I love the Scriptures!

I have really found a love for reading out here. I can't wait to get home and read everything! Its really enjoyable. I read everything that I can get my hands on out here. I hope to finish the New Testament by the end of April and the Old Testament by the end of May. Its going to be tough but I want to read through everything so that I can become a more effective missionary.

Well this week has been really eventful. We had training this week which has really helped me strengthen my testimony. We also had Stake Conference were Elder John A. Anderson of the Seventy came and addressed us. It was a really neat experience. You can always tell that they have a burning testimony of the gospel. Its really awesome. I hope that my testimony can grow like their's. I am so grateful for all the experiences I have. What a blessing. I learn so much from every experience I have!

It was wonderful seeing president this past week so many times! I am always so grateful for the opportunity that I have to hear him teach and how he leads by example. I'm thankful he always helps me in times when I am struggling. I really learned a lot at the training that I had. I learned that teaching by the spirit is very hard but if we just stop thinking and get out of the way we will be able to help those that we are teaching come closer to Christ. It is His gospel and needs to be taught His way.

Well I am so grateful for the scriptures. I have really been having trouble with understanding the doctrine of the Atonement. As I have been studying and pondering and trying to learn about it I came to the conclusion last night that in order for the Savior to fulfill his purpose we need to apply the atonement's so we can fulfill our purpose. It definitely was a very profound thought that I had which I am so grateful for. I am so grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who cares about everything I engage in.

Well the area is really starting to pick up. As we have increased our faith individually and as a companionship we have started to see real miracles. We have been trying very hard to listen to the spirit and it has been a real challenge for us. We have some investigators who are not progressing and that we are having drop lessons with this next week. We love them very much and its going to be hard but we know that if they are not progressing then we are not fulfilling our purpose.

I know there have been people prepared in this area that are waiting to hear from us. The members in the ward have been doing a great job! We have four members that are going to have people in their homes for us to teach in the next couple of weeks. We have an appointment with a family this evening that we are very excited for that a member invited them over for dinner and then a family home evening. She has been prepared. Her husband just recently passed away and he was a very less active member of the church. He was baptized at 8 but never said anything about it. So she is now really curious about the church. We are really excited about it.

Brother Fritz is not progressing. He is reading out of the Book of Mormon but not really doing it with an open heart. I hope and pray that he will start praying. He is starting to show signs of finding out. He has started praying but just says the word and doesn't believe that he is talking to anyone. We have seen the Holy Ghost work with him over the past little bit and its been amazing. He works with a lot of members that help him out and answer all his questions. So we know that he has been prepared to hear the message but we are trying to help him realize that. We are going to try and start teaching his daughter who has showed signs of interest. She hasn't wanted to sit in any of the lessons but she loves coming in and out of the room and sitting on the couch so she can hear while were at the table. So we will see what happens.

We are working with the ward a lot with the ward mission process. It has been really effective. The people on the process are really getting exited about the gospel and are really trying to share the gospel with whoever they can.

President asked me to let him know what principle I was going to work on and I have decided that under the Teach People, Not lesson's Section I am going to work on the principle of: I act on the impressions that come to my mind or heart as I teach. I hope to be able to just act on the promptings of the spirit instead of thinking it through.

Love Elder Butler