Day 167 - Glad Midsommar

Hey everyone! 

I hope you all had a good week. This week went by fast and was full of great experiences. I have some exciting but sad news.. I will be transferring from my birthplace  of Malmö this week (mom's note: this what they call their first city that they are assigned to on their mission). I will be transferring to a small town called Katrineholm. It is about an hour west of Stockholm. It is a really small city with a small branch. There is about 15 active members in the branch. So that is going to be a little weird coming from a larger ward and city like Malmö. I am pretty sad to leave this city and the members and people I was working with. But I know it is necessary for me to grow as a missionary and it's time for me to meet new people and share the gospel to new faces. I also need to see some more of Sweden besides this southern part. I am going to miss the members and people I worked with so much. But there is other work that needs to be done. And I know I will love Katrineholm almost as much as Malmö ;) Yesterday, I gave my last testimony in sacrament meeting. It was bittersweet. I get really nervous when I talk in front of people. But, I already have a talk assigned for this Sunday in my new branch so I think I am going to get used to speaking in church haha. I had to say a lot of my goodbyes yesterday, but I think the most of them will come within the next two days before I leave. I hate goodbyes, so I just call them "see ya later"s. I hope I can come back to this city one day to visit these amazing members and friends I have made. 

Okay, now a few experiences from the week. I had a really awesome experience this week while visiting Elisabeth. She called all four of us missionaries over to her house because she needed a blessing. She had fallen out of her wheelchair that morning and hit her head. When we got there, Elder Downing asked me if I wanted to give the blessing. I was not prepared at all, but I agreed anyways. As I walked over to Elisabeths bed, I said a little prayer in my heart that I would be able to give a good blessing and that the spirit would guide my words. It was also my first blessing I gave in Swedish, so I was pretty nervous. As I laid my hands on her head, I felt a calm feeling but nothing really was coming to my mind. Then a few simple sentences came. I said a few things like, "we bless you with strength and peace" and "the Lord loves you and wants you to know everything is going to be okay" and a few other things that I cant remember. It was a really really simple blessing. After the few short phrases I said, nothing was coming to my mind at all. So I closed the blessing. Elisabeth thanked us and we left. I left feeling really frustrated. I knew I could speak much better swedish than what I said in that blessing. And I was really wondering why the Lord didn't give me more to say to her. I was also worried that she would think that it wasn't that good of a blessing. I was talking to Elder Beck about it afterwords. I told him that nothing was coming to my mind after the few phrases I said. I told him I knew I could speak 100x better swedish than what I said. And he said something that really hit me hard. He said, "you know, we have given Elisabeth about 3 blessings in the last two weeks. I think you said exactly what the Lord wanted her to hear. That everything is going to be okay. Plain and simple." Then the Spirit hit me really hard. I knew that I had said everything that the Lord needed to say to her. It then reminded me of a scripture I had read that same morning. Jacob 4:10. "Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works." This scripture taught me to not rely on my own counsel and what I wanted to say, but to really rely on the Lord and his counsel. And to trust him. To not question the thoughts and promptings that come to my heart and mind from the spirit. I am thankful for that experience and for what I learned from it. The next morning, Elisabeth called me and told me that she felt much better and that she was really thankful for the blessing. That made me really happy. I am going to miss her. 

On Friday, there was a holiday in Sweden called Midsommar. Midsummer is an occasion of large gatherings. It is a swedish holiday to welcome summer. It is a huge holiday in sweden. So basically they raise this giant pole called the maypole. It is an ancient symbol representing fertility.  
Then the maypole is raised in an open spot and traditional ring-dances ensue. It's really strange haha but fun I guess. We got the day off as missionaries. We were able to go to the chapel and take part in the midsummer activities. According to other swedes and missionaries, our midsommar was no where near as fun and big as they usually are. usually they are outside. But ours was inside because it was raining. 

Yesterday, Reza got the priesthood! (Majeed was out of town.) But I am grateful I got to see him get the priesthood before I left. He was really excited and happy. I am happy to see both of them continuing strong in the gospel. I love them and I am really going to miss them. 

Before I end, I want to quickly give a shout out to my dad. HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD!!! He is the best dad in the world. I am so lucky to have a Father who raised me in the gospel with the spirit present in our home. He is such an amazing example to me. He taught me to work hard and to serve those around me. My dad is the hardest worker I know. He works hard everyday to provide for me and my family because he loves us. And whenever he has free time it seems like he is helping out someone in the neighborhood. I look up to him tremendously. I want to be exactly like my dad when I grow up. I am thankful to call him dad and my best friend. I love you and miss you so much dad!!

I hope you all have an amazing week, and when I hear from you again, I will be in Katrineholm! Weird! Anyways, I am doing well and I love you all! Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers! See you soon!

MVH
Äldste Bailey

Day 160

Tjena tjena mina vänner!

I hope you all had a great week! This week flew by super quick. It feels like I was just barely sitting at the computer typing last week's email. I had a pretty good week! I would say a little better than last! We still didn't do too well with lessons. All the lessons we had set up just kept falling through. We did have a lot of lessons with members which was good for us to practice teaching and practice the language. I am getting more confident with the language than before. It is just hard to learn because anyone you talk to usually switches to english the second they hear you're American. I usually just keep talking to them in Swedish anyway haha. The members are usually really good about talking to us in swedish. I love the members in this ward! I think there might be a possibility of me leaving Malmö next week which is sad, but at the same time I think it will be good for me. 

Tuesday, we went with the sisters to teach one of their new investigators, Muhammad. It was a really cool experience. It wasn't the most spiritual lesson, but it was interesting. He was really interested in our church and our beliefs and he just wanted to hear our view on things like God and Jesus and Muslims and stuff. He started asking questions like "how big is God? where does he live?" When we told him about how he has a body of flesh and bone, it was hard for him to accept. He believed that God was within all of us. We told him that that is the job of the Holy Ghost. Then he thought that the Holy Ghost had more power than God. It just got pretty confusing. We also taught him about the Book of Mormon. That was the cool part. Even though the calm feeling of the spirit wasn't totally there, as we started teaching and testifying about the Book of Mormon, you could feel that peace in the room. And I think that is the power of the Book of Mormon. It can bring a spiritual environment no matter what the situation. Muhammad is willing to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. We are going to meet him this week and we will see how it goes with him. 

On Wednesday, we had district meeting. It was a great meeting and Elder Beck shared a short story that really hit me hard and that I would like to share with all of you. It's called "The Room". Sorry it's a little long but I promise it's worth it. 

"In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed."

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I Have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger," "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my 20 years to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus.

I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

"No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written."

I dont know if you have heard this story before, but it really hit me hard when he read it to the district. I don't know if I have ever pictured the Atonement and Christ paying the price for our sins in that way. I think it is a really good metaphor to show how the Savior willingly and lovingly paid the price for each one of our sins, no matter who we are. It made me look back to the things I have done and the things I have thought. It made me wonder what the Savior would think of them if he were to read them like cards. I don't want to cause the Savior anymore suffering than He already went through. But most importantly, I am eternally grateful that he did perform the Atonement for me. That no matter what I have done in my life, I can be made clean again through my Redeemer Jesus Christ. I love Him with all my heart for what He did for me. I try to be more like him each day. I hope this little story helped you better understand what the Savior did for each one of us. 

On Friday I had an experience where I experienced the gift of tongues, haha. We were visiting Elisabeth, one of the hardest members to understand, and she wanted help programming her new house phone she bought. I had no idea how to do that but for some reason she thought that I would know how to do it. So I looked at the phone and then at the instructions, I didn't really understand them that well. But as I started talking to her, I found that I was saying everything I needed to clearly, and I could understand her clearly. I also found that I could understand the instructions! I was able to communicate clearly with Elisabeth for like the first time ever! hahaha it was the best! I was able to fix her phone for her and I knew that I had the Spirit's help. She was very appreciative of the help we were able to give her. We also gave her a blessing. Elder Sahlin was there on splits with the other Elders. He is one of the AP's and he is one of the missionaries I look up to most in this whole mission. I want to be just like him one day. He gave the blessing and it was a beautiful blessing and the spirit was so strong. I am thankful for the priesthood I bear and that I can use it to bless the lives of those around me. 

Saturday night, we got to play a little basketball before we taught Su. Su brought a few of his friends which was awesome! They were pretty good! It was probably the hardest ball I have played on my mission! (hence the picture) The guy on the very left was a quick little guy. But nothin I couldnt handle ;) It was really fun! One of Su's friends, Jaden, the one next to Su, is currently looking for a church to go to. He seems really interested in ours! He lives in a different city, so we will have to get his info to the missionaries there, but he comes with Su to sports night and will be there next week as well! 

Oh, and we also got locked out of our apartment and we had to break in, haha.

Well I am out of time. I hope you all have another amazing week! Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers! I love you all and pray for you all every day! I absolutely love being a missionary and for the experiences I get to have every day. I love this gospel and I am learning and understanding it more than ever before. Serving a mission is the best decision I have ever made in my life. Jag älskar er! Kämpa på!

MVH
Äldste Bailey

Day 153

Hej Hej allihopa! 

As far as lessons and numbers go, this was probably the worst week of my mission. Almost all of our lessons fell through. Plus, It rained the whole week and there weren't even anyone out on the streets to talk to. But despite all that, it was still a really good week. 

On Tuesday we were able to teach Majeed. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. Reza wasn't there so it was a little hard to teach. He doesn't understand that much English. But we drew out the plan on a piece of paper and explained each step to him and he understood as we drew it out. He has a strong testimony and I love the smile on his face every time he comes to the church to be taught. I feel the spirit radiate off of him so much. After Majeed, we taught Alex. He has committed to stop smoking (again). We had a really good lesson about faith and about commandments. We have been calling him periodically throughout the week and reading scriptures with him over the phone and checking up on how he did with smoking that day. We are going to meet with him tomorrow and hopefully make some more progress. 

Wednesday was a really bad day haha. EVERYTHING we had planned fell through. It was planned to be the most busy day of the week but it just ended up not working out. We were able to talk to a lot of people on the streets which was good and always fun. We also made a lot of appointments with less active members in the ward for this week. Hopefully they can all meet this week. 

Thursday was a bit better. We met Fardin at the church in the morning. He has started to learn Swedish the past couple months. It is really amazing because he is learning as fast as a missionary. He has been living here in sweden for a couple years so he can understand most Swedish, but he wasn't able to speak. But now, he can already hold conversations with us. So we met him at the church and taught him some swedish. Then we taught him the Restoration in Swedish. It was one of the times I felt the spirit the strongest while teaching the restoration in swedish. Im not sure why. I think I was just really comfortable around Fardin so I was not worried about messing up or saying anything wrong. When I felt that calm, I was able to convey the feelings I had in my heart and say what the spirit influenced me to say. The lesson flowed so much better and the spirit was definitely there. It helped me realize how I need to feel with everyone else I teach. How I just need to feel calm and confident and let the spirit guide. A lot of the time when I am teaching swedes, I get self conscious and worry about the language. Teaching Fardin helped me to see how it should feel every time I teach in Swedish. After Fardin, we were able to teach Reza. He came to the church and we taught him the Plan of Salvation as well. It started really well and as we started to explain to him what we were going to teach, he said, "that's easy!! I will teach you!". hahaha. He got up and went to the front of the classroom we were in and started drawing the Plan of Salvation on the board. He had it down almost 100%. We had to explain to him the Saviors role and how the whole plan is possible because of him. We went into a lot more depth on the Atonement. The Atonement is something I have gained so much more appreciation for since I have been on my mission. I love my Savior and what he has done for me. After Reza, we were able to go teach an American man and his daughter. It was the first time we met with them, (we contacted them on the street a couple months ago) and the lesson went really well. His daughter kept asking a lot of questions, and we were able to answer and bear our testimonies on the truthfulness of our message. I am not sure how interested they were in the first place, but it still felt so amazing to tell the story of the Restoration to someone who has never heard it. And to have the opportunity to testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is the most amazing feeling ever. Now we just have to wait for the spirit to work inside of them. 

Friday we had zone conference. It was in Gothenburg. We were combined with the Gothenburg zone. It was so nice to see all the missionaries that I havent seen in 3 months. The conference was really uplifting and motivating as well. We first listened to the assistants talk about the power and authority of our calls to be missionaries. The spirit really hit me hard as I was reminded that I am a literal representative of Jesus Christ. I am inviting everyone around me to accept the message of the restored gospel in Jesus Christ's place, as if it was him walking the streets of Sweden. It helped me realize that I need to do everything in my power to do what Christ would do. It helped me realize the importance of having the spirit with me always. After the assistants, we were able to here from President and Sister Beckstrand. They talked about "Being Disciples in the Digital Age". Apparantly, we are going to be receiving iPads. I am super excited! It is going to be a great tool in sharing the gospel throughout the country of Sweden. They talked about how the General Authorities trust us in using the technology and they taught us how to be responsible and wise with the devices. It was a great conference. Afterwords, we missed our train to Malmö. So we got to stay in Gothenburg for an extra 2.5 hours. It is such a pretty city!

Saturday was also a good day. We got to meet a new man whose number was in our phone from a while ago, named Afrim. He was interested in reading the Book of Mormon, but he needed it in Albanian. He was never able to find one. But we gave him one on Saturday and taught him the Restoration. He was a super nice guy. He was really excited that we brought him a Book of Mormon. He really wanted to read it. He told us not to tell him anything about the contents of the book because he didn't want us to spoil it. Afrim asked many questions as we taught him. He was really happy to hear that we believe we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and listens to our prayers. I felt the spirit so much as we sat outside on a park bench and talked about the Book of Mormon and how it came to be. He also shared a really spiritual experience of how God took care of him when he prayed to him for the first time. He was an atheist before. He said when he prayed he literally felt like he was in God's hands. It was amazing to listen to and I was really touched. We read Moroni's promise together and he promised to read and maybe pray about it. He was very accepting of everything we taught. But there was something I really liked. The whole time we were teaching him, he had a pack of cigarettes in his hand, and the Albanian Book of Mormon in the other. And sometimes both of them in the same hand. I dont know why I liked it so much, it was just the coolest sight to see how the Book of Mormon is really flooding the earth to every person in every language. I really felt the spirit as I watched him accept the Book of Mormon and walk away with his cigerettes and the scriptures. I love this gospel and I love the Book of Mormon and the message it contains. It can help anyone improve their live and come closer to God. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary and share the Gospel. 

On Sunday, we were able to go to a special stake conference that was being broadcasted from Scotland to the Northern Europe area. It was President Holland. And his talk was by far the most spiritual and absolutely powerful talk I have ever heard in my life. If you think he gets fired up in General Conference, you should have seen this. It was that, x20. He talked about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. After just listening to that, I will never be able to deny the Book of Mormon, even if I wanted to. I absolutely know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. Gosh, I wish you could all hear the talk. He said stuff like "There are things I am not even permitted to tell you!!" and "If you ever have the privilege to be at my funeral and look over my casket, with my last breath, I would utter the words that this IS the truth." And he also just gave a million facts why this book could only be written of God. He gave the quote again that "No wicked man could write this book, and no good man would, unless it was by the authority and through the power of God." or something like that. It was really really good. Then that night we were able to visit a less active member named Margarita who hasnt been to church in 5 years. She was happy to let us in and we talked about Jesus Christ and we left her a chapter to read before we come back and she said she would do it!

Today we went to an old viking village! It was soooo awesome! I absolutely loved it - that's why there are so many pictures. There were so many cool old viking things to look at. I really like that kind of stuff! It was a really fun day!

Anyways, I am about out of time. Thank you for all the letters. I love you all and pray for you every day! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! I really can feel them and they give me strength every day. I love being a missionary and having the experiences that come with it. I love this gospel and I love my Savior. I know that this Church is true. I promise you it is. And It can bring peace, comfort, guidance, direction, strength, and whatever else we may need. I know this gospel is true. 

I hope you all have an amazing week! 

MVH

Äldste Bailey

Day 146

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well. I am doing great. This week was a little bit long and rough, but that's okay. I don't have too much to report this week, not a whole lot happened. I also don't have very much time today, which works out. 

This week started off pretty good. Monday wasnt a super fun pday, we just kinda hung out in the church with the other missionaries. We did get pizza though which was good. But Monday night was really fun. We went to the Molbaeks for dinner and family night. For family night, Magnus wanted to talk about baptism. Simone, their 7 year old daughter, is going to be baptized soon. So he asked each of us to share the story of our baptisms and the experiences and feelings we had. I was not prepared to do so. I had to think about my baptism for a second. It was really cool to reflect on my feelings and thoughts that I had when I was baptized. I felt the spirit really strong as I shared with Simone the feeling of cleanliness and happiness I had when I was baptized. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to tell about my baptism and testify of the importance of being baptized to Simone. 

Tuesday we were asked by the relief society to help set up for a birthday party for a lady in the ward. In addition to all the setting up we did, Elder Sweat and I got to decorate the table. We did a really good job I think ;) From what we heard the party went great. They even saved us some leftovers in the fridge! Later that night, we were able to teach Björn and Christian. They had us over for dinner and we taught them about the importance of holding to the iron rod. I always love teaching them because they are such great guys. They spirit is strong whenever we are over there. They help us out in teaching all the time by coming on lessons with us. They also help us with our Swedish.

Wednesday we had a really really good lesson with Su. He is progressing so much more than before. We gave him Alma Chapter 32 to read before we came. He read it and we talked a lot about it with him. The spirit was so strong as we talked about the way to increase our faith and to act on the desire we have to believe. Right now, Su is at the point where he doesnt believe he has enough faith to ask for an answer from God with enough faith to receive one. (if that makes sense). We read the part in Ch 32 where if we can even have a desire to believe, we can act on that desire and plant the seed in our heart and as we nurture it, it will grow into a big tree. I like to think of it as his testimony. As we help him nurture and grow his testimony, his faith will grow and he will eventually have enough faith to receive and answer from Heavenly Father. But as we talked and testified about faith, the spirit was so strong. I thought about my own life and how all of us are continually growing and increasing our faith in Jesus Christ. It is like an arm. If we exercise it, it will become strong. If we leave it in a sling, it will become weak. It's the same with faith. We need to constantly be acting on our faith in Jesus Christ each day to increase it and come closer to Him. 

We were also able to meet with Reza and Majeed this week. We taught them about the Restoration. It was a really good lesson. Those two are doing so well and havent missed church once since they have been baptized! They are going to get the priesthood this Sunday!

On Sunday, we were able to teach the Gospel Principles class. I love preparing and teaching that class. We taught about faith. It was a really good lesson with lots of comments from everyone there. Sadly, Stanley did not show up to church, but we called him last night and we are going to meet him this week! 

I feel like there is so much more I need to say but I cant think of anything and I am running out of time. Thank you for all the emails. They make me so happy! keep them coming! ;) I love you all so much and I love my mission with all my heart! I hope you all have a great week!

MVH 

Äldste Bailey

ps sorry about the lack of pics. there was a problem uploading them

(Mom's note: This is a favorite Christmas movie at the Bailey house!)

Day 139

Tjena Tjena!

I hope everyone had a great week! This week was great! I am continuing to grow physically and spiritually while I am out here and I love my mission so much!

On Tuesday, we were able to attend a funeral for an elderly man who had passed away. He was a really nice guy and a great member of the church. He actually helped construct the chapel here in Malmö. I really hate funerals. I just don't like death. But as much as I dislike funerals, this one was very peaceful. It was really cool to be able to witness it. The man's name was Emil. I never really got to know him very well, but most of the members knew him quite well. It was a very spiritual experience as member after member got up to share how great of a man Emil was and to bear their testimony about the gospel. I felt the spirit so strong. From what these members where sharing, it seemed like Emil was a very selfless man. He was always looking for ways to help others and bless others lives. That is something I really admire. His family is doing well. After the funeral, we were able to meet with Reza and Majeed. They are doing so well! They still haven't missed a week of church and they are continuing to read in Mormons Bok and to Pray. After people are baptized, the missionaries are supposed to reteach all the lessons to make sure they understand everything and to help them grasp the ideas better and learn more. We had planned to teach the Restoration, but as we started, they said they had a lot of questions they wanted answered. We were more than happy to answer them. We answered all of their questions (including polygamy). They funny thing is that these guys are so faithful that if polygamy was allowed, they would have accepted it haha. We also shared our testimonies about the importance of continuing to read and pray and feasting upon the words of Christ. I felt the spirit so strong as I bore my testimony of how the scriptures and prayer have helped me in my life and how I have stayed close to God. It made me think of something my dad shared with me concerning Lehi's dream. How the mist of darkness, which is temptation and trials, covers the wicked as well as those clinging to the rod. Also, the people that fell away had the iron rod right there in front of them. All they had to do was grab onto it.  I never have thought about it like that. but it is very true. We all experience trials and temptations. And if we are holding to the rod, we will become stronger as we learn important lessons from our trials and become stronger as we resist temptation. If we arent holding to the iron rod, or the word of God, we wont be able to endure those trials and come out a better person. We will fall into temptation. And it is so easy to hold on to the rod. Its right there. We just have to have the desire and the willpower to actually do something and to grab onto it. Our scriptures are right there infront of us. We just have to read. As we strive to keep the commandments and follow the word of God, we are blessed as we have the strength to resist temptation and to endure trials.

Wednesday, we had zone training. That is when all the missionaries in our zone come down to Malmö and we receive training from the zone leaders. It was so awesome to see everybody! And that is what most of my pictures are this week so sorry about that haha. But It was so fun to see all the other missionaries. I have gotten to know them all super well. But the training went well! We were taught about the importance of investigators keeping commitments. We were taught that it is so important that the people we teach do something on their own and strengthen their relationship with Gud themselves. They need to receive their own answer. After all, we as missionaries are just guides. We cannot force an answer on anyone and we can't convert people ourselves. In the end, it is all up to the person we are teaching to change. That is why commitments are important. We were taught that as we are helping investigators keep commitments, we are helping them repent. They are changing from their old ways and turning themselves to God. Something that I think is cool is that in Swedish, "repentance" and "conversion" is the same word. Omvändelse. And "to repent" is the same word as "to turn around" or to "reverse". Att omvända. As we repent, we really are converting ourselves again to the Lord. We are turning around from our old ways and changing our thoughts and perceptions. We are turning to Christ and continuing to live according to his gospel.

On Thursday, we had a really cool experience while talking to people. As we left that morning, we were set on talking to every single person we passed. And sure enough, the first man we talked to listened. We taught him about the restoration. Elder Sweat kind of took over the contact and I was just listening. That morning, I had prayed that I would be able to share my testimony to someone about the Book of Mormon on the street sometime during that day because we were having a hard time with contacts lately. But as Elder Sweat was teaching this man about the Restoration, and just as he pulled the Book of Mormon out of his backpack to talk about it, another man came up to Elder Sweat and I and started asking us questions. Elder Sweat handed me the Book of Mormon and told me to continue to teach this man while he talk to the other guy. So just like I prayed for, I was able to teach this man about the Book of Mormon and bear testimony of its truthfulness and how it has helped my life. I felt the spirit so strong as I promised this man this book would change his life and bring him closer to God than any other book. Both people we talked to were interested and wanted to learn more. We hope to continue to teach them. But i am so thankful my prayer was answered that day. Also, as we tried talking to everyone we passed, to our surprise everyone was super nice that day and gave us smiles and stuff. I am grateful for the friendliness that we were shown on that day. It felt good to not have everyone just pass by and say no.

Later that day, we had the opportunity to teach Bill. Bill is doing so well also! He too comes to church almost every week. His testimony is growing as he is striving to be the best he can be. We taught him about the restoration and tithing. He is struggling a little bit financially but has promised to pay his tithing first. It was an awesome lesson. Another member named Dennis was there and I felt the spirit so strong as Dennis shared his testimony about the gospel and the importance of continuing to read Mormons Bok and praying. It was a great lesson.

Bill and his girlfriend (who is also a member), Dorkas, invited us over to Dorkas's house for dinner on Saturday. It was so awesome as we ate dinner together and laughed and talked together. The sisters shared a spiritual message and it was really good. I think the night was so good for Bill. He told me the next day in church that he loved having us over so much.

So we have been really trying to find new people to teach lately. And on Sunday, I was sitting in sacrament meeting and felt like I should go outside to see if Bill was there, because a lot of times he will just sit out in the foyer during sacrament. So when I went out in the hall, there were not just one, but three African guys sitting out in the hall. So I greeted them and brought them translators to they could understand. Afterwords, we talked to them and their names where Stanley and Williams. Williams is a member of the church in Jönköping. He was visiting in Malmö and brought Stanley to church with him. Stanley told me that missionaries gave him a card awhile ago and he wanted to come visit. Williams brought him along and they both had a great time. Both of them made comments in Sunday school and in priesthood. I gave Stanley a Book of Mormon after church and he was super excited about it and he said he will read it and pray about it. I can tell he is going to be baptized. He has been in Sweden 4 months and is looking for a church. God led him to the right one. I am excited to start teaching him. I am thankful that God answered our prayers and has given us another person to teach and help them receive the restored gospel.

I am thankful for the time I have to be serving a mission. I know, without a doubt, that this gospel is true. It offers me hope, strength and happiness in everything that i do. I am so grateful for you all and for your thoughts and prayers. I love you all so much and you are in my prayers!

Have an amazing week!

MVH

Äldste Bailey