Hey Momma!

Hey hey hey, I'm the missionary, and the favorite.  I taught two classes at church on Sunday, and didn't know about either of them until I was at Church, so I think I've got her beat.  Especially cause one of them was in Relief Society.  Okay, I didn't completely teach that, but the teacher had all of the missionaries get up and tell everyone why they came on a mission.  So we did, and also took the opportunity (each of us) to mention how great conference was and just how much the Prophet and Apostles talked about missionary work and how important members are to us.

So the big news!  Michele is a member of the church! How amazing is that? She has been baptized for the remission of her sins, and she's been given the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  Our church is so cool.  Jesus is the man.  Is that a sacrilege? Oh well, He is.  I was able to perform the actual baptism, which was really cool, and really weird.  I always get chosen, and I don't know what to do about it, and I always get really nervous and think I'm going to forget the baptismal prayer right before I do it.  But I guess this is just fulfilling my Patriarchal Blessing.  There's a lot of stuff in my Patriarchal Blessing that I know was put in there for a reason.  Even reasons I didn't know of til now.  The Church is so cool.  Have I said that already?

So I was able to baptize her, and a man in the ward, Brother Gearing, was able to confirm her a member of the Church, and his blessing was amazing and talked a lot about Family History work and how her family was looking to her as a Savior for them.  I was really blessed to be able to be a part of that.  And Michele is soooo stinkin solid, I love it.  We did Fast and Testimony Meeting yesterday, although I accidently fasted the week before conference, so it was just Testimony Meeting for me, but either way, Michele got up and bore her testimony, and then in Relief Society did it again!! She talked a lot about how Elder Houghton and I literally found her like two days after a very desperate prayer to know what to do with her life.  Prayer works.  It's so amazing Mom.  Everything you taught me is the truth, and the Church is so true.  Thanks for being the best Mom for me, even when I was the crappy crap that I was.

I love the Book of Mormon.  You're right about me.. as always. Every day I make sure I read at least one chapter of it.  I have these set things that I've told myself I have to do, and that's one of them.  Preach My Gospel generally gets the rest of my time.  You need to read that, Mom, I don't know if you have or not, but it is so good, not only for missionaries but for everyone.  Go get yourself one, cause I stole all the ones we had at home. Sorry.  Actually, not sorry, they're being put to some pretty good use.

I loved that you basically bore your testimony to me.  It helps.  Please do that more often. And tell my sisters I'd like to hear it from them sometime too.  I always think of the time that you taught me that there are no coincidences, and there's not.  We were in that park for a reason, and Michele's whole salvation hinged on the fact that we decided to talk to her that day.  How crazy is that?  I'm here for a reason, and that's something that I definitely can't deny. 

Phil was weak. Straight up.  He did what many people on this Earth have done in the past.  He decided that the way to find out the truth about God was to ask people.  The only way to find out if God is there, and if He really loves us, is to ask HIM. Not a person, not a book, but to get on your knees and ask the Creator of the Universe.  That is the only way, and has always been the only way to know.  What Phil did was exactly what many people in history have done.  Some notable characters: King Henry VII who decided that his will was more important than God's, thus is born the most ridiculous church we come in contact with.  Church of England.  People really don't understand that it is such a joke that they're part of a church that even they understand was made by a man. Not God, a man.  And on top of that, for selfish reasons.  It's a joke, and I literally find it humorous that people belong to it.  Another few characters:  The Council of Nicaea.  They decided that God doesn't have a body and neither does His Son, and that they're actually one person along with the Holy Ghost.  That makes a bunch of sense doesn't it?

Anyways.

This is half of my message.  I have to get off cause the library system is hard to use, but I'm planning on doing two more hours of emailing today, so I'll be back on soon to finish off your email.

I love you!

Love,

Elder Smart