July 12th, 2011

Hey dad!

It was great to hear from you. Yeah.. I don't think mom will ever not stress about something like that. I'm sure she's having fun now that it's happening and all that jazz. I've been missing funeral potatoes like crazy though. No one makes them out here. It's wierd. I guess it really is just a "mormon thing."

That's pretty intense about the whole server thing. I think we've learned the same lesson over the last few days. There was a lady that we've been teaching and I had been thinking about her alot. I couldn't figure out what we should talk about next and I'd been stressing all week about it. (I know, me? stressed?.. wierd) Anyway.. I'd been stressing and the Spirit told me probably 50 times to just go see her then. I kept thinking that was a stupid idea because it was 8:30 and she and/or her housemates would be drunk. By the time I decided to listen she had left her house for the weekend. We had missed her by ten or so minutes. So who knows what Heavenly Father had in store for her and I missed it. Hopefully, someone else will take the initiative..

The tearfully thanking is something I've been striving for lately. In the scriptures it talks about the Prophets weeping for their people because they just won't listen. In the Bible Dictionary it says that we are all prophets in the sense that we have a testimony of Jesus Christ (BD prophet). The people in Pismo Beach just wouldn't listen to us. So I've been wondering how I get to the point of weeping for them. I've been thinking I have a lack of charity, but I'm still pondering.

Oh by the way... Transfers were today. I'm not in Pismo Beach anymore. I'm in Thousand Oaks. My companion is Elder Samuel Partner. He's way cool. He was raised southern baptist. He's got a brother that's Islamic, one that's Pagan, a sister that's Jehovah's Witness, a sister that's something I don't remember, and a brother that's atheist because he's gay. We've been getting along very well already. I'm going to love this transfer I think. Last transfer was kind of tough.,.

I also know that this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore this gospel in this the last dispensation. If you haven't pondered the magnitude of what Brother Joseph did, I urge you to. I have a testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon. I know the blessings that it can and does bring into my life and the lifes of others. I know that I am here doing the Lord's work among his children in the California Ventura Mission. I know that my elder brother Jesus Christ is my Jesus. He is my Saviour and Redeemer. He is the Son of God. And I know that He lives.

I love you too dad. It's wierd how much I have come to appreciate how much you and mom have actually taught me. I've been very blessed to have you as parents. You are very special people. Thank you.

Love,

Elder J. Garth Mortensen