Saturday, August 3, 2013

We Moved!!

July 22, 2013

   To a new apartment haha! 

Elder Jones and I moved this morning from being with a family for over 2 months to our very own 2 bedroom, full bath and full kitchen apartment. It is in the back yard of another ward member. So it will be different since I have always lived with a family on my mission but we are excited for the change and it really is a nice place! 

Today has been one busy day with the move, an appointment and all the other things we have to get done of Preparation Day. Haha, oh the busy life of a missionary, but I love it and would not have it any other way! Rushing appointment to appointment is the best way to live the mission life! Haha!

     It is haying time in Corvallis and we have some opportunities to buck LOTS of hay bails out of fields of members and investigators! I love service of all kind but especially this kind of service! Sure glad I was raised a country boy and was taught a good strong work ethic, it pays off out here in Montana-true country! 

You all are jealous because this truly is God's country! ;) Haha!

    Taylor Gerber is now officially on date for August 3rd and he is super excited about it. 

Lessons with Keith and Julie Jessop are up and down but still going on and they come to church every Sunday so that's good. 

We picked up another investigator this week and have another super good potential. The field is white and ready to harvest here in Corvallis and as we all catch the vision- God's vision - it will catch fire and there will be so much to do here!
     
I have a love and passion for missionary work that grows gradually and slowly each day, this is truly the work of salvation and we all must engage weather you are wearing a name tag or not get out there and spread this gospel of happiness with ALL! 

This church truly is the Church of Jesus Christ, He is at the head and this work is His work! 

Love you all and am so thankful for your love and support!
   
-Elder Aaron Organ

Whirlwind Week

July 15, 2013

  Hey everyone,
 
     This week was another good one. 

On Tuesday we left our house at 4 AM to travel up to Missoula, get on a van, and then travel to Kalispell for a zone conference. We drove right through Lakeside and I miss that place so much! 

Had an amazing conference there in Kalispell, one of the strongest times I have ever felt the Spirit! Got home about 9 PM. 

Travel days are long! 

Wednesday we drove into Missoula for interviews with President Mecham, that was great to visit with him one on one!
    
Thursday I was pretty sick with a bad migraine and nausea but was just down for the day. Friday-Sunday we were able to work hard and teach many lessons. 

Taylor Gerber is not on date yet but should be getting baptized in the next few weeks, so we are excited for that! Looking ahead at another awesome week! 

Loving life and know this is where I am to be at this time! 

Thank you all for your love and support! God Bless!
 
-Elder Organ

A Marvelous Work and A Wonder

July 8, 2013

Hey I have no time left on this computer so my apologies! 

Highlight of this week was the BAPTISM of Gracie Wridge! It happened Saturday evening and was such an awesome experience. Elder Cratoue who taught her a few months back was able to come back and baptize her and then it was my honor to be able to confirm her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints on Sunday. It was such a great experience and the Spirit was sooo strong! 
    
We are putting Taylor Gerber on date this Wednesday and he said he wants to be baptized so that's great! 

Keith and Julie have been attending church and continue to meet with us. And we have many others to meet with this week. Some less actives are meeting with us and we are trying to get them to come back! 
  
 Bottom line.... All is well and I absolutely love it out here! I have my hard times and get discouraged at times but not for long!  The hard times make the good times even better! 

Love every minute! 

Thank you for all the love and support! 

-Elder Organ

A Short One But A Good One!

July 1, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

   I don't have much time this week! But know that I am doing great and the work of God is progressing here in Corvallis! 

Gracie Wridge will be baptized this coming Saturday and we are so stoked for that! 

Keith and Julie Jessop came to church yesterday for the first time, they only stayed for Sacrament but really enjoyed it. Elder Jones and I both spoke and they said they enjoyed what we had to say. Our talks were both based off of the broadcast Work of Salvation and I think it all went well and was received well by the ward. And then in the 3rd hour for the 5th Sunday Bishop talked to all the adults about stepping up and engaging in the Hastening the Work of Salvation and working hand in hand with the full time missionaries. 

We are praying all will catch this great vision! 

We have a busy week coming up and it is the Fourth of July this week so everyone be safe in all the fun! 

And remember what we are celebrating and all the men and women who sacrificed for the founding and freedom of this country! God Bless America and may God continue to bless all of you! 

Love you all so much and am thankful for your love and support!

-Elder Organ


The BEAUTIFUL Corvallis Valley
Gotta eat a good breakfast... 
So I can drive my tractor....
Into the sunset! Ha ha!!

Surprise!! Greetings From Billings!

June 24, 2013

 Hey I got transferred to Billings and am now an Office Missionary! Haha just kidding! I had to spice it up a little, its the same opener every letter so I was feeling like it was time for a little joke! :) 

Transfer calls were today but thankfully Elder Jones and I are both staying in Corvallis! And man do I have a great week to tell you all about and all the exciting things upcoming! 

Apologies in advance if it seems a little scatter brain... So many exciting things happening and its all just floating around in my head!
       
So Saturday June 22nd, Jeff Jessop baptized his 3 daughters Shelby, Bailey, and Abby who are ages 12, 10, and 8. Jeff Jessop and his wife Maria came down from Pinesdale 2 years ago and had searched for themselves and had come to the conclusion that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints was the true church here on Earth with the Priesthood authority of God. In April before I arrived here they met with Elder Christofferson of the Twelve Apostles and were baptized. When we arrived here we began teaching the new member lessons to them and their children, they are the smartest family about the gospel I know and it has been a strength and blessing to me to be in their home to teach and discuss the gospel. So the baptism of their 3 daughters was a special and Spirit filled experience for me, I have truly grown to love their whole family in just the 6 weeks!
       
Gracie Wridge who the missionaries have been working with for 6 months has committed to be baptized on July 6th and we are so very excited for her! She is so ready and awesome! Her and her husband are the coolest people ever and I love visiting them, we have an appointment with them this week to straighten out all the details for that, it will be awesome!  Her and her husband have the temple in mind and a goal to get there, its so awesome!
      
Teaching Taylor Gerber has been going awesome. He recognizes he needs to humble himself and continue to do his part so he can receive an answer for himself! He is an amazing young man and I have great faith he will be baptized in due time. We have a lesson with him this Tuesday night.
      
Keith and Julie Jessop who I believe I mentioned before just got back home from a 3 week vacation and so we went to see them last night. I had a powerful experience as I was bold in bearing my testimony, bold in a loving way and telling them there is no authority in Pinesdale and that Polygamy was not to be lived at this time, and bold in inviting them to start at square one with the missionary lessons. It was awesome, they accepted and we have lesson 1 with them this Thursday and I invited them to come to church to hear me speak this coming Sunday, they said they would come.
      

Which brings me to the next thing... Elder Jones and I get to speak in church on Sunday about anything related to missionary work! What a perfect topic for missionaries, eh? Haha! I am really excited for the opportunity to speak and will be speaking on how the members can help the full-time missionaries and how we as full-time missionaries can help the members. That way we can be working hand in hand and moving forward this great work together as the Prophet and Apostles so clearly taught in the "Work of Salvation" broadcast last night! 

For all of you who did not see that broadcast, watch it! It was so inspiring and amazing!
      
We are all in different parts of the vineyard, we must work hard to spread the word of God wherever we may be and in whatever capacity we serve in whether it be full-time missionary, member or otherwise. 

"Every member a missionary!"  

Catch the Wave my dear friends and family! 

As the Prophet Joseph said, "...the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every climb, swept every country and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say, 'The work is done!'" 

I know that to be true and we should all be energetically engaged in this great work! 

Love you all and thank you for the support!
         
Love, Elder Organ

All About Pinesdale and The Polygamists

Hey all you Elder Organ Supporters!! When our favorite missionary got transferred and moved to his second area, he started talking a lot about a place called Pinesdale. Most of us had a bunch of questions and he came through with some great answers and information!

(Sent June 10, 2013)

Hello everyone,
 
    Many of you have asked more about Pinesdale and some of you may not know anything about it but notice I reference it a lot in my weekly emails. And some of you may not care at all, if that is the case then delete this now... Haha! The following information is my understanding from what I have been told and researched...

Take it for what it is.
     
Pinesdale is a Polygamist Community just about 10 miles from the center of  Corvallis. The people there are a break off of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They believe their ancestors were asked by the Prophet John Taylor to continue to live the higher laws of Polygamy and the law of Consecration because the "Gospel was restored, never again to be taken from the Earth" so they believe they are to live these higher laws until the Second Coming.
     
They believe that at the split from the "Mother Church" (LDS), that the Priesthood went with the Pinesdale group and that the Mother Church remained to carry on things such as Temples and Missionary work. Right there is a contradiction because how are the Temples and the ordinances supposed to work without the Priesthood? That is just one example of many issues. But they fully believe that the "Priesthood" and the "Mother church" will one day reunite to continue on.
   
There in Pinesdale they believe the Joseph Smith story, the Restoration, they study the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, etc. Many of the doctrines are taught the same way but they believe they have the prophet and 12 apostles so things after the split they do not respect or believe in. 

An example: President Kimball's revelation in 1978 that all worthy men can hold the Priesthood...they don't believe in that revelation because it was after the split.  
    
So it boils down to... Is polygamy supposed to be lived at this time? Where is the Priesthood authority? And is Thomas S. Monson the Prophet and mouthpiece for the Lord, today? Those are the questions Pinesdale investigators we are working with really have to answer for themselves. Serving here and working with these good people searching for truth and what is real is usually pretty interesting but such a blessing.
     
I don't know if this cleared things up for those who had questions or just brought more confusion... I hope it helped and for those who didn't really care but read it anyways, I hope you enjoyed the additional knowledge. 

I know this Church is the true Church and Jesus Christ is at the head, leading His Church with His mouthpiece and prophet, Thomas S. Monson. 

Keep the faith and endure to the end!
 
-Elder Organ

All Things Are Possible To Those Who Believe

June 17, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,
 
     Another week has come and gone! Seriously where does the time go!? 

So this week was another great week here in Corvallis. We are working with Taylor Gerber, Tammy Powell, Nancy Powell, Keith and Julie Jessop who are all from Pinesdale. We had a lesson appointment in the home of Tammy Powell and we got there and she was finishing getting ready, so we were waiting with the Burts (members who took us to Pinesdale) and Tammy's daughter, Michelle. We were all talking when Tammy yells from down the hallway, "Michelle, hurry Angel is having a seizure!". So I was thinking "Who is Angel? Is she alright? What can we do to help!" Angel was their poor little dog who is pretty old and had not been feeling well. So our appointment fell through as the dog was taken to the vet. We have yet to find out the status of the dog and reset our appointment.
     
We had a lesson with Phil Lopez who is an excommunicated member working on coming back to be re-baptized and also with his Less Active daughter, Serena Lopez. They are the nicest people ever and so good to us! I really enjoy our lessons with them and feel they will both be back in full activity as they continue on this path they are on!
      
One of the highlights of my week was having a Mission Tour meeting with Elder Arnold of the Seventy who I had met as a young man when he was on assignment to my stake. He is a powerful servant of the Lord and it was such a blessing to learn from him and others who spoke at this conference. The spirit was soooo strong and so enjoyable. I learned a lot and was inspired by their message to make changes in my life and strive to become a better missionary!
      
Saturday night, we were walking down Main street in Corvallis when a man pulled over and rolled down his window, as we approached him to talk to him he put his hand out the window and shook our hands and began to speak...he said, "I can tell by the way you are dressed that you are the Mormon missionaries. You are in a cult, you are wasting your time and you really need to reconsider and do your research. I was inspired to come and tell you this...." I chose to do as Jesus did before the politicians he was taken to and when accused... to hold my peace and say nothing but to bid the man a good night. 

I am sure current and past missionaries can all relate and have countless similar stories, but to you future missionaries: your testimony will be tested in ways you have never considered and you will be accused of horrible things. We must all constantly build our testimonies and be prepared to bear powerful witness of Christ and what we are called to do when the times are right. Don't ever let things like this get you down!
     
The time was right to bear my testimony to a different man under a completely different circumstance. I share the following sacred and personal experience with great humility... 

Last night we contacted an inactive man who lives FAR up into the hills. He is going through a hard time right now, his wife left him with 2 children and he is struggling with believing in God right now, he said he was searching for the truth. Moments after meeting this man my heart swelled with love for him and all I wanted was to help him. As I listened to him the Spirit told me, "Elder Testify." I bore my testimony to this man of the Book of Mormon. I told him his searching must be in the Book of Mormon and promised him that he can know for himself of its truthfulness and be healed of these hard times through the Savior, Jesus Christ. He looked deep into my eyes questioning my faith and testimony. I told him of God's love for him and borrowed the words from Elder Holland, "All things are possible to those who believe." Through the entire experience, the spirit was so strong and a turning point for me. I feel it touched this man and he invited us back later this week. I am praying for this man with all my heart and cant wait to see what happens.
      
To all of you..."All things are possible to those who believe." 

Keep the faith and continue on! I know Heavenly Father and His Son love each and every one of you! Never forget this and never cease to build your testimonies and foundations on the rock of the Redeemer, even Jesus Christ. I love you all so much and am so thankful for your love, support, and prayers. May the Spirit guide us all in our lives and may we all be safe until we meet again!
     
-Elder Aaron Organ