Elder Kevin Jones: General Conference—Easter Edition! 9th P-day in Peoria, 32nd p-day in Phoenix

General Conference—Easter Edition! 9th P-day in Peoria, 32nd p-day in Phoenix

Hello, friends and family! I hope everyone who got to see Conference
enjoyed it as much as I did. Conference as a missionary is especially
special. I'll get to that, though. At this moment I sit on the couch
in our apartment. This week I will hit my 8-month mark. It's crazy to
think I've been out that long. Well, here was my week! :)

Monday: Typical P-day. I took a much needed nap. We taught Chris in
the evening after dinner. We are going over the Restoration with her
to help strengthen her testimony. Yeah, that's about it--pretty boring
day!
Temp: 96°F

Tuesday: After studies and lunch we headed out to find some people. We
didn't have much luck, but we tried hard! We went at it for about
three hours. I had forgotten what it was like to be super sweaty after
biking outside in the hot sun. I'm remembering now!! Haha. A member
fed us homemade deep-dish pizza for dinner. It was spectacular! We
then had a lesson with Britney. She is solid. We committed her to live
some of the commandments. She had no problem with the Word of Wisdom!
She had a few questions, but she readily accepted it. She has been
prepared by the Lord. We reset her baptismal date for April 25th. We're
pretty positive that's going to happen. So is she. Her bird is 20
years old. It's a cockatiel with red cheeks!
Temp: 93°F

Wednesday: Not much happened in the daytime. Just more biking in the
hot sun, trying to save souls--you know, the usual. We had dinner with
Chris. Her parents cooked us some burgers on the grill. They were
delicious! I really hope I keep my metabolism while I'm out on my
mission. If not I'm going to get fat. :) After dinner we went out with
a member to visit a less-active sister. We shared an Easter video with
her and invited her to watch Conference and to come to church the
following week. She accepted. Biking outside all day makes for a tired
Elder Jones. It never fails!
91°F

Thursday: Weekly planning, yay! On our way outside to plan, Elder
Flynn grabbed the doorknob and it just fell right off. I'll attach a
picture that I caught of the moment. We then spent a little time
putting it back on before Brother Alger saw the doorknob off the door,
haha. Satan never fails to put obstacles in our path to disrupt our
planning sessions... So for dinner we had home made pork tacos with
cole slaw on top. Yeah, they were heavenly. Enough said. :) We then
had a lesson with Leah at a member's home. We taught her about
temples, baptism, and following the prophet. Her questions are better
than a lot of the older members--and she's 18. It was a wonderful
lesson, like always. I don't think we've ever had a bad lesson with
Leah.
Temp: 85°F

Friday: What a GREAT day! We went to the Mesa Easter Pageant with
Chris and the Brewer family. Bishop Brewer is our centennial ward
mission leader, and Chris's main fellowshipper. Before the pageant
started, I saw my cousin, Jayden (Elder Mullins), who's serving in
Mesa! It was great to see someone I actually knew. It's the first time
I've seen family/friends in 8 months. Crazy! I'll attach pictures. The
Pageant was wonderful. Words cannot explain how beautiful it was.
Chris couldn't put it into words, either. We got back pretty late so
we just crashed when we got home.
Temp: 85°F

Saturday: General Conference!! We got up and went to the first session
at the stake center. Armed with note-taking supplies and two PB&J
sandwiches, Elder Flynn and I were on cloud-9. My favorite talk from
the morning session was Elder L. Tom Perry's talk. My favorite quote
from it was, "We now live in a world of temporary." He said that our
culture is making good morals and Godly principles seem "out of date."
It's important to know that we must not be deceived by what the world
is throwing at us. God's laws don't change with man's laws. My
favorite talk in the afternoon session was undetermined, but I really
liked what D. Todd Christofferson had to say. He said that we should
make our body an instrument--not a ruler--of our spirit. He also said,
"NO ONE is predestined to have anything less than all the Father has."
God has made us so that we ALL can receive His great blessings. Not
just some of us.
Temp: 87°F

Some other quotes/thoughts I liked:
-Elder Ulisses Soares: "Teach truths, don't try to prove."
-Larry M. Gibson: "Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words."
-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "Many of the things you can count,
don't count; and many of the things you can't count, do count."
"The Church isn't a showroom; it's more like a service
station...Aren't we all in need of a repair?"
-President Henry B. Eyring: "We will be rewarded on HOW we serve."
-President Thomas S. Monson: If we live worthy of the Priesthood, the
blessings will flow through us.

Sunday: General Conference again! Some thoughts I had from the two
sessions Sunday:
-Sister Rosemary M. Wixom: Christ does not leave when I have
questions. "It may not be a perfect offering of knowledge, but it's my
knowledge!"
-Elder José A. Teixeria: "Life is not confined to a four-inch screen."
-Elder Brent H. Nielson: Talking about those who have strayed: "Even
though we can't embrace all their choices, we can still embrace them."
-Elder Jeffry R. Holland: His Atonement will grasp us before we fall.
"He is always extending His grace with wounded feet and pierced
palms."
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "Salvation cannot be purchased with the currency
of obedience--it must be purchased with the blood of Christ." He also
stated, "Living the gospel is not a burden; it's a preparation."
-Robert D. Hales: "Jesus Christ used His agency to do the Father's will."
-Elder Russell M. Nelson: "Faith in God leads to a love for the
Sabbath; faith in the Sabbath leads to a love for God."
Temp: 87°F

I really enjoyed Conference. As my friend Elder John Tracy said in his
letter home this week from Bolivia: "It was 10 hours of pure
revelation."
I hope we can all take what we learned at Conference and apply it into
our lives. It was a great way to celebrate His Resurrection. Christ
lives, and God lives. He lives because He loves us. That's his plan.
I hope you all have a great week. Keep in touch! Love you all more
than anything. Your prayers are keeping me going. Stay righteous :)

Much love,

Elder Jones
Oakwood / Centennial Wards