I Love going to meetings!

Written March 31, 2014

Hey Family!!!

So, it is so good to hear from y'all again! I still don't have my I-pad working for email yet, but hopefully soon I will.   Like two weeks ago I dropped my ipad, and the screen on it cracked, so I took it into the mission office at transfers and was able to get on of the departing missionary's iPads. 

I thought I would tell you a little about the temporal things that I have been up to and things I have found first, and then I could tell you about the spiritual nature of the work. A few weeks ago we went to Starbucks so that we could use the wifi there and I wanted something to drink. I think Aunt Kara had told me about something she called a steamer, so I asked if I could have one. They asked me what flavor we would like, and I didn't know, so I said raspberry and hazelnut sound really good. Can I do that? That drink was one of the most amazing things I have ever tasted!! We went back and got more a few different times, but they were somewhat expensive on a missionary budget, so I thought "why don't we just make our own?" so we did. We went to Wal-Mart and got the Italian Ice syrup stuff in raspberry and hazelnut. Then we just heat up the milk in the microwave like you would hot chocolate and pour in some syrup. They aren't quite as good as Starbucks, but they get the job done :) lately we have had one like every morning with our study's. haha.

I crashed my bike for the first time this past week too! It wasn't anything bad, but I'm totally counting it as my fist wreck. (if I can't wreck a car anymore, might as well crash my bike) it had rained the night before and was somewhat cold outside still when we went out. As I went to turn the corner my bike kept going straight and then decided to slide out sideways from under me haha no big deal, but thought it was kind of funny. made me sad it ripped up my pants a little when I hit the asphalt.

My companion and I also started working out this past week so that we could look good for the summer ;) the first day, and every other day we do a workout called the "Spartacus" workout. its a 30 min high intensity high rep workout. the first day we did it I felt like I was going to pass out though! You know how when I had my wisdom teeth pulled and I just about passed out?! That's like exactly how I felt when I was almost done with this workout. and then on the off days that we don't do that workout we just run around the complex we live in 5 times (which is about 25 minutes). We are trying to do a low-carb diet as well. haha I'm determined to loose some weight!!!

That is so crazy that Andy has submitted his papers and that Tate already has his call. leave I think the reason that so many of these missionary's who are getting their calls now are going foreign is because I think all of the missions in the US are at full capacity. I know in our mission, every ward but one or two has two sets of missionary's, and some even have three sets. So at this point I don't think we can handle many more missionary's in the states and they need them oversees, but that is just my thoughts. We are at the point now that we have to start doing more with more and using the resources we have been given to their fullest potential.

We are so excited for general conference!! I love the ability that modern technology affords us to be able to hear the words of a living Prophet of God that walks the earth today! What an amazing experience and privilege. We started teaching this wonderful girl. She is 19 and is so great. Hopefully she will be baptized in the coming weeks. she has a date for the 12th, but we will see what happens. She has great and amazing faith though! She loved the idea of a modern prophet living and walking the earth today, and the fact that we could all listen to his council. and that we have evidence of all of this being true. She is so great though! She missed church this week, and we aren't quite sure why.  She loved church, and loved the members. She is growing a great relationship with some of the members. But, she read in the pamphlet we gave her that we should always look our best for the Lord and where the best we have. She only has one dress though, and said she needed to go shopping for more dresses to wear. So, we think maybe she didn't come because she had nothing to wear, but we aren't sure. But an awesome sister in the ward that is fellowshipping her is so great and offered her to borrow anything in her wardrobe to wear so she can feel comfortable. So great!!

We will have our Zone Meeting this week which is really exciting. I love going to meetings, because it is an opportunity to feel of the spirit and get re-motived to do the work. That is why our leaders are so great! I feel like the leadership in this mission top notch and the best of the best. The missionary's here are the best you could find anywhere. it is great to be able to go to these meetings and feel of their light/love and their motivation for the work. I continually strive to learn from their council and apply it into my teaching and make it a part of me. Some missionary's have a "missionary" personality, and a "themselves" personality. I have learned that the missionary's who don't just become another person, but actually change themselves for the better are those missionary's who are successful, and ultimately those people who are successful. The most important thing we can do is to just be ourselves. then we recognize the weaknesses that we ourselves have, and we fix those things and become better. that way when we get home, we don't leave the missionary self in the mission and come back nearly the same person we left as, but we are that same person all the time, so we are able to always become better and improve ourselves. There is so much work for us to do, and so little time, but I know that with the lords help nothing is impossible. He Himself said "I give unto men weakness that they might be humble, and come unto me. but if they come unto me I will make weak things become strong in them". "ye, come unto Christ and be perfected in him."

I love you all so much!! I hope you are able to listen to all of general conference, and hear the words they speaks as if they are the words of the lord himself speaking.

 Thank you so much for all you do for me. y'all are so amazing!!!

love,

Elder Jorgensen

Testimony

Written March 18, 2014

I can't wait to get that package!! Haha that is so exciting!!
I can't believe that it had already been 6 months. Tomorrow is
transfers, which means that I have already been here in Huntersville
for 6 weeks. How crazy is that!! And tomorrow is the 18th, so pretty
neat that my actual 6 month mark and transfer 6 month mark line up
with one another! So I'm already 1/4 of the way finished with my
mission. So transfers are tomorrow. Elder Teichert is being transferred
to be a zone leader somewhere else, and I will be taking over the area
here.
That is so exciting that Andy has his papers in to President Foster.
He could have his call before this next transfer is over. He will be a
great missionary.  So, we had stake conference this week, and all
of the states in the south had it the same week. We had a broadcast
from salt lake in which some people spoke to us, and we had L. Tom
Perry speak to us as well. It was a really good conference all about
hastening the work. 
I loved going to those little EFY things. Was there a concert that
night afterwards as well? I absolutely loved being able to be around
all of those youth.  It would be amazing to be able to do the big EFY
Concerts and stuff like that. I think I just love the youth of the
church and high school aged people, and so to be able to work with
them would be so much fun. It seems like it was just yesterday I was
in high school, and I kinda miss it, but I know I we must move on and
grow more.
Oh, so I thought I would tell you what I have learned about Elder
Teichert. His great grandma was Minerva Teichert, who was a very
talented artist and has many paintings in almost every temple and
meeting house throughout the world. He is a 3 time state champion in
wrestling. Almost every talk he gave at his home ward, L Tom Perry was
at. L Tom Perry was at his farewell as well, so they personally know
each other. He told me a little miracle that I thought was super cool,
so I thought I would share it with you. They was a lady in his home
town who had a beautiful and amazing daughter. She wanted so bad for
her daughter to be married and have a family, but no one was coming
along. But, her mother just kept praying. She prayed for her daughter
to be married to an amazing husband for over 40 years!! Then, one day
the day comes that she gets married to L Tom Perry!! Can you believe
that! She prayed for her daughter to find an amazing husband, and I
think she has her prayer answered ;)
 Family is such an amazing thing to have. I have really realized out here just how important family is and how much I love all of you.
So they came with a new Mormon message! Have you seen it? It is like
10 minutes long, but is but bullying and is really good! If you
haven't all seen it, you all should see it!
So, we had a few little blessings happen this past few weeks. First
is that I had a few pairs of pants fixed. 
 And Elder Teichert was having a suit altered so that it
would fit him. When we went to pick it up and pay for it, one of the
members of the ward was in there too. She was so nice, and picked up
the tab for it all! This ward takes really god care of us. And then,
last night we had dinner with the Baughn family, and he gave Elder
Teichert and I each a brand new pair of shoes. He has an online
business re-selling shoes called Allan Edmonds. You will have to look
them up. He gave me a pair called The Rutledge. He said they are over
400 dollars a pair new! You will have to look them up and see what
they cost and let me know. They are super nice though, and he said
they will last like forever if I take good card of them. So I am only
going to wear them to big meetings and stuff like that, not to
anything else.

So, I know that you asked me last week for me to tell you a little but
about my testimony, but I kinda forgot to in my letter....and it will
probably be really long!! I should probably start telling you more of
what I personally know to be true. I am constantly sharing my
testimony with others every day, and so I should be to you all as
well. There are so many things that I have a testimony of. My
testimony has definitely grown while I have been here on my mission,
and I have notice that it grows the most when we are given trials. I
feel somewhat selfish, because my own testimony has grown so much, and
I feel so much more completely converted to the gospel, and I have
been able to really realize what I have. I have learned that our
father in heaven gives us trials because he wants to help us grown,and
so he can bless us. I have a testimony of the commandments. Not just
the big ten, but all of the little things The Lord commands us to do
like to love others, and even just the commandment to pray. He gives
us those commandments because he wants to bless us. I have a huge
testimony of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is true, and it
has been given to provide us with hope, happiness, and guidance in
these last days. I find it interesting that in the Book of Mormon we
read that beginning with Nephi, all of the prophets new what was going
to happen. They all seen that eventually they would all become
completely wicked and be destroyed even after they had witnessed Jesus
Christ himself come to them. But, even though those prophets knew the
people would be destroyed in the end, they still taught them and kept
the records they were commanded to keep. Elder e Holland said that
"they still kept trying and had faith, because they knew that one day,
we, as missionary's would succeed a final time in bringing souls to
Christ". How amazing is that!? They kept trying because they had faith
one day we would be able to do it. I testify that the heavens are open
once again, and we as individuals and a Church receive revelation. I
testify that Joseph Smith was called to be a Prophet to Restore the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness to the earth. I know that he in
fact did see God, our eternal Father in Heaven, and God our Eldest
Brother Jesus Christ in a simple grove of trees that cool September
morning. They were and are two separate beings in body, but one in
goal, purpose, and work. They told him that he was to wait and latter
establish Christ church upon the earth once again. I testify that
prophet Moroni, who buried the plates himself, appeared to Joseph
several times and latter led him to the exact plates which he had
buried. Joseph translated those plates by the power of god as the
convincing evidence that he Indead was a prophet, and that Christ
authority had been restored to the earth. Each and every one of ushas
the ability to read and pray about this Devine book, and receive a
witness through the power of the Holy Ghost that it is true. The Book
of Mormon has changed and continues to change my life. Through knowing
that the Book of Mormon is true, I also know that Thomas S. Monson is
a Prophet of god today, and that he leads and guides Christ church
through revelation he directly receives from him. He holds the keys
for the kingdom of God upon the earth today. As I hear each of them
speak, I can hear the immense amount of charity that each and every
one of them possesses. I testify that the priesthood that has been
restored to the earth once again as well, and that many miracles occur
every day through that power. It is the very power by which all of
Gods will is accomplished here upon the earth. But, all blessings are
predicated upon our faith. I know our father hears every single word
that is uttered out of our mouth. He listens, not always does he
answer in the time or way in which we expect. Prayer is not to change
the will of our father, but so we can align our will with his. He has
promised the faithful that he will comfort them them in their
afflictions and bring peace to their hearts. Then we have to have
hope. We trust God that he will do what he has said he is going to do.
I know that our Father in Heaven has a plan for each and every one of
his children and that he loves each of them. We can all return to live
with him one day. One day will will all receive perfected bodies, and
we will be with our families for eternity. I realize that I do not
know everything. In fact, many of the people here have much more
knowledge than I do, but I know the knowledge I possess will bring
them more comfort and joy than they can even imagine. I am thankful
for the opportunity to be able to share this knowledge with others,
and I know that one day we will all be compensated for every hard or
unfair thing that we go through here on this earth. The Lord wants to
bless us, all we have to do is let him. Trust in The Lord, and believe
in the plan that he has laid out for you. There is more help and
happiness ahead than you can even imagine. I testify that he is
listening and wants to hear from us, In the sacred name of our savior
and redeemer, Jesus Christ, Amen.

We had a chance to study virtue this past week on our 9 weeks closer
to Christ. It was really neat to be able to really study virtue, and I
would highly recommend taking a little bit if time to study all of the
Christlike attributes. I think the thing that stuck out to me the most
is that virtue is a pre-requisite to power and the priesthood. It says
in doctrine and covenants 121 to "let virtue garnish thy thoughts
unceasingly, then shall thy confidence was strong in the presence of
god, and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as
the dews from heaven"

That's pretty much all I have this week, but I will e-mail you again
this next week!! I got your package a little bit ago, and it was so
great! I absolutely loved it!! I love you all so much!!
Love,
Elder Jorgensen

The train has left the station, you are either on it or you're not.

Written March 3, 2014

Hey family!!! :) 

So, my week was pretty good! :) This week was a much faster than last week for some reason. We had interviews with the president, and a district meeting all on Friday of this week. It is crazy how the work is moving forward. The quorum of the twelve and the first presidency said that This is serious stuff. We  are bringing about the salvation of men. They were a saying how "the train has left the station, you are either on it or you're not". There is no more middle ground, and "those who are not onboard are being released from their positions, and being replaced by someone who is". Pretty crazy! We have already witnessed this taking place here. I know recently that a bishop in our stake was just released, and replaced with the high councilor over missionary work. It's crazy to me  the church is not waiting around for people to take action anymore. Now is the time. I recently read a really good talk in the 2001 general conference by Elder Holland titled "witness unto me". It was so good. You should listen to it if you get the chance. 

I am so excited for Andy. I know that a mission will do so much for him, and that he will do so well. I can totally see him being a zone leader while he is out. 

Thank you so much for the package that I received a little while ago, and for all the letters. I will write everyone a little personal letter soon. And the videos were great and brought a huge smile to my face!! I loved them!! They are all so crazy! Thank you so much. It was good to see everyone's face and hear their voices. 

Oh, so crazy thing with Andy putting holes in his wall, I did the same thing at a members house this week! Haha we were having dinner and they had a little closet that went under their staircase. They knew that the space under the stair case was bigger than the closet currently was, so they wondered if we could make the closet bigger. I said why not? So I took a hammer and punched through the wall so that we could see what was behind it. It was funny because my companion went info the front room to take a phone call while we did this. So, he comes back to me with a hammer putting a big hole in a wall. Haha pretty funny! 

But I love you all so much!! Thank you for everything, and I will try and write a more interesting letter next week haha :) 

Love, Elder Jorgensen

The Lord will keep his promise to me

Written Febuary 24, 2014

Dear Mom, Dad, and Family,

Thank you so much for all the pictures from you. We are no longer allowed to look at our email during the week any more, but it was great to see all the pictures that you sent me. I love it! 

I am so happy that Cris was able to fight hard and win one of his matches. I know that as he continues to trust In The Lord and work hard, he will strengthen him. We talked a lot about faith in church yesterday, especially in Elders Quorum. Most of the people in this ward are pretty well off. They have really good jobs, nice homes, and a great family. One of them was saying that his family will always ask him how he is so successful. He said it is really simple, "all I do is trust in The Lord. I do what I need to be doing, strive to keep the commandments, and help others. Then I trust The Lord (have hope) that The Lord will keep his promise with me. Just as he promised the Nephites, As long as ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land." I know that that principle is true. It applies to everything that we do. I think of Josey, and the amazing basketball/volleyball player that she was. I know a large portion of why she was so good is because she strived to live the commandments, and she worked as hard as she could to do her best. With god all things are possible. 

I'm sad to hear that Rigby's basketball team isn't doing too well, but hopefully next year they will be able to do really well. A. mission is hard. Way harder than I ever Imagined it being. I can see how many people are not able to stick it out. But, I know that when The Lord said "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." That he meant it. These little things that jeep in our lives are small moments. We can endure them well, learn from them, and have them make us a better person, or we can shrink and have no reward. Things get hard, but sometimes The Lord brings us low so that he can lift us higher. I know that is true. It never really gets any easier. But then, it wasn't supposed to get easier. What good does it do you if you lift 200 pounds, and then go back to a couple reps of 50? You only grow when it is hard. 

Connie Peterson is an amazing person. She is so talented, and such a great friend to us all. I love how big her heart is. That is so great to hear that Joe and Jacob both are preparing to serve missions. I know there is nothing greater that they could do. I am so happy to hear that Andy is in mission prep mode. I would encourage him to do several things.

1. Read the Book of Mormon cover to cover, including the introduction/testimonies 

2. Read all the way through and then study from preach my gospel every day. 

3. Read Doctrine and Covenants 121. Pay special and close attention to 33-46. We have those verses memorized as a mission, that is how important that they are. 

4. Memorize Doctrine and Covenants 4

But the most important of all of those to do is to read all the way through preach my gospel.

I am so happy to hear that you and dad are being more involved in missionary work as well. That is so great. I know that you and dad could all study from preach my gospel, and it would really help all of you and do the most to prepare all of you for missions. Probably more than anything else. I have not seen the march edition of the ensign yet, but I can't wait. I also can't wait for it to be time to watch conference again as well! So exciting to think that on just a short while we will be able to hear from a prophet of god an chosen apostles. It's like the same as If Moses or Noah were to stand up and speak to us. Crazy!! 

We we had the opportunity to have like 3 exchanges here this week, which was great. I love to be able to be with the leadership of the mission. They are so inspiring and great. We also were able to find some new investigators and meet some really great people. Thank you so much for all your prayers. The peoples hearts are softening. I love the idea that you had to pray about that. Good idea. 

I love you all so much, and can't wait to see you all on Mother's Day!! 

Love,

Elder Jorgensen 

If you're not Green you can't grow

Hey Mom, Dad and Fam,
Written February 17, 2014
That is amazing that Andy was able to shave an entire second off of
his time. Way to go Andy!! I know the Simplot games are a really big
deal. They are huge. A&B does a dance thing for the games, and we
always had a bunch of people come to it. We have heard a little bit
about the Olympics, but not much. Just mainly people saying that it
has has been warmer in Russia for the Olympics than it has been here
in North Carolina. Crazy! We had a big storm this week. It dropped
about 8inches of snow in two days, and no one was really prepared for
it. Everything pretty much just shuts down, for two days no one was
really on the roads, went to work or school or anything. We were some
of the only people crazy enough to be out haha.
So I may have to you that as a mission we were doing a 40 day
fast in which we give up something temporal that we love for 40 days
to help us come closer to Christ. I chose ice cream for mine. It has
has been going really well. I have learned a couple things already
from it that I think are key for me at this point in my life. One of
the most crucial things that I have learned is that it gets easier. At
first my craving for ice cream only increased as the fast went on. I
wanted it more and more all the time, but around the middle of this
week the craving lessened, and more desire for Ice cream decreased,
and now the desire is not nearly as strong as it was even when I was
partaking of it. So, I learned that with the desires of the natural
man, and possibly all desires, (such as reading your scriptures and
praying) will diminish as we do not partake of them. So, in spiritual
matters we have to keep doing what we need to be doing, or pretty soon
we will have no more desire to do good. In the desires of the natural
man, it's gets easier over time to abstain from partaking of them.
Huntersville is very different from Danville. Sadly, the people
seem to be less humble and harder to share a message with. We have
been working hard, but most of our time is spent knocking on doors,
which is not the most effective thing in the world. I do believe
however, that the work here is on the edge of really taking off. The
members here are great. So much of our efforts are focused on helping
members do missionary work and building trust with the members of the
ward. Almost all of our area is city, and so it is a different aspect
in they respect. Most of the people in the area work for a bank, or
something like that, and so they tend to be more well off in life. It
is good for me to see that contrast though.
Moving to a new area is something different than I have really
ever experienced in my life before my mission. When I first came out
on my mission it was all new. So, it's like if you and dad just up and
moved to Boise in a few days. A completely new ward, stake, neighbors,
you don't know anyone, or where anything is. But, after a few months
you get to know all the people in your ward and your neighbors. You
make new friends, and you have figured out how to get around and where
everything is. Now, imagine If 5 months later you had to move another
2 hours away from there, to say like twin falls. So, now you have to
do that all over again. So you have to do all of that all over again.
That is probably the hardest part about moving to a new area.
All of that being said, it may sound like I'm kinda complaining,
but really I'm not. Believe it or not, in a lot of ways it is a good
thing. I feel it's not so good in the fact that you leave behind those
relationships that you have built/connections that you have made with
people that may help them grow, but at the same time Heavenly Father
knows what those people need in their lives, and what we need in ours.
I think the biggest reason and how this all ties back to feeling like
you are a new missionary all over again when you transfer to somewhere
else, is because of this quote that bishop Mullins of the Danville
ward shared with me. He said, "If your not green, you can't grow".
That thought has really stuck in my mind the past few days. I can't
help but think how true that is, but not only that, how powerful that
principle is. I have certainly found that to be true the past two
weeks as I have moved to this new area. When we are new at something,
or uncomfortable with a situation, that is when we have the
opportunity to grow and learn the most. But, why is that? Why do we
learn so much more when we are in that position of life?
As I was reading from the Book of Mormon in my morning studies, I
came across a scripture that really stood out to me. I loved Alma 32
because of how it talks about faith in the middle and latter versus,
but this time as I read through it I picked up on something different.
I realized that I had completely missed out on how important and
powerful the first part of the chapter was. In Alma 32,13-16 it says.
"And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a
man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance;
and now surely, whosoever repent shall find mercy; and he that
findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.
And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be
humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed
who truly humble themselves because of the word?
Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and
endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed--yea, much more blessed
than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding
poverty.
Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being
compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that
believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of
heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled
to know, before they will believe."
So, I guess to tie all of this together, we have to be humble.
When we are moved to a new area in the mission, in essence we are
"compelled to be humble". So, when we are humble we are able to learn.
We are then able to be taught by the Holy Ghost, and he is the
greatest teacher of all.
So, since valentines day was this past week, one of the women in
the ward had a whole bunch of flowers and she did a little photo shoot
with us for a second. It was pretty fun. The pictures turned out
really good too I think :) so happy valentines day!! :) and I hope
dad's birthday was really good! 
Well I love you all very much! Keep doing your part to hasten the
lords work and always read your scriptures every day. If our
investigators can do it, I think we should be able to do it too :) I
love you!! Good luck with all that you have to do this week. Be good
and remember who you are. "When you know who you are, you act
differently."
Love,
Elder Jorgensen