Go 4th with Faith!

Hello Everyone,

This week was great! On Tuesday we jumped in the car and headed to Virginia for a meeting. The meeting went well and I learned a ton! On the way home we stopped at the state border and I took a picture of me pointing at both state signs. I thought it was pretty neat because it's both of the states that our mission covers!
On Friday we had Zone Meeting. That was good! We all learned how to better introduce the Book of Mormon and two of the missionaries in our Zone were heading home, so they gave their departing testimonies. The Spirit was strong and we were all uplifted.
One of our investigators, is really progressing towards baptism! He came to Church on Sunday and enjoyed it. We're excited for him!
July 4th was really fun! We attended a parade with some of our investigators in a small town called River Bend. It was great! Our ward mission leader fed us a delicious dinner and later took us out to the fireworks!
I've been trying to rely more on the Lord recently and I was in The Book of Mormon when my eyes caught a couple verses in Alma 37.
"36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
We will get so much further in this life and in eternity if we trust in and rely on God. I invite you to look unto Him always. He is waiting to help, uplift, and strengthen you. His hand is always there.
Have a wonderful week, everyone!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

Two Idaho Boys, Unified in Purpose!

Hello Everyone!

This week was sorta crazy(I feel like I say that a lot...), but also really good! Let me explain. The week began with sending Elder Chandler back home to Pocatello. I spent a few days with the Elders in Washington, NC after that, which was fun! We went biking around and I got to meet with a few of the members I loved from when I served there a few months ago.
On Wednesday I met Elder Egbert. He's from Wendell, Idaho and he's a magnificent missionary! He's been on his mission for 17 months, he likes basketball, white-water rafting, and he's been in Virginia for the majority of his mission. He was a little shocked at the slower pace down here.
The rest of the week went well and we found some new people to teach and are excited to continue sharing the gospel!
This morning I read President Uchtdorf's talk entitled, "Of Things That Matter Most". I thoroughly enjoyed it and the message that it shared. He talked of how we need to focus on what matters most and not think or spend so much time on other things. Along with President Uchtdorf, I invite each of you to, "...simplify our lives a little. Let us make the changes necessary to refocus our lives on the sublime beauty of the simple, humble path of Christian discipleship—the path that leads always toward a life of meaning, gladness, and peace." Focus on Christ. I know that as we do this, the promises of meaning, gladness, and peace will truly be ours.
I hope each one of you has an amazing Christ-centered week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

P.S. I took a lot of pictures this week. The one of the painting is from a recent convert here in New Bern.

Somos Misioneros!

Hello Everyone!

This week was great! I'm just gonna jump right in! On Tuesday, I taught for the very first time as a missionary in Spanish! We taught a lady and the lesson actually went quite well! We hadn't realized how much she only spake Spanish and so halfway through the lesson, we called the Spanish missionaries in an adjacent area and she's going to meet with them tomorrow. But it was fun to try teaching Spanish! She even said that my Spanish was "Muy Bien", so that was nice.

On Wednesday, we had Zone Conference. It went really well and the Spirit was quite strong during the meeting we had. The power of The Book of Mormon was emphasized and we learned how to better introduce it. We also did some service that night and helped a man build a barn!

On Thursday we taught the father of our recent convert, who got baptized this last week. He speaks both English and Spanish, so I had a chance to use a little bit of my Spanish in that lesson too. Our new ward mission leader came with us and he is going to do a great job in this calling. He's just really excited to serve and has some great ideas!

On Saturday I found out who my new companion is going to be...his name is Elder Egbert! I don't know too much about him yet, but I'll meet him in two days. Some of the Recent-Converts also went to the Raleigh temple on Saturday, so that was quite exciting!

Father's day was wonderful! I am so grateful for the father that I was born with. I am also eternally thankful to be a son of Heavenly Father. We are all so blessed to have a Father in Heaven who loves us more than we can comprehend. I invite each of you to serve him more diligently. Jesus Christ said, "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (John 8:29) All that He did was to please the Father. Would your thoughts, words, and actions please our Father in Heaven? Let us strive to have them always please Him. As we do, we ourselves will find great joy.

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

Hello Everyone!

This week was quite extraordinary! We went on exchanges with two of the companionships in our zone. One of them was in English and it went very well and the other was in Spanish and it went muy bueno! It was fun to be able to talk a little Spanish as I did some missionary work in Morehead City. Both of the Elders I worked with are hard-working, obedient missionaries, which made it all the more fun to be with them.
This week we were also able to do some Family History work and prepare some names for a few of the Recent Converts here. They will be attending the temple this upcoming Saturday and it was quite exciting to help them find names to bring there. It was my first time really doing it this in-depth and the Spirit was just so strong!
I also had the opportunity yesterday to baptize a boy. He's 8 years old and his Dad isn't a member. One of the members who the Mom wanted to do the baptism wasn't going to be able to come and he had wanted me to do it, so I did! It was my very first time baptizing anyone and it was a wonderful experience!
The title of this email is what it is because of the importance of that book. My testimony of it has deepened and continues to. One of the lessons we had this week, a man bore powerful testimony of The Book of Mormon and how it's helped so much in bringing him back to the Church. I was also reading the last chapter of it one day this week and it dawned on me how much this book testifies of our Savior and His Atonement. (For instance, Moroni 10:32-33) I am so grateful to have it. I know that it is the Word of God and as we learn and live it, we will be drawn closer and closer to Jesus Christ. I invite each of you to feast upon the words within this book and ask God to know if they are true. As you do, God will witness the truthfulness of them to you by the power of His Spirit and you will experience great peace. He is there and He loves us.
I hope you all have a spiritually uplifting and positive week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

Wood Splittin' Week!

Hello Everyone!

This week was kinda crazy! But it was also quite great! We drove up to Virginia for a leadership meeting on Tuesday and drove a brand new 2015 Toyota Corolla back home on Wednesday! We did, however, have to drop off that car in Little Washington with the Sister Missionaries there. But the trip was good, and we all learned a lot!
On Tuesday, we helped one of the members in our ward split some wood. It was my first time using a machine to do it and we definitely worked hard! About an hour and a half after we began, all the wood was separated into smaller chunks and two of the teenage boys helping us ran and jumped into the creek to cool off. My companion and I both had to fight off the temptation to join them!
Yesterday my companion and I fasted that we could work more with the members and receive some referrals from them. We have been teaching a lot and finding many new investigators recently, but most of them end up not having much interest. We saw a miracle today! We went into Firehouse Subs for lunch and a member was there working. We ordered and then sat down to eat. Those subs are delicious! Anyway, a few minutes later, that member came over to us and asked us if we had a Book of Mormon that she could give to her friend. We told her we would go grab one from our car. When we came back in and gave her The Book of Mormon, her friend was right there and she handed him the book and we set up an appointment with him! It was definitely a miracle! This truly is the Lord's work.
This week I learned that the adversary will do his best to distract us. If he can cause great disciples to do mediocre things, he is pleased. Seek your full potential! We are all children of God! He will help us as we seek to do His will. I invite each of you to evaluate your life. Take those things that are distracting you from following the Lord and get rid of them. I know that as we continually refine our actions and draw nearer unto Him, our lives and the lives of those around us will be immensely blessed!
Have an amazing week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

P.S. Zone Meeting went well! It was my first time leading it!

Field Trip!

Hello Everyone!

This week was fantastic! We took a little field trip up to Virginia for a leadership training conference. I loved it and learned so much! Brother Donaldson, the man in charge of Proselyting for the Church, Skyped us and taught us how to be more effective teaching short lessons. That was fun and on the way back we stopped and took some pictures by the Virginia and North Carolina signs.
Using the new, shorter method of teaching we found 8 new investigators this week and saw many miracles! People just seem to understand the message better this way. Some of our investigators are a family, too, so that was exciting!
Other than that, we have just been trying to talk with every single person we can about the restored gospel. This message truly is miraculous! I know that it is true and that the heavens are indeed open in our day. I invite each of you to pray for opportunities to share this wonderful truth with those around you. I know the Lord will provide the courage and strength to do so if you trust in Him. I love you. Have a brilliant week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

The Gift of Tongues!

Hello Everyone!

Now you might be thinking that I had an experience with the gift of tongues this week, (which would make sense, because of the subject of the email) but we actually had a few experience with the lack of that gift. But they were still great experiences! We talked with two or three Vietnamese people while we were walking around and on Sunday we actually had a lesson with some people from Vietnam. We had no idea what to do because of the language barrier, but we were lucky enough that one of the daughters in the family we were teaching could speak English and Jari (a dialect of Vietnamese that they all spoke). Anyway, we had a really good lesson with them and showed them how they could read The Book of Mormon in Vietnamese on their electronic devices. So that was interesting, kind of crazy, but overall exciting!
The transfer went well and I am starting to settle into New Bern, my new area. The ward is really friendly and I like my companion, Elder Chandler, a lot.
We've definitely seen some miracles this week, too! 5 people just opened their doors and let us in to teach them while we were tracting! And then there was this specific lady who we had talked to on Saturday and then on Sunday we were at a stop light and we looked over at the other lane and she was right there. We both rolled down the windows and Elder Chandler talked with her for a moment, inviting her to a church function. It seems like that happens a lot. The Lord's hand is definitely in this work.
This week I learned that our prayers are more about how we feel, rather than what we say. Our words can reflect how we feel, but sometimes how we feel isn't reflected in our words. For example, when we pray with vain repetitions, the words are there, but the feeling is gone. As we have real intent and sincerity, Heavenly Father will hear our cries unto Him. In Moroni 7:9, we learn that "...it is counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such." Let us pray with all the energy of our souls, with the deepest sincerity that we possess. Your Father in Heaven wants to hear from you because of His great love for you. Show Him your love for Him in prayer and action.
Have a fantastic week, everyone! I love you!

With Love,

Elder Rogers