Hola Familia!

 

Oh wow this week has gone by extremely fast, and it was nice getting all the letters from home this week. Anyways since last friday things have been going a lot better. This week we had yet another general authority come to speak to us and it was russell m nelson. He gave a great talk and he was way open and also just super funny too. It was kinda weird to see that he was just a normal person like all the rest of us, but he has an amazing testimony and the spirit was so strong while he was talking...

 

Also last saturday was the byu football game. Gotta say its kinda hard to bear when you can hear the stadium cheer and youre sitting in a classroom trying to read the book of mormon. Haha so Elder Tucker and i went outside to "study" that night and i saw one of my other friends from back home, Elder Mike Bell "studying" as well outside. What occured next was pretty funny. I watched as mike yelled to these kids playing in their back yard that if they went inside and found out the score he would give them each a mini butterfinger. Mike all night kept giving these kids butterfingers and they kept running in to see the score, it was hilarious!

 

Not much has really been going on here though, each day im getting better and better at spanish and its really starting to click, but lately my goal has first been to "obtain the word", so I've been reading a ton out of the bible, and since wednesday starting it, i'm halfway through Leviticus, and i've also been reading doctrine and covenants. I wish you could see my scriptures, Jordan could testify that they are crazy marked up.

 

Speaking of Jordan, 2 days ago, one of the other missionaries in my district Elder Nemmick and I went up to Jordan's place and decided to go get some snack since his companion was saying he had a ton of food. Anyways while up there, since jordan leaves this upcoming tuesday, i decided to be a fake investigator for him. I replicated the investigator Elder Tucker and I have been teaching and asked him to teach me the first lesson. By the end of it, all of his companions and some kids from out in the hall, about 5 or 6 of them vs me on bible bashing and none of them really understood that the idea is not to bible bash but rather bring in the spirit. Hahaha and even better, i won at bible bashing talking about the trinity. So i gave them the list of scriptures that they needed to read and hopefully they understand that bible bashing leads to no where. We always relate it to Alma chapter 1 in our district where Nehor killed Gideon after bible bashing, so it really does lead to nowhere.

 

Anyways, so life has been good here, I am just insanely tired every day, and lately we've been told to not even speak any english all day long, so writing this letter i keep erasing all my spanglish just because im so used to it. Also lately i've had kind of a new theme song i've really, really liked. Of course you've heard it, but its "come thou font of every blessing" and i just love the lyrics in it. It always seems to just get to me.

 

And btw, its good to hear that BSU is doing what they do best. They have my prayers.

 

Anyways I love you all and miss you a ton. Tell Tanner to keep working hard and to develope far better study habbits than i did. I'm sad I never read the scriptures and wrote in a journal as much as i could before my mission, i know i would've loved it, and i know he will too if he sets his mind to it. Its kinda funny, after reading the old testament and also reading the doctrine and covenants it really did hit me. The lord really is the same yesterday as he is today. The problems the church faced and is facing are a lot the same as the children of Israel and what seems so simple to avoid and you ask how they never understood, we still do today. Its nice to know however, instead of wandering around in the desert for 40 years, we have a profeta who can guide us from our houses.

 

But anyways i love you all and you're always in my prayers. Study with real intent, and also i have a challenge for tanner. If he sits down and studies preach my gospel chapter 3 a different lesson each week over and over again with a highlighter and makes notes, and prays for a missionary experience, i guarantee he will have one and he'll be prepared to share. Tanner, and family and friends, yo se que este evangelio es del Señor y cuando nosotros oramos con sinceridad con nuestro padre celestial, el contestaro sus oraciones. tambien, yo se que Jose Smith fue una profeta y resturado este evangelio en este dias. Y mas importante que todos, yo se que mi salvador vive.

 

Gracias por todos mi familia, y tambien gracias por sus oraciones. Dan un oracion cada noche para mi y los otras missionarios en el mundo.

 

Hasta Luego!

 

Elder Smitheram

 

p.s. i´ll send that memory card this week sometime, and also p.s.s. hahaha ya mel is kinda special, tell tanner to keep working hard there, and its nice to know christina´s sister got a job there as well... Miss you!