Apostolic Humor

I guess that I will just start with my thoughts on the week. WOW!!! From last Monday, until now... Wow is the only way I can really express my thoughts. Throughout the week, I have been striving to live more in accordance with what was taught in General Conference, and my experiance doing so has been amazing! I wrote a list of all the action items that I personally recieved during that wonderful weekend of revelation, and let me telll you... It was a nice list! One to make anyone crumble because of fear of not being able to accomplish it. But, as 2 Nephi 9:40 says, "...but the righteous fear (it) not, for they love the truth and are not shaken."

I look forward with an eye of faith, and with my eye single to the glory of God. As I wrote about a month or two ago, I have been keeping a "prayer journal", and what has been being impressed upon my mind over and over lately has been that of, "follow what I say. Whether it be out of my mouth or the mouth of my servants, it mattereth not."

The highlight of my week, and the highlight of everyone's week that is serving in any of the Houston Missions (Houston Mission, Houston East Mission, Houston South Mission), happened on Friday. Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came and spoke to all of us! We traveled wayyyyy outside our mission to go to this Tri-Mission Seminar. We drove all the way to Humble, Texas. And for further knowledge, it is pronounced UMBLE with no H. Haha

Anyways, after I kept receiving that thought of paying strict attention to what The Lord says, and His servants, you can imagine how excited I was to listen to an Apostle! When we got there, Elder Holland wanted to shake the hands of everyone in attendance, so we lined up and got to shake his hand and look him in the eye. About halfway through Elder Holland's address, he told us that he didn't much care about our names or where we were from, I mean he did, but what he cared more about was making enough eye contact to "look into our souls". He told us that by doing that, he personally interviewed each one of us! That was so cool to hear!

Elder Robbins and Elder Teixeira were also in attendance, and all three of them mostly spoke about oour own personal conversion to the Gospel rather than the conversion of the people we are teaching. Elder Holland kept going back to how right now is the "Harvest Time"! Right now, is when the Lord needs ALL OF US! The comment that struck me the most was when Elder Holland said, "We have not given our lives(speaking of the Apostles, missionaries, and members of the church) to a fairytale. This is not a joke that we have been playing on the world and the members of the church for the past almost 200 years! This is the Lord's work!" 

I LOVE THAT SOOOO MUCH!!!! I know that this is the Lord's work! To top it all off, I just want to testify to all y'all that Elder Holland the the rest of the Quorum of the Twelve are probably some of the funniest people in this world! Elder Holland had some of the greatest and wittiest quotes! I didn't write any of them down because I was trying to focus on the Spiritual aspect of what they were all saying, but I promise you that they are freaking hilarious!

I love all of y'all so much!

-Elder J.T.Yates

Elder Whetzel and I went on Exchanges on Tuesday, and we went back to La Madeline's! I have been waiting almost 18 months to be his companion again for at least a day! You could say it was a really good day!

Elder Smedley's (My trainer) little brother, who is serving in the Houston Mission!!! 

It was so cool to meet him!!

While waiting for Elder Smedley, a ton of Sisters from our mission came and jumped into the photo and Elder Loveridge snapped this photo. Hahaha

A bee that hitch-hiked his way from the mission office to the Dairy Ashford Building today! :)