Welcome Home, Elder Record!

Elder Record made it safely home today. He was very tired having had only about an hour of sleep, but he is in good spirits and doing great.

Coming down the escalators with the five other missionaries from his same mission.

Elder Record on the left coming down the esclator

So good to see Elder Record again!

Yes, Mom is very happy!

Mom gets the first hug

Elder Record on the left and Chris on the right. Chris is Elder Record's "little brother."

Family and friends to greet him

President Ross Baadsgaard of the Maple Mountain Stake released Elder Record officially at 10:00am this morning.

Challenges of a New Missionary

Elder Yde and I on our way back from Soldotna.

I'm standing outside; backing up Elder Yde [pronounced wide]. We are about to go inside the mission home and email, and it's HOT!! It's so hot! It's sunny and beautiful and green, but it's baking. The car is on fire!! It's 80ºF in Anchorage. How on earth does it get 80º in Anchorage? So I don't know what I'm going to do. Although, I do have hope because a guy that we know went down to Mexico for two weeks. He said it got to 120, but he said it felt the same there as it does in here because it's more humid here. So, I'm hoping that's why it feels really, really hot right now. I'm hoping that when I set foot in Utah, I won't turn into toast.

This week we actually went on exchanges down to Soldatna. Elder Yde was with Stirling for a little while, but I stayed in Soldatna the whole time, or with the Elders in Soldatna I should say. That was good. They are good hard workers, and they teach well. There wasn't anything we really needed to be concerned about.

The new group of missionaries.
They are wonderful and we're so happy to have them here! =)

 
We had transfers. That was pretty intense. We helped all the new missionaries and helped them get in ad situated. We had to bring in a bomb squad to clean our apartment. It was pretty trashed. It was pretty hectic until about a day or two ago, and then we went down to Soldatna. We haven't even stayed in our apartment for the last two weeks. Well I haven't. When Elder Yde came in, we stayed in the mission home for like a week. Anyway, it's been fun; super busy; super awesome. I'm definitely learning a lot, especially about being organized. I committed to be super diligent, especially in my record keeping (no pun intended) this last transfer.

I am excited to be with Elder Yde. I'm pumped about the area; it looks like we will have more time to work in our area and help the people there. We have a few investigators that are really cool and prepared to hear the message of the gospel. Yeah, I really couldn't ask for anything more; I'm pretty happy.

Life is good. Talk to you all next week.

Elder Record, Elder Martinez and Elder Yde

Oh! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!

Various places Elder Record has traveled as an Assistant to the President.
View AP Travels in a larger map

Q: As you have begun working with the 18 and 19 year old new missionaries, have you noticed any common challenges they face that are different from the challenges the older missionaries faced?

No, I think the struggles are pretty much the same. I think the focus should definitely be on the mental preparation like you said. That's the biggest challenge I see in both groups. People talk about how wonderful and spiritual missionary work is, but in conversation it's hardly ever discussed how stressful and challenging it is. For example, I came out very idealistic thinking that all missionaries loved being there, loved being obedient to the mission rules, and were always happy and energetic, always focusing on the work. You have the exact same struggles, attitude, and challenges you came out with. Things don't change overnight. I'm not clueless, but I guess the thought never crosses my mind that everyone wasn't perfect... sounds silly, but nobody ever really expressed the stress that's involved. However because of experiences you shared dad, and from other things I knew there would be challenges, I just never had any idea at what magnitude. I've grown so much because the Lord has helped me to look forward with hope much like it's described in 2 Nephi 31:20. So when things got really hard, the question wasn't "do I do this or not?", but "how do I get through this?" It was also important for me to know that my first source of support was my Father in Heaven, then those around me.

Anyway, that's kind of a long winded version of what I was trying to say =). Just make sure they prepare for the mental stress and not to shy away from letting people who need to know, know your struggles. One of the biggest things that causes us grief is when we find out problems people have after things have gotten out of control when we could have prevented the problem by helping out in the beginning. Spiritually people seem to be really prepared, and that is so wonderful, but missionaries tend to be way less mentally prepared for the challenges of dealing with people and working hard and effective all day. Physically I've never noticed any problems. =)...

One more thing, tell the missionaries to lock their hearts. If there is anyone in there waiting for them leave them locked inside. Don't bring them out on your mission, and don't let anyone in on your mission. A mission president, not mine =), once got up in front of his missionaries and asked very kindly, "By a show of hands, who has been promised in their patriarchal blessing that they would find their eternal companion on their mission?" Everyone, of course looked around wondering who it was, expecting to see some raised hands. Nobody raised their hands. The mission president then said, "Nobody? Then stop looking!" and sat back down.

We are expected to devote all our time and attention to serving the Lord. That is what we promise when we come out. It's not a status thing. It's not a rite of passage. It's for the Lord and about him. Your not going to be a very happy missionary if all you can see is yourself. You need to learn how to look past yourself and see others. No part of serving a mission is about you. It's about the Lord and your brothers and sisters you are here to help. If someone can't handle it mentally, things aren't magically going to change when they get here. They have to have the mindset before they come out that they can turn to the Lord, and that He can and will help. I wasn't entirely prepared to come out. When I got here I was very much overwhelmed and stressed out. However, I knew that He is mighty to save and I could turn to Him with "full purpose of heart" and He would deliver me (Mosiah 7:33). The principles found in Ether 12:27 also helped me out a ton. I'm not perfect and I'm still not perfect, but if anyone has a desire to serve the Lord in full-time missionary service, they need to understand the principle of turning to the Lord for their support if they want to be happy, have fun, and grow the way the Lord intends them to on their mission.

Ya... you can tell I've been thinking about this a lot lately =) I hope some part of that helped. It helped me understand my thoughts a little more. =)

Love, Elder Record

Beautiful Juneau and Ketchikan

Elder Record

Man! This week we were in Juneau and Ketchikan, and it was incredible; it's beautiful there. If I were to ever go on vacation to Alaska, I would go there. It was amazing. We had a lot of fun walking through down town and OIM'ing and visiting people whose homes were down there. It was awesome. We were just working hard and going from place to place. The scenery was amazing. Ketchikan is setup … like the whole city is packed in close, but it's on a hill too. So it's like walking in a movie, and it's beautiful – super green, the water is beautiful. Anyway, it was really fun; and the work is going really well down there. The missionaries are doing a really good job. It was cool because I got to be with Elder Blackhurst again.

Elder Bernie and Elder Record.
This was p-day at mormon hill in Juneau,
another BEAUTIFUL CITY!!!!

In Juneau I got to be with Elder Bernie and Elder Thorne; some of my other companions, who are Zone Leaders down there. So it was really fun. I got to be with the missionaries. They are doing great! It was really nice. We got some really good insights for how everybody is doing and what we need to do for transfers; which we are working on this week. We are trying to seek the inspiration from the Lord where they should go and what should happen, and how we can best help the missionaries to improve.

We have been given a couple of referrals. We are excited to go contact these people. The ward is really getting excited about missionary work; and … that's good (haha). We love serving.

So yeah, if I were to ever come back on vacation, I would probably take one of those Alaskan cruises and stop in Ketchikan and Juneau because those places are amazing!

Life it good. I can't wait to work more in our area next week. Actually, we are going to be kind of busy because we have all the transfer stuff to do and a lot of new missionaries coming in. In July there is going to be even more. Elder Martinez will be leaving in a few days. So we are helping him cope (haha). I know who my new companion is, but nobody else does so I can't tell you yet.

Anchorage before we left.
Now it's green =) in a matter of less than a week.

It's amazing you can almost pull up a chair and watch everything grow. It pulls my thoughts to the Savior and the new life that can fill people's hearts as they let him in. The change can be slow, but it's wonderful to be in that chair watching the beautiful transformation that can happen in people's souls. From night to day, dark gray to vibrant green and full of life. I know this gospel blesses our lives because it's true. The Savior's help is real. I was thinking about grace the other day. It is basically divine help or strength given to us. I read a verse in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 7:13, that I thought described grace very well and how we access it. Grace isn't just for after we die. Grace is for today. Grace is for right now.

Love, Elder Record

Elder Record waiting for the ferry to Ketchikan

Cruise ship in Ketchikan

Ketchikan, AK

New Assignment, No Sleep

Hello everybody! This week on Tuesday, we got a text from President Beesley that said to meet with him. So I went and talked to him and he called me to be the next assistant to the president. So I've been busy, crazy the whole week. It's actually been super fun because we got to be a part of transfers. The transfers were basically already done. The two assistants will be going home this transfer, so they needed to call two new ones. Anyway, they were already doing the transfers, and they got everything figured out where they wanted everybody to go. So, then we came in and reviewed it with them. We gave some of our suggestions and changed a couple of minor things. Then we took it to the temple, and thought about it, and prayed about it, and then we came out and discussed any changes we thought we needed to make. There were a couple. We then prayed about each missionary, for their new area and asked the Lord to bless them. So it was pretty cool. It was a really neat experience.

I prayed pretty hard for the Lord to strengthen me because of the lack of sleep I get sometimes.  But my lack of sleep is nothing compared to President Beesley.  He one of the most humble, patient, forgiving, diligent, and kind people I know.  I'm so happy to be able to serve around President Beesley.

I think this mission is one of the worst as far as logistics; as far as moving people around. It is just so big and so much needs to happen. In other areas of the United States, the seventies are only there for one day, but here they usually extend their time to three days, but usually that's not even enough. That is really cool because I get to be here as an assistant when Elder Zwick comes. That will be fun. I'm excited about that. So anyway, with logistics, we have been working really hard on those. I had to spend a couple of late nights. So, I'm super tired. But, it's super fun and happiness, because I get to be around President Beesley all the time.

Elder Record, Brother Swensen and Elder Terry

My companions are awesome, and I'm going to miss them. It was kind of fun because I got to call them and give them their logistics.

I got introduced to a couple of people in my new area. I'm going to be covering the Brayton and Rabbit Creek Wards, the two southern most wards in the Anchorage Stake. I went to a couple of lessons with Elder Duvall and Elder Durfee. When I was in one of the lessons, this guy had kind of been lingering and wanted to finish reading the Book of Mormon before he got baptized. Then we were talking with him, and for the first time in a year since his motorcycle accident he's going to be able to go back to work. However it won't be until September before he actually goes back. So he said he wants to be baptized before then. He is going to be baptized on May 11^th. We were really excited about that. It will be one of the first things that happens when I get into the new area. We met some good people, and it seems like there are a lot of people prepared that I will get to work with.

Our investigator that I talked about last time got married, and he is going to get baptized this Thursday. He asked me to baptize him.

Life is hectic, and it will continue to be hectic because we are going to go today – I don't really get a P-day, but I'll get to email. I will then be helping with the new missionaries coming in – their orientation and everything like that. So I will probably have a few late nights until about Wednesday. But, I get to sleep in until 7:30am because we are staying up late because it's crazy and busy and the work just needs to get done.

This has been a weird winter. It has snowed really late. It's cloudy and bright outside. I can see... well I guess I can't see the sun, but it can see the brightness of the sun, but I can't see the sun. It's a beautiful morning. I sing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” every time I leave the family history center on Wednesdays... and every time I leave district meeting. Anyway, good bye. I love you everybody. Have a great week.

Love, Elder Record

Ukraine Temple Dedication Touches Investigator

Good morning everybody. I've got this really fun video of Elder Terry feeding some duckies with a big bag of bread. I will have to email it. We watched it after district meeting. It's pretty funny. There are like 5,000 ducks, and that was at the library.

I am on exchanges with Elder McMillian. It's been pretty fun. We've been together for a couple of days because he's not feeling too well and I had my gum surgery. So, it helps me to not smile as much, I guess (haha). We have been in O'Malley ward, having a blast, and working hard. We met this cool guy, [Name withheld], whose from Ukraine. We were able to show him that Mormon message of the temple dedication in Kyiv, Ukraine. He really liked that and the festivities. He was excited because it was his culture and the culture of the countries around him. 

We plan on getting him on conference in the near future to listen to it in Ukrainian, in this own language. It will probably help them better understand the principles of the Gospel than if we were teaching them in English. That's exciting, and he even came to Church when his back was hurting him really bad.

There was this one lady who was going to invite this old man to church, and he needed a listening device. So we got the listening device ready. Turns out he didn't come, but [Name withheld] came. He has pretty bad hearing too, so we just happened to have his listening device. We handed it to him, and he used it. It seemed to go really well. It was kind of a mini-miracle.

We taught some Easter messages to people. We have been playing basketball in the mornings so we are in shape and awake in the morning for studies more than normal. It's been beautiful! It's beautiful right now. A couple of days ago it was cloudy and dull. There was one day that it was foggy and cloudy and rainy and sunny all in the same day; and it snowed! I have some more big meetings coming up next week. That will be fun. We went tracting a lot this week. The people were so nice.

Love, Elder Record

A drawing, in the works, of the Savior by Elder Terry

Northern Lights as seen out my back window.

My super awesome, double gold printed,
factory mess-up, study Book of Mormon =)
It's got character.

Our Unfailing Friend

My thoughts are all basically in my weekly to President Beesley, so here are some excerpts. And thank you again for always being sensitive and private with the names of these wonderful people. Hope you all have a good week. =)

Elder Record and Elder Terry. A special thanks to the Fabers for taking such good care of our missionaries.

I’m very happy with the progress of some of our investigators. It makes it all worth it to see hardened hearts soften, even if it’s only a little. [Name withheld 1] is one of our investigators. He’s getting close to marrying his girlfriend, sister [Name withheld 2]. They both used to be pretty big partiers, but they’ve cut significantly back. I think it’s because they are parents and are awakening to their duties. [Name withheld 1] is a fairly humble guy and an honest seeker of truth. He wants good in his life and he wants to understand. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to be able to talk with people like that. Even though he is caught in the world, and we hardly ever catch him when he’s not high from marijuana, he notices that something is missing and he wants to find it. We had a really good lesson with him the other day. We caught him right as he was done working out. The spirit was present as we discussed the plan of salvation. It was awesome because we were just “discussing”, not talking at him but with him, the things that will truly make us happy and about our eternal potential as children of a Heavenly Father who loves us. I hope we he will continue to allow the Lord to make a difference in his life.

[Name withheld 3] is doing very well. The Lord provided a long awaited miracle. It seems they will be able to get married because the insurance will work better now if they are married than if they are not. We will do all we can to help him make the right choice and take that leap of faith to progress towards baptism.

It is interesting to me that as often as we turn to the Savior, His hands are outstretched towards us. He is unfailing. He never leaves us, even when at times we desert him. As often as we come back, He lovingly welcomes us in. Even if it’s only for a short time, He takes us in for as long as we’ll stay. I love the Lord! I know He lives. I know He is our unfailing friend. I’m reminded of verse 16 in Alma 34; “And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.” He is mighty to save. His mercy is profound and I love him for that. In Helaman 3:27-28 it says,

27 Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.

28 Yea, thus we see that the agate of heaven is open unto ball, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.

I’m grateful for all the learning opportunities I’ve been given. I know that all my challenges and experiences have been for my good. I know that He wants to make me into something better. I pray my heart will be humble enough to accept His will and do what He would have me do, act how He would have me act.

Love, Elder Record

Baptism and an Irish Convert

This week, [Name withheld] was baptized on Saturday the 23rd. That was pretty fun because I got to baptize her. I enjoyed doing that. That is actually the first time on my mission that I have in person done it. It went really good. President Beesley was there, and there was a lot of support from the members. It went really well and the Spirit was there. On Sunday she was confirmed.

Elder Terry, [Name withheld] and Elder Record

We had dinner with this guy who's from Ireland. He grew up in Ireland and lived in London. He told us about his conversion story. He was living in England with his former wife, and the missionaries knocked on the door, and she slammed the door shut! She slammed it so hard that he wondered who it was. So he asked his wife, “who was it?” She responded, “you don't want to know.” He really did want to know, but she wouldn't tell him. So he walked outside to find the people, because she had shut the door so rudely. So he went and talked to them. He had just been reading about the Mormons and really wanted to talk with them. So, he grabs the missionaries, brings them back into his house, into a room and starts talking to them. He asked them a bunch of questions, and he started investigating the Church. The only problem was, his wife was outside. The way he put it, she was in a furor, and he said that would be putting it calmly (haha). So the Spirit wasn't there, obviously. So they were able to meet in other places, and was able to learn from the missionaries. He felt it was true, so he joined. He ended up having to travel about a hundred miles away to get baptized (haha), which was kind of funny.

Right now we are at the mission office. We are email and doing the mail. That is fun, just kind of hanging out. Relaxing on P-day. We have to do a bunch of administrative stuff because we are the zone leaders. So this week has been busy in that regard too.

Oh, Mom! I got the card from you. That was awesome! That made me happy. I smiled. Thank you very much.

We met this guy in Church who is from Spanish Fork. He was up here, and his flight didn't leave, so he was there and said he was going to call you guys and say “hi” for me (haha). We'll see. That was pretty exciting. [NOTE: Brother Ray Lambert indeed called to say hi on Monday, 25 Feb. I had just listened to Elder Record's update when he called. He reports they are healthy and doing great.]

Anchorage Zone, 20 Feb 2013. Elder Record and Elder Terry are the zone leaders.

The sound wasn't working in Church. We were in the middle of sacrament. Everybody had to talk loud at the pulpit, and so it was kind of hard to hear for some people. Then, out of the blue, some like commercial started coming on – I think it was the radio. But anyway, it starting going on the sound system and talking, and everybody burst out laughing. It kind of killed the Spirit (haha). It was in the middle of somebody's testimony. It ended up fine. It was unique. I have never had that happen before in sacrament meeting.

I am kind of tired. I might take a nap today. I'll talk to you all next week. Have a good time. I will find out, maybe today, if I got accepted to BYU Provo. It might have to be next Monday. We'll see. Anyway, bye.

Love, Elder Record

Pictures

We received Elder Record's SD card with a few pictures. I have included more pictures from his time as district leader in Fairbanks as well as current photos. Elder Record did not send any captions with the pictures, so I will do my best.

Fairbanks














A nice collection of older cars.

Helping out with the season catch. Elder Record with Elder Beirne.

Elder Beirne studying diligently.

Halloween with Elder Beirne. The pumpkin Elder Record carved and a great pirate (not sure who he is).

Elder Record by Bethlehem and a reindeer.


The district in Fairbanks. Elder Record is second from the right.

Sand Lake in Anchorage

A meeting with other elders. Elder Record is second one from the bottom left.

Sister Watson and Elder Record. Sister Watson was in Elder Record's district in the MTC, came out at the same time with Elder Record, and is going home very soon.

Elder Hartman and Elder Record

Elder Hartman, Elder Higley and Elder Record

Elder Record and "the hand" or just an annoying companion

Just being goofy. Must be Record Elder day instead of Elder Record.

Elder ?, Elder Conlin, Elder ?, Elder Beirne, Elder Record and Elder Wright. Elder Record trained Elders Conlin, Beirne and Wright. I'm guessing the other two unknown elders are being trained by one of Elder Record's trainees, making them Elder Record's "grandsons."

Golden Corral, Awww!

Elder Record at Golden Corral

We got an email from a member taking care of the missionaries in Alaska. We really appreciate Brother [Name withheld] for taking and sending us this picture. He said, "Enjoyed a nice lunch with the elders but chuckled at the combination of foods for his final plate at Golden Corral. He's doing great!"

North Pole and Laundry

Elder Record standing by "the North Pole" in
North Pole, AK

Hello!

Elder Higley says it's three degrees and perfectly good weather. It's kind of cold, but yeah it's not that bad. Elder Higley is from Missouri, the Ozark's region, which is southwest.

Elder Record: What is your favorite thing about Alaska? [Pause]

Elder Record: Okay, least favorite thing?

Elder Higley: It's cold. It's dark. The sun doesn't go down in the summer. Everything is expensive.

Elder Record: That is true. Okay, so now let's think of positive things. For every negative thing, we have to say five positive things.

Elder Higley: I get to drive a truck. I get the gas.

Elder Record: We get mail. I never got mail before my mission except for bills.

Elder Higley: Well, I passed where we are supposed to go.

Elder Record: That's okay. Sorry, I was distracting you.

Plaque for "the North Pole"

So this week was kind of hectic because it was transfers, and we had to move people around, staying up late, and helping people at the mission home, zone conference that we had to plan for and carry out. So it was a busy, busy week. But, we were still able to do a lot of work and see a few non-members. We got to go out and visit a lot of less active members.

We have a really cool ward mission leader. He is really proactive and just a great guy. This ward is really cool. I am excited to be serving here, because everybody seems to want to work. There are a lot of returned missionaries.

For zone conference we basically talked about overcoming challenges and concerns. We talked about how in order to get charity and love, to have a desire to work and to have love for others, and hope that good things can happen; you need to apply Moroni 8:26 which says after you receive a remission of sins, that brings meekness and lowliness of heart. So as you remember the atonement, and what the Savior has done for us; we are humbled. That humility invites the Spirit. When we have the Spirit it then says that comforter fills us with hope and perfect love; so charity and hope. There are some really good definitions of those in Preach My Gospel. With that, you have to be humble and you have to have virtue. So you have to have good thoughts, and constantly be putting good in. Otherwise, you cannot develop those attributes and have the Spirit with you. That's kind of what I studied and a little bit about what we talked about in zone conference. That was the focus to be focused and have a change of attitude, and to go out and work with a fresh determination. We also talked a little bit about finding new investigators, and how to go about doing that and working with the members. We had some training from President and Sister Beesley and the assistants. A lot of it was kind of talking about the same thing; which was kind of ironic, but not really when working with the gospel. It's not ever a coincidence. The Lord tells us how we need to improve, like it says in Ether 12:27.

Elder Record sitting in Santa's chair,
but is he naughty or nice?
Probably just missed Santa.

[Water running the background]

Right now I'm a little distracted because I'm doing laundry.

Anyway, it was really fun. It's fun being a zone leader...

Elder Higley: You want the bags of laundry – the bag itself?

Elder Record: Yep. Oh, alright, there we go. Do I have any other darks?

Elder Higley: You have your glove.

Elder Record: Oh!!! My glove, thank you. Okay, so... [washer door slams in the background] uuh...

Elder Higley: Was the stuff you're wearing...

Elder Record: Yea, that was my white shirts. Alright, anyway [washer door slams] ...ooh!! that was the weird stuff; Fels-Naptha. Anyway, sorry. I'll talk to you guys next week I guess.

Love, Elder Record

The Captain of Thy Soul

I memorized a poem by Orson F. Whitney. I thought you might like it. It is a reply to the Poem “Invictus” by William Henley and is titled “The Soul's Captain”. President Monson also likes it and related a little more about it. I'll post President Monson's remarks below the poem.

Art thou in truth? Then what of him

Who bought thee with his blood,

Who plunged into devouring seas

And snatched thee from the flood

Elder Record in a Fairbanks Autumn

Who bore for all our fallen race

What none but him could bare

That God who died that man might live

And endless glory share

Of what avail, thy vaunted strength

Apart from his vast might

Pray that His light may pierce the gloom

That thou mayest see aright.

Men are as bubbles on the wave

As leaves upon the tree

Thou, captain of thy soul? Forsooth,

Who gave that place to thee

Free will is thine – free agency

To wield for right or wrong

But thou must answer unto him

To whom all souls belong

Bend to the dust that “head unbowed”

Small part of life’s great whole

And see in him and him alone

The captain of thy soul.

From President Monson's First Presidency Christmas Devotional: “My Redeemer Lives”:

When I was a boy, my father would offer me a coin now and again to memorize a poem or a piece of scripture. Memorization was easy then. It is well nigh impossible now.

I remember his offering me 25 cents to memorize William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus.” I can still remember it. I will repeat two verses:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

(R. J. Cook, comp., One Hundred and One Famous Poems [1923], 95)

It is a great poem. It places upon the individual the responsibility for what he does with his life. Through these many years, when I have been faced with difficult choices I have repeated these stirring words.

But on the other hand, it may sound arrogant and conceited in terms of the Atonement. Orson F. Whitney, of the Quorum of the Twelve of many years ago, so regarded it and wrote a marvelous response using the same poetic meter and entitling his verse “The Soul’s Captain.”

I repeat three of the verses from his writing.

Art thou in truth? Then what of him

Who bought thee with his blood?

Who plunged into devouring seas

And snatched thee from the flood?

Free will is thine—free agency,

To wield for right or wrong;

But thou must answer unto him

To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that head “unbowed,”

Small part of life’s great whole!

And see in him, and him alone,

The Captain of thy soul.

(Improvement Era, May 1926, 611)" [as Quoted in Ensign, Feb 2011, First Presidency Christmas Devotional: “My Redeemer Lives”]

I love Alaska.  I love Fairbanks. It's snowing quite a bit. It's snowing pretty heavy right now. Life is good.  Snow is awesome.  And the cold isn't that bad.  I have a warm coat and am taking my vitamins.  I'm happy, healthy, and strong =).

Elder Record 2nd from the right and his Fairbanks district.

This week we had a pretty good day Saturday. We had a zone tract in the morning from ten until noon. We were in our area this time. It was pretty fruitful. We got nine referrals from the other missionaries for people to go and visit. We went on our first street which is kind of short, and no one was really interested in listening to us. We went to a different street and it was the second house we knocked on and the first house that answered. She was very receptive. We gave her a Book of Mormon and taught her about it. She seemed to really appreciate it. Normally she doesn't open the door, which was pretty cool she told us, so that made us feel good. We gave her our card and number and told her when church was, and she said she might stop by. That was really neat, and it felt good to be able to do that. I have never had that happen before while I was tracting, where somebody was just that open and receptive. I definitely felt the Spirit there, and hopefully we will be able to catch her again and talk to her. She's not around much, and I was kind of praying that we would be able to at least plant some seeds. It seems like we definitely planted some seeds there. So we will go back again and follow up.

There is a less active sister who came to church this Sunday. We were excited about that. She's excited about coming back. It was neat to get to know her because she is someone that acts. A lot of times when we talk with people they are kind of lukewarm and don't really want to do anything like read or find out. Or if the do, they are just kind of slow about it. But she was ready to act. She said, “yeah, I'm going to talk with the bishop.” So she met with the bishop like she said she would (haha). Things seem to be going well there.

We had one of our investigators, who is pretty shy, come to church. That was good that she was there. We were pretty happy about that. The week kind of started off a bit slower because of various things, but towards the end it really started to pick up.

A snowy river in Fairbanks, AK

I set a goal to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the transfer, which is in three weeks. So far I am on track. I got an 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon because it's setup like a novel. There are not verses, so it reads like a novel; like it's a lot faster to read it. So I'm reading that, and it's fun. I'm getting the bigger picture. I think the Spirit is able to be with me a little bit more because I'm focusing more on that and those basic principles. It's just the way the Book of Mormon is written; it's specific and plain, and it's all about people's experiences and coming closer to Christ. So, the Spirit is there stronger when you read it. That is what I like about reading so far. But anyway, I'll read 28 pages per day. It takes me about 45 minutes to an hour. I borrowed another missionary's copy – I'm going to have to get my own copy of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. I'd really like that. It is a lot easier to read. Granted, it still has those spelling errors or punctuation errors and things like that in it, but that's okay.

Elder Beirne had a neat miracle. He felt like he needed to not go to a certain restaurant, so he went to a Quiznos, and there was somebody there that paid for him (haha). So that was neat for him. Elder Wadell got sick this week, which wasn't fun. I kind of stayed with him for the day. Anyway, he's feeling better, so that's good. It kind of reminded me when I got sick. I had a fever of 102.7. This was while I was in Anchorage. I got sick on a P-day, so I was laying in bed for the whole day (haha). After I emailed, I went home and just died on the bed and was there for the whole entire day. Elder Wright was very patient and stayed there in the apartment with me. He's a good guy.

We have had some interesting experiences the past week too. One of them is inappropriate and I won't talk about it, but (haha).... When you are tracking and you knock on a door, or even in general when you knock on a door, you are never quite sure what's going to answer (haha).

I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know we can have the Spirit with us more, if we will read it regularly because it is so direct and specific and focusing on those things that Christ would have us know. I know it will help us be more happy and focused because it helps me be happy and more focused. I know that the Church is true. I know that you guys are awesome, and I hope everything is going well at home. I hope Chris is excited and getting ready for a mission (haha), because it's not too far away. Stay in Seminary. Read the scriptures. As soon as I get off my mission, I am going to dig into the Old Testament. I love the Old Testament. I would love to go to Jerusalem too, and do the study abroad thing. But anyway, that is kind of the highlights of the week, and it was a good week.

Love, Elder Record

Photos past and present

Elder Record sent his SD card home with some pictures. Below are several with previous companions and areas, along with his current area and companion.

Elder Record likes the sign

Elder Record and Elder Samuelson

Elder Record and Elder Wright with a Samoan family

Elder Record on the tracks

View from the train

Alaskan view

Elder Record on the right rests while traveling

Elder Record and an outhouse by the road

Elder Record in the back middle having fun with the
missionaries

Elder Wright, Elder Record, Elder Conlin and Elder Beirne.
Elder Record and his trainees.

Elder Record with the #6 shirt

Zone conference, Elder Record 3rd from left and
Elder Beirne 9th from left on the back row