Elder Conner Brown

Hershey, PA - Week 1

Hello there!

Sorry for missing last week. We got transfer news that weekend and had a lot of stuff to do to get ready for the new changes.

 

Both Elder Stubbs and I got shipped out! So we both had to work on packing, cleaning up the apartment, and letting our investigators know about the changes. The days leading up to actual transfers were a rush, and super sad saying goodbye to all the awesome people we'd been working with. I'll be excited to hear how they all progress in the future, though, and I'm sure the Sisters replacing us will do an awesome job!

 

I got sent to Hershey, Pennsylvania! It's funny, for my three areas in the mission I've been to three different corners of the mission. Maybe next I'll go north-west and finish the cycle. Anyway, Hershey is a great area with a lot of good potential people and a lot of great members. My companions, Elder Charles and Elder Livingstone, are both awesome missionaries that are ready to get to work. Elder Livingstone actually just arrived here after serving for a while in Canada, so this was his original assignment but he had to wait for the border to open up. 

 

 

 

We had a great experience this last Sunday as we were out visiting people who were formerly taught. A lot of investigators fell through the cracks when covid happened, and that was kind of the case with one couple whose house we knocked on. They invited us in and we were able to have a whole lesson on the spot! We were able to testify of the Book of Mormon and what its truthfulness really means for us, that God is our loving Heavenly Father, that he has a plan for us, and that he still reaches out to his children today.

 

Speaking of God reaching out to us, General Conference Weekend was absolutely fantastic! It was so cool how the messages were centered on our foundation in Christ and on preparing ourselves for these Latter Days. President Nelson said,

"My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ."

 

The most important thing we can do today is work on our foundation and help others to do the same, so they aren't beaten down when the winds come and the floods rise. May we have the perfect love we need to invite others fearlessly to build on a firm foundation.

 

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

 

Elder Charles' toaster trick here

Ohio - Week 12

No letter from Elder Brown this week, but he had a great General Conference weekend and is cleaning up his apartment as both he and Elder Stubbs are being transferred to different areas.  Conner is going to Hershey, PA (which has the best apartment in the mission, according to missionary chatter) and will be in a trio of elders and Elder Stubbs is going to north Pittsburgh.

Ohio - Week 11

Hello there! 

 

This week, the Lord gave us many opportunities to teach people about the Book of Mormon. It truly is the sickle God has given us for this work and it is the starting foundation of testimony for those investigating the Church. All who have accepted our invitation so far have found blessings in studying the Book.

 

For instance, a great guy named An. is finding the same peace through reading the Book of Mormon that he finds with meeting with us and praying. The Spirit truly testifies of Christ and his word. 

 

We did have a few downs this week with lots of potential investigators who either canceled lessons or didn't show up for them, but we'll keep reaching out until they have the chance to accept Christ's word and his peace.

 

General Conference is coming up, which is an awesome opportunity to invite investigators and returning members to watch living prophets and apostles speak to us. 

 

The scripture I'd like to share for this week is Proverbs 3:5-6

5 ¶ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

 

We can always trust that God's ways are higher than our ways. The things that may not make sense to us now will one day be revealed to us, and we will be able to see just how the Lord has prepared all things for our good. I testify that he has already prepared the way so that if we follow him, we will be blessed.

 

Have a great conference week!

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

Ohio - Week 10 - Zone Conference!

Hello there!

 

As the subject suggests, this week we got to start off with zone conference! We've been studying the ordinance and covenant of baptism this transfer, so that was the focus of the conference. The spirit was strong as we discussed how important making and keeping these covenants is. Truly as we understand just how important these promises and blessings are, sharing these blessings with others becomes so much easier.

 

We have been working hard trying to find good people to teach as of late. We have a lot of great potentials, but few have been able to have a successful meeting as of late. With general conference coming up, though, comes lots of opportunities to love, share, and invite others to come and see. One of our highlights this week was a sick member we met with who we reminded that this was coming up. She was so excited and had totally forgotten general conference was coming soon and was so happy to be reminded.

 

Mission life has so many instances where the Lord times things just perfectly. Like how we went to visit a guy Melvin who we want to meet with soon. We pulled in just as he was getting stuff out of his car. He said he was just thinking of texting us because he had a day off coming up he wanted to meet on! Little victories like that are always so fun.

 

Not too much else has been happening as of late, but I'd like to share a scripture that has always struck me powerfully:

Moroni 9:4 - "Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them." 

When we hear invitations to increase our faith or become better disciples, do we nod our heads and keep moving in our lives, or do we take these invitations to heart and act on them? When we take chastisement for something, true or false, do we tremble in anger, or do we humbly take it? 

 

The answer says a lot about our commitment to the testimony and faith that we have in Jesus Christ. I'm not always able to answer these questions correctly, but I know that as we go to Christ throughout our lives with a broken heart, he can mold us into the best version of ourselves, and the spirit will always strive with us.

 

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

 

Picture of my companion, Elder Stubbs, and I at a cool dam north of Wheeling. It has the cool water level system to let barges in and out.

 

Ohio - Week 9 - 1 Year of Service!

Hello there!

 

We've been enjoying some nice cooler weather here in Ohio lately. It's almost time to break out the long sleeve shirts.

 

We have lot's of great potential investigators we're currently in contact with. We just need to get those appointments scheduled for them and get the ball rolling. 

 

Zone conference is coming up! We've been studying baptism and the covenants involved as a mission lately and it's a really neat topic.

 

Also, I've now served as a missionary for 1 whole year! Took me 2 years to get to this point, but I'm thankful for all the awesome and inspiring experiences that have led me here. And I've still got plenty of time to keep making the most of the Lord's time. This mission has definitely been the greatest thing for my life. I testify that the Lord's work is the same in power, experience, and fulfillment regardless of the location. Wherever you go, the Lord needs you there.

 

 

One of the things I've been able to do is be a message moderator for one of our pages. It has been super cool to work with people who message us online and refer them to their various areas. One particular person I messaged we had a great conversation on why we go through difficulties in this life. 

 

2 Nephi 2:11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

 

We may experience rejection or sadness in life, but that makes the good times so much sweeter. We'll have the greatest joy possible when we return with our families to our Father in Heaven. 

 

Hope you all have a joyous week!

Hope as well that everyone is getting ready for general conference!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

 

Oh yeah, that's my large mouth 3 pound bass 😎

Ohio - Week 8

Hello there!

 

The weather is finally starting to cool down a bit here in Ohio, after how many weeks of hot and humid. It only took a hurricane to do it, lol.

 

The work in Ohio has been good! We have a lot of potential people we are messaging and reaching out to who could turn into investigators, and then the fun begins! My favorite part of missionary work has always been the teaching. Becoming one with your companion and the spirit and sharing what you know and testify of. It is a fantastic experience! Though, PMG is right when it says "Nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach." (Chapter 9)

 

We do have people we are currently teaching who are doing well.  Jo. especially is progressing at an awesome rate! He bore powerful testimony in sacrament meeting this past Sunday, and the ward has been so supportive of him.

 

This Sunday, a member visited from out of town for the weekend who saw my nametag and started speaking 日本語! We immediately ducked to the side and started speaking back and forth. She went to Japan with her brothers before, so we were able to talk about our time there a bit. It was brief, but refreshing to have a full conversation in Japanese.

 

One quick scripture before I close, Mosiah 4:27 - "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."

 

The Lord doesn't expect perfection from us, but he does expect our best. He will honor our efforts and give us the strength we need to do all things requisite in him.

 

Hope you all have a great rest of your week! 

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

Ohio - Week 7 - Transfer 3!

Hello there!

The mission got shuffled up a bit with transfers this week. Nice to be staying in the same area for a change, but sad to let Elder King go. He'll do great things where he's going in Green Tree, though. My new companion is Elder Stubbs! He served in Mansfield as well for a while so we were able to bond over that.

We were able to do some pretty good work in the midst of transfers. For instance, we got in contact with a few less active members we have been working on meeting with for a while. One was an older couple that hadn't been to church in years, but they had us over for dinner and even had a nonmember friend there as well! 

The people we are working with currently are progressing well! Our friend Jo. decided to wait a bit longer before being baptized so he has time to absorb all the lessons, but he is still progressing super well and the ward support is fantastic! 

We are also working to find some new people to teach as well, lately. We recently visited a lady named Je. who met with missionaries a little while in the past but had to stop due to health complications. She is super interested in the Book of Mormon and the story of Joseph Smith. She almost gave me a heart attack, though, when she said she might Google him. 😂

 

I had the chance to speak in sacrament meeting on the topic of service. Service is super important in missionary work and in the Church in general. It is an expression of love to those we serve and to God. It invites the spirit into our lives and the lives of those around us. Through service, we come to know how Jesus felt during his ministry, much of which was spent serving others.

 

1 John 4: 7-9 

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

 

May we all come to know God and Jesus Christ through the service we give and the love we share.

 

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

Ohio - Week 6 - Testing, Interviews, Transfer News!

Hello there!

This week was pretty eventful so I'll get right to it!

In reference to last week's email, we both got tested for Corona and turned up negative. So we got out of isolation real quick and went back to full work.

The people we're working with are doing pretty well! 

For instance, one older lady we are working with, Dorothy, we invited to read the intro to the Book of Mormon last week. This lesson, we had planned to teach the Plan of Salvation, but right as we were about to meet, I thought to myself, it would be nice if we could do a Book of Mormon read with her. We started by following up on her commitment and she had good questions regarding where the book came from and what it was about. Right there, we switched to a Book of Mormon read with her to help give her a foothold in the background to 1 Nephi. It went great and we committed her to keep reading until next time! The Book of Mormon really is our most powerful and most important tool in this work!

This week had a lot of special events as well. President and Sister Wright came to our District Council and gave a quick message on Obedience before we had our personal interviews, which were awesome as usual. My companion, Elder King, was so excited to be the last person in the entire mission to be interviewed. 😆 President asked me if I felt I knew the area very well...not an ominous question at all, lol.

We also had the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania temple groundbreaking! We were given permission to watch the ceremony over Zoom and it was so cool to see! When I come to visit it will probably be about done, and it will be such a blessing to the people here. It was also an awesome sharing opportunity, since we were able to share the link with one of our investigators, who thought it was super cool as well!

And at long last, Transfer news came in! Our district got super shuffled! The Wheeling trio of Elders, which has been together for 4 transfers, was finally broken up. I get to stay in Ohio, thankfully, but Elder King is leaving, so that's a bummer. It'll be fun to meet Elder Stubbs, who's replacing him though.

 

I've been reading the New Testament over again to refresh my memory of it and the scriptures inside, and I came across something cool in Luke. We all know the song about the wise man who built his house upon a rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. I think my favorite version, though, is the way Luke depicts it. 

 

Luke 6:47-49 

47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

 

Building our lives on the gospel takes work. It requires us to dig deep to make room in our lives for the gospel and work hard to build our foundation of testimony. It takes much more time and effort than someone who builds their life without that foundation. However, the consequences are invaluable and eternal. May your lives always be blessed to be built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ's restored Gospel.

 

Have a great week! Love you all!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

Ohio - Week 5 - We might've got COVID in a Chinese restaurant

Hello there!

It's been a really good week despite some of our usual people being unavailable due to sickness or trips or whatnot. It has given us a chance to focus on finding new people and work more with those who we've recently found. 

 

For instance, we are meeting with an awesome man who is a truck driver and who really wants to strengthen his relationship with God. He has loved meeting with us and learning from us and we're so excited to introduce the Book of Mormon to him soon. 

 

I also have a few people on Facebook I am reaching out to who have expressed interest in our message, but we just need to set a solid appointment with them. 

 

Alright, about the subject line. So we had a lunch at a Chinese buffet with the senior couple and a less active family. Just this weekend, a member of that family tested positive for COVID. So...we're in isolation for a bit. We show no symptoms and neither does the senior couple, so we can go shopping and whatnot as long as we wear masks, but we need to get tested soon just in case, and in person meetings are a no go for the time being.

 

That was kinda a bummer since we couldn't go to church yesterday. Double bummer since a less active member who we have been meeting with over phone and have never met in person came to church. Our happiness that he came to church far outweighed our disappointment in not meeting him, though!😄 

 

So life in the mission field has been pretty good! Elder King is an awesome companion with a great work ethic and a fun, sarcastic personality. He hates my puns with a passion and he isn't a fan of running for exercise, but no companion is perfect, lol. I am so thankful for my time to work with him in Ohio!

 

The scripture I would like to share today is Helaman 3:35 -

"Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

President Russel M Nelson recently addressed the importance of letting God prevail in our lives. When we let our will become swallowed up in his, we can go through life with strength and confidence that all things will eventually work out for our good. We grow in faith and humility and joy, things that are needed so desperately in this world right now. May we all put God first in our lives to gain this joy and to spread it with those around us who desperately need it.

 

Hope you all have a great week!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Brown

 

A cool courthouse in our area

Ohio - Week 4 - Zone Conference!

Hello there!

 

Hope all of you are doing well as summer comes closer to an end. We're looking outside and seeing the perfect wall of green leaves start its shift to fall. We'll send good pics when the transition period is over.

 

This week has been pretty good, starting with Zone Conference. The theme for this transfer has been to study repentance like how last transfer was faith, so the main message for zone conference was about Repentance, its power, and its importance. President Wright talked about how through repentance, we come to know who we truly are, or in other words we see small glimpses of our divine potential. It is a joyful process that we often take for granted. When we see something we can improve on, we change through Jesus Christ and through repentance. It's a no brainer for us. For some others, it isn't so obvious that is the way to joy in this life.

 

The Assistants also gave a cool devotional about having a vision for our area, then setting goals to work towards that, then making plans to execute our goals. The Vision-Goal-Plan format is a super neat way to look at whatever it is we are working towards, and I will definitely try to apply it for my life, even after the mission and with non-church-related things.

 

The work has been moving pretty good in Ohio since last I messaged. We were able to reach out to a few returning members that haven't been contacted for a while now and were able to get to know them. One couple we will be visiting next week and helping them out with some weeding. We also were able to reach out to a couple referrals who responded to church ads. If your ward/area has ads on social media, I highly recommend sharing them. They reach out to a lot more people than you'd think, and they give people searching for truth a chance to find us.

 

One time on my mission, I met a returning member who's faith in the church was waning. As I listened to his story, the spirit pointed out to me the point at which he started to fall away. In a moment of trial, he decided to step back to things that were comfortable and familiar to try and catch his breath. That was when doubt started to creep in.

 

In Helaman 5:12, Helaman exhorts his sons to "remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

 

When the winds and trials of life come suddenly and knock us off balance, that is not the time to take two steps back and regain our footing. That is the time to grab hold to the iron rod for dear life and pull ourselves two steps forward. It takes effort to pull and press against the storm, but our foundation is sure, so we cannot fail.

 

I hope you all have a great rest of your week! Until then, let your light shine for those around you!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Brown