Temple: July 22, 2015

Hey everybody, It is crazy to be thinking that I am entering into my second to last week of my mission. I already set up some appointments for after I finish my mission (thanks to vacations. :)). 

This past week has been really good. We had some ups and downs. One of the biggest things I have learned on my mission is a principle in itself: enduring to the end. 

All of us endure different trials and challenges. We all face adversity in every aspect of life. whether we want it or not. We just need to remember that God gives us trials, not only to punish us but instead to help us grow. We all have a purpose here in life and because of that, Heavenly Father molds us to be the person that we need to be, not what we want to be. My wise mother told me that He can always take away the trial if He wants to but He doesn't because He sees the bigger picture. 

In all of my areas, I have moments where I was beaming with happiness with the ways things are going and moments where I was disappointed. There are some in-between moments. But the biggest thing I have seen through those trials is that I have always found incredible families that I was able to teach. 

I remember this one time in Clinton when Elder Kelley and I have baptized our entire teaching pool and before we knew it, we were back at tracting. We were trying so hard to find some people to teach and to help them come closer to Christ. 

We found no one to teach. This happened three weeks in a row. It was one of the toughest trials of my life. But, I will never forget the day that I knocked on a house in Clinton. It was the Cefalos. From there on, my life has changed. 

I was reading about that a couple nights ago. If I have never underwent that trial, I would have never met the Cefalo family. If I have never met the Cefalo family, I wouldn't be the person that I am today. The Lord truly blesses those people, who endures with faith and patience. That is one of the biggest things I have learned on my mission. 

In 3 Nephi 15:9, we read, "Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life."

This is Jesus Christ speaking. People who endure those trials gains eternal life. All of the difficult times and hardships we go through will be for a small moment. King Benjamin, one of my favorite character in the Book of Mormon, wisely said, "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual. And if they hold out faithful to the end, they are received into heaven that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true, for the Lord God hath spoken it" (Mosiah 2:41). 

The past few weeks in Morgan have been a little tough because a lot of lessons have been falling through. But some exciting things happened.

Last night, Elder Aston and I stopped by one of our recent converts, the Starks. Courtt and Chad got ordained to the Priesthood and got their Temple Recommend!!!!! We will be going to the Ogden Temple this Thursday to do baptisms for the dead. I am super stoked for that. It will be an amazing experience for them! They have came a long way to get to where they are at. I can tell that they are becoming converted to the Gospel. What a great feeling that is!!

A few days ago, Elder Aston and I had an awesome lesson with the Fairbourn family. They are so close but they are not quite there yet. So close! Ahhh!! Anyways, Elder Aston and I have a lesson tonight with them. I hope that it will go well. 

Junior is doing very well. He is staying active and strong. He is opening up a lot more in lessons and being more involved! I am happy about that. We had a solid lesson with them last night. They are awesome kids! They know a ton about the Gospel. 

Now, I saved the best for last!! 

Last Tuesday evening, after correlation meeting, we were out knocking on doors because we had no appointments that evening. We left a specific part of area to go out and knock on more doors. While we were driving around, Elder Aston and I had the exact same feeling. We felt inspired to go back to where we were. We decided to follow the inspiration and went back.

We stopped by the Stake President's house because we felt that we needed to. One of their sons (who just got back from his mission a few weeks ago) was there and asked if he could come with us. We said ok and he went downstairs to change. After he got changed into his church clothes, we left.

The first two houses we knocked on wasn't there but the third one, I am convinced that we were supposed to knock on, was amazing! A 23 years old guy named Tyler opened up and Cameron (the stake president's son) didn't know him. We got to know him a little bit and it turns out that he is just there for a week with his uncle and aunt until today. He is moving to Clearfield to go to Job Corps so he can become an electrician. 

Anyway, we asked if we could share a message with him and he agreed. He told us that he is a Christian and is not very familiar with the LDS faith. We got to share a scripture and testified of Him. We got into a very good discussion about Jesus Christ. Tyler has a lot of knowledge and wants to learn even more. We committed him to start meeting with the missionaries. He seems like a golden investigator but we had to hand him over to the Zone Leaders because they cover the YSA wards in our area. Last time I heard, he is progressing towards baptism. He is going to get baptized on August 8th. So, that will be very exciting. 

Man, I love miracles. I love my mission so much because I get to see miracles every day! I love you all so much and have a wonderful week. Stay strong and enjoy Arizona. I will see you guys soon! It is crazy how fast time is flying! No joke! Love, Elder McGrath