Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Week Thirty Seven

Eric didn't have a whole lot to say this week because he seems to always have a lot to worry about with planning lessons, district meetings, dealing with other missionaries, and so on...



Well I still have to attend Stake Conferences and there are little kids in that and in our last stake conference in the Assembly Hall (remember the awkward sitting cheek thing?) we had a primary choir so yeah that was fun.

I'm so happy to hear about soccer and horses and stuff.  I don't know how else to respond other than...Cool!!


(Note: Molly coached Katie's soccer team and they just lost in the second round of the playoffs. So soccer season is over for Molly and Katie.)

I mailed a letter yesterday and I don't know when it will arrive.  Thanks for all the stamps and that weird picture from Becca or whatever that was.

I'm not really sure what to say because I just spent the last 20 minutes trying to calm down an elder who was making a scene. He was having trouble getting into his G-mail account and IT'S HIS P-DAY!  I'M SUPPOSED TO E-MAIL HOME ON MY P-DAY!  G-MAIL IS SUPPOSED TO LET ME IN ON MY P-DAY!  Those were his words not mine.  So yeah that was fun.

We have a two week break from teaching from Preach My Gospel because of Fast Sunday followed by General Conference.  But that doesn't mean I get a break from holding district meetings so my brain is still fried over all the time I'm spending thinking about that.

My mission is going by so fast and I can never think of anything to talk about because I can never remember anything.  I think it's going by fast because the Lord is hastening His work.  (waka waka) 

And yes I'll let Dad and Andrew wine (sic) about football.

Love,
Elder Larson


(Note: I did not whine about BYU getting beat by the University of Utah for the fourth straight year. The fact that the University of Utah leads the series against BYU 14 to 7 in the last 20 years never even entered my mind and it DOESN'T BOTHER ME IN THE LEAST!!!)



Following is Eric's response to a separate email I sent him in which I mentioned a post from my sister, LaRee Phillippi -- who is serving a mission in Nauvoo with her husband, Gary. LaRee said that she found out that our great, great grandfather, David Crockett, was in the Nauvoo Legion:


Just from what I can see with the records we have available here, we have plenty of muster rolls for the Nauvoo Legion in the Utah Territory (because as you might know, that was what our militia was called before we were a state), but not anything specific for Illinois when they were actually at Nauvoo. All we really have for that is "Brief History of the Nauvoo Legion" type books and I don't know how helpful that will be.  I'll try looking around at the Church History Library to see if they have any kind of specific records for the militia in Nauvoo at that time (that I probably won't be authorized to view but will try anyway.) 

And speaking of Susan Easton Black, I've met her!  She gave a fireside to my mission about the martyrdom of Joseph Smith on the anniversary of his martyrdom.  So you should tell Aunt LaRee that.  Also have you tried asking Aunt LaRee for where she got her sources?

Yes I asked one of the consultants on the British Floor what happened [in the BYU/Utah game] and he said it was a pathetic game and that BYU just wasn't giving their all.  But my friend Elder Broadhead said he's happy they're not going to be playing Utah for a while because he says he enjoys BYU until the rivalry game because he hates how intense our rivalry is and how riled up it makes him.  And I kind of agree with him completely.  So there's that. 

I believe the theme for the BYU shirts of this year is "Loyal Strong and True" and that's one that I actually really like because that's how I feel about BYU.

(Note: I too am Loyal, Strong, and True to my beloved BYU and will remain so no matter how many times they get beat by that evil team up north.)

Love,

Elder Larson

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Week Thirty Six

Thanks for the pictures. 

I'm kind of worried about Grandpa because he hasn't e-mailed me in a while as well as all the stuff that's going on but if you say he's doing fine then I guess that's good.

Yeah I've posted plenty of ancestor pictures from your side, but I was looking for some good pictures of Lehi Larson Jr. because there doesn't seem to be any good ones around and I wanted a picture of grandma and grandpa larson from when they were younger.  Also I'm working on this crazy family tree thing on my wall.  Mons is on top, then I put Lehi, then I'm planning on putting Lehi under him, then Grandpa, then Dad, then me.  But my problem was I wanted a picture of Grandpa when he was a little younger and I have yet to find a picture of Lehi Jr. that looks good for my wall.

Becca sounds like she's having fun.  I told her she should save up her money and buy a horse that way our crazy house of animals will finally be complete.

I'm glad Janetta got that really cool position (second counselor in the Beehive presidency).  I'm officially a first tenor in the mission choir and am doing surprisingly well.  Janetta didn't tell me anything about getting it though she just said she had fun whacking Miah with a stick all last week.  Whatever that means. 

Umm, I'm having a hard time thinking about what I did this week because I can't believe one has already gone by again.  I got Janetta McBride's Patriarchal Blessing but it's really hard to read and so...yeah I guess I can say I have it. 

 We had a bit of a scare on the mission because there's currently a strange group of men targeting elders on our mission.  They're trying to talk to us, and they're always carrying a video camera with them as well.  We don't know if they're some sort of Anti group of what but they're causing trouble for us so we're telling everyone to be very alert and careful and don't talk to weird people with video cameras.

My teaching last Sunday went well again, but we're still teaching in the foyer and the sisters we're teaching are still upset about that.  But we're currently trying to solve that problem.  How, I don't know. 

I forgot to buy stamps again and there's about 5 letter I need to write.  So maybe you'll get something this week, maybe you won't, yeah I don't know.

I'm doing well but I'm super busy.  My brain is always feels dead when I try to e-mail you because there's about 4 lessons that I'm constantly trying to prepare throughout the week. 

okay bye.

Love, Elder Larson

Week Thirty Five

This is last week's message from Eric (Tuesday, September 10, 2013). I guess I forgot to post it.


On Thursday Elder Liddiard pulled me aside and gave me a map of the church we meet in with little numbers.  My job was to assign companionships in my district to the little numbers that were chosen for my district.  I was annoyed to see that one of the little numbers was in the foyer.  Knowing that would probably be the hardest spot I chose it for me and Elder Seitz.  And, well it was the hardest spot.  We somehow made it worked but it was really loud and awkward and groups of people were constantly clustering around us so they could chat totally oblivious to what was going on right there.  The three senior sisters we taught enjoyed our lesson immensely but asked if I could please get us another place to meet because we worked so hard on our lessons and they could hardly understand it; and so that's what I'm working on right now.   

I keep forgetting to tell you, but the mission president's executive secretary, Elder Holman, is a clarinet player in the Orchestra at Temple Square and has been since 1999.  Janetta wanting to be a saxophone [player] reminded me of that.  Also since when does she have a saxophone?

So how did Becca hear about the Bridling Hope for the Horses and Stuff..Foundation?  (I forgot the name, okay!?)  Because I was impressed by that.  Also was that Gaelic as in the  Scottish Gaelic, or Gaelic as in Gaeilige which is referred to as the Irish Language by us English speaking folk?

Speaking of Chik-Fil-A, I ate there in my first time for forever and the chicken sandwich I ordered was awful.  I think it had been sitting under a heat lamp all day because it had no moisture and it was really crunchy and gross. 

I'm really busy today despite it being my preparation day so I've kind of been working on this letter as the same draft all day only to finally look at it all and think, "Huh..it's still really short."  So sorry about that.  And I keep saying I'll send a letter but I ran out of stamps and I keep forgetting to buy more. 

Love,

Elder Larson

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Week Thirty Four

Eric says:

You ended that message from Grandma with, "Grandpa suggested that you teach the senior couples about the young elder mission rules, too."  I guess I didn't realize that it was Grandpa suggesting that, but what I meant is that that's not my job, It's President Workman's job.

As for the driving record situation, the only reason they need my driving record is because the cars we drive aren't ours, they're actually owned by the Temple Square Mission.  So yes the Sisters are nice enough to let us use their vans.  But that's why they ask for driving records of who's going to be driving their vans because they want to know if the person driving it is actually capable. 


I'm happy about the changes and from what I can tell some of us are [happy], but most aren't and are pretty stressed  about it.  Us leaders are trying our best to work with them and I'm sure once we all get comfortable with it they'll do fine.  Yesterday Elder Seitz and I presented the lesson we are going to teach on Sunday to our district to show how it's done.  And everyone in my district said they feel confident they can do that, but that's just my district.

We didn't have to work on Labor Day because the library was closed.  We just had a little pizza party and then district meeting.  Before that I pretty much just played board games with my apartment all day.  We also discovered that one of our coaches has a bed in it so we turned into little kids again and played around with the cushions and stuff.

I don't know how this happened but it did.
Also Elder Seitz and Elder Hamblin and I went to get milkshakes at Johnny Rockets at City Creek.  They sat us next to the annoying jukebox so that we couldn't hear each other talk.

A random waiter came over and volunteered to take a picture as soon as he saw that I had a camera.
I'm still singing in the choir and I got upgraded to a tenor.  How I managed that I do not know.

I never have the time to type everything I want in one e-mail so I keep promising letters and those usually don't end up happening either.  But I'll try my best this week.

Love,
Elder Larson

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Week Thirty Three



I can tell there's been storms all over Utah but none of them seem to want to hit where I am and it's usually still really hot and sunny. 

Because we will be teaching now there's been so many changes going on lately that it's hard to keep up.  First of all we now have young missionaries assigned as zone leaders now who will help with our teaching.  Here's what our mission leadership looks like now:

 I now have to teach two lessons every district meeting.  I have to prepare my regular lesson as well as tell my elders what we are going to be teaching out of Preach My Gospel this week and sort of help them along with preparing their lessons with that.  And then of course I have to teach a lesson with my companion on Sundays.  Oh and You'll also notice that Elder Gandolph is going to be living with me, but I'm not going to be training him.  Elder Tabor and Elder Hamblin are moving out because we were all surprised to hear that Elder Tabor is going to be a district leader too now.

(Molly mentioned to Eric that there were lots of nicknames in her mission. Eric teaches her the following lesson):

In our missionary handbook, which is just the same as all missionary handbooks with the few exceptions conditioned to our mission, it says that you are not to refer to any other missionary other than Elder or Sister and their last name period.  So I guess times have changed.

(Actually, times haven't changed. I remember my mission president getting after us for calling each other by nicknames. He asked us if we thought that in the councils in heaven we thought that they called each other by nicknames -- "Abe, Abe! So good to see you. How you been Mo?" -- probably not.)

I'm glad school has started and that Becca already has a job (at Chick-fil-A) and that everyone will be doing productive things.  I gave Dad some ideas for some good family home evenings that I believe will help but I guess it's up to him.

So yes our mission leadership is now the same as every other mission, I'm going to be doing a lot more now, and Elder Seitz is still my companion.  That's all I can think of sorry.

Love,
Elder Larson

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Thirty Two

Molly asked Eric if the woman he helped last week came back to the library for more help.

Eric replies:

Yes she did come back.  Her name is Sandra.  And she'll be back tomorrow as well.

All I did was ask here what she knew and typed that into FamilySearch and for some reason it was the first person that came up.  From that I was able to to find a microfilm with more information, then we used that method until the generations kept flowing in.  I don't know if it's what I did or if she was lying to me when she said she's tried familysearch before (she seems to forget things very easily) or if the name was just indexed like in this video right here:

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-03-01-familysearch-indexing-is-vital?category=family-history&lang=eng

Molly asked Eric if he received his iPod that we loaded with Mormon Tabernacle Choir songs and Conversational Swedish lessons.

Eric replies:

No I haven't gotten my iPod back but it will probably be here today if you've sent it.

Molly told Eric about Becca finally getting her driver's license and driving her sisters to the University Mall.

Eric says:

Yes that is big news for Becca and she's told me about it.  Everybody's told me about it.  Because, well, it's big news.  I'm surprised she's already confident enough to drive on the freeway if that's the route she took to the mall.

Molly is coaching Katie's soccer team and is 2-0 on the season so far.

Eric says:

It's cool that your soccer is having success. I recall you saying you wouldn't be good at it but both you and Katie are giving good reports so far.

We saw an article in the Deseret News about Elder Olsen in Eric's mission. The article is about how he can accurately type 180+ words per minute. Click here if you are interested in reading the article.

Eric says:

You might find this exciting but Elder Olsen was in my district.  He is one of the coolest and most interesting persons I've ever met.  He can type 200 wpm, and I've seen it with my own eyes.  He also has an incredible memory when it comes to numbers.  If you tell him your birthday he will never forget it.  I'm serious, he greeted me by saying, "Elder Larson! 3-4-93!"

But about that article, we were actually pretty upset to hear about it.  We have a pretty strict rule in our mission when it comes to nicknames, as it shows disrespect for your calling as a missionary.  So when we found out that his zone leaders managed to send in a Deseret News article with a big blazing title of "Elder Awesome!," we kind of panicked.  I told Elder Davis about it and he said that the mission presidency was aware of it, and had already talked to who needed to be talked to.  The biggest problem in our mission right now is the senior missionaries misunderstanding of our mission rules, and things like this happen.  Oh well, the intentions were good it's just unfortunate that rules were broken.

Alright so I have some big news concerning my mission as well so here it is:
We had our young missionary conference last Wednesday and President Workman made a huge announcement concerning how we are going to be doing things in our mission.  He said that as he was interviewing all the elders over the past month, he was startled to find how little of them seemed to understand gospel principles.  He found this pretty sad, considering we're missionaries and all.  So this was his solution: us elders as companions are now going to be teaching.  We're not going to be teaching investigators, but we are going to have a senior missionary couple assigned to us every week and we're going to be teaching them lessons from Preach My Gospel as companions.  It's still new and we're trying to work out more details but that's a very exciting announcement and I'm really excited to be teaching.  (Well I already teach because I'm a district leader but most elders don't, now they're going to have an even better missionary experience.)

I also got a letter from Sister Mariah Johnson, she's in Finland now and already has some really cool stories that I'm not going to tell you because I forgot to bring her letter with me and I forget what she said.  So take that.

Anyway, I think that's all that I have.

Love ya lots more,
Elder Larson

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Week Thirty One

This week Eric introduces us to his new trainee, Elder Seitz.

If baking a pizza counts as cooking then yes I did cook.  Or rather I bought a bunch of pizzas and Elder Tabor cooked and we had an apartment meal together since Elder Tabor is training someone new as well, Elder Hamblin.  But even if I didn't cook Elder Seitz and Elder Hamblin would have been fine because unlike me they brought in a horrifying amount of food with them:


This is only half of Elder Seitz' stuff.  The rest is jammed full in our fridge with Elder Hamblin's stuff.  Elder Seitz told me that his mom made him bring all this stuff. Elder Seitz is from Vernal, Utah.  He's a really nice guy and we're having a blast together, and I think he really looks up to me which is good.  Here's a picture of us from left to right, Elder Seitz, Me, Elder Tabor, Elder Hamblin:


I had a lot of reasons for sending my iPod home.  First of all, I need the "How to Train your Dragon" soundtrack taken off as it was deemed inappropriate.  Second, I already have all the [Mormon Tabernacle Choir] CDs you've mentioned except for the last two but go ahead and put them all on my iPod because they'll be nice to have. Also I love every song on Come Thou Fount except for "Rock-A-My Soul" and "Old Time Religion", those [songs] drive me nuts.  But I'm surprised you don't like "Jericho" because I think that song is epic (maybe because it's all A Cappella.)  And I love the extra manly version of "You Raise Me Up" and it's the only one I'll ever be able to stand, I listen to it all the time.  Now you've hurt my feelings. Anyway the third reason why is (and try not to laugh) I've been trying to learn Swedish with the limited resources that I have.  I've been reading a lot of Swedish books here at the library, reading (and listening to) scriptures and conference talks on lds.org in Swedish, and I got a little chart for pronunciation.  I'm slowly getting the hang of it but it's still really hard without listening to it so I was wondering if you could find some sort of language thingies and put it on my iPod so I can try learning.  Again try not to laugh.  (Because everyone here is already making fun of me for trying to learn.)  Oh and an English/Svenska dictionary would be nice.

I'm pretty good at finding stories on my own but if you want you can try sending me more (or just add them yourself because you can do that.)

Your description of the horse riding seemed a little bit more negative than Dad's, I think he may have enjoyed it more.

Okay well I'm having a good week, or had a good last week, even, and I don't have anything to complain about because I'm getting more and more confident.  The letters you send really help I just wish it was the same with my friends, but I guess they're all busier than me or something. 

Okay I love you bye bye,

Elder Larson