Howdy everybody!
It's week 5 in Spanish Fork! Holy cow, where did the time go? Elder De
Leon has been here for a long time now, so we're pretty sure that he
will be leaving the area. Sad. :'(  .
So, who's looking forward to General Conference? I can't wait!
Seriously, it's like to Super Bowl, but way cooler. And don't quote me
on this, but someone was telling me that it has been since 1904 that
three Apostles have been called at once. Exciting, huh?
Aside from that, we have an opportunity to hear the prophet of the
Lord speak. That idea has never filled me with so much awe as it does
now. The Lord speaks to President Thomas S. Monson, and our beloved
prophet conveys the word of the Lord to us. Our other church leaders,
all inspired men and women, will also speak to us as directed by the
spirit.
I can't believe that I used to think that General Conference was
boring. Let's all be listening and o hear what the Lord wants us to
hear.
Love y'all!

Elder Muller Muller Muller

Hi, everyone!
So, it looks like I am leaving Nephi. We got our transfer calls this
morning. I will be leaving Wednesday morning, and I will find out
where I am going when I get to the transfer meeting. My companion,
Elder Hamilton, will stay in Nephi as district leader, and they asked
him to train! I'm pretty sure that I am feeling better about myself
than he is.
In other news, this week has been really great! There is so much work
to do here in Nephi. Today we had a zone activity, and we went out to
the Jerusalem set, where they film all the Bible Videos that the
Church produces. That was a really neat experience. The authenticity
of the entire place was incredible, and you could imagine yourself
walking the roads that the Savior walked during His mortal ministry.
There is a very powerful spirit there. There was a a pair of Senior
Missionaries guiding the tour, and they had so many incredible stories
to tell about the building of the set, the production of those videos,
and the opportunities that they have had to share the gospel. I hope
to go back again someday. I don't think that they let tour groups
through there very often.
Anyway, I am really going to miss Nephi. The people here are so
amazing, and, I'll be honest, I've grown comfortable here. I think
that that is why I am being moved. The whole point of this life is to
grow, but as a very wise man once said, "there is no growth in a
comfort zone, and there is no comfort in a growth zone." I have no
idea who said that, but how true it is! If he Lord wants to help us
grow, how can He if we have become complacent? So He changes things
around, He lets us face new challenges, and we have new opportunities
to grow. So I am grateful that I am being transferred. I am looking
forward to seeing what the Lord still has in store for me.
Talk to y'all next week!
Elder Miller

(No Subject)

Jonathan Miller

 

 

8/24/15

 

 

To: Tori Pickens, Sister Markel, Sister LeDoux, Sister Gibson, Sister Burdett, Sister Bishop, Mom, Melissa, Wells, Thornley, Rimer, Prior, Oswald, Martell, Hornbeck, Dad, Brother Tinsley

Howdy y'all!!!
Another week has gone by. Hey, I remembered to email 2 weeks in a row.
I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. This week has been really good.
It's been hot, my companion has been sick, and everyone is going back
to school, but it was still good. Weird how that works, huh?
The transfer is almost over already! In just a week, we find out if we
are staying or going. I really hope that I will get to stay here in
Nephi. I also hope that I get to keep Elder Hamilton as mi compañero.
He has been awesome to work with, and I hope to keep doing so. Anyway,
Nephi is doing great! The work has been slowly picking up these last
few weeks. Next month three people will enter the waters of baptism.
It's been so interesting and so humbling to see the windows of heaven
open in this area. All we did was put forth a little more effort, and
look what happened. I feel like Ammon, who had such great joy in the
work that he was led to boast in his God. I know that the hand of the
Lord is here in Nephi. No matter who it is that is serving here, the
Lord is in control of it all. He will continue to further His work,
anywhere and everywhere on the world.
Love y'all!
Until next week

Elder Miller

Nephi

Jonathan Miller

 

 

8/17/15

 

 

To: Tori Pickens, Sister Markel, Sister LeDoux, Sister Gibson, Sister Burdett, Sister Bishop, Mom, Melissa, Wells, Thornley, Rimer, Prior, Oswald, Martell, Hornbeck, Dad, Brother Tinsley

Howdy!!!
It has been sooooo long since I have written everybody, and for that,
I apologize. I am trying to repent of that.
Quick update: I am still serving in Nephi. I have been here for almost
4 months. I am driving a Toyota Corolla (#no acceleration), and my
companion is Elder Hamilton. He is from Houston, Texas, and he has
been on his mission for 21 months. It has been a lot of fun working
with him.
This area has had its ups and downs since I got here. There have been
times of great productivity, and there have been times when there has
been a bit of a famine. This is one of those times when things are
flourishing. We have around 50 people that we are actively teaching,
with a lot more prospects on the horizon. The Lord is blessing this
area, far more than Elder Hamilton and I have earned.
It has been amazing to see the tender mercies of the Lord as I have
been here, especially during the down times. It was harder to see them
then, but looking back now, the Lord has had His hand in the work the
whole time. It reminds me of, in the Book of Mormon, when Ammon was
giving a summary of their mission to Lamanites. He talked about the
times when there hearts were depressed, and when they desired to turn
back. There have been a few times when I was just about to hit bottom,
and then something would happen; I would meet someone, or teach a
lesson, or hear a talk in sacrament meeting, that was exactly what I
needed to keep going. Often times, those tender mercies come so gently
that we have trouble recognizing them. But as we pray for the Lord to
open our eyes, He does. And then we see just how much He cares. And it
is such a humbling experience.
That is what I have been experiencing the most. The adversary is all
about the noise, the distractions, the bright colors. The Lord works
quietly, gently, sometimes even anonymously. As we serve others the
way that He serves us, we come to know Him better, and we become more
like Him.
I love you all.
Elder Miller

By small and simple things

Jonathan Miller

 

 

6:35 PM

 

 

To: Tori Pickens, Sister Markel, Sister LeDoux, Sister Gibson, Sister Burdett, Sister Bishop, Mom, Melissa, Elder Wells, Elder Thornley, Elder Rimer, Elder Prior, Elder Oswald, Elder Martell, Elder Hornbeck, Dad, Brother Tinsley

Hi everyone!
This week has been great! This area is super busy, and we are looking
at having two baptisms this next week. Good things are happening.
So, this is my last full week in the Utah, St. George Mission. On the
1st, I will be a Provo missionary. I'll try not to break anything
(like the mission, for example). Anyway, next week we will have
interviews with the new mission President. That is both exciting and
terrifying. What will he be like? What kind of rules will he make for
the mission? What kind of person is he? Naturally, we are all a little
curious. But, of course, no matter what he is like, he has been called
of God to be the Provo Mission President, and that is enough for me.
The Mormon Miracle Pageant is going on this week. I have never seen
it, but I have heard about how great it is. We will be going down to
Manti on Friday to see it, and I am super excited. We went on
Saturday, but we just stayed to greet people; we left before it
started.
Something happened yesterday, that has happened a thousand times, but
for some reason really struck me this time. We went to contact an
inactive man, who told us to go away, and said something to the effect
of, "I served a mission; I know what it is all about; leave me alone."
Seeing that tore me up inside. This man had been exactly where I am
right now, with the fire of the spirit burning in his soul, testifying
to the world of the truth of the Gospel. What on earth happened to
cause such a change? The answer: very little.
This past week was zone conference, and our mission President spoke to
us about obedience. He talked about the very little things, that over
time cause a huge change in us. Daily prayer, scripture study, the
small acts of obedience, will over time transform us into sanctified
disciples of Jesus Christ. On the flip side, failing to do those
things will over time degrade us to the point that we will lose the
spirit. When that happens, our vision becomes clouded, and the
adversary easily leads us away from our Father in Heaven.
So when the time comes to choose, we absolutely cannot afford to move
even an inch! Because one bad choice becomes two, then a dozen. You
know what happens to a snowball when it rolls down a hill.
The Savior has commissioned us to be perfect, even as He and the
Father are perfect. Obviously, none of us are, but should that keep us
from trying? Will we ever be perfect if we never try? Of course not.
Perfection may not be possible through our own power, but as we deny
ourselves of ALL ungodliness and offer our WHOLE souls as an offering
unto God, then we are perfected through the power of the Atonement.
Nothing less will work.
This is coming from a person who is anything but perfect. I know
exactly how hard it is. But is it worth the effort? Is it worth the
pain? Absolutely. The cost is nothing when compared to the reward:
everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.
I love all of you. When I get to that place that God has prepared, it
is the wish of my heart to see everyone I love there. And I know that
it is through obedience to all of God's commandments that we can all
be there one day.
Elder Miller

Hiya!

That's "hi, how are ya", not the death cry of a ninja warrior. 

This has been a great week. I have to say, I felt kinda weird packing up all my stuff to move across town. But it has turned out to be a great experience. The work is going really well in this area. There are so many opportunities to teach and serve. We had the opportunity to help out with a fence building project up in the mountains. That sound kinda epic; "In the mountains". I tell you what, though, I didn't feel epic climbing that last slope. I wanted to curl up and die. Its amazing how little energy you have in a low oxygen environment. 

On a more spiritual note, I have gained a greater testimony of the healing and converting power that service has, both on those serving, and those being served. We also had the chance to help an inactive man. All we did was hang some kitchen cabinets for him. But that man came back to church this last Sunday, for the first time in over fifty years.

I worry that sometimes we think that the work of salvation is too hard. How can we, through our own efforts, help others to come unto Christ? Well, that's the whole point, isn't it? If we try to do the Lord's work on our own, how would we ever succeed? Who in their right mind would send out a bunch of 18+ year old's to share the gospel with the world, if the work depended on their own strength and abilities? The work would be doomed.

But the Lord's work is just that; His. He stands at the helm. I will admit, there are moments when the work is hard. There are times that the Lord needs to teach us a lesson. But never, for even a brief moment, believe that we are shouldering this work alone. We may at times look around, and all we can see is the talents and abilities of others, and the fruit of their efforts. But when the Lord of the Vineyard called His laborers at the end of the day, to give them their wage, who received more? No one. All were rewarded equally, because each had done the duty assigned to him, and had labored while the day lasted. So it is with us. We are the laborers, and we have each been given a work to do. No matter how "great" or "small" that work is, if we do our part, the reward is the same: everlasting salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven. I know that these things are true, and I bear that witness in the name of the Lord of the Vineyard, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Elder Miller

Hi, y'all!
So, this is an interesting development. Here goes: with the creation
of the new Utah Orem Mission, the boundaries of several missions are
being redrawn. As a result, missionaries are moving, and basically a
lot of people are freaking out. But as of July 1st, I will be serving
in the Utah Provo Mission! To those of you who are saying "okay, so?"
let me just say that this is a huge deal for missionaries in the
field. My mission call is essentially being changed.
I have to say that I was freaking out at first, but the Lord has
blessed me with peace. He really does hear prayers, and, as He
promised His Apostles, He does not leave us comfortless (John
14:18,26-27). And now, as I am undergoing such a big change, with new
leadership, new mission rules, new goals, new expectations, I feel at
peace about all of it. And I know that it comes through faith in the
Savior, however small that faith may be. I know that He is in control,
and that He is watching over each of us. All we have to do is trust
Him, and He will lead us, and we will know that we are led by Him.
As far as transfers go, I am being transferred. I actually think that
it's kinda funny. I am being transferred all the way to Nephi South
Stake. So I have to pack all my stuff to move 5 minutes to the South.
Nice; I can't wait. My new companion will be Elder Slate, from North
Carolina. I've met him before, and he is a pretty cool Elder. I'm
excited.
Love you all. Next email will be from the Provo Mission.
Elder Miller