I know the message is true

Hey mom! Thanks for the email

So we went to the temple this week. I totally would have sent pictures but I forgot my camera. Maybe next week or in two weeks I'll just show you. It was an amazing experience. That is the fourth time I've gone with Bo and Sister Pratt on my mission. There has always been other people but they were always there. They both mean so much to me. Same with the temple. I feel I learn something new each time. Well obviously I do but it just is amazing to be in there and feel the influence of the Savior and Heavenly Father. I love the temple, I can't wait to go when I'm home. But I will go one more time as a missionary. I will be going with my departing group not this Friday but my last Friday. I can't wait to be there with all of my buddies. It will be a great end to an amazing two years. 

My mission has been unreal with how many miracles and spiritual experiences I have had. I couldn't have had those without coming out here to California. I'm going to miss my mission for the rest of my life and think about it everyday. It is really interesting because with the time left it is impossible for me to get any more baptisms. Because investigators have to come to church three times so it has been interesting turning my mindset to realizing that I still can do so much for the great people in California. I hope to find people that will be baptized in the coming weeks and give them everything I can so they can find the peace I have found. I love this work. I love bearing my testimony of the truth. That probably is one of my favorite things about my mission. That when I'm testifying I know the message is true. That is such a good feeling. 

My companion is doing well and is teaching me by example. He is great and we are having fun. I feel like I'm always laughing and having a good time. Our area is still pretty slow, but we picked up a new investigator last night, which was cool. This kid has gone through a lot of tough things in his life. It will be good for him to grab hold of the sure and firm Gospel. It will bless him in his life. I'm excited to teach him a couple more times, then hear from Elder Solomon what his progress is through letters and emails. 

Welp I better go, I love you all and I'm thankful for you! We will talk to you soon!

Elder Simons

It Has Changed My Life

That is pretty exciting about the new stake presidency. That will be great for the great stake of Corner Canyon. I will miss President Beard a lot but luckily he still is in our ward so that will be fun. 

So this week has been good, yes we got sprayed on by a skunk. We were coming out of the members' house that we live at to walk towards our house then as soon as we opened the door it was right there and sprayed us. I knew it got me so I just ran and was screaming. It smelled pretty darn bad. Luckily it only got on my shirt and I won't be bringing that one home so I'm over it. It was a cool story though, I will tell my kids about. 

This week has been good, the work has been slow and the time has gone fast. I really wish it was the opposite, like that the time went slow and the work was going fast. We have been meeting with a guy and last night we taught the restoration and it was just awesome. My companion shared the part about Joseph Smith and where he had the first vision and the spirit just hit me so hard like it always does that Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of God. I love that story. I will never get tired of it. That story is true, and I will never deny it. 

Elder Solomon is still a trooper, we are having lots of fun. We are trying to find those true seekers. We had some funny experiences this week.  Its been a lot of fun. 

We are going to the temple this Friday with a group of people from Gridley. Bo and the Pratts and some other choice people are coming. I'm so excited! I will be sure and send some pictures! But I think that is about it from my end of the world. As I always say I'm thankful for my mission, It has changed my life in so many ways. It has been such an amazing experience. I want to thank everyone who helped me get out here. which is so many people! I love you all!

Elder Simons

p.s. I'm glad you made it home safely. Can't say I wasn't worried, but I did pray really hard.

Simple and Divine

It was great to hear from you Mom. Make sure you let me know if you are safe or not. 

Wasn't conference a treat? I can't stop thinking about it and the wonderful messages we heard from God's servants. I can't wait to get the Ensign and read all the talks again, although that will probably be when I'm back home, which is a daunting and scary thought. I love how simple and divine the messages were, they were on deep deep doctrine but on the simple and pure truths that we all need to work and improve on. I love President Monson's Message on obedience. It was amazing! How simple but yet how powerful was his message. We all must be obedient or we can't be successful. I just loved it. I can't wait to study that talk more in depth. 

This week has been a lot of coordinating between our areas that we cover. Elder Solomon is great, we are working hard and we are obedient. I want to finish strong and he wants to work hard no matter what so i'm happy i'm with him. We are struggling to find people to teach still. That is and may be the universal struggle throughout the world, but it is hard because our areas are sooo big that it is almost impossible to get out of the car and tract because there is like a big distance between most homes. That won't get us down though. 

I'm hoping to go to the temple with Bill soon, I talked to him earlier this week and it almost brought me to tears to hear his and his wife's sweet voices. I love those people with a love that I can't really describe. ANyway I will keep you updated on that.

 I love you all and pray for you always!

Elder Simons

Letter from Gridley member

[This is an email I received just a couple of days ago... it brought a smile to my face as she described the Wilson we know! Also, as a reminder, I try to remove names of recent converts or investigators from the emails...]

Hello Dayna!

It was great getting an email from you!  We did have a great time going to the temple.  I'm so glad that Elder Simons stiil asks for a ride to the temple!! It is such a fun thing to gather some Gridley friends and do that and see him from time to time.  Did he tell you about Sister [...]?  She was so happy to have him there; it really made her first time to the temple more special.  He spent so much time with that couple.  Did he tell you about our picnic dinner on the temple grounds?  We all sat around reminiscing about the fun times and laughing...Elder Simons especially can make us laugh!  After the dinner he took her wheelchair back up to the temple by riding in it.  Yep! That is him!  Fun, fun. 

I hope he will continue to be in areas where he can go to the temple, but chances are, he'll get sent up north somewhere.  The Lake Shasta area would be a new twist, or Paradise (up the road from Chico in the mountains).  I guess we'll see here in a few weeks. 

Elder Simons has a way with people that I don't see in very many missionaries.  You have a great son and we miss him here in Gridley!  I know he's doing great things wherever he goes!

Take care, and thank you for keeping in touch!  I'm sure we'll meet soon!
Denise

Life-changing feeling

[Editor's note: this is Elder Simons' email from last week... we were out of town, so I wasn't able to post it]

This week was amazing. The highlight was definitely going to the temple with [a re-activated sister from my Gridley days]. I wish I could express the feeling I had while in the temple seeing her go through for her own endowment. Let's just say if the only feeling I had on my mission was that feeling for the whole 2 years it would be all worth it. Seriously that was a life changing feeling and experience. I remember when I first met her, she was kind of like [her husband]. Not really wanting to commit to anything right away. But the Lord worked with her. It was so interesting seeing the spirit work in her and soften her heart, where eventually she had a desire in her heart to come to church and re-find that testimony that was deep within her soul. She is amazing. She had so much joy. On the way to the temple she was getting car sick and she was thinking she couldn't make it, but when she was going through the session she felt great and energetic. It was one of the coolest things I have seen in my life. I truly feel the spirit sustained her and helped her have the energy required to going through the temple session. Now I just have to wait for [her husband] to be ready to go and do his work. Hopefully I stay down south for transfers so I can go to it. 

We had 3 investigators come to church yesterday. That was a miracle. One of our YSA investigators actually bore his testimony. It was so legit. He talked about the scripture where Christ says if they hate you for my sake they hated me first. I don't remember the full thing but he bore the sweetest simplest testimony on that. It was good. 

I'm so excited for General Conference. It will be a revelatory experience for all who listen and watch. If we think about it, the same thing that will be happening this weekend is like Moses being at the Energy Solutions Arena and teaching the Gospel. I'm excited to be able to talk to people this week about that and say something to the effect of if Moses was talking wouldn't you want to listen to him? It is such a blessing we have a prophet, seer and revelator in our day. How blessed are we! I think I often overlook the magnitude of that blessing. He holds the keys of the priesthood of God. He speaks with God and then in turn teaches us God's words. I can't wait. 

I love you all. I love the temple. I love our Prophet. I love God.

I love you!!!

I love life

Thanks for that wonderful email Mom. I appreciate it so much.

This week has been so fast, it was scary. This week I'm fully expecting to go by fast as well. Its good though.

What to talk about, so many things happen in my week its so hard to express all that happens. We had a wonderful meeting on Friday with Elder Trythall from the 5th Quorum of the Seventy. And he talked to all the district and zone leaders on the ward council. The ward council has become a subject that I have deep feelings for. Its something that I have spent much time trying to figure out how I can help the most being just a boy in a suit and tie. I have had many frustrating experiences and I have had many wonderful things happen. So I was very excited for this meeting to truly figure out what my purpose was in the ward council. The meeting was truly edifying and uplifting. It gave me so much information that I know will bless my life for the rest of my life with regards to how ward councils are supposed to work. And I received much direction on what I can do. It was just a great meeting. It truly inspired me to go and do great things. 

What else new has happened? Oh I'm going to the temple on Friday with [a recent convert's wife from Gridley]. They both are 100% active and she wants to go because she is getting weak and older so we are going through for the first time with her. Such an amazing experience to see where she has come from to where she is now. I know [her husband] is preparing to get to the temple as well. I can't wait till that day comes. 

So some of our baptismal dates have dropped but we still have one on the 20th of October. This lady is amazing. I can't wait for that beautiful day. 

I love life. I don't want to be anywhere else. I love my mission and it is sad and frustrating that I'm coming to the close of it. I feel like I still have so much to accomplish and so much of myself to change. Thank you for the prayers everyone! I love you all!

Elder Simons

Work with all diligence

How are you all doing? Hopefully good.

This week was a good one. It was hotter then ever though. I can't believe how hot it was. We pressed forward through it though. We were able to pick up a new investigator last night. So that was really good. Dorothy came to stake conference yesterday, that was so sweet! She loved it. Actually we haven't talked to her but who couldn't love stake conference? Stake conference was good Elder Choy was there and he taught so well.  I was jealous of how well he was able to convey his message to all of us. He taught about making correct choices and also on how we must respect priesthood leaders and understand that we don't receive revelation for them, they receive it for us. Once we do that we can fully get all the blessings in store for us. 

I have learned many lessons this week, one being that I can't live in Sacramento. It's too hot. I will live in Utah. Second, that diligence is what we need to get to where we want to be. If we aren't diligent (in missionary work) we get nowhere. Really why are we even here? We chose to be here so why aren't we working our hardest for the Lord?. But we must also be diligent so we can enter into the rest of the Celestial Kingdom. It isn't going to take shirking and laziness to get there. It is going to take getting up and doing something for the Lord and His Children. I feel strongly that we need to have a better and stronger determination to act. Sometimes we are lazy! I'm sorry but we are. I look back at my life right before I came on my mission and I put forth pretty much zero effort to go to the temple and worship my God. When really I should have been putting forth all the effort to get there and enjoy it. But life gets in the way. That is really no excuse for holding back salvation for the dead. I guess I have really strong feelings about this today because the spirit has really been prompting me to set goals for when I get back for getting to the temple. I hope that I can put off my natural man and become more spiritually minded. We must be diligent so that when we are there on judgement day we can be guiltless and blameless (two words i hope so badly i can be that day) before God and we can answered to him "I was diligent in all my callings and in reading the scriptures, in my temple worship, in my service to other children of God". I hope we all can say that on that day. I love this missionary work. Please pray for me so I can work with all diligence. I love you all!

I forgot to talk about my investigators! They are all doing great. We are excited about the progress they are making!! I will tell you more next week!!

I love the temple!

Hey mom and dad!
Thats crazy that you talked to sister pratt! That is really fun, though. That is exciting stuff. And i could not have done any of those things without the Lord's help. I truly can testify that i received personal revelation for each of those situations and people and many more daily. I feel so blessed to be able to talk and converse with Our Heavenly Father. How lucky we are. How lucky and blessed i am.

This week went alright. The temple was for sure the highpoint. The temple is truly the house of God. You can not walk into that holy place and deny there is a God or that Jesus is His Son. The Sacramento temple is beautiful (well i guess they all are) but i loved being inside with some of the people i have gotten closest to while i have been out. I loved being in the Celestial room. I love how much synbolism is in the temple. I love it all. I can't wait to go back.

Anyway...So we confirmed the date for the baptism for the 18th of Feb.  How exciting, i know! I can't wait. She is so cool i love just talking to her about her life story and she came to church yesterday so that was really nice. We also have started teaching this 16 year old girl who already knows this whole church is true and everything but her parents will not let her get baptized. Her dad is really really anti.  He thinks that the church takes away people's freedom. He wants his daughter to be able to have tried drugs and alcohol and everything that goes along with it so she can build her own morals and values. But she is like "well i already decided against that stuff long before i heard about the church". So we are praying really hard for her and for her parents' hearts to be softened. We must put our trust in Heavenly Father.

Other then that, i went on an exchange this week with Elder Funk. it was really nice to be with him. He is a younger elder and he is a great missionary. I love exchanges because i get to learn about other missionaries' styles of doing work. It is neat.

We are trying to find more investigators. The ward needs it.  Hopefully we can deliver. Roseville is growing on me. My nose has been going insane though because i'm not used to all this pollution. I have been in Gridley where there is like no pollution. But i will get better!

Again i love the Lord and i love serving Him for twenty four hours a day for two years. How lucky am i?

Anyway i love you all and i better go.
Elder Simons

He knows

So i had an email and it got deleted. but thats okay.

Some people from the Gridley Ward are going to the temple this Wednesday for their temple endownment and i'm going too. I'm so pumped! I can't believe i get to go to the temple again.  I miss it so much. Being in the temple brings so much peace. I cant wait!!! Also we may go to Cheescake Factory after :)

For this week though we picked up three new investigators. One of them is a dad of a family and he has gone to church faithfully longer then i have had the priesthood. And he pays tithing. He does everything he just isnt baptized yet! So we are working with him. He has some for sure potential.

We got a refferral from the sister up in Yuba City about a woman who they have been teaching and she moved down pretty close to where we live. She is ready to be baptized, we just need to go over a couple things and i think she will be baptized on the 18th. Talk about tender mercies of the Lord. What a blessing this girl is. I can just see in the future, her husband getting baptized and they get sealed in the temple and i get to be there for it. How great would that be? 

The other investigator has been investigating for about three years. I think she is ready now. She wants to understand the role of the prophet more. Which is like a relief. i can teach that doctrine.  I'm glad its not something huge. But with the Lord all things are possible so what am i saying?

This week has been an interesting one. In some ways i feel like i'm failing right now, but when i get down on my knees the Lord reassures me that He is pleased with me. And that He knows i'm doing all i can to build up His kingdom. I know that the more i show the love for the work and people the more i will be blessed. I just want to earn blessings for other people... the people i teach and the people at home who are sacrificing for me to be out there.

I love the Lord and i love that i get the eternal blessings of being able to serve. I will give you more updates next week.
Have a great week!

I know without a doubt that He lives

So we got transfer calls on Saturday night. Which is weird, but it was really cool. I am staying in good old Gridley and i am getting an 18 month old Elder Peterson! He is six inches taller than me so that will be interesting!  I will be the one driving and stuff. I need to get some Mo Tab.  
Ah! Alot of my elder friends in the zone are leaving which kinda stinks but Elder Barron is staying so it will be okay. Same with Leone. Osejo is going to Forest Hill in the Auburn zone so I'm sure he will enjoy that. I am trying my hardest to get him to be excited about his last six weeks.  I think he will do fine.
The temple policy is if you are south of Yuba zone you can go every three months and if you are in the Yuba City zone you can go every six months. Everyone north can't go at all. Which stinks but one day I will get my turn!
I did get my package that was so cool! Mom thank you so much!!! I can't thank you enough! Those ties are so nice! AHHH! Thank you again!! I love you.
Sounds like you guys are having a very busy time. Just know that you have a temple five minutes away from you where you can get away from everything. Go there for me! I miss it! I think about the temple alot. Alot alot.
The cold is gone! It was a hard diet thing to stick too but i am good now which is wonderful. Counting my blessings. So we still are working on finding people. I am sorry i don't have anyone really to talk about! Next week i know i will have a new investigator to talk about. Just wait and see. (don't forget to pray though :))
Scripture thought for today:
2 Nephi 9. What a beautiful chapter. Read it. It is Jacob testifying of Christ.
I am just going to go over some good things that stood out to me but i want everyone to read it and really take time and think about it.
It talks about satan in v. 9 and then in v. 10, i love it cause it says "escape from the grasp of this awful monster" because of God's plan. How great that we can escape satan and go to God! God wants us, every one of us to be with Him and away from the devil. How lucky we are to have a Heavenly Father that wants ONLY the best for us. Let us not take this for granted. ever.
Also in v. 21 it talks about our brother Jesus Christ and how He suffered for our pains. I love that because we forget that Jesus died for us and all of our feelings and pains. Not only physical or pains for sin but pain for not so great stuff in life. Life is never easy. And sometimes things just hurt or situations are tough but through the infinite Atonement we can have peace in a world which breeds unpeaceful ideas, actions, and people. How great and how blessed are we?
Verses 31-37 i think are powerful because it is just saying the 'do nots', basically. I love v. 38. it gives me the chills. How many of us want to return to God and look Him in His face and have Him see our sins? None of us hopefully. The verse makes me want to be better, so i can make Jesus Christ and God proud. So the day that i get to physically meet them i can stand blameless before Him and i can say that i did my best. If we got to meet Jesus and God right now would we be ready? I know i am not. I would say my life is very far from being in total harmony with a Christlike life. But through that Atonement and through the scriptures and studying i know that one day i will be perfect as He is. I know that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me. For my everyday feelings. For my happiness, for my sadness, for my sins, for my accomplishments, for every pain, sickness or affliction, for salvation. He died for me. I know that Christ lives. I know that we will see him again. We will get to converse with Jesus and God. We will be perfected as they are. How great shall be our joy! I need everyone in the world to know that i know without a doubt in my head that He lives.
I will let you guys finish that chapter on your own. It is wonderful. It really is.
Have a wonderful day.

Don't worry about me

Thanks for the email mom!
We had a huge celebration for pioneer day in our stake. We tried to get a ton of less actives there but i think only one showed up! But look at that success.
I am learning so much about myself! Something big i have learned today is the importance of getting married in the temple! I hope my wife wants to get married in the temple cause she isn't marrying me anywhere else than in the temple. I need someone who we can be active together and help each other be better.  ANYWAY, this week has sorta been slow. So we only got 9 lessons this week and the mission standard is 16, so that doesn't make me happy at all. So during weekly planning i have a goal to get 18 lessons this next week. We are trying to meet with active members, so we can build their testimonies and that will help them want to do missionary work. So its been nice. But its really hard to get into anyone's home, Non-member or member. Which is weird. Really no one is home.

Elder Simons and zone just before transfers

Anyway...i need some ties by the way. I will be happy with anything i'm just like super low on them. 
I have to give a talk on getting spiritually ready for missionary work next week. We will see how that goes.
We are really working hard to find people to teach. I hope you guys are having a great week. I love you all so dang much. I'm so proud of you all and everything you are doing. Don't worry about me --- the Lord and i are pretty tight. He has got my back so there is no need to worry. I love Jesus Christ and i learn more about the Atonement each and every day. How could someone die for a 19 year old child so that when he does something wrong he can have that wiped away. So amazing.
One last story, so last night we had dinner at this members house and she is like "okay desert time" and she said we are going to have pie. In my head i was like sweet just as long as it isn't lemon pie, but no one ever has lemon pie. But of course for complaining i got lemon pie. i had to gag that down with a smile on. That was the hardest thing i had to do that day. So it was a good day!
Love you all