Elder Conner Brown

State College, PA - Week 20

Hello there! 

 

First full week of the transfer and we were able to get some great contacts! Didn't have many lessons set up quite yet, but we met some cool people like a guy, A, who's looking to find some change in his life. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the best way to invite positive change in your life, of course!

 

We also had MLC this past week, where we talked about some great topics of improvement for the mission. We as the Social Media Coordinators gave a training about more effective and focused Facebook missionary work. Even though the summer is here and it's the perfect time to meet people on the streets, we don't want everyone to forget what the Lord taught us in the past two years of COVID. 

 

Another cool topic was family history, how it works as a great retention tool for recent converts, and also how it can be used for finding people. It was cool, cause on the way back from MLC, Elder Lee stopped somebody and asked if they knew much about their family history. It started up a great conversation and we were able to get their number, so the Lord definitely rewards faith.

 

Speaking of family history, I'm stuck in the book of Chronicles recently. It's been quite a drag, except for one little verse that's a good gem:

 

1 Chronicles 4:10 - "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested."

 

I testify the Lord is always willing to intervene in our lives for the better if we're willing to let him!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Brown the Elder

 

State College, PA - Week 19

Hello there!

 

Had a smooth transfer week, getting Elder Powers shipped home to California and picking up Elder Lee from pretty much next door to us in State College. Should be a fun transfer, especially since Elder Lee was a Social Media Coordinator a while ago for a long time, so he knows the ropes better than I do. 

 

This past week, we were able to meet with a new friend of ours named D, who wasn't very religious growing up, but is interested in checking it out and is super open to learning and acting. We started with some basics like who God is and how we commune with him through prayer, which he found very interesting. Super excited to see where he goes.

 

Also met a bunch of people out on the streets and got lots of contact info. Elder Lee served on a college campus a while ago, so he knows how to street very well. I'm excited to see the work we get to do these next couple transfers. One lady we got to talking to, for instance, actually knew some of the members in the area so hopefully they'll be able to all get together.

 

This week reading a lot in Kings, I read about king after king after king that reigns in wickedness, and so the people follow suite. We don't have that kind of influence these days, but our actions matter a lot more than we think. The way others see us as disciples of Jesus Christ is partly why we are commanded to "be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Tim 4:12) Our actions and example have the potential to invite others closer to Christ, but only as long as we act so the spirit is present in our lives.

 

Have a good one!

Sincerely,

Elder Brown the Elder

 

 

 

A brand new Raising Cane's opened in town

 

 

 

 

Facebook Post 6/14/22

How can we recognize truth?

With the world and the internet full of information, topics, and opinions, it can be hard to filter truth out, especially spiritual truths. Thankfully, Christ gave us a way to determine His truth for ourselves.

John 7:17 - "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."

Christ invites us to follow his teachings and see if they invite God's influence and blessings into our lives. I know that "every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good...is inspired of God." (Moroni 7:13) Feel free to reach out if you're searching for that truth, yourself!

 

State Collge, PA - Week 18

Hello there!

 

Big news for this week is we got transfer news! I get to stay right put in Penn State, so this will be the longest time I've ever been in an area. Good area to stay in, though, with the fun campus to street contact near and the awesome member branch which is super supportive! Sadly, my companion Elder Powers is finishing up his mission this week.

 

We've had a great week leading up to it, though. A has been progressing great and recognizing the spirit more in his life, so it's been really cool to see his progression up til now and his openness. Hopefully we get one more lesson in before Thursday.

 

We have a new friend we're working with named T who passed by and stopped us near the end of the semester, but who was in a rush and heading home so we got his number to keep in touch. We've been meeting over the phone and just recently finished the Restoration with him. He seems pretty open and super cool, so hoping he reads and prays about the Book of Mormon.

 

A real fun topic that has come up a lot recently has been revelation, how we prepare ourselves to receive it and how we discern it. Of course it's comforting to know that everything which inspires us to do good and love God is inspired of him (Moroni 7:13), but when we're actively learning and practicing to follow the spirit, it doesn't always seem to be so clear. I love how Elder Uchtdorf compared living the gospel to riding a bike and flying an airplane, how the most important thing for maintaining balance is moving forward ("Our Heartfelt All", Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf). 

 

Revelation follows a similar process, in that we have to be acting in order to steady ourselves and discern the spirit's influence in our lives. Nephi would never stumble upon Laban unless he "went forth" (1 Nephi 4:7). If you feel like you're missing the spirit's guidance in your life, I invite you to take steps to make sure you're ready to receive it, then go forth.

 

Have a warm summer week!

Sincerely,

Elder Brown the Elder

 

Thank you to the Primary Activity kids for sending letters and treats!

Elder Higgins, Elder Brown

State College, PA - Week 17

Hello there!

 

Wooo, it's been a busy and super fun week! So this past Wednesday, the Instagram app vanished from our phones all over the mission. After a bit of digging, we learned this was a permanent change since Instagram hadn't really been working as a finding tool in missionary work. However, through a couple miscommunications, our mission hadn't been notified of the change. 

 

Thankfully as the Social Media Coordinators, we were scheduled to give a mission wide training that Friday, so we were able to inform the mission about some changes, as well as help them get other forms of contact from their Instagram friends. That and other changes have been keeping us pretty busy, but we still had time to do some good work this past week.

 

J is doing well and keeping most commitments, but he's mainly meeting for educational purposes, so our main goal this week will be to try and help him feel the spirit and importance of real intent.

 

A is doing great in the Book of Mormon still. The Tree of Life Book of Mormon Video was helpful I think to visualize that. Right now, we're helping him recognize the spirit, how he feels it and when he feels it.

 

Come Follow Me was pretty fun this past week, and not just with the death of the fat king Eglon, lol. (Judges 3) One thing I find important from the story of Samson is that his covenant was simple and easy to keep, but because of the people he decided to stay around, it became a lot more difficult. We all have the chance to choose our priorities in life, and we can choose to find people with those same priorities. If our greatest priority is keeping God in our life, we'll strive to do so and find others who can strengthen us on our mortal journey.

 

Hope you all have a great week!

Sincerely,

Elder Brown the Elder

 

Hiking Mount Nittany on P-day