Cool week! - from 03/27/17

Cool week!

Our investigators and members are doing well!
Had a lesson on Tuesday with out investigator that has a baptismal
date for in a couple weeks. We taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and
he asked about the word of wisdom. So we explained the word of wisdom
and said he has to stop 10 days prior to his baptism and he said he
had already been cutting back from 1 pot to 1 cup. Awesome. In our
last lesson with him he said that today, Monday, he was going to not
drink coffee. He talked about the blessing that he has seen come with
not drinking it. He sleeps better and doesn't have heart burn or
anything. He feels way better. Awesome.

On Wednesday we were on exchanges and I was leading out. So we went to
go try this potential investigator but she left right as we pulled up.
So we decided to tract the neighborhood. We talked to this guy that
said to come back tomorrow. He didn't seem to interested though. So we
walked back to the car and got in and I looked at this one house and I
felt like we should go try it. So I asked elder Robertson if he thinks
we should try the house and he said sure. So we did and the guy opened
the door and said oh I have a church. Haha so I said... haha the
spirit defiantly guided me to say this because it is what sparked his
interest and usually I would never say anything like this but I said,
"oh that's cool. Well something cool about our church is we have
answers to questions that other churches don't. Other churches don't
know the things we do. We have answers such as where we come from and
why we are on earth and where we go after we die." So he then asked,
"where do we go when we die?" So we started explaining and he said
come in. So we had a nice talk for 30 minutes sharing scriptures and
stuff. We actually ended up teaching the second half of the plan of
salvation and the second half of the restoration and we gave him a
Book of Mormon and he said he was going to read it and that we could
come by if we were in the area again. I'm glad elder Robertson and I
listened to that prompting!

We also had a lesson with this referral. I'm starting to get bold.
I've learned that it's best to not just dance around the point you're
trying to make. This guy said he always goes to his brother and asks
him questions sense he is a bishop in some kind of church. But we
taught him the restoration and I said towards the end, "if you ask
your brother if this book is real he will say no. Our church is the
only church that believes in this book. But i encourage you to pray
and ask god if it is true and not your brother because your brother
doesn't have all the answers, god does so ask him." Haha I was afraid
of the answer but he agreed and said yea! Haha
Being bold is scary but it's so much easier honestly.

We had a good lesson with the one member and his girlfriend about the
gospel of Jesus Christ and invited them to come to church. And they
have said they didn't want to come yet, but this time they said they
would think about it. They came to church! The girlfriend was scared
because she didn't have a dress but she came anyway! It was wonderful.
We had a lot of people show up to church this week. A couple of
investigators and some members. While there in church I was looking
around at all the people that we teach that came to church and I was
so happy. Then I realized that one was missing. We had an amazing,
powerful, touching, spiritually uplifting, just absolutely astoundingly
 spiritual lesson with this person. Our commitment to her
was to come to church, and this lesson was just absolutely great. And
I couldn't find her. I was like man! The one is missing! This is what
Christ means when he leaves the 99 and gets the 1 lost sheep! Man we
got to go get her! Sacrament meeting was over and I see her walk out
of the back corner of the church! She did come! I just couldn't see
her! Man I was so happy.

Last night elder Ramos had an impression to go see this lady that told
someone she doesn't want to be a part of the church. I didn't feel
like it was right so we stopped the car next to this apartment complex
and talked about it. While there next to that complex I had the
thought to try to see this one member that we have been trying to get
ahold of but I let it go. We ended up trying to see the lady and she
wasn't home. In the way back we drove by the complex again and I
couldn't stop thinking that we needed to go see the member. So I
finally said to just go try him. We did and he was there! He let us
in! We had a nice visit. We gave him a blessing and read some
scriptures. We talked about how we hold to the iron rod to return to
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and our families. He said a closing
prayer that touched my heart. He is a very blunt person and
pessimistic. But in his prayer he said, "I want to learn how to
communicate with you. I want to learn and grow. Help me do that." That
was great. Elder Ramos when we left said that was the most heartfelt
prayer he has ever said. Man the amount of love I have for that guy is
indescribable. There is always a member that has been trodden down and
testimony is failing that I always just am drawn to. This man is that
person that I am drawn to. I want to help him so badly. I want to wrap
him under my wing and just protect him and help him get better in
testimony and spirit. Kind of like a protecting mother. I don't know
how to describe it, probably sounds weird. But I love him. I love
those people that I am drawn to in each area. Something about them, I
just want to help. Always one person I am drawn to in an area. Maybe
that is a spiritual gift I have- to lift and care for the weary and
broken down in spirit.

Man I love this mission. It makes me so happy.
I love the people here in Pennsylvania! I love Pennsylvania! Can you
believe that? I love it! The people here are great and I feel I am
finally starting to understand why I was sent here and I feel I am
starting to be able to have charity, true Christlike love for the
people here that we see! I love these people. I pray everyday that I
can help them, but what ends up happening is they help me. They teach
me. They help me grow closer to Christ and learn more about Him. This
mission, the decision I made to come out here was the best decision
I've made in my entire life. I've defiantly learned a lot. Had a lot
of trials a lot of mountains, and a lot of tender mercies lots of
mountain top views! It is worth it. I've grown closer to my savior in
every way. I've strengthened my relationship with my father in heaven.
I love them. They love me. I just am so grateful that I didn't quit on
my mission. There have been times I've wanted to honestly. But man I'm
glad I didn't. This truly is the best time of my life. In the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

Alma 20:6. Every day make ready your horses and chariots the second
you rise in the morning to run an errand for the Lord.

Love Elder Segon
So fresh and so clean.

So, So, So, cold - from 3/20/17

So this week was super long! It was a great week though.
We had a snow storm blow through so we hung out all day on Tuesday I believe.
So the people we have been teaching are progressing.
One girl who doesn't have a bunch of knowledge about religion at all totally opened up and she said she totally felt the spirit when she read the Book of Mormon. It was awesome.
You know I just really love the Book of Mormon so much.
Another investigator is so awesome. During gospel principles we got into some insanely deep doctrine about Adam and Eve and he was totally into it. And we taught the plan of salvation to him and he said it makes sense and he believes it! He is so awesome!
I love elder Ramos. He is so fun.
We have some conference tomorrow so I'm excited about it.
You know Satan is pretty annoying.
Mom sent me money this week so I got new service pants! Thanks mom!!!
Seriously. I don't know what else to say other than I love this area so much and I love my companion and I love the investigators and members and... it's just kind of perfect right now... I know this is only going to last for not long but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
I love this mission. I'm so grateful to be on a mission. I seriously am in such debt to my family for helping pay for me out here. So so grateful.
Oh on Friday I received a text from bishop asking if I could give a 15-20 minute talk on Sunday. So I said ya. And it was game time baby. I whipped up a talk about gratitude on the sabbath day in a day and I gave it. The members were very nice and told me I did a good job.
Seriously... I just kind of wish things could stay like is forever. I seriously love it right now.
I love my family and all my friends and miss you all!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤


This is my talk.

******************************************************************************
Good morning. I'm Elder Segon.


Recieved a text from bishop on Friday afternoon asking if I could give a talk and here I am. So forgive me if I stutter or get lost I am not a good speaker.

I may not mention in every story gratitude but my talk will share things that I am grateful for and I pray that you might receive the message you need to hear or feel today.

My talk is about gratitude on the Sabbath themed after the talk from president eyring from this last general conference.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about gratitude on the Sabbath is the sacrament meeting.

We are truly so blessed to be able to be assembled together to bless each other with testimonies, love, and friendship. The testimonies I hear, whether young or old, are so special to me. I love to hear the children share their simple yet striking, thought provoking, honest testimonies. They are powerful. In Erie there was a young boy at the age of around 10 that shared his testimony on a fast Sunday. I don't remember what he said but I do remember that I was filled with wonder and amazement at this testimony. His testimony was true and pure. I felt the spirit in that moment just as strongly as I would in a session of general conference. I love to hear the testimonies of the wise and learned. They are powerful. Also in Erie there was a Sunday that all the elderly that hadn't been able to attend for varying reasons where able to attend. In that sacrament meeting each one of them passed around a microphone in the very back and bore powerful testimonies that where very simple and foundational. I remember that I didn't even turn around because I was in such awe at the power of their testimonies. I began to cry a little. I felt weird so I looked around to see if I was the only one crying and boy I wasn't. Those testimonies filled the room with the spirit of god and everyone knew it. I am grateful for all the testimonies I get to hear each Sunday. They fill me with joy. They help me grow stronger in mine own testimony. They edify my soul.


We can also show our gratitude by sharing our testimonies. D&C 62:3 Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you. God hears the testimonies we bear and they are recorded for your good. As you share your testimonies angels rejoice and Heavenly Father is overcome with tears of joy.

Another thing that comes to mind is the ordinance of sacrament itself. I am grateful to the Lord for laying down His life for me.

In a talk by Elder Renlund he speaks about an experience a friend of his had involving the sacrament. "When Diane was a new convert, she attended a branch outside of Johannesburg. One Sunday, as she sat in the congregation, the layout of the chapel made it so that the deacon did not see her as the sacrament was passed. Diane was disappointed but said nothing. Another member noted the omission and mentioned it to the branch president after the meeting. As Sunday School began, Diane was invited to an empty classroom.
A priesthood holder came in. He knelt down, blessed some bread, and handed her a piece. She ate it. He knelt down again and blessed some water and handed her a small cup. She drank it. Thereafter, Diane had two thoughts in rapid succession: First, 'Oh, he [the priesthood holder] did this just for me.' And then, 'Oh, He [the Savior] did this just for me.' Diane felt Heavenly Father’s love.
Her realization that the Savior’s sacrifice was just for her helped her feel close to Him and fueled an overwhelming desire to keep that feeling in her heart, not just on Sunday but every day. She realized that although she sat in a congregation to partake of the sacrament, the covenants she made anew each Sunday were individually hers. The sacrament helped--and continues to help--Diane feel the power of godly love, recognize the Lord’s hand in her life, and draw closer to the Savior."

Diane felt gratitude for the saviors personal sacrifice for her as she took and pondered the sacrament.

The sacrament is personal. It's a time of meditation and covenant making and reflecting. Last Sunday during the sacrament I closed my eyes. I imagined the chapel empty save a couple people. I imagined me sitting where I was in the back, the priesthood holders who blessed and the one priesthood holder who came to me. I also imagined the savior sitting in the front where the bishop is. I imagined that as the sacrament was being passed to me the savior and I having a conversation about what occurred the past week and what I was going to do this week. I imagined me asking forgiveness of my shortcomings. I imagined his graceful responses. That sacrament was most sweet as I made it personal. I am grateful for the opportunity to partake of the sacrament each week and the knowledge that it is personal.

I am grateful for the restoration of the gospel and the priesthood keys that enable these meetings to be directed by the Lord. For hundreds and hundreds of years the world was not able to partake the sacrament ordinance for the keys were nowhere to be found. In the 1800 after years of being lost the priesthood was restored! We have the opportunity to partake weekly of this sacred ordinance when others before never had. It is a sweet feeling to know that this meeting is ordained by God and he is in control of it.

I am grateful to be able to spend time with family each Sunday. Although I am over 2000 miles away from my brothers and sister and mom and dad, this Ward is my family even though I have only been here about a week. Back home during the sacrament meeting my mom would always hold my hands and rub them, or rub my back or something. She always teasingly asked "you're going to miss this on your mission huh?" My dad would always use his smart phone to pull up a hymn while I was trying to beat him to the correct hymn in the hymn book. He would pull it up before me and tease me that he was quicker. He cheated just so you know. He always had it pulled up before hand so all he had to do was turn on his phone. Being able to meet and get to know this lewisberg family is a blessing. There is such love here. I am grateful for the sabbath that we may gather as families- blood or Ward families- and love one another.

I am grateful as I reflect that our Heavenly Father has given this day of rest to us because he loves us. He knows what's best for us. And because he wants us to be happy he has given us this gospel and church. I am grateful for this organization. I am grateful for the chance I have to come this Sunday and worship and learn and grow and help others do the same.

I am grateful for all that the father has blessed me with and all that the son has sacrificed.

We come to church to learn about the savior. We come to church to show our love and gratitude fore the savior.
He suffered drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane while he suffered all your pains, a kiss of betrayal, a crown of thorns, spit of humility, nails in hands and feet to be lifted on the cross, and loneliness for his last moments on the cross, "father why hast thou forsaken me?" then his last breath. He broke the bands of death so that you and I could live forever. He did everything, he laid down his life for you and me. Is your Sunday worship correctly reflecting your gratitude towards that gift, the eternal and infinite sacrifice that he suffered for you?

I challenge you to study the atonement and ask yourself if the worship and service you are rendering on the sabbath day shows the correct reflection of your gratitude for all that the father has given and all that the son has sacrificed. If you do this you're going to want to make the Sabbath more meaningful, a day of thanksgiving, and a day of worship. Sunday will become a delight full of gratitude.

I'd like to leave my testimony that there is reason to be grateful on the Sabbath. We truly do receive so much. Heavenly Father loves us. Jesus Christ suffered so that we can be free from sin, and trials. The ordinance of the sacrament is sacred. The Book of Mormon is indeed the word of God. I'm so grateful for my family and this gospel. It has changed my life. So many leaders in this church back home and out here have helped me in my life. I know that the Sabbath is a day of gratitude. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


Love Elder Segon
So fresh and so clean.

Not in Williamsport - post from 03/13/2017

So.... this week was interesting. On Thursday night we got a call from

President Johnson. I figured he was calling to congratulate me for

being out a year or something. But that was far from the reason he

called. He told us that an elder had to go home because of an injury

and that I was going to replace him. That was Thursday night! Friday I

packed up and said goodbye to a couple people. Saturday I loaded the

car and headed off to my new area.  Williamsport disappeared just like

that. That quick that easy. So I am now in Lewisberg! It's so nice

here I love it! I also have a sweet companion too. His name is Elder

Ramos. He has been out for 23 months.... so he's going home after this

transfer. Everyone in the mission knows elder Ramos because he is such

a great missionary. It's been fun.

It was hard when I first heard. I was thinking, "are you serious. Why

right now? Why?" And such things. But I will go and do the things the

Lord commands. It's about Him and His work. Not me.

I honestly don't remember too much from Williamsport this week. But I

do remember what happened on Lewisberg! I love this area! It's similar

to somerset. Lots of land. I'm glad to get out of the city.... the

city life isn't for me... that's for sure!! Something cool is that

elder Ramos also served in Somerset. So we got the somerset boys

rolling around in Lewisberg.

So the first day I got here we went to try to see this person but she

wasn't home. But her daughters fiancé was and we talked to him and

shared the restoration with him. He asked about if the Book of Mormon

can help him and his love life and faith and a couple other things. We

said... "um duhhhh." Just kidding we didn't say that but it's really

cool how the Book of Mormon can truly help with anything in life. We

invited him to be baptized and he accepted on our first lesson. While

we had that lesson the spirit was super strong. It's cool because

elder Ramos and I have never taught together before, that was our

first time, and the lesson just flowed so perfectly.

We have taught the restoration two other times and each time the

lessons were just powerful!

There is a man that is not a member that is dating someone in the ward

so we had lunch and a lesson yesterday. That man is so prepared! He

accepted a baptismal date and he is so awesome. He was so into it and

he was really into the things we invited him to do.

The other lesson was with this kid that hasn't been coming but wants

to come back and his girlfriend. He is a genuine kid and is awesome!

His girlfriend isn't a member and has a rough life but wants to learn

about the church. She doesn't have too much of a knowledge about who

Christ or Heavenly Father are. So we are excited to help her come to

know who they are and what their plan is for us and just everything.

It's going to be great. She accepted a baptismal date.

And in these two lessons we had yesterday we had this kid named Edwin

come with us. He a couple years younger than I and he just got

baptized a couple weeks ago. He is so cool though! His testimony is

awesome and really helped the people!

Lots of good happening here. I love my companion. I love this area. I

love the members... oh yea. Haha we did service on Saturday and it was

like 0 degrees, seriously. It was so cold! My hands froze and some

members game me their gloves because they were freaking out that my

hands were red. Haha so I put them on and my hands started to hurt so

bad! Aw, it hurt. I was freaking out because it hurt so bad. I was

like pacing and haha man. I thought I was going to die. But I didn't

want the members to think I am a sissy so I acted like I was fine.

Haha. I survived luckily.

But yeah. I love it here! I'm so happy! I love this work! It's great!

Going to miss Williamsport and the people Therein but it's great here

in Lewisberg!

Love yinz.

Transfers - from 3/6/2017

This week I got my new companion. His name is Elder Wood. He is pretty

sweet. He is a big time crazy. He wrestled and rode bulls and all

these crazy things. But he is an amazing missionary. While we are out

and we get rejected, I tend to just say ok and walk away, but he keeps

talking to them and finds a way to spark interest to the person. He

would be a great salesman;) haha. It's awesome.

One time that happened and we were saying goodbye and she said, "you

look like a movie star. You got a big smile. You look like a famous

person, like Jim carry.... yea Jim carry." Haha I don't know where

everyone gets Jim carry from. Then my comp told her that I looked like

the guy from Horton hears a who. She laughed and agreed.

We cleaned out nasty apartment this week. We had 8 missionaries,

including the samuelsons (elderly couple), all at our apartment

cleaning! It took all day but it is a lot better now!

So something cool happened while we were out walking. A lady across

the intersection waved us down and the first the she says is, "I'm

from Utah!" She then told us about how her daughter just had major

health problems like heart attacks and strokes and hardly survived.

She asked if we could give a blessing so we gave her our number and

she called us thirty minutes and said her daughter wanted the

blessing. So we ran over there and her husband anointed and they asked

me to give the blessing because I am the senior companion. So as I

gave her a blessing I blessed her with a knowledge of what she can do

to heal physically and spiritually. She was a less active so that was

cool. After the blessing I was a little emotional because she was in

such bad shape and I just got home and went to the room and prayed and

asked God to help me know if she is going to be ok. The next day my

companion woke up and told me he had a dream that she was healed. So I

took that as my answer from God working through elder wood.

A lady we go and help out with every night told me I was special. We

go to her home and help her move her husband from the couch to bed and

lean him on his side while she cleans him. I am emotional every time I

leave that home. I just feel so much love for him. He isn't all there

because of a tumor but he makes jokes every once in a while. He was

trying to read my name and he said "Beamer" was my name and I said

"close! It's segon!" And he says.... "oh that's a bunch of sh%*." Haha

it was so funny. We all laughed! But the lady asked why we

missionaries do what we do. Why we help. Why we care. And I told her

about how I get emotional when we do this because I feel charity. And

I explained that charity is the pure love of Christ. Told her that we

feel it ourselves and for others and we want to share it. Then later

my comp had me share ,y testimony and I shared my conversion and my

testimony and she just looked at me and pointed and said,

".......you're special.....You're special." And I can't just explain

the way she said it. She said it in a way that she saw That meant a

lot because I often think the opposite. I really needed to hear it at

that time. It was god working through her for sure.

A lot of my companions and President Johnson tell me that I'm too hard

on myself.  I don't feel that I am. I kind of see that as a good

thing. I went from being careless about improvement and was

comfortable where I was but now I stress about improvement and stuff.

So something I need to work on is finding that happy medium of strict

and relaxed to myself. I love a quote about Brigham young that I

really need to start applying, "if you have a bad thought about

yourself tell it to go to hell, because that's exactly where it came

from."

I love the Book of Mormon. I love this work. It is true. It is truly

true. It's beautiful. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Arnold from the seventy. He gave a great talk in general

conference last year and he spoke amazingly in the stake conference!!

This week was sweet!

This week was sweet.
We have begun to do a service every night for this man that is
bedridden. It's amazing how you can come to have the love of God so
quickly for someone that you serve. We have also been teaching his
wife the restored gospel after we help him. We sit down and talk about
the church. So it's pretty cool. It's been so exciting. This all
happened because a member introduced us to do service! Awesome!
It got up to 78 degrees this week but has gone down. Apparently there
were some tornados down south and up north. But it was sweet.
Transfers came and my companion is getting transferred. That's sad
because elder Cowan has been my best friend. He has helped me out a
lot with everything. He is great. But he's pretty ugly so I'm also
happy. Just kidding. We always call each other ugly and stuff. We are
literally like brothers. We annoy each other we get mad at each other
but at the same time we never seriously accually get mad at each
other. It's just like we are brothers. So he is leaving. My new
companions name is elder wood. So we will see how this goes.
Mosiah 23: 20 And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper
exceedingly in the land of Helam; and they built a city, which they
called the city of Helam. 21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to
chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. 22
Nevertheless--whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be
lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.
I loved this scripture because it shows that even though we may be
righteous we will still see afflictions and the afflictions aren't
because anything you did wrong. It's because the Lord knows your
strength and knows you can pass this test with an A+.
Also mosiah 23: 25 For behold, it came to pass that while they were in
the land of Helam, yea, in the city of Helam, while tilling the land
round about, behold an army of the Lamanites was in the borders of the
land.
26 Now it came to pass that the brethren of Alma fled from their
fields, and gathered themselves together in the city of Helam; and
they were much frightened because of the appearance of the Lamanites.
27 But Alma went forth and stood among them, and exhorted them that
they should not be frightened, but that they should remember the Lord
their God and he would deliver them. 28 Therefore they hushed their
fears, and began to cry unto the Lord that he would soften the hearts
of the Lamanites, that they would spare them, and their wives, and
their children.
Therefore they hushed their fears. It's ok to fear but what's
important is that you don't let them control you but you control them.
Hush them! I love those scriptures.
I love the Book of Mormon. Nothing has taught me so much. I have
learned who I am and who the Savior is and who He wants me to be.
Love you all. I love the emails my parents sent today!:)

This week was good! - From 2/20/17

Everyone,
This week was good. We had some cool things happen.
I read mosiah 4 and I really pondered the phrase "are we not all beggars?"
I love that. It's so true. We truly are all beggars in every single way.
So a couple weeks ago my companion and I saw this lady struggling
carrying her groceries. So we went over there and helped her to her
bus stop. Elder Cowan taught her about the Book of Mormon then we
talked about church. She said she has tried a bunch of churches
already but was willing to try ours. So we had an appointment set with
her and we checked to see where she lived and we found out she is in
the other elders area. I was sad about that. But since then she has
stopped smoking, come to church every week, bought a bunch of church
clothes, asked to be baptized and so much more. She is awesome. I'm so
glad I listened to the prompting to go talk to her. If we didn't she
would have never been making this change in her life. It's so cool!
Even though we aren't the ones teaching her I find so much joy to see
and hear her progress because we talked to her and introduced her to
the church. So cool.

This week I interviewed someone to be baptized for the first time.
It's so cool that the Lord trusts me enough to be this judge to see if
they qualify for baptism. It was a cool experience too. I was so
nervous. Probably more nervous than her. But it turned out great and
she was baptized on Saturday.
Something cool to is that I just have really seen God's hand in my
life a lot lately. It is such a tender mercy. I love it.
We also had interviews with president and that is always great to see them.

Jesus is the Mediator, Savior, Redeemer, and King. And if we ask Him
for something he will freely give. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
1. I just adore Lori k.
2&3. At the birthplace of little league.
4&5. Signing the baptismal form.
6. President and everyone laughing at my hand motions.
7 interviews.

Email from February 13, 2017

Man I feel like I haven't written an email for a long time! Haha.
So this week was a week full of trials and moments of joy. It goes to show that even though you have trials in life you can still find joy, you just have to focus on the joyful moments.

Scripture learnings.
The past couple of weeks I have been studying the Old Testament like crazy. I have read the books: Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus.
So I have read over 100 chapters in a couple weeks in the Old Testament.
I haven't honestly really gotten too much out of it. I have learned a lot but my spiritual strength has not grown. I had been feeling weary when I was focusing on the Old Testament.
So on Tuesday and Wednesday I spent all of my studies reading the Book of Mormon. I felt so good on Tuesday when and after I had my studies in the Book of Mormon. Same story on Wednesday. I wrote in my "small plates" (revelation, inspiration) journal, "Light has filled my soul! The Book of Mormon teaches all men that they can be cleansed from their sins and that Jesus is the Christ. That we need to do our very best and we will be ok. I have learned more in 2 days from reading about 10 chapters in the Book of Mormon than I have from reading over 100 chapters for a couple weeks in the Old Testament. I have, also, had so much more spiritual nourishment from reading the Book of Mormon than the Old Testament."
When I read the Book of Mormon I learn so much. Infinite and wonderful are the this to be learned from the Book of Mormon.
I said I have been in the midst of trials. Jacob 2:8 says, "And it suppose that me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which health the wounded soul." I bear you my honest testimony that the Book of Mormon is the pleasing word of God which heals wounded souls. That is what it did to me in the midst of this trial. I have read the Book of Mormon a lot and I have found such strength and comfort in it. (Jacob 3:1-2)
The Book of Mormon always can be applied to you and the situation you are having in your life. For example I am weak and I often wonder how I'm going to keep going. So I read Jacob 1:17-18. So what I got from this is, "you have obtained your errand from the Lord Elder Segon (verse 17). So magnify your office unto the Lord, be diligent, and labor with your might (verse 19). Also while reading in Jacob 2 this stuck out to be from verse 10, "But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task. I must do according to the strict commandments of God." So this thing I face is hard but I just got to square my shoulders and tackle it.

Scriptures and Eye Witness.
So we went and helped this family who was going through a divorce move. The mom and the daughters were so kind and nice and great and amazing. I loved them so much. Charity is real. The father of the kids and husband of the wife however, wasn't nice or kind or anything to be frank. I wasn't happy with him. Agh. Anyways you get the point.... he was just ... mean. And I was so distraught all day thinking about that man and how he treated his kids and soon to be x wife. How could someone treat their family like that? Their own kids, and the person they have been married to for a long time?
So literally that night I read Jacob 2, which is Jacob telling the nephite men that they need to repent because they have been bad husbands and fathers. Verse 31-33 really show that the women are daughters of our King. And He loves them so much and He hears their cries and listens to their sorrows. Verse 35, "Behold he have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because the  of the strictness of the word of God, which comets down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds." This really shows the importance of husband and fatherhood to me. "Ye have done g
reater iniquities than the lamanites. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives and lost the confidence of your children."
I just want to be the best husband and father in the world after experiencing what I had and reading those scriptures. The role a father has in a family is so important. I just want to be the absolute best I possibly can be, which isn't that great so sorry future family;). But seriously. I'm going to treat my wife so well. She will have my heart. I will carry her heart with like bubble wrap wrapped around it a thousand times so I will never break it. Haha;). Seriously though. I'm going to love my children and nurture them. I want my family to be able to say they have the best husband or father just like I can. My dad is the best. I love him so much. He is a perfect example and he is seriously a hero in my eyes. Love you dad!

Cool experience.
So Elder Cowan received an impression to call this member that we have never met. So he called and set an appointment with the man. We went to the appointment and met him. We found out he hasn't attended church for a long time and hasn't had contact with the church for over 20 years because of an incident that happened. He was super mad at God and said God doesn't exist and if He did that the man had a few words to say to Him. We asked some inspired questions and now Elder Cowan and I know he still does believe in God deep down and does have a testimony of everything. So after a few gentle, unpushy questions to understand, we just talked to him and asked him if he likes board games and such. This touched me so deeply, let me explain.
1. I have been praying that the hearts of the people here would be softened and prepared to repent. And look what happened. Someone let us stop by that hasn't let any contact with the church happen in a long time.
2. Listen to small little promptings. If elder Cowan didn't listen we would have never met this man and gotten the opportunity to be his first contact with the church in such a long time.
3. Heavenly Father trusts us. I am so inadequate for this work. I don't do anything nearly as well as I should. But the lord used me as a tool to reach out to this man who has not wanted anything to do with God or church for a long time. How can it be that He would trust me, elder segon, to be the first contact the man has had in such a long time? I don't know. I don't understand. Maybe it's because my mood is light. A lot of missionaries are super serious and stiff but I'm a little loosy goosy. I don't quite know if that's a good thing but I like to keep the mood happy and fun. Maybe that's why. Maybe this man needs a friend not a preacher.
Honestly it makes me emotional thinking that the Lord allowed me to take that opportunity. The one visit this man has had in over 20 years with the church, seeing if he should even think about god again, and the Lord allowed me, elder segon, a weak, inadequate, speechless, young, kid to reach out to this man with love. I just don't understand but I am shocked, amazed, taken aback, touched, moved, and honored at the trust the Lord has for me.

Experiences like these get me through the hard times. These are the joyous moments found in the midst of a trial that can illuminate the way until you reach the next illuminating experience. God loves us all. I seriously know that. I know it with all.... all of my heart and mind. If you don't have this knowledge read the Book of Mormon, look at the experiences in your life and see His hand so clear. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.