Elder Houston Bodily

2012-02-20T11:31:00.001-08:00

Elder Davies and Elder Bodily teaching exchanges at MTC with Elder Niedens and Elder Gubler.

2012-02-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2012

Guten Morgan! Really, Elder Davies and I got up early to do our laundry and it'll be 6:30 when you receive this.

Anyways, this week has been another good one. Elder Davies and I have two role play investigators named Michael and Patrik. We've made a lot of progress with them. Michael is a really energetic guy with an East-German accent. He didn't know anything about religion at first. He had heard of Jesus Christ and that he was an important religious figure, but knew nothing else. We had to start from the basics and explain all the necessaries of Jesus Christ and his gospel, teach him how to pray, and then explain the significance of our church. Since then we've been able to get him to come to church, read the Book of Mormon (he still doesn't feel comfortable enough with his prayers to pray about its truth yet, but we keep encouraging him to do so), and has accepted the principles we've taught him. We're hoping to commit him to baptism here soon. More importantly though we hope he can trust in his ability to pray and find out the truth of the BoM and then gain a testimony. Patrik's development has been coming a little more slowly. His background is he had a lot of Mormon friends and wanted to learn more about our church, he is Catholic, and he doesn't really like to be a part of lesson more just listen to what we say. We have gotten him to read the Book of Mormon, and he believes that the Bible is true and that the Book of Mormon could be true, but doesn't believe either is a reality of today so he can't really believe the idea that we have modern revelation given to prophets from God, nor that we can receive personal revelation. We've testified of the truth of the Book, how it works together with the Bible to bring forth the fullness of God's work, and we shared Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:4-5 (future missionaries you are going to be using this scripture a lot) and shared our testimonies of how we have received answers from God through the Holy Ghost through prayer that the Book of Mormon is true. The only problem is he only likes to give the memorized prayer found in Matthew that a lot of Christian faiths say and doesn't feel comfortable yet with the idea that prayer is a conversation with God rather than a recited praise. We'll to continue to work with him though. This last week though, Elder Davies and I and Elder Gubler and Elder Niedens did teaching exchanges. Elder Gubler and I got to teach Michael and one of his investigators, Ingo, for three lessons each. We got Ingo to pray to know the Book of Mormon is true and we committed him and his family to get baptized. We made so much progress with him in just a few short trips because Elder Gubler worked so hard to really prepare for him. All of these investigators are based off of real people that our teachers taught while they were in Germany.

One quick thing before I go: They are building another MTC in Rexburg, Idaho which is going to be for the Spanish-Speaking Missionaries. This is to relieve the pressures on housing in the Provo MTC because of how many Missionaries are coming in. English-Speaking and all other languages will stay here in Provo unless of course they go to another MTC like Brazil, England, Philippines, etc. Also, they going to work it out here soon so that a number of Missionaries will be able to use I pads for teaching. This is so we can use resources for teaching such as LDS.org, use visuals, etc.

Well I have to go for now, love you all so much.

Gott sei mit euch bis auf wiedersehen

Elder Bodily

2012-02-13T17:14:00.000-08:00

Deutsch (German) District of Elders at Provo Temple.

Elder Bodily and Christensen - "He ain't heavy - he's my brother." (Ha-ha- he's really heavy)!

2012-02-13T17:08:00.001-08:00

MTC German classroom. My desk is in the back corner.

Elder Bodily and Elder Davies- new Zone Leaders - Jan 30.

2012-02-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

February 13, 2012 (one month mark

Guten Morgan!

So this Saturday is my one month mark at the MTC. I don't know how you guys have felt, but it seems to have come up pretty quickly.

So this week has been good. The language is coming along well and more importantly I'm learning a lot more about the gospel. The older Deutschers have all left for Deutschland and our French roommates are leaving today so it's a little lonely on our floor in the residence hall, but we still have fun.

Here's the deal with my mission field: Switzerland is kind of racist towards all the Turkish immigrants moving into their country so for the most part only European Union born people are able to get visas. There are a few cases in which others can get a visa, but it's very rare. Out of all the missionaries who just left, only one was able to apply for a Swiss visa, but that does not guarantee that he will get it. If any of us were to apply for a visa to Switzerland we should have known by now, so I'm probably not going to be in Switzerland. Oh, and Liechtenstein does not allow proselyting. I can't complain at all though; I was/am most excited for Austria and I am so stoked for Germany. I am perfectly fine with the way things are.

Things are going really well with Elder Davies and I. I think he is the absolute best companion I could have had out of the 20 Elders here. He is very easy going and so enthusiastic about being a missionary. We've been able to help each other a lot: because he hasn't had any experience with German, so I've been able to help him pick up on it and help him understand what our investigators are saying. He has been able to help me far greater though. He knows how to stay focused on studying and has really helped me to understand that with patience and faith all things are possible, that Heavenly Father takes care of you completely when you demonstrate obedience, and how to not get too stressed out during all the work we go through.

Yesterday, for our Sunday devotional they did a rerun of the talk the Elder Bednar gave to the missionaries here in the MTC on Christmas. It may have been a recording, but the Spirit was so strong during that meeting. It may have been the best talk I've ever heard in my life. The overall theme of the talk was the Characteristics of Christ. He gave us the challenge to really study the qualities of Christ more, but he focused on one quality in particular which was when others turn in and think about themselves and let the natural man have his way, Christ would turn out and give others help and comfort even in his hardest times. He gave the talk in a style almost similar to Elder Holland and how powerful he makes the messages he shares. I can't begin to do justice to the talk, but I wish there was a copy of it somewhere for everyone to see it. It had so many pieces of advice to help missionaries and people in general. One thing I really liked is that it talked about how there is a difference between a testimony of Christ and converting to Christ. A testimony is knowing of the existence of Christ and knowing that this church is true. Converting to Christ is when you devote yourself to the gospel and it's principles and strive to become as Christ. When you convert yourself to Christ you will never fall astray.

Und es begab sich: Ich [Elder Bodily] sprach zu meinem Vater; Ich will hingehen and das tun was der Herr geboten hat; Denn Ich weiss dass der Herr gibt den menschenkinder keine gebote, ohne einen weg vorbereiten, damit sie der vollbringen konnen; was er ihnen gebietet. (That's off memory so hopefully it's right)

1 Nephi 3:7

Gott sei mit euch bis auf wiedersehen.

Elder Bodily

2012-02-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2012

Guten Tag!

So, sometimes Missionaries have a lot of fun.

Today the older German missionaries left for their respective fields. We had 24 Elders leave today which leaves us with 20 left. Because they were leaving this meant that the last two nights had to be a party. Part of this MTC allowed partying consisted of the ceremony where the older Deutschers gave their "pass-down" gifts to the new Deutschers before they leave. All the Deutsch Missionaries recieved anywhere from 1-3 pass-down items. I received two. The first was given to me by Elder Johnson and it was the "Suit Jacket of Legends". It's this navy blue suit jacket with the word Legend inscribed in it. It supposedely goes to the most sharped dress missionary; the double-breasted suit I inherited from Dad kind of sealed the deal for me. The other pass-down I inherited was the "Edge sensitive skin shaving gel for the 'True Man'". We don't need to discuss that one.... Others included the "Sword of Southern Utah" "Pinecone of fertility" "the Partie Machen (Party Maker) box" "The Ugliest tie ever worn by a missionary" "Cheerleading pom-poms" "The egg of unknown age" "The bag of convience (which is basically the greatest survival kit ever made)" and much more. They are funnier if you get to explain the tradition but there are too many and not enough time for me to type them all. My favorite one though was the "And these elders dwelt in a shirt" shirt and pants. Part of the tradition for handing that down is the previous owner and the new owner have to work together to get in the shirt and pants back to back. It happened to be two larger missionaries this time and caused a lot of laughs. Elder Davies and I as new zone leaders also got one of the greatest pass-downs ever: the Bat Cave. The Bat Cave is this secret bathroom that only ZLs are allowed to know about it. It's a building in the middle of our residence hall building, cafeteria, and classroom building. Supposedly the last 5 pairs of Deutsch ZLs have been able to go there and not see another person ever. What makes it so great is the stalls are large enough to run, and they include a sink and automatic toilet paper dispensers, and it is surprisingly the best smelling room on campus.

Today Elder Davies and I had to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to check off the rooms of the departing missionaries. That wasn't quite so great. But we did get to go to the temple right after that and have a huge p-day in store for us.

Yes I remember that being a missionary is not just about having fun all the time, so here is a great experience I had this week. We had the 50th anniversary of the MTC on Tuesday. For this Elder Russel M. Nelson and Elder Jeffery R. Holland came to speak to us. After first being kicked into the overflow building to watch the devotional on the screen, by some miraculous occurence Elder Davies and I ended up being on the floor chairs about 25 feet away from the podium. That day had been my hardest day at the MTC. I had been really discouraged with the language that day and I didn't feel like I was being an adequate missionary at all. When Elder Holland got up to talk though the spirit came stronger to me than I had ever expereinced yet in the MTC. I felt so close to my Heavenly Father. I knew more strongly at that time than ever before that I was a missionary called of God. He did not call me to fail, but to perform miracles through his guidance. I have no doubt in my mind that this church is true. I have known this for a long time, but now my testimony burns more fervently than ever. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and are always there for us. I know that the greatest happiness we can ever experience comes through this gospel. I would exhort any who have not read through the Book of Mormon and sincerely prayed, with real intent, with faith that you can receive an answer to know that this church is true, should it do it now. If you do this, follow the commandments, repent, and endure to the end you'll never have any regrets. These things I say in the name of Jesus Christ.

For now I love you all and I hope everything is going well for you.

Gott sei mit euch bis auf wiedersehen (God be with you til we meet again)

2012-01-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

Week 2 January30, 2012

Guten Morgan

So the MTC is still going really well. We're learning a whole ton about the gospel everyday. The spirit is so strong here and blesses us each day with new knowledge and insight. The German is going really well too. This week has been very optimistic because we have reached that point where we have full confidence that the Lord will have us prepared for Germany. Brother Olsen sent me a letter in the mail the other day- it was all in German. I was able to understand just about all of it which was very encouraging.

The two zone leaders for our branch are leaving in a week to Germany so they called Elder Davies and I to be the new zone leaders of our branch. Elder Gubler is going to take my spot as district leader.

So I am actually leaving the MTC on March 19, not the 20. Not a big difference but one none the less. They don't really have an advanced class for German here. You either come in knowing the language and then put you through the English missionary schedule, or you stay here for your whole duration unless you pick the language up really really fast.

The cafeteria food is nothing spectacular, but its not bland or disgusting. They have had a lot of variety so far which has been nice. Mom you would be so proud of me; I've been doing really well with eating vegetables and fruit and I have not been eating "all that I can".

On the 3rd day of the MTC we were assigned to teach an investigator, every day- in German. This week we have picked up another- Michael and Patrik. Granted they are just actors but it gets to you when you teach and you take it so seriously.

Well, my cold is gone, but all my roommates except the French elders have a cold instead now. Good thing we get along well or else I'd be scared they would hate me for giving it to them.

Here is my shout out to Elder Pickard! Congratulations on your mission call to NY, NY North spanish speaking. I guess you will have to give up your Red Socks pride for two years. Here is my advice to you and to all future missionaries coming in:

1. Read all of Preach my Gospel and watch "The District" on your missionary account and if you can - read "The Book of Mormon, The Key to Conversion" by Glenn Pearson

2. Come in with a good attitude. Yes, you'll have your moments of homesickness, but the more you put in to your work and your desire to serve, the more you'll get out. This experience will be as good as you want it to be.

3. Brush up on your language before you come, but don't worry about the language either. You learn by the Holy Ghost. The first few days you'll feel overwhelmed because the teacher rarely speaks in English, but you catch on quickly. My companion has had no experience with German before he came and is coming along wonderfully.

4. Learn the Gospel. If you repeat it, it means its really important. Learn the Gospel. Learn the Gospel. Learn the Gospel. That's the most important thing to do. Your personal testimony of Jesus Christ is so critical to the life of the mssionary. You'll be so far ahead if you are constantly working to learn more about our Heavenly Father and his Son. As you devote yourself to studying and drawing closer to our Savior he will bless you so strongly with the spirit to help you understand how to teach his children. Learn the gospel.

5. Don't drink the Orange Juice in the MTC.

6. Come in humbly, with love in your heart. This is just as important as learning the gospel, I just don't want to retype it over and over.

It's so exciting to see that so many missionaries are devoting their time and efforts to this work. I'm thrilled for what will come in the future because of it.

I have to go now, but I love you all. I hope everything is going really well.

Ich gebe zeugnis dass der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzen Tag der Kirche Gottes ist. Durch der Macht Gott, hat Joseph Smith der Kirche und der Priestertum wiederhergestellt. Ich weiss Jesus Christus fur uns sunen hat. Er ist mein Erloser und Herr. Ich weiss Gott alles seine kinder lieben und segnen. Wir Konnen uber das Buch Mormon beten und weiss es wahr its. Ich sage diese dinge in Namen Jesus Christus, Amen.

Keep the Faith


Elder Bodily with Bishop Borup and Stake President McGinn as he was set apart on the evening of January 17, 2012	.

Elder Bodily and companion with President and Sister Watson and Brother and Sister Jones in MTC, Jan. 29.

Guten Tag!

2012-01-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

January 23, 2012

I just want to start off with saying that I love you all and I hope everything is going well!

The MTC is so great! You learn so much so fast and everyone is so happy and cheerful. You can feel the spirit everyone, as long as you are doing what you should be doing, and you always have a happy feeling inside.

So we found out that the MTC has been doing an accelerated learning program for the last few months and that may be why so many missionaries have not liked it recently, but honestly its not that bad. You just need to understand that you're learning by the spirit and that you will be alright as long as you continue to work hard and keep God close to you. You just can't help but be excited about what you are doing in here, Christ love is really present in here.

Shout out to Frau Lindsay! You've been an awesome teacher for me and what you've taught me has helped me have a huge head start when I got in here. The language has been coming really well for only having been in here for 5 days. I have been able to use what you taught me to get a good idea of what our teacher is speaking to us (our teacher has only said one sentence in english so far) and I've been able to help others sometimes.

So our branch president is President Dunn. On Thursday he made me district leader which has been so much fun but a lot of work. The branch we are in has all of the German speaking missions (Berlin, Frankfurt, und Alplandish). We have 5 districts with 8 elders and 2 sisters in each. 2 of these districts are missionaries who came on wednesday, the other 3 have been here for 6 weeks already. Here are the people in my district:

Elder Davies: He is my companion. He is from Sandy and is probably the biggest Utah Jazz fan you'll ever meet. He so nice and friendly and such a hard worker. He hasn't had any experience with learning German before but he is catching on really quick. Everyone in his family thought he was going to Norway because his ancestery is Swedeish, his dad served in Finland, and his brother served in Denmark so had he gone to Norway they would have covered the Scandanavian countries. However, he is so excited for the mission he is going to which is the Alpenlandish as well.

Elder Gubler and Elder Niedens: They are companions and also going to the Alpenlandish mission. They share a room with Elder Davies and I and two missionaries going to the Paris, France mission. Elder Gubler is the man. He is so enthusiastic about learning the language and preparing for the work. He was in my mission prep class at BYU. We both got our calls on the same day so we announced them at the same time in Brother Bott's class. Elder Niedens is one of the most humble guys you'll ever meet. He comes off at first as your typical shy farm boy from Montana but he is such a hard worker and always willing to help others.

Elder Collins and Elder McLaws: They are going to the Frankfurt mission. They live next to us in the residence hall. Elder Collins is the one I relate to most because were both from Utah Valley (he went to Salem Hills high), Sterling Scholar in Social Science, and huge BYU football fans. We get along so well and have a great time in class. I am really good friends with all the elders but I probably would have hung out with him before my mission a lot. Elder McLaws is going to be the most fluent in German by the end of the mission. Whether he is the best now or not he is such hard worker and studies German so diligently. He is the reasonable one in our group.

Elder Divver and Elder Kutler: They are also going to the Frankfurt mission. Elder Divver is one of the funniest kids I've met. He is really good at basketball (he played on the Highland high team that took state). he is really enthusiastic about the work. Elder Kutler is from Texas and is super modest. You can always count on him to be smiling and be super polite to everyone.

Sister Homestead and Sister Sprouse: Sis. Homestead is going to the Alpenlandish mission and Sis. Sprouse is going to the Frankfurt mission. They are both really nice and very good at German.

Our district gets along so well with each other and there is no animosity its so great. But I have to go now my time is almost up!

I weiss dass die evangelium wahr ist und Jesus Kristus der sohn Gott ist. Ich bin dankbar fur diese gelegenheit um zu mission bediener. Ich lebe mein Himmlischer Vater und meine familie.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Keep the Faith