October 11, 2012--General Conference

How was your week? Did you all enjoy conference? It was so awesome to watch it here at the MTC! Watching it as a missionary is a much different experience. Everything the speakers said was magnified and seemed to have much more pertinence to the work I'm doing. I loved the talks by Russell M. Nelson and Jeffrey R. Holland! They really fired me up. Russell M. Nelson's talked really emphasized to me the kind of mantel that I hold. I am working as a messenger of the Lord and have the responsibility to help people improve their lives through the gospel! And how about that announcement in the first session?! Elders can serve at 18 now, and sisters can serve at 19! I definitely didn't see that one coming. It was kind of sad because the place where I was watching was having problems with the sound and we didn't hear President Monson make the announcement! We saw everyone in the audience with their mouths hanging open and had no idea what was going on! Luckily we got to watch it later on a computer, and it was awesome! This is going to cause some major changes in missionary work. The comment I like best about it is when Elder Holland said in a press conference that this is evidence that the Lord is hastening his work. It's so exciting to be a missionary at a turning point like this! Missionary work is going to explode. Guess what other exciting thing happened this week? David A. Bednar came for devotional!! It was so cool to see him speak to us at the MTC when he had just spoke to the entire world two days before! He talked about how we can get more out of conference by taking effective notes that point out the doctrine, invitation, and promises of each talk. He used examples from conference of his own talk, M. Russell Ballard's, and President Eyring's. It was amazing to see how all three talks each have clear invitations for us to act on the doctrine, and the blessings that we will receive from being obedient. It was also a great lesson on missionary work, because that is exactly how we need to teach our investigators! We are all in a different place on the path to eternal life, but the way to get there is the same for everyone. We progress through acting on invitations that come from the Lord through his prophets and apostles, and then receiving the promised blessings! Another cool thing that happened this week is that there is a new elder who is from Italy going to Romania. He speaks barely any English, so it's been out pleasure as the Italian district to fellowship him as soon as we heard about him and speak to him as much as possible in Italian! He seems really happy to have people that speak his language, and he is an awesome Elder! He is from Milan. Things are going well in my district and with my companion. It's Sorella Harward's birthday today! Well, I believe I have exhausted my time on the computer. I'd love to hear what you all have been up to! Is it getting pretty cold up there? I'm so happy Fall is here! It's my favorite season. :) I hope everyone is having a great week and doing well in school! Love you so much!

Love,
Sorella Lyman