The founding fathers were inspired by God.

June 30, 2014
I'm very glad that you received all of that stuff from those members.
It was funny that there were two people going up and offered to take
some stuff for me in one week, I sure grabbed onto that opportunity.
As you can probably tell I had a lot of stuff I wasn't sure what to do
with, hopefully you can store them in my room for me and we can go
through it when I get back. I'm also glad you got your grocery bag
holder, I know it's nothing too fancy but I hope you enjoy it! :) I
love you Momma.

The new area is coming along great! Last week and this next week are
going to be interesting because it seems like half the Ward was gone
last week and the other half is going to be gone this week. But we are
still managing! We really want to involve the Ward in our work so we
have spent a lot of time getting to know them. That's one of the
regrets I have from Apache Junction. We were super busy, had tons of
people to teach, but we didn't help the Ward build in it's missionary
efforts. Everything we built up, investigator wise, crashed because
the members weren't there to hold it up. As the missionaries we were
the ones that drove everything and that's not how it should be.

Our Ward has been really receptive and it's been very nice to get to
know so many great people. Fr..... came to church yesterday. He and
his Mom are headed up to Sadona for a week so we will get a hold of
them next weekend and figure things out. We also have an appointment
with a Part Member Family that we have an appointment with on
Thursday. They were recently married and apparently the non member
husband, G......, told the Sisters that he was interested to learn the
gospel. ALSO some missionaries accidentally went tracting in our area
and they found a guy named B......, we are going to meet him and his
family on Thursday as well. Good things are happening!

We are very excited to enter this Independence Week. Me and Elder Ault
gave a last minute training in District Meeting on the Constitution.
Papa would have been proud haha. It was pretty fantastic. We talked
about how the founding fathers were inspired by God and how liberty is
dependent upon righteousness. It Was. Fantastic. Probably my favorite
training I've ever done, we didn't even prepare beforehand we just got
up and spoke.

Funny story. Last night before bed I was messing around on our pull up
bar (Elder Ault is trying to kick me into shape) and I had a bit of an
accident. I started swinging around on it when suddenly it swung off
of the doorway. I happened to have my back parallel to the ground and
plummeted to the ground from basically the peak of the doorway. I
wouldn't say it especially hurt but the wind was knocked out of me for
a good minute haha. I slept well.

I love you all! Remember the freedom's that we have been given. God
Bless the USA.

-Elder Alexander

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A gentleman in our Ward, Brother Owens, had us over yesterday. He told us a fictional story about Judas that he tells in some of his classes and I'm holding the representation of the 30 pieces of silver. They're silver pieces from Canada. He said I was holding about $1000 of silver.

This is a huge cactus.

Brother Williams, the one we helped hammer out the pool, gave us these
"Official Man Cards" for wielding a jackhammer haha. This is what the
front and back look like.

                                        Brother Owens also made these for me and E. Ault. They're really sweet. 

                                        The gold is a brass mold of the Mesa temple.

A little boy pointed at me and said, "You look like Joseph Smith!"

June 23, 2014
Hello Mother,
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you have a wonderful day this week
Mommy, thank you so much for all of your love and support. I'm so
grateful for such a loving and patient Mother, I look to your example
often. Your selfless love and forgiveness is an incredible attribute
that I admire in you. Thank you for loving me unconditionally.

Well, we are moved. The apartment is all set up now, we got bunk beds,
and our new Bishop gave us some old couches. It's home sweet home now.
 In our study room me and Elder Ault have our Constitutions and Declarations
hung up, reminds me a lot of home haha. We are sure proud to be American, 
and even more proud to be Mormon.

The new Ward us super awesome. It's very diverse, we have really
wealthy people up north and then we have a ghetto apartment complex
down south, with some in middle class in between. It's awesome! Fun
fact, tons of people in our Ward were in the Air Force, it seriously
seems like every other person we visit was in the Air Force. Our Ward
Mission Leader, Brother B....., is really cool. They fed us on
Wednesday, our first night in the area, and he was actually a Dentist
in the Air Force.

We have a few people to teach but we are looking for more. F......and
his mother D....... are really the only solid investigators. He came
to church yesterday and stayed all three hours! D....... isn't as
interested but the Sisters said that as they've met with them she has
started to soften her heart, we are meeting with them tonight so that
should be great.

There is also a family that was recently baptized! C.... and D......
And their kids. I actually interviewed C.... for baptism so I already know them! 
D.... is from New York. They have been together for 8 years but just got married in
May. They're so funny and the gospel is helping them a lot. I'm
excited to get to know them better.

Thank you for the prayers! We have been able to stay a lot busier. The
Ward is a little nervous about having Elders again because before the
Sisters came they had a set of Elders that caused all sorts of
problems. So we get a lot of hesitant remarks about how they miss the
Sisters haha. But we went to Ward council yesterday and presented the
Ward Council Process that President Jenkins has asked us to focus on
and it went really well. I think they know we want to work.

We introduced ourselves to the Primary yesterday and as we left a
little boy pointed at me and said, "You look like Joseph Smith!" That
was pretty cool. By the way there is a lady that is driving through
the valley and might bring you some stuff so be on the look out! I
think she is driving up wed. If there is anything you would like
to send down with her as well you can do that! I might be in for some
new garments. A few Dri Lux with the lower collar, try something other
than crew.

Love you!

Sent from my iPad

I love this Gospel!

June 16, 2014
Hello. Hello. All is well on the Western front. We've just been

chugging along doing our member visits and it has been going really
well. We've gotten to know some really great families in the Ward and
everyone seems to be excited to seek guidance from Our Father in
Heaven on who to invite and how to invite them. But alas we did
receive some transfer news... And it goes as follows.

Me and Elder Ault will be remaining companions but we will no longer
be in the 34th Ward. We are staying in the Mesa East Stake though and
will be taking over the 18th Ward and the Sisters that covered it will
be taking the 34th Ward. So we switched, kind of crazy. I will still
be in the Toro Zone and Elder Derbidge is staying as well. The Toro
Zone used to have three stakes but we are losing one so we will be
down to just the two. So that will be interesting. We are moving out
of the Rapiers and going to live in an apartment complex called the
Polo Club. We will be living with Elder Sweeten (he is the one that me
and Elder Ault were in a trio with, he isn't in our Zone anymore. He
is in the stake that moved over to Saguaro Zone) and his companion
Elder Petersen. Things will be good.

Before I forget. I mentioned to Elder Ault that you had some Pocket Constitutions.

He would really like one. He sure loves America, almost as much as you sometimes. 

Any other American paraphernalia that you are able to send would be appreciated

Declarations? Constitutions we can sign? We listened to a talk about the American Constitution

by Ezra Taft Benson this morning and I am just overflowing with patriotism.

It took everything within me to hold in the chorus of, "Freedom isn't free.

You gotta pay the price, you gotta sacrifice. For your liberty." 

I'm glad to hear that all is well back in good ol Utah. Glad that Dad
enjoyed the picture and I hope that his Father's Day worked out. Sorry

I haven't sent your Mother's Day package to you yet, I will make
sure to get it to you soon!! I might also throw in something for Dado

in there so watch out.

Sorry this isn't a very exciting email but I sure love you a lot. I
will make sure to pray for a more exciting week and I'm sure with the
whitewashing it will be pretty exciting. I love this gospel and the
faith that I am able to increase everyday as I try to be more like the
Savior. I know that He lives. I know that He knows me and loves me. He
wants me to be the best person I can and He isn't going to let me

settle for less if I am willing to give my all to Him, I love that. He will help

me reach my full potential and I know that it is only through His grace

and mercy that it is even possible for me to do so.

Elder Alexander

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                                                           Temple trip a couple of weeks ago.

A member took us to sushi and I tried some octopus. That's me eating

it... The phrase is just a little joke between me and Elder Ault

This is a hawk, named Phoenix, devouring half a rabbit in Elder Ault's hand.

                                                                                 

This is me and Elder Ault on our hike the other day, pretty incredible.

Our actions are the means, not the end we seek.

June 9, 2014
I don't think I need anything else right now, I'm still pretty happy
with that Air Force shirt. 

The Family Mission Plans are going well. We have been able to meet
with quite a few families in the Ward and we are hoping to see some
more fruit from our labors. We have already seen some so far. A family
in our ward invite their neighbor to have us come by and help do some
service in their front yard and they accepted (who wouldn't?). We also
have two families inviting a very less active family to a family home
evening tonight. Seriously the more people there are doing the simple
things that invite others to come unto Christ the more people we will
have come unto Christ. It's pretty simple really. I'm excite to see
what else comes from this.

Another focus we have had is called The Ward Council Process. What
happens is here are 15 names that the Ward wants to focus on that are
selected. 5 from the High Priests, 5 from the Elders Quorum, and 5
from the Relief Society. After they are selected they are invited to
meet with us. Yesterday we hashed it out in Ward Council and decided
on 10 of the 15 names (High Priest Group was slacking, but that's ok).
In the following weeks each person will be invited to meet with us. We
are hoping to see many miracles.

The work is slow right now but we are keeping hope alive. I had a
question answered during my studies. I was considering how the
Atonement that Christ made helps us change. I have had a hard time
comprehending that but I was reading in Mosiah 3 about overcoming the
natural man and I came across this:
“We are safe on the rock which is the Savior when we have yielded in
faith in Him, have responded to the Holy Spirit’s direction to keep
the commandments long enough and faithfully enough that the power of
the Atonement has changed our hearts. When we have, by that
experience, become as a child in our capacity to love and obey, we are
on the sure foundation.

From King Benjamin we learn what we can do to take us to that safe
place. But remember: the things we do are the means, not the end we
seek. What we do allows the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change us
into what we must be. Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to
repentance and to keeping His commandments. We obey and we resist
temptation by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. In time our
natures will change. We will become as a little child, obedient to God
and more loving. That change, if we do all we must to keep it, will
qualify us to enjoy the gifts which come through the Holy Ghost. Then
we will be safe on the only sure rock” (in Conference Report, Apr.
2006, 14–15; or Ensign, May 2006, 15–16).

Our actions are the means, not the end we seek. Our actions and our
obedience are what change our hearts. In time after faithful obedience
our hearts can and will change. Our continued obedience is what allows
the Atonement to change us.

Elyse and Dallas are in my prayers, I love them so much. I'm so
grateful for the gospel and the comfort it brings in times of trial.
Adam is doing awesome. We had a good conversation yesterday, it's
always good to talk to him.

Love you!

Love Elder Alexander


Sent from my iPad

We sure love  George’s e-mails.  Jeff used George’s e-mail tonight for his FHE lesson.  It was great!  Thanks for sending them to us!             

 (A nice comment From his Aunt Jacki).

Put the Lord first in the best and the worst times and He will take care of you.

June 2, 2014
Thank you so much for that package. I really enjoyed it, probably one
of my favs. Thank you for the Air Force shirt, super awesome. I'm
going to probably go exchange it for a smaller size. Just so you know
in regards to you doing college stuff I'm really not sure what I
wanted you to do... Just make sure it all works out I guess. I've just
seen so many missionaries caught up in applying for colleges and I
don't want to waste that time. So if I don't have to apply til after I
get home then feel free to just research for me. Love you.

Thank you for joining in a fast for our area. Our mission joined in a
fast yesterday in order to find more people. The mission had a lot of
success the last few don't he but now we need to find more people.
That stands true for our area. Things picked up the end of April but
now we are left with nothing. Betty actually moved... She got a job
and stopped meeting with us, and then everything feel apart and she
had to move. It was sad but I feel as if The Lord blessed her and she
stopped making Him a priority. I learned a valuable lesson this week.
Put the Lord first in the best and the worst times and He will take
care of you. I know that's true.

So we literally have absolutely no one to teach. We have quite a few
potential people we have found but no one we are teaching regularly.
In order to keep busy and enable our Ward to independently do
missionary work we have been doing Family Mission Plans. We go in, say
a prayer, share a scripture, and talk about their friends, family, and
neighbors. We invite them to do specific things and pray who they
should invite and how hey should do it. It is going really well and
our next three days are completely booked.

I'm glad you got to go see Grandma Dorothy. Mosiah 16:8. I know that
we will see her again. I know that there is life after death, this
life doesn't make sense without. I'm so comforted in knowing that I
know exactly what I need to do to be with my wonderful family forever.
This church is true. Being obedient to WHATEVER The Lord commands me
brings more peace and happiness that anything. There's no fear, no
guilt, and the Spirit is there to comfort me when I need it. I love
you!

Love Elder Alexander
Sent from my iPad

There's a new fire burning and it's catching.

May 26, 2014
I will be looking for that package in the coming week! I've been
craving some dried mangoes. I will also keep a look out for that
letter, thank you for supporting the people I teach! Love you both.

You are correct, Lanaya was baptized on Saturday!! The service went
very well, President surprised us and showed up for the baptism. Not
many people came due to Memorial Day weekend but it really ended up
being very spiritual.

Betty got sick so she wasn't able to make it to church and we haven't
been able to meet with her much but that is all we are left with.
Other than Betty we're not teaching anybody else so we are in finding
mode. We are excited though. We were trained in Zone Conference about
how to more effectively use the Ward Council so we will be focusing
our efforts there. The next couple weeks will probably be slow but I'm
really excited about the challenge haha. Our mission and members are
going to fast for finding opportunities this Sunday and I know there
will be many miracles from it.
Our mission is focusing a lot on being consecrated to the work. There 

is a talk called, "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister 

that we all read. If you can find it give it a read. That was a large focus of our

 Zone Conference this week and I realized that that is what I have been trying to do

 I've tried to give myself to the work and I've noticed that when I hold even an ounce back 

the miracles don't happen. The Lord expects a lot out of us

Zone Conference went well. I did my training and I felt good about it.
The trainings by the Assistants and President were pretty incredible
and I know that they really helped our mission. There's a new fire
burning and it's catching.

For some reason I'm having a really hard time remembering what
happened this past week... It's all kind of overshadowed by Zone
Conference and the baptism... Let me think.

We went and helped Bro W... with his pool again. I didn't jack
hammer this time but we shoveled all around the perimeter of the pool
so that we can cave in the sides eventually. It's tough work and you'd
be surprised how hot it gets at 7 in the morning. It's pretty much
like high noon in Utah. Love it.

We helped with the lunch at a funeral on Friday and it was at the
Kimball East Stake Center. That's the stake I started in and it was
pretty weird being back there again!

We ate dinner with some nonmembers that Elder Ault actually knows from
before the mission and they called us Colton and George the whole
time. It was super weird.

And that's it for random facts, This week was a little slower but I
love you all a lot!

Love, Elder Alexander

Sent from my iPad

Go serve someone TODAY. There's no greater feeling.

May 19, 2014

I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures! I would have to agree that I pull
off the three piece rather well. I have some more pictures for you
today as well. So get ready!!

This week was AWESOME! I'm going to give you a brief day by day
overview like I have before. That's awesome you were able to meet
those three members from the Quorum of the Twelve, and First
Presidency. They really are incredible men!

On Monday we randomly drove out to Apache Junction and climbed a

mountain in full Proselyting attire in order to obtain a CD from

another missionary. Don't worry we survived and we got our CD. That
evening me and Elder Ault went to Brother J' house to see his new
pet... A Hawk!! He caught it and is training it now. We both got to
hold it, I was terrified, and we are going by sometime this week with
Amos and Lanaya to teach them and feed the Hawk with them! I have some
pictures of them I will send.

We saw a pretty cool miracle on Tuesday. I went on an exchange with
Elder Coulston, who is the District Leader in the Mountain View Stake,
and he came to my area for the day. As we were planning the night
before we set some pretty faith filled goals hoping The Lord would
supply us as we worked hard. The next morning a potential, Betty, that
we had been trying to contact for almost a month finally called us and
we set up an appointment for that night. We have been able to teach
her a total of three times now, she came to church yesterday, and
invited herself to Lanaya's baptism this coming Saturday. And she also
said she wished there was another hour of church... She's awesome!!

On Wednesday we had Zone Training Meeting. It went pretty well. We had
to train in Planning so it may have been a little dry but it was
necessary. We still have the biggest Zone in the mission so it's
pretty fun. We have a lot of different personalities and ideas so it
works out really well.

On Thursday Amos and Lanaya got married! To answer your question Amos
is already a member. He hasn't been active in a long time though. He
was raised by a foster family in Lavan, UT but I think he stopped
attending when he went back to the reservation when he was in his
early 20's. And they're in their mid 50's now. But he is coming back
and bringing Lanaya with him! Their wedding was an awesome experience.

On Friday was Riley, Tate, & Talan's baptism. It was fantastic! There
were so many people there. All of his family, who were largely less
active, and a large amount of the Ward. It was different having them
get confirmed at the baptism since we usually do that at sacrament
meeting but it was a great service! Me and Elder Ault got to teach as
they changed it and that's always fun! ALSO that night as me and Elder
Ault were driving home we decided we wanted to hurry and pull through
the McDonald's drive thru and get some Powerade before we headed in.
As we pulled in we saw a very homeless man pushing a cart full of
garbage bags and crosses. So we decided we would treat him to dinner.
We bought him 2 McDoubles and a large Powerade. We parked the car and
chased him down a bit, he wasn't too quick so it was easy, and gave
him dinner. Morale of the story: Go serve someone TODAY. There's no
greater feeling.

Saturday morning we went over to a new members house in the Ward, Bro
W..., and helped him tear out his swimming pool. It was my first
time in a pool in 16 months! Granted there was no water but still
haha. If it doesn't sound like it I can promise you that tearing out a
swimming pool is no easy job. I used a jackhammer for the first time
in my life and my forearms are still paying for it. It was fun though
and he's an awesome guy, has a pretty gnarly beard. Also on Saturday
Lanaya passed her baptismal interview!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Amos was ordained a Priest in preparation for
Saturday. He is going to be baptizing Lanaya!! Pretty incredible, I
love them so much. We also went down to the Stake Center last night
and taught Amos the prayer he would say at he baptism, he's so nervous
but he will be awesome.

So that's our week! After this week when Lanaya gets baptized we will
only have Betty left to teach so we are in finding mode as of.... The
last week or so haha. We have a couple things in the works that we
hope will pan out. Keep Lanaya in your prayers, she has a lot trying
to keep her from going through, she's strong though and I know she
will make it. Tomorrow I'm giving a training at Zone Conference, still
a little nervous, but excited.

Love you!

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