Real moments with fake investigators (also, lots and lots of voluntary BoM study)

Hello everyone!

I'm hoping I got around to all of your personal emails, I wouldn't want any questions unanswered, but I'm pretty confident we're good. As some of you already know, my camera is amazing, but the port to plug it into the computer is real weird and rare I guess, so instead I'll be coming next week with a new SD card reader to show you all tons and tons of life at the MTC moments. I had an amazing experience all the way back to last Saturday though, so we have to start there. Out lesson was by my favorite sub thusfar, Hermano Omdahl. After the main lesson, he said we'd have to talk to him about and say a prayer with him as an investigator all in Spanish! Elder Christiansen took four years of Spanish though, so he and I were both feeling pretty okay about it. We went in had an amazing lesson, then left. When he called us in to talk about it, he led us to our one problem--we had a script. We were so by the books we didn't use anything we learned about "jose" to teach him. So we went a second time, and learned all about his experience with churches and prayer, and how he had all of these unanswered questions. Building off of that, we testified of the answers you can get from prayer, then had one with him before talking a bit more and then leaving. It's so simple, but the spirit was immense despite us all knowing it was a roleplay. Hermano Omdahl said he was going to cut it right after we built off his comments, but he felt the Spirit testifying to all of us and stopped wanting to cut it short altogether. It was crazy. After the roleplay we read scriptures as a zone and had a short testimony meeting. It was truly a beautiful moment.

So, that was just Saturday. This is going to be long haha. Sunday was a mix of a normal Sunday and a normal MTC day, with priesthood and sacrament instead of normal lessons, and a devotional followed by a movie night! The devotional was great, but I remember nothing because the movie was so powerful. I want every one of you to listen to "Character of Christ" by Elder Bednar, it was a Christmas MTC talk and though it's been less than a week since I heard it, it's changed my life. He talks about making small plates of Nephi rather than Large, and how whenever we have a question, we should read the ENTIRE book of Mormon, front to back, highlighting anything that helps your question, and then summarize it on a half page of paper. Then by the end of your life you'll have hundred of simple, cheap Book of Mormons, each one with thousands of answers to just one question. I bought a new simple book of mormon two days later, stopped reading even though I was at 3 Nephi 12, and started over with just one purpose--know the Character of Christ as Bednar suggested. I can say I have never understood the Book of Mormon as much as I have right now. I feel the Spirit every time I open it up, and I can't stop reading. I feel like an entirely new convert reading these words for the first time. I read all of first and second Nephi in three days, and now I just finished King Benjamin's speech on the fifth day. I wish I could always read like this, this much. I love every word, and can truly imagine what's happening and make connections I never made before, even small things will come to my mind and it feels like revelation, even though it's probably just some small, simple thing everyone already knows. There's a fire burning in me, and it grows each time I hear a new sermon, with every chapter I want to keep going. It's the same feeling I get whenever I really get into a book, like Catch-22 or Slaughterhouse Five, but this one is more than just true, it's eternal truth.

So anyway, all of that reading has taken up most of my week and free time, honestly. Not even kidding, Monday through today just feels like a huge blur of either eating, learning, or reading. Hermano Stewart-Chester and Hermana Sherwood are both amazing and have been here (mostly) all week, so no subs except Hermana Beard on Thursday. We also did service on Thursday--Elder Christiansen and I were assigned to set up chairs for the day. The initial high of being here has worn off, but I'm still constantly working to improve myself, and I love being here more than anything.

I love you all so much!!!

Elder Preston Bone

P.S. Our branch president is saying we shouldn't email back and forth, so after sending you all your emails I can't actually reply to anything you say until next Saturday. I might be able to read them though, but if you have any more questions don't expect an answer before then. Love you!