News from Elder Morgan 10/12/2011

Elder Morgan and two more brand new missionaries.

We made it! 

First day in the Oregon Portland Mission

10/3/2011

Hey! sorry I didn't email any sooner, I've been pretty busy. I'm glad to hear all is going well in VA.

This week has been a great week. I was able to hear from a General Authority 3 times! He is from the first quorum of the seventy and his name is Elder C. Scott Grow. He is an amazing person. My stake had stake conference this week, so Elder Rowley and I attended the Saturday session, then the regular Sunday session and the missionaries in the OPM  had our own meeting with Elder C. Scott Grow. That last meeting was awesome, but it was soooo long. The meeting lasted 8 hours (with breaks). He talked about how we should spend half of our time working with less active and part member families. 

So I had some fun experiences this week. I committed someone to baptism, and she said she would be baptized!...except she called today when Elder Rowley and I were teaching the lesson in district meeting. I had Elder Rowley take the call and I continued to teach the lesson. After district meeting Elder Rowley told me Carolyn wanted to drop the baptism. Just yesterday, we set up the whole baptismal service with her. We talked about who she wanted to talk, what songs we should sing, and who she wanted to baptize her. (Sorry, I might not have said who this lady is. Her name is Carolyn Gordon. She is about 63 and was a Lutheran before...well she still is as of now.)  Anyway, Elder Rowley told her to hold the date of Nov. 5 and we would try to resolve her concerns about the church...She has even told us before SHE KNOWS SHE NEEDS TO BE BAPTIZED! Guess how long she has been taught by the missionaries? 2 and a half years!!! Okay, even if I sound a little frantic. I'm not worried. She'll accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. She has been and IS prepared. She loves the people at church and she really enjoys the missionaries. She is great!

I'm not sure if it has always been this way, but the Church is encouraging missionaries to do much more than baptize new people. We are to help focus church members on living the gospel of Jesus Christ, and try to encourage them to receive all of the blessings they can have through being active in the church, this includes temple blessings. I read a talk somewhere (I think it was in the MTC) and it explained that the spirit of Elijah is spreading, just like it says in Malachi, "And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers."

Just to wrap up the email, I was talking to Elder Rowley this week about being a missionary. I was asking him how "bold" can we be. We talked and talked about it. We came up with the conclusion that we can be as bold as we want to be, as long as we are doing it because we love that person. We are representatives of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to be on a mission. I know I can be a good missionary, but it is only through prayer that I can become a great missionary. I pray multiple times a day to "have the desire to work hard." I can feel that desire.

I love you all and thank you for all of the prayers, emails and letters!

Love,

Elder Trevor A. Morgan

Commentary by Mom: Some facts about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church)

Stake: A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple LDS wards (congregations). A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church. The name "stake" derives from the verse "enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes." (Bible, Old Testament, Isaiah 54:2) LDS wards and stakes are established by geographic location. The Morgans in Herndon, Virginia live in the Herndon Ward of the Oakton Virginia Stake, which also includes the following additional wards: Chantilly, Fair Oaks, Franklin, Oak Marr, Oakton, Reston, Spring Lake (spanish speaking), Vienna.

Stake Conference: A semi-annual meeting for all members of a stake.

General Authority: In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority of the church. A general authority's jurisdiction is church-wide, in contrast to the responsibilities of a local authority or an area authority, which relate to a particular area, unit, or department of the church. As of April 2010, the number of general authorities was 109.


Quorum of the Seventy: Seventy is a priesthood office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Traditionally, a Latter Day Saint holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jesus Christ, charged with the mission of preaching the gospel to the entire world under the direction of the Twelve Apostles. The office of seventy is based on the seventy disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 10:1-2.

Families and temples: (Bible, Old Testament, Malachi 4:6, "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers...) Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that family ties can be eternal. Husbands and wives are not only married for this life, but in temples, they are sealed for time and all eternity to each other and to their children. The eternal ties extend to grandparents, great grand-parents and all of our ancestors as well as to grand children and our future posterity.