Ally in the Big Apple: Jeffery R. Holland Visits Humble NYC

Dearest friends and family,

I am pleased to say I had the extraordinary pleasure of having Jeffrey R. Holland visit my mission yesterday! Did you hear that correct? Jeffrey R. Holland! (If you don't know who he is then look him up - he's kind of a big deal) Better yet, he shook our hands! And looked into our souls! So, forgive me, but this week I will primarily be addressing his comments and wisdom and how it touched me.
Note: I rarely was able to write down quotes exactly as he stated them, given he was looking into my [poor and unworthy] eyes so often. So maybe believe the quotes were what he said (because 95% they were), but still take them with a grain of salt.

District Pumpkin Carving Activity

"We always have resurrection Sunday after crucifixion Friday. The road to salvation goes through Gethsemane. Maybe you won't spend too much time there, and you won't go straight to the center like our Lord Jesus Christ, maybe just spend a couple moments on the outskirts, but you've gotta spend some time there. Joy will come - in the meantime welcome to your mission." -Jeffrey R. Holland

For those who haven't heard, my mission has been very difficult for me these last few weeks. Elder Holland coming was, in a way, an answer to many unsaid prayers. This Tuesday I learned that my grandmother passed on. This affected me profoundly. It has been difficult for me to think of much else. I still, of course, went about my proselyting. I talked to all who I saw, I taught lessons, I tried to be bright. But in so many ways my heart was being squeezed and pressed and wrung and I couldn't hardly go an hour without reflecting back on it. Just hearing of Elder Holland coming was a major blessing for me. It was something I could look forward to, be excited for in all my pains and trials. I
feel blessed beyond measure to have this experience, especially so early on in my mission. "LOOK. This is real life!" -JRH

Hermana Gourley and I when we met ELDER HOLLAND!

The first thing that was adorable was President Reynolds speaking to us before Elder Holland arrived. We could see how excited and nervous he was. "What a favored people!" He exclaimed. "Just like it says in the scriptures. Get excited!" Oh. We were most definitely excited. Hermana Gourley and I landed ourselves some second row seats right behind the Assistants to the President (perks of arriving two hours early). He arrived and a hush came over all present as we stood to receive him.

"[Elder Holland] has this vibrancy and love for everyone, and I know it's because of his love for the gospel!" -Sister Holland

He let us shake his hand. He looked into our eyes as we did so. He called this an interview with our soul. Shaking his hand was wonderful as well. It just *felt* like touching an apostle. It was worn and
withered a bit, but it was a hand that knew hard work and the hand of a man who was a servant of God. A man who knew of God's love for me.

As the devotional started, President and Sister Reynolds spoke on drawing near unto God and sanctifying our hearts. We then had the pleasure of hearing from Matt Holland who related a hilarious story about his son Danny (who I gave a fist bump to) when he was around 5. His father noticed him playing an awful lot with the girl next door, and when he asked Danny if he was going to marry her he said, "dad, we don't even know the way to the temple!" How perfectly darling. One day I hope to raise kids with that kind of gospel foundation. :) He related how strongly he felt the spirit in our mission, and how tender it was for him to be with missionaries as his son was newly in his mission. He encouraged us to bear pure testimony of the restoration and the Book of Mormon.

"There is magic -no, we don't use that word - there is majesty, spirit, chemistry, eternity in reading that book!" -JRH

A huge theme of the meaning was the Book of Mormon. As Elder Holland began to speak to us all I could think was, "wow!". He speaks with so much power! Pretty much everything he says should be put in all capital letters, because either in intensity or love or loudness or determination or soberness everything he says leaves such a striking impression. As he spoke on the Book of Mormon I could feel the strength of his testimony and how he knew of a surety the veracity of it. He asked for a chalkboard and chalk and, crazy awesome theology professor that he is, taught us so many ridiculously fantastic things about the Book of Mormon. Even if he was "writing in reformed Egyptian" as he put it, he laid out the first bit of that Book in astonishing detail.

In terms of reading the Book of a Mormon, he said that he couldn't imagine any more important pages for someone to read of the Book of Mormon than the first 14 pages. "The Book of Mormon has a spirit itself" he declared. If an investigator hasn't read he told us to, "throw a fit! Now that I'm older I say be devastated, but *you* throw a fit!" I restarted the Book of Mormon a few days ago and am glad to be feeling its spirit every day in my life.

All the sisters in Zone #1 (the best Zone!)

Humorous one... :-)

Zone Training Meeting

He told us how glad he was to feel of our spirit, especially in a mission where, "you could break so many rules in 24 hours that we could write a volume of church history about you." We could go to
Times Square and camp out and be back in our mission by morning. Of course, though, he said we aren't perfect, else we would be levitating out of the room. He said that while perhaps a few were struggling, as he shook our hands and looked into our eyes he could see our worthiness and desire for the work. He emphatically dictated that he never wants to ever see a single one of us return from our missions and go less active. "You cannot go back. You can never go back." When I return home from my mission I hope to have the drive to love and live this gospel for the rest of eternity. While I'm on my mission I strive to "just be the missionary that a missionary is supposed to be!" This mission is a point of demarcation in my life. It separates me from who I was before and who I will be after. I plan to never put down or desecrate that change. Rather I will integrate it into my nature.

I want to be as Elder Holland and say, "Give me a river to swim or a mountain to climb, there is nothing I wouldn't do to find out more about my savior." I love my savior. I am so grateful to have seen one of His chosen apostles and be edified by him. In the words of Nephi in 1 Nephi 14:28 "And behold, I, Nephi, am [limited by space] that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw."

But in closing, one moment that meant quite a bit to me was one of the many times he looked, individually, into my eyes. Addressing all, but looking at me, he said, "YOU are one of the witnesses of [the Book of Mormon]." It touched me and I will always remember how warm and loved and happy I felt in that moment as he looked into my eyes for longer than I could ever have hoped for and told me of my importance in declaring the Word of God.

We knelt for a final prayer, all of us, and as the last words were said, tears of gratitude ran down my face. Before he walked out he turned to us. He said, "Love you. Work hard. Go home." What a glorious experience. How inspiring!

Everything else this week save my pain at my grandmother's passing is insignificant, all I can say is that we had a ward Hispanic Heritage night which was lovely (the pictures convey all you need to know) and we just barely finished carving pumpkins for a district activity. We gained a couple of investigators, as well, which is exciting.