Idaho Nampa Mission November 2013-2015
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
August 4, 2014
Hello everyone!! its an exciting day for me in the mission field!
This week has been a very good week! we are going to be having a baptism in just
a couple of weeks! Maddie is finally getting baptized! its very exciting! I have
also learned that many of my investigators that i taught in Ontario are being
baptized as well! i'm so happy for all of them! We have also had the great
opportunity of being able to see a few of our potential investigators and things
are going really well with them. Jim Bell is probably the most exciting there,
his home teacher told the missionaries never to stop by there, because he doesnt
want missionaries stopping by! Well guess what??? WE STOPPED BY ANYWAYS! Hahaha
and we have visited them several times now. His wife is a member, and she is
active, and the visits we have had have been very good! he participates, he
enjoys our messages, and its all been going well! We will hopefully be teaching
him the lessons very soon! Another exciting thing this week was transfers! And
im going to be training! Im really excited and thankful for this opportunity for
me to be able to grow and learn, and be able to help this new missionary to do
so also! There is a scripture that for some reason i happened to read the day
before we got our transfer calls and knew where we were going. It's in 2nd
Nephi chapter 10 vs 20. it reads:
And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so
great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our
sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we
have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a
better land, for the lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon the isles
of the sea.
Now at first reading this you might think, "what the crap does this mean?
what are you trying to get at elder knighton?" Interestingly enough that is not
how i saw it at all. To me it means growth. How? Because! the "Land of our
inheritance" can be our comfort zone, or things we are used to, but
unfortunately those "Comfort zones" don't allow a lot of growth. The Lord knows
what we are capable of, and any new change in our lives is a chance for us to
grow. We might not always use it that way, if we don't understand what changes
are for. We may want to hide, and run, or we may complain the entire time like
Laman and Lemuel did when there family left and traveled in the wilderness.
They didn't let the experience build them. They didn't grow from it. Now
Nephi did. He grew in faith, in testimony, as a person, and in his knowledge of
his heavenly father. He was able to learn and grow and we know what type of
person he became. He was lead into a "Better Land" into a unknown place, that
helped to build him. We all have these things happen in our lives too! Change
is good, because we grow. Drastic change is even better sometimes, because it
almost forces you to grow. That's kind of how i feel right now with training!
Its going to be a drastic change, teaching someone new, and helping them learn.
It is going to be tough but rewarding! That is how all changes can be. They can
be tough but they can be rewarding as well.
Now don't let us forget the most important part!! Changes in our lives
often come from God, and ALL of them are good if we look at them and use them
correctly! How can all change be good????? the lose of a loved one, being fired
from a job, etc... It all depends on your attitude, is your loved one gone
forever? or is he in a "Better Place" in the spirit world? Are you not going to
be able to provide for your family anymore, or is there a better job around the
corner that if you look for diligently you will find?? These things reveal our
true character. One of the people Elder Parker and I would visit on a regular
basis is Jack Kindle. One of his favorite quotes is "Adversity doesn't build
character, it reveals it." Jack Kindle is a great guy, and he actually came to
church this week! Anyways. All change can be good. And in order to make it good,
we must do as it says in 2nd Nephi and remember our merciful God, lay aside our
sins, and not hang down our heads, but rather look up with hope, and see that
the lord has provided for you a chance to grow. A chance to leave your comfort
zone and become better! Our Heavenly Father wants to build us! he wants us to
grow as much as we possibly can, and that is why we have adversity, and the
ability to choose what we will make of it. im very excited to train! and to see
where the Lord decides to take me! I have been learning to leave it all up to
him! And let him mold me into what he knows i should be. Anyways these are just
my thoughts, i love you all have a great week!!
July 28, 2014
This has been a great week! we have been able to meet several new
people, and have great visits with those that we have been seeing for weeks!
This sunday was a very unique sunday, and i just wanted to talk about some of
the remarks that one young woman said in sacrament meeting. They are something i
want to be able to remember for the rest of my mission! So, on sunday there were
4! farewells! 2 in both of the wards that we cover, its an amazing thing to see
so many young people leaving on missions, and remember that not long ago that
was me! Anyways in 22nd ward, one girl spoke, who was not leaving on a mission,
she is seventeen so she was just a youth speaker, and spoke before anyone else.
She told the story of a man who took his young family fishing for the first
time. This man loved to fish, and wanted his family to follow in his footsteps.
They were out there for hours, and he didnt catch anything. he was too busy
untangling fishing line, tying on lures, and helping his family. He had very
little time to fish himself, and caught nothing. As they were leaving another
man asked if they caught anything, and with a smile he replied that they had
not. This man had been there as long as they had and had caught quite a few
fish, and asked the man how he felt about not catching any, being puzzled by the
smile that the man had. The man replied "unfortunately there are times when we
don't catch any fish. The important thing is to just enjoy the fishing." The
girl in sacrament meeting that told this story then related it to missionary
work, and said that Fishing doesnt always imply catching, And as missionaries,
or "fishers of men", we might not end up doing a lot of catching, but as
servants of the lord, the important thing is to enjoy the work that we are
doing, "enjoy the fishing!" i want to be able to remember that, because it is
very true! as nice as it is to catch, we might not always be catching. but as
long as we are in the service of God, we should always enjoy the fishing! i know
that is kind of a simple thought, but as a missionary it can sometimes be hard
to stay positive, and this was a really good message for me to remember that it
is in the lords hands, and we should be happy doing his work, and even if we
don't always have success, finding joy in the fishing is success by itself in my
opinion, just a different kind. it is personal success, because you are finding
joy in serving the lord. i love you guys!! have a great week!!! :D i hope
everyone is doing well!
Derek Knighton!
July 7, 2014
hey everyone!!! :) this week has been great! :) we have been trying
really hard to find new people to teach, and have been succeeding as much as you
can on the week of the 4th of July. Its been kinda crazy, and very hard to
sleep at night because everyone lights off big old fireworks as we are trying to
sleep!! guess what time it gets dark around here so they can set off fireworks?
yup 10:15-10:30, guess what time i am going to bed?? You're right!! 10:30!
hahaha but its all good, we've still had a very good week :) we have had some of
the greatest visits with our investigators this week than any other week!
numbers wise we struggled, but the quality of lessons that we did have were very
good. We have a recent convert that had fallen away little bit coming back to
church regularly after not coming for 6 weeks! we also had a great visit with
our investigator Maddie who will be baptized this month! its really exciting!
Our investigators John and Linda are growing in there testimony of the book of
mormon, John even specifically told us that "you guys are sure making a believer
out of me" He will likely be next to enter into the waters of baptism after
maddie, He has some Word of Wisdom issues that we will need to resolve, but i
know that if he continues progressing at the rate he is right now he will be
baptized very soon! and i look forward to seeing that.
This is actually a little bit about what i wanted to talk about today, we
have a investigator that struggles with the idea of progression a little bit,
and thinks that we should be able to be perfect immediately. Obviously
perfection is the goal, and living with our father in heaven is also. But our
walk to perfection is that exactly, a walk. When you walk there are check
points, you get closer and closer to your destination, which for us is eternal
life. Now it is possible to walk backwards, in the walk of life, there is no
standing still, you are either going forward or backwards. But we are all
trying to "Walk to Christ" how fast we walk or how smooth the journey is
determined on how closely our lives are patterned after the Saviors, how closely
we are following the commandments.
We all learn to walk to the Savior at a different pace, but we all start
somewhere. When we were young, we began our "journey" crawling, and eventually
we try to stand and walk. What happens to a child when they first begin to walk?
Obviously they fall down a lot, so what does a loving parent do? The parent
cheers them on, and encourages them to try again, and if necessary they are the
ones that pick them up off the ground. Our heavenly father does the same for us,
he cheers us on and helps to lift us when we fall. Eventually the child learns
how to walk, he has began to follow Christ. Life is like a race where the
finish line is Eternal Life with our families and our loving Heavenly Father.
We run the race by following Christ. We run the opposite direction when we
choose not too. This child has learned to walk, and eventually matures to adult
age, where his experience walking is far above that of a child, but if you were
to tell me that this man never tripped i would call you liar. I don't think
anyone has ever completely mastered walking, and hasn't ever tripped. We all
make mistakes even when we are trying our best to follow Christ. But we can
still improve our walk. When we trip or mess up in life, we need to as swiftly
as possible stand back up and continue walking, this is known as repentance,
when we apply it to following Christ. We eventually become aware of the things
placed in our path that will cause us to trip, and we try our best to avoid
them. I would venture to say that this mind set, the mind set of continual
improvement is what eventually qualifies us for eternal life. Everyone sins on a
daily basis, trying to improve our lives and decrease the amount of sins in our
lives, or rather the times that we trip, is the important part, our goal is the
end of the race, our goal is perfection, but we do not get there with out
PROGRESS, we cannot instantly become perfect, if you do, (and no one has so i
don't feel bad about saying this) Anyone who has become perfect instantly might
as well die, now i know that sounds a little morbid yes, but they have finished
there "walk to Christ" and have no more need to be on earth, they have nothing
left that they can learn here, and might as well move on to the higher plane of
learning in the eternities. Earth life is "a time for man to PREPARE to meet God"
once you have done that, your purpose on earth has been fulfilled.
To finish i would say we all need to continue to progress, to continue to
watch for the things in life that make us trip, and prevent our progression to
perfection. As we strive to improve our lives and repent of our sins we will be
able to become like our heavenly father. We have no need to be on earth if we
immediately became perfect, we are here to learn and grow, and progression is
essential to our perfection, as we learn and see the blessings of following
Christ, our desire to "avoid tripping" grows, and we are able to overcome our
sins. Now don't get me wrong, we should try our very best to try not to trip,
and that we are actually required to be perfect to live with God, what i am
trying to illustrate is our path in getting there, God cannot look on sin with
the least degree of allowance, but we cannot be rid of sin immediately, and i
don't think God would want us to be he wants us to prove ourselves to him,
continually trying to progress, by doing what is known as Enduring to the End,
that is what i hope i've been able to illustrate, is how Enduring to the End
looks. i hope you guys enjoy this analogy, i hope that it gives us all a better
sense of what our purpose is in life. love you guys!!
Friday, June 13, 2014
April 28, 2014
I probably only have 2 weeks left in Ontario! Crazy to think about! there
is this boy that we have started teaching his name is Dillon, and he is only 11,
and is very shy to doing somethings like praying or reading in front of people,
but once he does it he feels good about and is just doing really great! his mom
is less active, his dad is not a member, and is across the country for military,
but his grandma that lives with them is semi active, she comes when she can but
with her health its hard for her. I can see the mom of the boy being interested
though in the teachings we have been teaching her son, and she has been
listening in on the discussions! :) I hope to be able to see her reactivated,
and her son baptized! then when the father comes home hopefully he will be
baptized as well!
As a missionary there is something I see more than anything, and that is
families obviously. I've been able to see how many different families function,
and how the gospel effects each of there lives, as well as how those with out
the gospel in there families are only tied together by small strings. In the
gospel we are sealed to our families, and we know that we will live with one
another forever. the gospel blesses us to be happy as a family. When we are
following the teachings of the savior and growing as a family in the gospel, we
become so much stronger! I love seeing how happy a family can be because of the
gospel, and how that can help protect us from the outside world, when in our
homes there is peace and joy. I know what I want my family to be centered
around when I have my own children. I know that the gospel blesses our lives
personally and especially our families lives! I hope you all have a great week!!
:)
Elder Knighton
March 10, 2014
Hey guys!! this week has been pretty good! :) kinda slow but that
happens. We still had the same amount of visits this week as we usually do, but
for some reason the week just seemed kinda slow! but that's ok :) just means we
can do more this week! its crazy how fast the time flies, in 3 days I will have
officially been out for 4 months! that's so crazy! haha anyways we have
had some really good visits with our investigators and less actives, we have
actually recently got 3 in active member reactivated! hopefully it stays that
way! hahaha its been pretty cool! i have also gained 30 lbs on my mission so
far... lucky all of it is going towards muscle haha other wise it would just be
weird! i need to stop gaining weight at this rate though, i don't know if its
particularly healthy! Anyways! hahah enough about me.
i was in Sunday school yesterday and on of our recently reactivated members
was teaching the lesson! (crazy right?) hahaha its actually really cool but
anyways there was one thing that she said to us that i kinda played with in my
head for a little while, and we were talking about having knowledge, and how
important that is! it was really cool for me to realize what the most important
thing we can learn in this life is. The most important knowledge we can gain in
this life is the Knowledge of our Savior. There is one thing we take with us as
we progress forward into the eternities and that is the knowledge we have
acquired here on earth. We have often been told that we should try to gain as
much education as possible. To learn and develop as much as we possibly can in
this life, to help us as we progress to the next. But i would advise us all to
learn the things that are of the utmost importance first. The man who has no
knowledge of mathematics or science but yet knows his Savior, is far better off
than the man with the PHD and no knowledge of his Savior. In a world where
discouragement, sorrow, and sin are seen in our lives on a daily basis, in times
when fear and despair seem to prevail over all else, i would council us all to
do as it says in Mosiah 4 vs 9
"Believe in God, believe that He is, and that he created all things both in
heaven and earth; believe that he has all power, both in heaven and earth;
believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the lord can
comprehend." and then in Vs 12 the result:
"And Behold i say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always REJOICE and
be filled with the love of God and always retain a remission of your sins, and
ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the
knowledge of that which is just and true."
As great as mathematics and science are, the knowledge belief and love for
our Savior helps us through those hardships. It will help us through those times
of despair and sadness. Our knowledge and love for the Savior helps us to keep
moving, keep rejoicing, and keep living. It helps us to face the future, and
make it into what we want and rejoice in our opportunities! That last bit is the
most important, a knowledge of our Savior brings Joy! and who doesn't want
Joy??? i love you guys!! have a wonderful week!! :)
March 3, 2014
This week has been really great!! We actually got two of our less actives
to come to church!! And they BOTH bore there testimony in fast and testimony
meeting! It was great!! It's so good to see people progressing and moving closer
to our heavenly father! One of these less actives will be able to take the
sacrament really soon hopefully! He has some trials in his life that are really
hard for him to overcome, but with the help of the lord it is possible to do
anything! Our Heavenly Father is continually building us into what he knows we
can be, our job is to make sure we don't fail him! He can try as hard as he
wants to build us into something beautiful, but if we are not willing to be
molded into our potential, there is not much he can do. There is a story that I
really like:
Imagine for a moment yourself as a small run down cottage, old and worn
out, a couple of holes here and there and several leaks and cracks that are all
a result of hard times, and things this old house has gone through. We invite a
builder (the Lord) into our lives to help restore us to our original form, to
build us back up to what we know we can become. So he starts small, repairing
small holes and filling in cracks and leaks, and slowly but surely we start to
return back to what we originally were! But the builder continues, an extension
is added here and 3 more over there, some walls are smashed to the ground and
rebuilt somewhere else, and it becomes extremely painful! eventually a beautiful
courtyard is built, a second and third story and a lovely porch to top it off.
You thought you were just simply going to be a cottage. But the Lord was
building a palace.
The lord knows what we can become. He knows our potential in this life and
in the life to come and is continually trying to shape and build us into what he
knows we can truly be! He loves each and everyone of us and wants us to all
have the best experience in life as possible. Yes sometimes some of the things
we go through can be painful, but It is all for the better. The Lord is building
us up and refining us into our potential. Whether we realize it our not, when
those walls are smashed to the ground, they will always, through the lords help,
be built up again stronger, and in a place that our heavenly father knows they
need to be. It is our job to recognize what the builder is doing. Though
painful, the process of refinement is a part of life. We must be willing to be
built by the Lord.
I love you guys have a great week!! :)
February 24, 2014
Hello Everyone! :) This week has been a great week, and has really helped
to build me up a lot! i know that my heavenly father is always looking out for
me, and is always willing to help me if i ask him! So first week as senior
companion down! haha :) it can be really kinda stressful being senior comp! but
Ive learned so much already and i know that i will continue to learn and grow as
i serve the Lord! This really is going to be a trail for me on my mission,
because i have only been out for about 3 months, and im already senior
companion! its really kinda crazy! I know that trials strengthen us though, a
lot of the time we done see them that way, but they really do! they help us to
learn and to grow and become closer to our heavenly father. They strengthen us
so that when we have more trials come, we have our foundation firmly built on
Christ, we have a unshakable foundation of faith, that when the devil tries to
bring us down, he has no power over us. There is a poem that President Monson
quoted in one of his recent addresses that says
"Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger the wind,
The stronger the trees,
The further sky the greater length,
The more the storm,
The more the strength,
By sun and cold
By rain and snow
In trees and men
Good timbers grow"
Love you guys have a great week! :) remember trials can be a good thing!
:)
February 18, 2014
This week is going to be hectic! I've been thrown on ice and I don't yet
know how to skate! my skates aren't even on write! ;) i'm going to have to get
my footing sometime soon. Transfers were this week, and Boswell and I are no
longer companions. I have a new companion whose name is Elder Horne, and he is
really cool! he has only been out 6 weeks and hasn't been enjoying his mission
so far because of his last few companions, and so hopefully I will be able to
help him realize the growth that comes from being a servant of our Lord Jesus
Christ :) I am also senior companion, and ive only been out for 3 months! its
crazy! im honestly freaking out about it a little bit, just because im super
worried about messing up, but I know the lord will always help us and wont leave
us to fend for ourselves. I know I cant do this with out the Lord, and with out
his guidance in my life, and I love being able to see that :) He is our loving
Heavenly Father, and he won't let us down! I gave the analogy the other day in
a lesson of a small child trying to get a cookie from the top of a fridge. lets
say for a moment that we are this 2 year old child and the cookie on the fridge
is our potential. There are 4 things that the child does. it can see that it
is there, it tries reaches and falls, sits down and cries and realizes that he
cant do on his own, and then goes to the father and asks for help reaching the
cookie he cant get by himself. Often times we do the same thing. We can see
that we are able to be better than we are, we know our potential to become like
our heavenly father and live with him in the eternities forever. we try our best
to reach for things that on our own we cannot obtain. There is not one man on
this earth save Christ that was perfect. We all need the help an assistance of
his infinite atonement. We try, we fall, we mess up, we look to the Lord for
help, and his assistance is given to us. Then the same thing happens again and
again until finally we realize that we truly cannot successfully make it through
this life with out the love and guidance of our heavenly father. He love each of
us and is willing to help us out if we ask! But like the father of the 2 year
old, as much as he would like to stand up from the get go, and give a cookie to
the child, he does not. He waits, he watches carefully and rejoices when the
child looks to him, and their relationship is strengthened. That is when he
helps his children. We cant just be handed things, they must be worked for, and
when we take the time to follow our savior, we can slowly reach our full
potential. Im going to be learning a lot this transfer! and I know the lord will
help me through it all as long as I look to him! he loves me and he love each of
you! I hope you all have a fantastic week, and I hope that analogy made sense
haha it is a lot easier to say then to write down, that is for sure! love you
all!
-Love Elder Knighton
January 27, 2014
My Dear friends and family! The gospel blesses everyone! One of my
favorite things that i love to see in the mission field, is how much the gospel
blesses the lives of those who follow the teachings of Christ. In our lives we
have so many trials. The world is full of darkness and evil, Satan has a hold on
so many peoples hearts, and even those who find the gospel oft times will find
themselves surrounded by sadness. In order to avoid the sadness and trials that
life can through at us we need to be firmly rooted in the good soil that our
heavenly father has created for us. Our Heavenly father has prepared for us a
way to always be happy, if we choose to be so. His son Jesus Christ, our
Savior, has taken upon him all of our pains and sorrows so that he might now how
he can succor his people, and help them to overcome every trial, sorrow, pain,
and worry that the world has to throw at us. He loves us, and he wants us to
use him as our way to be happy in this life! If we dont, we might not find the
happiness and joy that we should know we can find, by safely rooting ourselves
on the savior. Those people that arent firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus
Christ might find themselves straying from the path, and letting their trials
and struggles get in the way of their progression in life, and in the life to
come. The thing we need to strive to do most in our lives to stay happy is to
firmly root ourselves in the savior, we have the ability to choose where we
land. The savior gave the parable of the sower, and how some fell by the
wayside and were eaten by birds, or fell in thorns and were choked out, others
fell on stony ground, and were scorched because they weren't deeply rooted.
Others fell on good ground, and brought forth fruit and grew and were happy. We
have the ability to choose where we land and to choose in which type of ground
we will plant our faith. The lord has prepared the ground. The soil is good and
the way is prepared. CPR is the way, this is how we firmly root ourselves in
the ground the lord has prepared. Church, Pray, Read. CPR
We need to be going to church so we can be around those that will help to
lift us up, and bring us higher. They help us to stay on the path and bring us
back when we fall away. Pray is so essential in our lives! the days we dont
pray, we arent as close to our heavenly father, because we arent keeping him
involved in our lives! we need to let him know what we are doing, and when we
could use a little help, because we all need help more than we realize, and our
heavenly father has blessings instore for us, and all we need to do is ask!
Often times, we find our answers to our prayers in the scriptures. Weird
right??? not really!! The scriptures are the words of Christ, and it is not a
rare thing, when he uses them to speak to us! they are put here for us to use
and to know what our Heavenly Father wants and expects from us. this is how we
firmly plant ourselves in christ, by using the tools that are given to use so
that we can live a better life, and use him as our way to avoid sorrow and pain.
Sorrow and pain will come, this is a fact of life, but through Christ we all
have the ability to easily overcome our trials, and find joy in the love of our
Savior. Choose to use the tools given to us. Choose to always follow our Savior
and stay firmly rooted in his gospel. Choose to plant yourself in his soil,
Choose where you land.
January 20, 2014
Hello everyone!! today has been a really cool week! :) we had a
baptism this week!! my first one in the mission field! it was so cool! im really
excited for Nick, and i hope to see him enter into the temple! that is his goal
he said, and im hoping he will stick with it! we also had one of our less active
members actually come to church this week! his name is Chauncy hanley, he went
to rehab a week ago to fix a few things, and the only time he is allowed out is
on sundays for 3 hours for church hahah so he is kinda forced to come to church
if he wants to get out of rehab for a while! im proud of him though and his
decision to improve! We also have a semi new investigator that is super excited
about the church and just an awesome guy all around! im super excited for him,
and we will be teaching him the first lesson this week, and extending the
commitment to be baptized! i hope it goes well! we have had a fantastic week
all together, we actually had dinner with one of our less active, part member
families, on monday last week, and they cooked us some really good "southern
food" and Boswell was all over that because he is from the south haha! it was
mostly the style of cooking that makes it different, basically it was just some
CRAZY good pulled pork, some corn bread, and a few other sides that were just
awesome! im super excited for this next week, and i hope you guys are all having
a fantastic time! enjoy your holiday!! :) love you all!! :)
-Elder Knighton
January 13, 2014
Im staying in Ontario!! :) im so happy!! I figured I would be, because im
still being trained, but it still was kinda worrying me for a minute there! im
really glad that I got to stay with my companion Elder Boswell, he is the
coolest! im excited for the work we can do here in Ontario and im glad we didn't
leave because I know there is still more Im supposed to do here! This week has
been great though, we got a new investigator, who we do service for, and is
slowly opening up, and each time we go over it gets better and better! we also
had one of the less actives we work with come to church this week for the first
time since ive been in the area! it was great! we also taught tons of other
great people. Today I wanted to talk a little bit about the importance of
Church, prayer, and scripture study, and doing the things we are asked to do.
There is no point in going to church if you go to it like a social gathering, of
course it is important to go and meet others that have the same values and goals
that you do, and will help you to achieve those goals! but that's not the
point! The point is for us to be able to partake of the sacrament, renew our
covenants, learn and grow, and worship our savior! And then applying the things
that we learn to our lives, like scripture study. when we are asked to do
things from church leaders, it is because they have been inspired to do so.
Fulfilling our duties and magnifying our callings helps us to grow and develop
more than we could ever imagine! don't believe me? try it! The reason most
people here in Ontario aren't doing these things, and magnifying there callings,
and most of them wont even accept callings, is because they do the things that
the church asks AT church, but not in there homes. Think of it as CPR, that's
what me and elder boswell call it, Church, Pray, Read. These 3 wonderful things
help us in our lives to bear our burdens, and become happy! Brothers and sisters
always remember to do these 3 things, they bless our lives so much, and help us
to do the things that are required of us. I know this because missions aren't
easy at all, but through relying on our savior and doing the things he asks, we
are able to do anything.
I love all of you!! have a fantastic week!!!
-Elder Knighton
January 6, 2014
Hello everyone one!! I get to stay in Ontario for another transfer im so
excited! I love the people here its great! :) there are so many people I want
to come back and visit after my mission hahah ive made a big list! anyways,
today I want to talk about one of God's most over looked commandments. We find
a lot of commandments, and things Jesus wants us to do in the scriptures, but
everyone tends to look over the times when Jesus tells us to "Be of good
cheer!" In the church we can see plenty of people all with different types of
personalities and ways of doing things, but one thing ive noticed the most is
that those people who are doing what they should be doing, and are striving
there best to progress, are generally the happiest. To me being happy is most
definitely in my opinion an attribute that helps us to come closer to Christ.
Its amazing how much a good attitude can affect the people around you! and also
how much a bad one can have as well. Something im kind of known for out here is
always smiling and being happy, almost to the point where people think im a
freak haha but I remember a sister Missionary from my MTC district said she had
never seen me frown, or not being happy, which I was pretty proud of! I
remember a quote by President Hinckley, which said "In all of life have much fun
and laughter! Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." Everyone wants to be
happy, its a simple fact of life. Christ himself has told us to be so. So
smile, laugh, enjoy life! if we have the attitude of trying our best to be
happy, waking up in the morning and deciding that today is going to be a good
day? odds are it will be! and always remember that the center of all happiness
in our lives is Christ, the closer we are to him, the happier we will be. I love
you all!! hope you have a marvelous week!! :)
December 23, 2013
Hello everyone!! :) I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday
season!! :) Christmas Is in two days!! can you believe that?! being out in the
mission field time is all blended together haha so when I realized that this
morning I was like "WHAT?!" hahaha it was pretty funny :) anyways! my week has
been crazy!! running back and forth from Nampa from Tuesday to Thursday for
meetings and stuff haha we hardly got anything done! we met a really cool guy
the other day while shoveling snow, he came over to help he was the guys nephew
who we were helping, and he ASKED US if he could come to church with us on
Sunday! the guy was golden! there was just one problem, and it sucks when this
happens hahaha when you find out they don't live in your area!! it always seems
to happen though haha you just have to keep on trying to find new people!! :) im
sure we will have a lot of progress here really soon!! anyways I hope you guys
all know the real meaning of Christmas! as members of the church it shouldn't be
that hard to remember that Christmas is a time where we are to remember Jesus
Christ!! Christmas has become so commercialized lately, and its never about
Jesus Christ very often anymore, it is so important to remember to keep Christ
in Christmas :) there was a little story a member read to us called Mary's
dream, on night she had woken up and was talking to joseph about a dream she had
had, that everyone was celebrating the day Christ was born, but they weren't
celebrating it as his birthday! and she said to Joseph, "how awful that would
be! im so glad it was only just a dream" there was a lot more to the story but I
can remember it all haha anyways, that dream she had? has all but become a
reality. We need to remember that we are celebrating the day of Christ's birth!
not the day that santa comes and gives you presents. I hope you all have a
wonderful holiday and always keep Christ in your hearts! He is the reason for
the season and we need to always remember that! love you all have a fantastic
week! :)
December 16, 2014
I've learned some really cool things lately! there is so much you
can learn by deciphering the scriptures and applying them to ourselves! one of
the scriptures that ive really liked is quite simple actually. it is in
Phillipians chapter 4:13 and it says
"i can do all things through christ which strengtheneth me"
This was up on the wall in the relief society room in the church. and the
word "WHICH" is what stood out to me this time when i read it. when i first read
that verse i thought of it as if it said "I can do all things through Christ Who
strengthens me" and thats how i read it and understood it! because we all know
that Christ strengthens us and through him we can do all things, but then why
was it written with the word "WHICH" and not Whom or who?....
lately i have researching and studying the topic of "how do i increase my
faith??" ive been asking that to myself a lot lately, because you can never have
to much!! :) From this scripture, i was able to learn a lot about it even if it
doesnt say "Faith" specifically.
"i can do all things through christ
Which strengthens me"
What happens when we do that??
To me, having that knowledge that god is our loving heavenly father and he
and Jesus Christ love us more than we can ever imagine, and knowing the will
help us with anything?? THAT is what strengthens me having that knowledge, and
not only having that knowledge? but acting on it!! :) trying our faith, putting
our faith in Christ, and testing it and having it confirmed to us that we have
put our faith in the right thing :) this is when our faith grows, and we build a
testimony, and continue on our way to be truly and completely converted to the
lord :) acting on our faith builds our faith. which means if we are acting on
our faith? it should always be continually growing :)
I love all of you guys!! :) have a fantastic week and a merry christmas!!
:)
-elder knighton
December 9, 2014
Ive been on my mission for just about a month!! that's so crazy!
Time really is flying by and if we blink we miss it! There really is no way to
describe how cool it is to see how the Lord uses time for the benefit of his
missionaries! in the MTC the days were literally SOO long! like when it felt
like it was time for bed? it was 3 oclock. hahahaha I thought it was really
cool! the days literally are longer for the benefit and learning of all of the
lords missionaries! :) now this goes into my topic I want to talk about with you
all today! WE ARE ALL MISSIONARIES! it is completely important for EVERY member
of the church to realize that it is not just this missionaries job to bring
others unto Christ, but everyone's! We as missionaries are of course set apart
to teach the gospel and take it to every nation and soul on earth, but there is
a huge and vital role that every member plays! when there is someone at church
that you haven't met before or seen? TALK TO THEM! this church is a church where
everyone's goal is or should be to help one another to get closer to Christ! The
reason im stressing this so much, is because out here in Ontario, there are more
less actives than you can even count, we had about 20 lessons this week alone
with RCLA's which stands for Recent Convert Less Active's. There is hardly time
to find new investigators if we are working so much on the Less active part of
the ward! this is why It is so important for everyone to help one another! its
called fellowshipping, helping one another feel welcome in the ward especially
if they are a recent convert! if we get an investigator to church and the people
there aren't welcoming, and they aren't enjoying themselves at church because
they have no friends or anyone to talk to, are they going to come back? not
likely! Every member a missionary Brothers and Sisters, remember to help one
another come closer to Christ especially during this holiday season! that's so
important! I love you guys! :) always remember to help others!
December 2, 2014
Hello everyone!!! :) I've already been out for almost 3 weeks!! time has
seriously been flying by! anyways, there is a lot of stuff ive learned in just
three weeks and its all amazing! one of the biggest things that ive noticed
since being in the field is the happiness and joy the gospel can bring into
someone's life, and its amazing! there are some people out here that are just
grumpy and angry and don't know about the gospel and how it can literally change
there lives!! we have this investigator Nick Thompson, who has probably had one
of the hardest lives you could imagine, and I won't go into detail but he has a
TON of health problems and addictions that he's had a lot of problems with, and
he lives in a small trailer in a trailer park. but he is one of the happiest
coolest guys you will ever meet!!! he has had so many trials but yet keeps a
positive attitude!!!! He has so many struggles but yet is so Christ like! He
has such a wonderful desire to help others, even though he has trouble helping
himself. its incredible to see such positivity :) We had a teacher in Priesthood
yesterday that taught us a little bit about that, and how we need to always live
for today and don't dwell on the past (unless its positive good memories), and
also not to be waiting for the future and a better day! but making the present
one of those good memories we can look back on and enjoy :) the way that Nick
Thompson put it is to "Plan for tomorrow, but play for today" so in other words
make sure you have something to look forward to but don't dwell on it :) make
today the best you can!! :) "if you are always looking for tomorrow, you will
find yourself with a lot of empty yesterdays" there was a story that was told to
us in priesthood that was really good about being positive, its the story of the
two buckets in the well:
There were two buckets going up and down in a well and one day as they
passed each other one of them said "this is awful!!!! No matter how many times I
go up full I always come down empty!! I hate this!!" the other bucket looked at
him confused and said "really?? I think this is amazing!!! No matter how many
times I go down empty, I know I will always come up full" Moral of the story?
We all have up's and down's in our lives, Live for the UP'S!! not for the down's
always stay positive and you will be happy :) have a wonderful week everyone!!!
:)
November 27, 2013
Elder Derek Thomas Knighton's first companion::) im in Oregon right now!!!!! :) me and my companion Elder Boswell are in Ontario :) he is so cool!!! he sings and plays guitar and all kinds of cool stuff!! Im having such a good time! we went tracting yesterday, right after we got to Idaho, and in less that an hour we had 3 referrals! it was pretty great hahah.we live at a members house and guess what? its probably just about the nicest house ever, AND the elderly couple living there are even nicer!!! like seriously there house is nicer than our house and its nuts!! we are really well taken care of haha pampered actually so im loving it!! :) I hope you guys have an awesome thanks giving!!
November 23, 2013
Hello everyone!! the MTC is so amazing!! :) i love it here you guys and i leave in like 3 days!! its really sad actually.. as excited as i am to actually get out in the field, i really love it here. My companions are awesome, my district and my zone are amazing! and i know everyone really well because im zone leader hahah so i must be doing something right haha :) anyways everyone here is so nice, and everyone is so close! the things ive learned here are amazing... ive changed so much in the last week haha its insane. i probably pray for about 15 minutes morning and night because of the things ive learned here. the power of prayer is incredible! ive also had the wonderful opportunity to teach two investigators this past week. Barbara the first day we taught her was really hard!! she asked so many questions that it was just to hard to stay on one topic and we were really worried about teaching her, but the next day was so much better, and we had actually prepared really well to answer all of her questions, and through the guidance of the spirit we were able to have the best lesson ever!! we looked forward to teaching her everyday after that, and it just got better and better! we eventually got a baptisimal commitment from her after only 3 visits!! the spirit is so strong when you are teaching an investigator, and it has to be, otherwise you arent listening to the spirit and you will never be able to tell the investigator what they need to hear! the spirit is the key, and he will help you open the hearts of many people. we also had the chance to teach alex, who was at first it was really hard to get him to open up, but after awhile we were able to address his needs, and through the help of the spirit and his desire to feel the holy ghost in his life, we were able to get him to accept the invitation to be baptised as well!! its been such an amazing week everyone, i cant wait to get out in the field!! i know im ready :) the important thing is to love everyone, thats how you get to know an investigators needs, is loving them as Jesus Christ would and then helping them to know the truth. i love all you guys!! have a great week!!! :)
Love, Derek
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