Week 91: Safety for the Soul

Hello Family,

Scripture of the Week: D&C 35:24

My heart is full this morning, and i feel very strongly that i need to write this, so i am going to write this then i will talk about the happenings of this week. 

I want to talk about the Book of Mormon. I have been signing my emails with "Hold to the Rod" for the majority of my mission, but this morning i want to talk about just that, holding to the rod. I have alot of thoughts on this subject running through my mind, so i hope that what ever it is that you all need to hear makes it into this email. My favorite talk of all times is by Elder Holland, it is titled "Safety for the Soul". That is exactly what the Book of Mormon is, is safety for the soul. The Book of Mormon has an incredible power, a power to change lives, to bring true and lasting happiness, a power that i cant adequately talk about in an email. But it is a real power. A power that has truly changed my life, and i want nothing more than for it to change everyone in the worlds life.

 Joseph Smith said that The Book of Mormon is the Key stone of our religion, but i will take that even farther and say that the Book of Mormon is the key stone of our lives. A key stone holds an arch together, and when it is taken away the arch crumbles. I have observed in my own life and the lives of many others that when they stop reading the Book of Mormon, or "Holding to the Rod" that is when life begins to crumble. Now i cant promise that if we always read the Book of Mormon we wont have any trials in our lives, because that would not be consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But i can promise that as we "hold to the rod" we will always have what we need to get through our trials. I dont know that this email even says a small part of how i feel about the Book of Mormon, but that book has completely changed my life.

I have a friend  friend who  was able to overcome terrible things by reading the Book of Mormon. Before he could come on a mission he had to overcome terrible addictions. Addictions that usually take lots and lots of help to overcome, and he overcame everyone of those addictions by reading the Book of Mormon. I too have felt that same power in the Book of Mormon. I have a saying written in the cover of my Book of Mormon and it says "when temptation comes along, read the Book of Mormon and it will be gone". I wrote that there because i have used it and it works. Please always hold to the rod. 

i dont know if any of that even makes sense, and i dont know who exactly needed to hear that, but someone did, so i wrote it. 

Alright so it sounds like quite the eventful week on the home front. Not every day you just get to make a spur of the moment seven hour drive to go camping, sounds like a good time. Also sounds like Homecoming was great. That is always a good time there at the West Side. Not every year is Homecoming filled with people getting engaged though, sounds like that added some real zest to all of the West Side Hoopla. Tattles and a USU game, life doesnt get much better than that. Tried to talk president into going to a game with us this week, just so we could go, but he didnt go for that. Understandably!

The week here in the mission has been full of preparation. Its not every day that a general authority comes to your mission, so we have been going crazy getting everything all prepped for that, as he will be here on Tuesday night, and then we have Zone conferences Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Its gonna be an eventful week that is for sure. Then Saturday we will finish Prepping for Transfers and Saturday night we will make transfer calls. Everything is pretty well ready for that though. All we need to do now is call them out. Then next Tuesday will be transfer meeting  and then everyone will be off to there new areas. Always an exciting time here in the NHMM. 

Quinton with the AP bat, every AP signs this bat!

So normally i wouldnt know what is happening with me at transfer time for another week, but with my current calling i am a little bit more in the loop than i used to be. So yes i know exactly what Elder Zilles will be doing for the last two transfers of his mission. I am just trying to decide if i want to tell you this week or wait till next week to tell you.... Hmmmmm.. Ok i think i will just tell you this week. So there is quite the amazing story behind this transfer call... 

A few weeks ago i was reading through the notes from my setting apart blessing like i do quite regularly, and when i read the part about gaining a stronger testimony of the Prophet Joseph, i had the strangest feeling. then the words came to my mind clearer than anything that i would be serving in South Royalton which is where the JSM is. I thought to my self, there is no way that will happen, that is a sisters area. So then a few days go by, and we find out that one of the Sr couples at the JSM had to go home early, so now they are short staffed. So we counseled and President decided we should open a new area there in SO RO and send Elders there till we get a replacement sr couple. So by this time im starting to think, "ok maybe i did receive revelation that i will be serving there". But nothing i can really do about it, so i just went on my marry way. So then comes along this friday, and we had interviews with President. He opens the Transfer board and i see my picture in South Royalton. Next to my picture i see a blue card that says "MTC arrival" which means i will be training a new missionary. President said to me "If it were up to me i would keep you here in the office with me, but it is not up to me it is up to the lord. and i feel very strongly that you are needed in South Royalton, and i cant think of a better person to train a new missionary." so my last two transfers i will be opening a new area, training a new missionary, and also i will once again be a district leader. it is going to be an incredible last two transfers i am so excited. I cant think of a greater place to end my mission than at the birth place of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Ahh its going to be so amazing. Plus back in Vermont, what else could i ask for. I feel pretty spoiled. Its gonna be amazing. Wow its been 18 months since i trained Elder Guinn. Im just so excited. 

Well i think that is probably enough of my rambling. sure do love you all so very much. 

Hold to the Rod

Elder Zilles