Steadfastness in Faith

Hey!

Now I'm going to tell you a little bit about this past week. It's been really rough and really good at times. I just really need to work harder at not beating myself up all the time and not looking on the few bad things that I did during the week and I need to focus on the many things that I did right and all the wonderful things that God has blessed me with. It will take some time but I'm willing to change and I know that if I do all that I can that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will help me further along. Personally I feel like I haven't done as well as I should've done this past week, and I hope that I can do better. The Scriptures are doing so much to help strengthen my testimony and they are such a big help to me to help answer my questions, and they help me find out how to answer other people's questions to the best of my ability. I'm still going through Mosiah right now, and I have gotten more out of the scriptures with the help of President Fenn's scripture marking card that he gives to all the new Elder's coming in. I hope that when my package comes that you will enjoy the gift and I hope that you will try to find your connection to someone in the scriptures as well. Mine right now would have to be the Brother of Jared. No, I may not have the amount of faith that he had, but I do know that I wouldn't be here without the help of the Savior and with the help of all those around me. 

I want to challenge everyone this next year to think of something that you want to work on that is related to the gospel. Then I want all of you to then look through every book in the Bible, Book of Mormon, D&C, and the Pearl of Great Price, and I want you to mark it as you go through and read this next year. We all have things that we struggle with and things that we fall short in, but if we use the Scriptures that we have today and use them to help us improve in those areas we will for sure see improvement as we go through them. Always remember that you have to work towards it with faith and strive to have our Roots of Faith deep into this gospel. Then we have to nourish it and make it stronger as we go along, and we have to do it or else the tree will be ripped out of this gospel and we will slowly wither away like a plant not rooted into the ground. I challenge this to all of you and hope that you will try to find your Steadfastness in Faith and plant yourselves so that Satan and his followers WILL NOT be able to shake you with their winds of trial and hardship.

Thank you all for everything that you all do for me, I love all of you. May peace be with you and may you have His spirit to be with you.

Love,

Elder Gatlin

Monopoly

Canasta

Elder Kupferer & Elder Gatlin

Elder, Elder, Elder Lane, & Elder Gatlin

Studying

Scripture marking key from President Fenn

Christmas Phone Call

Merry Christmas from the Gatlin's Dec. 2018

We loved seeing his happy, shining face!

He has become quite the studier

His name badge

Yield

Well HEY! This week has kind of been amazing and I love it. At transfer, Elder Devine moved out (sad face) but in exchange we got Elder Bastian! He is the coolest guy ever. He and I are almost exactly alike and It's great. We talk all the time about things we relate on and games we played before we came out. It's perfect. A lot of stuff has happened, I have given two tours to non members this past week and those tours have been the most spiritual tours I have given yet! I know the spirit was helping me get my point across, and I know He was there with me. One of the people I gave a tour to was from France. He had a flight layover, and he just wanted to know more about our church and what we are all about. He was really touched and I wish I could've spent a little more time but he had to catch his flight. I just have one spiritual challenge for the week. I would like you all to read in Mosiah about King Benjamin and his sermons to the people. I have been reading in there and I have felt the spirit super strong during those chapters. But my real spiritual thought is about part of that. In Mosiah 3:19 it says "For the natural man (or woman) is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." I really like that verse especially when it says YIELDS! that is a big thing in the verse, we have to be willing to submit to his counsel and yield to it and accept it and have a willingness to serve and to change because if we don't, we won't change and we are BOUND to die in our sins if we don't try to change and Yield to the Lord and Savior to change. I leave this with you and hope that you all are doing well, I love you all very much and I can feel your prayers and your support especially around this Christmas season. May you turn your thoughts to him and align your will with his and you shall be blessed.
Love, you all and Stay Beefy!
Elder Wyatt Gatlin

Christmas Tree at CHL. So Pretty!!!!

One night last week we just tied to make the stupidest faces

together as an apartment, and I snapped one of Elder Lane

Love the Guy!

It was a busy day at the CHL and me and Elder Devine just flopped

on his bed and Elder Dunn stole my camera and took a picture.

Tried to take a pic of what we looked like, didn't turn out how I wanted.

Picture of all of us and a few gifts from 12 days of Christmas

box that Elder Devine's parents gave him to share with the apartment.

Merry Christmas from Church Headquarters Missionaries!

The Pride Cycle

It's super cool to hear that Spencer is skiing, I'm glad that he has something to keep his mind busy and off the fact that I'm gone. I also love the fact that you are all jamming out to Christmas music for me, be sure to sing extra loud for me on the Sugarland songs for me cuz I personally love that Christmas album the most. Hugh Jackman!!!! Are you Kidding me!? That will be super cool, I'm jealous that you get to go see him in a concert sort of thing. We're going to have to have some fun times together when I get back to make up for all the lost time, and knowing dad I could've told you that he would want to go. Mom....really? It's Wolverine himself why would he pass up an opportunity like that? But anyway That's super cool. I'm super happy for Mayce and super happy she is engaged, that's a big step! I honestly can't wait to see the Last Avengers.....but that's awesome that it comes out on your anniversary, Super awesome anniversary gift for you both right? You should go down to Hurricane and see it in the VIP Theatre Seats. For the Run you should have a shirt that says something like "I'm running for my missionary" or something super spiritual like that, plus I'm glad your getting a really good vibe about this next years run. You will have to tell me how it goes. I'm still pretty skeptical about the Grinch movie but if you say it's good I will at least give it a chance. I Promise I won't open my gifts for Christmas, It's just not right to open them before than. That's a funny story about Helaman because I'm actually reading that book in the scriptures and thats what we talked about for our Book of Mormon Class with President Fenn on Monday. We went over Chapters 6-9 on the Pride Cycle through the Nephites. It's really cool to hear and see the cycle and how long it doesn't take for the Nephites to be Prosperous and Prideful, then they forget the lord and slide into wickedness, then they slowly Humble themselves and then they remember the lord and become Righteous again, Then Prosperous...etc. It really doesn't take that long and It's kinda scary if you ask me. But I like in Hel. Ch 8 v. 14 - 15 "Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come. and as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal" It is so easy to fall into wickedness but it could also be just as easy to follow the Lord, look upon him holding fast to that "Rod of Iron" and "Looking" up to that "Brazen Serpent" when we are in our hour of need and continuously follow that path that is the Straight and Narrow. That's my spiritual thought for the week, Transfer is Tuesday but I just got put into this zone and I really don't know why I would get transferred out right as I just got put in. It does get hard on some days, really hard on others, and some days are just flat out fun. Even though this first month has been really hard; I know that this is what the Lord wants me to do, and this is what I need to do to help bring me closer to the spirit. I Love all of you very much and I hope that all of you are also trying to find your Perfect Brightness of Hope in the Gospel. I can feel all of your prayers and I pray for you every night with all my heart. Keep singing for me and keep "Marchin' On....One Republic" real good song, listen to it it's great. Have a Fabtabulous Week and as Always.........Stay Beefy!

Christmas Blues

First off, thanks for all those winter Hershey Kisses! I love them and all of you! This past week was a decently hard one...I just kept thinking of the Christmas all around me and how I'm away, and I get a little down, but then I think of all the amazing people around me and the Mission family I have up here and it brings me right back up to where I was. Other than that, I'm doing really well. Everyone in my zone loves me, President Fenn loves having me on this mission. I bring a real party to exercise and to my apartment, life is good. I wish I could take pictures of the super cool things we have on display in the Church History Library, but they are really old documents and they are being preserved and photo's aren't allowed. How's everyone back home? How's the reading coming and what are some spiritual thoughts you guys have? How was Fast and Testimony meeting? I hope that you are having a wonderful Christmas even though I'm gone. I feel really bad for Spencer, I wish I could help but all I can do is pray for him that he will feel comfort and feel God's love & know that I love him just as much and I hope his missing me gets better. Thankfully Elder Dunn didn't get anymore Protein powder, he already has like 70 pounds of it on our little table along with the Christmas tree on top of THE 22POUND BUCKET OF POWDER HIS DAD SENT HIM!!!! Jeez his dad is nuts, but hey I still love the guy and his dad. I'm glad that Lexi is doing well and I also send my best to Bradyn and am proud of him for learning that song. We went to the Christmas Devotional and the Music and the Spoken Word. All throughout December Music & The Spoken Word is in the Conference center and we have front row seats. I loved the Christmas Devotional and all the motivation and the wonderful Christmas messages all the wonderful church leaders have to say to us all, but I'm actually pretty sad that President Oaks nor President Eyring spoke but it was still a really good meeting and I loved it. I am super happy with my zone because we have a new assignment that started this week and we are listening to Conference talks from the 1940's!!!!! They aren't available to the public yet. That's what me and Elder Lane are working on. We are marking where the talks start and if the talk is in the session at all. It has to be completed before February, so when it is done they are going to snip the audio and make them available on the internet. Sorry mom, you can't listen to them yet. It's super cool, and I love that they are yelling over the pulpit as they get into the talk and feel passionate about their talk. One talk really stood out to me, It was the Presiding Bishop of the church, Bishop LeGrand Richards April 7, 1940 and this is what he said, I can't remember the exact quote but I remember most and the general Idea. "These bodies are the Tabernacles of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit WILL NOT dwell in unholy tabernacles. These bodies are not ours, but Christ has payed for them with a price, and he who defiles it, he should surely die." There were a few parts that I left out because I can't remember the whole thing but that part really hit me because we kind of overlook the Word of Wisdom. We think we know all of it. But those commandments that we think we know and kind of just brush off the shoulder are the most important ones. When we brush them off Satan can find a way to get a hold of you. We need to stay vigilant and stay on the covenant path and stay righteous. Also, Immorality is a Sin placed right next to the shedding of innocent blood in Gods eyes. I really think we sometimes need to look at ourselves and see what areas we are lacking in and see where we need to improve to be more on the covenant path. I tell you these things to tell the family and to tell the Priesthood Quorum. (Part of an email Message to Dad) I really miss you dad and I really miss the family. I hope you are doing well, and I will be sending you and mom a special book for each of you to have and I hope you will treasure it and find the promise and the spirit that dwells with it. I hope you are doing well and hope that you can continue to be that anchor for me and the family and I will try to do the same for you guys and everyone else back home. I Love you Dad! Merry Early Christmas! Special Dad? Lucky Young Missionary? Love you for all eternity, Your young missionary Elder Wyatt Gatlin (Part of an email Message to Mom) Well mother, my time is up. I love you to pieces, and I hope that the spirit will be with you to comfort you, and I hope you can see mighty miracles this next week and see the lords hand in your life. I am very special to have you as a mother. See you soon, and as always....Stay Beefy!