The Ogden Temple

Hello! 

This week has been so good, first off we got to start it off by going to the temple on tuesday! Let me tell you, that was one of the best experiences that I have had. Me and 5 other missionaries got to the temple around 3. My parents were there waiting for us and it was just good to see them again. It had only been about 2 weeks since i saw them, but it was still nice having them there to go through the temple with me. The temple is such a peaceful and joyful place. I have been studying and learning a ton about the temple in my personal study and just through my experience of going through for the first time. I have come to the conclusion that the temple is a place of learning and love. The spirit is so strong, and I just had a really good experience going through. I know most temples aren't open in cali but the temple grounds still hold that same sence of peace and joy. I would definitely recommend going and simply walk around the temple. 

I got to go through the temple with my family, and then afterwards we got to take pictures for a bit and talk and then we said our goodbyes and we left to go back to the mission office. We had one lesson that night and we crushed it! It was just a good day filled with the spirit.

Ogden Utah Temple

We have still been teaching our lessons with the members and are finally starting to see the fruits of our labors. We have been trying to work with the stake leaders and that has been working well for us. 

We had our carwash again!! And guess what, it was another success!! We had the youth come and help us and we had a great turn out. Cars lined up and it has just been a good way off bringing

Joy and happiness into people's lives in times like these. A way to bring the community up and give a bit of service to them. 

I hope you all are doing well, keep up the great work! I love you all and hope you had a fantastic week.

Love, Elder Morgan 

Washing Cars and Taking Names

Hello everyone! 

Week number 2 is complete! It has been a good week. We are finally starting to get the hang of things in quarantine. It has still been hard with not being able to go out. But we are managing, we try to have about 10 lessons a day and right now they are mostly members but we are trying to get some new people to teach. It has been good teaching so many lessons, it has been giving me some good practice. Oh ya, we started doing a free carwash on Saturdays!! This last week was our first week and it was a success! We are going to do it every saturday from 9-11am. This past week it was just us four missionaries and we had about 20 cars. It was just a good experience, sharing a bit of joy and happiness Into people's lives especially in times like these. It was nice to be able to put a smile on people's faces. We are planning to get the youth involved as well, so next week we will have more people and it will be a blast! Sunday we got the chance to attend church in two wards and that has been nice to get out of the house and interact with people.

I found out on Friday that I am able to go to the Ogden temple! I will be going  through tomorrow (tuesday) and I am so excited!! It was really short notice but my parents are able to come out and go through with me. It will be nice going  through with my parents, and my mission president. 

I hope all of you are doing well and are being safe with all of the fires. I love you all and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I have had so many tender mercy's from the lord that have truly been a witness to me that He is there. He has always been there. He loves us so so much, and especially in times like these. It is nice knowing that there is someone out there who knows what we are going through. Jesus Christ knows a whole lot more then we do and we can turn to him through prayer. He is waiting with his arms out stretched waiting for us to reach out. I know that if we truly turn to Him and counsel with Him, that we can find more joy and happiness in our lives. I know that to be true because I have seen it in my life. Again I love you all and hope you guys had a fantastic week. Be safe. And if you have any questions dont be afraid to email me, I would love to talk!

Love, Elder Morgan 

Burger Bar is a favorite for the Missionaries. They get free lunch there every Wednesday!

Malachi & his companion, Elder Kline

Hangin' in Layton

 Hello everyone!

Well first week of the mission is complete! Let's see, I finished my MTC on Monday and got to the airport around 5am Tuesday morning. I said goodbyes to the family and flew to salt lake city. Two senior missionaries were there to greet me and take me back to the mission office. There were 38 missionaries that came in with me on Tuesday so everything  was kinda crazy. We were welcomed to the mission home by president call and his wife and the other staff members so that was cool.

 The zone leaders picked me and one other missionary up and took us to where our companions lived. I am serving in Roy right now so I'm excited for my first area! My companion's name is Elder Kline. He has been out for a while now and only has 4 transfers left. He is a cool dude that is teaching me lots. 

I live with 5 other missionaries! There are 6 of us total in the house that we are living in so it's always a party. Most of us have been reassigned from other missions, the only two that were originally assigned to Layton were Elder Kline and Elder Smith. 

I thought the restrictions would be lighter out here in Utah for the missionaries but it is even stricter than California, as far as us missionaries. We are only allowed to have zoom/phone call messages. We can't do anything in person, no lessons , no meals. We can go on inspired walks, but can't talk to anybody unless they approach us. So our days consist of calling members and scheduling member lessons on zoom. We will also try and find new people through Facebook, or through referrals

We try to have 10 lessons a day. Most are with members, we have one nonmember that we are teaching though. So it has been something to get used to! President call has been trying to get the point across that missionary work is not how it used to be. We don't have the same means of finding new people as we used to. He says that we need to rely on the members. Help them realize that it's not only missionaries who can do missionary work. 

I would say this past week has been great though! I have learned so much and am continuing to learn tons. Oh ya! One thing I forgot, it's also crazy because here in utah we walk around a lot and everybody here knows the missionaries. Cars will honk, and wave. Members will say hi on the streets. Definitely not how it is in California, so I had to get used to that haha.

Wednesday we get a free meal at Burger Bar. So all the missionaries in our zone go on Wednesdays to get a burger and fries every Wednesday.

I miss you all but the mission has been good so far. I'll leave y'all with the biggest thing I learned in the MTC and this past week in the field and the thing I learn all over again every day I wake up: 

God is there. He's a whole lot closer than we think He is. Though He may feel far away at times or we may think we are far from Him at other times, He is always there reaching out for us. I've felt it in my life and you can feel it in yours! He's extending his hand to lift you up, so take it! 

Hope you all are doing well! If you have any questions or just want to talk, please please please shoot me an email! I love reading em and I'd be glad to talk with y'all! 

Love Elder Morgan

A Great Home-MTC Experience

 Hello everyone!

Well where do I even start? The online MTC has been amazing. We had 12 missionaries in our district, all of which originally got called foreign whether it be to Australia, London, Africa, Guam, etc. They all got reassigned to the US until COVID restrictions are lifted, but no one else got reassigned to Utah except for my companion and I. My companion's name is Elder Woods, and he is a stud. He is from Mountain View Arkansas. Saturday is my scheduled P-day and I have spent most of my P-days working in the yard with the family, cutting down trees and working on different projects. The schedule that I have been on here at the MTC has been pretty tiring, I wake up at 6:30,workout, have personal study and companion study. Then we either have trc's (where we teach a lesson to nonmembers or a member acting as a nonmemeber) or a workshop where we learn about a certain missionary topic. All of that before lunch. Classes go from 12:30-3:30 and then 4:15-7:15 all via Zoom. My companion, Elder Woods, and I have companion study everyday for an hour in the morning, and that has been a really good experience just talking through gospel topics with another elder. This week, I got to Zoom with my Mission President and his wife! They are so awesome. I already love them and am excited to serve with them. This past couple of weeks in the online MTC has been so good, I have felt the spirit so strongly and my testimony has definitely grown. We had a little testimony meeting last night in our district and the spirit was so strong. 

When I first got called to go to Ghana, I would have never expected getting reassigned to Layton, Utah and having to attend the online MTC. I am not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed at first, and heard from many people that it was going to suck and that they felt bad for me because I was missing the "real MTC". I've come to the conclusion that the MTC is an experience not a place. I could not imagine my MTC experience being any better than this. I am so thankful for my MTC teachers Brother Christiansen and Sister Tolman, who have taught me so much more than I knew there was to learn and have just shown so much love and support for me. I am grateful for my district 36b, who were all committed to learning and growing in the gospel. 

These past few weeks have flown by and there has never been a time in my life where I have been so tired and so happy at the same time, the reason being is because of the effort that I put in. My favorite quote from this week was from my teacher Brother Christiansen, he said "The Lord does not demand a perfect result, just a perfect effort." I can promise you that the more work you put into something the more you will get out of it. So the next time things get rough and you feel like you can't go on, just remember that the Lord loves effort, and He will bless you. 

Well guys I would just like to end with my testimony, that I know this gospel is true. I know my Savior loves me and he loves each and every one of you. I wouldn't change my experience for anything. I know I was called at this specific time for a reason. I am grateful for the experiences that I have had, that have shown me of God's love for me. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

Hope all is well with everyone, 

Elder Morgan

Home MTC Attire

The Real Home-MTC Attire!

Service in Our Backyard

Home-MTC Breakfast of Champions

Sunglasses Day with Malachi's District

Hat Day with Malachi's District

Service Project, Day 2