Glasgow is a Blessed Land

Hey y'all.

Man. The weeks just keep getting better and better. Miracles are happening and the work is progressing here in the blessed land of Glasgow. We have had such an amazing week. I will apologize in advance if this email is long. They always are but I will just apologize anyways ;) 

This week, I learned the importance of having pure motives centered on Christ. We have been having this big push to find in our mission so that we can be more effective at teaching and baptizing those who are truly prepared for the gospel. With this push, sister Hoyt and I have been working our bums off finding, and we have seen many miracles as we have exercised faith and put the work in. However, I have noticed my self at times losing sight of why we are finding. We have tried to change the motives behind finding and have found people who are truly prepared for this gospel. When we are focused on finding those who are searching for the truth and acting as instruments in Gods hands, we are led to wonderful prepared children of God. So awesome! 

Now to the miracles! The first one happened on Wednesday. We went to a part of our area where we have found a few of our investigators to see if there was anyone there interested. After knocking a few doors, we walked up to a lady on her porch and asked if she would like to hear our message. She said sure and accepted the commitment to read. We are seeing her again this week and see some great potential there. We found another lady who also has potential with sweet little boys who we met while tracting another part of town during the week. We were on a street and both of us just stopped. I looked to Sister Hoyt and said, "where does He need us to be right now?". She looks to this house a few houses up and then back at me and said, "we should try that one". We walked up and a few guys outside told us to knock and ask if she was interested. We did and she was!! We are meeting with her this week as well so fingers crossed. 

The most exciting miracles actually all happened yesterday. We have been working with a less active family where one of the daughters isn't baptized for a few different reasons so we have been trying hard to work with them more closely. As we were over this week, not only did they tell us they were coming to church, but they told us they are bringing their non member family member (sister in law)! She came yesterday and the mom told us that she is interested in investigating after she gets settled into her own place! Yay!!!! She has already been to church a few times and loves it. So cool. 

Later on that day, we were driving to an appointment and drove past an inn in town where we saw a couple sitting in the parking lot. After driving for about 30 sec, I knew we needed to turn around. Sister Hoyt felt the same way, even though she had already spoken to the couple before. When we got there, they were gone! We were bummed and thought, why did we need to turn around?? We saw a lady sitting outside so we decided to talk to her. As we said hello, she got all emotional and said, "it is actually funny that you stopped. I was just sitting here crying because I have been going through some things." We got out and gave her a hug and she told us about how she was just going to comment to something on Facebook that she needed a hug right as we drove up. She feels very distant from God and needs something to bring her back to Him. You could probably guess how excited we were to testify of the Book of Mormon and how it could bless her life. A few people from the Inn came out and expressed interest as well so we are meeting with them this week! 

Then, we found the greatest miracle of all that night. We had plans to go teach a Spanish potential and had g set up to have the Spanish elders skype in (she even confirmed it!) however, when we got here, she wasn't home :( we decided to knock another door just in case we were mistaken on our Hispanic investigators address and a lady came and answered. We asked if she had ever talked to Mormons and she told us that she doesn't even know what that means! So she let us in and we began teaching her about the restoration of the gospel. When we taught about Joseph Smith and his search for truth, she said "that is how I feel too!" Sister Hoyt and I were so excited. She said that she thinks it is a sign that we showed up because she has been praying and asking God to help her know the truth and then we showed up at her door. She was baptized into another church about 2 years ago to show her faith in Christ but she is still searching. When we told her about the Book of Mormon she said, "oh, I'll read it!" She is so sweet and we are so excited to teach her! Neither of us felt good about setting a baptismal date with her though, so that will come with time. It is so amazing to see the Lord putting people in our path and using us as instruments in His hands when we strive to follow the Spirit and be exactly obedient.

I love you all. I love this gospel. I know this is the true church on the Earth today, complete with the full priesthood authority of God. I know that because of this, we can be with our families forever, we can find peace and joy in any circumstance, and we can know about the true nature of our Heavenly Father and His Son. I know that this is His work and that He is hastening it through His righteous missionary force, both those set apart and those who are member missionaries. A marvelous work is going forth among the children of men (D&C 4:1) and I absolutely love being able to see His work first hand. 

Have a great week! We have an active week ahead of us because our car is in the shop so we are on bikes. So excited :) Remember to pray always and be believing and all things will work together for good. Love y'all!

Love,

Sister Dorian ️

Bless the Deep South

Hello everyone! 

This week has been quite the week. It is safe to say that I already love Glasgow :) it is the greenest, most beautiful country town that I ever did see. We have a very large area here so we drive a lot and the rolling hills/cow pastures/country homes are absolutely beautiful. I am in my element here with old trucks and cute country accents. I am fixin' to stay here for a while, that is for darn sure :)

My companion is so cute and sweet and the ward is wonderful! They are very active in helping with the missionary work, especially since the missionaries have been finding so many people to teach and baptize. They are catching the fire of missionary work in their hearts so we are excited to have them out to help us! 

I have learned so much this week, but there is one lesson that I am learning that sticks out. It has to do with our motivation and how it affects all aspects of our lives. Lately, I have noticed that my drive and motivation for doing missionary work is lacking. I find myself succumbing to fear and justification at times and have been very self critical and down on myself about my ability to serve the Lord. As I have studied and prayed about this, I have learned through the Spirit why I have been feeling this way. I have been so focused on exact obedience that I sometimes lose the sight of why I am being obedient. Instead of focusing on the Savior, I have been allowing my fear and duty run the show. I felt impressed to study joy the other day because I was looking for ways to find more joy in the work and something that I read in a talk by President Nelson really stuck out. He said, "When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation, which President Thomas S. Monson just taught us, and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening--or not happening--in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. We feel it at Christmastime when we sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” And we can feel it all year round. For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy!" I realized that I haven't been focusing on the Savior as much. When I think of Him throughout the day and how He has blessed my life, my desire to share and my ability to overcome fear is greatly increased. I feel overwhelming joy and peace. I am so grateful for my Savior and His sacrifice for each of us. His gospel is the only way to make it back home to our Heavenly Father, and what a glorious gospel to be able to share with everyone around us. I am so happy when I have that as my main focus, so that is my goal for this next week. 

In the end, this is not about me at all. As I forget myself and go to work, I see His hand work in my life and miracles come to pass. I know that He has many people here in Glasgow ready to hear the gospel. We just need to follow the Spirit and talk to everyone that we can. The people hear are so prepared!!! I can't wait to see what Heavenly Father has in store for us here :) 

We had lots of miracles this week and some amazing experiences. We transferred on Tuesday and had Ward coordination that night so I was able to meet the Ward mission leader and his wife (love them!) On Wednesday, we did service at a store in town and then went to a member's home for lunch and some service over there. That night, I was able to meet Denise! She is the sweetest human alive and I love her to death. She is so dedicated and faithful and she has amazed me from the moment that I met her. She has such a strong desire to follow God and the Savior and is an amazing example to her family. He husband isn't interested in being baptized at this time but he comes to church with her and even made an amazing comment about the Savior in gospel principles, so we are very impressed with him and have very high hopes for him accepting the gospel in the future. 

One of the amazing experiences from this week is that Denise got baptized! Sister Hafen and sister O'Keeffe got special permission to make the trip down so sister Hafen was able to be there for her and it was so sweet. She was just beaming with joy! Afterwards, she said she felt calm and it was so joyful to see her take that major step in faith to follow the example of our Savior. This is the best part about being a missionary. You are able to be a first hand witness to the Spirit changing the hearts of those that you come to love and you get to experience Heavenly Father using you and your companion as instruments to strengthen and help them. She is already a strong, faithful member of this church and will one day live with our Heavenly Father for eternity. I am so grateful for the chance I have to work with this sweet woman and her sweet family (along with her two ferrets, two snakes, skink, iguana, and two dogs). ️ her husband actually even let us help clean out the animal cages this week as well which was super cool!! 

We also got to go to a Pentecostal bible study this week as a church swap since our investigator came to church with us last Sunday. It was quite the experience! There was a lot of yelling and "Amen!"s exclaimed throughout the room, along with some interesting music. It was very interesting to feel the difference in Spirit there. These people are doing all they can to follow the Savior but it was so apparent to us how much they were missing. My companion and I were discussing after about how grateful we are for the Book of Mormon because it clears up so much of the confusion and misconceptions that so many churches have about God, our Savior, and His gospel. We are glad that we don't really ever have to go back to that place but it was quite an interesting experience and ended up strengthening my testimony of how important these restored truths, along with the priesthood authority, is to our understanding in this life and eternal life in the world to come. 

We have been working hard to try and find some solid new investigators this week but haven't had much luck this week. At Zone conference, however, we had amazing trainings on being more effective finders and teachers so that we can be more effective at baptizing those who are truly converted to the gospel. I recognized a lot of things that I need to change and am excited to apply them this week. We have set out goals high this week and are going to work on exercising faith in our Savior and His power so that we may reach these goals with His help. I know that with Christ and Heavenly Father on our side, all things are possible. We intend to find 8 new investigators this week and have 3 on date so we will keep you posted on our progress! We already have much with potential and are excited to act as instruments in Gods hands to see His work go forth. 

Yesterday was an amazing day. I love fast Sunday so much because it gives me a chance to sacrifice my worldly desire for food in order to receive spiritual nourishment. I gained an increase in love for my Savior and His Atoning sacrifice. We were able to help our recent convert, Brother Roman, get excited for the temple trip next week and were able to bring some peace and solace to another recent convert who is going through a really hard time. We have our ward mission leader and his wife out with us in the afternoon and their testimonies really enhanced the lessons we taught. 

Overall, this week was a great week. We had a miracle happen where we ended up contacting a lady who is actually a member whos records aren't in the Ward. We have been trying to visit her but with no luck so we will keep you posted on her progress. We know that Heavenly Father is at the head of this work with His Beloved Son and as we follow all of our promptings, we will be able to serve with all of our heart, might, mind and strength and bring God's children the truth and joy that this gospel brings.

Hurrah for Israel. I love you all!! Thank you for all of the love, support, and prayers. I know that this church is true and that this work is continuing to be hastened by the Lord. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve Him. Have an amazing week! 

Love,

Sister Dorian 

72 Hour Exchanges and Miracles

Hello family!

This weekly is probably going to blow everyone's mind because the week was anything but normal missionary work wise. It has been quite a testimony to me though that the Lord is in the details. He knows us so much better than we know ourselves. He knows what we need and how long we need it. I am so grateful for His will and the ability that I have to submit to it in this life and see miracles unfold. 

So, the big news is that President is transferring me two weeks early. There are some circumstances and events that occurred that have made this the best option in the long run. I am going down to Glasgow, Kentucky tomorrow morning and Sister Hafen (my MTC comp) is coming up to Rolling Hills. We found out that I was getting moved on Friday night and then immediately exchanged with the STL's and I have been with Sister Andrus ever since. The crazy part is that we did our STL exchange from Wednesday to Thursday so I will have been with Sister Andrus for 4 whole days by the end of this swap. It has been a weird feeling to be out of my area with a sister who isn't my companion for so long. But as crazy as this all has been, it has taught me so much and I feel so at peace. 

The main lesson that I learned this week is how important it is to trust in God and submit to His will for you instead of your own. I never thought in a million years that what happened this week would happen, but it did and everything seemed to fall into place so perfectly afterward. I know that Heavenly Father knows us so well. He wants us to be successful in all aspects of our lives and even though we aren't perfect, He will make all things for our good. He is perfectly aware of what we go through and knows how He wants us to grow and progress and when. I am so infinitely grateful for the chance to have a Heavenly Father who loves me so infinitely and for a Savior that has given me a chance to learn and progress in this life. Heavenly Father put it perfectly to Joseph Smith when He said, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high;. . .Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands." I love this gospel. I know that it is true and I know that our Savior lives. He loves us and carries us through every thing we go through in this life. Hallelujah! 🏻 

Now for the week :) on Monday, we had dinner with a sweet member of the Ward at Carrabas and she told us all about Oaks and the Derby. Her husband and her have connections with their company so they go for super cheap/free all the time and it is so fun! She is such an amazing example of a Christlike woman who strives to do the right as much as she can. It was a very fun experience.

On Tuesday, we had a very successful night. We had a discussion with a sweet couple outside of their house about the Book of Mormon (what it is, where it came from, etc). It didn't lead to much potential but then we went to an apartment complex close by and started visiting some people there and so many miracles happened! First, I talked to a guy who ended up being a family member of a member in the Ward! We got his information and everything. Then, we walked to a random building and tried a door. No answer. As we were walking out, we decided to turn around and knock one more door. A teenage boy answered and after we told them about who we were, he turned to his mom and she let us right in. We ended up teaching the restoration lesson and you could tell that the Spirit was there. We weren't able to set up a return appt since they are so busy but we have high hopes for the future :) 

On Wednesday, Sister Andrus came to rolling hills and we had another amazing lesson. It was with a woman who lives across the street from some members in our ward. As we began the lesson, she expressed her love for the Savior and how she has seen God play a major role in her life through the illness that she has. The Spirit began prompting us to share multiple scriptures and it was amazing to feel the Spirit testify of the truths of the gospel through God's word. The scriptures are powerful teachers because they are the best way to bring the Spirit. Even though she isn't set on changing anything right now, her daughter and her plan on giving the Book of Mormon a shot and if it is God's path for her, she will pursue it. Even when people don't see these truths for what they are at first, we know she felt the Spirit and hope she will continue to read so that the Spirit can testify more to her.

On Thursday, we went running in the rain (miracle) and had a lesson with our traumatic brain injury investigator. He doesn't seem to be very willing to act so we may have to drop him soon but we had a young woman and our ward mission leader there so it turned out to be a very entertaining lesson for sure. Friday is when we switched out our car for a Malibu and reexchanged. 

On Saturday, we had so many miracles!! The main one that comes to mind is our lesson with a wonderful investigator that the STL's are teaching. When we got to the lesson, she had already read to Ch. 4 in the BOM and said that she when she started reading she didn't want to stop! She has gone through lots of trials in her life and is currently not ready to give up her sinful lifestyle. She knows that she needs to and feels the pull from God to get back on the path but she keeps resisting because she is scared of the unknown. I wish I could adequately portray the Spirit that was in that lesson. We truly felt as if the Spirit was teaching her through us. We felt like literal instruments in the Lord's hands, there to represent Him as we testified of the Atonement and God's ability to cleanse and heal us through the Spirit. She was wary about Joseph Smith and his role as a prophet as well in the beginning and by the end, she was willing to give him another chance. Wow. It was a lesson I will never, ever forget. This is not our work. This is God and His Beloved Son's work. We are meant to act as His representatives here to bring His children peace and joy. How wonderful is that?? I am so grateful for this chance to serve Heavenly Father and His children in this capacity. It truly brings joy, a joy that can not even be described. 

Yesterday was stake Conference. We had everything lined up for Crystal to come but she wasn't able to make it. It was a great conference and I loved the talks about increasing our spiritual sensitivity through temple attendance, scripture study, prayer, and other righteous acts of faith. Then, we had a lesson with a couple who has basically been learning about all the religions and picking things they like from all of them. They have both been exposed to the Book of Mormon but haven't gained a divine witness of its truthfulness. After the lesson, he said that we had cleared up a lot of his questions and both of them agreed to read the Book of Mormon again, this time asking for a divine witness from God that it is true. So cool! 

It was just a great week. We saw miracles as we followed the Spirit and went where the Lord told us to go. We may not always understand why Heavenly Father tells us to do things or go places, but in the end, miracles ALWAYS happen. I know that The Savior is as the head of this church. This is His work and He directs it. While we may not always do things perfect, He will make all things for our good (D&C 122:7). 

I love you all. Have an amazing week!! Thank you for all of your our love, support, and prayers. I am so excited to head to the Deep South and experience rural Kentucky. Yeehhaww 🏻

Love always,

Sister Dorian

"He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son"-The Living Christ

"Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace."-Luke 9:48

Hey y'all!!

How is everyone doing?? I hope everyone had a solid week! This week was pretty great for us and like always, I have learned SO MUCH. Heavenly Father knows us so perfectly; strengths, weaknesses, the whole bit. Because of that, He knows what we need to go through in order to learn, grow, and progress. He knows what situations to put us in that will test our weaknesses and help us rely on the Savior more fully. I have had lots of time to lean on the Savior recently and I wouldn't have it any other way.

That brings me to a major lesson that I learned this week, and that is change and trust in God. Change is so important and the main focus of this life. This time is the time given to us by God to prepare to return to Him. However, if we try to do it all by ourselves, we will never succeed. We must rely on our Savior and trust in our Heavenly Father as we do the things that we must do to return to Him. Change is such a glorious thing and it is something that the Atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to do with joy and happiness. Life is oh so good with the Savior by our side and the gospel to lead and guide. 

This week was quite exciting as well. We had an "Eloptism" on Tuesday which was basically just like a secret baptism. Our investigator had some things happen with the member in the Ward who was originally going to baptize him so he didn't want to have him baptize him anymore. In order to keep the peace and decrease the drama, he decided to have an extremely small baptism with just his mom/sister and niece, the bishop, two witnesses, and us. All there was was a prayer, a baptism, and a prayer. Definitely a unique experience on a mission that's for sure! He got confirmed yesterday and his confirmation was AMAZING. You can already see a change in him. This gospel is amazing!

We had a week full of service and we had a great miracle as well. We went to go see an investigator who sister O'Keeffe and her prior companion tracted into. She has been going through major family struggles so when we got there, you could tell she was searching for some splice and peace. As we shared about Jesus Christ and His ability to bestow peace, she seemed very interested. She even included her son in the lesson. We don't have too much to tell about her yet but our lesson with her was amazing. We really feel like she is prepared to receive the gospel. 

We were also able to have a wonderful lesson with our investigator who has a traumatic brain injury. We taught the plan of salvation (which we were so nervous about since he struggles to remember details) and it ended up being amazing!! He was very engaged and asked questions that showed that he is interested in learning more. He is working toward a baptismal date so we are excited to help him continue to prepare for that :) his only concern is church attendance so hopefully we can work through that!

Our recent converts are doing great :) we have also been very successful getting in touch with less actives in our ward which has been amazing. We have this great situation where we are meeting with a woman and her daughter/family separately. Because of this, they give us advice on how to help the other, and the advice has worked great so far! Such a great method to getting inspiration for less actives. 

Another fun thing from the week was THUNDER OVER LOUISVILLE. It is the most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen. And, I got to pass out so many cards. The group we went with was walking super fast though so I couldn't spend a whole lot of time contacting so instead, I just ran up to people and handed them cards super fast. I also got to have a way awesome discussion with our Eloptized investigator about the Atonement and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. So cool. Pictures to follow, even though they will never do it justice. Family, we are coming back next April for the derby festival. You have to see these :)

I love you all. Thank you so much for all of love, support, and prayers. It means more than you will ever know. Keep being amazing, don't forget to read and pray every day, remember that "when life gets too hard to stand, kneel" (Gordon B Hinckley) , and when life give you cake you better eat it. 

Love y'all! 

Love,

Sister Dorian 

"Therefore come unto me and be ye saved..." -3 Nephi 12:20 💛

Hello everyone!

Happy Easter! I absolutely love these holidays as a missionary that are centered on Jesus Christ because not only do we testify of Him in everything that we do and say and help others find Him, we also get to experience His Atonement in our own lives as well. Church yesterday was absolutely AMAZING. I love this gospel. I love my life. I love the Savior and I LOVE the chance that we all have to serve Him here on Earth. What a neat privilege that is 🏻

I learned a few lessons this week, so I will feature two of them here ;) the first one has to do with change. I was studying an Ensign article this week called "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox (taken from his BYU speech a few years back) and something he said really stuck with me. He said, "The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God (see Alma 40:26), but no unchanged thing will even want to." When I read this, the Spirit was able to teach me more about what the purpose of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is. The Atonement of our Savior is not just to cleanse us from sin, although that is essential. The Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the avenue by which we can be transformed. I have experienced this transforming effect many times in my life, especially on my mission. I have seen others experience it and it brings me such joy! This life is not a time for us to be perfect or fail. "This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" -Alma 34:32 That preparation happens as we access the Atonement and choose to be transformed. 

The other lesson I learned this week related to our purpose as missionaries but can extend to our purpose as members of this restored gospel and all other positions we hold in the church. Often times, we get discouraged when people don't listen to our message, decide to drop us, don't keep their commitments, or a number of other things. We feel as if we aren't fulfilling our purpose when these things occur and we wonder what we could have done differently. An STL at a meeting this week said something that forever changed my perspective of this. She quoted the scripture in Moses 1:39 which states, "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Then she asked, "Will all of Gods children achieve eternal life?" Obviously we know that not everyone will. She went on to ask, "Because not everyone will be saved in the celestial kingdom, has God failed in His purpose?" Of course not! Heavenly Father is perfect at fulfilling His purpose, and he still will not have perfect results. This was such an eye opener to me. Everyone has agency in this life. All we can control is ourselves, so when we make choices to act in faith and submit to Heavenly Fathers will, miracles occur. So great!!

This week was another finding week for sure. We had some amazing lessons with investigators and less actives, along with our recent converts. Our older recent convert has been doing really well. She was baptized back in October and has been going strong with the gospel ever since. We also had a few lessons with our recent convert that just got baptized. She is doing so well. She has been striving to go back to the basics and have the Spirit with her always as she goes through the day. It is so wonderful to see the changes that occur in people as they accept and act on the principles of the gospel. We just love her :)

We were also finally able to set a baptismal date with our investigator that we have been working with for the past few weeks. He has a traumatic brain injury so we weren't sure if he was accountable but we brought a member of the bishopric who cleared him! The next lesson we had with him, we were able to set a baptismal date with him. :) we still aren't sure about when because his work makes it near impossible for him to come on Sunday's but we have faith that things will work out. Yay!

Also, our most progressing investigator has been doing great. He is getting baptized this week and we are so excited for him. He has noticed lots of opposition come his way but he has been combatting it with mighty prayer and finding solace in the Book of Mormon. Mormon 9 is now his favorite chapter basically ever. Again, it is so amazing to see others apply these principles and see miracles come to pass because of it. We are excited to see him make this covenant and receive the eternal gift of the Holy Ghost to continue to strengthen him in his life. 

Our other investigators have been hard to get in contact with, but we have faith for good things to come. We have been going to different parts of our area, trying to find the prepared. We have been following promptings and talking to as many people as we can and are excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for us. 

I love you all. I hope you had an AMAZING Easter filled with happiness, joy, peace, and Reese's Easter eggs :) have a great week! Thank you for all of the love, support, and prayers. It means the world ️

Love,

Sister Dorian 

"Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." 3 Nephi 12:16

"...see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength" ❤️- D&C 4:2

Hey y'all 🏻

How was everyone's week? We had a crazy week (per usual) but so many lessons were learned so it was one for the books. Heavenly Father truly does know us so perfectly and loves us so unconditionally and because of that, He must allow some trial in order to shape us and fit us to live with Him. So eternally grateful for an all-knowing Heavenly Father who's will is so much better than my own.

That brings me to what I learned this week, and that is that submitting our will to Heavenly Father's is the way to true happiness and peace. I have been studying the Atonement recently in personal studies and one thing from this morning really stuck out to me. In True to the Faith, it says, "The Atonement is the supreme expression of our Heavenly Father’s love for us (see John 3:16). It is also the greatest expression of the Savior’s love for the Father and for us". It goes on to say that because Christ lived a "perfect, sinless life, He was free from the demands of justice. Because He had the power of redemption and because He had no debt to justice, he could pay the debt for those who repent." As I read these things, I felt the Spirit testify to me that our Savior was able to submit to Heavenly Father's will and perform the Atonement because of His perfect love for His Father and for us. Pure love motivates us to act in faith and do what Heavenly Father would have us do. "And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart. If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity." Moroni 7:43-44

Now for miracles. Last pday, sister O'Keeffe needed to print pictures and decided on Walmart. We were sitting in Walmart emailing/printing pictures and I happened to catch a glimpse of a lady riding past in a motorized cart. As she rode by, I felt the Spirit and knew that she loved the Savior. Then, all of a sudden, she started backing up and rode over to us. She told us that she had met with missionaries before and asked if she could have a Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, we didn't have any! Luckily, we had cards and after answering her questions  and getting her information, we showed her the prince of Peace video and set a return appt. This was such a miracle and testimony to me that as we are obedient and exercise faith, Heavenly Father provides miracles, even if they take some time to come about. I have faith that good things are to come as the prepared are found. We had another lesson with her this week and will hopefully be meeting with her soon :) 

We were also able to see lots of less actives this week. We have this one less active that has been really down in the dumps and our district had an idea to do a cake party since she enjoys baking cakes. She actually agreed so we are so excited to do that this week, along with doing some walking with her. Her daughter and her daughters husband are less active as well and we were able to get in to teach him as well. They are so sweet! 

We had another miracle with our recent convert who got baptized last month. We went over to teach her and when we started teaching, she told us that she had been reading Enos and felt the Spirit so strong. She said she didn't even know what exactly was being said but she still felt so warm inside periodically as she read. It is so amazing to see the Holy Ghost working in her life as she acts in faith. Those things bring me so much joy! 

Our most progressing investigator is doing great. We are so excited for his baptism coming up. He has been going through the ringer this week, experiencing lots of opposition but we had such a spiritual lesson with him this week. He is so ready to be baptized and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have been given to teach him. We call ourselves the triad and are sure that this triad will last for life. He is going to do amazing this in this gospel! 

I am so grateful for the chance to be a missionary. I know that even though we may not always understand, Heavenly Father's will is the most perfect path for us. We will always be able to find true joy as we love Him and allow that love to change our hearts. This church is so true! The Savior lives and our Heavenly Father and Savior love us. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His Divine Son"-The Living Christ

Love,

Sister Dorian 

Conference was Straight Fire

Hello everyone!

I know everyone is probably thinking this but I am just going to bring it out in the open. General Conference was amazing. I learned so much and there is just too much to tell, so I am going to talk about my favorite talk ever since it goes perfectly with what I learned this week. 

Elder Utchdorfs talk on fear was exactly what I needed to hear. It was as if he wrote that talk specifically for me. That is a testimony to me that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know us perfectly and that this church is the true church on the Earth. These men are inspired apostles of God with the keys to act in His name and guide our lives. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!?! This talk given by utchdorf was amazing. When we are focused on our Savior, we can experience joy. Also, we need never live in fear or inflict fear on others. One of my favorite statements is when he said that fear will motivate us to do things, but it will be temporary and shallow. Fear will not change our hearts. I feel like sometimes, I catch myself being obedient out of fear. However, our motivation should not be out of duty or fear, but rather out of pure love of our Savior. In Moroni 8:16 it says, "I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear," and when we are filled with perfect love, we can exercise faith. I am so grateful for this message because it has brought me so much peace! I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and who He wants us to become. He wants us to be filled with this love, as it states in Moroni 7, because He knows that when we are, our hearts are changed and we become like the Savior. When we have the perfect love of Christ embedded in our souls, we forget ourselves and are able to do His work instead of our own. 

I am so grateful for the chance we have to hear from apostles and especially from our prophet. Thomas S. Monson's testimony was simple but powerful. He is Gods prophet on the Earth today. This is the Lords one true church and He upholds and inspires His chosen servants. What a glorious time to live during as this wonderful man continues to lead and guide our church. Hurrah for Israel 🏻🏻

This week was good missionary work-wise. We had an investigator drop us but we helped him record conference and he promised he would watch it. Based on how spiritually powerful conference was, we have high hopes that he will continue meeting with us! As we are obedient and exercise faith, Heavenly Father provides miracles, even if they take some time to come about. I have faith that good things are to come and the prepared are going to be found! 

Our most progressing investigator is doing great. He came to all sessions of conference and absolutely loved it. We have formed a strong bond with him and call ourselves "the triad", which is always hilarious. We had some amazing experiences with him this week as we taught him. Since he has been taught all the lessons and still has two weeks till his baptism, he has decided to ask us his deepest, hardest questions. In the beginning of my mission, this would have freaked me out! However, when we trusted in the Spirit and kept a prayer in our hearts, the answers always came and the Spirit was always present. After one of the lessons, he said "No other missionaries would have been able to answer these like y'all just answered those. This is true, no doubt." So cool! Stay tuned for pictures of his baptism in a few weeks. 

We have a few other investigators we are working with and the members have been so helpful! Being in this Ward has really opened my eyes to the glory that member missionary work is. The Spirit is so amazing as a member testifies of the truth of this gospel. Sometimes, I am freaked out by how fast my mission is going, but then I realize how I can continue to help others come into Christ no matter what and it brings me such joy! This gospel is true and after seeing it change so many lives, how can we not share it?? :)

Sister O'Keeffe and I are staying together this transfer and she goes home after this one so I will most likely be here for two more, tallying 8 total transfers in Louisville. This city will always hold such a special place in my heart and I am so very grateful for the chance to learn and grow and help others come to Christ in His service. Our Savior lives, He loves us and His power is real. His grace is sufficient to make our weaknesses strengthens when we have faith and humble ourselves before Him. 

Thank you so much for all of the love, support, and prayers. I love you all so much! Have an amazing week ️

Love, 

Sister Dorian 🏼

The Atonement is so Real

Hello everyone!

I am starting to think that this transfer was meant to be a crazy one because week after week is a whirlwind but it has been so good because I have been learning so much. Before I go into things that I learned this week, I just want to start by saying thank you to all of you for all of your love, support, and prayers. I can't even explain strength that I feel from you all, so I am eternally grateful ️

This week, I have learned SO MUCH about the Atonement. I will honestly say that there have been times this week where I have felt very discouraged and down, wondering if I even have the strength to do what the Lord has asked me to do. I had such an amazing experience on exchange that brought me so much peace. I was studying Helaman 5 and pondering the Atonement and all of a sudden I felt the Spirit envelope me in love and peace. I felt that Heavenly Father understood me and knew my heart. I knew that He is aware of me and the efforts I am making to obey His will and follow Him in all things. I knew that all the things that we have gone through this transfer have been put in place to humble me and help me realize my dependence on the Savior. I know that if we try to do this on our own, we will be unsuccessful. However, when when we are yoked to the Savior and trust in His enabling power, we can do all things. I know that the things Heavenly Father is teaching me this transfer is going to allow me to do His work more effectively and forget myself. I am so grateful for trials and it was so fitting to be able to go to the fireside last night where every testimony was about depending on the Savior to overcome hard times. Life is so good and I have realized that you truly can find joy in all things when you focus on Christ and trust in Him.

Also, that broadcast was AMAZING. I loved the emphasis on faith and trust and serving others. Another thing I have learned is that serving others is the best way to turn out and act as Christ would. When life isn't ideal, I tend to focus on myself. However, when I serve others in those times, I can see the Lords hand and find peace. Charity is born when service for our fellow men is our main focus and desire. I know Christ loves and His Atonement is real. This gospel is so true!

This week was pretty great for our investigators. One of our investigators got baptized!!!!! She was so sweet and nervous before but after, she was so happy! And, she was even happier when she got the Holy Ghost. She said that she felt a warm feeling come over her that made her feel so good. She was very overwhelmed by all the feelings she was having but you could tell she just seemed happier :) she even stayed for 3 hours of church. It is so wonderful to see the gospel change people's lives and hearts. We also had a baptism for an 8 yr old the same day so it was a great day all around :) quick funny story: in the middle of Shelley's baptism, we had a random guy walk in and start preaching to opus about the Savior and how we all need to repent to come closer to him. It freaked us all out but it was pretty perfect timing because it was right before the talk on baptism and it is true that repentance is so necessary to come closer to Christ. It was just really scary to have him come in all unannounced and stuff. Heavenly Father helped it work out, which was good :) hahaha crazy times

We also had a cool experience with our one of our other investigators this week. We went over with a member and he started off by saying that he is having second thoughts about the whole thing since he has been baptist his whole life. As we followed the Spirit and asked inspired questions, we realized that he has not been keeping his commitments like he should. We went forward with the lesson that we planned that morning about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the lesson ended with him committed to coming to church and praying to know if these things are true. It was great!! I have really gained a testimony this week of how important it is to plan and follow the Spirit to receive revelation in those plans. As we study and prepare, the Spirit can call upon those things in lessons to bless the lives of those we work with. We are hoping to recommit him to a date this week and will keep you posted on the progress :) 

I was also able to hear my YSA recent convert from Highlands bear her testimony last night and I swear my heart almost burst with pure happiness. She has come so far, and the gospel has truly changed her heart. She is so much more confident and sure of herself as a daughter of God. She knows that this is the truth and is even going to the temple soon (she got her recommend yesterday too!) Moments like that are what make the mission. The Savior is in the details and this is His work. It is a privilege to see Him work these miracles in others lives. I love it so much!!! 

Other than that, life has been a mixture of finding, zone conference (which was amazing), exchanges (which were also amazing), and teaching those in our ward and the other investigators we are working with. As we continue to be exactly obedient and follow the prompting of the Spirit, I know that the Lord has many people to put in our path here who are ready to accept this gospel and change their lives. I know that He has great plans for us as we act in faith and trust in His power, so that is my goal this week! 🤞🏻

I love you all. Thank you again for all that you have done. I know that this church is true. I know that this is the Savior's work on the Earth today and He is at the head. I know that as we strive to cultivate those Christlike attributes, we will see miracles in our lives and we will be effective instruments in the hands of our Heavenly Father, whether we are official missionaries or member missionaries. The Atonement is real and it works. This gospel is how we access it and allow it to enable and change us. Happiness and joy are available to all who focus on the Savior. Hurrah for Israel! 🏻

Love,

Sister Dorian 🏻

"WOW" is the only word that comes to mind

Hello everyone! 

This week has been another whirlwind of a week but I have learned so much about myself and others, so it has been successful even though it hasn't been the easiest :) it is so amazing how wonderful missions are because even though they bring out your weaknesses, it is a perfect environment to overcome them. When we read our scriptures every day, pray all the time, serve others, and surround ourselves with an uplifting atmosphere, the Spirit can be our constant companion to teach, correct, and strengthen you. What a wonderful gift Heavenly Father has given us to work and change and progress with the Savior ️

Also, I wanted to include a continuation of my thoughts on perfectionism, since I have been working on it this week. There is something that my dad wrote to me in a letter that really made an impact regarding this subject. He said that we must be focused on why we are being obedient and striving for perfection. The lower law is to do it out of duty or fear. While we are still being obedient, we are failing to let the obedience change us to become more like Jesus Christ. However, when we are obedient because we love the Savior and want to do what He asks because He knows what is best, then we will experience the mighty change of heart spoken of in Alma 5. In verse 13 it says "And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved". The perfectionism that I have noticed in myself is a product of pride, a desire to be perfect out of fear and without humility or trust. Striving for perfection, on the other hand, is centered on humbling ourselves before the Savior and depending/trusting in Him so that His Atonement can create a mighty change in our hearts. I am so grateful to be working on this because it gives me a chance to turn to Christ in all that I do. The Spirit is the perfect teacher, for us and for our investigators. As we turn to Christ, others will see the light that shines forth from our lives and desire to do the same. What a humbling thing to learn this week. It is comforting to know that we don't have to do this alone. With the Savior, we can overcome weaknesses and become strong in our faith in Christ (Ether 12:27).

The week was quite crazy but we have had some miracles come to pass and things are moving right along in the Rolling Hills of Louisville, KY. One of our investigators is getting baptized this weekend and she is so very excited! It has been a long time coming for her and she has had some major trials come up but she has been such a trooper. She knows this is true and has experienced the difference that the Spirit makes in her life. It has been such a pleasure to serve with her and help her overcome any concerns that she may have. Another glorious thing about missionary work is being able to see the Atonement work in other people's lives and see how the knowledge of the gospel changes people. We have another investigator who was really struggling who reset a date with us this week for April 8th! It has been so exciting to see him overcome his doubts and fears and to see the Spirit working in his life. The gospel is true and it changes lives! I love it and am so eternally grateful for the knowledge we have and the chance we get to share it with everyone :) 

We have another investigator that we have been teaching who continue to progress toward his baptismal date on the 15th. He has some concerns with being baptized again since he has been a baptist all his life but with the amazing near death experience that happened and how similar it is to the plan of salvation, he is very intrigued and seeking to know that these things are true. We love meeting with him and hope to see even more progress with him this week.

We had another amazing miracle happen to us this week that has to do with working with members. We were on our way to teach one of our single male investigators, thinking the whole time that we were going to teach him a quick lesson in the hallway since we didn't have a member with us, when a member opened his door! He has a brain injury so he has a companion with him through the week and the one that was on shift happened to be a member in our stake! Then, later on in the week, we had two lessons with single men that we needed members for. We posted an SOS post on FB and an inactive member reached out and asked if she could come to one. She bore such a great testimony and then invited us over for next week. So cool! Then our bishops wife called and said she could come to the other one so we were able to have her come out with us and the lesson was AMAZING. Members are seriously such a blessing to have in lessons because they bring the most glorious spirit and really add amazing testimonies to the lesson. 

Other than that, we have continued to work on finding new investigators, working with less actives, and strengthening our relationships with the members. We have seen much success as we have involved the members and even seen some miracles from members doing missionary work without even being asked. Someone brought flowers to our investigator on her birthday and it meant the world to her! Things like that really inspire me because those little acts of kindness and love are what Christlike service is all about. I love missionary work and love this gospel. Most of all, I love my Savior. He is aware of us. He comforts, leads and guides us. He is our Advocate and our very best friend. Let us all strive to lean on Him this week and allow His Atonement to change our hearts.

Have an amazing week! Thank you all for the love, support, and prayers ️ it means the world! Love y'all 

Love,

Sister Dorian 

Cray-z Week, Cray-z Transfer

Hello everyone! 

This week was pretty crazy as well, hence the subject line :) I have learned so much about myself and about the Savior and how much we need Him in our lives. Struggles bring us closer to the Lord, and my eyes have been very opened to just how much I need Him.

One major thing that sticks out learning this week is how perfectionism is not from God. I have noticed my perfectionist qualities come out on my mission and have been able to learn lots, with the help of others, about how to find peace in imperfection and lean on the Savior. None of us are ever going to reach perfection in this life; it's impossible! Heavenly Father does not expect perfection of us, and if we expect it of ourselves then we are going to spend most of our time feeling like we haven't measured up. We must realize that Heavenly Father has given us weakness so that we may realize exactly how much we truly need our Savior in our day to day lives. In Ether 12:27, it says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." It is only through the Atonement and faith in our Savior that we can become strong. No matter how hard we try, if we are on our own then we will never be "good enough". But if we have faith in Christ, then all things are possible. Another thing I learned is that we can't expect others to be perfect either. Each of us have free agency and we must remember that all we can control is ourselves and the choices we make. We can lovingly correct, encourage, and strengthen, but after that we must trust that Heavenly Father knows more than we do and in the end, everything will work out. All in all, Christ is the answer and if we turn to Him and center our lives on Him, we will overcome trials and find pure joy, even before we reach perfection. This time is a time given to us to prepare to meet God through repentance and faith, not a time for us to worry all the time about doing everything perfect. This was an essential lesson for me to learn and I am so very grateful for it! 

Now for the week. We don't have too much to share about this week because a lot of it was finding less actives and people to teach. We have been working a lot with our most progressing baptismal date and she has been doing awesome! We had her in a member's home for FHE and then we had her at the relief society party. She said that on her way to the party, she was feeling really low and in the dumps and after the party, she felt peace, joy and acceptance. Such a neat experience. We have also been able to see a few recent converts and less actives as well which has been great. There are a few other investigators that are moving right along and continuing along in the conversion process so we are working with them but there isn't too much to tell yet. Other than that, we had a pretty chill week of finding. 

We also had an amazing experience with an investigator this week that I wanted to share. This investigator is actually one that I met a few weeks ago in Louisville right before I left and the sisters here ended up running into him and teaching him! When I saw him for the first time, I was dumbfounded. I knew that I was supposed to meet him all those nights ago and now, I am teaching him! He was in an accident many years ago that out him into a coma and paralyzed him on his left side. He told us about how during his experience, he believes that he went to heaven (Spirit world) and saw his father who had died when he was a baby. He talked about how there wasn't any hurting or pain there and how people were in different stages. He also said that he knew from this experience that there were levels in Heaven. I am sure you can guess the lesson we taught him this week. As we taught the plan of salvation, the Spirit was SO STRONG. A member that we had with us showed a video at the end about the Savior and it had all of us in tears because all of this is possible because of Jesus Christ and the Spirit testified that to each of us. Such an amazing experience! He doesn't have a date yet because he doesn't quite understand the restoration so we will keep you posted on that :)

Anyways, I love you all. I hope you have an amazing week and don't ever forget how much our Heavenly Father loves each of us. Let us turn to the Savior in all that we do and He will heal our hearts and hush our fears. I know that this church is true with everything inside me and I am so eternally grateful for the chance I have to bring others to Christ through it. Hurrah for Israel ️

Love,

Sister Dorian 

Psyyyccchhhh

So,

This week has been literally crazy. I can't even really remember what
happened because SO MUCH HAPPENED. Before I get into all the details,
I will just get the biggest news out in the open. I got emergency
transferred on Saturday back up to Louisville to the area right next
to my very first one (Rolling Hills). There was a very sticky
situation with an investigator and the sister who was here needed to
head out fast so President asked me to make the switch. It's been a
whirlwind but I have felt many confirmations from the Spirit that I am
supposed to be here. So crazy!

This emergency transfer actually goes perfectly into what I learned
this week, and that is trusting in a Gods will and timing. Sometimes,
we think we have everything planned and under control and then
Heavenly Father tells you that you need to change things up a bit (or
a lot). Even though that may seem like the hardest thing to do at the
time, if you follow in faith, miracles occur! As soon as I got the
news that I needed to transfer, I knew it was what needed to happen.
Even though I was being uprooted from the town I had just gotten to
know, having to leave the branch and district I had just met and
become friends with, I just knew in my heart that it was what Heavenly
Father needed and wanted. And ever since I have been back in
Louisville, I have just felt that confirmed time and time again. It
was as if I had been prepared for this transfer the entire time that I
was down in Somerset and now I am ready to be here and do the work
needed of me here. I am so grateful to have a Heavenly Father that
knows us better than we do and loves us enough to change the plans for
our benefit and learning. There is no doubt in my mind that this is
where Heavenly Father wants me to be and for that, I am so very
thankful. Elder Christofferson shares an experience about Hugh B.
Brown in his talk "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten” and he
says, "“And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this
voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, ‘I am the gardener
here. I know what I want you to do.’ The bitterness went out of my
soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my
ungratefulness '… And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to [God]
and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me
enough to hurt me.’” I echo Hugh B Brown in saying that I am so glad
that I have a loving Gardner who loves me enough to humble me and
strengthen me :)

Now for the week:

We had a crazy P-day in Somerset cleaning up our apartment and writing
emails so there isn't much to tell for that day. We were able to teach
an amazing new investigator who is really going through a struggle in
his life and searching for the truth and the peace of the gospel so
they are helping him to progress. We were able to teach a few other
lessons to new investigators, as well as lots of lessons in Spanish.
We were able to move our Spanish investigators Date back and he has
been doing so great! Another member in the Ward who speaks Spanish has
been his fellowship and it has been great. I am really hoping we can
get down in a few weeks for his baptism 🤞🏻🤞🏻we also had interviews
with president and a movie night with the branch where we watched
Legacy (sister Westwood had a brilliant idea to have a mini player
playing the words in Spanish while our Spanish investigator/member
watched it and they LOVED IT). We did lots more finding and a lot of
service as well. It was a good week.

On Friday afternoon, we got the call from president that I was going
to be moving back to Louisville and switching a sister who HAD TO
MOVE. He said that he actually had it all set up so that a different
sister was going to switch but after our interviews, he couldn't sleep
and felt very prompted to move me. That is just evidence that Heavenly
Father is in every single detail. I love it!

Rolling Hills has been quite the adventure. My new companion is Sister
O'Keeffe. She was baptized at the end of 2014 and left on her mission
exactly a year and day later. This is her second to last transfer and
she is a boss missionary! We really get along so great. We have stayed
up WAY too late every night we have been together just talking and
laughing our heads off for hours. Literally. It's so great. We have
some amazing investigators with so much potential! The Ward is
absolutely ginormous compared to the other wards/branches so it feels
a little bit like my home Ward. All in all, it is a great place and I
am excited to serve the Lord here.

Louisville can't get rid of me! 🏻

I love you all. Thank you for all of the love, support and prayers.
Life is oh so good. This church is true and the Savior truly is our
very dearest friend. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His
Divine Son"-The Living Christ

Love,
Sister Dorian 🕺🏽