Dig Deep

I had a very interesting and amazing interview with President Pickett this week. Among other things he shared with me, he asked if I would be willing to stay in Greeneville for transfer... number 5, in total 7 1/2 months. I said yes I was. And so... I will be welcoming to 417 Fairgrounds Rd. a fairly new missionary Hermana Mccune who has been serving in a Spanish area for 6 weeks. Which means
1. I'll finish up her training on how to be a missionary
and
2. She'll train me on how to speak Spanish.
Sounds like it's going to be a good companionship.

The other counsel I received that I want to talk about was about dun-dun-dun MARRIAGE.
President Pickett loves, I mean LOVES to talk about marriage.
He looked me square in the eye and said, Sister Hall you shouldn't look for stuffed shirts, it's not all about muscle, you need to marry someone with DEPTH.  He repeated this counsel at least three more times during the course of our discussion and needless to say left me with a LOT to think and ponder about. Now my first reaction is well I don't need to worry about marriage right now there is nothing I can do about it except pray and prepare myself. Which is true. However I was sitting doing some personal study and my mind turned back to that counsel and I found myself asking myself: what is depth?

I went to the dictionary and wasn't satisfied with its definition of depth. So I went to the ultimate dictionary, the dictionary for life, the scriptures. I looked up in the topical guide depth. And it lead me to a famous parable in Mark. The parable of the sower. Most of us know how it goes: a sower sows seeds some fell by the wayside, some fell in good soil, and yet another had no DEPTH.

HMM...

Mark 4

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

Now we know that Christ spoke in parables so that the meek and humble would understand and the proud and lofty would be confused. The Savior later explained to his questioning apostles that:

16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended


So at first I was proud and lofty hearing this counsel from President Pickett I didn't understand what he meant but as I've been more humble and prayerful and meek I now understand. That having depth means being able to take root in the gospel but also in YOURSELF and stand firm and continue to grow even when scorching sun and trials and temptations come. That is who I need in my life and that is someone I need to be. Someone who can take the heat and won't whither away over time. Someone who has depth. Who is: genuine, sincere, confident in themselves and the Lord, refuses to turn their back on people and on the Lord when questions arise. Someone with depth doesn't get offended. Someone with depth digs deep and stands firm in the faith and stays true to the faith and themselves.

I think this counsel was dual purposed. It's something I need to work on myself I want to have more depth. I don't want any part of me or my personality to be considered "superficial"

I want to be deeply rooted in my testimony and the gospel. I want to be deeply rooted in myself.

Notice how I keep saying "I want..." well that shows desire, Alma says (in the other famous sermon about seeds) that

"...if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

So if I continue to let this desire work in me and believe that I can be more rooted and have depth and take the heat then it will begin to grow and as I nourish it I will grow in depth.


I want to share a family history story about someone with DEPTH. Many of you know of the man John Rowe Moyle. Some of you may not so I'll share a summary by President Uchtdorf: 

John Rowe Moyle was a convert to the Church who left his home in England and traveled to the Salt Lake Valley as part of a handcart company. He built a home for his family in a small town a valley away from Salt Lake City. John was an accomplished stonecutter and, because of this skill, was asked to work on the Salt Lake Temple.

Every Monday John left home at two o’clock in the morning and walked six hours in order to be at his post on time. On Friday he would leave his work at five o’clock in the evening and walk almost until midnight before arriving home.

One day, while he was doing his chores at home, a cow kicked him in the leg, causing a compound fracture. With limited medical resources, the only option was to amputate the broken leg.

Once John could sit up in bed, he began carving a wooden leg with an ingenious joint that served as an ankle to an artificial foot. Walking on this device was extremely painful, but John did not give up, building up his endurance until he could make the 22-mile (35-km) journey to the Salt Lake Temple each week, where he continued his work.

His hands carved the words “Holiness to the Lord” that stand today as a golden marker to all who visit the Salt Lake Temple.

John did not do this for the praise of man. Neither did he shirk his duty, even though he had every reason to do so. He knew what the Lord expected him to do.


John Rowe Moyle dug deep. I love that last paragraph the most. He did not shirk his duty even though he had every reason to do so. He knew what the Lord expected him to do. He had depth.

Sometimes it's hard, sometimes we do not know how to keep walking when difficulties blindside us, sometimes we have no idea how to move forward but when we continue choosing the right continue seeking the Lord's will we find strength and we find happiness, we find holiness. We have depth.


Finally to wrap up I want to share another story about depth I love. My beloved Anti-Nephi-Lehi's... talk about a people who dug deep! They were so converted so rooted in the gospel that they chose to be further rooted in themselves by burying their swords and their sins DEEP within the earth. They covenanted with God that they would rather die than sin. Many of them did give their lives in keeping that promise. Can you honestly imagine seeing the enemy coming with swords drawn to kill you and you stand there and dig deep and then fall to your knees in prayer reiterating your commitment to serve God and leave your swords buried?!

Well guess what? We can do that, every day! Every day is a fight, everyday the enemy comes with swords and weapons temptations and sin ready to spiritually destroy us. Are we rooted in the gospel and rooted in ourselves that we bury our sins bury our fears, our doubts and frailties and trust the Lord? Fall to our knees in prayer? Put our very lives on the line, our carnal lives? That's digging deep that's having depth.

I hope that we might all dig deep and keep walking even when difficulties arise. It may not be easy, but it will most certainly be worth it.

Because He who was made low and dug the absolute deepest that is humanly and godly possible continues to dig deep and nourish us. He is there, He is real. He will help us. Of this I have no doubt.

Have a great week and dig deep!

Love,

Hermana Hall








LIFE IS GOOD, GOD IS GOOD

Help Where You Can, Pray Where You Can't

 This past week we went by an investigator's house that we hadn't seen  in a long while and she was sitting on her front porch... score! It was definitely a right place right time situation because this woman needed a listening ear and between Sister Beare and I we had four so it worked out. She told us about her growing up life. She is the youngest of 11 children, her oldest sibling is currently in his 80's. This woman is almost 40 but her father was formerly married and quite a bit older than her mom... 20 years or more older. As a child she was beaten and abused and ultimately at 11 years old dropped off at the courthouse in town with a black trash bag. Ever since then she has been a fighter. She was placed in over 15 houses growing up and ended up graduating high school, got married, had two kids, got divorced, is still working to get through college and working at that same courthouse she was once dropped off at. Needless to say she has an amazing story, still in the making. It would be really great if the climax could be that she accepted the gospel and found home. Because the most heartwrenching thing she said during her entire retelling, in my opinion, was "I was laying in bed thinking the other night that no where I have ever lived has felt like home." Oh my gosh!!!!! Rip my heart to shreds!!!!!

 We were able to testify that this gospel feels like home, this message leads us back to home, coming to church feels like home. And invited her to church. She went to North Carolina to be with an aunt this weekend but hopefully in the future she will be able to experience the feeling of home that church and this gospel brings. It's so true, even though I am 1,500 miles away from home, I feel it every time I walk in the church building doors that I am home. This ward here  feels like family sometimes that is the only thing that gets me through a tough, hard, way too long week is: walking through those doors and knowing I am home. And that I'll get about 20 hugs from my Greeneville family and that it's exactly where I am supposed to be. Everyone should feel that, it's why we are out here, to help people come in and come back home. That's ultimately the purpose of life, helping each other back home.

I love in Elder Uchtdorf's last conference talk he addresses the inner desire we all have to return home. It's called "A Yearning For Home" in it he says:

I believe that every man, woman, and child has felt the call of heaven at some point in his or her life. Deep within us is a longing to somehow reach past the veil and embrace Heavenly Parents we once knew and cherished.
Some might suppress this yearning and deaden their souls to its call. But those who do not quench this light within themselves can embark on an incredible journey—a wondrous migration toward heavenly climes.

I LOOOOVE THAT!!! This life is an incredible journey, a wondrous migration, we are all on together, at different points with different paths and bumps in the road but yet all headed toward the same destination. And we can know for a surety that when we are headed behind and for the Savior that we are going the right way.

During another part of our conversation with this woman we were talking about many of her family members who have strayed from their paths. She said it has been horrific for her to see, to watch nearly every family member she has enter and exit jails and prisons. But she recognized that her reality didn't need to be the same, she said "That would be the easy way out." She had to cut ties and work to build a life greater than she had been brought up in. It's not glamorous by any means but she has what she needs and her life is hers.

She talked about how she still wants to help her family but she also doesn't want the evil influences and temptations they are entangled in in her life and in her children's lives. She talked about how she has to love them from a distance.

I found myself saying to her, "We can only help where we can and then pray where we can't" I don't know if that is a quote from someone else or where that came from but I love it!!!! We can't change people and we can't want something more for them, they have to choose to change and have a desire to be better. Only they can as President Monson would say "rise above mediocrity," all we can do is help and then pray.

I have seen that so much in my life but especially in my mission. Prayer has been my saving grace, after all we can do, we pray.

We help people come to church, and then pray they come.
We help people learn, and pray they feel.
We help people discern, and pray they trust.
We help people pray, and pray they continue.
We help people have hope, and pray they have faith.
We help people read, and pray they understand.

The list goes on and on. I am so grateful for prayer and the way it has changed my life.
I know that prayers are answered. There have been too many times to count that mine have.

I love this poem:

   I know not by what methods rare,

But this I know, God answers prayer.

I know that He has given His Word,

Which tells me prayer is always heard,

And will be answered, soon or late.

And so I pray and calmly wait.

I know not if the blessing sought

Will come in just the way I thought;

But leave my prayers with Him alone,

Whose will is wiser than my own,

Assured that He will grant my quest,

Or send some answer far more blest.

                                             - Eliza  M. Hickock

It was read my first Sunday in Greeneville and has blessed my life ever since, even now nearly six months later. I am forever grateful for the experiences I have had and shared with so many here in Tennessee. I am grateful for this wonderful journey were are all on, and for the chance we have to help one another where and when possible and pray where and when it's not possible.

I love y'all and am so deeply grateful for your prayers and love and support. They mean the world and are felt and received with gladness.

Love and pray for y'all too!

Love,
Hermana Hall

Happy Valentine's Day





And... Happy Chinese New Year... Gung Hey Fat Choi- Year of the Dog








We helped package Spaghetti



Some sights about town....




And lastly some thoughts....
Have a blessed day!

Cien Dias

Once upon a time I remember emailing back and forth with my girl Morgann Holt over a year ago when I was still pretty fresh and green in Tennessee. I remember proudly announcing to her that I had survived 100 days on my mission. I clearly remember her response! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU HAVE BEEN OUT 100 DAYS! It's almost comical at this point because that seemed like such a landmark, and it was... don't get me wrong... personally I think every day is a landmark. Its just funny because I realized that here I sit 348 days later and today marks the day that I only have 100 days left... that is crazy talk!

You might have wondered why I chose to title this letter cien días? Well you may have forgotten that I was called to speak Spanish here in Tennessee. (It's ok if you did, sometimes I do too;) I went to Mexico to learn Spanish, and train to become a missionary for 6 weeks. It was there that I did some major stretching, growing, and was pushed to my breaking point and right past it and I found that I could overcome and that Christ was right there the entire time. I learned how to rely on Him. It's safe to say I learned so much more than Spanish during my time there. I knew leaving the CCM that even if I never spoke one word of Spanish during the rest of my mission I NEEDED to go and have that experience. I NEEDED to meet the people I did. Districto 6B was something else, I have such a testimony that your call report date is just as inspired as your call destination because it lines your paths up to cross with others' that the Lord needs you to influence and needs you to be influenced by. Again I learned so much more than Spanish while there. I know Mexico has been essential to my deepening conversion. 

Ok so then fast forward to my Spanish experiences in the field out here in Tennessee. It was 3 months into my mission and I had been able to talk with and teach one Spanish guy. Not that my trainer and I didn't try to find them, we did. But there weren't many to be found. The next 3 months with my next comp we found what some fisherman call a "honey hole" a pond or bank where fish always are, ours was called the Piggly-Wiggly. Straight up not lying that is the name of the convenience store it is where a lot of local Spanish workers come to buy snacks and groceries after work. We would camp out outside on days when we were out there. I'll never forget the experience handing out my first Spanish Book of Mormon to a guy there. It was super broken Spanish but he was kind and gracious. I learned the reality of the scripture in 1 Corinthians 14:19 "I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, then ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." Our few words by the spirit were more important that 10,000 fluent and empty words. I learned that influence is more important than fluency and this was proven... We got his number but could only talk to him if he called us because it was a Mexico number and missionary phones don't do international calls. HOWEVER, months later when I was in a different area I heard from my former companion that she got news that that same man we had shared El Libro de Mormón with was in contact with missionaries and learning back home in Mexico! No effort is wasted.

I left that area, to go to a new one, this time with an English speaking companion. Bless her pea picking heart! I will NEVER forget the day we got a referral from the nearby elders for a woman who spoke Spanish. I remember I studied as if to teach the Restoration, yet when I began talking to her all in Spanish (my dear sweet companion supportive and by my side:) it was apparent the Lord needed me to share about the Plan of Salvation. So we stood on her porch in the blazing July sun and thick humidity slick with sheens of sweat pouring over our entire bodies and taught this woman about God's plan for her. And shared the Book of Mormon with her. Every time we went to revisit her she wasn't home. It was disappointing yes but I know that experience was needed, for her and us. It was hard it was hot it was uncomfortable. But a wise man once said "you grow in the FURNACE of affliction. NOT bathwater!" (Duff Yauney my trainer's dad).

Ok so then that brings me to the lovely area of Greeneville. Population um maybe like 5,632 people and I feel like I know them all! Haha! Not really because we continue to meet and find people and lately they have been, wait for it... SPANISH!!!!!!! Now this, this, is what I have been building up to, these experiences right here. They have been complete game changers. There are three.
1. Last week when we were car-less we went with a member to go try to contact a girl who hadn't been seen by missionaries for over 600 days. Well turns out she no longer lived there, BUT the man who did opened the door only spoke Spanihs, he took one look at us and said: No hablo ingles! Sorry pal that doesn't work for me! Immediately I nearly stuck my foot in the door as I said AHHHH bien, somos misioneras para la iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los ultimos dias...  and boom out of no where standing in the freezing freezing cold in the pitch black dark the Spanish words flooded my mouth. I just let them flow, was it perfect? Uhhhh let me put it in Spanish for you... NO. But it was the gift of tongues, pure and simple, pure and powerful. We set up a return appt with this guy and were ecstatic at witnessing the Lord and the Spirit work. I'll never forget that experience. Unfortunately when we returned back to go see him, he wasn't there and hasn't been each time we have returned. BUT no matter what happens I know that we were meant to be there and I cannot deny the experience of the gift of tongues guiding my words. It was amazing. Again the power of few words spoken and guided by the Spirit is incredible.

2. Each time we go to visit this other Spanish guy missionaries met with in the past we never know what to expect. He hadn't been seen in hundreds of days when we first went to see him, when we went to visit him we went wiht the intent of dropping him from our teaching pool if he didn't answer. We went, left a card, hit the drop button on our digital teaching records and went to try another person when 10 minutes later a text came in from the guy saying he saw our card and wanted to meet with us that next week! Yay!!! Since that time he has continued to surprise us, we teach a good mix of Spanglish because He is pretty much fluent in both Spanish and English. But the Spirit is present the most when we speak in Spanish, I truly believe that people are supposed to hear the gospel in their native tongue, it is how it rings true to them, and feels familiar, he connects more to our message when it is delivered in Spanish. "For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ." -D&C 90:11

3. Ohhhh my goodness. Another experience I will never forget. We received a referral from the Elders hear for a man that only spoke Spanish. We went to visit him and he wasn't there the first two times, the last time we were going to drop him from our records, when the door actually opened and a woman answered. She did not know the man but when we began sharing our message she listened intently and invited us back. She only speaks Spanish. I studied my tail off in preparation for our appointment. We had tried to get a member of the ward to come with us that is originally from Mexico but she was unable to make it. That means I like Paul "was alone in weakness and fear and in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power," 1 Corinthians 2:3-4. Somehow however traveling to that lesson I felt a sense of peace. When we knocked on the door no one answered, I was disappointed. But as I pulled out my stickie notes to attempt to leave her a note... a car pulled up, and there she was! Just getting back from picking her two daughters up from school, she invited us right in! We said a prayer and I with the Spirit and Sister Beare praying silently for me the entire way shared with her the message of the Restoration. Not going to lie, when I asked her questions there were parts of her responses that I did not understand, I guarantee you that there were many things that she did not understand when I would speak. BUT I know that the Spirit was there, I know that He made my broken spanish and few words more than what I could. He carried them into her heart. I invited her to be baptized and she said she would study more first. But she invited us back again. We left her with a Book of Mormon and wow, again I will never EVER forget that. I have come to realize that even though I may not go home fluent, and my experiences might be far and few between with Spanish, the ones that I have had have been pretty remarkable. I am so grateful. If I never was called Spanish and never went to Mexico, I simply would never have these experiences. And I am so grateful that I do have them.

It's been a good 448 days, y'all. At times I've been pushed to and past my breaking point, stretched to my limit and then more, and yes beat and belted by the Bible and sweet and dedicated Southerners. And shaking in my boots before Spanish people that are always so kind but make me feel so vulnerable not bein able to communicate they way I would like to. But I would not trade it for the world. Every pain and hardship really is worth it, even though sometimes it is grueling and horrid in the middle it does get better and it really does administer to our growth. I am so grateful for the growth I have experienced and lessons I have learned. And I know that many more are coming.

So who knows what awaits me in the next 100 days? Hopefully more Spanish opportunities! I know I have at least until the end of the month here in Greeneville. Beyond that I have absolutely NO idea if I will stay or go. It's certain that Sister Beare will be leaving because she will be leaving for home. Back to California.To hug her parents and enjoy her pool. Haha, yes we have daily conversations about these types of things. Yes I am still standing strong and not falling into the "trunk funk" (I despise the word trunky. To me it just sounds gross, I would use it to describe someone who has a large rear end, not a homesick/lifestylesick missionary) Yeah so not my favorite word. But back to what I was staying, she is for sure leaving, which means I will either stay ANOTHER transfer, totaling 7 and 1/2 months in G-Ville, OR I will also leave which means that two new missionaries will come in and try to pick up where we left off. I can honestly say I don't know how I feel about either situation...

Either way, for these next 100 days I have added a letter the lyrics to a familiar hymn. "I'll Go Where You Want me to Go Dear Lord"

To say.

I'll go where you want me to go dear Lord,
Over mountains or plains, or seas.

I'll s(t)ay where you want me to s(t)ay dear Lord.

I'LL BE WHAT YOU WANT ME TO BE.

No matter where I go, or where I stay I know He has a plan for me. For the people I am surrounded by and for those I have yet to meet. I am grateful for His love and mercy and His enabling power. I have felt more strength and qualification for trial these past few weeks than ever in my life. I know He is helping me be what He wants me to be, and I know He is helping you be what He wants you to be. And He really and truly does carry us even when... no especially when... we don't feel like He is. "Those times are when I carried you..." isn't just a line from a poem (Footprints) no, it's real life.

And I am so very grateful. Estoy muy agradecido.

Love y'all! Los amo a todos!

Have a great week! Tienen un gran semana!

Love, Con Amor,

Hermana Hall




TANG!!! The cure all!


BLESS YOUR PEA PICKIN HEART

Join The Kingsport BOM Squad

Helloooooooo to all my homegirls and homeboys, family members, and friends! How has your week been? Ours has been cold, car-less, and slightly sickly but we made it and are here to tell the tales! I'm going to jump right into it so try to keep up! Approximately one week ago we drove to the local autoshop and dropped off our car to get repaired from the little fender bender we had back in December... Don't worry the story goes that our car was parked in a member's driveway and they forgot it was there and slammed right into the back left side as they went to back and turn around. Oops. But hey, it was defiinitely not my fault so at least I don't have that weighing on my conscience. Anyway we took it to the sweet southern family owned company and received the news that it would be finished at least by the end of the week but hopefully sooner. Primetime... Thankfully, oh so very praise and glory thankfully our sweet Greeneville ward members came to the rescue and were able to provide us with rides all over Greene county! It was stressful trying to coordinate, and not made any easier with all the flu bugs and sickness swirling around but we made it and we had some incredible experiences working with the members. I want to share a few.

But before I do I need to explain and share some amazing things that are going on in our awesome Kingsport Zone and Stake. There is a humongous emphasis on the Book of Mormon right now. Last Sunday we had Ward Conference and our incredible Stake President (I know I have ranted about him before) stood up at the pulpit in a maroon suit that only he could pull off, and gave a great talk all about the importance of the Book of Mormon as a keystone of our religion, our lives, and our testimonies. In closing of his talk he extended to us three commitments.
1. Read and study again the last conference addresses of President Monson: "The Power of the Book of Mormon" President Nelson: "The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like Without It?" and Elder Callister: "God's Compelling Witness: The Book of Mormon"
2. Write your testimony in a Book of Mormon and give it to a friend in the coming year.
3. Participate in the 20 year challenge.

Ok so let me elaborate. The first two are pretty self explanatory. However the last one the twenty year challenge needs some explaining. President Bauserman has a friend who once told him that every day for twenty years he had gone running at least 2 miles. Every day... for twenty years!!!! President Bauserman said that that was remarkable yet it caused him to reflect and ask himself: "If he can run two miles everyday for twenty years than shouldn't I be able to read the Book of Mormon every day for twenty years?" It's been 8 years and he hasn't missed a day since he made that commitment. How amazing is that?! I want to invite all who read this to gear up and participate, commit to reading starting today everyday for the next twenty years. And let me tell you it does not have to be lengthy study.

We had a chaotic day one day and my studies led me to some other scriptures and conference talks in order to prepare for the day and upcoming experiences and lessons. So when it came down to it I was unable to read the Book of Mormon to the extent I would have liked to, but I said a prayer and flipped open to it randomly. The one verse I read wouldn't have mattered to anyone else but it mattered to me it so perfectly described my situation and things that were on my mind. It was no coincidence. No such thing. One verse makes a world of a difference I can wholeheartedly testify of that!

Now backtracking a bit I want to share a little bit more about commitment number two. Keeping all three of these commitments in mind Sister Beare and I attended Zone Conference. As part of our conference we have what is called a "breakout session" where we gather together as a zone and circle our chairs and discuss what goals we can set together to increase success and spirituality. Sister Beare and I have spent a lot of time talking and praying with the Zone Leaders about what we need to emphasize as a zone. Right before President Bauserman issued his commitments we had decided that we felt that the Lord's will for us was to emphasize the Book of Mormon. We felt like that was a good goal for us to talk about together and we planned to discuss it all together with our zone at zone conference. Which we did. And the spirit completely took over the meeting. People threw around ideas about how we can better share the Book of Mormon and how we can get members involved. At one point Elder Macdonald one of the Zone Leaders called on an elder to stand and give his testimony of the Book of Mormon on the spot. He did so and I cannot even describe the Spirit that entered that room. He talked about a passage he had just studied that influenced his life. He bore a sweet and sincere testimony that it was true, and I promise you it affected every single person in that room. We were able to point out that there is power in the Book of Mormon we had all felt it, and that is what the people in Eastern Tennessee and the surrounding states need to feel. We determined that we would use the commitments of our Stake President to our advantage and that we wouldn't let a day go by that we didn't read from and share something from the Book of Mormon. Each of our companionships in our zone went back to their areas and came up with a companionship goal regarding how to better use to Book of Mormon the rest of these next 6 weeks.

Sister Beare and my goal is to have each Book of Mormon that we hand out have a written testimony in the front of it. As we have spent quite a bit of time with the members in our ward this past week we have been able to have some pretty incredible experiences with it and I want to briefly mention three of them.

A sweet member couple picked us up and took us to dinner last Tuesday night, it was right after Zone Conference and we felt so excited and pumped up about the work. We shared a meal with them and then asked them if they would write their testimonies in  a Book of Mormon. They did so and we were able to go with the Sister and deliver it directly to a referral we had received the day before. A woman had requested a Bible online and we delivered her one with the Book of Mormon. She wasn't available to talk when we got there her mom spoke with us and accepted both books and our information. We plan on returning back to see if we can meet her and talk with her more. Regardless it was amazing to see the easiness of sharing a testimony it all took place in less than twenty minutes of writing it down someone had a ward members testimony in their home. Who knows what good could come of it? SO AWESOME!!!

I mentioned last week that a sweet elderly couple in the ward knew the woman we were guided to a few weeks ago that was a former member. Last week we had invited them to write down their testimony in a Book of Mormona and then we would take it and deliver it to her. We did this past week and she was very touched by it. She invited us back to share a meal with her and her non member husband and we were overjoyed that she is still welcoming to us. We know we were guided to her house for a reason. AND get this. She shared with us that the day after we stopped by their daughter that was in the hospital sick with cancer was released and doing better. She said she knows it was because we came by and offered words of comfort and prayed with them that she was released. Prayer works. We are so guided, guided by angels. I can never deny that. I also know that there is a strengthening power in the Book of Mormon, she said she still reads it even though she no longer attends with us. I know that even though she isn't a member anymore and her husband never was that because they have the Book of Mormon in their home we are still able to feel the Spirit, I know that. I am excited to go back and hopefully read it with them.

Finally, we went and had a lesson with a young couple in the ward that just announced they are pregnant. They are so sweet and are planning on moving soon but are very missionary minded. He never served a mission because he went into the marines and has since become a recruiting officer. (Side note: The parallels between what he does as a recruiter and what we do as missionaries are amazing, so similar! The major difference is we aren't trying to recruit we just invite... but I guess in a kind of way we are trying to recruit people to come and serve in "God's army"... hmm that is interesting to think about). Either way we had a great discussion with him and his wife who is a convert. We asked them how their lives have been blessed and changed by the Book of Mormon and they both shared how it helps them accept their situations in life, he shared that it helps him be less angry and she said that it helps her be more in tune to spiritual promptings and to pray more sincerely. I absolutely love that! And I agree! We invited them to write their testimonies in Books of Mormon and either give them to a friend or give them to us on Sunday and we would give them out. Well guess what they came to Church on Sunday and caught us in the hallway and handed us the two books with their written testimonies in them! YAY!!!! I LOVE IT when people actually keep their commitments it makes my heart so happy. We were able to head out to a far away part of our area and were guided to a secluded road with only one house on it. A sweet young mom answered the door and told us that she had a Mormon friend in highschool and had actually been out to the Visitors Center in Salt Lake, she wasn't interested but accepted a Book of Mormon and when we showed her the written testimony of that couple in the front her outlook completely changed. She took it and we know that no matter what happens to her in the future, she will never forget that. They say that it takes most people about 7 times to encounter the church before they accept anything... I don't know if that stat is true but I do know that she had had at least two run ins before we met her, than us, and when she opens that book and reads that testimony there is another one.

I know that there truly is power in the book. I know that it is true, it has blessed my life countless times and I have taken it for granted more than I should. I have since repented and can say I have been reading it every single day and sharing it every day and that is something I never want to lose. Whether I share it with a non member or a member, with a family member or a friend I want to read it and share it every day for the rest of my life. I am so grateful for the peace that enters my mind and heart when I open it, and for the lessons I learn and parallels I draw. I don't understand how a 20 year old girl could relate to men and women thousands of years ago if it wasn't true. I don't know how I could feel peace and assurance if it wasn't true. I don't know how I could have a sometimes almost tangible desire to do and be better, to find and follow Christ more fully if it wasn't true. It is true. I know it. I can't deny it. I love it. It has changed my life, and continues to do so. Why would I ever want to give that up?

I echo the words of Elder Callister, "God's fingerprints are all over the Book of Mormon" I find Him in it's pages daily, I find His attributes, His guidance, His mercy, His love, and His will. How could I ever not want those things on a daily basis? How can I not commit to reading it every day and somehow sharing it every day?

I want to commit all who read this to take part in the commitments that we are working on here. You can even help us with our goal. I've invited my family to write their testimonies of the Book of Mormon and send them to me in the mail and Sister Beare and I will paste them into a Book of Mormon and hand them out. If any of you feel prompted to do so as well please send your testimony to me at

11320 Station West. Rd. Farragut TN, 37934
Or get them to my mom and she can send them to me (hopefully that's ok mom:)

I promise as you commit to a more enhanced study and desire to share the Book of Mormon that the light will increase in your life and so will the light in others. You just never know the influence you have. I recently read about a  family that picked a random address (I'm not sure exactly how this worked) but they sent a Book of Mormon with their testimony over seas and a young girl received it in some country in Asia, she read it, it changed her life, she shared it with her family, all were baptized.

Personally I think there is a reason there is a blank page right at the first of the Book of Mormon. It is for your testimoy. Your personal witness. Yes there are the testimonies of the three and the eight witnesses as well as Joseph Smith's but I don't find any coincidence why Heavenly Father left a page blank for your testimony and witness. It's because He depends on us to do His work and spread His words.

How grateful am I for the chance to do this 24/7 for the past 14 months and for the next 4 I am so grateful.

May we all be a part of what our zone calls ourselves the "BOM squad." Without being disrespectful we really do consider The Book of Mormon to be "the bomb" both in slang terms but also literal terms because it really can and does destroy evil and floods the earth with light.

I know it is true.

And so is this Church.

And so is my testimony.

I hope y'all have a blessed week. Read, and share, lift and light this increasingly dark world with The Book of Mormon.

Love,
Hermana Hall