August 10, 2015

This week has been super crazy! not a whole lot going on but we
had zone conference on Tuesday and it was so good! we got taught by
president, he taught us about praying with faith and a bunch of other
stuff! me and elder ray also had a great opportunity to teach the
first lesson to the mission president and his wife in 5 minutes
exactly! now the first lesson is the restoration if you didn't know!
ha also I'm going to be honest I was very nervous to do this for
president because I want to show him and Sister Daines that I knew
what I was doing, and I want him and everyone else to feel of the
beautiful message of the restoration of the gospel! it is what sets us
apart from any other church ! we believe and we also acknowledge that
god still talks to man and there is a need for prophets in these days!
as we started the lesson I got the chance to share the account of how
Joseph smith explained the glorious event. and as iI share it you cant
help but feel the special spirit that follows every time you hear it!
and it goes like this,  I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head,
above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it
fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages,
whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in
the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said,
pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Now all of you know how big of a baby I am! I was crying and so was
everyone else in the room.. but if there is anything I know its that, I
had nothing to do with why they were crying, it was nothing I did that
made them feel that way. It was the spirit that touch everyone in that
room because the POWER of that message! it is probably one of the most
important messages that people need to hear! I will never forget that
day and the things I felt the rest of that day in the remaining time i
spent in zone conference.

The enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement helps us to see
and to do and to become good in ways that we could never recognize or
accomplish with our limited mortal capacity. I testify and witness
that the enabling power of the Savior’s Atonement is real. Without
that strengthening power of the Atonement, I could not stand before
you this morning.
        Can we sense the grace and strengthening power of Christ in the
testimony of Ammon? “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength
I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of
my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many
mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise
his name forever” (Alma 26:12). In the strength of the Lord we can do
and endure and overcome all things.
We also can look on what Enoch said in Moses “And when Enoch had heard
these words, he bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake
before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy
sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of
speech; wherefore am I thy servant?
      “And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have
commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it
shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in
my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good” (Moses 6:31–32). I want
everyone to read or listen to In The Strength Of The Lord by David A
Bednar which is in the October 2004 Sunday session! its great! and it
talks more about what I've talked about!

everyone should realize that we by ourselves do can do nothing but
thought our master and savior! We can do all things! I know this to be
true, now more then every and I'm stilling learning day by day! it is
wonderful to be able to first hand how the hands of the lord work in
peoples life. there is nothing more power that you can do to
strengthen your testimony in Christ then to help do his work!

I love everyone and miss you all! You guys are in my prayers!

LOVE, ELDER LEAVITT ❤️

July 7, 2015

So.. i don't really know how to do this group email thing so i hope it will be good and touch one of you well you read it, like the spirit of God and Jesus Christ have touch mine every single day here at the great MTC, this place is where you can truly have a change of heart and i have learned more then i ever did going to church every week! in just the two weeks I've been here! i have made life long friends like Elder Lyon;) haha love you man! and i have had my testimony grow so much in the gospel of Christ and how simple this gospel can be if let it! So to tell you how my MTC time went I'm going to share THREE pages from my journal first day, middle day and last day! to explain it better then ill share my testimony ! 

Day 1 MTC 24th June

   Today was crazy busy and i met a lot of new people and i really like the elders 

and sisters in my class its so spiritual here the whole day its crazy the change 

from day to day life from yesterday to today! I've love every sec of the MTC so far.. 

can't wait to see what tomorrow holds and what part of my heart gets touch by Christ today! 

 Day 5 MTCJune 28th 

    Today was my first Sunday in the MTC and i loved every second of it, the fact that i had a great one on one with the branch pres today was nice. and i got closer to my savior through that talking too, by him! and he give me great counsel about serving a mission. then to have Brother Allen "president of the mission dept." Speak so great and really knew how to talk to us TRIED missionaries. then to hear elder David A. Bednar talk about the character of Christ, it was the most powerful talk i have ever heard just how much i learned and felt about Christ and how he always turns outwards to other people and never thinks about himself and feelings he had or the hard times he went through ONLY ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE! 

MTC 13 July 6th 

   Today with Jim was really good and we taught the 3rd lesson "The gospel of Jesus Christ" he really is making progress even tho hes a teacher;) ha i love Jim BO. we had our last real day today at the MTC and it was so nice to be done but sad I'm ready for the field and to start serving the people in Ohio.

      Testimony- I just wanna testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only true church on this earth and that without faith in the lord the rest of this wonderful gospel would not be possible! i like to explain it like this "The parable of the faith engine" Faith in the lord Jesus Christ is the engine, and then rest of the purpose is the carts being pulled! Repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end! 

Just remember that God loves all of his kids! and through what Christ has done for us we can have a better and more happy life and the only way to do that is through Christ!:) 

I love you all and i challenge all of you to read and pray to know for yourself you can never know better happiness! I also would like you to read Alma 5 the whole thing!;) great chapter.

 , then me and Elder Lyon "basket champs" hahah 

Elders in my District at the MTC

Elder Leavitt and Elder Lyons "Basket Champs" 

October 26, 2015

Well this week has been pretty great! I've been struggling with
somethings (and no i don't need you guys to worry that means my
family!) and I had interviews with president on Thursday and we had a
really great talk and it just strengthen my testimony of him being
called by God and being in tune with the spirit! We also had what's
called the pumpkin show and it's crazy for a whole week it's the
second biggest free festival behind Mardi Gras there was so many people
I have a couple pics ! We had to do all 4 exchanges this week cause
everyone wanted to go to the pumpkin festival!

So one thing I would like to say is that I love you all and love to
hear what goes on back home! I'd like to say congrats to Parker and
Aspen for the marriage! Best of luck to you ! And I love you Rerris.
"I hope I spelled her name right haha"

Sorry this is a short email this week! I just thought you'd like to
have a break from me being such a spiritual giant ! 😂🤓 I went
golfing today again like always and I am getting pretty good 😉🏌

Hope to hear from all you I still haven't heard from yet out here!

October 19, 2015

Will this week has been pretty boring to be honest! last week i did
videos for my weekly email so i hope that my mom will get those out
today! so you will be getting double emails today! and the videos
might come one at a time! so be prepared ! haha

last Sunday-we have been in a different building for two weeks now
cause our church is getting wood floors and new carpet! which was
needed so bad!

Last Monday-we went and played 18 at the country club with brother
call! i have become like that golf master coach out here! theres like
6 or 7 missionary taking lesson from me so far! i really want to start
throwing again but i haven't asked my mom for my mitt.

Tuesday-we taught gary that night and he is so sick! we are always
there for like 2 hours cause he just talks and talks and talks and we
have had several good lessons with him and they have been very
spiritual and i cant wait to see where it goes. one thing i can say
about it! "pray for you companions" or friends etc but for me its
companions i was talking to Gary and testifying to him about the
importance of the BOM in his daylie life, and to help him feel the
love of your savior during the day! which is so important for the
people we are teaching my heck its crazy! the power that book can have
in our lives if we let it, is a true measure of gods love for us.

Wednesday- was district meeting and i painted my bike and it looks so
sick! i will send a picture next week!

Thursday- Did service for ralph and i made that mans house look brand
new! on the outside with a power washer! haha talk about mossy house
all over! haha and the BWW after and i had like 8 ghost pepper wings:)

friday- we had weekly planning and burning leaves!




Saturday- we did more services for the thorthens

i love you all and want to hear from you!! so talk some time out of
your busy life's and write me a short email it makes such a huge
difference out here, i cant tell you.. thanks for all the support you
guys give me and the prays and love! have a nice week!

October 5, 2015

So this week has been pretty good!! i mean transfers and general
conference ! nothing better then just getting to sit and listen to our
leaders and feel of the great spirit that follows those wise mens
Council! But I do want to say just a little bit about transfer. First
of all President is so filled with the spirit and you can just tell
that he knows how to follow the spirit and there is such a spirit in
those meetings especially as the missionaries going home share their
short but elegant testimonies. And the wisdom that comes from those
wonderful elders and sisters. So I got a third companion his name is
Elder Bunnage and he is from Canada as well as my trainer I think they
were from the same area. And he has been out for seven months now and
he knows a lot and I think this trio will do a lot of good in
Circleville. But I don't know if it will last the whole six weeks
because President doesn't really like to have trios we are only put
together like that because it is nice to have someone to pole and put
somewhere when something goes wrong somewhere else in the mission so
we will see what happens and it will be interesting to see which one
of us gets to stay in which one gets to go but elder Carol does only
have five more weeks till he goes home so maybe he'll be the one who
gets to move.

So now on the general conference on we got to watch general conference
on Saturday at the Thorton's and they are a really nice family and
they take really good care of me and I love that family so that was
nice and general conference this last weekend was pretty crazy because
of the three apostles that got called and just kind of being a
missionary and how it was kind a like Christmas for us because
listening to the apostles talk is probably one of the best things to
do as a missionary that's something that we do like almost every day
in the car so it was really nice to get some fresh talks and did hear
what they really want us to know at this point in time. I am going to
read what I wrote in my journal during conference because I was being
a good missionary and wrote something on every single talk and that is
unheard of for me believe me, so to start out by M Russell Ballard I
wrote hold on to the old ship Zion which we know the old ship is the
gospel. Some of those principles on the old ship Zion are:
being led by prophets and apostles
the doctrine of the planet salvation
 heavenly father created Adam and Eve for the purpose of us being able
to experience this life and all that goes with it.
To observe the Sabbath day
This ship is a vehicle to take us to the fullness of blessings, which
is going to the celestial kingdom and no one can do this by themselves
only we need his gospel and this church he the Lord established.
Second Jeffrey R Holland talks about mothers and I wrote in my journal
about this and said the love mothers have for the child is the same as
the saviors love for less. The lifelong mothering adventure is the
greatest love and showman ship of the saviors love. The mothers mortal
love has been divinely given without a mothers love children Will have
a very hard time in this life.
Third D Todd Kristofferson and I grow there is great meaning going to
the church of Jesus Christ. Everyone can be brought to the Savior even
the dead the purpose of the church is to have a community of saints to
help each other. Jesus said "they shall all know me the lost and
found." this church is not just worried about individuals but with
everybody in the church. Repentance is individual but the path to
repentance is only through the church of Jesus Christ. We are
converted to the Lord and united with the church the.
Lastly the talk by He gives us two challenges one saving money each
week. You might ask yourself what could this to do for me if we were
to save money for a A month or year or 10 years. This small pack daily
overtime can bring great blessings and you will see great growth. In
the same thought he gives us the second Challenge which is ponderise a
verse of Scripture each week if you think about it the same as the
first challenge the concept. Makes a lot of sense and will see growth
in our spiritual lives as well as you would in your bank account. I
know this from experience as I have read every day for almost 4 months
now the spiritual growth in my life has been amazing just think if we
can ponderise a verse a week for a year or even 10 years those small
acts daily will bring you immense growth I promise you that.

I challenge you all to try to read just one versus scripture week and
do your best to memorize it and try to pull as much out of it as you
can. By doing this you will show commitment to learn the word of God
and will be blessed with knowledge and comfort as you read the book of
Mormon. This email has gotten kind along sorry about that but the
conference sessions this past weekend have been amazing and I have
never gotten so much at a conference in my life whether it is because
I'm on mission or not I don't know. Fun I love you guys and I'm
thankful for all the emails and letters and thoughts and prayers that
you guys give me want to hire they are needed him i will talk to you
guys later bye!

Here are some sick golf videos from today me and elder taylor had
loads of fun😂😂

September 30, 2015

So this last week was kinda sweet! we had a fireside and my companion sang in the choir! and no i did not get involved with any of that! but I was happy to let my companion sing so that i could get out of a couple hours of work! 😜 but we had a baptism in our ward and one of the little kids there was stealing all the name tags of the
missionary's or "trying to" haha and he was kinda being loud and disruptive! so i took out side and taught him a lesson or two aye and gave him a nice ripe bruise haha 👋🏿 just kidding i gave him my name tag and put it on him so that he would be quite during the talks and it work for awhile! he was a funny kid!

So me and elder Taylor got to go golfing today and it was pretty fun! i taught him a lesson or two about smacking those  sticks around in the sand and woods aye:) i have some videos for you guys!! so missionary wise it was a really good week! i was tracking and talk to a couple of really nice people and was able to share a message about the Book of Mormon which is always nice we will go to see them next week to see if they like what they read and try and teach them the first lesson! we are doing a reading challenge to read the book of
Mormon by Dec 22nd and im flying through it! ive never read so much stuff in my life! i read that and lots of other books i have! just trying to have as much info in my brain that i can take!  its so great to study the word of god.

so it was transfers today and i am staying in Circleville but we are getting a third companion! so we will see how that goes, i guess president doesn't like to keep us in threes for very long so it could change soon! Elder Carroll came to me in a group of three also! Tomorrow will be interesting! haha

Well I love you guys and I will talk to you need week!

LOVE, ELDER LEAVITT ❤️

These two videos are from today golfing Elder Taylor is the video-er...

September 20, 2015

well i dont have a whole lot this week. i just got done with the end
of summer mission day thing ! it was with half the mission and we
played wiffle ball! 😏 guess  who was yelling and being a competivite
! yea it was so much fun! i also won the caugh a grape in your mouth
game to! hah 21-23 grapes from 7 feet away! not to bad.

so i really have struggled to figure out what to talk about this week!
so i wanted to hit just a couple of key points and or principles of
the gospel and about the Prophet Joseph smith! so just so you know i
pick three at random and so it might not all flow together:) haha

first and for most the restoration of the gospel! we know that the
lord called his first prophet in this great and last dispensation,
Joseph Smith  greatness lies in the work that he did, the spiritual
capacity he developed, and the witness he bore of the redeemer. Since
the keys of salvation were restored to the prophet, because of the
mission he had that the lord has again become available to men.
Because the lord restored his true church here again thought the
prophet Joseph we have salvation available to all men! which is
through christ. which brings me to the next point.

Through Christ the gospel, all saving truths and every edifying
principle have been revealed to us in this day, as well as in the days
of the bible and BOM. By him immortality and eternal life became
realities adn through his grace and goodness salvation is possible for
all who will believe and obey!

i think thats good enough for today! i will probably expanded more
next week! i want you guys to know that the lord is the way to
happiness and truth! we must all strive to do our best and be humble
enough to use the atonement of Christ! he loves us and we always be
here for us! even in those time we don't think we need him he is there
just watching and waiting for us to ask!

i love you all! and hope you have a great week and all that good stuff;)

LOVE, ELDER LEAVITT ❤️