Letter from Tacoma #22: March 28, 2016

 Hey everyone!

I don't have much time to write home today, but suffice to say that this week wasn't that eventful. All of our investigators fell off date for baptism, which is strange. One of my companions, Elder Ellis, has been here in Lakewood for almost 6 months, and this is the first time in the area where he's had no one on date at the end of the week. Usually this area is booming with baptisms, so I'm starting to wonder what we're doing wrong. We probably just need to turn our focus to getting more lessons though.

Thanks for the Easter Package, Mom and Dad! I got the package before Easter, but that's only because we had to stop by the office to grab something else, and it was just sitting there on the counter for me, freshly delivered; a little tender mercy. I loved the card, too! From the pictures, it looks like everyone else had a great Easter, too. Also, Happy Birthday Kenzie!

I'm super pumped for General Conference this week! When you devote all your time to focusing on the gospel and going around sharing what you know with everyone you see, you realize just how little you actually know. So, I'm excited to learn something new from the general authorities. This week is already full with other meetings I'll need to attend, so conference at the end of the week will be my biggest highlight.

Recently though, I've been focusing on being guided by the spirit, even for things that aren't the most important in the world. However, an opportunity to test my faith in following an impression came one night in the form of a forgotten phone.

It was late at night, and I was paired with Elder Evans. We'd been dropped off at an investigator's apartment to check up on him, but he never answered. Our ride had driven off to another appointment, and we'd usually call them to be picked up for the next appointment. But neither Elder Evans or I had taken a phone. It was still back at our apartment. We didn't know what we should do, or how we could get into contact with the other guys, so our best bet was to stick around where they dropped us off.

But Elder Evans is a bit of an impatient one; he hates waiting or standing still. So, he offered up a prayer to help us know where we should go to meet up with the other guys. Immediately, I felt an impression that we needed to stay where we were, on the sidewalk of an empty street. I told Elder Evans my feeling, and he went along with it... for about thirty seconds.

He then suggested that we walk down to the busy road, and possibly catch them as they drove past. However, my feeling was still there, and I told him to be patient. At that time, a lady walked by, and sated Elder Evans impatience by having him talk to her for a while. She wasn't interested, but sure enough, the other guys finally pulled up from down a different street. It was then that I realized that if I had just gone along with Elder Evan's suggestion and ignored my feeling, we would of missed our ride completely, walking down the road they wouldn't have even driven past on.

So, the lesson learned is that when you receive a prompting, stick with it until something comes out of it. If nothing happens right away, it will happen later down the line, and you'll be glad that you followed it.

Thanks for reading!

I love you all!

​-From the desk of 

Elder R. Austin Moe

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