Better week and improvement

This week has definitely been a better week and I am truly glad that it's been getting better.

Transfers happened and nothing happened to me or my companion. I'm still in the Church History Library basement, and I'm still with Elder Martin. I'm really glad that we stayed together because it just makes my life easier. Because it allows my project to continue forward better, than if we hadn't stayed companions. 

We had a service project on Saturday at the "This is the Place: Heritage Park" which was pretty quick but it was super fun! We just helped out making sure that the place was kept up. Most of it was gardening and yard work, but it didn't take us too long to get the job done because there were just so many of us and they weren't expecting that many people to show up. So we got all the work done fairly quickly. Of course, there are the few Elders who refuse to participate and who choose not to help out, which is expected but we can't really do much about that. But yea...it was really fun and I'm glad that we had the wonderful opportunity to serve there. 

But not much else has happened since Monday. We haven't had time to go hiking at all...sadly. Nothing major exciting happening up here. Sorry, but that's pretty much it.

Spiritual Thought: My spiritual thought today will be coming from 1 Nephi 8:10-12; 10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.

11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.

12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.

I may have spoken about this section of verses before but I can't remember when it was, so I'm going to roll with it. 

Personally to me, this speaks of the Atonement and how Jesus Christ through the Action of the Atonement, qualified for the Grace and Mercy that allows us to be healed and made clean. Once we partake of the Joy that comes from becoming clean, it's only natural that we want others to be able to partake of this gift. This experience should be something that we should all be looking for and seeking after because it is the thing that will allow us to be able to be sanctified and become whole. and without the Mediator, Jesus Christ, and the Grace and Mercy that he qualified for...we wouldn't be able to become a new person and we wouldn't be able to become a new person in Christ. I know this to be true and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ...Amen.

You're all amazing and I hope that you all have a Fabtabulous week

I love you all dearly! 

Stay Foxy

Elder Wyatt Gatlin

Rough week, progress, but looking forward

WELL....I swear, yesterday was the very beginning of the transfer but it's already time for transfers again!!! I guess it's what happens when you have way too much fun with your companion and it's what happens when other emotions are all over the place but oh well, I guess you learn to deal with it. This week has actually been a really rough week for me. My district has been pretty shaky and a lot of stuff has happened and it's kinda torn the district quite a bit. One of my district members has caused the entire zone to be off and truly shaken. That's kinda made the week really rough, and I've been trying bounce back from that but I have been unsuccessful thus far. I'm hoping that since it's the start of a new week that it can be better.

The big project that I'm working on is going really well. We're about to begin the harder stuff where I have to rely on all of my project helps to do their part and to go forward. I've held a meeting to cover all the questions that they had and to tell them how to move forward and how to write their part of the project, I just have to hope and pray that they will actually do what they've been told. 

It hasn't been totally terrible, my companion and I have spent a lot of time talking about what we've been learning from our studies of the Book of Mormon which has really helped and it's allowed me to know that everything is going to be worked out in the Lords time and that everything is in the Lord's hands. That's been something that has really hit me hard this week and has really been on my mind a lot this past week. I may not know what's going on and I may not understand what on earth is happening nor why it's happening, but as long as we are righteous and as long as we put our trust in him, everything will work out and everything will work out for the positive. 

Spiritual Thought: My spiritual thought this week is going to be coming from Mosiah 27:28 

28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God. 

Now I know this is quite the extreme but I'm going to focus on the main point that I get out of it. Now all of us go through various trials and various experiences that put us through a lot of hardship and really test our faith. Just like Joseph Smith in D&C 121:1-6, we all get to the point where we wonder if God is aware of us and our current situation and if he is actually paying attention to us at all. But as this states along with D&C 121:7-46, that God is with all men and he is constantly watching over us and he will send his comfort to us when we need it most. Heavenly Father is always watching over us and when he sees fit, he will deliver you out of your afflictions and tribulations. He doesn't put our afflictions in front of us because he knows that we are going to struggle, he puts them before us so that he can test our faithfulness and so that we can grow and learn from our various experiences that we are going through. I know this to be true and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I hope all of you have an amazing week and I hope that each and every one of you do all that you can to have a Fabtabulous Day/week and the Best Day Ever.

You're all amazingly great people

I love all of you deeply

Stay Foxy!

Elder Wyatt Gatlin

Amazing Companion, Surprises, and Super FUN!!!!

Hello all of you Fabtabulous people!!! I hope that this week has been great and I hope that this week has been good. This week has been...entertaining to say the least.
Elder Martin and I do a lot of super fun things together...while trying not to die, or burn down my apartment. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (I promise that it didn't happen.....again)
But in all seriousness, it's been a really good week and I've really loved it. I've been blessed with a super great companion, we sometimes freak each other out with how similar we think...
That's when you truly know that it's pretty good. We've been trying to make all of our food...because the meals that you cook always taste better. None of them have tasted terrible and neither of us has gotten food poisoning yet...
That must be pretty good then :) I try to stay away from those expensive trashy chef mike (Microwave) meals because they provide no nutrition, they make you fat, and they don't even taste that good anyway

Other details about this week go as follows:
1. Elder Martin and I haven't been able to go one day without doing something stupid and make each other laugh...except once, this entire transfer.
2. We both have helped make an amazing district and made one of my best districts ever.
3. Elder Martin and I are having so much fun! As Thomas S. Monson says "Have so much fun on your mission, it's almost sinful." I think we may have taken that to heart which I'm ok with. 

The Mission History Narrative Project has been a pretty extensive project, and being in charge of it...it can get really stressful at times. But that's why we have other people to help with the project! YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY! The project is going good and we've begun getting into the deeper harder stuff. It's been pretty smooth though, I've been getting a lot of help from a lot of the Senior Missionaries that have a lot more experience in things like this. I probably wouldn't be able to do this project without the help of Heavenly Father and the amazing seniors. Other than that Zone has been good and pretty slow. I'm just glad that I've been able to have all the amazing people around me helping me and helping me along the way.

Spiritual Thought: My spiritual Thought today will be coming from Mosiah 26: 22 "22 For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive."

This scripture is kind of in the middle of a big phrase but this main section is what I really wanted to talk about. Those that will truly repent and those that will turn away and stay away from temptation the best that they possibly can and serve the lord and be in the church will be forgiven. Now I know that all of us have already been baptized...well...except for those peeps who aren't of the proper age yet...But you can be baptized again by the Holy Ghost and we can be able to have a remission of our sins just like at baptism each week as we partake of the Sacrament. As we partake of the Sacrament and as we truly repent...the sacrament service provides that remission of sins and it provides that clean slate and that fresh start once again. I do feel like a lot of us have either taken for granted the sacred ordinance when in reality that should be one of our main sources to come closer to Christ and to better become who God would have us become.

I love all of you and you're all fabtabulous people!

I hope that all of you will have an amazing week and I hope that you all will continue forward doing your best each and every day

Stay Foxy!

Elder Wyatt Gatlin

Hiking at Alta Ski Resort and Project Work

Hello, all of you Fabtabulous people!!! This week has been really fun and it's been a week that I've needed for a long time. We did a ton of hiking up at Alta Ski resort on Monday because we got Labor Day off. We did the Alta Brighton trail which was difficult at times but I loved every minute of it. It's super beautiful and very breathtaking. It was really nice to get away from the city and amazing to be back in nature and be where I feel like I can have a little bit of regular person life out of my missionary experience. Then we did the Secret Lake trail that leads to a really nice view of the lake. (I was super tempted to jump into the lake but it's against mission rules. I can't wait to swim again!) Later that day, we had a mission activity where all of us got together at the stake center and had pizza and then watched "October Sky" A space movie about the Rocket boys, a really good movie. 

Zone has been really good. There have been a few district conflicts with one member of our district. Luckily they've all been very minor problems and they haven't caused any harm, other than that it's been pretty boring at zone. We've begun to write the chapters on the individual Mission Presidents who have served from March 2002 all the way through up to President Fenn. It's pretty hard and pretty complicated but I'm getting help from other people and from other missionaries around. It's slowly working forward but none the less it's going forward.

Spiritual Thought: I'm going to be coming from D&C 27: 15 - 18 "15 Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.

16 Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you;

17 Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;

18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen."

This scripture really speaks to me because it talks about "The Armor of God" This principle is so important to understand and so many people take it all for granted because they've already heard all the analogies that they could possibly think of. Cast all of those thoughts aside because they aren't true. No amount of doctrine on the basic principles of the church can ever be preached enough. This speaks mainly about Trusting in the Lord and his teachings and his words. When I read those words, the first thing that comes to mind is "Take upon yourselves the name of Christ and his word and his teachings. For in him is the truth and in Him is the way to Eternal Happiness." That may be a quote or several in one, but the principle still stands. We need to take upon ourselves the name of Christ and continue being the examples that we are toward other people. That's why Ministering is so important because as we minister we can allow others to notice us and others can feel of our spirit and example and eventually, they can obtain the same spirit that we have, and then they can share it with others as well. The spirit that we feel and the spirit that we have isn't meant to just be obtained...it's meant to be spread to others and shared with our neighbors and friends. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Well, I hope that all of you have an amazing week and I hope that all of you stay Fabtabulous!

I love each and every one of you!

Stay Foxy!

Elder Wyatt Gatlin