He can't open the door, we have to let him in.

Well I received a moving notice yesterday. I've spent three months in discovery, so I'm most likely moving zones. My companion isn't moving either so I'm getting a new companion most likely, can't wait to see who I'm going to be with and I can't wait to see my new zone.

So that's the news in that category. Moving is never fun but if you just focus and knock it out really fast, it really isn't bad at all. But the district has been the same as usual, nothing to report there. We did have a temple trip on Friday as a mission, we at least try to go once a month but sometimes it doesn't happen. But even those months, I go with my companion. Personally, I just like to try to go because it really helps you out. It gets rid of some stress and it just helps your relationship with the Savior. Elder Rangus needed someone to go with him to the temple the day after. So I went with him to do sealing for my very first time. I enjoyed it, just wish that I had more of my names that I could do because I only had one of my own. 

I just wish that Saturday could have been better. There was a ton of people and it ended up giving me a huge headache, and Elder and Sister Cooper went home on Saturday. They were two of my favorite Seniors to work with. They were so much fun and they brought a ton of laughs to the entire floor. So that was pretty sad, but I know that new elders will come in and will be just as fun. So yea....that was the sad moment for the week. 

One of the greatest moments that I've had was yesterday. For our memorial day activity, we hiked up to the cemetery and looked at quite a few of the prophets graves. I managed to find Elder LeGrand Richards grave, which was super cool to see in person. It was really spiritual, because President Fenn came with us and told us some really cool stories and some facts about him that I hadn't heard of before.But a really pleasant surprise that I had yesterday was having a visit from Bishop Massey! I was like Bishop! What! Anyway, it was super cool to have a visit from him. Well, There really isn't much to report this week because not much actually happened this week. So I will continue on with my spiritual thought.

I will be taking my spiritual thought from 3 Nephi 27:28-29

28 And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.

29 Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

I read this over a few times. But I take a lot from these two versus and I really feel like that we really need to take counsel from these versus. We all really need to look at our prayers and we need to ask upon god for those things that are righteous and for those things that we may be struggling in. Because he wants to help us and he desires to assist us. But like in the painting where christ is knocking on the door, He can't open up the door to teach us...We have to let him in and we have to humble ourselves and allow him to teach and bless us. Without doing so we are withholding ourselves because we aren't allowing him into our lives.

Well I hope that all of you have a Wonderful Fabtabulous week and I love each and every one of you. You are all great and I know that if you push through all your trials you will be blessed and I know that you will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

You are all amazing!

Stay Foxy!

Elder Wyatt Gatlin

Pondering is a form of prayer

Hello once again all of you amazing fabulous people! So one thing that has kind of been on my mind for the longest time was a super scary experience that I had a little while ago. 

So this was on Friday...This guy walks into the Family History Library and immediately asks about security in the building, then he asks about security around the temple. From there it just makes me more and more scared, He mentioned a ton of things that I couldn't follow. He kept asking if he was making sense and I told him no obviously, but I was continually trying to just find the point that he was trying to get across. He was bouncing all over the place and not making sense at all which in turn freaked me out and also just made me want to stay away from him. I eventually got Sister Jensen, one of the Senior Sisters on the floor, to get security. I told them that I saw him go down to B1 so they went down and they found him and escorted him out of the building. It just really freaked me out but I'm glad that security can get to all the buildings that the church owns really fast. So I've said tons of thanks this past week for the protection that the church has for the various missionaries that they have in the surrounding area.

There was also something really funny that I did. 

The fact that Transfers is a week from now is kind of weird to think about. These first 6 months have flown by and it feels like only a few weeks ago I was still in the Church History Library Services. I guess that's what happens when you loose yourself in the work am I right? But it's been totally fun and I've enjoyed all the experiences that I've had thus far. 

My district has been really fun and we do a lot of things that are just stupid...flat out, but for some reason those are really funny. Which is totally great and I'm so glad that my district doesn't have any hard feelings towards each other and it feels good to have a solid district who build off of each other. When we do district meetings and when we do Priesthood with the district, it's really nice to hear from different perspectives and to hear what other people take away from a lesson. It allows everyone else to see what others see and it teaches everyone else in the room about everything else.

Spiritual thought: I know that this email is a little shorter than most but my spiritual thought comes from 3 Nephi 17 or 18....I forgot my Book of Mormon again, but President Marion G. Romney said this “As I have read the scriptures, I have been challenged by the word ponder, so frequently used in the Book of Mormon. The dictionary says that ponder means ‘to weigh mentally, think deeply about, deliberate, meditate.’ …

“Pondering is, in my feeling, a form of prayer. ......" 

From there he says a little bit more but when I read that I got like a slap to the face by the spirit. I then had a thought come to mind that I know was from the spirit, but the thought came to mind that said: "That's one of the very important ways that He can teach you. He wants to teach but you have to allow him to open your mind and take time to try to receive and focus in on what the lord wants to teach you. I then took a minute to realize what the lord has wanted me to learn and take a while and just sit there and try to pick out some more doctrine that I may have missed from what I have read. It did help me learn a little bit more from the scriptures plus it really relaxes me and I just feel a ton of stress leave from my mind. So my challenge to you is to ask you to start pondering more. Take time right after you study the Scriptures and just listen to the promptings of the holy spirit and allow the lord to open your eyes and learn even more from the lord. 

Well I hope that all of you have an amazing week. I might be getting a new companion next week but I may keep the same companion. 

I love all of you very much and I appreciate all that you've done for me and being such amazing examples to me

Stay Foxy!

Elder Wyatt Gatlin

Meakness doesn't mean weakness

Hello All those who actually read my emails....hahahahahahaha! totally kidding. 

But this week has been a really fun week and I've really enjoyed it. One of my favorite things about this last week was the restoration activity on Friday. 

All the Young Elders went up the Canyon to Washington park to remind us of the kind of environment that would have been there when Joseph Smith had the First vision. The whole mission Presidency came up with us and it was just a super awesome experience. We talked about the first vision and a few things about Joseph Smith and about some of the things that he did in his life and about how we are obligated to do what we can to help build the kingdom of god and to help the saints in our everyday life. I just was really touched by the spirit, and the spirit really just testified to me that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that this gospel is true and that everything that he did is true. I personally just got a slap in the face like......This is what I've been trying to teach you for the longest time, why haven't you been listening. But yea I've been on a really big spiritual high lately and I've been doing pretty good with spiritual things. 

I've been studying in 3 Nephi and I've had a great experience with it. I've learned a lot and there is a ton of doctrine in those chapters and I've really enjoyed Jesus' ministry to the Nephites. We actually had a Book of Mormon Class last night about some of the chapters about some of the ordinances and some of the super special things that are in there. 3 Nephi is beginning to be my favorite book in the Book of Mormon. There are just so many teachings and so many amazing doctrines and lessons that are to be learned in those chapters. Plus the Student manual that I have has been really helping as well and it's been really teaching me how to look for the doctrine in the versus that don't seem to have any.

Spiritual Thought: So this week I'm going to come from 3 Nephi....WHOA! SUCH A SURPRISE RIGHT!? But it's in Chapter 12:5  And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Spencer W. Kimball taught that "Meekness doesn't mean weakness." and that in order to be meek one needs to have a reminder of their dependence and the one person that everyone is dependant on. Which is really special and truly amazing doctrine if you think about it. Because everyone is dependent on Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father for everything and that it's very important that at the end of the day we do more thanks in our prayers rather than asking for blessings, because if we look at our lives with an eye looking towards the blessings in our lives and instead of the short comings that we have, we will see a lot more of the things that we have been given. We need to turn our hearts towards giving thanks more often than asking because if we do that we will see blessings that the lord sees fit for us rather than of things that we think we need.

Well I hope that every single one of you has a splendid wonderful week and to make the most of every single moment

Love you all very much!

Stay Fabtabulous

Elder Wyatt Gatlin

WELL HELLO ALL YOU FABTABULOUS PEOPLE!!!!!! It's been pretty dang fun up here! 

I've been eating a lot healthier and I haven't been eating as much junk food. Elder Slack has been a huge help with that. I have really been watching what I've been eating and I've been trying not to eat less so I don't over eat. Which has been really good, and I've been able to do more at the gym and be able to exercise and not be dying of exhaustion because my lungs are dying.....hahahahaha...

But yea there's not much to report, actually other than the fact that I've been put into a great district and that everyone has a blast and we all love each other.....it's been really good. I love my district and my zone. Everything about my zone is amazing and all the other seniors there all appreciate having us around.

Spiritual Thought: So I'm going to come from Elder Bednar's talk from April 2019. 

So this talk actually really struck me during conference, then to make things even better.......*Drum roll*...........I did a Priesthood Lesson on the talk for Sunday, I think it was really cool because I read it again and I decided to use it. I hope that my district members got something from it and tried to gather something spiritual from it, or tried to learn something from my lesson as I don't really know how well I teach. 

But I encourage all of you to read it, because it is a really awesome testament of gathering your own faith and having greater understanding for your own conversion. One portion really stood out to me. 

"We cannot expect simply to attend Church meetings and participate in programs and thereby receive all of the spiritual edification and protection that will enable us “to withstand in the evil day.”  - Elder David A. Bednar.

This part really spoke to me both times I heard and when I read it. To my understanding I took it as that We can't just go to church and expect that, whatever we learned from those lessons will be enough to keep us from falling into temptation. In these days with all the things that satan is using to bombard us with we can't expect that small amount of knowledge to help us use our testimony to keep us from falling away. That's why it is beyond vitally important for us to read and strengthen our testimonies on our own time and by ourselves and in our homes. That is also why the new program has come out and why everything in the church today is focused around the home. If we can make our places of residence a tabernacle for the Holy Ghost and for the Spirit to dwell into....We can use those as sanctuaries and places for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to speak to us and to allow him to help us with our struggles and trials that we are faced with every single day. What we are doing today in this day and age to strengthen our testimony and deepen our roots in our understanding of the gospel will benefit us later in life because we will have our own values and other things to fall back on when we need some help. Our families are so important, which is why President Nelson is trying to put emphasis on the home, because our families are going to be one of the only things that we have left in life. I know that if you take the council of the Prophets and other church leaders you will be blessed and I know that you will be able to feel of the lords help in your lives more fully and be able to feel of his hand in your lives and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I hope you all will have a Fabtabulous Week and I hope that you will do all that you can to become better each and every day, 

Y'all are amazing and I love each and every one of you.

Stay Beefy!

Elder Wyatt Gatlin