Ian- Week 1

This has been the first week of the best 2 years of my life.  That's the way other people describe it and I've never fully understood what they meant by that phrase even though I've heard it so much.  Now I suppose I've experienced at the least the fist week.  The MTC is amazing.  I never knew that the world could hold so much spirit in such an area as small as campus.  Every missionary here is here to serve the lord and is looking to improve themselves to prepare to serve.  So far my experience has been pretty awesome, though the food is only getting worse as time goes on.  The cafeteria is pretty awesome but every meal is so heavy that after a while it just becomes too much.  I miss cooking for myself, something I never imagined I'd say myself but I miss cooking the raw tortillas you get at Costco.  I wish I could just make myself a box of craft dinner and just eat in peace.  Anyways, my district is pretty awesome.  There are 12 of us in total in district 31D.  All 4 Sisters are going to the Las Vegas West mission while all the Elders are going to the St. Louis Missouri mission.  It's just my companion, Elder Nordgren, and I that are going to Rancho Cucomonga.  Although we have met 2 other Elders also going to Rancho and heard from another Sister that there's like another 30 of us in a different building.  The work is hastening to be sending so many missionaries just to California.  There is 20 different missions just in the state of California.  That accounts for close to 10% of all missions in the world.  In my residence hall, I live in the basement with my district and zone.  The other half of the basement is shared by the missionaries going to Russia the surrounding countries so we have come to know them as simply, The Russians.  Day 1 Elder Doolen, an Elder who had been here the week prior, informed us they were crazy because the chanted in Russian at 1 in the morning and flipped the lights and wearing cloaks and such.  As it turned out it was just a misconception and the Russians are actually super nice.  They are all excited to go even though the rules there are crazy and they are doing their best to learn the rules and the languages.  My companion and I have had some amazing conversations with them and say hello whenever we find the opportunity.  I don't wish I could stay here at the MTC forever, but I am seriously enjoying every minute of it.  I have gotten so much reading of the Book of Mormon done here even though my schedule is absolutely packed.  I read the Book of Ether the other day and got so much more out of it than I ever thought possible in my life.  Even though every minute of my day is heavily planned by someone else, my scripture study is so much more productive than ever before in my life.  I have so many scriptures marked in my papers scriptures and I keep finding new scriptures to mark.  I hope my marking pens can last me my mission.  A great deal of my studying is all done in the brand new T-4 building, the building visible from the BYU Creamery.  It has the most amazing murals I have ever seen all about the stories of the Bible and Book of Mormon.  Below I've included the one about Moses parting the Red Sea, which is y favorite that we've found so far.  Also we've begun our TRC on Monday.  TRC is a kind of mock teaching an investigator and we have 2 people to teach this week.  Jose and Matthew, I'll leave out their real names for privacy's sake.  But I've really gotten to know them both and got Jose to open up to me about family and especially his dad  who grew up in a poor village in Guatemala.  I have really improved in my teaching abilities since I've come here and I think I got at least Jose to trust me.  Although, it's funny, all the TRC participants are supposed to make it seem like they aren't a member even though most of the are.  We know for sure that Jose is a member because when he opened his phone his background screen was a picture of him wearing a suit and a black name tag.  So he's an RM.  But our other investigator, Matthew is for sure a real investigator.  Either way we still teach the same message and treat them the same way so there's isn't much of a difference.  My testimony has never been as strong as it is right now, and it will only increase from where I am right now.  On Sunday evening we were shown a talk by Elder Bednar who addressed the missionaries in a Christmas devotional and changed the way I think.  His talk has inspired me to be better than I was and better than I am.  While talking to us he said a number of things that have had long lasting effects on my faith, increasing it exponentially.  One of the things he spoke about was someone who had lost their faith and said to Elder Bednar, "The Church isn't true" "No! You're not true to the Church!".  It struck me to my core because there was a time around when I had my concussion that I lost my faith in my depression and felt the church wasn't true.  I was wrong then and was scolded for it again by Elder Bednar.  The talk also spoke about a great many other things that have struck me deeply that I won't go into but I just need to say that there is no way that the Church isn't true.  I don't have a single doubt for myself that it isn't.  I need to exclaim this to all that I meet in California and I will beg them to pray for themselves to know that it is true.  Every day I come closer to my God.  Every day I learn more of his love.  Every day I feel the Holy Spirit by my side.  Every day I will better myself so I can bring more unto him.

Elder Ellsworth​