Message 28 November 2011

Message—28 November 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

We have survived another busy week.  Monday we attended the mission office staff meeting and coordinated assignments for the zone conferences to be held during the week of November 28^th-Dec 3^rd.  In the afternoon we drove to the Buffalo area to check three apartments; the apartments in Lockport, Niagara Falls, and Kenmore.  After checking these three apartments we had made arrangements to go to the home of Richard Grapes in North Tonawanda, so we could visit with him and his son Rick Grapes who was visiting for Thanksgiving.  Rick works in the BYU Library in the same department in which I worked.  Rick and his father took us to Ted’s, which is a well-known eating place for NY hot dogs.  The regular hot dog size is about 8 inches long, or you can have a foot long.  After eating at Ted’s, we then went to Wurlitzers Pizza which has an adjoining Ice Cream shop which sells the famous Perry’s Ice Cream.  Even though the weather was cold we still had some good Perry’s ice cream; which is almost as good as the BYU Creamery ice cream.  We arrived home about 9:30 pm.  Our late arrival home is why the blog message last week was not posted until nearly 11pm our time.

On Tuesday, Sister Jensen got up early and made some of her wonderful cinnamon rolls to take with us to Shortsville.  There were eight Elders who met us there at about 1:30pm to move out all of the furniture and other items from the apartment there; and move it all to be stored in the garage at the “White House” which is near the Palmyra Temple.  The White House is an old home on the original Joseph Smith Sen. Farm; in which there is space for three sets of sister missionaries.  The sister missionaries who had been living in Shortsville were moved to the White House the week previous.  The cinnamon rolls were for the elders who came and helped move things, and also the two sisters who came and helped finish cleaning the old Shortsville apartment.

Our district meeting was held Wednesday morning at 10 am in the chapel on English Road in Greece.  Before we left for the meeting, we checked the apartment of the two elders who live by us in Brockport.  After the meeting, we checked the apartment of the elder’s in Greece, who are also our zone leaders.

Thursday we used partly for a P-Day and then in the afternoon at 4pm we took the two elders here in Brockport and drove to Holley NY to have Thanksgiving Day dinner at the home of Brother & Sister Kimbler.  Brother Kimbler is our Ward Mission Leader and his wife is the Ward Relief Society President.  In addition Brother Kimbler’s mother came, and also John and Jackie Petranek were there; John was recently released as the first counselor in the Brockport ward bishopric.  We had a very good Thanksgiving Day dinner and visited with each other for a little while.  Yesterday in our sacrament meeting, Brother Kimbler was released as our Ward Mission Leader; and then sustained as the new Young Men’s President.  Brother Petranek was then sustained as our new Ward Mission Leader.  Brother Petranek will be a good leader and will be very helpful to the missionaries.

On Friday we went to check the apartments in Geneseo, Warsaw, and Batavia.This took the better part of the day.  We finished our P-Day work when we returned home from these three places.

On Saturday we returned to the Niagara Falls apartment to re-check it; since the apartment was very much not clean when we went on Monday.  We told the elders we would give them until Saturday to get it cleaned up, and then we would come back to see how well they had done.  When we walked in to the apartment there was a very good feeling in the apartment, we could actually feel the Spirit there, because the apartment was very clean and orderly.  The Spirit was not there in the apartment on Monday.  This was a great lesson in why it is important for the missionaries to keep their apartments clean.  When the apartments are clean the Spirit will be there to help them with their preparations; when the apartments are not clean the Spirit is not there.  I know this same principle applies to our own homes.  After checking the apartment we took the elder’s to lunch at an Italian restaurant and were able to get better acquainted with them and learn about their families and the success they are having with the missionary work in their area.

After church on Sunday we did some things to prepare for the busy week ahead with four zone conferences.  Today we went to our mission office staff meeting; and had a post-Thanksgiving discussion about things for which we are thankful.  President Christianson said he was grateful for the commandments which have been given to us; and shared some things he had written in his journal about how commandments bless our lives; they do not restrict us, they enable us to receive more blessings than we ever will by not obeying them.  We also helped with getting some last minute things ready for the zone conferences this week.

We are patiently waiting to hear from Jana how her father-in-law’s surgery for removing some cancer went today.  We hope all will be well for Norman.  We talked with Kristine and learned plans are going forward for the family to have our annual Christmas gathering on December 10^th in Utah.  We hope you all have a great time together and take some time to remember how important the Savior is to Christmas.  We know He is the Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father and has provided the great promise of being resurrected, and has also suffered more than we can know to provide the atonement to make it possible to be forgiven of our mistakes and be made clean and pure enough to return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus.  In Sunday School last week a wonderful quote was shared about the Savior and the atonement, I will share it with you.  “I bear testimony that you cannot sink further than the light and sweeping intelligence of Jesus Christ can reach.  I bear testimony that as long as there is one spark of the will to repent and to reach, He is there.  He did not just descend to your condition; he descended below it, ‘that He might be in all and through all things, the light of truth’.”  (D&C 88:6)   (The quote came from "The Infinite Atonement" by Elder Tad R. Callister, now of the Presidency of the Seventy, on page p.101.  Elder Callister is actually quoting from "Christ and the Inner Life" by Truman Madsen on page 14.)  This quote was given in connection with four principles given in the lesson manual, which are actually a process.  The principles are afflictions, prayer, self control, and obedience.  Afflictions, challenges, and trials are a natural part of mortal life which helps us to learn humility which will lead us to prayer and faith to receive help from the Lord to properly handle the afflictions.  This includes learning to control anger and other wrong behavior thereby helping us learn to properly control our behavior.  As we do this we learn to be obedient to the Lord’s will, plan, and timing.  Then we have more afflictions and start the process again and learn another lesson to help us become more like Jesus, step by step.  The atonement makes it possible to be forgiven for the times we make mistakes; and we can then try the process again each time new challenges come along.  I am a little slow at learning, but I am gradually learning more about Heavenly Father’s great love for us in providing a divine plan to help us return to Him.

We wish a happy birthday to Josh on December 1st, Alli on December 10th, Colton on December 15th, Jada on December 18th, Olivia on December 19th, and Kristine on December 22nd.

We express our great love for each of you and appreciate our associations with you.  We pray for each of you as we know you pray for us.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Maxine & Richard

Message 21 November 2011

Message—21 November 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday we did not have Mission Office Staff meeting since President Christianson had new missionaries arriving.  At 5pm on Monday we went to President & Sister Christianson’s home to meet with the President and the new missionaries and participate in the orientation of two new sister missionaries.  One is Sister Fetuli from Tonga, and the other is Sister Hatch from the North Ogden Utah area.  Sister Jensen made a very tasty fresh apple cake with a caramel sauce which we took to the orientation meeting.  We had dinner at the President’s home along with the rest of the office staff in the kitchen; and we also served President and Sister Christianson and the new sister’s and the AP’s and ate the apple cake for our desert.  We then did our part of the training; then the President invited us to stay and listen to all of the training he provides for new missionaries.  He is an awesome teacher and knows the scriptures very well, as well as quotes from many General Authorities.

Tuesday was transfer day.  We meet at the church building on Westfall Rd. in Brighton, (part of the Rochester area) for the transfers.  We go to these transfer gatherings so we can take items missionaries have asked us to get for their apartment and give them to the missionaries or the DL’s or the ZL’s to take back with them.  We also pick up from the missionaries, any clothing that has been left by missionaries who are going home.  We then sort through the clothing and save the good things and discard what is not useful, and then take the rest to a Goodwill store.  The Goodwill stores are like our DI stores.  Tuesday afternoon we went to see a few additional apartments which Elder and Sister Moses could look at on Wednesday.  Then also in the afternoon, Sister Christianson called us and asked if we would take care of a problem for her.  We went to one of the apartments where we have sister missionaries, to see if we could determine what kind of insects we could find that have been biting one of the sisters.  We suspected bedbugs, but after a thorough search of the apartment we could not find any bedbugs or spiders.  We decided we would make arrangements to go see the sister and try to determine what the bites looked like.  As we were leaving the apartment, Sister Jensen saw a large mosquito on the inside of the window by the front door; so we wondered if that is what the source of the bites was from.  We explained to the sister what to do that night so we could determine for sure what kind of insect was the source of her bites.  Tuesday evening Elder Moses called to get the addresses for the possible apartments we had located for them to look at, so they could go see the apartments on Wednesday, and decide which one they wanted, that would be safe for the asthma with which Sister Moses has trouble.

Wednesday afternoon we attended our District meeting, which was held in our apartment.  The training was about sacrifice.  For part of the training, Elder Olson, our DL, used the church produced video about John Tanner.  John was a part of the restoration of the gospel and the church at the time of Joseph Smith.  John Tanner is the grandfather of Vasco and Wilmer Tanner, who were two professors who taught me at BYU.  Wilmer Tanner just died a few weeks ago at the age of 100; he almost made it to 101.  Vasco Tanner is the father of Carol Tanner Smith who hired me as a student to work in the BYU Library after Maxine and I were married.  Carol then taught me how to be good librarian which I have done for the last 40 years.

Wednesday afternoon we went to the Mission Office and met Elder and Sister Moses who just arrived in the mission on Tuesday afternoon; they had stayed at President Christianson’s home Tuesday night.  After getting acquainted with the Moses’s; we went to Palmyra to the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center where the site missionaries, including the sister missionaries have a training meeting every Wednesday evening at 7 pm.  While there we found the sister missionary who had the insect bites.  When we saw the bites we were quite certain the bites were from mosquitoes.  We explained to the sister that we were sure the bites were from mosquitoes and told her to let us know the next morning if she had any more bites after doing what we instructed her to do to get rid of the mosquitoes.  She has not had any more trouble with the bites since then.

Also on Wednesday while at the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center we learned that two sisters who had just been transferred to a new place; one of the sisters was the new missionary from Tonga, had experienced some difficulties with people in an adjoining apartment.  After learning the details of the problem and also learning they had talked with President Christianson; we also called the President to see what he would like us to do about the problem.  He told us to find them a new apartment as soon as possible.

Thursday we spent some time on the internet, trying to find a new apartment for the sisters we talked with Wednesday night.  After searching and not having any success, Sister Jensen remembered there was an empty bedroom at the Palmyra White House, where there is room for six sister missionaries.  We called the President and asked if we could move the sisters into the empty room at the White House; he said that was a great idea.  Thursday evening we drove to the sister’s apartment and met them after they completed their assignment at the Grandin Building.  We met them at their apartment about 7:30pm and helped gather their personal items and the food items that needed to also be moved.  We then loaded their things into their car and ours, and went with them to the White House apartment and helped them get their things moved in.  They will be able to stay there for a few weeks while we find them another apartment.

Friday we checked six apartments in the Rochester Zone and then on Saturday we checked six apartments in the Palmyra North Zone.  Sunday I attended the PEC meeting for our Ward Mission Leader who was delayed getting home from Moscow Russia from a work assignment.  We also had great meetings during our regular three meeting block.

Today, Monday, we left our apartment at 9:20am and drove to Fairport to attend the Mission Office Staff Meeting.  After the meeting we stayed for a farewell lunch for those who have office space in the same building the mission office is in.  These people are moving to a different office building close by.  We had also invited the lady who is our Postal Carrier and delivers our mail to the office.  Sister Jensen got up early enough to make some home-made rolls to go with the soup and other things that were made by Sister Servoss, and Sister McVea.  In the afternoon we drove to the Buffalo area and checked the three apartments we have there.  After finishing the apartment checks we drove to the home of Richard Grapes, who is long time member of the church in North Tonawanda, which is in the Eastern outskirts of Buffalo.  His son Rick Grapes was home for Thanksgiving and we had made arrangements to visit with them and have dinner with them.  I worked with Rick in the BYU Library for about the last 20 years or so.  Richard took us to eat at Ted’s Hot Dogs; which is a popular place the local people eat.  We then drove home and arrived at 9:20pm.

It is past my bedtime, so I am going to close this message.  We hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving gatherings this week.  We hope you will take time to think of the countless blessings you have received in your life, and express to Heavenly Father your gratitude for all of your blessings.  If we will seriously think about our lives we will be able to recognize how blessed we truly are.  We hope you travel safely wherever you go and that you will appreciate your families and express your love them.

We love and appreciate all of you and thank you for the influence for good you have been, and continue to be to us.  We are so deeply grateful for your kindness and love and help in our lives; and for your prayers and thoughts in our behalf as missionaries.

Love,

Elder & Sister Jensen

Message 15 November 2011

Message—15 November 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

On Monday we attended the mission office staff meeting at 8am.  After the meeting we went to President & Sister Christianson’s home and sorted through all of the items in the trailer in the their garage.  This is all of the items from the Wellsville apartment where Elder and Sister Depew lived.  There were some things we junked because they were broken or otherwise not usable.  We rearranged the good things in the trailer so nothing would fall out when the trailer door was opened.  Monday evening we had family home evening together since President Christianson asked all of us in staff meeting to begin (or continue) doing that regularly.

Tuesday we spent the day searching various online sources to find a suitable apartment for Elder & Sister Moses, a senior couple from Houston TX who will be arriving in our mission on November 16^th for a one year mission.  We found some possible apartments for them to see after they arrive.  Sister Moses has some problems with asthma so she will need to be sure the apartment will be safe for her to live in.

Wednesday morning we had our district meeting at the chapel in Greece NY where our zone leaders, Elder Cox and Elder Campbell serve.  These two elders reported in our district meeting that they had fasted and prayed the previous Saturday to Sunday to ask for help in finding a family to teach.  Sunday morning when they arrived at the chapel, they saw a family they did not recognize.  They introduced themselves to the family and learned their last name was Torres.  The husband is a member but has not been to church for many years.  The wife is not a member, and they have twins who are 5 years old and another 1 year old child.  The wife wants to be baptized into the church and they want to work towards going to the temple to be sealed as a family.  The elders were very excited to have their fasting and prayers answered so quickly.  Elder Campbell was particularly excited because he has had a major goal on his mission to find and baptize a family.  Elder Campbell is a serious soccer fan and his favorite player is Fredrico Torres; Brother Torres is not named Fredrico, but his last name is Torres, so Elder Campbell was very happy.  Wednesday afternoon we looked for more apartments for Elder & Sister Moses.

Thursday morning about 8:20 am our daughter Kristine and Her husband Brandon arrived at our apartment.  We knew they were coming to see us, and President Christianson had given us permission to spend time with them while they were here.  They arrived Wednesday evening at the Baltimore airport and had dinner with a friend of Brandon’s, who is getting married Saturday.  Brandon and Kristine then drove part of the way to our apartment Wednesday evening/night.  They finally found a motel and spent a few hours getting some sleep, then drove the rest of the way to our apartment Thursday morning.  Right after they arrived we loaded a few things in our car and drove to the church history sites, beginning with the Hill Cumorah.  President Christianson was so kind to us to make himself available to take us to some areas of the Hill Cumorah which very few people get to see.  The president spent about a half hour with us and then got a call from some missionaries who needed his help, so he had to leave.  We were privileged to see a very large and very old sugar maple tree on the Hill; which is the oldest sugar maple in the state of NY; it is over 350 years old.  Sister Maughn was our guide for our visit to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center.  We then went to the Sacred Grove where the Prophet Joseph Smith received the first vision.  Sister Stoker was our guide for seeing the log home and frame home where the Smith Family lived; she is completing her mission tomorrow and will return home on Wednesday and will be attending BYU next semester.  We then went to Palmyra and saw the grave and monument where Alvin Smith, Joseph’s brother, was buried.  We then went to the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published.  I served as the tour guide for us, since I had done this for part of the two weeks during the pageant last July.  We then drove to Fayette to see the Peter Whitmer home, where the Church was organized on April 6, 1830.  Elder & Sister Toronto, from Spanish Fork, were the guides for the visitors center and the home.  We had a wonderful day together at the church history sites.  The weather was very cooperative for the day, there was no rain even though it was cloudy and windy and cold.  We were very blessed to feel the spirit and the peace that are in these special places.  My testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the restoration, the truth of the Book of Mormon; and the restoration of the fullness of the gospel was increased through this experience.  We also felt the Spirit tell us how central and important families are in Heavenly Father’s plan.  Being in these places with Brandon & Kristine were very special to us, and we hope also to them.

Friday morning we took Kristine and &Brandon with us to see Niagara Falls.  We took a scenic route on Highway 104 to the Falls so they could see some of the rural NY country and farms.  It was very cold when we first got to the Niagara Falls State Park, it tried snowing a little.  We braved the cold and walked out on the observation deck so Brandon could get some pictures of both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls.  As we started to leave there was some snow pellets which hit the ground; but before we got to the car the sun came out, the wind stopped blowing and it warmed up 15 degrees in less than 5 minutes.  This was quite interesting.  On the way back to our apartment we stopped at two different Amish stores in Lyndonville NY, which is very near the shore of Lake Ontario.  After we arrived at the apartment about 3:30pm, Brandon and Kristine loaded their things in their rental car and headed back to Baltimore.  They arrived in Baltimore at about 10:30 pm.  We have not heard from them since they arrived there; but they should be on the plane heading home about now, and will arrive in SLC about 12am tonight.  Since Brandon and Kristine took a number of pictures and some video also; we hope they will share these pictures with you and with us also. 

Saturday we drove to Hornell NY to help Elder Bryson and Elder Maisey move to a different apartment which is much cleaner and is not so small.  The Zone Leaders, Elder Peck & Elder Fitt came from Geneva NY, and also Elder Wilson and Elder Caldwell came from Wellsville to help do the moving and cleaning up of the old apartment.  We arrived home about 6:30 pm.

Sunday morning I attended the ward PEC meeting in place of our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Kimbler, who is in Moscow Russia on an assignment for his work.  He is a computer wizard for the Kodak Co. whose headquarters are still in Rochester.  This was the first PEC for our new bishop, Bishop Zundel; he will be a fine bishop, he has desires to see missionary work increase in the ward.

Since Thanksgiving will soon be here we hope we will all stop and consider how blessed we are, in spite of the challenges we are experiencing.  We have a beautiful world on which we live with plant and animal life to give beauty and variety to the earth.  We have life and good health, we have homes and as far as we know all but two or three of us have jobs.  The grandchildren are able to go to school and obtain an education.  We have food to eat, and freedom to worship according to Heavenly Father’s revelations.   We have the gospel and the knowledge of the doctrines and ordinances that go with it.  We know of the atonement of the Savior; and we have living prophets and apostles to help us know how to live worthy to return to be with Heavenly Father and the Savior for eternity.  We have scriptures, including the Book of Mormon.  We have wonderful families and friends to be part of our lives.  We have countless comforts, conveniences, and inventions to make life so much easier.  The list goes on and on if we stop to think about it.  Having gratitude and appreciation to Heavenly Father for all with which we are blessed will help us be more positive and add to our joy in life.

We love each of you so very much.  We pray for each of you every day and hope you will be blessed with what you need to provide for yourselves and be happy together in your families.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine

 

Message 8 November 2011

Message—8 November 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

On Halloween night we attended a social for all the senior couples in the mission at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center in the basement.  We shared an organized potluck dinner and then had some entertainment by a few of the couples.  Elder McVea did some magic tricks and also did his famous chicken dance; he is awesome at doing it.  One senior elder played his guitar and sang some old 1950’s songs.  Another senior elder quoted some cowboy poetry.  It was a fun social.

Tuesday we drove down to Hornell to check to see if an apartment the Elders there had found would be suitable for them.  The apartment they are currently living in is way too small for them to be able to meet their needs, and also has some other problems.  After seeing the new apartment, it was a great improvement over the one they are now in.  When Elder Bryson saw how much larger the bathroom was he was as excited as a young boy on Christmas morning.  We will be going down to Hornell on November 12^th to help move them in to the new apartment. 

On Wednesday I helped our two Elders here in Brockport some other ward members, move a member and her family from one old home into another old home.  The member, Sister Newbould, had rented a U-Haul truck to help us move her belongings.  On the way back from our second trip to the new home, I made a wrong turn and got lost.  I had to stop at a house and ask for directions to get back to the old house where our car was parked, so we could get to a 6pm appointment the Elders and us both had.  We had left some boxes in the truck on our trip back to get the rest of things.  Elder Swanner and Elder Olsen rode in the back of the truck to keep the boxes in the back from tipping over; I had left the roll up door in the back of the truck up a little bit so they would have some light and air.  While riding in the back, the Elders found a toy truck.  They tied a string on to the truck and let it out on to the road.  At first it did fine then as we picked up speed the string broke and the truck went off the side of the road.  The Elders then started throwing a Frisbee around inside the back of the truck.  It got away from them and rolled out the back and was rolling along the road on its edge.  A car that was following the truck tried to dodge the frisbee and ended up screeching to a stop, but no one was hurt and no damage was done to the car.  Sometimes elders have too much fun on their missions.

Wednesday evening we went with the elders to have dinner with a wonderful member couple, Lee and Loraine Arrington.  The elders have been helping Lee, during their 4 hours a week service time, put in a winding rock sidewalk from their driveway to the front door.  Lee is a very talented person.  He does beautiful woodwork of many kinds.  He can weld and do many other things.  He has offered to give me some instructions on doing lathe work, and building a bowl or something on my P-Day.  We had a lovely dinner and visit and shared some gospel messages with the Arrington’s. 

Thursday we went to the mission office and spent the morning helping with some projects.  We also went to the storage units where we keep furniture and other supplies for the missionary apartments.  We did some reorganizing and helped the AP’s get some things they needed to give to some of the zone leaders to take to some missionaries.

On Friday we drove down to the far South of our mission to the town of Wellsville to help the two Elders there move into a different apartment across the street from where they were living.  The reason for doing this was so the apartment owner could do some work on the old apartment and fix it up.  The new apartment was nicer than where they have been living.  Elder Wilson and Elder Caldwell are two of the most obedient missionaries in the mission.  They have been greatly blessed in finding people to teach; and they have had baptisms as well.

Saturday we finally had P-Day so we could get the wash done, and the apartment cleaned up.  It was very helpful to have this time to take care of things that we have had to let go for 2 weeks.

Sunday was a wonderful day at church.  We had a great Fast & Testimony meeting.  The elders had two investigators who attended for the 2^nd week in a row.  One of the recent converts, Sidney, was asked to help teach the Primary Sunbeam class.  We gave her a ride to church and she was nervous about doing this before the meeting.  After the meetings were over Sidney said she had a great spiritual experience with the children.  She said they knew all the answers to the questions in the lesson.  Sunday evening we had the elders; Marin and Sidney two recent converts who attend College; and two of Marin’s roommates, Stephanie and Yazzini, who are not members, come to dinner.  They then stayed to see the CES Fireside broadcast with President Packer as the speaker.  We had a great experience together and Stephanie and Yazzini felt the power of the Spirit from President Packers talk.  Stephanie is a music major at the Roberts Wesleyan College; and she was asked by the Primary President to play the piano next week at Primary as a substitute for the person who usually plays the piano.  She accepted and is excited to do it.

Today after the Mission Office Staff meeting we went to the Mission Presidents home and rearranged the load of furniture and other things in an enclosed trailer at the president’s home.  Some of these things will be needed by a new senior couple who will be arriving in the mission next week.  We were given an assignment by the president to find an apartment for this new senior missionary couple, and get it furnished for them.  They will be working with the ASL Branch in the Rochester Stake.  We also drove a new car, a Toyota Corolla, back to our apartment with us for the elders here.  There old car, a Mazda, has over 49000 miles on it and is being replaced.

We express our sincere sympathy and love for Josh and April and Josh’s family at the passing of Josh’s brother, Kelly.  We pray for Susan, Kelly’s mother, and all of her family that the peace and comfort provided by the Savior and his atonement will sustain and support them and help them to carry on in their lives with faith and hope in Heavenly Father’s eternal plan.  Kelly’s funeral was today, Josh was asked to speak at the funeral.  I was able to help Josh last Thursday, find some sources to help him with preparing his talk.  We have not heard a report on how the funeral was.  We will be praying for Olivia as she goes through the challenges of getting a hearing aid and learning to leave it in her ear.  Her right ear is the one that needs some assistance to enable her to hear.  We continue to pray for Norm Erickson that he can get his heart to function right so he can go through the treatments needed to help him have his cancer go into remission.  We hope Austin continues to recover from the serious infection he has had; and also that he will not have any problems in the future from this infection and immunity problems.

We share our testimony of the truths of the restoration and the fullness of the gospel which has come through the prophets of this dispensation from Joseph Smith to President Monson.  We know and witness the Book of Mormon is a very powerful testimony of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.   We know Heavenly Father lives and is very much involved in the details of our lives and answers prayers according to His wisdom and timing.  We also know the Savior lives and provided the atonement so we can repent; and he also suffered death and was resurrected and we will all be resurrected also.  The gospel is perfectly true and correct.  We are very grateful to be serving as missionaries.  We love you all and pray for your well-being and happiness.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine