Eternal Perspective Leads To Eternal Happiness

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

The hardest thing for me on my mission is when people know the church is true, but they don't have the faith to follow it's teachings.  That can be for investigators or members.  Like you said, there is something missing in their lives.  And, they are missing the point of life.  We are here to follow the gospel, so that we can progress to an eternal happiness.  Sins ALWAYS lead to sadness.  Obedience ALWAYS leads to joy.  ALWAYS.  Right now we are working with a lot of children and young adults who know the church is true, but have a hard time stopping to smoke.  Sometimes, Satan gives people a little glimpse of happiness to blind them from the eternal sadness that awaits them if they don't leave those sins behind and follow Christ.  We need to live life with an eternal perspective, and then we will have an eternal happiness.  Anyways, thanks a lot!  I don't have a lot of time...again ha.  Today is transfer day!  We have been doing transfers all day.  My companion got transferred and I got a new companion, Elder Tumarae.  I am doing great!  Thanks for your support!  I love you!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Tahitian word of the week: Faaitoito- "keep working hard"

One Week, Three Miracles

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

This weekend, I was able to go to three baptisms.  I went to a baptism in my old sector of the couple MATAIO, after that, one here at Papeete, and then, Tupuhina, who we teach, but who got baptized at Punaauia (my old zone).  It was really cool to see the light in their eyes.  They were all filled with joy, peace, and the spirit.  They are each different than when they started.  They ended their old lives and started their lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.  I'm so grateful for you all!  For your wonderful examples for me!  I love you all so much!  And, I hope you have an amazing week!

Ua here au ia outou ma to'u aau atoa!

Orometua Jessop haha

There ARE People Prepared!

Iaorana to'u utuafare!  

Thanks so much for the email!  That's so crazy that Cody is home (he just returned from his mission in France)!  And, he is perfectly right with the Tahitians speaking French ha.  It depends where you are from on Tahiti how different the French is, but it is different everywhere here ha.  I knew that, but I didn't know everything until we got our new mission president haha.  When we talk with them, we have to really think about what we are saying haha.  Sometimes it is because we mix Tahitian and French together, sometimes they throw in English words like ice cream, and sometimes it is just because the Tahitians changed their French a little, or a lot, I don't really know to what extent haha.  My companion and I talked to Soeur Bize last week and part of the time she was really confused haha.  And, as for ice cream: ice cream here is like ice cream in the U.S., but the French word for ice cream, glace, is when you put juice in the freezer and then eat it kind of like a popcicle.  I love Tahitians haha!

This week, my companion and I had a really amazing experience!  We found someone that God had already done almost everything to prepare and we had the blessing of helping her finish her preparations for baptism.  Actually, they're three, Tupuhina Hunter, Taimiri Hunter, and Elsi, two sisters and their cousin.  They went to a weekly activity that is kind of like efy, but for the young adults. Then, they came to a baptism in our zone and we took them to the visitor's center at the temple.  This week, we started the lessons with them.  The first lesson, we got to know them better and talked a little about God, faith, and the Book of Mormon.  Then, of course, we invited them to get baptized after they have received the answer from God that it is true.  They said of course they would want to!  Excellent Soeurs!  They had each read a little in the Book of Mormon before, so we ended the lesson with blessings to help them feel the spirit and love of our Heavenly Father.  Next lesson, they said that they knew it was true and we helped them fix their baptismal date for the 26 juillet (July 26).  I have never wanted to engage someone to be baptized the next week, but I know that these people have already been prepared by God.  Their faith and desire to follow God is incredible!  I am so blessed to help them continue to grow and strengthen their faith and follow our Heavenly Father!  I was able to feel just a glimpse of the love that God has for those sisters and for each one of us.  I know that God cares about us.  He knows us perfectly.  And, He is doing everything He can to help us have eternal families.  I know He lives and loves us!  Thanks so much for the love and support you give me!  I love you!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop 

Recharging Our Spiritual Batteries

Iaorana to'u utuafare! Hey family!

I never saw tennis courts in Tahiti until I came here and now I know at least 3 different places that have nice courts haha.  But, there is almost never people playing on them.  I think most Tahitians are sticking to volleyball, ram, and soccer ha.  

Anyways, this week, I got to go to the temple!!!  President Sinjoux didn't have us go to the temple very much; he aways told us that missions are for the living, not the dead.  But, President Bize wants us to go every other month, so excited haha!  We went last week with our zone to help us with our goals for the zone and then Elder Tehanin and I went again this week with our ward missionary leader.  Needless to say, it was a wonderful experience!  We really got a new spiritual force by going.  It was like our spiritual batteries needed to be charged ha.  We had planned to go do a questionnaire in a neighborhood called the mission ha.  It is a pretty poor area and my companion and I felt God had really been preparing the people that live there.  Then, right before we did the questionnaire, I read Alma 32:1 and the first sentence in 2 and I felt even more strongly that there were a lot of people in that specific area that God had prepared for us.  We did the questionnaire and I have never had so many people accept the missionaries.  It was incredible!  The first house said no and to leave before we had said hello, the second was a member, oops, but every house I talked to after that accepted the missionaries...us haha.  This experience really stregthened my testimony of how much this work is really the work of God.  It's His!  (Moses 1:39) Our Heavenly Father is constantly working to help us receive eternal life.  And, He has called us all to help Him accomplish His great and marvelous work!  Jacob 5:71-72: I love in these verses that God is working, we are choosing to work with Him.  God had already been preparing all of those people and, through us, He will help them receive eternal life.  I know that God has prepared and is preparing people and, if we choose to serve Him, we can help God help those people have eternal life.  I know, also, that God is helping each one of us.  I know He loves us.  I know He loves you!  I love you!  And I love Him!  Thanks so much for all that you do!  Have a great summer week!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Good Being Busy In Tahiti

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

My New Companion

So so so sorry about the last week and being late this week!  It was kind of like you said, the new responsibilities ha.  Being the zone leader here, we do a lot for the assistants, too.  And, because everyone from the islands came in for the reunion with our new mission president, Président Bize, we had a lot of work to do ha.  My companion and I did everything we could do to our e-mails, but, as you can see, we didn't get to ha.  So so so sorry!  Like I said before, it's different to be a zone leader and it is even more different to be a zone leader to sisters and the assistants ha, but it's so much fun!  I love it!  And I love my sector here, too!  I didn't know if I would like being in town, but I love it!  And I love being so close to the temple!  We take investigators there at least once a week, but I like to do it as often as I can!  The spirit there is truly amazing!  I am so happy that we can have an eternal family!  I love you all so much!  Thank you so much for all you do!  You are the best!!!!  Have a great week!

Concert in front of the temple...merveilleux!

Ua here au ia outou ma to'u aau atoa!

Elder Jessop 

First Obedience, Then Blessings

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

So, my new sector is another amazing one ha!  I love it!  And I love my zone!  I really like talking with the other missionaries and being able to serve them.  Being a zone leader just gives me the opportunity to help more people than I could have before and I love it!  It is a little weird following up on the assistants and asking them to do things, but they're great so it makes it easier ha!  My companion is a power house ha!  I said a little last time, but I didn't talk about him too much because I didn't know too much.  Just a little about my companion, his name is Elder Tehanin.  His mom is Tahitian and his dad is Samoan and he was born in New Calodonie.  His dad is the branch president of his branch of 7 members there.  But, Elder Tehanin grew up mostly away from his parents in Tahiti in Mahina.  And, like I said, he is a power house ha.  He teaches super powerfully and loves being out working!  We get along super well!  Also, it's super cool being so close to the temple!  It's in my sector and I like live 4 blocks away!  So, that is a huge blessing, too!  Anyways, just a quick story for the week.  One of our investigators, Lorna, has been taking the lessons for like a year, but, she hasn't been able to get baptized because her boyfriend (inactive member named Yan) didn't want to get married.  He just started being there for the lessons with his girlfriend and this lesson, without us even talking about baptism or marriage, they started telling us that they talked and want to get married soon.  Well, we can make that happen ha.  We talked with them about their goal to be an eternal familly and they are preparing for their marriage and her baptism in August.  Anyways, I loved the explaination of Yan about why he changed his mind about marriage.  He said that he wanted to wait and get a house for him and his wife and a nice car before they got married.  But, he realized that he has been waiting almost 20 years for that to happen and nothing has changed.  He realized a key concept: blessings come after the trial of our faith.  First obedience, then blessings.  He has the faith that when he starts to keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father, our Heavenly Father will be able to bless him and his family.  A lot of times, we are like Yan used to be.  We want the blessings before we overcome a trial.  But, the only way to grow and progress is to faithfully overcome the trial or keep the commandment.  I know that God lives and loves us.  And I know that He gives us commandments to guide us back to Him.  I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is His church on the earth and, if we follow it's teachings, we will have an eternal family!  I love you so much!  Thanks for all that you do!  Have a great week!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Off to Papeete

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

This week was transfer week.  Elder Moller is staying in Taapuna, but I got transferred to Papeete.  Still Tahiti and it is in the middle of the "city" here.  My new companion is Elder Tehanin.  He is from New Caledonia.  We just barely made the change a couple hours ago, so I'll let you know more next week ha.  But, I am really excited to serve here.  Elder Tehanin and I are the zone leaders here and our zone is us, the 4 assistants, and then a lot of sister missionaries.  I was super happy and comfortable as a normal missionary, so the Lord had to throw me a curve ball to help me grow ha.  Anyways, I'm excited for the new sector and I will let you know more next week.

I don't remember if I have already talked about Denise or not, but we have an investigator, Denise, and the day before we went to her door, she had prayed for us to come.  After, we did two lessons with her and she has had some bad experiences in life.  She is lost and looking for help.  We started helping her find joy in coming to God, in learning of Him, keeping his commandements, and feeling His love in answers to her prayers.  But, her brother moved back into his house where she was living, so she had to move into town.  And guess what sector she lives in?!  MINE!!!!  haha!  I'm so happy to have this blessing to continue to help Denise build her eternal family.  Her family hasn't had a good opportunity to accept the gospel.  I really want to help this family receive that joy that Denise has started to feel.  I know that that joy can only be found in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His gospel.  I know that God knows them and He knows me.  That's why I am here right now.  I know He does everything He can to help me be happy and live with Him again.  I know that it's the same for us all.  God loves us and He will help us become an eternal family.  Thank you so much for all that you do!  I love you so much!  Have a great week!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Fun Fact: I love that the saying "it's a small world" is the same in French.  Especially in Tahiti, I say it all the time ha! 

The Gospel is not Weight, it's Wings

Iaorana to'u Utuafare!

Remember how I told you about how it hasn't really rained yet in this sector?  Yeah, that just changed haha.  I feel like I'm back in Papeari.  It's really nice though for it to rain.  It's a nice conversation with Tahitians.  You can have a 5 minute Tahitian conversation with them just saying that it's raining haha.

This morning, I got a call.  The boyfriend (Lorenzo) of one of our investigators (Hinano SPITZ) called me this morning to give me some great news!  Him and Hinano have decided to get married the 1 August and he will baptize her!  I have been working with this family for a while and I love them so much!  But, the parents of Hinano were against her marriage and her baptism.  After talking a lot with the mom at family home evenings, she is fine with it.  But, the dad still is against it.  But, Hinano and Lorenzo have decided to stand up for what they know is right, no matter what the consequences will be.  I can't imagine how hard that decision is!  But, they used their courage and faith in Jesus Christ because they know that "The gospel is not WEIGHT, it's WINGS."  Even if the decision will hurt her relationship with her dad in the short run, in the long run it will allow her family to be together forever in God's kingdom.  There are no blessings greater than that.  Every sacrifice is worth it.  Like Hinano and Lorenzo, we need to take courage and be examples for those around us.  Thank you so much for the amazing examples you are for me!  I am so grateful for all that you have done!  I love you so much!  I know that with Jesus Christ, we can become an eternal family.  Sacrifices will be necessary, but oh how it is worth it!  Thanks again!  Love you!  Have a great week!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Eternal Families

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

Since I have been in my new sector, it has hardly rained.  It rained for a couple weeks at the beginning just because of a cyclone that was a ways out, but, since then, it has just been sunny.  It's supposed to be getting into the "cold season," but, it still seems super nice haha!  I just talked to some Americans at the grocery store, so it's still plenty hot for people to come vacationing.  It was super hard talking to them, though.  After we were done, my companion turned to me and goes, you are so awkward when you speak English ha.

This week, we had a wedding Saturday and they had me be a witness.  So, I sat at the fancy table in the middle and signed a paper haha. The marriage was between two of our investigators, William MATAIO and Roselyne MATAIO.  I love them so much!  We already baptized Roselyne's brother, Noel, his wife, Noella, and their son Noé.  And, we teach William, Roselyne, and her mom, Tetuaura. Their family is one of the families that I am closest to here.  I call Roselyne's mom, Grandma, and she gets the biggest smile ever on her face!  Anyways, it was really cool to see them get baptized, but I was a little sad that their baptism wasn't the same day.  They both smoke and they have cut down a ton, but we are still working on it.  Now, we just get to have another special day for their baptism ha!  I will try to send a picture of them.  Anyways, I really love teaching a big family and watching their house change!  They are all so much different than when we first came there!  God works miracles inside us all, but it's usually little by little, so sometimes we don't even notice it.  But, when you look back at who you were and who you are, you can see how much He has done.  I'm so excited for them all to continue and prepare for their baptisms, but, also for the temple so that they can be an eternal family.  I know that families are really important to our Heavenly Father.  If not, He wouldn't have made them eternal.  I know that by doing the small and simple things, we will prepare ourselves to become an eternal family!  I know that God lives and loves us and He will help us!  I love you so much!  Thanks for all you do for me!  Have a great week!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Stronger, Better, Happier

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

A week ago, a 70 came and talked in our stake conference, Elder Pearson.  I got to listen to him Saturday night and then twice Sunday and his talks were great!  He brought a strong spirit with him! Then, this Friday and Saturday, we celebrated the 170th anniversary of the church in French Polynesia.  We got to go watch all the stakes do dances to represent the different islands and cultures on Friday and then we like marched and sang for a little bit during a fireside Saturday.  It was super cool to be able to see some people from my old sector!  And it made me think about how happy I will be to see them after my mission, and even more after this life.  Anyways, I just wanted to share something that Elder Pearson talked about.  During the priesthood meeting, he asked someone to come up that had been baptized, but wasn't a deacon yet, a deacon, a teacher, a priest, his son (just got back from a mission in Spain, but hadn't been released yet, so, he represented missionaries), the translator, and then the stake president.  He talked about how God has given us a pattern to become like Him and as we "lift where we stand" God will help us become something greater and greater, until we become like Him.  He said that we need to help every young person to serve a mission.  He explained that, even though our purpose as a missionnary is to help others, God's purpose for us is to become someone greater so that we can build strong families.  I know that to be true.  I see it every day!  I know that, as we serve the Lord and try our best to do His will, He will build us up and make us stronger, make us better, make us happier for now and for eternity.  Like I said in my last e-mail, I've fallen in love with my ensign haha.  And I really liked a quote in it that Elder Neil L. Andersen said.  He said, "The way you feel in the temple is a pattern for how you want to feel in your life."  I feel like how we feel in the temple with our family is a pattern for how we want to feel in our home.  Like it says in Doctrine and Convenants, God gives us a model for everything.  Sorry this e-mail was really scatter-brained and all over the place ha, but I want you to know that I love our Heavenly Father and I know He loves us.  I know that He gave us His son, Jesus Christ, so that we can become like HIm.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is his prophet today and, if we follow him, we can build an eternal family.  I love you so much!  Thank you so much for giving me the chance to serve a mission and to serve my Heavenly Father!  I know He will help us become an eternal family!  

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

From Sacrifice To Blessings

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

Sorry I couldn't email Monday, the internet was down.  But président gave us a little time to e-mail today.  Thanks so much for the e-mail and skype!  I loved seeing you all and talking to you!  It sounds like everyone is doing great!  I love the emergency e-mail, too ha!  EMERGENCY!!!!  I need a sandwich haha!  In Tahiti, it's more like, EMERGENCY!!!!!  We just got done eating and someone else asked us to eat haha!  

My companions favorite scripture is in Ether and talks about weaknesses and I love them both so much!  I like in Corinthians how it talks about not just weaknessess, but all trials and persecutions.  It reminded me of the conference talk by Elder Holland in conference.  I just got my ensign this week and have been loving reading it haha!  It's soooo good!  Elder Holland talked about standing up for our standards and our beliefs and even suffering for Christ.  (He shared a story about the missionaries that got food thrown at them.)  On my mission, I haven't had to suffer a lot physically like those sisters because the people here honor our choice to serve God.  But, we are always "sacrificing" things because of our love for God and our desires to serve Him.  Each of those "sacrifices" turn into huge blessings.  Tt's like the magnet that you sent me haha.  Some blessings come immediately, some come later, and some don't come until heaven, but they always come.  (Something kind of like that haha.)  Anyways, that was kind of a wierd rant, but I also like 1 Peter 2:20-21 that talks about suffering for Christ and Mark 10:28-30.  So, I don't have a lot of time, but as I said I have been loving my ensign and I wanted to share something short and sweet with you.  Elder Neil L. Andersen said in his talk, "Family is the treasure of heaven."  I loved that quote a lot!  I always tell my investigators how much I love you all and it's true!  I love you all so much!  I am so grateful for the amazing plan of our Heavenly Father that allows us to have an eternal family!  I really liked what the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society said (I think it was in the relief society ha): the three things that will prepare us to be an eternal family is family prayer every day, family book of mormon study every day, and family home evening every week.  I'm so grateful for conference and for the opportunity we have to be guided by a living prophet who is guided by our living and loving God.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God on earth right now and that, if we follow his counsel and the apostles and other leaders, we will have an eternal family!  I love you so much!  Have a great week!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Poor in Heart

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

Thanks so much for skype yesterday!  I loved seeing you all and talking to you!  I really can't believe how much Jake, Nick, and Sami have grown!  You're too tall!  Stop haha!  Thanks so much for your support and love!  You are the best!  

So, for this week, Saturday we had a lesson in the morning and then all of our other lessons fell through.  We weren't worried at all because we had a lot of extra people to visit as back up plans, but nobody was home.  Nobody ha.  So, we ended up getting a couple hours free to go do some door to door (sorry I don't know if that's how you say it in English, I just translated it haha).  We wanted to try and find some investigators in that huge area where we don't have investigators or members so that we can kind of open up that area.  But, then we found out that they are almost all rich, French catholics who are not at all interested or accepting ha.  Nobody has door bells, you just yell IAORANA!!! at the gate.  Half the time there would be people there, but they would ignore us and the other half of the time they would come just to tell us to go away ha.  The whole time I just thought of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:3.  I'll try to rough translate it in English.  It might say something like: Blessed are the poor in heart, for the kindom of heaven is theirs.  It can be really hard for rich people to accept the gospel because money can harden our hearts and make us think that we don't need God.  It's really hard for them to be poor in heart.  But, the poor in heart are accepting of God and his gospel.  So, it's them who will accept eternal life.  I'm so grateful for all the many blessings that God has given us!  It's absolutely incredible!  I've seen every day on my mission that, without Him, we can do nothing, but, with Him, we can do everything!  I know that God is our Heavenly Father.  I know that Jesus is our Savior!  He lives and He loves us!  I'm thankful for the gospel He has given us, the path that leads to eternal life.  I know that through His gospel we can be an eternal familly!  Thank you so much for all you do!  I love you so much!

Ua here au ia orua!

Elder Jessop

Skype Times

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

Thanks so much for the e-mail!  Sorry I don't have time this week to do a long e-mail, but about the times, is it possible to do the 4 o'clock one?  I think that is like 8 o'clock your time.  My companion's family couldn't do the 11 o'clock one?  I am super excited to talk with you on Sunday!  Have a great week!  I love you!  

Ua here au ia orua!

Elder Jessop

More Faith Than Fear

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

I'm excited for skype in a couple weeks!  For skype, we can either do it at 7 o'clock in the morning here or like 4 o'clock in the afternoon on the 11th.  I think that would be like 11 and 8 for you or something like that.  I had no idea it was Mother's Day the 11th until my dad said last week ha.  Mother's day here is two weeks after that.  But, I'm super excited to skype!  I have been practicing my English with my companion so that I can talk well haha.

Anyways, this week was good, but super weird!  They are doing a little film thing here of the first missionaries in Tahiti and they asked some missionairies to be in it.  They asked me to be in it, so I knew it wasn't that serious of a film ha.  So, my companion and I went and did that for a couple days and it was the weirdest thing ever.  It was super hard for me because I didn't feel like a missionary.  But, it was a cool experience and now I can go back to missionary work!  One experience that was pretty cool this week was with one of our investigators named Jeanne.  At the end of the last lesson, we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray to find out if it is true and, if she knew it was true, to be baptized.  She read and she gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  So, at the end of this lesson, we invited her, again, to get baptized.  She said no and then started explaining how she is living with her boyfriend and his family and they don't accept our church.  Then, she started explaining that, because of that, we need to stop coming.  It was a super weird experience because I already knew what she was going to say before she even said it.  It was like she was telling me something I already knew, so I wasn't taken back by it at all.  I just kept talking to her, definitely by the Spirit, not me, and after a while she said that she is going to go to her family's house in Paea to tell them the news that she is "mormon....going to get baptized" haha.  I loved that so much!  She almost counted herself as a member of the church already, and just before she was wanting to stop the lessons with us!  She then explained how much she just really wants to get baptized and was so excited and so thankful!  I really loved seeing the change that took place in her heart!  She knew the church is true before the lesson and after.  That didn't change.  What changed was her faith and her desire to follow the Savior.  I like to know that everyone is afraid.  We can't change that.  But, we need to have more faith than fear.  That's when we will follow the Lord.  That's when we will follow the path that leads to eternal life.  

I know that this church is true!  I know that God lives and loves us!  If we place our confidence is Him, He will lead us to eternal life, the greatest gift He could ever give.  I'm so thankful for Him and for you!  I'm so thankful that we can become an eternal family!  I love you so much!  Have a great week!  And have more faith than fear!  

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

God Loves Us

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

Thank you so much for the emails this week!  I loved reading them!  The tropical activity (a Relief Society activity in Fielding) sounds super fun!  I'm glad you got to use the leis and the hat, too!  What tropical food did you eat?  I hope it wasn't fafaroo haha (the rotten  fish).  But, it sounds like you all had a good Easter weekend!  I didn't even know it was Easter until Saturday night haha.  I heard a lot of people talking about le pac (Easter), but I thought they were saying le bac (the huge test at the end of high school haha).  Just a little bit off.  They were talking about the Catholics walking up into the mountains for the weekend and I had no idea why they did that for the test.  Maybe meditate and be close to nature helps right before big tests, I dont know haha.  But, it was good for me as well.  A family gave my companion and I some chocolate eggs that were super good!  And, it was an amazing time to think about all the many blessings we have as members.  We are so blessed!  I am eternally thankful for you!  I love you all so much!  I'm so thankful that we can be an eternal family thanks to our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ!  

Elder Moller and I love the matching ties!

This week, we met a new couple named Marama and Hinaia.  They are both super young and are going to college.  Marama is an inactive member and Hinaia is Catholic.  It was so amazing talking to them!  They are awesome!  I got to see a little glimpse of how much God loves us all with the experiences they told us!  I could really see how much God has been preparing them to have an eternal family.  Like I said, Hinaia is Catholic with all of her family, but she got to the point where she didn't know if it was true or if another church was true.  So, she started praying.  Right after she started praying, God started answering her prayers.  She went to Arue, another town like a half hour away, with Marama to go surfing.  That day, the members of that ward went out to invite people to conference.  They came to her and invited her at the beach that day.  Then, she went to conference and started to build her little testimony.  By the time that we had our first lesson, she had read 14 chapters in the Book of Mormon (sometimes it's really hard to get people to read 1 chapter here ha).  Two days later, we had another lesson and between that time she read and changed her prayers to ask if the Book of Mormon was true.  She didn't think she had received an answer.  Then, we asked her if she felt anything after her prayer.  She smiled really big and said that she felt peace, a big peace.  She realized that her Heavenly Father really did answer her prayer and wants her to get baptized.  We then just briefly explained that, for the baptism, they can't be living together.  We asked them if they had talked about marriage and she said, "Oh, we aren't getting married until after his mission" ha.  We started Tuesday with two people who really weren't sure about God or religion and ended Thursday making preparations to help one get baptized and them both to serve missions.  If you fast forward the story a little, we can see the love God has for them, for their children, all the people they are going to help on their missions, their children and families and people they are going to help, and so on.  The work of God is so incredibly intricate!  It's insane!  This really is a marvelous work!  I am so happy and blessed to be the littlest part of it!  

I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father, for His love for me, and for this opportunity to serve Him and show my love for Him!  I really love Him so much!  And, I love you so much!  I know that we can be an eternal family through Him and His gospel!  I'm so thankful for that!  Thanks so much for all you do!  I love you and pray for you always!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

There is Always an Answer

Ia ora na to'u utuafare!

Thanks so much for the love and support that you give me!  I'm really so blessed to have such a great family!  I love you!

This week was pretty good.  I started saying sentences in English for my companion to translate in French and it made me sad because I mix things together now ha.  Random French words get thrown in and some English words that aren't right ha.  But, I think I'm improving.  Anyways, this week we had an amazing experience with a couple named Gisele and Jonario.  (Gisele is actually the daughter of Marie and the sister of Henry who were in my old e-mails.)  Anyways, for the last two weeks, we have invited them to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true, but they hadn't done it yet.  They said that even if they did know, they didn't want to get baptized yet.  But, this week, they did it!  They read, and prayed, and, like always, Heavenly Father answered their prayer!  The very first thing they said to us after we started the lesson was, "We read and prayed and God answered.  We know that the Book of Mormon is true."  So cool!  After, I asked them what the next step was and Gisele said, "Baptism."  After, we invited them to get baptized May 31 (Just for you Carson ha!).  They thought about it for awhile, then said it was too quick and that they weren't ready.  I told them that it's true that they aren't ready now, but we had prayed and we know that they can be ready for May 31.  After, we did a little lesson to talk about how they can prepare and asked them to pray right then to know if they should prepare to get baptized that day.  They were super surprised, but they did it and, like always, Heavenly Father answered their prayers.  They want to get married and baptized May 31.  But, my favorite part was at the end.  Jonario said, "So, are you going to come pick us up Saturday?"  I don't know why, but he thought May 31 was that Saturday haha!  He was ready right then and there.  Two things that I really like with this experience is 1) that God loves us all so much and ALWAYS answers our prayers and 2) we need to decide right now to follow Jesus Christ.  This day is the day to prepare to meet God.  If we put something off until tomorrow, it might never get done.  I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father.  I know he loves us all personally, his children.  I know that Jesus Christ lived, suffered, died, and resurrected for us.  If we choose to follow Him, we can be saved.  I LOVE them!  And, I am so thankful to them!  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's church on the earth today.  I know, through Christ and his gospel, we can have an Eternal Family.  I love you so much!  Thanks for all you do for me!  

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

The Difference is Love

Iaorana to'u utuafare!

Thanks so much for the emails!  I loved reading them!  Also, I got your package this week!  Thanks so much!  I loved everything in it!  My companion loved his matching tie ha!  And we hung up the HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign in our house.  I'm so excited to read the Tahitian and French picture book of the Book of Mormon!  

For this week...CONFERENCE...I feel like that's all I should say ha.  It was so amazing!  We got to watch it the day of, which is a huge blessing!  We watched it at our stake center, which is just our church.  But, it was super cool!  They had it in the chapell in French, a room in Tahitian, and another room for English!  I watched one session in French because the  English was broke for a while haha.  I felt bad for my companion because he didn't understand hardly anything during that session.  But, the first talk, I think, that was given was about being thankful.  There's no way that was a coincidence!  I really am so thankful to be able to hear conference the day of!  It was such a huge blessing!  There were a lot of talks on technology and conference is one big reason I'm super thankful technology!  

This week, we had another experience with angry parents that have been calmed by the Spirit and are now going to take the lessons.  But, this week, I wanted to talk about something more simple and more powerful.  A strong theme of love and support from conference made me think about an experience we had this week with two investigators, Roselyne and William.  They want to get married and be baptized and they are super good with everything but the word of wisdom.  They have stopped everything but cigarettes.  We tried fixing goals with them for a plan to diminish the cigarettes.  But, it wasn't really working.  So, my companion and I decided to come and visit them every day.  Every night we go there, see how they are doing, share a quick message, and then fix a new goal for the next day.  They have already diminished a lot!  The difference between the two plans is love.  We didn't do anything big, but we show our love and support for them in a little way EVERY DAY.  I'm so grateful for the little and big things that you have done and continue to do for me every day.  I feel your love and support, and it makes the difference.  I know that if we look for little ways to help people every day, God will prepare people for us to serve and help and He will guide us to them.  Thanks so much for all you do!  I love you all so much!

The Taata'e Family

This week was the baptism of an amazing family, the Taata'e family!  The mom is Ariéta and the dad is Frederick (He basically only speaks Tahitian, even though his name isn't haha).  Their daughter isn't in the picture, but she is already a member.  She comes to church every week with other members.  One of my first weeks here, I talked with the dad and they accepted for us to come have a family home evening with them.  After, we started coming every week.  And, after a couple weeks, they decided to change their lives and prepare to get baptized.  They have changed so much!  I'm so excited for them!  And I will be even more excited when they go through the temple in a year so they can be an eternal family!  

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

The "Firsts"

Iaorana to'u utuafare! 

Thanks so much for the emails this week! I love hearing from you! Jake, Sami, and Nick, I can't believe you're almost 14! You're all so old ha! Happy Birthday soon! 

I love training my new companion! Elder Moller is so fun ha! It's really weird to look back and think that I was in the same place because it doesn't seem like very long ago. I still feel like I just got here. It's really cool to watch his "firsts" like Carson said. He did really well with his first time eating heart. His first time eating a lot made me realize why I've gained weight haha. He had a really hard time eating it all (couldn't finish) and I could have had another plate and dessert haha. He also had his first lesson, first testimony, and first time inviting someone to be baptized. This opportunity to train has helped me look back on my first days and weeks here. 

Elder Irihau, Elder Moller, and me with our investigators, Noel and Noella

We're really blessed in our area right now. We started low in this sector, too, but now we have a lot of success here. I'm really excited to help the people here and to help my companion learn how to help them and love them! In Alma 37, it talks about how God uses small and simple things to do great things! For me, that's a new missionary. A new missionary doesn't speak the language very well and is a little lost in the new area, but does his best with what he knows. He knows God loves us all, he knows the church is true, and he knows the Book of Mormon changes lives and eternities.  Those small and simple things are powerful enough to move mountains. Always remember that God is our Father and He loves us! 

I love you so much! Thanks for all you do! I pray for you always!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

The Strength to Overcome

Iaorana To'u utuafare!

Thanks so much for the emails and again for the birthday wishes! I love you all so much!

This week we had transfers again. I'm staying and Tuesday I'll get my new companion. His name is Elder Moller. He is from Utah, I think, and he is still in the MTC, so this will be his first area. My companion now leaves in a week to another island, Hau. I'm really excited to form the new missionary and watch him learn to love this people that I love so much! 

Last week, we had a barbecue for the birthdays of me and another elder, Elder Faatau.

Last week, I started teaching a mom and her son, Marie and Henry. I was really touched during one of the lessons. Henry is handicapped, so Marie does everything for him. She does it always with love and patience and never requires anything in return. At the end of our last lesson, I told her that she and Henry are God's children and He loves them. He loves Henry, so He gave him an incredible  mom who would care for him and love him. I told her that God sees everything she does for Henry and He is thankful for all. After, I promised her blessings from God. With tear filled eyes, she looked up at me and said, "Elder, I'm tired. Can I have a blessing for strength?" She didn't wish away her problems, but prays for the strength to overcome them. I'm so thankful that God gave me you for my family to love me and help me. I love you so much! I'm so happy that we can be a family forever! I know that God knows you and loves you! He will help us every step of the way!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Happy Birthday Elder Jessop! The Big 2-0!

Iaorana!

Thanks so much for the e-mails and birthday wishes!  I love you all so much!  I'm so happy to hear how well you are all doing!  Sorry, today I can't write a whole lot, but I just wanted to tell you thanks so much for all you do and that I love you all!  You have done so much for me!  I think, talk, and pray about you every day!  I an eternally grateful for you!  And, I'm so happy we can be an eternal family!  Love you!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

A Very Happy Baptism

Ia ora na to'u utuafare!

I tell myself every day I need to take more and I need to send more pictures haha.  I have a story that I forgot to tell you!  I think it was two weeks ago.  An old Japanese couple came into the church when we were planning for the week and started speaking to us in Japanese ha.  They didn't speak any French, but they did speak little words in English.  I talked to them, or at least I tried haha, and they said, "tired…walk…carrefoure (Walmart of Tahiti)…continental.  And, with that and I think the gift of tongues and discernment, I knew that they were lost, trying to find their hotel, and they had started at carrefoure and walked a looonnngggg way to the church, which is in the wrong direction, and they are looking for their hotel, Intercontinental ha.  I called president and we took them back to their hotel.  I have never seen anyone so happy in my life haha!  They were so grateful!  I don't know how many times they bowed to us!  I am so grateful that God led them to us so that we could help them with just that little favor!  I got to see a glimpse of the people Carson served and loves like I love my people!      

My sector, Taapuna!  The island in the background is Moorea.

This week, I went back to Papeari again!  There was supposed to be a baptism last week, but it was pushed to yesterday and I went with Elder Fitzsimmons again!  The baptism was amazing!  It was the baptism of 4 people I taught a lot before I left the sector and I was super close with them!  Two of them is a couple who got married that day as well, Serge Mohi and Chantal Mohi.  The other two is a mom and her son, Clarita and Manahere.  It's amazing the trials they have all overcome!  And, it was so amazing to see them get baptized!  They were all sooo happy!  It was amazing to hear their testimonies at the end!  When I see problems that my investigators have, my mind is always split in two.  One part of me is super sad that they have these trials and I wish they didn't have to go through that pain.  The other part of me is super excited!  That sounds really weird, but it's true because I know that, after they overcome those trials, they will have super strong testimonies!  Their faith will grow so much!  And they will use that faith and testimony to endure to the end!  That was the case with these investigators.  They had big trials, they overcame them with faith, and now their testimonies are incredible!  I can't wait to see them all in a year at the temple!  

The Baptism!

I think about that a lot and I think that's how our Father in Heaven must be, too.  He is sad when we suffer, but He knows that it's through those trials that we can become like Him, live with Him again, and have an eternal joy!  Always remember that no matter what trials we have, we can overcome them!  (1 Corinthians 10:13)  And we are never alone through our trials!  Christ suffered for it for us and He knows perfectly how it feels and how to help us overcome it!  (Alma 7:11-13)  I love you all so much!  I know that our Heavenly Father loves you too!  And I know He is helping us have an eternal family!  Thanks again!  And have a great week!  Kill it ha!  


Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

At the Bus Stop

Ia Ora Na tatou!

I'm so excited that you are enjoying the snow!  Make sure to get some good footage with the GoPro ha!  I loved the story with the fast, too!  I've told it to a couple investigators last week!  For p-day today, we sang extra long in town because we start the singing sunday.  After, we went and played rugby and now e-mails.  

This is the granddaughter of one of my investigators at
Papeari!  They're one of my favorite families here!

I love that, "Be Who You Are!"  A couple months ago, we talked a little about the parable of the talents.  It's the same with us and our families/sectors also.  Each sector/family is different and each of us are different and that's the way it's supposed to be!  But, it's how we use what we have the counts, eh?  This week, I wanted to share an OLB that I did ha.  It's open the mouth in French and it's when we just start talking with someone and invite them to meet with us.  I was on a split with Elder Goutin, a French elder that was in the MTC with me.  We didn't have very many lessons, so we went and just talked with people.  I saw an old papi, that's what you call someone once they're of age to be a grandpa, sitting at the bus stop.  I started to talk to him in Tahitian, because he's a papi, and he talked with me, but he wasn't very open.  Then, instead of just standing and talking to him, I sat down right by him and I talked to him about prayer, scriptures, and the restoration.  After, I asked him if we could come back.  Normally, in French I say is there a day that we can come and talk more about these things.  But, Tahitian is a little more frank.  I said what day can we come back haha.  He said simply, "Aaaayyyyyyyaaaa," which is a Tahitian noise for no i don't want to haha.  Then, I testified about the gospel.  Not just that, but for him personally.  One thing I said is I asked him if he wanted eternal life.  Then, I testified that the only way we can obtain that is through the gospel and church of Christ.  I testified that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is that church and that I was there to help him obtain that.  I told him that I loved him and I put my arm on his shoulder.  I asked again, what day can we come back?  Right now, he was completely focused and you could see the Spirit working in his heart.  After, he gave us the day and time.  I love opportunities like that to help others feel the love of God for them.  It's the Spirit and love that changes everything!  And, it's by the small and simple things that we can show our love to others that makes the difference!  I know that this church is true!  I know that God is our loving Father in Heaven!  I know that He loves us individually so much!  And He is there to help us every step of the way!  I know that God loves me because He gave me you!  You are such a wonderful family!  I love you all so much!  And, I know that Heavenly Father loves you too!  Have an awesome week, eh haha?

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

A Visit from Elder Nelson

Ia ora na tatou!

Everyone in Tahiti speaks French, but not everyone speaks Tahitian.  So, we speak French way more.  But, I am going to learn Tahitian!  I can speak some, but it's not the best.  But, yeah, it's really weird ha.  There are missionaries that finish their missions not knowing how to speak Tahitian, but not me!  Today, we have a service project, but I don't really know what it is haha.  We're going to go help some other elders help someone in their ward, so we'll see what I end up doing there.  After that, we'll go in town for practicing singing for the concerts.  After that, we'll do our shopping, play basketball with some investigators, and then we have two family home evening with our investigators!  Now that I am closer to town, I have time to do stuff now and it's weird!  

Anyways, this week was really good.  Elder Nelson came to Tahiti this week with seventies Elder Pearson, Elder Callister, and Elder Tarati and their wives.  It was amazing!  The spirit was so strong!  It was incredible!  Nobody in that room will ever deny that he is an apostle of God!  Before, I knew that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God today.  Now, I know, as well, that Elder Nelson is an apostle of God!  One of the things that I really liked was that he took the time to shake everyone's hand and talk to them a little bit!  In all, that took a lot of time.  But, he did it anyways because he loves us!  And he knows that the Savior loves us!  A lot of times, we think we have to do big things for people to help them, but it's really by the small, simple things that we can do every day that help people the most!  We had a conference with them Thursday and it was absolutely incredible!  I am so thankful that God sent them here!  They brought such a strong Spirit and I learned so much!  Your quote reminded me of one of them.  "Our missionaries are not salesmen with wares to peddle; rather, they are servants of the Most High God, with testimonies to bear, truths to teach, and souls to save."  Already in my mission, I've seen God help people change their lives and become so happy and joyful!  A joy that can last forever and can lead to eternal life.  But, Elder Nelson helped me remember that the work is even bigger than that.  There are missionaries all over the world right now and WE are gathering in the House of Isreal.  But, it's not just the missionaries, it's US.  We have this wonderful blessing and it's our divine call to gather His sheep.  I like a scripture in 1 Nephi 15:13-14.  And, when we look at Jeremie 1:4-5, we can see that we have been called even before this life to help this people receive the gospel.  Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity that you have given to me to be on my mission!  I love you so much!  And I am forever thankful to you!  I'm so grateful for the knowledge that we have the opportunity to become an eternal family!  I know that this church is Christ's church!  I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God today.  I know that Elder Nelson is an apostle of God.  I know that God is really our Father in Heaven.  He loves us so much!  Thanks, again!  I love you!  And, I know that God loves you so much!  I'm so grateful for prayer, for the chance we have to talk with Him!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Klause's Baptism

Ia Ora Na to'u Utuafare!

My new companion and I doing a service project our first day in
the area

Yeah, I was sad to leave my last sector.  I loved it too much!  But, my new sector is amazing, too!  And I know it's where the Lord wants me to be!  So, my new sector is Taapuna, Punaauia, Tahiti.  It's 45 minutes away from my last sector and is more of a city, aussi.  There aren't really tourists in my sector, but there are where the house is.  It's super weird to see!  I thought it was weird when Carson talked about seeing white people and it being really weird when he was on his mission.  But, now I understand him a lot better ha!  My sector is on the mountainside of Punaauia, so everyone has amazing views of the sunset with the ocean and Moorea.  I speak Tahitian a lot more here than in my old sector, which I wasn't expecting.  Oh, and my new companion is Elder Irihau.  He is from Raiatea and speaks super good Tahitian!  He is way cool and I love him!  

That's such a cool story with the fast!  (We recently had a stake fast for snow and moisture.)  And, I love D&C 82!  It's so true!  The Lord gives us commandments to bless us and, when we obey them, He happily blesses us immediately!  

Klause and his cousin at Klause's baptism

This week, I got to go back to Papeari for a baptism!  I went with my first companion, Elder Fitzsimmons, who is my zone leader now!  His name is Klause Ariiveheataiteraipoiri.  He is 19 years old and got baptized by his cousin, who was baptized by Elder Fitzsimmons last year!  I loved his testimony because the Spirit was so strong and it testified to everyone that he has changed!  We did all of the lessons in one week and baptized him that Saturday!  Normally, we don't ever want to do that!  But, the Spirit guided us, and he really was ready!  The Lord had been preparing him for years and he was ready!  I know that there are our brothers and sisters out there that God has already prepared to receive the gospel and all we need to do is find them.  I love you so much!  I know this church is true!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Punaauia, Here I Come!

Ia Ora Na!

Sorry, I don't have time to write this week.  I just got transferred to Punaauia, Tahiti.  I'll tell you more next week, but all is good here and I love you!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

(Here is what comes up if you google Punaauia.  Awwww!  We should be there!)

The Priesthood…. What a Blessing!

Ia Ora Na to'u utuafare!

I didn't even know it was the superbowl.  But, the seahawks are my team, so I guess that's cool ha.  

The priesthood is such an amazing thing!  When I first came here, my favorite thing to do was give blessings!  And, I still love it so much!  You can really feel God's love for them when you're giving a blessing!  With the weather, there weren't really thunderstorms here.  I've only seen two, maybe three, here so far.  But, it was close because it's been hot and rainy.  For p-day today, we left to go to town at 7, sang, and then visited a returned missionary at the hospital.  Last week, he got a disease from rats and almost died.  We went to the hospital last week and gave him a blessing when he was in a coma.  The doctors said that he should have died, but today he was out of the coma, eating, and talking just fine.  Just another crazy experience with the priesthood.  We're sooo blessed!  Anyways, we just got back and are doing e-mails.  After, we have a lesson and a family home evening with one of my favorite families here right now!

I don't really have a lot of time to write, but I just wanted to share a short story.  The family who we are going to have a family home evening with tonight we teach twins and their kids.  We have had two lessons with them all.  And, at the church yesterday, we have a class where we teach our investigators.  Before we started our class, one of the twins, Iolanda, stood up and introduced herself to the class, said that she knows the church is true, which she hadn't told us yet, and then invited the rest of the class to pray and ask God if it's true!  Cho nave!  Power!  I love how it's always the Spirit that converts people, not the missionaries!  And, it always brings them joy and makes them want to follow Christ and help others do the same!  I know that this church is true!  And, I love my mission and the people here!  And, I love my Father in Heaven so much!  I'm so grateful for everything!  Thanks so much for all you do!  I love you!

Ua here au ia oe!

Elder Jessop

A Visit to the Hospital

Ia Ora Na to'u utuafare!

It was super weird for me to just go talk to random people at first, but I did it anyway haha.  Now, it's my favorite thing to do!  I love just talking to people!  I'm still not good at it, but I love it!  It's really what we do all day every day!  Even during lessons, it's just talking with people and trying to help them!  But, my favorite thing to do as a missionary so far is to just go talk to random people in the street about the gospel!  Right now, we have a lot of lessons, so we don't do that as much and I miss it!  You teach the simple truths of the gospel in like 2 minutes that can change their lives for eternity...kind of a big deal!  But, yeah, it's really weird when people don't want it.  We have the best gift to give to them and we know how much it can change their lives.  But, a lot of times they don't understand it and reject it.  I can't imagine buying someone a porsche and them not accepting it.  Yet, the gospel is worth how much more than a car?  

This week, there was a sister that asked me to go to a different city to give her grandpa a blessing.  We called the missionaries and bishops there, but nobody could.  So, we called our zone leaders and I ended up going with another member and I gave the Papi a blessing at the hospital there.  Then, on our way out, the last door that we past was opened slightly and I heard a soft, "Elder?"  I went back and opened the door and he explained that he was a member and wanted a blessing as well.  He had been there for months and had just started praying for the missionaries to come and give him a blessing.  He is in his low thirties and had elephantitis.  We gave him a blessing and the Spirit was super strong!  I felt God's love for them both so strong!  I know that God answered that man's prayer because He loves him! We are all literally children of God and He loves us so much!  He loves when we talk to Him and He loves to help us be happy!  We will always have trials so that we can progress and become more like Him, but He will guide us and help us and we can feel His amazing love!  I love our Heavenly Father so much!  I know He loves us all tellement!  I love you!  And, thanks so much for all you do!

Thanks for the example you are to me!  I know that the service you did and do every day will help someone receive the gospel and eternal life, whether they come now or later!  I love you all so much!  Thanks for all you do!  

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Quick Changes of the Heart

Ia ora na!  

Jeff getting some coconuts

It's still crazy to think that there is snow there!  You did a good job stalking!  Here, it's hot and rainy haha.  Last week, I guess there was a cyclone in Tonga and Somoa or something, but we were fine here.  We got a crazy rainstorm, but that ended up giving us the chance to talk to a bunch of people about the gospel, so it turned out perfect!  But yeah, it's funny because Americans think Tahiti is paradise, but Tahitians think that America is.  Today, we went on top of the presque isle with one of our neighbors, Jeff.  He is a 66 year-old adventist that gives us fruit all the time and speaks perfect English, French, and Tahitian.  It was way fun!  There is fruit all over and we found the sweetest coconuts ever!  That was our cool p-day this week!

Last week, we started teaching a 15 year-old named Veihiatua.  She just got baptized; we are just doing the lessons after baptism.  And, this week, we started teaching her little brother and cousin, Temarori and Manahere; they are 10 and 9 years-old.  They're super cool haha!  They get super excited when they see us, they surf and play soccer, and they are the best with their commitments!  They are always way excited to pray, and when we asked them to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon, we came back two days later and the one had read 9 chapters and the other read 2 or 3!  Sometimes it's hard to get people here to read a chapter in a week!  We were so excited!  We went to have another lesson with them at the end of this week and to talk with their parents about baptism because they both want to get baptized.  Their moms started talking to us by saying they didn't approve at all with their baptisms, and when we left, they both said that they will read the Book of Mormon and pray to see if it's true.  If they get a reponse that its true, they will get baptzed as well!  It's so crazy how fast people's hearts can change with the Spirit!  One of the questions they asked us is if we have always been members of this church or if we have studied other religions as well.  We both have been born in the church, but the coolest thing is that it doesn't matter.  We could have studied religion for 30 years and still have no idea which church is true.  But, with one simple prayer, we can KNOW that this church is true, it's the church of Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 16:15-17 (I think), it talks about how Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ by the Spirit and not by temporal things.  And, it's the same with us today.  I know that this church is true, not because I have studied for years, but because I read the Book of Mormon, I prayed, and our loving Heavenly Father answered my prayer.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true!  And I'm so grateful for that simple, yet powerful, knowledge!  Thanks so much for all you do!  I love you so much!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop