Better Understanding of the Atonement

Dear Family & Friends,

I love you so much.  Thank you for all your love, prayers, and encouraging letters.  It sounds like you have each had a wonderful week, and I am so glad to hear you are all doing so well and continue to grow and love the Gospel.  This week and last couple of days have been great.  Elder Tollefsen is growing and coming to a better understanding of the Atonement.  This is helping him become the missionary that he is destined to be and is helping him move forward with faith and getting the fear out of his life.  His confidence in himself and this work is growing and I am so excited to see him continue to change and become.  I love this work and the opportunity I have to serve.  I have been really focusing on praying and thinking continuously about serving with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.  By applying the atonement and striving to serve this way I hope to continue to grow and become what my Father in Heaven knows I can be. 

This last week we had a great meeting with an investigator named Mark Gruber.  We had taught about following prophets the week before and he asked us for some scriptures on what prophets do.  We gave him King Benjamin’s address Mosiah 2-5 and he read it!  Oh happy day when people keep their reading commitments.  He is really beginning to understand and make changes in life.  What is super cool now is that after reading about King Benjamin we were able to invite him to come and see a Prophet and Apostle's speak to God's children in our day today.  Hurray for General Conference!  We are trying to get all of our investigators and those we are working with to come and watch sessions of conference with us.  We also met another investigator John Lange yesterday (early 20's), who has served on mission trips for other churches and is seeking to follow Christ more fully.  He recently stopped going to his church because of a big argument over "Eternal Security" in which half the congregation left the church.  We taught the message of the restoration and it made a lot of sense to him.  He says he loves to study and read and said he would read and pray about the Book of Mormon over the next couple of days and that he would like to come and watch General Conference.  We are meeting with him again tomorrow. 

Satan is opposing several investigators really hard right now.  He knows how to stop them and keep them from being able to meet and come to church.  It's incredible to see Gods hand in this work and to see how hard Satan try's those we teach when they are trying to change.  As they grow and build in their faith they can over come their obstacles...What builds their faith?  The Basics: read, pray, church...and everything that happens to them try's to impede these things.  They're trying though, and if they continue to desire to follow Christ, He will strengthen them and help them achieve what they hope for.

Well I love you all so much and pray that you each have a great, safe, and joyous week!

Love,

Elder Weaver