Conference Weekend

Dad,

Thanks for the update. It has been a busy week and it has gone by faster than I expected. Transfers always make the week go by slow but this one went by fairly quick. Not as fast as usual but it went by and I believe it was because of Conference. So to let you know my release/travel date is February 1st. President now sends missionaries home on the Wednesday of transfers instead of the Friday. It makes it a lot easier on him and also on the missionaries. And to throw this in there, how about them Aggie's? Gee they can't finish a game! If they were able to they would be having a good season with two wins over Auburn and BYU.

As you know I have a new companion. His name is Elder Elkins. He is from Grantsville, UT. He has only lived there for about 3 years so he is really from other places but to make it simple he says Grantsville. He has been out one more transfer than I have and will be going home in December. It is his first transfer as a Zone Leader and so he is excited. I will probably only be with him for a transfer again because his next transfer he can't drive and I can't either so I will probably be leaving to a new area. But that is still 6 weeks away and we have much work to do here in the Randolph ward.

All of our investigators are still doing great. Garry and Jody will be getting married and baptized the end of November or first of December due to a put back in the divorce papers. He came to Priesthood Session on Saturday and they came to the last hour of the last session on Sunday. It was a disappointment that they only came to one half of the session. We explained the importance of Conference but they must have not understood. Which surprises me because they lived in SLC for 6+ years... But it has passed and we are moving forward. At least they came right?

Robert also came to the Priesthood Session. He enjoyed it. He is now homeless, living out of his car over by where he goes to school. He became homeless on Saturday when the friend that he was living with moved out on him. It is a tough thing to see because he is a great guy and really is loving the church and accepting the gospel. We will still be teaching him when we can or other missionaries will be teaching him that cover the area that he is staying in. I wish that I had a place for him to stay and crash for a while until he gets back on his feet but I don't. We are going to see what the Ward can do for him but the church can't do much for non-members...

Chris also came to conference for the Priesthood Session and also for the morning session on Sunday. He loved it but is feeling as if he is doing this by himself because his girlfriend is always working and isn't able to ever come. We haven't yet taught them the "Keep the Sabbath Day Holy" lesson and how important it is. I'm blessed to have the faith that as we keep the commandments that the lord will provide a way for us to accomplish them and so we are going to invite her to exercise faith and either find a new job or do what she can to get Sundays off at her job now. Hopefully that goes well..

Dana also watched Conference and loved it. She is one of the most prepared people that I have taught. She accepts everything, everything makes sense, and she recognizes the Spirit very easily. She said that she felt the Spirit so strongly as the Prophet spoke throughout the sessions. As missionaries we love it when people say that to us because they are converted and accepting it all. She will be baptized on the 29th of October for sure. She is great!

We had a cool experience yesterday after Conference. We were supposed to teach a part-member family, Brother Messina and his wife, who is a member. Well we went and it ended up that his Mom, who lived across the street, was very sick and she had asked him to stay with her because she is scared "to go". We offered to give a Priesthood Blessing and she accepted. The Spirit was very strong and it was interesting that we were going to teach Brother Messina about the Priesthood, but instead he got to see it in action. I have realized this last week that I don't focus on, or teach, the Priesthood enough. Yeah we usually hit it throughout the lessons but we never focus on the blessings of having the Priesthood and how the man in the home can hold and exercise it. The couple of lessons that we have taught his last week where we decided to talk on the priesthood have been very powerful lessons. The investigator's hearts have been touched and it has sparked an interest.

We were also honored by President Jones on Tuesday. On Monday he called Elder Peterson and I and gave us an assignment. The assignment was to go to Yorktown to attend the memorial service of Sister Jones, the sister that passed away in the fire that you asked about last week. The service was great. The tiny, little branch there was very unified and they were an example to us of charity and love. We were able to talk to the members and to support them. They told us how it happened, and how everything that led up to it was a sign that it was her time. It truly was an honor to be able to go to that and I was very grateful for the experience.

The highlight of the week, and the highlight of the year, I would say was Conference. We watched all 5 sessions at the church and I have never been so touched and taught in my life. The Spirit taught me so many things. I received so many revelations from the talks that were given. It was as if they were talking directly to me. I had questions, that I didn't realize that I had, answered throughout the whole thing. It has given me a new perspective for the last 4 months of my mission and for the rest of my life. It was the best conference that I have ever listened to and I was blessed to be able to receive so many revelations for my personal life. It was amazing...

That is about the events that happened this last week. It is surely a week to remember.

Love y'all!

Elder Harvey