Week 28: Museums, Archives, and Civil War Day

Hello Family, Friends, and other Children of God! I rejoice with you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I thank y'all for what you do, but mostly I thank you for who you are and the little ways you make this world a better place! 

This week has been interesting to say the least haha. We are so blest here in little Ole Hope Arkansas. We feel like the Lord is having us direct more of our attention to member relations, retention and activation. This week we really had some amazing experiences with the members. 

(So I got to give a little shout out to my comp Elder Patterson. There were some really neat experiences this week and man he is so kind and compassionate. He has helped me to stay positive and in the words of Dory "Just keep Swiming" or as we say it in the Mish "Just keep Working".) 

OK so as far as the members are concerned we were able to teach the Gold family again! They are progressing leaps and bounds in they journey toward to the Temple! I am so happy for them!!! Not only have they read the entire temple book, but they had really good questions about it all too. It is such an amazing experience to help them, and what's better is they fed us dinner! Can Life get better? I submit that it cannot! Dinner and spiritual experiences are da best. 

Anyway we were also able to help Brother Paul this week. Paul has a really cool "hobbie". He helps the local museum in Prescott which is housed in an old train depot. We were able to help him set up a new shelf and got to check out the cool archives that they have. I felt like a rich kid in a candy store. It was so cool looking over the old books and posters that they had. They had so many neat things in there I could spend days there. Brother Paul is also super into the Civil War so after we helped him he took us on a Civil War tour around the town of Prescott. Prescott is where the battle of Prairie De'ann took place. He told us all about it and it was so neat. He also took us to lunch, so that was awfully kind of him. 

Oh and a little side note, Paul has probably the coolest house that I have ever seen in my life. It is a log cabin in the middle of a Forrest that he owns. He has a spring pond in his back yard and tons of land for his 5 horses. Paul and Robin are some of the coolest people I've met. Such a neat couple. 

Saturday we went back up to Prescott and helped Sara move into her new home. It was really nice to build relationships with her and her family. We are hoping to fully reactivate her and her family. Please pray for them. 

OK so not to rant or anything, but Contention is firmly of the Devil. That is how he works. He works on the children of men to contend with anger one with another and it is NO good. We read in 3rd Nephi 12:22 that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his Judgement. This is different then what is recorded in Matthew 5:22 which reads whosoever is angry with his brother "without a cause"  is in danger of the Judgement. This makes it clear that we should not be angry with our brethren and sisters. We should act out of love and respect for them and help each other out. I firmly believe that if we went out of our way to do one loving act each day and help each other out then the world would be 1000 times better. Do not, Do not , DO NOT let contention into your hearts. There are 2 things that push the Holy Ghost away and that is sin and contention. It drives him crazy and he leaves immediately. Trust me I have seen this from many experiences in my life. Please learn from my mistakes and live a more peaceable life. Trust me you will be blessed beyond measure. 

Phew.... Sorry for all that seriousness, but I had to throw that out there. 

Anyway I want y'all to know that I know that God lives. He is our Father literal in every sense of the word. Just think of it, out of the millions of titles God could go by such as "almighty, King, Ruler" etc, He has asked us to call him Father. Doesn't that just blow you away! What an amazing doctrine, and what is even more amazing is his Love for each of us! God really is our Loving Heavenly Father.  We read in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I know that My Savior is real. He really lived, atoned, died, and rose the 3rd day. He did this for each of us. Because of the Atonement that he performed for each one of us we knows intimately what, and how we feel, and he knows just how His Amazing Grace can heal us. 

Please my beloved Brothers and Sisters, Please don't go through life without Jesus walking with you. It is such a lonely road without him. He doesn't want you to walk alone. He knows how hard and lonely this life can be, and He wants to help you every step of the way. He truly is the Prince of Peace. "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." John 14:27

I love you all so much. Even though I may not know you individually, I know that God does. Whatever you are going through, whatever challenges you are facing, I promise you that God is ALWAYS there for you. Please pray to Him. He wants to hear from you. You are his child and you mean the world to him. 

God be with you always, and Hurrah for Israel! 

Sincerely yours, 

Elder Skyler Glen Larsen

P. S. 

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will repent and get more this next week. I love this one picture of Jesus and I wanted to share it with y'all. 

Week 27: Monkey Business and Exchanges in Camden

Hello Family, friends, and other Children of God! I rejoice with you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I thank y'all for what you do, but mostly I thank y'all for who you are!

Before I get into the main part of the weekly report, I wanted to extend a commitment to y'all. If y'all aren't reading the Book of Mormon every day. Please do so. The Prophet was definitely inspired when he asked us to read it everyday, Everyday, EVERYDAY! I know from personal experience that y'all will feel more of the Love of your Father in Heaven. 

I have received some questions as to the music solo that I will be performing here in a few months. I will be singing "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" in the Missionary Tribute to the Savior program that the mission is putting together for the 5 stakes in the mission. I have attached the program. It has a few errors in it, but for the most part it should be similar to what will actually happen. I'm not sure how it will all work out yet, but I will be singing at all 5 stakes, so I will be able to see people that I haven't seen for months again so this is really exciting. Please pray for me. 

So, this week has been a bit more bumpy then usual. The work here has been slowing down despite our best efforts. We know that there are people out there who need the gospel, it has just been difficult to find them. Please keep praying for us and the people of Hope. I have hope that there is hope for us yet here in Hope. :P

Anyway some of the highlights of the week include exchanges in Camden, monkey business, and tender mercies from the Lord. 

This week I had the opportunity to go on exchange with Elder Hoyle my district leader over in Camden. He had to do interviews with some baptismal candidates before we left Arkadelphia so it was cool to help him prepare for that. I was also able to receive a lot of good guidance and counsel from Elder Hoyle. He is a really awesome missionary. 

On the way back from unexchanging on Thursday we went to a member who has actual monkeys that she takes care of. It was way cool! She had a capuchin and some other kind but it was really cool. The capuchin monkey came up and shook my hand. Needless to say it was a really cool experience. 

This week has been pretty hard, but I have been able to see the Lord working through it all. The Holy Ghost can bring peace to a weary soul in such ways that words can't describe. I know that the Holy Ghost is real, and that he brings messages from Heaven.  Because of the Holy Spirit I know that Jesus is the Christ, the immortal Son of God. I also know that my Heavenly Father is very aware of me and my circumstances. I know that He cares about me,  and about all of his children. That is why God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to set the example, and to mark the way that we need to live so that we can return home.

I know that the work that I am engaged in is the work of the God of Heaven! I Know that My Redeemer Lives!  I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Lord! I know that I am a Missionary for My Savior,  and Oh how I Love it!  

Hurrah for Israel!!! 

Sincerely, 

Elder Skyler Glen Larsen

Week 26: Watermelons Galore

Hello Family and friends that I love! I truly rejoice with you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I thank you for what you do, but mostly I thank you for who you are! 

I've officially reached the 200 day mark! It is crazy to believe that I've been a missionary of our Lord Jesus Christ for over 200 days. What a privilege and blessing it has been to serve him. 

This week has been interesting. I got to fill out my first (and hopefully last) incident report for our car. Someone hit our car in a hit and run on wendesday. They scrapped the bumper and ran. Crazy but thank goodness nothing else happened. 

We had zone conference and interviews with President Hansen this week. That was incredible! The spirit brought some things to mind that I can improve on and he also helped me learn so many things. The work out here is definitely lead by the Lord. That is 100% true. 

Now y'all might be wondering what is up with all the watermelons in the title. Well we had the 41st annual Hope Arkansas watermelon festival this week!  Dang that was fun, we spent 2 days there and handed out over 100 cards on Saturday. The Lord has helped us so much this week. We were able to talk with so many people at the festival and plant seeds of faith. You know how it goes, sometimes we plant and sometimes we harvest. Either way we are doing the Lord's work. 

We have had some really good lessons with Paul this week. Paul is our top investigator right now. He has a baptismal date for the 20th of September and is looking forward to it. He has really felt the spirit and knows that this church is different. We were planning on having him to church but for some reason he wasn't there. Anyway pray for him because he is awesome. 

Speaking of church I love the Branch that I am serving in! They are so cool. It feels more like a family then a church. We had a branch potluck on Sunday which was great. After that Brother Gold came up and took us aside and asked us to help him and his wife attend the temple!  I'm so happy I can't even explain it. I am looking forward to helping them do whatever it takes to make it to the house of the Lord. Please pray for them! 

I have one big thing that I need y'all to pray for. The mission is going to be doing a stake musical missionary tribute in the 5 stakes in the mission, and President and Sister Hansen want me to do a solo in each of them!  I'll be singing "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul". I'm not sure how it will all work out so that's why I need y'all to pray for me. It's a bit nerve-wracking but I have faith that God will help me. 

I love being a missionary. It's been the hardest and scariest thing I've every loved to do. I've developed so much into who God needs me to be. I can feel the Lord molding me into a better person. It's hard to describe, but it is real. 

I know that my Redeemer Lives! I know he loves everyone and that includes you! Please reach out to him and he will help you. He is my best friend! Oh what Joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer Lives! 

I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week. 

Elder Skyler Glen Larsen

Week 25: What a time to be alive!

Hello Family and Friends! 

I rejoice with you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I thank you each for what you do to make this world a better place, but mostly I thank you for who you are! 

This week has been one of change for sure. Lots of things have happened this week. I got to my new Area in Hope Arkansas, and life has been great here. I'm really liking being the Senior companion. I got it pretty lucky with Elder Patterson. We served right next to each other in Jacksonville and Cabot, so that was nice to already know each other. I've already learned a lot on how to lead a companionship in a successful way. 

Elder Patterson is from Idaho Falls and is a real cool guy. He comes from a Family of 7 and is the 2nd oldest. He did Robotics at the same conference that I did when I was in so that was pretty cool. It was kinda a random connection, but you know all roads lead back to Idaho.  We have been working on adjusting to each other's teaching style and role plays have really helped in that. We are also working on our doctrinal points so that we can use our scriptures better. 

Doctrinal points are something that is kinda unique to the ALRM. I'm not quite sure when it started but it really is just a process that the missionaries go through to be more accountable to the doctrine. We go through each of the 42 doctrinal points that are in Preach My Gospel, and we pick at least 1 Bible and 1 BOM scripture that best supports each point. So for instance for the Creation I have Genesis 1:1&27 and 1 Nephi 17:36. We also have to be able to recite these during any meeting with no help. This has really helped me realize how important the scriptures are and why we need all of them to properly understand the whole plan that God has for us. 

I am serving in a branch again down here. I really love the general feel of Branches. It feels more like a family then a church. We have about 30ish active members who live in an area roughly the size of Delaware. It's pretty awesome. 

I know that there are a lot of reasons why the Lord has brought me here to Hope. I'm not quite sure what all of them are, but I know that he is in all of this. 

So a couple really amazing scriptures for the week are Ezekiel 47: 3-5. Just reading scriptures isn't enough. We need to go through them with the Lord as our teaching and we will see that every time we read a scripture that we have read previously something else is going to stand out. This scripture blew my mind this week. 

I love you all and I know that my Redeemer lives! I love having this opportunity to serve him and to help the good people of the south come closer to him. If your faith is struggling then read the Book of Mormon. It solves so many problems in our life if we but read from the Holy scriptures. 

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the Mouth of God. Deuteronomy 8: 2&3

I love you all! Have a great week!! 

Elder Skyler Glen Larsen

Week 24: A Week of Miracles

Hello Family and Friends! 

I rejoice with you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I thank you for what you do, but mostly for who you are! 

This week has been overflowing with miracles. Thank you all so much for your prayers! We have been richly blessed. 

We baptized Kym on Sunday!!! It was such a splendid special experience. I learned so much from this experience. Elder Trendler baptized her and I had the special privilege of confirming Kym a member of the Lord's restored church and gave her the Holy Ghost. It was amazing how the Holy Ghost rushed through me when I said "receive the Holy Ghost". I love being a missionary! My heart if full of Joy! I'm so glad that the Lord has let me serve alongside him in this wonderful work! 

Another miracle happened Sunday too. Reggie asked me to Baptize him in the coming weeks! I really hope that I get permission from President Hansen for this. So a little more information about Reggie. Reggie is a super cool guy. He has been coming to church with his girlfriend in the branch. We taught him the importance of the Priesthood and the restoration during church last week and he was like "that makes so much sense". I have seen him change and light has filled his countenance. It had been amazing seeing the spirit bring love and light to him. I feel so blessed to be able to help him come closer to Christ. I asked him if he wanted to be baptized solely for his own sake and he said yes. I'm sure he will be baptized and be filled with even more light really soon. 

This week we have been on bikes so I'm a little sore, but we have seen some amazing things happen. The Lord has kept us safe as we have biked and we have been able to talk with many different people. 

While I am sad that I will be leaving Blytheville, I have received confirmation that this was the Lord's will and that I accomplished everything that the Lord wanted me to do there. I helped the branch get on their feet and improved the relations between the branch and the missionaries. I was able to show them what a missionary can do to help the branch, and as much as I've given to them I have received double in return from the Lord. I love the people of the Blytheville Branch, and I thank God for the time that I had there. 

I have a testimony that my Savior knows my name and that I know him. I love him with all my heart, might, mind and, strength. I love having this opportunity to serve him. I have learned so much about where I fit into his divine plan. God is our Father. Jesus is our Savior. The Holy Ghost is here to help us everyday. 

I look forward to the time that I will serve the Lord in Hope Arkansas. I'm going to be a senior companion for the first time so this will be a growing, developmental opportunity for me. I know that there is someone in Hope that needs me. I will search for them and with God's help I will find them and help them come closer to his son Jesus Christ. 

I love you all and I pray for you everyday. Please keep me and the good people of the south in your prayers. 

With much love, 

Elder Skyler Glen Larsen

Week 23: The 4 Phases of Teamwork

Hello Family and Friends that I love! 

I rejoice with you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I thank you for what you do, but mostly for the amazing people that you are!

This week has been AWESOME!!!

The quick highlights include interviews with President Hansen, baptismal interviews, and personal tender mercies from the Lord. I'll also explain the title in a few minutes. 

So last week we had interviews with President Hansen and it was so good to actually meet with him. We talked about how I was doing and what I can do to be the best missionary that I can be. He shared a really good scripture with me. 

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 Philippians 4:11-13

I have noticed that I have the "productivity gene" inside of me and if I don't feel productive enough then I start becoming sad. So with that some days are great and others are "terrible". He helped me understand that we need to be content when we have given our all. After we have given everything and we have tried then at the end of the day we need to be content. This really helped me. 

I love President Hansen. I know that he has been called of God and that the spirit works through him so much. I've seen how much he cares about all the missionaries and wants to help them all become the best converted, consecrated disciples of Christ. 

So GUESS WHAT!!! Kym is getting baptized on Sunday!!!!! We got all the papers back that we needed and she is good to go! She had her last interview on Sunday and she passed with flying colors. She is such a converted disciple of Christ and it has been so amazing seeing her come closer to her Savior. I will have tons of pictures this next week. 

Please keep my investigators in your prayers. 

Richard and his Daughter Ciara. 

LK and Veronica 

Linda 

Reggie

And the Rogers Family. 

All these people are so amazing and I have grown to love them all so much. 

Fun fact so I finished the New Testament this last week and it was so cool. I am really happy that I took the time to read from Acts to Revelation. I now understand a little more of where people form beliefs from in the Bible. I also have so many more resources for sharing the restored gospel. I've recently started the old Testament again. What sticks our to me is we are made in the very image of God. We are really his children. We look so similar to him. God has a body just like us.  How amazing is that wonderful truth! 

So last thing that has been on my mind is the 4 phases of team development. I learned this from my Dad. So when a team is formed is goes through 4 stages in order to start performing well. Forming, storming, norming, and then performing. I came to Blytheville right as the Lord formed the new team (branch leadership)  for the Branch here. I've witnessed the forming and Elder Trendler and I have felt the spirit lead us to guide them through the storming and norming phase. We are really reaching out to the leadership and showing them where the missionaries can be of the most support to them in their callings. It had been really cool seeing the miracles and tender mercies that have been poured out upon the branch. The Lord knows exactly what he is doing. 

I want to challenge everyone to really focus on the sacrament this week. Prepare for it the night before. The sacrament is basically like getting rebaptized. We renew and recommit to live right. I've seen a lot of blessings come to me when I have focused more on the Savior during the sacrament. Also keep reading the scriptures. The book of Mormon is a dear friend of mine now and has spoken right to me about who my Savior is. I love you all and please keep praying for my investigators and me. 

If there is anything that you all want me to pray for PLEASE Let Me Know. I would love to send specific prayers to our Father just for you. 

I love you all and God Bless ️🇺🇸

Elder Skyler Glen Larsen

Week 22: 561 Days To Make A Difference

Hello Family and Friends!

I REJOICE with you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!

I thank you for all that you do, but mostly I thank you for who you are!

This week has been really amazing! We have seen so many miracles. We have worked harder then ever to be exactly in tune with the Holy Ghost and to work hard this week, and we have been richly rewarded.

The highlights from this week are amazing lessons with prepared people, inspiration learned from church, and recommitment to consecration.

This week we had the feeling to go pack to a potential investigator and it really paid off. We met the husband of the lady that we met and he is super prepared. His name is Richard and we were able to give him a BOM to read. We stopped by again this week and he had read the entire intro which like... never happens. He was really interested so we taught him and his 9 year old daughter hopped in on the lesson too. She said the prayer and it was quite possibly the best prayer I have ever heard from someone so young. She prays like a Pro. SOOO cool. We went over the intro to the Book of Mormon and talked about it some more. We also shared Josephs first vision experience and it was so cool. Ciara (Richard's daughter) asked us if that really happened and I was able to tell her Yes and oh my, I wish you could have seen her face light up. It was so cool. Richard is going to study and read the Book of Mormon and do his research into everything and make sure he wants to keep learning more. I think that it will take a little while but I definitely think that he will see the goodness of the Gospel and join the Church.

During church we read from the Teachings of President Hinckley book. We read chapter 14 for priesthood and oh my, it was like revelation upon revelation for me. President Hinckley shared some really cool experiences that he had when he lost himself in the service of others. I loved his quote from his Dad of " Forget yourself and go to work" This applies to me a lot. We read in Mark 8:35 
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

If we lose ourselves in the service of others then we will find that we have found the thing that really matters most in life. Being to help our wonderful Father in Heaven in his great work of blessing his children. I am so grateful for every single day that I am able to be a missionary. I have a countdown that I keep track of pretty regularly.  I have 561 days to help as many people come to Christ as I can. 561 Days to open my mouth and share the Glorious News of the Gospel with others. 561 days left to make a difference in the Lord's vineyard. 561 Days to Show my Savior how much I love him.

I love being a missionary. It is such a privilege to be able to serve my Savior and to help him bless the lives of the good people of the South. May we all reach a little further and stand a little taller and work a little harder to help others and be of good service to our Heavenly Father.

I love you all and I am so grateful for you and all you do to help me. Your prayers are felt, and they help me and my investigators so much. Emails and letters are really appreciated. If you have questions write to me and I will try real hard to write to you. I love you all and God bless!

Elder Skyler Glen Larsen