Happy Spring

Happy Spring Elder Williams,

 

Brandt had a birthday and is now a deacon! He is very nervous about passing the sacrament, but I'm sure he'll catch on quickly and do fine. It was a nice day having both Grandpa and Grandma Wright and Williams come up for his ordination.

 

I just finished a book by Oscar Wilde called The Picture of Dorian Gray. It is a thought provoking book about how our lives must be lived from the inside out. We think we can wear a mask and deceive others of what is in our hearts, but in truth we're only deceiving ourselves.Through self-deception, Dorian kept up the appearence of innocence where in reality he was a horrible soul and it destroyed not only himself but many others. Tolstoy said, "To deceive oneself is worse than to deceive others." So what I learned is that it is vital to live with integrity. We find this theme over and over in the scriptures. It is obedience and being virtuous.

 

You know in Hamlet how Polonious said, "To thine own self be true."; well, I think we really need to be true to God. Sometimes we don't do what is right because it's hard or inconvienent or bothersome. We need to be true to the spirit of the Lord because our flesh is weak. We are funny creatures and often want the easy way out and path of least resistance where in reality, the true path is the only one that will make us grow. It's a hard doctrine to follow sometimes.

 

Tell us about your area, your companion, the ward and members. I hope you are going to love Benicia. Did your package arrive? Abby Chesley got her mission call to Texas.

 

God be with you 'til we meet again.

 

I love you.

 

Mom

 

Dear Mom,

I'm really proud of Brandt. It is something special to have him hold the Priesthood. I've been thinking about how blessed we are to have the power to act in God's name. He is going to be a wonderful representative of the Lord while he passes the sacrament.

I'm grateful that the Lord puts us in situations where we can do some introspection and see how honest we are with ourselves. I feel like I have learned a lot about the blessings that we receive when we are honest with ourselves. The way I've seen that bless me is the more honest I am with myself, the more I realize how much I depend on the Lord for success. He can help me more when I do so.

I did get the package. Thank you for the CD and all the cards. That made it a great week. I had a pretty good birthday week. The sisters in our district make me a cake and stuff. I'll send home my SD card after I get some good pictures of Benicia.

The ward is really solid. I'm going to enjoy working with the leaders in the ward. They are really willing to help us out in the work.

It is so awesome that Abby is going on a mission. I had no idea. She is going to have the time of her life. Tell her congrats if you see her.

Love,

Elder Williams

 

 

 

Hi Elder Talon,

Greetings from Monroe. From the what I found online your new area looks nice. At least it's near the water which is cool. Let us know about your area, you companion and the ward you are serving. Do you have many investigators? How do you like being on a bike again?

We are all well here. Last Wednesday was Brandt's last ball game. We played Juab and beat them. Brandt had his lowest point game but he really played great by dishing out a ton of assists to other players on the team. All in all we had a successful allstar season by defeating all other 5th grade teams we played. I enjoyed coaching them for the most part and will do it again unless someone more qualified is willing to do it. Yesterday Brandt was ordained a Deacon. Both sets of grandparents came to share the event with him. It is good to have thier support of all you kids when these things happen.

We are waiting on the trusses to be delivered so the roof can get put on the garage. I hope it will be done the end of this week. On Saturday I took of some shingles where the new roof line will join the old. I will probably take some time off to get the shingles done and then the rest of the project doesn't need to be rushed except for getting the new driveway poured. It will mostly be a basketball court big enough to shoot 3 pointers all the way around.

Two weeks ago I started going to SLC to do my internship hours for mediation again. I hadn't done any of it for a year so I've been up there twice now and got 2 more hours done. I need 7 more hours to go then I can take the ethics test and become a court rostered mediatior. After that I will need to complete the domestic mediator mentorship so I can start doing divorce mediations.

This week the girls have state drama competition in Parowan. I hope they do well. They have worked hard at it.

I passed along your congrats to Mason Shaver yesterday. He is really excited and wishes you well. Luke Dalton returned from England last week. I think Luke Oscarson will be the next to return home.

Until next week, be well and happy as you do the Lords work.

 

Love,

Dad

 

 

Dear Dad,

The area is really beautiful. I've been lucky to serve in some awesome places.

I've been learning a lot since I've been with Elder Pearson. He is a pretty interesting fellow. He is from Colorado and has been out 19 months. We are co-district leaders together, so it has been good to learn how to lead with someone else.

Being on bike has been good for me. I'm starting to be able to crank it up the hills around here. Some of them are so steep that when we go down we go 30+ MPH. It is a trip. One thing that would be sweet is if you could send me AAA batteries. I use a lot of those in my headlight.

The ward is super sweet. The members are really supportive and they are willing to come out with us. They have great retention with baptisms here. So, they are prepared. The work has been really slow, though. It has been a time of reevaluation and learning how to work in unity with my companion. I'm learning a lot about how we need to have the same vision to work towards.

There is one part member family that I'm excited for. We are teaching a couple of their kids, and they are going to be baptized on May 25th.

I'm pretty excited to see how the new garage turns out. Send me some pictures when the project is complete.

It will be good when you get the mediation hours done. Are you still renting an office?

I am really proud of Brandt. Have all the men holding the Priesthood. It is something special. I told him to ask you to read some of the priesthood session talks with him. They were super good. How's the elders quorum doing?

I'm glad that they had a good season and you had a good time coaching the kids. Would you be coaching the 6th graders next year?

I can't believe they are coming home. It feels like they just left. If you see them, tell them hi for me.

Love,

Elder Williams