Elder Andrew Edholm -- week 72

 Aracy got baptized on Saturday! I was able to perform the Baptism and my companion Elder Kaiser confirmed her and gave her the Gift of the Holy Ghost! The whole thing was a spiritual experience. This was one of my favorite scriptures that we shared with her. Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

We also started teaching a Venezuelan family this week. They are all very nice and very smart. They have lived here in the U.S. for 3 years, and it's the father and the mother, a 13 year old son, and a 10 year old daughter. We showed them this video and they really enjoyed it.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/holiday-videos/2014-00-1460-he-is-the-gift?lang=eng

Today I just wanted to share two scriptures that have really hit my this week. I think u might have already shared them in the past.

1 Nephi 19:9, "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men."

2 Nephi 9:7,21  "7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement... 21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam."

I've just been feeling very grateful for the Atonement and sacrifice that my savior did for me. I hope you like these verses because they helped me a lot!

Elder Edholm

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball

Religious Non-Fiction. I haven't read a lot of religious non-fiction books in my lifetime, really non-fiction books in general, at least not ones that weren't assigned to read. I decided to read this one because my son had and he gave me some quotes from the book that were inspiring so I downloaded it on my phone and started to read. It's not a lengthy book and reads easily. The author, past president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, uses plain language to communicate the necessity of repenting daily and the healing balm of peace that comes with forgiveness. I appreciated his insights from his long life of counseling with others and seeing lives put back together when it seemed that would be an impossible feat. 

Recommend: Yes

Elder Andrew Edholm - week 71

 This last week went really well! Someone that we are teaching expressed to us that she wanted to get baptized! Her name is Aracy and she is the sister of a member that also lives here in the Salt Lake Valley. She had been taught with the missionaries before, but seemed to really open up as we started teaching her a little less than 2 months ago. She has a very strong belief in the power of the Holy Spirit and how he speaks to us individually and protects us. She gave us the perfect example of what the Spirit does, she said that he is the bridge between us, and Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I know that the Holy Spirit is in the major ways They speak to us and help us in this life. Aracy is going to be baptized this upcoming weekend on Saturday, the 28 of November. I think the only people that are more excited than she, is my companion and I!

News update: This week we will be able to have thanksgiving dinner with other missionaries! We'll eat with the other missionaries in our district, who are Elder Hendrickson and Olenslager, and Sister Tapia and Walton.

This week in my personal study I read some verses that really stuck out to me. They are found in 2 Nephi 4:17-21,23 and John 14:27.

        "17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.

19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions...

        21 He hath filled me with his love...

        23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge..."

        "27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

After hearing the invitation by the prophet, Russell M. Nelson, I think these scriptures are very much applicable to my life. Even though I have received countless blessing from the Lord, I tend to focus on the the bad. I really love how Nephi changes his focus to the blessings he has received after verse 19. I also appreciate the comforting words of the Savior in the book of John. Sometimes I get down on myself 'because of my flesh', as how Nephi puts it, for just being human and imperfect. But as I focus on the good, the blessings, and on the redeemder, I can open myself to more of the peace that Christ is giving freely, and I can be assured that my heart will not be troubled or afraid.

I Hope you guys liked what I learned this week! Love you guys!

Elder Edholm

The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis

 Junior Fantasy Fiction. This was a quick read about a brother and sister on holiday in England. They discover magical moles which allows them to time travel back a hundred years to meet the family who lived in the house they are renting for their holiday. It has a nice plot, but the story is so short that there isn't much character development which was a distraction for me. This reminded me a bit of the authors E. Nesbit and Edward Eager, whom I love, but the story needed twice as many chapters to do the plot justice. 

Recommend: Maybe

Elder Andrew Edholm -- week 70

This last week went well, we didn't get to have lessons with some people that we are teaching because they got extremely busy this week, but we are going to be able to meet with them this week. Someone that we were able to meet with though was Gonzalo and Francesca. We went over and got to know them a little bit. They are from Venezuela but then moved to Panama after they got married and they said they thought they were going to be there for the rest of their lives basically, but then Covid-19 happened and they found themselves here in the US. They are both incredibly nice and we were able to share a scripture about faith and how that has played a role in their lives. It was a really good lesson. He told us that he wasn't going to be able to make it to church yesterday, because he was going to have to work, but then he showed up! He told us that as soon as he found out he wasn't going to have to work, he started getting ready for church. Francesca wasn't able to make it though because had to work. We are really excited to meet with them again and share some more scriptures! We were also able to teach Odali this last week too, he's from the Dominican Republic. I'll tell more how things went next week because we also have a time to meet with him this week. 

Today I'd like to talk about something that I learned in my personal study this last week. I was reading in 1 Nephi chapter 11 about the meaning of the Tree of Life.

Here's a link to the story of the Tree of Life if you want to read it first.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8?lang=eng

Or the video

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2019-07-0400-lehi-sees-a-vision-of-the-tree-of-life?lang=eng&collectionId=b08d5ec3db284cf39744b3831a04a250

In versus 22, 23, And 25 of chapter 11 it says, "Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

        23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

        25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God."

I never realized before how it correlates the Tree to the love of God, and then it says that the Tree is also the 'fountain of living waters'. We also hear basically that phrase of living water in John 4:10-14, with the woman at the Well. Christ says that he gives the living water, so we could say he is the 'fountain of living waters'. The way that we feel more of the love of God in our lives is by growing closer to the Savior. I feel like it also goes the other way around, we know that we are bettering our relationship with Christ if we feel God's love more in our lives. 

Love you guys! Hope you liked my insights!

- Elder Edholm

Andy and his new companion, Elder Kaiser

The Mad Wolf's Daughter by Diane Magras

 Junior Fiction Fantasy. Drest is the youngest daughter of the Mad Wolf, a raiding bandit, and she must rescue her father and all her brothers. This story is set in medieval Scotland and includes witches, healers, bandits, and one feisty twelve year old. This story moved quickly and I found myself finishing it in just a few hours. There is a sequel, The Hunt for the Mad Wolf's Daughter, which I immediately put on hold. Drest has a limited view of the world being brought up by her father and many brothers. She takes everything they say as the whole truth. In her brave adventures she learns that not everyone sees her family as she does and that her family may not be as perfect as she thought. At the same time she decides that she can be who she is because of herself and not because of her family's past. She learns that people can love and be imperfect. She learns to trust and be braver than she thought she could. Great story!

Recommend: Yes

Elder Andrew Edholm -- Week 69

 This week I got a new companion! Elder Kaiser! He's from southern California, a city called Wildomar, he was supposed to go to Bogota Colombia but got reassigned to this mission. This is his first transfer so I'm training him. He doesn't know Spanish so I have to do all of the talking during lessons, with members, and with other Spanish speakers we run into. My Spanish is still not the best, but I can do everything that I need to, so I'm not complaining too much, plus my Spanish will get better because I'm using it more. Yesterday we had three people come to church, Ruby was able to come with her husband and we going to set up a lesson with them this week. They are really awesome, they make it very natural to talk with them, and they know both Spanish and English so Elder Kaiser will be able to understand and add his insights. The other two people that came to church are a Venezuelan couple who are friends of the Brito family, who are also from Venezuela. The husband's name is Gonzalo and the wife's is Francesca, they got to the U.S. at the beginning of September and they seem extremely nice! We also have a lesson set up in this week to pass and get to know them a little more.

I was able to finish the Book of Mormon for the second time in Spanish on Saturday! My goal is to finish it two more times before I get home, which is in about 8 months. My Spanish is better than how it was at the beginning of my mission, so I'm going to be able to dive deeper into how Spanish conveys the meaning of the scriptures. 

Here's a scriptures that really stuck out to me as I read this week, it's found in the Book of Mormon. 

Moroni 10:32-33, 

"32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot."

I really love how it says that we need to love God through our actions, with should love him with all our "might, mind, and strength". I truly know that I'm showing my love for the Lord through serving a mission, that I'm working with all my might, mind, and strength to share what has brought me so much happiness. I hope all of you share the things that have brought you joy to everyone around you.

Sorry this letter was so long, but I hope you liked it! Love you guys!

Elder Edholm