Temple in Västerhaninge, ACT on the Things We Have Felt, Bear It and Build It!

Temple in Västerhaninge

Hej!!

This week has been another crazy one for the books!! I cant actually believe that the things we did on Monday were this week it seems like at least a month ago. But we started off the week in Stockholm for MLC (mission leadership council) which is a really exciting one that happens once a transfer with all of the zone leaders and sister training leaders where we receive training and we discuss what the mission needs to move forward. This transfer we talked a lot about the new year and what we need to do to shift our focus to help the missionaries and help people to come unto Christ. They talked a lot about Teaching Repentance and what repentance is and it has been something on the minds of all the missionaries in the world because of the broadcast that was sent out the week before. But we were able to receive a little more insight as to what that means and what it means for us in our own daily lives and I love how repentance is an everyday principle and I think that sometimes we say that and dont really do it. Its been a wake up call for me to understand and use the atonement of Christ in my life more and to help my investigators to do the same thing. After the meeting we had the privilege to go to the temple in Västerhaninge which I have not done for about 17 months...  but it was a fantastic experience and we were able to get some needed direction and focus for the training that we were going to give to the missionaries in the zone.

That training happened on Friday but between those two things we had a lot of preparation to do but also some awesome people to teach. Benjamin is one of our most progressing investigators right now and he is understanding more about the restoration and the weight of the message that we are giving. I think that a lot of people like the things that we say and understand on an intellectual level but its when the message sinks in that we understand what that means for us and how we can apply it. We talked with him about the organization of the church and I think its pretty amazing when you think about it how smooth the church works and how it is lead.

We also taught a man named Kawa who, when we came to teach him with one of the members in the ward, was just super excited to see us. He has changed a lot since I have first seen him and he even shared with us that he really hasnt felt joy really in his life for a really long time but that he feels it while we are there. It was an amazing confirmation to me that the joy fo the gospel is something that we cannot find anywhere else, its deeper it means more than any of the things that can make us temporarily happy. i know we say and think that a lot but I hope all of you that feel that joy every day do not take it for granted. The other key to all of this is to ACT on the things that we have felt and to understand that when we have answers given to us by the  Holy Ghost it becomes our responsibility to act on them and to begin to understand more. That is the problem with many people. They hear and they kind of understand and they know that it is something that is good but their willingness to act is what can keep them, and me for that matter, from coming closer to God.

The training was about a lot of things but the main points that were covered were language proficiency, and how to teach repentance and recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost. We ended the training with a little bit about receiving and building personal testimonies of the gospel and we had a couple of missionaries bear their testimonies and the spirit was soo strong. Its amazing because just as prophets have said the spirit is never a degrading spirit it is, however, a spirit of peace and confidence and something that one can understand. As Nephi says, "For my soul delighteth in plainness for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. FOr the Lord giveth light unto understanding; for He speaketh to man according to their language, and their understanding." When we receive a spiritual prompting we can know that it was something from God because He speaks plainly and in a way that we can understand and I think that is something that is absolutely fantastic that we may not understand the implications of. However, these missionaries testimonies are so individual and so completely different but really strong in their own way and that is something that i have come to understand a little bit more ins that our testimonies are different and based upon different principles and there are always questions that we wonder and things that we can do to strengthen that testimony. So do that this week, work on the things that may be holding you back and more forward.

If you dont have a testimony of something (can be any gospel principle) Get it, Bear it, Build it. If you already have one great, Bear it and Build it. Because we all can, and that is the point.

We also went on splits this week and had some investigators in church which was awesome because this fifth Sunday was all about the restoration so all of our investigators were able to feel the spirit super strong and get a double dose of the restoration this week! Things are going well up here and I hope they are going well for all of you! Love you :)

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Broadcast, Mission Leadership Council and Are Our Feet in Two Different Worlds?

Helping Move Many Boxes!

Hey everyone!!

We have had one crazy week this week and we are pretty excited about the things that are happening in the area and in the ward. Elder Larson and I have been thinking a lot about the things that we need to do to improve and where the mission is moving and where the work needs to be moving here in Södertälje as well and where we personally need to be more diligent or improve. We had the broadcast this week with some of the 12 and the executive missionary committee or something like that. They basically just had a training about the things that we need to do to be teaching repentance and having a change happen in the people that we teach. Essentially that is the reason why we are here, to show people how to change their lives and how the atonement of Jesus Christ can be applied for them as well and not just now or for a split second or for a day but for a lifetime and maybe a little more :).  They talked so much about us being able to be conduits for the spirit so that there isn't anything hindering the spirit from being with us while we are out during the day or while we are teaching people. I have personally thought about worhtiness this week and realizing that it needs to be a part of our daily thoughts and what we need to try to experience every day. The bishop related an experience on Sunday about how he was on the way to church to come and serve and have meetings and he was super stressed on his way and speeding with his seatbelt off to come to the church. How easy is it to have our feet in two different worlds? And, if we do, the spirit cannot be with us in the way that we might want, in the way that we need, and almost more importantly in the way that other people need. Besides that being the focus we are also concentrating on the aspects of teaching that will help us to teach "with convincing power" which is something for all of us 18-25 year olds struggle with sometimes is teaching with this convincing power.

This week we will have Mission Leadership Council to talk about what the mission needs and how we can take all of the things that we have learned to the missionaries that we serve and how it can be applied. One thing that we have been trying to do quite a bit is teaching repentance and making sure that people cannot missunderstand the things that we say, just like Nephi says, "my soul delights in plainness" because when God speaks to us He does it in a way that we will understand and so that changes from person to person. We taught Fidelis again this week and we met in the library and the only place that we could sit was at the little kids table with the tiny chairs and proceeded to have one of the most powerful lessons that I have had on my mission. We just read out of 2 Nephi 31, he hadnt read and so we just read with him from the scriptures and explained about the Savior and his gospel and how we can come closer to him. He told us that he was questioning this last week about the mormons and if they actually preached Christ and he said that he knew the things that we were saying were true and that he understands the purpose of the Book of Mormon and why we need to read it. It is a powerful witness of Christ and his purpose.

We had a man this week that needed help all of a sudden to move and to pack things, he is 82 and got a notice from the doctor to not make too much effort or like strain himself I guess you could say. So we helped him and he literally had hundreds of binders that he had writtned stuff in and put stuff in and of course he needed them all so 20 giant boxes later we had those packed up and then we had to start on some books haha. We did not have time to finish but we will be going back hopefully with a little help from the quorum to help him to pack up and move... so many binders its ridiculous. Super fun to help out though we love when we have the opportunity to serve.

We taught this man named Benjamin the other day that came to the church to watch the restoration film and learn more about the restoration and about Joseph Smith. He has been in church quite a few times now and when we watched he understood the spirit behind the prophet Joseph Smith and he said essentially that he was so glad that he come to the church that day and he understands about the reason why he has felt the way he has in the church.

Anyway I dont have too much more time but it will be a good week this week. I know that the church is true and the restoration is a reality :)

Love you all!

1. lots of boxes.
2. giwal... investigator and I promise he was smiling until we took a picture haha
3. drilling the wall at a members home... they have a lot of trust

     

Don't Just Pray for the Missionaries, 50 Baptismal Dates and a Self-Referral!

Hejsann!

This week has been absolutely fantastic and we have been seeing so many miracles here in södertälje!! First I will tell you about transfers, we will be staying here for the next 6 weeks as Zone Leaders, I guess we did ok last transfer so President Beckstrand feels like we can have another 6 weeks which I am very excited about! There are a lot of things that are happening right now in the mission and in this zone. We have already had 15 baptisms this year and have 50 baptismal dates all over Sweden... now that may not sound like a lot to some of you but it is a lot and the mission and the missionaries have been working a lot harder and have been a lot more dedicated than any time that I can remember or that I have seen and I think it is a priveledge to be a part of and to see the "marvelous work and a wonder" åstadkomma so to say in this beautiful country. The most amazing part of missionary work is being a part of it so... be a part of it! Ask the missionaries when you can come with them on a teach or when you can invite someone over for dinner with the missionaries (one of your friends or one of the investigators), if you cant do anything else ask who you can pray for! I can promise you that as you PARTICIPATE in the work and stop just praying for the missionaries and ask the ones in your ward what you can do to help you will see the miracles of the gospel in other peoples lives but also in your own life. Gör det bara :)

This week we received a referral from Northern Sweden about a man who had moved into the city in Södertälje, he lived out on the outskirts of a northern town up there so he had always been interested but he didnt have the means to get to the missionaries there in Skellefteå. When he moved here we were able to meet with him and it turns out that when he lived in Nigeria he lived right next to a LDS church building but never really knew what it meant. We taught him the restoration this week and invited him to be baptized. The spirit is always super strong when we talk about the truth of the restoration and the meaning behind what happened that day and people are moved, even if they dont know why I have never gotten through teaching that lesson and doctrine to people without them knowing that there was something different in what we were saying. But he loved it and has agreed to be baptized later on in February. We are really excited about working with him and teaching him more.

Another miracle this week we passed a man on the street and talked with him (naturally) and he didnt seem so interested but we gave him a card and the next day a referral popped up and he had self referred himself!! We were able to meet with him and also talk about the message of the restoration. He really understands the weight of it and almost like no one else that I have taught wants to know if the message is true. It means the world to be able to look them in the eyes and tell them what I know and that I know that it can help their lives. What an incredible knowledge to be able to have! I would encourage those of you that do not have a knowledge of the restoration or think that you might to find it. Read the Book of Mormon, apply the principles that you find there. Use prayer, ask God for your answers and continue to do that and receive confirmations of the truth for the rest of your lives because you can and because it will fill your life with peace and knowledge.

We were able to put a few things together this week like getting interviews with President Beckstrand and being able to get things set up for the broadcast that is happening next week. We are pretty excited for that broadcast which is for all missionaries around the world. We are incredibly blessed to have the leadership that we have and the inspired men and women that lead in our wards and worldwide. I know that the inspiration that they have recieved for me is incredible and has helped me a lot to understand my role to play. Especially President Beckstrand in this mission. If you dont know him... he lives in Utah somewhere so when he is done go there and get to know him because hes an incredible example of living the gospel in his own life.

I dont have too much time left, we have been running around to teaching appointments and members this whole week and right now in this ward we have 8 people who have decided to be baptized that the missionaries (us and the sisters) are teaching and it feels like something big is starting to happen in this country... and this ward for that matter. I want to leave you with a scripture that I came across this week it is in the doctrine and covenants chapter 11 vers 20

"Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments,yea, with all your might, mind and strength."

Gods work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Our work is to keep His commandments with all of our might, mind, and strength. When we do this the blessings come and its not about blind obedience. Its about trust in what you know. and understanding the the knowledge that you have recieved is divine. :)

Have a fantastic week I love you all thank you so much for the support that you have all given me, you are the greatest!

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Iinte Den Blekaste Aningen‏ Splits, Understanding of an 11 Year Old, Refugee Service and No More Kebab for Us!

On Our Way to Refugee Service!

Hej!

This week has been a really busy one but a really good one. It feels like we have started running around trying to take care of things and getting all of the teaching and finding done that we possibly can... when it starts to feel like that you know that the work has started to pick up haha. We have quite a few people that we are teaching and we are excited about their progress and the testimonies that they are starting to find. We have a couple of people that we are working with who have a plan to be baptized in the near future. One of them is this really cool man that I think I have mentioned in a previous letter but he has starting developing a real love for the gospel and the things that we teach him. It is interesting because everyone has different backgrounds and religions and things like that and he said that after we introduced the Book of Mormon and the restoration to him he has woken up with a desire to read that book and none of the other ones and he has just really started to understand what its all about and what it means. It is super cool to see and we hope to see him be baptized on the 30th of this month. The most amazing thing is to share our experiences in the Book of Mormon and what they have meant to us.We have tried to do that a lot more recently and I think that it helps people to know what we expect when we ask them to read and it helps them to understand the things that we can experience on our own and not just in church or with the missionaries but on our own. But if we want to share these experiences with people than we should be having them very regularly (if not daily). Try to have a spiritual experience when you read in the scriptures every day I promise that you can and it will build your testimony like almost nothing else can.

Sunset at 3:00 - It's getting lighter!

We have another investigator that has loved the Book of Mormon as well who is on track to being baptized later in February. We started to teach him the Plan of Salvation and it is so cool to see all of the puzzle pieces start to come together in the things that we teach and in the lives of our investigators and he is definitely one where those pieces are coming together. It felt really good to be able to teach both of them a few times this week and to see their testimonies grow and their understanding as well.

Later on in the week we went to a less active members house with her and her 11 year old son that we are helping to become active again. Its so cool to see the testimony and understanding of the 11 year old. I have heard a lot of people say that younger kinds just can't possibly understand the gospel or they just can't possibly know whats right and wrong in that sense and I just want to say that it may be the other way around. His understanding and testimony are so real its amazing he understands probably more than most of the other members understand and he knows that it is important to follow commandments and to be obedient and diligent and all of these different things because he trusts in God. If there is one thing that we can learn from younger kids it is this sense of trust and understanding. We should know that God has a plan for us and as long as we are doing our best and the things that we can do and that are up to our understanding then we will be alright. Essentially that is what we need to know.

I went on splits this week with Elder Hatch (who is from Colorado Springs) and he came into our area and later on in the week I went to Täby with Elder Hemmingsen who is one of the assistants and had splits there. Its fun to be able to learn from different missionaries and learn from their different backgrounds and how they teach or interact with members and people that we teach. Its always such a humbling experience because I know that I can be doing so much better but you learn from those experiences. With Elder Hatch we were able to get a lot of teaching done and help some members with some service around in their house and they fed us dinner which was amazing and super yummy! We also went to their district meeting and had some Kebab afterwards and we got some really nice food poisoning from that... super fun so we had a really fun day on Friday teaching and having meetings and "using the restroom" in the middle of them all. No more Kebab for us.

3D Printer!

We finished the week on splits with the assistants and we did a lot of service for the people coming to Sweden from all of these countries with a lot of war and things like that so we were sorting clothes and taking care of a center for a few hours and gaining some perspective on their lives and what they have been through. Its absolutely unbelievable. Many of them have literally walked for months just to get to a land of peace that will accept them and Sweden has been very willing and open. It is mind boggling to see these people and to hear their stories and to be able to serve. With the world nowadays we can't just be one minded we don't have that option. But we do have the option to serve and help the people of the world and that is something that is not going to be easy in the upcoming years but we who are so fortunate can help those that need it.

I want to share this and have you all think about it this week, in the book of 1 Nephi chapter 20 verses 18-19 Nephi quotes Isaiah and in one of the verses it says "...and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof." That was some amazing imagery, sand and the gravel of the beach is constantly shaped, refined, smoothed by the waves of the sea. Think about that, the righteousness that we develop and promote will be that constant affect on others (specifically our posterity) and that is something that I can witness is that the righteousness of an individual makes the difference for so many others. You can be the difference for so many other people if you choose to be and choose to help them come closer to their Heavenly Father which is what it implies so many times in the Doctrine and Covenants when it says to "thrust in your sickle with your might" you can see the fruits of your labors in the people that you serve and in yourself :)

I love this gospel and my chance to be in Sweden!! Thank you all for your prayers and support :)
Lööövs
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1. on our way to service
2. Its a 3D printer!!
3. sunset at 3... its getting lighter!!
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Week 80 Personal Revelation, Baptism, 3 More Transfers and Make It Count Until the End!

 I really like my Companion.  We are seeing a lot of success though and I am super excited about some of the investigators that we have been finding and teaching. Its interesting to double in to an area because you just kind of have to spin your wheels and start seeing where everything goes and it feels like we have gotten a few things going down here and even a few investigators that are coming to church and meeting with us regularly. We hope to have a couple baptisms here in January and the beginning of February. But we will also have to see what the Lord has in store for me for my last three transfers.

We have been thinking a lot about personal revelation this week and how we are all entitled to it even though sometimes as members or as missionaries we become a little complacent and just go off of what other people say. I have been studying knowledge a lot as my Christ like attribute for the next few weeks or so and what I have come to is that knowledge of the divine can only be given from the same source and can only be accepted through a spirit that is in line with the message that is being received. So a spirit of humility and maturity and with the intent to act on the answer that is given. We have focused with the zone on the communications of the Holy ghost and, as the prophet Joseph Smith said, there is no manifestation of the spirit without some sort of intelligence that is communicated. I have been trying to apply this in the missionary work and in working with the missionaries and I know that the principle of personal revelation and understanding the things of God is what will keep us on the right path regardless of what the people around us are doing. That is something that has been on my mind quite frequently and if we don't figure out how to apply this principle it makes it very hard to apply the gospel and continue to grow within it. It is this constant process that makes someone an experienced missionary or an experienced whatever it may be and so it was interesting that you said that mom that it would be the Lord using me and the things that I have learned thus far and I think that is definitely true and I will make it count to the end.

Sweden Loves the Broncos Too!

Love to Everyone!
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Christmas 2015 Savior is Born, 6 New People in Church and Caroling on Christmas Eve

 Hallå!

This was an exciting week and one filled with a lot of stories to tell just before the Christmas season! We have been going around with this video called a Savior is Born to everyone that we can to spread the message of the Birth of Jesus Christ just before the holiday and the interesting thing is that a lot of people are too busy shopping for Christmas that they cant listen to the message of the reason behind Christmas... kind of ironic. But we have set up a stand a couple of times with the couple of hours of sunlight that we have and have given out free hot chocolate and carol for people while a few of us are out talking and showing the video to people and its been really successful actually. We had 6 new people in church from doing that during the week. All of them came in and said that there were some singing people that told them about a church so they decided to come and check it out. Super cool to see people responding to the message.

Elder Larson and I have had some really cool experiences together just in relying upon the calling that we received and knowing that it is from God. For example, we have a man who was just baptized and received the priesthood and today he is about to baptize someone. So everything has been coming on pretty fast for him and we have been teaching him about the priesthood and what it means and its organization and things like that and I have loved doing that. But the other day ans we were talking about the organization of the priesthood (which by the way is pretty amazing, check out D&C 20, 107) and we asked him if he needed a blessing because of everything that had been piling on recently. He said that he would love a blessing and we gave him one and the spirit that we felt there was something pretty amazing, it was another testimony to me in the power of the priesthood and the power of a worthy priesthood holder that God can use you in his hands to do his work and I think that is pretty amazing.

My thoughts are a little scattered today so I will just tell you about the days that lead up to Christmas. On the 23rd we had a family that invited us over for dinner and had a traditional Jul Bord which is just like all of the traditional Christmas foods in Sweden. So we had potatoes and meatballs and sill (herring) in different forms and raw salmon and beets and brussel Sprouts and things like that. It tasted really good and I have learned to love the swedish food here even if it is a little different from the stuff that I am used to back at home! They had us come out just to look at the stars for a minute as well as they did their Christmas tradition and it was amazing to be out on a cool Swedish night looking up and the stars and just thinking about all the things that have been so important to us. One of those moments where some cheesy music would play in thr background on a tv show. But it was amazing :)

On Christmas eve we went around singing carols to some of the older members of the ward and some that might not have anyone to celebrate christmas with ( and since the 24th is the big day for swedish people we did it then). Also, people in Sweden dont carol so it was really funny to see reactions from people seeing a group of 20 year olds singing outside of someones house. One of the members even let us come in and use their piano and then read to us from a book called Tomten which I would say is basically the same as A night before Christmas. Not the same story but Swedish people read it the same as we do and we felt like right there we had our swedish christmas. Then we went to the Schiazzanos and ate some amazing foor and even watched monsters inc in Swedish which was a lot of fun.

Christmas day was pretty incredible. FIrst of all, thank you to everyone who sent something it makes Christmas Christmas when you see pictures and just get notes from the people that are closest. We spent a lot of the day with members. I was able to see Max and Santa and Alex from Jakobsberg that had moved a lot closer to us so we got to see them for breakfast and then back to watch some more movies and skype which was the highlight for sure. Its so great to see family and to have a good time around Christmas and it reminds me of the real meaning of Christmas and how I know now more than ever before in my life that Jesus is the Christ and that he did come to this Earth for us, to help us and to show us the way. He guides this church and can guide us in life if we so choose. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas!!

Love,
Äldste Israelsen.

Week 78 Leaving Gothenburg and Moving to Södertälje with Elder Featherstone and a Friday Phone Call Changing it All!

 All the missionaries in Södertälje

Hej hopp in Lingon skogen!

This week has been absolutely incredible even though it was really tough to leave all of the people that I had the opportunity to meet in Utby its exciting to see some of the new people that I will be getting to work with now.

 We got together with Azi and Elaheh and Fehresta and Michael and had a Persian dinner with them before I left! They are absolutely fantastic people and are so good at living the gospel and sharing it with absolutely everyone that they can. I have seen the light that has spread because they are willing to learn and grow and understand more about their Heavenly Father´s plan for them and how they can grow closer to him. It was pretty sad to leave but I know that they will do a lot of good in that ward and in the area there.

I was also able to say goodby to brother Cammans who is the ward mission leader in Utby and it really has been an honor to work with him and to learn from him. He and his wife are such good examples to everyone and I hope that you know what kind of influence you can have on the people around you and even to the missionaries. Everytime that you LIVE the gospel it helps other people to know how they can do the same things in their lives and what everything means in the end. The gospel really is simple and they have shown me some of the most amazing ways to live the gospel and to help other people as much as they possibly can.

Before the Phone Call

I came in to Södertälje on Wednesday to meet Elder Featherstone there!! He is a fantastic missionary and we knew each other from the MTC so it was a lot of fun to get back together and to set up our vision for this zone and for the area and the ward here in Södertälje. It was so cool to be here with him and we just started contacting and talking to as many people as we possibly could. When you open your mouth you really see the miracles and the people that God wanted you to see. I have seen that as you just do the things that the Lord wants you to do you are able to see the blessings and the results of that service. We spoke to quite a few people this week that were "not interested" but were curious enough to give us 5 minutes to explain just a little bit about the Book of Mormon and the restoration. That message has more power than anything else that I know of. We have really had some powerful experiences on the street from just testifying to people of what we know to be true. Every time it is a powerful witness to me of the truthfullness of the message that we are explaining to people.

There are some fantastic members here in Södertälje and investigators that they have been working with and that I was able to meet with this week. One of them is Amin who is a referral from a family in the ward and she is looking to be baptized on the 2nd of January so at the beginning of the new year and everything is looking really good for her. Elder Featherstone and I had an appointment with a man that investigated before but has not for a really long time whos name is Kent and we went over there and he has read the Book of Mormon probably more times than I have and knows that it is true so we will be liking toward the 9th of Januari for him to take the step of being baptized! Really cool lesson with him it really is amazing how much God has a hand in our lives and prepares us to take steps in our lives if we let him.

We have been really busy with getting things ready for the zone and the conference this week and with the ward as well. We had a ward Christmas party with a lot of traditions and investigators and less active members that ate a lot of food and sang a lot of swedish christmas songs. It was a lot of fun and I have had a couple of extra opportunities to meet the ward and I think that I am going to need them because we got a call on Friday...

After the Phone Call

Something weird has happened with the transfer and elder Featherstone is being sent to Utby (the place I was just from) and I will be staying here and getting Edler Larson who is a district leader in the zone that will be coming to Södertälje. So the companionship of Israelsen and Featherstone was short lived but I am looking forward to getting to know elder Larson and the area with him.

 I hope that you all know that I know that this church is true and that the things that we do in life can have an effect on us and on the rest of the people around us. If there are some of you thinking about going on a mission and aren't sure if you should serve I just want to say that you will never have a better experience in your life and you will never regret going and serving and you will find that, in the end, the biggest change that was made was in you :)

Have a fantastic week!!
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1,2 before and after the phone call
3. all the missionaries in Södertälje
4. Persian dinner
5. Kirk!! (brother Cammans)