Hello from a Hot and Humid State! June 14, 2010

Hello Dad, Mom, Reece, and Remi!

Happy Early Father's Day Dad!

It's great to hear from you! It's good to hear that the fundraiser went well for the Youth. Yes, Karolyn was probably the one holding a baby (her son is almost 2 now). See if it matches her baptismal picture that I sent you via email recently. It sounds like Mom found the right one. We met with them twice this week and they came to Church so everything is going really well for them. We had a good lesson for Jonathan on the Aaronic Priesthood on Tuesday and yesterday he had his interview with Bishop Clark in preparation to be ordained to the office of a Deacon. It's really exciting to see great families like theirs progressing in Christ's church and it brings me a lot of happiness! They also took us out to Golden Corral for dinner on Saturday and we ate some great salads, steak, and dessert.

This week Alex came to church for the first time and said that she really enjoyed it. She was only able to stay for the first hour due to a family gathering in the afternoon but we look forward to having her join us in the gospel principles class next time and hopefully stay for Relief society, too. On Friday we we watched the Testaments DVD with her and two of her brothers, Adonis and Artrell, and the Spirit was really strong as we watched the movie and shared our testimonies on Baptism afterwards. We invited them with the Lord's invitation to be baptized and although they said that they did not feel ready yet they are willing to continue learning more and preparing to be ready. (the Lord's invitation for baptism is teaching the doctrine of Baptism with the Lord's words from the scriptures, testifying, promising blessings, and as representatives of Jesus Christ extending a "Will you..." invitation.)

This past week we were blessed with 12 new investigators and we contacted over 150 people. It has definitely been hot AND humid this week (most of the week in the 90's with high humidity). I am sure you have felt it over there in Lakeland as well. On our bike days I just make sure to stay really hydrated because I sweat a lot. It feels good to be working hard for the Lord and getting physical exercise while sharing the gospel; the only hard part about it is getting hundreds of bugs in my face (Reece, I'm right there with you man) and stinking really bad when I walk into peoples homes.

In December President challenged us to read the Book of Mormon while going through and marking all the passages that talk about or refer to Christ, and again recently he has challenged us to read it focusing on the principles of the gospel that are taught within its pages. Here is what President said about his experience:

"Tonight, I finished the Book of Mormon marking challenge. I started December 17, 2009 underlining in red references to Christ, any of His names or pronouns referring to Him. In addition, I marked words spoken by Him or by prophets when they say, “Thus saith the Lord.” We were challenged to finish the initial challenge within 3 months. The last three months, we have been marking in another color the doctrines and principles taught in the book. Also, writing in the margins what those doctrines and principles are.

This has been one of the most powerful study assignments I have participated in during this mission! In the North Central States, we focused on teaching the gospel from the Old and New Testament and using few references in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was used primarily as a tool to testify to the truthfulness of Joseph Smith’s divine mission. In the Florida Orlando Mission, we have learned to teach the gospel in the Lord’s words primarily from the Book of Mormon, then from other scripture.

I have come to understand the power of this book, the strength of its message. It has furthered my testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. When skeptics in the Christian community minimize the biblical gospel message and cast doubt upon the authenticity of His miraculous birth, death and resurrection, a second witness is needed! The Book of Mormon stands “boldly, nobly and independent” as an enduring witness of Christ’s birth, His great redemptive sacrifice, and His marvelous resurrection. The Book of Mormon will stand the test of time and shore up the beliefs of all true Christians!

Please share with me in your remaining president’s letter the insights you have gained from reading and marking the Book of Mormon."

With Great Love, President Darrington
“One Lord, One Faith, 100 Baptisms!”

Here is what I shared with him in my reply:

Wow! It was very enlightening to read about your experience in reading and marking the Book of Mormon. To be honest I have not finished this marking assignment yet but I will continue to read and mark until I finish. It has been testimony strengthening for me to read through the Book of Mormon focusing on its powerful witness of the Savior. The special experiences I have had with it are not only personal experiences, but also involve using this assignment as an example to those we talk with to show them how it is a powerful witness of Christ and that it testifies of Christ on almost every page. I pray that more of God's children, especially those that are lost, will read the Book of Mormon and pray to know for themselves if it is true. Thank you for the opportunity to do this assignment!

I have learned a lot in reading the Book of Mormon and I encourage each of you to take the opportunity to read from it every day.

To answer more of your questions: Ryan [investigator]did not make it to church because he got called into work but at work he told them he will NOT be working next Sunday so hopefully he will be able to come. We are still on track with him on quitting smoking (right now he is cutting back little by little) and we look forward to starting the 7 day program soon. Stewart dropped us because he felt he and Wana were just wasting our time since they no longer felt like it was "the direction that they wanted to take." We did however stop by and give Wana a copy of the book of Mormon in Thai in hopes that she would take the opportunity to read it and pray about it. If she received an answer that it was true it would clear up so much of the false doctrine that she currently believes. We also gave Stewart another reading assignment and invited him to try coming to Church again soon since his first experience he mainly saw, according to him, "the business side of things" (hurricane preparedness in 3rd hour). I have faith that if they truly give this gospel a chance that they will realize it is true and want to have the blessings of it in their lives.

Elder Engemann is doing pretty well but hasn't been feeling well lately (tired and sick to his stomach). He will get better soon I'm sure. We enjoy teaching by the Spirit together and have seen a lot of success while here in Port St. Lucie.

Mom, let's definitely invite mission friends to come to my homecoming party; that will be awesome to have them share that experience with me!

Elder Henz responded to my email and said that he would not be able to go to BYU-I in the fall. Hopefully in the future, though!

Just another thought on the plane tickets: what day do we need to be at BYU-I? I know that I will have auditions for the music department on a certain day before classes start and Reece will have orientation if he wishes.

I love you all and I appreciate your love towards me. I know that our Savior, Jesus Christ loves each of God's children very much and has made it possible for us to return to live with God again. Know that you are in my prayers and I encourage you as well to pray for missionary opportunities. I know the Lord will bless you for your righteous desires.

Love,

Elder Miller