 2nd link I included is Elder Holland’s testimony about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. It is with the same intensity and pure testimony that I KNOW these things are true. With every fiber of my being it’s true. If you have this knowledge, then you shouldn’t be wanting to scream it on the roofs and share it with every single person you meet. I know I do, and you can bet your butts that I will speak to every single person I come across in Sydney, Australia. It is because it’s THAT important of a message and it is THAT TRUE. Have faith, if they reject you now. Know that eventually all will confess that Jesus is the Christ —> Mosiah 27:31

You may wonder why these emails are so long, and if I really have a lot of time. The answer is no. I don’t have any time. I honestly need to be preparing the lesson we are about to teach in Korean, but I’m spending this time testifying to you because this is my calling. I have been called to testify that Jesus is the Christ and that His church is restored on earth again and it’s found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (예수 그리스도후기성). I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I am an extension of the 12 Apostles, a lower case “a” apostle. I know these things are true, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Escamilla

Alma 16:16, 17:13-14 Great is the work. The scriptures can also be found here: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng

We found Elder White’s brother!.... Elder White! This guys brother was in Elder Frangia and I’s class our Plebe year at West Point. 

All the West Point missionaries

All the Service Academy missionaries. West Point, Navy and Air Force.

Pray for us 

Really need that Gift of Tongues

17 SEP 2018 ~ Week 4 in MTC: What is Love?

So it’s the end of another P-Day at the MTC. We went to the temple this morning, and can I just say I love the temple. Consistent scripture study & prayer coupled with temple attendance, WHOO!! That’s some high quality Spiritual Growth. That’s where the money is, or the Spirit... Study the scriptures, have questions, then go to the temple to receive answers. I couldn’t think of any better system, except the Plan of Happiness of course. In all seriousness though, my temple experience today was one of the best I’ve had before. For those who know the previous New York New York North Mission President, President Smith, I ran into him at the temple.

Funny short story:
Every Wednesday a new batch of missionaries come into the MTC. Not always new Korean speakers, but Elders and Sisters going everywhere in the world. So it’s dinner time, we have new missionaries circulating and experiencing their first meal at the MTC. I’m just standing in line, minding my own business, switching between studying the Book of Mormon (몰몬경) and Korean. When all of a sudden, I hear someone talking to me from behind saying “Comos da! Comos da!” Yes... Tagalog... I turn around and see these fresh new missionaries, with wide smiles because they get to practice the Tagalog they just learned on day 1. Of course by this time, I had learned a decent amount of Tagalog to play the part of being Filipino and started talking back to start a conversation. They look at each other and say “oh... we haven’t learned that much yet...” So we continue the conversation in English, which was a little hard because I speak very little English, but I manage to hold up the conversation. We find out they’re both from Utah, and I tell them in my best native, American accent (not Native American, but native... American) that “I’m from AZ and Native American, and that the Filipino that they want to practice Tagalog is over there.” Pretty sure they freaked out inside their heads and are probably a little hesitant to speak Tagalog openly from now on. Then I still get asked every devotional, if I need headset translation for the meeting. I just respond with my “international” accent that “I speak English very good”. Then proceed to take my comfortable and spacious floor seating for the international missionaries (선교사들). So all is well!

I want to apologize for being maybe a little too open about my experiences in the MTC. I know for some, the image of the missionary should be perfect and that we are perfect disciples of Jesus Christ. I mean we are representatives of Jesus Christ and wear His name on our chest 24/7. I feel like, for the most part, I’m a pretty open book. I have no problem sharing my challenges and thoughts. At West Point, it was “you’re wrong. Fix this. You’re stupid. Move on, because we have work to do and no time to cry about it.” I grew used to this after being told a couple times that I’m useless, or a waste of taxpayers money, or should out-process (leave) from West Point. So I’m a little hardened and used to this. I’ve tried handling stuff this way a couple times and it hasn’t worked... So to those who told me that dealing with high school graduates would be my biggest challenge... in 2 years you have permission to tell me “I told you so”. Or feel free to email me that. However, as I’ve expressed my challenges I’ve received emails that have helped me and inspired me on what to do, which I’m so grateful for. Additionally, I think it shows that we as missionaries struggle too. Yes, we are called to represent Jesus Christ and proclaim His gospel, but we are human too. Isn’t that what this church is? A hospital for those struggling? Don’t we all struggle and have challenges? We as missionaries go out to gather patients for this hospital, showing them that even though we struggle. We rely on the Gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ to grow, become better and overcome our challenges. And you can too! That imperfect people can go out, with proper and constant application of the Atonement can go out and be representatives of Jesus Christ. Giving hope that other people can also become better people through the Gospel. Additionally, if God can perform His most important work in the history of mankind, the gathering of Israel or bringing to pass the eternal life of men, through a bunch of imperfect 18, 19, 20, and 21 year olds. Think of what He can do through you. Not all missionaries are like my companion and I. I’ve seen a ton of tremendous missionaries who just emanate the Spirit of Christ. So don’t worry. Also know that there is hope for you.

I love being a missionary. I love putting on the nametag on my chest that bears the name of Jesus Christ (예수 그리스도). I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (예수 그리스도 후기 성도교회) is God’s Church on earth. The very church established by Jesus Christ when He was on the earth. Restored by a prophet named Joseph Smith. He literally saw God the Eternal Father and Jesus Christ after a simple act of faith to pray to find and know the truth from the main source, our Heavenly Father (하나님 아버지). We aren’t just some church that teaches and talks about God and Jesus Christ. We are THE church of Jesus Christ. We hold the power and authority to do God’s work, called the Priesthood. The same power that was used to create this world and everything within it. We baptize and confer the gift of the Holy Ghost by the authority given from God.

저는 예수 그리스도의 대표자입니다. 우리는 예수 그리스도에 대 해 가르칩니다. 저는 예수 그리스도의 복음을 통 해, 가족이 영원할 수 있다는 것을 알고 있습니다. 몰몬경에 대 해 기도한다면, 우리는 하나님의 사랑과 응답을 받게습니다. 예수 그리스도의 복음을 통 해, 저는 해복됩니다.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” - Moroni 7:48




It was Sister Urbano’s birthday (the Filipino sister in the center) and apparently birthdays are a huge deal in the Philippines, and she kept telling us that she’s expecting a huge surprise.... so we came up with a scavenger hunt to send her on around the MTC with everyone in our district being at different stations with letters written to her. Then all of us meeting at where the Filipino flag was raised on the MTC campus. However, they took down all the flags early so we had to make our own Filipino flag (you can see it taped to the pole. Hwang 장로님 and I made a last minute Filipino flag with markers and scripture markers.) She was very happy and in tears by the end of the scavenger hunt, so mission accomplished!




Our (우리의) zone with the new missionaries (선교사들) after the older 선교사들 left.

10 SEP 2018 ~ Week 3 in MTC: The Book of Mormon is TRUE

Family & Friends,

Well, I made it another week in the MTC. Kind of a quick email, short on time. Went to the temple this morning. Can I just say how great the temple is?? It's FANTASTIC. If you haven't gone in a while, then GO. If you just went, then GO AGAIN.

So an update with the companion, as I'm sure many of you are wondering. We kind of mellowed out this week. Didn't get on each other's nerves or anything, but didn't talk that much either. Then all of sudden last night, after a busy Sunday, something clicked in him. Usually before going to bed or waking up, I'm having to remind to do companion prayer since he never wants to. However, I was just gonna go to bed and shut the lights off and do my personal prayer before going to bed, when right before I turn off the lights he says, "Prayer?".... I'm like "What???" This was the first time this had ever happened. Then after we prayed, he wanted to just talk. Normally we go to bed, but he just wanted to talk and get to know me. I asked him where this was coming from. He said that he had noticed how hard everyone else was working and we really only have 2 years to do this. "I can't just go for a passing grade like I usually do. I'd like to go for that 100%. So I'm gonna start making a little more effort to be better and make things work. I'm not gonna start making my bed like you or anything, but I'll be a little better and more focused." I was about to started yelling Hallelujah after hearing this. I had been trying a little harder to love Elder Hwang. Find more good things than bad things. Be more patient. Then just praying for a softening of his heart and my heart. Then he had this change of heart that came out of nowhere. I was blown away. Miracles happen. So things have been going much smoother and we're working on finding a balance between work and play.

So normally, district leader callings last for 3 weeks since we're here fro 9 weeks and they'd like to rotate the positions. Well it's week 3.... We got to our Zone Council meeting on Sunday with the Zone leaders, district leaders and the Branch Presidency. They released everyone except me and the Zone leaders... They want us to stay in our position for an extra week. So I get to be district leader for another week! However... our Branch President had gotten a little too far with planning ahead for the next District leader that he accidentally went ahead and extended the calling. Forgetting that he wanted me to be district leader for another week.... So, I ended up getting released. However, he told me not get to relaxed and that they still had big plans for me... So I'm not saying anything's for certain, but... They wanted to extend my calling for an extra week and ended up also extending the Zone Leader's calling for another week... Which would perfectly align for when I would get released as District leader and the Zone leaders would get released.... So.... I'm guessing that Elder Hwang and I will be called as the next Zone leaders for the Korean Branch... Not certain, but that's what it sounded like according to our Branch President... We'll see. You'll have to stay tuned for next week.

This week my testimony of the Book of Mormon increased exponentially. I love the Book of Mormon. It's true. I love it. If you haven't read it. DO IT. I promise if you read it sincerely and curious if it is actually true, then pray to God asking if it is true. YOU WILL RECEIVE AN ANSWER. Give it a shot. Please. This book is the keystone of our religion. We love the Bible, but if the Book of Mormon is true (which also supports the Bible, and works hand in hand with the Bible), Joseph Smith was a prophet and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ's church. If it isn't true, then I will have given everything up for no reason and wasted these 2 years. If it isn't true, then Joseph Smith died for some false cause. If it isn't true then Joseph Smith really didn't see God the Father and Jesus Christ in person. If it isn't true then everything the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands for is a joke. That's how important this book is. So read it. This book testifies that Jesus IS the Christ. That God loves all His children. That God has restored Christ's original church from when He was on the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. If it's true, then our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, really is a prophet called of God. If it's true, then these next 2 years I'm sharing the MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND to the people of Australia. This is no joke or child's play. It's TRUE. My testimony comes because the Holy Ghost has testified it to me to my heart. My knowledge came line upon line, chapter upon chapter, here a little, there a little. "A man would grow closer to God by reading and abiding by its (Book of Mormon's) precepts". I invite you to read it. Go to lds.org and just try it. Read a couple chapters with an honest curiosity if it's true. Then pray to God, sincerely ask if it is true. I promise God will answer you in your heart whether or not it is true. I gave up everything for my love of God and my knowledge that this book is true. See why I gave everything up for this book, read it. Please.

I love you all, and know that God's kingdom is on the earth. The battle between good and evil is already won. It's just a matter of us enduring to the end. Have a good week!

"I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name." - Alma 5:48


They were doing a picture of all the Filipino's in the Zone, so I figured I should be in there as well. (For obvious reasons)


My "son". One our current Zone Leaders, Elder Gonzalez from the Philippines.


My district of 11, plus our teacher, Sister Oh (the one with the white nametag).


Our whole Korean Zone. All the Missionaries learning Korean. A group just left this morning for either Korea or New York. Most everyone is going to Korea. Yes, I'm the only one going to Australia.

3 SEP 2018 ~ Week 2 in MTC: "Salvation is Not a Cheap Experience"

Hello! How's it going!? (In Korean)

So our 2nd week in the MTC has passed and I'm still loving life! So story time:

First off, my whole life I have been blessed with the gift of confusing people on my race... In Israel, I almost walked onto the Dome of the Rock during call to prayer because they thought I was Arab. In Morocco everyone kept saying "Ni hao" to me thinking I was Chinese. After saying "no...", they would ask Japanese? no... Korean? no.... I've been asked what island I'm from and I would just reply with "Arizona!" Well here in the MTC, people see me, my nametag, look back at me and are confused. Then when the people are confused, literally every Filipino will come up and say "Oh he's Filipino!" (except in Tagalog). Since I don't speak Tagalog, it turns into an awkward staring contest as the Filipino waits for me to respond back in Tagalog, and I just stand there thinking ".... I don't speak very much Korean, but I'm like 51% sure that wasn't Korean...." So my gift continues as I have been able to confuse the Filipinos into thinking that I'm one of them.... My last name doesn't help because Filipinos have hispanic last names too...

So with this in mind, there are many missionaries here from all over the world. A ton of Filipinos (literally every Filipino comes up to me and asks if I'm Filipino, or stares at me waiting for me to greet them in Tagalog as I walk past them), Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Polynesian, Europeans, etc. During Sunday & Tuesday Devotional time, they try to place all international missionaries on the ground floor closest to the speaker so they can get a better experience and usually so they can provide them with translation headsets since all the talks are given in English. I know crazy. So during meal times on Tuesday and Sunday, the MTC has assigned a man to wait by the door as missionaries leave the cafeteria and give out flyers to the international missionaries so they know where to sit for the Devotional. Well you would think that a good approach would be, "Hey Elder/Sister, where are you from?" Simple right? Well apparently it's too much to ask, and apparently he is the master at knowing the difference between missionaries from the States and those from abroad... I would beg to differ. So my companion is full Korean from Chicago, and thus looks Korean. Mind-blowing I know. Then there's me with my wonderful gift. I bet you can guess already what happens every Tuesday and Sunday. Yes, we get "racially profiled"??? I don't know if that's the right word, a little harsh but that's what happens. This man comes up to us and gives us these flyers and tells us, "Make sure you sing in your Native language!"....... So in addition to learning Korean, I've added Tagalog to my studies so I can play the part. Plus side, we get front row seating for devotionals and impress a lot of people because of "how good your English is!" after we tell them we speak English as they try to give us headsets that interpret the speaker's words to our "Native language"....

For those curious about how my companionship is going... Well we agreed to disagree... I finally sat him down after an argument, pulled him into our room after he left because he didn't want to be in the same room as me. Sat him down, told him we're gonna be adults and talk this out. To this point, we had been disagreeing on how the rules were being kept. I argued that we should be obedient and should keep the rules to a tee, since "obedience brings blessings, and exact obedience brings miracles". He argued that they don't need to be kept exactly to a tee... So you can see our disagreement. It started off with arguing about the little things that were bugging each of us. For me, it was during class or during meetings when the Spirit is being felt, testimonies being shared, and while everyone completely in tune with the moment he would be sitting with feet on another chair or desk playing around with his pen and everything completely going over his head. I didn't want him to be like me, make bed, workout, be very regimented. I just want him to be in tune and act in accordance to the name that is on his chest, "Jesus Christ" and take these things seriously opposed to walking around trying to have fun as if it were a college dorm when we had free time to prepared for the next day, study the scriptures or language. There is plenty to be done. His argument was that I was uptight all the time, kind of "kill joy" whenever he made jokes, and trying to make him into me. I was basically inviting him to grow up and take things seriously, and he was telling me to chill.

Prior to this argument, I had prayed to know what to do because we had 2 other conversations like this, we weren't working together, he always hangs around the other Elders when we should be together, taking off without me even though we're supposed to be together since we're companions, and just annoying each other by are very different perspectives. The Spirit had whispered to go to the scriptures. So I went to where I had left off in my personal studies, Alma 4. In this chapter, the people of the church were beginning to wax proud because of their excessive wealth, turn away the sick, needy and afflicted, persecute those who didn't join them, and create a bad image of the church for those who were not a part of the church. This caused problems to Alma who was the high priest at the time, as well as the teachers, priests and elders of the church who were being persecuted by these wicked members of the church. Being saddened, Alma decides to give up his position as the chief judge of the Nephite nation to go around the nation and begin stirring up the people in remembrance of their duty to the church. The only way he would be able to to do this would be by "bearing down in pure testimony against them". So being inspired by that, opposed to just letting our companionship go down the drain, I did such.

At the end the argument, I just bore testimony to him of how much this gospel means to me. I apologized for being so critical and tough on him, but I told him that the reason why I was such and didn't take the rules and this mission lightly because of how IMPORTANT this work is. We're no longer dealing with our own personal lives any more. We're dealing with people's eternal salvation. Whether we are able to effectively invite and help others come to Christ is dependent on our preparations NOW in the MTC. I said you're no longer Alex Hwang, you're now a representative of Jesus Christ. This Gospel has brought me so so so much joy and happiness in my life. So much so that I gave up everything for these next 2 years. My spot at West Point, where there is a possibility I might not get back in. My family, I only get to call them 4 times for the entire 2 years. My personal desires and pursuits. Everything. So I apologized for being rough, but I said that I gave up everything to be here. I'm here because I love God more than anything. He gave me everything, so the least I could do is to give up these next 2 years. I told him I was rough on him because he is going to New York and could very well end up at West Point. My brothers and sisters are there and if he could share this wonderful message with them and the next time I see them they weren't only just my brothers and sisters in the military but also in the Lord... How great would my joy be. I told him this gospel means everything to me, and it's no longer about us anymore.

I asked, what is God's mission? Why are we here? He complained that we had already been over this and didn't answer because he was pouting, so I said "Thank you, yes you're right. It's to invite others to come to Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.(He didn't respond) Yes! you're right again! God's mission is: 'For behold, this is MY work and MY glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.'" (Moses 1:39). During my bearing testimony and asking these questions, it was only me talking. So I said, "I'm sorry for being rough, but I have a reason. I know we don't get along. Our personalities don't match. But let's at least get along in the Lord when we teach and study. I invite you to take these things more seriously. You're stuck with me for 2 months." Then that was it. We ended that, and moved on from our previous arguments. I bore my testimony and feelings with all my heart and almost all the vigor I could give. I can't say we love each other or are best buddies. It still hasn't clicked in his head, but he knows why I'm so serious about everything and knows my purpose for being here. I told him this is the last time I would talk to him about this since any more times will just go in one ear and out the other. I've relaxed a little, but after listening to Elder Holland's "Missions Are Forever" talk last night, I'm fired up again... This is not only God's work, but this is MY work now. I'm committed; I'm enlisted to this great and noble cause.

I testify that the full Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood of God has been restored upon the earth. It's found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through Joseph Smith, God restored the Gospel and gave us the Book of Mormon. I am forever grateful for this. This is the greatest cause I could possibly be a part of and I am joyful and humbled to be wearing the name of Jesus Christ on my chest. This is my testimony. Jesus is the Christ. God is our Heavenly Father. Through the Atonement we can be forgiven of our mistakes and sins, and move on from them and leave stronger. I love this work and I love my Heavenly Father. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

"... they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding, and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God... they 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." - Alma 17:2-3


Australia Sydney Mission


My buddy Elder Frangia from West Point going to Malaysia, speaking Malay


Another West Pointer, Elder Holt, going to Honduras speaking.... Spanish




All the “Filipinos” in my district


The view from our classroom


My part of the lesson as we teach to a Korean member about the Book of Mormon and Prophets.


My nametag. 예수 그리스도 = Jesus Christ