Thanks be to them

In honor of pioneer day Karen and I decided to take on a little project. We went back through our family history through each line and found the first person who joined the church and then found all the information we could on that person focusing primarily on their conversion to the gospel. What a blessing the new family history website is as it has a place to share information. Thanks to all those people who have taken the time to share the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Even more though our hearts are full of gratitude for our ancestors who listened to the prompting of the spirit and accepted the gospel in their lives. Thanks also be to their posterity who remained faithful so that we have been able to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. For some it was just a  name or picture and for others through their journals and journals of others we have the stories of what brought them to this gospel. There are alot of other AMAZING stories about these wonderful people but we decided to stick with their conversion stories. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have and Happy Pioneer Day.

Tid's line:
John and Jane Smith Tidwell
Moses Sanders and Amanda Armstong Fausett
William Morgan and Martha Nelson
Zimri Harford Baxter and Eunice Seavy Baxter
James McDonald and Sarah Ferguson McDonald
Peter Shirts and Margaret Cameron Shirts
Marie Christina Trane and Jahaness Hanberg
Johana Chritin Hanberg

Rose's line:
Edmond and Jane Nelson
James Lake and Philmela Smith Lake
Parshall and Hanna Terry
Philemon Duzette
Samuel Ewing and Esther Shaffer
William Busby and Mariah Meadows
Rosannah Taylor
William Nicholas Goodman
George Edward Grove Taylor and Ann Wicks Taylor
Daniel Phillip Olmstead and Coritha Brunnell Harris
Benght Pehrson and Albertina Larson Pehrson
Franklin Demarcus Haymore and Lucinda Adeline Taylor Haymore
Lucindas Parents
Benjamin Taylor Jr. and Ann Jane Hiatt Taylor
Joseph Beecroft and Sarah Hurst
John Bateman Martin and Isabella Smith Martin



Nelson Side Conversion Stories and Pictures:

Edmond and Jane Nelson

His conversion as told by Mansel Nelson
Their first son, Price Williams, was born at Keokuk, Iowa. Edmond and Jane had probably gone north up the Mississippi river possibly to work in the timber at the ferryboat crossing. However, by the time Elizabeth was born in 1824 they had moved back south and settled in Jefferson County near Mt. Vernon, Illinois. A few years later his father moved into that vicinity. Edmond Nelson and his brothers had heard a lot of talk about the Mormons. It seems that they were coming in from all over the world, and people were getting worried that they would soon be so numerous that they would take over the whole country. Some steps had been taken against them but Edmond did not like some of the stories and evil boasting he heard from men he met. He felt that no people should have been treated so cruelly just because of their belief in a strange prophet. Then came the day when the first Mormon missionaries stopped at his home. He invited them in and treated them kindly. He was interested in hearing their side of the controversy. But they seemed to have no enmity toward their persecutors. They answered quietly and simply that if those who had been guilty of the many atrocities against their faith and people had known and understood the true principles of the Gospel as taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith, they would never have mistreated his people. Edmond wanted to know about these principles for which they were willing to suffer and die. He listened with sober interest to every word of their message. There was a ring of pure and undefiled truth in what they claimed. Their answers to his questions came without hesitancy as if these men actually knew God. Edmond called in his brothers, and perhaps his parents, to hear this new message from God. He made the decision that would shape the rest of his life and his death. He was baptized in 1836 and from that time forth his whole life was built around his faith and service in the church. Jane was baptized 2 years later


James Lake and Philomela Smith

     

Philomela and widow with 3 living children and James a widower with 5 children met and married. This made an instant family of eight children ages 3 to 11 at home for the newlyweds. Six more children were born to them in Canada. Lydia Ann Lake was their sixth child (13th child for James and 11th child for Philomela) and the last to be born in Canada. A year after they were married, a family friend, Brigham Young, helped James build a lager home for their growing family. Brigham’s younger brother, Joseph, was a Methodist minister who lived not far from the Lakes. Brigham lived about 60 miles away. Brigham would often stay with the Lakes when he visited his brother. Conversion and Early Church Service A month after Lydia’s birth, in June 1832, Brigham Young’s brothers Phineas and Joseph had returned to Canada to preach the gospel, having been baptized themselves only two months prior. Joseph called on his friend, James, along with Phineas and Eleaser Miller. They taught the Lake family the gospel. The family accepted the gospel and was baptized. Their home became a frequent stop for the Elders traveling to Canada until Brigham Young led the Saints out of Canada to Ohio in 1833. To get to Ohio, they sailed across Lake Ontario to the US then overland to Kirtland. As James and Philomela left their home, 12 of their 17 children, including all six of the younger children, joined them on their journey and had all embraced the gospel.

Parshall Terry III and Hannah Terry

   
These are the parents of Jacob Terry who we have heard about. When Hannah was fifteen, her twenty-three year old cousin, Parshall Terry III, came to visit her parents in Palmyra, New York. The young couple fell in love and were married March 16, 1802. They were acquainted with the prophet Joseph Smith as a young boy. Their son Jacob was Joseph's schoolmate and friend. After their seventh child was born in 1817, they moved to York, Canada where they had 6 more children. In 1837, when missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints contacted the Terry family in York, the Terry family was converted and baptized.

Philemon Duzette
An excerpt from the Journal of Discourses
The next morning he was crazy, his head greatly inflamed and lacerated. Joseph found his way in from the light of the house, the mob having abandoned him. While he was engaged in getting off the tar by the application of grease, soap, and other materials, Philemon Duzette, came there, and seeing the Prophet in this condition, took it as an evidence of the truth of “Mormonism,” and nwas baptized.

Another account which you can watch take place in the Joseph Smith Movie
Joseph preached, despite his lost tooth and the injury to his side. He combed his hair forward to cover up the spot on his head where the hair was missing and ignored the chemical burns on his face from the spattered nitric acid. The specific topic of his sermon was not recorded, nor is it known whether he alluded to the mobbing. 91 Charles and Margaret Hulet traveled seven miles from Nelson to be present, bringing their family. They were all preparing to leave for Missouri with the company of Saints. Twelve-year-old Katherine later remembered listening to Joseph "after the mob had tarred and feathered and beaten him... so badly... talk on the principles of the gospel." Three members of the congregation were baptized in the cold brook after the sermon. One of them was Philemon Duzette, who had come by the Johnson home when Joseph's friends were cleaning off the tar and interpreted the mobbing as a sign of his prophetic calling. From Hearken O Ye People, The Historical Setting for Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations

Samuel Ewing and Ester Shaffer
I couldn't find anything specific to their conversion, their daughter Mary wrote a beautiful tribute to her mother for crossing the plains. She was the first woman to lose her life on the trek west . Of this her daughter Mary wrote "We buried my mother [Esther Shaffer Ewing] fifteen miles this side of Laramie; she was the first white woman of the Latter-day Gospel who laid down her life in seeking religious freedom in that journey, and will no doubt be numbered with the martyrs. We prepared her for her last resting place—the best that our limited facilities would allow. We wrapped her in a quilt, and having nothing with which to make a coffin, we laid her in a deep vault dug in a deeper grave, sawed the table up to cover the vault, then filled the grave with rocks, brush and earth, to prevent the prairie wolves from disturbing all that was earthly of our dear loved one. Then we left her in her cold and lonely resting place to continue our sad and lonely journey with heavy hearts and weary steps; leaving, it seemed, half our life and all its sweetness behind us. Our feelings can better be imagined than described. It was a scene that beggars description.
But such things were endured with the best possible grace, all for the love of the truth. Surely such suffering will not go unrewarded, and a time come when we rejoice for all the hardships we have endured for the Gospel; and even now we are proud to know that we are counted worthy to suffer for Him who laid down His life for us."

William Busby and Mariah Meadows

While courting in England they heard the missionaries preaching on a street corner in England. The message rang true for both and they were both baptized and then married 7 months later.

While this isn't a story of their conversion I found it hilarious and just a classic Nelson story. Mariah made the trek west while very pregnant. Here is an account from their grandaugher.

"When the company reached the Sweetwater River in Wyoming on the 13th of August 1859, Mariah felt very sick all day. Captain Neslin said again that the company would stop anyplace, any time, for the baby to be born. Mariah said, "You'll have to stop now!" Grandfather said, "Oh, put it off until tonight." Mariah knew best, so when the wagon was pulled off to the side of the trail on the plains, in a half hour the baby was born. The lady who had helped Mariah took the baby from the wagon and everyone said it was the "ugliest little red faced kid." They called her Lizzie, but her name was Mary Elizabeth Neslin Busby. William and Mariah were so tickled over the little new one, they knelt down in prayer, and asked their Heavenly Father that they might keep and raise her."

William Nicolas Goodman

He was an orphan in England who heard and accepted the message of the restored gospel and then came west to join the saints.

George Edward Grove Taylor and Ann Hicks

  

They joined the church in England and very soon after George and his son were called to be missionaries themselves. They converted many in England over a couple year span and then came west.

Ann Capstick


Benght Pehrsson 

Franklin Demarcus Haymore and Lucinda Adeline Taylor
 

As a young married couple in North Carolina they heard the gospel preached and knew the church was true. They lived in the same area as Lucinda's parents who joined the church and moved west. They went west also but it took Franklin 2 years to join the church. His father begged him not to go and promised him all that he had if he would staybut Franklin still went west.

Benjamin Taylor Jr. and Ann Jane Hiatt Taylor

These are the parents of Lucinda Taylor. They first joined the church after the missionaries came to teach them in their home. 

Joseph Beecroft and Sarah Hurst

This is an actual excerpt from Josephs journal.
In the year 1832 and on the 14th day of October, I was united in wedlock to Sarah, the only surviving daughter of Gideon and Mary Hirst. During the period of six years after my marriage, I was more wicked than at any former period of my life. In the month of May and the year 1837, I signed the Bradford Tetotal Pledge from all that intoxicates except for medicinal or sacramental purposes. From this time I began to loathe my foolish habits but did not give them all up until February 3, 1838. On the morning of aforesaid date I was by a dream greatly alarmed and resolved to lead a new life. In about a week and three days after I had been alarmed by the dream, I began to pray in public and soon after I received a Ticket of Trial in the Weslyan Methodist Society among which people I rejoiced for some years. My father who had been a member of' the Wesleyan Society for many years had for some reason left them and had become a member of the Wesleyan New Connection Society which I joined at the request of my father. After being in the above named society more than a year it happened that our ministers, William Trotter and Joseph Barker, of the same society was turned out and then commenced a new society which I and my father joined. It was while I was connected with this people that I had an illness which kept me from work for upwards of three months. It was while my medical attendant, John Barton, was attending me that I received from him much information respecting the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. From the conversations that I had with him I was led to regard him as one who had extensive knowledge of men and things and seemed to act and to pass judgment with great caution. Hence, the observation which he made in favor of the doctrines and ordinances of the Church of Christ had great influence upon my mind. As soon as my health would permit I commenced to attend the Saints meetings and after examining the first principles and finding that I had not been taught them, and that therefore, I had neither lot nor part in the things of God's Kingdom, I was buried with Christ by baptism by Elder Milner on the sixth day of June 1843, it being Witsum Tide Tuesday. That will be a day to be remembered by me so long as I have a being. On Sunday, June 11th, I was confirmed under the hands of Elders (John) Robinson, President of the Branch, and Edwal"d Milner, the former being mouthpiece. I felt great peace of mind after the ordinance of confirmation had been attended to and was truly glad that my lot was cast amongst the people of God. After I had become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I attended a meeting of the Society in Croft Street to which I belonged up to this time, and after the business of the meeting was over I politely told them that I was no longer a member of their Society for I had Joined another. When I informed them of the name of the society of which I had become a member, Mr. Smith, one of the Ministers desired me to attend their Meeting for Preaching on the following Monday night and he would speak to me touching the doctrines and characters of the Latter Day Saints. I attended, heard Mr. William Smith preach and after the meeting he attacked the character of Joseph Smith and told some of the most barefaced falsehoods about him and others connected with the Church that I ever heard. The manner he affirmed those lies to be true, together with not being aware that such slander was in circulation respecting the Saints, caused me to be cast down in mind and to think that I had got amongst a bad people. But my mind was soon relieved from those opinions by the counter statements which Elder Milner gave me. Those statements of Elder Milner gave me a very unfavorable opinion of William Smith to whose preaching’s I had often listened with pleasure, and for whom up to this time I had the most profound respect. Before many weeks had gone over my head, I had proof that the Saints was slandered, for those pious people with whom I had been united in church fellowship circulated a report that I had gone .to the Saints to get my rent paid and a suit of clothes bought for me that could not have been more false. About this time Elder Milner was very kind in lending me the (Millennial) Stars from which I obtained that knowledge which assisted to establish me in the faith and also gave me great joy.

Tidwell line:

John Harvey Tidwell and Jane Smith
 

"On December 18, 1828 I was married to Jane Smith, at Marysville, Clark County, Indiana. September 25, 1835, I was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Levi Bracken, in connection with Urish Curtis. The two were on a mission together at that time, I was living at this time in Clark County, Indiana. On November 20, 1835, I was ordained an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and left in charge of a small branch of Saints, about twelve in number, which had been baptized previous to this time. This number increased to about twenty two or twenty three." an excerpt from his autobiography
He later went on to be the captain of the Council Point Emigrating Company

Moses Martin Sanders and Amanda Fausett
They were from Tenessee and had both grown up as slave owners. The Mormon missionaries taught the young couple and their family the gospel and introduced them to the Book of Mormon in 1834. On January 28 1835, Elder William Joy baptized Moses and Amanda. When they joined the Church, they gave up their slaves and did their own heavy work. Other family members from the Sanders, Allred, and Faucett's also joined the Church at the same time.
They suffered alot of persecutions and moving around. Moses was also among the first to bring his Missouri deed to the Prophet, as the "Law of Consecration." He consecrated his property to the Lord. Joseph said, "Brother Sanders, you have done this day that which will entitle you and your posterity to an everlasting inheritance in Jackson County, Missouri." He also payed the property taxes for over 70 homes in Nauvoo.

William Morgan and Martha Matilda Nelson



Baptized in Jan. 1847 in Scotland and emigrated from Scotland in 1843

Zimri Harford Baxter and Eunice Abigail Seavey


Eunice met and Married Zimri Hartford Baxter, a Architect and Carpenter from a Prominent Maine Family on May 2, 1832 in Milton, Maine. The Marriage was later solemnixed in the St. George LDS Temple. Fourteen Children blessed this union. Only Three Children lived to Adulthood and had Descendants. They were, Zimri Hartford Baxter Jr, Clarissa Adelaide Baxter and Eunice Seavy Baxter. Zimri and Eunice embraced the Gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the early days of the Church and were Baptized Members, soon after. They went through all of the hardships that were brought upon the Saints from that day forward. They both arrived in Utah on the Samuel Gully/Orson Spencer Company on September 24, 1849.
Zimri went on to be the architecht and builder of the Nephi Tabernacle


James McDonald and Sarah Ferguson


"In 1841, missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints brought the message of the gospel to the little village of Crawfordsburn, where the McDonald’s lived with their family of seven children. James and Sarah were among the first to recognize the truth and accept the gospel there. Their home became the gathering place for the little banch of the Church. The family became even more industrious than they had been before, and in 1843 they had saved money and sold all their worldly possessions except for what they would need to travel to America. In early January of 1844 they went to Belfast to begin their journey. From there they sailed to Liverpool, England and boarded the ocean-going sailboat Fanny. She sailed from Liverpool on 23 January 1844 with 210 saints on board. When they left, James and Sarah had eight children ranging in age from 16 years to fifteen months." a biography written by their granddaughter Debra Plane.

Here is an account from the journal of James son Willam at age 16 when he had to bury his father on the trail."We had No Trouble With indeans [Indians] Crosing the Plains But We Kept ourselves in Redinence [Readiness] Coralled the Wagons Every Night and kept our Pouder Drie. Prepared for the Worst But all Went Well untill the Colary [colera] Broke out in Camp. that Proved to Be verey Fatle. Evere one that took it Died.
My Father [James] Helped to Buiry a Man one Morning and took Sick after the train Started and Died that Night. We Came to the Plat[te] River that Day in the afternoon and Part of the train Had crossed the River. Father Being very Bad We asked Him if We shoud Cross the River With Him. He Said yes So He Died that Night on this Side of the Plat[te] River. That Was the gratest triel We Ever Had in Our Family . . So Sudent [sudden] on the Dreary Plains of Americk and Burried without a coffin. But We Had Sum Large Boxis along Whitch We Broke up and Dug a Deep grave With a volt (sig) at the Bottom Large enouf for the Body an Covered it Securley With the lumber of Those Boxes Whitch We thought Would Prevent Wolves From Diging up the Body For We Had Passed Sum graves that Had Been Buried in Hast that the Wolves Had Dug up and Eat the Flesh all of their Bones Whitch we Buried again.

Peter Shirts and Margaret Cameron

Peter Shirts may be one of the coolest people in Tidwell family history. There are a bunch of different memories of Peter Shirts listed on the familysearch.org webstie.  They were taught and baptized by Wilford Woodruf in Ohio.Margaret dies on the trail of Cholera. Peter has been labled the Daniel Boone of the West.

Marie Christina Trane and Johanna Christine Handberg


"In 1850 Erastus Snow came to their land as a Mormon Missionary and was received with open hearts so deep and sincere. They brought Johanna's mother (Maria Chritine Trane) to the meetings with them and she was also converted to the true gospel. On the evening of December 14, 1850 a hole was chopped through the ice in the river and they were baptized but they did not notice the extreme cold, as their hearts were so full of joy." (taken from the life sketch of Johanna Christine Handberg) Marie's husband Johannes Joseph Hansberg was baptized a few years later and they came west.

Kathrine Devitt (wife of Willam Chase Mcdonald)



Born in 1892 in North Dakota and was baptized in 1923

Thanks be to these incredible ancestors of ours and to the many missionaries who taught them. May we all do our best to bring this gospel to those around us and always stay faithful so the generations to come can enjoy all the blessings of the restored gospel. Happy Pioneer Day we love you.

check mate atheists

I just got the card to do the work for Charles Cheeseman the man I was named after

I love this family!

So today is one of those days where I just sit here amazed trying to figure out how in the world did I get to marry into this perfect family. I love you all so much and am grateful for your examples to me. Apart from the Savior I cannot think of anyone who exemplifies unconditional love like the Tidwells. You’re acceptance of everyone and desire to see people for the potential they have inspires me daily not to mention the way you all make me laugh nonstop. Thanks Randy and Rolinda for the children you’ve raised and the examples you are.

-Special K 

I will bring a fresh batch of cookies to whoever comes up with the best conversation bubble for this photo.

 Rumor has it that poncho is made from real llama fur.

                                    Nothing beats a good lesson on fire safety from Geoff

All Things Testifiy of His Love

     One thing that has been on my mind as I have read the scriptures lately is the love of God.  Every thing He does is a testimony of His infinite love. In 2 Nephi I was reading a chapter where the Lord was strongly rebuking the people.  As I read it I couldn't help but wonder what happened to the Loving Heavenly Father we know of.  But then I noticed something at the end of His rebuking He left a even stronger message of love, an invitation to Come Unto Him, so that they would not have to suffer the horrible things of which He had spoken of.  As I looked at other examples of rebuking it was always the same.  He always left an invitation to come unto Him.  His rebuking is a plea.  It is not about revenge or punishment. It is a loving warning from our Heavenly Father.  Wicked NEVER was happiness.  He cannot change that, He can only help us as agents of choice, to understand that eternal principle.

     Anther example I found of this was in Helaman. Nephi is given the ability to do anything he wants because he would not do anything contrary to the desire of God.  Of course Nephi having the same desires of God, wanted to bring others unto Christ.  But the people of Nephi at that time were extremely prideful.  So Nephi asks for a famine in order to humble the people.  The famine last for three years!  Before it stopped the people had asked for it to stop, they had suffered, people probably died.  But it was not taken away until the people humbled them selves and repented, until they change.  That is why God allows bad things to happen to us. Because it will change us.  One of my favorite stories is the one Elder D. Todd Christofferson told in conference awhile ago (there is an awesome Mormon message about it.)  In the story a man on a farm cuts down a current bush because it was too large and producing no fruit.  After he cut it down it appeared that the bush was crying and he thought he heard it complain about cutting it down.  Saying he had impeded on his progress.  The man replied that he was the gardener and that he knew what he wanted the bush to be.  Years later the man faced a trial in his life in which he was upset to God to.  The words he said came back to him, "I am the Gardener here and I know what I want you to be"  He later thanked God saying " Thank you Mr. Gardener for loving me enough to cut me down."

    This principle of loving disciple from a Heavenly Father is everywhere.  During Mission prep we were talking about the Plan of Salvation.  We talked about how in sprit prison some people would have to suffer.  I thought this strange, why would Heavenly Father make His children suffer for sins that were already paid for.  But once again I realized it was for change.  I believe it was Elder Oaks that taught " the repenting sinner must still suffer for his sins, but that suffering has a different purpose than payment or punishment, the purpose is change."  If the Telestial kingdom is going to better than the current Earth the people are going to have to change.  A kingdom is only as glorious as the people in it.  That is why they must suffer, to help bring out of them every bit of good.  To help them understand that wickedness will only bring them sadness and pain.  In the words of Tupac "that's just he way it is" 
I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me enough to cut me down.  I am grateful for my Savior who has made it possible for me to change. Let us love, for God is Love
-yo yo yo Cheeseman

Missionary Work and the Atonement

I love, love, love this talk from Elder Holland. I loved it while I was serving a full-time mission, and I love it now as a member missionary.
"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

I'm grateful for the experiences we have as full-time missionaries and member missionaries wherever we may labor. It is hard work and sometimes when investigators or friends reject something that is so precious to us it brings us sorrow and confusion and a slew of other feelings. Why wouldn't someone accept the gospel? I experienced while serving a mission, it was really hard to see someone progress then have them just completely drop us and choose to reject the gospel. Like Elder Holland says, we need to take a step toward the summit of Calvary and spend a little time in Gethsemane. Not only when we sorrow for those who choose to reject the message but when I first went out in the field I realized how inadequate I was. I have a lot of faults and I still had them then and as a full-time missionary I think your past wrongdoings and your faults are magnified at least at first. It brought me closer to the Savior, my understanding and gratitude for the Atonement grew exponentially. I know the Atonement carried me as a full-time missionary and I know it still does as I strive to do what is right and also as I make my feeble attempts to share the gospel. I can always do better, no matter whether I am successful at sharing the gospel or not, my testimony will grow, my relationship with the Savior will deepen, and the way to salvation will be clear in my eyes. I love the gospel and I love you all. Also, a shout out to Cheeseman for choosing to serve the Lord for two full years and watching you as you have developed your testimony in the last couple years has been a testimony builder for me. I wish I had prepared as well as you have when I was preparing to serve a mission.
Here in Iowa and everywhere there are a lot of people that I meet who are comfortable and complacent when it comes to religion and I can see the potential if they will just take a little step closer to the Savior by coming to know Him better through the restored gospel. However, I still love them, I pray to serve them, and I am hopeful for the day when they will accept the gospel and I can truly rejoice with them. For now, I try to do what I can and recognize the Savior's hand in my life as I try to be a better missionary and receive the blessings of the gospel. Love you all! Hopefully this all makes some sense :)
Kelly Kelly

Hello dear Family.  I have two things to share that are somewhat related.

#1. I was immediately struck by the beauty and symbolic significance of the photo found on the inside front cover of the February 2014 Ensign. (If you don't still have the hard copy of the magazine you can look up the pdf version online and see the photo). It shows a snaking river, the bank of which is bordered by rich green trees. The land surrounding the river is completely bare--just desert sand. The scripture accompanying the pictures was Jeremiah 17:7-8:

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and...her leaf shall be green."

I love this picture because it gives me hope as a parent. I frequently fear the moral degradation of society and have mild panic attacks when I think of my children growing up surrounded by wickedness. How will they stay strong and cleave to good when they are so bombarded by evil? This picture was a powerful, visual reminder that righteousness and purity can survive, nay :), flourish, even in a polluted or desolate environment as long as we are connected to the source of all good--Jesus Christ.

Our homes, our hearts, our minds, our spirits etc. can all be like the trees surrounding the river--alive with goodness--even though everything around us is morally desolate. We do not have to surrender to our surroundings. What hope!

#2.  Not long ago my friend and I were discussing the downfall of society and how we expected America and everything positive in the world to crumble during our lifetimes. In the middle of our conversation I got a text from my mother.

Her text said, "October 26,1973, President Harold B. Lee at a Ricks College devotional prophesied that the United States would never fail and urged optimism."

I read the text three times in disbelief and then told my friend what it said. My mother's timing was SO perfect! How did she know we were just talking about how we expected America to fail? She was not at our location and could have had no way of knowing what we were talking about. I called my mom and she said the passage had just jumped out at her as she was reading President Eyring's biography so she decided to send the text to her kids.

Here's President Lee's message in full:

"Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail....I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world....It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through. We must be on the optimistic side."

 ~Harold B. Lee, Have Faith in America, October 26,1973

It was a stark reminder to have faith and not fear. I will now repent of my pessimism. :) I love you all!

Sarah