Talks and Studies

[At the beginning of this most recent letter, Elder Walker is speaking of Elder Holland's CES Fireside given Sunday, September 10, 2012].

The talk sounds like a really good one. I have grown to really like Elder Holland talks. He is the apostle that called President Holm to be a Mission President, so I hear a lot of them. If it's on one of the church websites, which it probably is, I can listen to it, so I'm requesting the link, if it's not, or if it's on one of the school sites I can't go to it without permission, and would ask you if you would print/mail me out a hard copy (paper please) of it. I'm going to print out a copy here if it's available, I like to keep a collection of good talks, and I have quite a bundle of them right now. I think I have enough to send Joshua one talk every other week for his whole mission. (Which I plan on doing by the way, I'm sure Joshua will like that. Whether he thinks so now or not, he will then on his mission.)

Yesterday we had a Stake Conference. I ended up standing up in the back of the gym for the majority of it and sitting on the edge of the stage for part of it. They announced when the wards were going to be split and we had the Temple President, Pres Baughman, President Holm (my mission president), Sister Holm, and a couple other people I didn't know (one might have been the stake president) all speak. It was a good stake conference. I also had the privilege of saying hi to a lot of the friends that I made in the Summerville Ward, for they were all there at the stake conference.

This past week we saw a lot of LA members and I read a lot of Ensigns. That sums up my past week. We also had some funny sit down lessons with random people. Potential is great in Goose Creek right now, we just need to do better at fulfilling that potential.

I still keep a daily journal. Due to Elder Bowman's dedication to keeping one, I thought I could keep one faithfully too; he's a lot better about writing important stuff in it, but consistancy is all I'm working towards right now. I'm sure a lot more than what I've said has gone on this past week, but I can't remember and am not going to bring my journal with me to the library, you are welcome to read it once I get home. I know it was really hot biking in the heat and that this week it is supposed to be getting a lot cooler working into the fall finally. (I actually like the burning hot better than the bitter cold.) I'm going to mail my winter clothes home after this winter, btw.

Here's something that I was reminded this morning from Elder Guasse (I'm pretty sure) as I read the 2008 Ensign conference talks:

No matter what age people are, the gospel was divinly designed so that even the youngest people may come to an understanding of what it has in store for them. The gospel is not meant to only be understood by the intellectually elite, it's meant for everybody. Something that I need to work on is teaching to their needs and at the level of their understanding. Even Jesus Christ was subject to the whole law of justice, yet at age 12 he was teaching others in the temple because God taught him at an early age what it was he needed to know according to his understanding.

Time passes really fast, that either means that I am getting older and time is comparitively not as big of a deal, or I'm doing a good job and that makes the weeks fly by.

I love being a missionary!

Elder Benjamin Ray Walker