5 Second Moments With My Savior

January 09, 2023

Good Morning!

This week was awesome! We put Sarah and Claudel on-date for baptism, they are very prepared. The way our area is set, we will have a baptism every single weekend in January! Elder Koyle and I are very excited. Deagan was our friend baptized on Saturday, he's prepared a lot for this day and is ready to live a gospel-centered life. I spent Thursday with Elder Speed, I really enjoy working with him. Then, to end the weekend off, we attended Elder Holland's YSA devotional in-person! It was fantastic!

I'll briefly mention Deagan's baptism. It was a sweet experience, watching him make a covenant with his Heavenly Father. He's worked hard for this and grown a lot in his faith. I can see him serving a mission someday!

We did service at the Utah Food Bank last week, where they asked us to clean these bright yellow fences they had inside the warehouse. However, not all were easily accessible. Elder Koyle took photographic evidence of my endeavors to be as thorough as possible, without getting stuck!

While I was with Elder Speed, it was raining a ton in St. George! We made a few visits in the rain before deciding it wasn't going to work too well. I have come to find out that the roads in St. George don't drain water very well, which isn't good when you have a rainstorm. But the weather recently has been fantastic, rain or no rain!

Listening to Elder Holland speak in person was amazing. This was my third opportunity to do so, but only the first to actually work out. For example, Elder Holland came to the mission in 2021 . . . mere weeks before I arrived. Then he went to the Snow College campus and spoke to the YSA students there. Ephraim was in my district, but I currently lived in Salina and didn't feel comfortable justifying the drive and time spent outside my area. So now that he came to St. George, to the campus I'm at literally every day, there was no way I was missing it.

The Burns Arena filled faster than I thought it would, but we had a member friend who saved us a spot in line. We ended up sitting on the floor of the arena! I'll send a couple photos other missionaries took. Sarah came with Elder Koyle and I, we all enjoyed it and learned a lot! Other missionaries in the Zone were invited, I saw many in passing throughout the event.

One thing I learned is the importance of keeping the gospel simple. Sister Holland shared some experiences of over complicating the gospel, and how it wore at her spirit. I'm reminded of the missionary recommendation in Preach My Gospel.

"Now you as teachers are not being sent out to teach new doctrine. You're to teach the old doctrine, not so plain that they can just understand, but you must teach the doctrine of the Church so plainly that no one can misunderstand."

Christ's gospel is simple. There are five basic steps back to our Father in Heaven, and I know they work. I've seen them bring me closer to my Savior as I apply them in my life. If you can't identify them right now, ask me! I'd be happy to elaborate a little more.

In closing, watching Elder Holland in person was memorable. I felt his Spirit and love, and God's love as well. But while listening to the talk, I had to stop myself from watching the available screens. I had to remind myself that I will have the rest of my life to watch an Apostle of the Lord on a screen, but I only had a single hour to watch an Apostle of the Lord bear powerful witness of our Savior in such a personal setting. Unforgettable.

And, on Monday we played pickleball again. Other missionaries joined us, it was a blast! I'll probably never be able to play the sport without thinking of these missionary experiences I'm having. I love St. George. I love the missionaries I serve with, and I love President and Sister Staples. And I love the Lord. If I had just five seconds with him, that would truly be such a profound and memorable experience. However, I know that as I'm in His service, I am not only having thousands of these 5 second experiences, but I am also helping others to do the same.

Missions are the best. I can't state that enough. But there's one reason they are so amazing: The millions of 5 second, personal experiences with my Savior. They're beautiful, I strive to treasure all of them. On to another week! It's the last one of the transfer. We'll see what happens!

- Elder Williams

Mailing Address:

881 South River Road

St. George, Utah 84790

Pictures:

1. Clouds.

2. Me thinking I'm skinny (I didn't get stuck!)

3. Computer Work (it was a rough day).

4. Texas Roadhouse (Elder Koyle had a gift card. We didn't get the chance to use it.)

5. Elder Dobson, our fearless District Leader!

6. Elder Pedersen and I having fun at the baptismal font.

7. We were waiting for our companions to arrive and find us.