False Alarm

Hey everyone,

This week was good. We had a nice surprise where a winter storm warning turned into a false alarm. We weren't looking forward to more snow. It was supposed to brew the fourth noreaster in 3 weeks. Anyway, we had zone conference this week as well as exchanges. Both were pretty fun.

I loved a discussion that we had at zone conference. When we receive answers and increase our knowledge, it comes through feasting on the word. Feasting doesn't just include reading and studying. It also includes pondering.
Jesus said in 3 Nephi 17,

"3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds..."

Especially with general conference this next weekend, pondering can help us to truly receive the message that God wants to give us. I am grateful for the knowledge I've received through the spirit while pondering.


Love,
Elder Rogers

New Antarctica

Hey everybody!

This week was really good. We had a huge nor'easter on Tuesday that dropped like 16 inches of snow. We've had 3 in the last 3 weeks. It's been pretty crazy. Elder Roberts and I weekly planned a lot that day. We also built a snowman. It was pretty fun. Otherwise, we had interviews with our mission president on Wednesday, and that was good. Our zone had a goal to find a lot of investigators this week. We put forth a lot of effort on the days that we could go outside (which was every day besides Tuesday and Wednesday) and we were we able to see a lot of success. It was super fun. We even had an investigator family that we had just met on Saturday come to church yesterday. They are super solid. The ward loved it!

We stopped by one of our investigators this week. It was the first time that I had met him. He kept talking about how much he loved my companion, and before we left Elder Roberts received a kiss from him on the cheek. He was probably drunk. We were laughing so much when we got back into the car.

While we were tracting one day, Elder Roberts felt prompted to go talk to some people that were sitting on their porch. As we were walking by though, a big nasty dog was sitting there. We didn't want to have to deal with that so we just kept on walking. As we cross the street however, a lady that was sitting on the porch called out after us. She asked us, "Are you guys salesman or religious or what?" We were able to teach her a whole restoration lesson, and she was actually very interested. It was a cool miracle. Always follow the first prompting I guess.


Love you guys
Elder Rogers

memoRIes

Hey everybody!

This week was cool. We had a crazy nor'easter storm last Wednesday. We drove up to Boston in the morning for a meeting and had a fun time getting back to Connecticut that evening.

We had some more exchanges this week. I got to go back to Rhode island for a day. It was cool to be near the beach again. We stopped by a referral that lived in the same building as a yacht club. We got some cool pics.

Elder Roberts and I have had a good week otherwise. Lots of miracles. My favorite was last Monday night. We were tracting and a man answered the door. He said he was busy skyping his family, but he agreed to having us come back in 10 minutes. A few doors and some interesting conversations later, we went back to his house. He let us in and we had an awesome lesson. It turns out that he was talking to his family about a tragedy that had just happened. We talked about the plan of salvation and he was glad that we came by. He's a cool guy.

We got asked to give the talks in sacrament meeting on Saturday. I've always wanted to have a short notice assignment to speak. I talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this scripture from Ezekiel 18-

"21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die."
I love this. I know it's true. Repentance is available to everyone.


Love,
Elder Rogers

Tous les jours

Hello  Everybody,

This week was a pretty good one. I got to my new area in Norwich, Connecticut on Wednesday. It's been a blast so far. My companion, Elder Roberts, is great. We've already weathered a pretty insane storm together. While we were getting out of our car one time, we hear a loud crunching/cracking sound. I turned around and saw this huge tree (in the distance) come crashing down. The trees around it were all swaying pretty hard, and it looked like they were going to snap, too. We were blessed to have several appointments. So we didn't have to be out in the wind and rain.

I've already had a blast working here in Norwich. There are a lot of Haitian people and I've been able to use a few phrases in broken French. I committed a guy to read the Haitian-Creole Book of Mormon every day. Hopefully he does.

I've recently began studying the Book of Mormon looking for passages about power in the priesthood. I liked one from 1 Nephi 1:

"20But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

I know that the Lord qualifies and blesses his authorized servants. I definitely know that I couldn't do this by myself, and that the miracles we see are divine.


Love,
Elder Rogers

Back to Connecticut

Hey everyone,

This week has been good. We had a special zone conference this week and we're getting smartphones and facebook soon. I'll be sure to add everybody when I get it:) Also, I'm getting transferred this week to Norwich, Connecticut. I'm excited for it. I've heard good things about the ward, the area, and my new companion. Elder Blotter and I have had some good times here in Cambridge, and I know he's ready to take over the area. It's a little confusing to make your way around Boston and Cambridge at first.

Anyway, We had a cool lesson this week with a referral from a member. This member had sat next to him on the plane about two months ago. It was just a simple conversation they had and a commitment to read the Book of Mormon. It's amazing to see how much can happen from a small act of reaching out. This investigator accepted baptism, and we plan on inviting him to be baptized on a specific day this next lesson (only I'll be gone).

I love the teachings of the Savior in the New Testament. He counsels the recently returned seventies. They were amazed at the power that had been given them on their missions to heal and cast out devils. Jesus counseled them "20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not... but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Sometimes it's nice to have a sign that God is with us. The fact that we have received forgiveness ourselves is the greatest miracle of all


Love,
Elder Rogers

True to the Faith

Hey everyone,

My week this week was pretty good. We have transfer texts this week, and I've been here in Cambridge for nearly 6 months. So, we'll see what happens. We've been having some nice weather, and the high for Wednesday is 70F. We visited the Mount Auburn cemetery last p-day. It was the first cemetery in the country that was made not next to a church or in town. It was intended to be a rural, beautiful resting place with streams, trees, and stuff. Most cemeteries have been patterned after this one since then. It was pretty cool, and it had a cool view of Boston.

My companion and I started running last week. We have a huge underground garage that we've been running in after 9 since we're not allowed outside our apartment building at night. It's been pretty fun.

One of our investigators' friends wanted us to give a blessing to his roommate's daughter. I was on exchange at the time, but Elder Blotter and his companion were able to go and perform a blessing. He was so happy that we would go out of our way to help him. He came to church and had a new attitude toward investigating. It was awesome!

Another of our investigators has been struggling to overcome his addiction, but he's working hard at it. We moved his baptism day to next month in order for him to fully repent. His testimony keeps getting stronger though. We cleared up some confusion he had about the Law of Chastity as well. If you've ever seen the District 2 with Elder Christensen and Elder Moreno, that's what happened. (Except it was resolved in the same visit- not the later visit.) It was kind of funny.

I had a cool day Saturday. Sometimes, I get a little complacent in talking with everyone. It's easy to say, "I'll talk to some people, but not everyone." It's hard, but we have to always be improving and stretching. As I went out and gave my all on Saturday, I immediately felt the blessing of greater joy. I read in True to the Faith this week: "Remember that the only way to real happiness is to live the gospel." I know that this is true


Love,
Elder Rogers

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey Everyone,

I hope you have a good Valentine's Day. This week was good. We went from 12 degrees at the beginning of the week to 40 degrees today, so that's always nice. Our investigator quit smoking this week. We're so proud of him, and we're excited for him to get baptized soon. We also had a dinner appointment cancel last minute this week. Elder Blotter and I put on our gourmet hats and made a great meal. Normally, we just eat simple things, but we made it all this time. It was pretty fun. The funniest thing I heard this week is something called a "queggestion." It's when somebody phrases a suggestion into a question to appear less pushy, but they're really just being pushy. An example might be "Have you tried reading the scriptures?" (But really though, those do solve a lot of problems.)

We had a cool experience going on splits with some members this week. We had a great experience with it. There's definitely something powerful when members and missionaries come together to do the Lord's work.

So last week, we had dinner with a man from Brazil that went well. We taught the Restoration and he is interested in reading the Book of Mormon. We tracted into a guy that let us in. He wasn't interested in continuing to meet. We asked for referrals at the end, and he said his friend had just texted him before we got there and said he had a death in the family. He said he would give his friend our phone number. Hopefully, he'll call us. Regardless though, it was a testimony of always finding.

There was a pretty good talk yesterday. The speaker focused on the origin of the word sincere. He said the root meaning is "without wax." Supposedly, marble statue sculptors would use wax to fill in any cracks or mistakes they made. It looked as if there was never any mistake, but clearly it wasn't genuine. The only true and "sincere" way to correct any mistakes we make in our own personal "sculptures" is through Christ's Atonement. It can be hard when we look around and see others being dishonest and appearing to be perfect. I can testify however, that the best and lasting way is through repentance.


Love
Elder Rogers

Hello all,

This week was pretty cool. We had a pretty inspiring zone conference on Thursday. We also learned that our new mission president is named President Mavromatis. He's from Brazil, of Greek descent, and currently lives in Utah. His pictures on lds.org. It'll be different to have a new mission president. Also, the Super Bowl happened yesterday, and it was surprisingly quiet. Due to the lack of fireworks, the Patriots' loss was made manifest. Hey, there's always next year. Besides, good job to the Eagles for winning their first Super Bowl title ever, Anyway, we had a few miracles happen this week.

Our investigator that contacted us two Mondays ago is doing really well. He's repenting and improving. It's cool to see increase of light in his eyes even in these short two weeks. He's preparing for baptism and confirmation, and we're excited for him. It was cool because he applied for a job, got interviewed the next day, hired the day after, and started working today. He knew this was a heaven-sent blessing.

On Wednesday morning, my companion and I set some new goals to spend more time for more effective proselyting. Being without a car makes it difficult to schedule and prioritize. If we aren't careful, we could fill our day with necessary but less-important activities.

As we went out that afternoon, we had two distinct miracles. While we were waiting for the train near Northeastern campus, a man approached us and asked for directions. While we were talking, the train approached and we all got on. We had a great conversation with him. He's from Brazil, and he's here in Boston on vacation. He's also Jewish but loves reading English books. So, we gave him a Book of Mormon which he graciously accepted. As we were about to get off the train he gave us his email. So, I emailed him the next day, Thursday. He emailed back on Friday and invited us to eat dinner with him tonight--his last day in Boston. He said he would like to "learn more about the Mormon church."

I always get excited when a Jewish person is interested in reading the Book of Mormon and learning. The reason is found in my favorite promise in the Book of Mormon as found in the Title Page

"And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations"

I know there's power in the Book of Mormon. I know that it is true scripture that will give us a knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. I've seen it change my life and others' lives.

I love the principle of repentance. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly manifest in both of these stories. As we work ever more effectively in the Lord's work, he blesses us. As our investigator continues to keep more and more commandments, he's happier, healthier, and blessed generally. There's no stagnation in the Gospel. Continual progression is an eternal principle. I love this.


Love,
Elder Rogers

God's Love

This Week was good. Between exchanges and interviews, it went by pretty quickly. It's beginning to feel a little long in Cambridge. It's my second 4-transfer area in a row. We did have a cool experience this week with a nonprogressing investigator coming back to life. He texted us on Monday, and was like "I want to get baptized. Can we meet tonight?" That's why we never stop texting and reaching out ;) Imagine what it would be like if God gave up on us. Obviously, as we turn away from him, there's less he's able to do for us. He's always there, though. I know that.

Here's a funny story. I was trying to give a Book of Mormon to someone on the subway this week when a member was like "Hi Elders! How are you?" I was not about to stop talking to this guy, so I just turned and said, "Hey," then turned back and kept talking. I hope she wasn't offended. We see a random member probably every other day. It's pretty crazy. The moral of the story though is just give missionaries referrals, then they'll talk to you.

You know, sometimes we think if we can't do something perfectly, we just give up. I love missionary work. I love that despite my many weaknesses and infirmities, God still chooses to work with me and mold me. That love has changed me more than I could ever imagine. I love Ether 12:27 and the Sacrament prayers. I was pondering about what Judgment will be like. I don't think it will be a judgment so much of what we have done, but how we have used the mercy of God, afforded through Christ's Atonement, in our lives. (Check out "The Power to Become" Elder Oaks for more on that idea.)


Love,
Elder Rogers

Back-to-Back?

Hey everybody,

This week has been pretty nice. The weather has been pretty mild which really makes a big difference for the work here. Apparently there was a protest on Saturday. We sure had no idea about it until people were thronging the streets at Harvard Square wearing pink hats with ears and waving signs. from a distance we could hear the roaring of the crowd like it was a concert. It was pretty bizarre. We left fairly quickly after we found out that there was a protest. When we went into the T station, there was no room on the staircases to go down. They were packed full, and I think we were literally the only 2 people going down any of the staircases. It was pretty interesting. You definitely don't see anything like that in Pocatello. I also love how in the dark I am. It was a surprise to discover thousands of people when we weren't expecting it. We also found out that the Patriots will be playing in the Super Bowl again this year. It'd be mildly cool for them to win back-to-back while I was on my mission. It'd be even cooler for those Celtics and Red Sox to also win later in the year.

We had a cool experience on Thursday night where people were a little bit more interested. We met a few people that committed to come to church and one guy accepted a Book of Mormon. They didn't come to church:( but maybe those seeds will get reaped later on. I've definitely gained an appreciation for the connection with patience and diligence. I thought that to be diligent was to be so effective that there would be no need for patience. The truth is that they go hand in hand. We are diligent in finding and teaching, and we're optimistic and patient when those things are slow. In fact, this pattern of diligence and patience begets hope and humility, and so on. You can see how it becomes a good cycle that results in joy and peace. It reminds me of another place in Preach My Gospel pg 176:

"Each person we teach has personal challenges and concerns. No matter what your needs or concerns might be, the Savior and His teachings—the gospel—will help you.

Our message will enable you to improve the quality of your lives. It will help you deal with the problems and challenges that we all face in life."

This is what we share with investigators, and I know and have seen that these principles are true. I've seen that in my life.


Love,
Elder Rogers

Homemade Ties

As the title suggests, we made homemade ties this week. We sacrificed some old ties that we found in the other Elders' apartment for parts. The inside felt piece made it a lot easier. We basically just threw the fabric over it, ironed it into the right shape, and sewed it. Let me tell you, it took a long time on pday to do it. It was pretty intense, but the ties turned out fantastic. We've gotten so many compliments on them as well. Each of us 4 Elders in the district bought 2 yards of our own fabric and we all made 1 tie from each person's fabric. It was cool to experiment and get more skilled. I went from a mediocre job to actually sewing two pieces of fabric together to make the kind of pattern I wanted. (On the white one, I oriented the blue and purple flowers as I wanted it, so it didn't look like it was a grid of the flowers. I didn't have enough fabric to cut an entire tie diagonally, so I cut two smaller pieces and sewed them. All manufactured ties are two-pieced, but it was harder to do.) Luckily, we had Martin Luther King Jr. day, and the libraries were closed. So, we had extra time to sit around sewing and ironing.

We had a cool experience with a recent convert. A different member from New York City brought their friend from Boston to church on Sunday while they were visiting. Throughout the meetings, the new convert sat next to him and became his friend. He was awesome, and even set up an appointment for the potential investigator to come to dinner with us this week.

President Hinckley said, "Let us, every one, resolve within ourselves to arise to a new opportunity, a new sense of responsibility, a new shouldering of obligation to assist our Father in Heaven in His glorious work of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of His sons and daughters throughout the earth."

At the First Presidency broadcast this Tuesday, President Eyring said, "The growth in the number of members and their spread across nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples are visible miracles, but the greater miracle—and the one which will accelerate—is the growth in faith in Jesus Christ. This is a great time in the history of the Church. And yes, the best is still to come."

I know this is true, and that member missionary work is a powerful way to bring the joy of the Gospel more fully into our lives. We don't even have to do grand gestures, let us simply live the Gospel unashamed.


Love,
Elder Rogers

Bomb Cyclone

Hey everybody,

The weather service comes up with the most unique names. I found that this last week I survived a "bomb cyclone." Sounds a little dramatic doesn't it? The storm hit on Thursday, and it really wasn't that bad. We got 13.4 inches of snow. It would've been bad driving, but we were walking. Snowballs and an infinite amount of space to do snow angels was what it looked like to us.

Here's a crazy story:

We dressed well, and actually had quite a bit of fun walking to an appointment. On our way back from the appointment, we discovered that we had locked ourselves out of our apartment. Both of us had forgotten our key. It was 5:30, and the office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 9AM-5PM. They wouldn't be able to let us in until Tuesday or until they responded to an emergency lockout message we sent them. We would've been charged a $35 fee to have someone come outside office hours. Anyway, we called the zone leaders and got permission to stay with some nearby Elders while we waited for the management to respond to our request to be let back in. The next morning, I prayed that the Lord would let me know what more I could do to help us get let back into our apartment. We were asked to help shovel out our church sidewalks in the morning. After we were done helping shovel the sidewalks around our church building, we headed back to the other Elders' apartment. I received an impression while standing on the T that if the trash bins were outside our apartment, then maybe the maintenance man was present and could let us in. As we walked by, the recycling bins were out. I told Elder Blotter we should check to see if anyone was there and the maintenance man was there. Despite the logic that he shouldn't be there during non-office hours, he was. He let us in, and he didn't charge us the $35 fee. I believe that I asked what the Lord wanted me to ask in my morning prayer, and thus was led by the spirit to have us let back into our apartment. We celebrated by having Dominoes delivered to us with the other Elders. (One of them had a gift card from Christmas that he shared with us.)

It was difficult being sick and being stuck inside (once we got inside) for a while. We did have a good weekly planning session, go to the appointments we were able to, and contact lots of people via phone. I found comfort in a verse from D&C 124:

"49 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings."

I know that even though, we weren't able to go out and talk to people like normal, the Lord accepted our small offering of missionary effort when the weather is ridiculous.


Love,
Elder Rogers

2018?

Hey Everybody,

I hope your New Year's resolutions are lasting longer than our New Year's Eve celebration did. I can't believe it's already 2018. I think time speeds up when you use a daily planner. Haha. Anyway, we had a good week. The cold is a little bit of a challenge, but I like the challenge. I always picture John Rowe Moyle from Only a Stonecutter walking 22 miles to work on the Salt Lake Temple. If you haven't seen it, I would recommend it. I always come out of it feeling ready to take on the world.

This week on exchange, we went out tracting for an hour and a half. To make it not so bad, we worked on houses with 3-6 apartments because they usually have a little heated antechamber where the buzzers are. After about an hour or so, a potential investigator texted us out of the blue and said she wanted to come to church this week. Not only did she come to church on New Year's Eve, but she brought another friend.

This last year has been a fantastic one. The amount of experience I gained is unlike any other year of my life. I'm reminded of a quote from President Hinckley on missionary work:

"I can promise you that you will grow as you have never grown in a similar period during your entire lives. I can promise you a happiness that will be unique and wonderful and lasting. I can promise you that you will reevaluate your lives, that you will establish new priorities, that you will live closer to the Lord, that prayer will become a real and wonderful experience, that you will walk with faith in the outcome of the good things you do."

I've seen every one of those promises fulfilled in my life in the last 15 months. It's not always been easy, but it's definitely been worth it.


Love,
Elder Rogers