No Matter What May Come Upon You

Hello and welcome back to my update of the weekly's. So Buckle up for no reason and enjoy!

July 13, 2020 Mon

Today was P-Day! We went St. George because some Elders needed haircuts. We also went to Ross and then got some fantastic corn dogs. After that we cleaned our apartment and relaxed, talked with family and relaxed some more!

July 14, 2020 Tues

We finished up cleaning our apartment for our inspection and it looks great. The inspectors rewarded us cookies we did such a good job. We had a productive morning of scheduling and we went to Hurricane West to pick something up. Elder Saucier accidentally cut his finger really bad and caused all of us to panic.  After a trip to urgent care and then the ER, he was fine but the stress messed up our plans of walking. (“Walking” is what they are doing instead of knocking on doors. Because of Covid they aren’t allowed to approach homes, so they go out walking into the neighborhoods hoping to be able to strike up conversations with those who are out walking too.) We had a short meeting with a couple stake High Councilers about how they could help the missionaries with the work, it was great.

July 15, 2020 Wed

Today my companion Elder De Voe was having stomach problems so we were home all day. I did my studies listened to a few talks, relaxed, listened to music. Elders Nielsen and Knowles came over and even brought us Dinner. Elders Gish and Saucier also came over to hangout it was fun.

July 16, 2020 Thurs

We had District Council Meeting in the morning which was good, followed by District lunch which was also good. De Voe and I went on a walk before we had interviews with Pres Kaluhiokalani over zoom. My interview was good. Afterwards we hung out and did a little planning. 

July 17, 2020 Fri

Today was very slow. Our lessons were cancelled and we were home all day. So all we did were the interviews for The District (the movie they are making). 

July 18, 2020 Sat

We had service again this week with the same lady as last week but we got the whole District and the sisters to help this time, it was Alright. Afterwards we got lunch, relaxed and then went over to Hurricane West for District Dinner where I shared a spiritual thought. While there, De Voe, Gish, Saucier and I went and edited a music video for Saucier's Restoration Rap, it's so sick. (This video was posted to Sean’s Facebook page if you want to view it)

July 19, 2020 Sun

We went to church and we got to be there the whole time.  It was great! We also had stake correlation meeting for missionary work with all the ward mission leaders which was also great. We hung out and planned some stuff. We also found out some transfer news. We are being made into a new zone, our district is getting split, our area is getting split, and from what I hear our new zone Leaders are annoying people. Yay! (We received some clarification on this during our phone call. Because of the increased number of missionaries being reassigned to this mission they are currently doing transfers every 3 weeks instead of 6. This also means that there are just more missionaries in the area so they need to divide up the current zones and districts to accommodate them. Elder Bradford and De Voe have been covering an entire stake of 8 wards (I think) so now they will be splitting that up with another set of Elders. Missionary work is a little slow right now, so I think he is just disappointed that they will be splitting the little work they do have. But who knows, maybe focusing on a smaller area will be just the thing they need to find more people to teach.)

These days have been slow and it is easy for me to get bored and forget my missionary purpose. It kind of reminds me of when I was home, not doing anything, stuck without much to look forward to. But this time I'm more diligent in studying. And in this time that I have, I've been studying Teachings of the Presidents: Joseph Smith. There is a lot of good stuff in there, but specifically in it a quote from Joseph Smith says; 

“No matter what may come upon you, round up your shoulders and bear it, and always sustain and defend the interests of the Church and Kingdom of God."

This quote I find is more appropriate and applicable today than ever before. If you have ever gone out into the world and talked with people of it, you know that many oppose and maybe even hate the Church of Jesus Christ. Many times it's old friends whom you have known for many years. Other times it's new friends people with whom your relationship is new. But in all instances of having the Church of Jesus Christ challenged "always sustain and defend the interests of the Church and Kingdom of God." "No matter what may come upon you, round up your shoulders and bear it" and I promise God will bless and strengthen your for your bravery and your faith. 

I know this to be true, because if I didn't I don't think I would've gone all the way to Uganda and back, only to then go to Utah for the cause of proclaiming of the Church's truth. I share this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you all and love any and all messages you send my way. 

Love, Elder Bradford