September 23

Hola Elder Williams,

 

I've been listening to your MP3 player with all of the conference talks on them and it has been really inspirational. I hope you don't mind---I'll take good care of your player. You spent a lot of time downloading all of those talks, but it will be well worth it when you can listen to them again.

 

I've also found a great podcast called, "Philosophize This". The host is going through the history of Western thought beginning with the pre-Socratics and it's been really interesting and entertaining. I can draw so many parallels between the ancients and moderns of today. Particularly the Sophists---He compared them to a hybrid of ITT Tech and a  taco-truck.The Sophists were a traveling school to teach citizens rhetoric. They were not interested in the love of wisdom but only in the ability to win an argument. Basically, they taught the Greeks how to win in court, regardless of the circumstances. Doesn't that sound so familiar? Attorney's are paid for their ability to argue their clients out of penalties or to sue someone. Sad. It's gone full circle---again and again. The pride cycle, right? Anyways, it's been great to listen to stuff while I fold laundry or pull weeds. :)

 

Speaking of school, dad and I have been discussing this a bit and I wanted to share our thoughts with you. If you went to BYU right off of your mission, you would lose a lot of your credits because they wouldn't accept them all. It would set you back considerably. If you finished up at Snow with a completed Associates Degree, BYU would honor all of your work and you would be a full-fledged Junior in school--- I know that BYU and Snow have an agreement to honor all of Snow's degree's. I've also been informed that returned missionaries have preference, so you might have a leg up on a scholarship after you finished at Snow. It would only take you a semester to finish an associate's, wouldn't it? That's what we were thinking.....It's totally up to you and I'm not telling you what to do, but I just wanted to let you know what we were thinking.

 

How's the baptismal date looking? We're praying for Darla to quit smoking. How's your new companion? I hope things are going well.

 

With love,

Mom

Dear Mom,

I'm glad that my mp3 player is getting some good use. I don't mind. I can read all of the talks now on my iPad. It is pretty sweet. My studies have become much more fast paced and expansive. I'm really grateful for this new tool.

I talk to Sophists every day! Ha ha, I'm so grateful that I have the gospel. ITT Tech and taco truck is right. The thing is, the holes in their souls aren't filled. They can't be filled without the gospel.

You know, you bring up a great point. I don't want all of that work to go to waste. President has given me permission to figure it out on preparation day, and I just found out that I only need 4 classes to get my associates degree. I could do a quick semester at Snow and buzz up to BYU if I want. That would be a smart idea, especially since they have that agreement. I've got a lot to consider. Mostly, I just don't want to hit a rut when I get back. I want to get to work quick.

Darla is doing so well. She has come to church with us 5 weeks in a row, and she loves it! We asked the ward to fast with us on Tuesday, and as a result she has gone from a pack of cigarettes a day to a couple of puffs. This is such a miracle, because she has been smoking since she was 14. She doesn't even buy cigarettes any more. We reset her baptismal goal for October 5th because we want her to be 100 percent ready. We gave her a powerful priesthood blessing. So many things are there to help her, and it is working. I think we'll end up baptizing her in between conference sessions.

Elder Snow is my new companion. He is related to President Snow. He is really willing and wants to work hard. It has been really great working with him.

Love,

Elder Williams