No title - Letter to Dad - 19 October, 2015

Hey Dad!

I am sorry that I don't have time to write a huge email today, I actually have to run and do the grocery shopping right now before we run out of time! We had a crazy day, and I put most of the thoughts I wanted to get out today in my email to mom, so read that! :) haha I did want to tell you that I love you, though. Thanks for everything, Dad. I hope I can be just like you when I grow up. :) <3

Love you!

Elder Livingston

Lessons Learned on a Storm Tossed Sea - Letter to Mom - 19 October, 2015

Dear Mom,

How are things going at home?! I hope it has been a good week! Has Quinci made it home safely? How long is she gone? Did she have a good time? I hope and pray that her and your health is holding up. :)

Hey, random question. Did Britta quit Tennis? Haha

Anyway, this was an absolutely incredible week, with some pretty crazy days, crazy lessons, heartbreaking experiences, and many, many life lessons learned. I will start with a super tiny miracle. Which is today. :) haha

Today we went to.....the dentist! Haha crazy huh? Elder Loi-on had some tooth problems a year ago, and wanted to have a check up on that do we decided to go. :) it is in a place called Azabajuban or 麻布十番 in Japanese. :) And guess what?....I have 5 cavities! :P Classic me, right? Actually, that was just a joke. ;) haha I have none! The doctor said that it actually looks really healthy, and I was a bit shocked and more than just a bit relieved. I didn't want to have to take the time, money, etc. to have to fix cavities. :) luckily the Japanese National Insurance that we use covers quite a bit, so it probably wouldn't have been too much anyway, but I'm glad I don't have to do it. :) So that was a tiny miracle! We will have to come back next week though, as Elder Loi-on still has a couple of teeth things that he needs to figure out.

But, the biggest event of the week was when Elder Yamashita of the Area Seventy came! It has been weeks in the planning, and it was so good. I was in charge of coordinating and getting two musical number groups prepared for it, and I also played piano for prelude and things like that. I really can not emphasize just how glad I am that I play piano. It has brought infinitely more blessings and opportunities than I thought that it would. Anyway, he taught us a lot of really amazing things. I am always floored at just how powerful the spirit is with men like him, as well as their wives. He talked quite a bit about having a view like God, as well as becoming a full-purpose missionary. What that means is understanding the bigger scope of things and working for that (basically teaching with an eternal perspective, or God's eye view). I learned so much, and then had some pretty good experiences learning about it in real life. I have felt so much of God's love for His children. I am so grateful for Elder Yamashita and all that he taught us.

We also were blessed to have a huge internet connected conference with him and the four other Japanese stakes that are in our mission. It was just the missionaries and Ward council that attended, and it was incredible. He talked about how we need to coordinate all five of the different parts of the work of salvation (if you don't know the five parts, that is your homework for the week! ;D haha) in Ward council between the missionaries and the Ward. It was a great meeting, and Ward council yesterday was fantastic.

For sure the hardest but most incredible experience this week was with N. There are too many lessons and crazy ups and downs with him to try and describe all of it, so I will just talk about one of them here. It was Sunday morning, and he didn't come to church. Since sacrament meeting is last in our Ward, we decided to go and get him.  When we arrived we peeked through his little window, and saw him talking to this xx year old who always comes over to drink with him. That was when we knew it might be rough. The funniest part was that we knocked, he let us in, and then the xx year old was half hiding under the tiny table, pretending to be asleep. I couldn't believe it. Part of me wanted to laugh so so hard. He very quickly woke up and got out of the house (he isn't much inclined to learning about the gospel). Then we basically got torn apart by N. Nothing that he said made too much sense, and he couldn't actually say us or the church was wrong, he just said he hated all of the principles and scriptures we always talked about and used, and that he decided he was going to continue to study the scriptures on his own. It was heartbreaking. Here he was, with a witness of the truth in his heart, clearly choosing a different path because it was hard to follow Christ. It was a very eye opening experience. He still wants us to continue to go back, so we will, just once or twice a week, slowly helping him to

overcome his concerns.

You know, I should be really sad. He is the only investigator that I have been able to teach here. He is about all we have right now. And he just chewed us out and told us he wouldn't follow Christ. I should be broken. But for some strange reason the entire lesson I only felt peace. It was a really great experience. I only felt good for some reason. When we left his house I knew clearer than I knew I was standing there that God had a bigger plan for all of this. In fact, I expected to see miracles yesterday because of the hardness of the experience. I don't know why. I haven't ever felt quite like that. But

we did see miracles.

A potential investigator set up a lesson with us for Saturday A 15 year old kid on the street agreed to meet and hear our message on Thursday

In an area where I had literally only had one new investigator for the entire transfer up to that point, I knew these two opportunities were sent from God.

Now, what do I take from all of this? First, God loves us, and it breaks His heart when we make conscious decisions to go against His will. I know that. I felt that very clearly when N said he didn't want to continue. Second, the Lord truly does know that we are going to have hardships. He knows that the days on a stormy sea will come, and that it is only Him who can calm that storm. So when we yield our heart to His, He calms it. In His timing, and in His way. I testify as a representative of Christ that these things are true.

I love you so much, Mom. I am so grateful for all that you do for me on a weekly basis. I have felt the strength of your prayers, and I want you to know that they are not in vain. I know the Lord is doing more for our family than we can see. Look from His view, as much as you can, and the way in which you need to go will be clear. I pray for you, our family, and the success and health you need to continue pressing forward. Thanks, mom! I love you! :)

Love,

Elder Livingston

Eternal Perspective - Letter to Dad - 13 October, 2015

Hey Dad!!

This has been an incredible week. Thank you for your email. We are definitely doing all that we can to help NS. He is doing okay, but is struggling to give up his addictions, obviously. What is wrong right now is he is trying to find every single possible way to just dodge it and say that it would be okay for him to continue drinking and smoking and still be baptized (and then not go to church anymore.....it's complicated). He knows the Bible inside and out and has been testing our knowledge of that pretty good. haha :) Luckily he also loves and believes the Book of Mormon, so we just help him through both of those incredible volumes of scripture. I pray that you always continue to have your gospel knowledge improve. Don't be content with a Masters degree, or even a Doctorate degree in the gospel. Learn absolutely everything that you can. You will become that much better of a tool in the Lord's hands if you do. :)

I thought about what you said about preparing (when the time is right, obviously) to transition into being Tanner again when I came home, and I wanted to share a couple of things. The first thing is that I am grateful you have that perspective. I think a lot of people forget just how important that is too. Second, I feel like I have learned more than anything on a mission (even more than how to be a good missionary) that living the gospel is something that you just have to do, and it is regardless of your calling. I love being a missionary and having the time that I do to study all sorts of things, but more than that I am grateful for the habit of gospel study that I have gained from it. I know that one of the reasons that I came out on a mission was to learn how to be a real servant of the Lord. And that is with a tag or without a tag. Being a disciple of Christ is not a two year contract. It is a lifetime journey. I know that for sure. I am also super grateful that I have such an incredible family to go back to. I know that you will help that transition be super smooth. :D Having Jenna there as a support is also going to be an enormous blessing and motivation. haha ;D

However, more than just the transition from missionary to non-missionary, what you said made me think about eternal perspective. How often do we think about our decisions from the perspective of eternity? Do we really take the time to do that? Think about it: If you knew 100% that you were going to receive an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom, and that knowledge was always in the forefront of your mind, you would never sin. Why would you ever give up that much glory for one second of worldly pleasure? However, if we can gain that perspective, we gain an enormous tool to fighting the devil. So how do we gain that? Naturally that is the question that follows. I believe that the answer is actually quite simple. In fact, you hear it every single week. It is to, "Always remember Him."

Do you remember the Savior always, Dad? I know that is definitely something that I need to work on. I am definitely doing my best, but I make mistakes and I stumble and fail every single day. But, if we can really do this, then the very powers of hell will be shaken. I believe that this is the point of ponderizing. I've heard that went pretty big on Facebook and things like that. :) haha It was a really good talk. I hope that you take the time to ponder, Dad. Every day. Ponder the Savior. Ponder what He did for you, what He DOES for you. Do not forget Him. Remember Him always.

I hope that together we can get better and better at having an Eternal Perspective. Thank you so much for bringing that up with me. I love you so much, Dad. Thank you for everything. Keep working and pushing hard with God behind you. :)

Love,

Elder Livingston

Spiritual Boost - Letter to Mom - 13 October, 2015

Dear Mom,

It was nice to hear how things are going this week. I am so so relieved that Quinci is feeling a little bit better. I know that there is still a lot to go before she is perfectly better, but this is such a good place to start, and I am thrilled that she gets to go to Boston! That is so cool. Tell her to have fun, take care of herself, and keep getting better! She will definitely still be in my prayers.

I am so glad that Jenna got to go with you to Gardner village too! That place is a blast. It looks like you had some fun. I actually only got one picture so....I would always love more! ;D haha Did you find anything cool that you wanted to buy, or anything to scheme for the future with? I am curious! Just let me know.

I hope that the blood tests that you had come back with some answers. It is so Important that we figure out what it is. We can't have the best mom in the world sick forever, that just doesn't work. Haha are you continuing to exercise? That is super important! Recently (don't fall of your chair) Elder Loi-on and I had been running every morning. Nothing too strenuous, but it is so nice to get out and have some fresh air. I suggest a good amount of fresh air every single day. :) Do you get lots of fresh air, mom? You should. :)

Speaking of Elder Loi-on I guess I haven't told you all too much about him, huh? He is from Hawaii! :D He is a really nice elder, and one of the boldest missionaries that I know. I have been so grateful to be his companion. He has really taught me how to set correct expectations with people, and bring them step by step to Christ while they have their vision in Him and baptism the whole time. That is so important. He is very open and it is fun to be with him. We laugh a lot and have

a good time. Missionary work in Kanagawa is super fun.

It is strange how different things in every area just grab your heart. This is my favorite area for the location, just because it is close to Yokohama. For some reason my heart just feels right here. So great! I love Japan. I hope that I can bring you all back here someday! It is such an incredible place. :) you would like it a lot. And I speak Japanese (decently) so we could go and do anything that we want. I actually feel like I have figured out a new way to study Japanese that has been going really well, so that is good. I feel like I am improving and learning again, and that I am not in a plateau. Whew!! Hopefully I get a Japanese companion someday. That would be the absolute best. I actually think it would be super funny if I had him my last transfer, because I wouldn't really speak English at all, so I would probably go home with horrible English, but it would be funny. :) Anyway, that is just a little bit about the area. We have TONS of hills, if I didn't tell you that before. Biking is a lot harder here than most areas in the mission. But, that just makes it super fun. :)

This last weekend and today have all been spiritual boosts for me. I have loved it so so much. To try and choose a favorite talk would be absolutely impossible, because I just loved them all! I watched two of the sessions in Japanese, so I need to go back and read/listen to those ones in English so that I can pull the full meaning from it, but it was good. Interestingly enough, Elder Rasband and Elder Stevenson both came to my mission in March with Elder Ballard. So I have shaken both of their hands!! Aren't there Rasbands in our stake too? I swear some of his grandkids went to AF. However, there were a few things that I learned that I want to talk about. I will talk about one here, and a couple in my email to Dad, probably.

What I want to talk about today is actually some revelation that I received in the temple today. I was wondering super hard about what I could to do help this zone. I talked with President Wada about how to make the temple a more revelatory experience, and I definitely got some good answers! He said just to focus on the people that we want to help, and the Lord would help me out. Strangely enough it works! haha President Wada has been saying a lot recently that we can do better as a mission, and that we need to work just a little harder and have more faith in order to really find those people that will receive us. So, as a zone leader, I have been wondering for the past while what I can do to help those in my zone to develop that kind of faith. I was wondering what part of our work needs to be strengthened in order for us to really be lifted up to be Alma, Amulek, Ammon, etc. like missionaries. I have really not been able to find what we need to change. And then in the temple today I had a great discovery.

In the allegory of the olive tree we read about various parts of the tree being weak. There are points when the branches are week, points when the roots are weak, and parts where it is weak as a whole. Even if the ground isn't that great, the Lord of the vineyard does all that He can, and he does yield fruit. I realized today that we have strong branches in our mission. The organizations are there. The people are working hard. But. The roots aren't quite strong enough to support the tree. That is what President Wada has been talking about, I think. Now, I do not think that our mission is failing, not by any stretch of the imagination. We are actually doing really well. But, in order to go to the next level of being completely under the influence and direction of the spirit, we need to just strengthen our roots a little bit. And in order to do that, our roots, our foundation, must be centered on Christ.

Today what I realized at the temple was that we need to not focus on one particular part of the missionary work (at least in our zone) but on the faith and strength of the missionaries. A study of gospel doctrine will change behavior faster than a study of behavior will change behavior. That is just how it works. I am going to do all that I can to follow the words of the prophets, strengthen my faith, and keep working.

Mom, I want you to do the same. If you sometimes feel strained, like your branches are trying to produce just a little bit more fruit than you can, strengthen your roots. Remember why you do the things that you do. If you have that faith in christ, and you remember him as the center of everything that you do, you literally CAN NOT fall. That is so essential. I pray that you are doing well in your scripture study and that every day you are learning something new, that everyday you

are getting revelation.

I love you so much. I had a huge realization this past week of just how grateful I am for you, and how much I need to thank you. I wish that I could express it in a nice email, but that just doesn't cover how much I love you Mom. That just won't express how grateful I am that you did the things you did to help me while I was growing up. While I AM still growing up. :) haha I am so grateful for how you taught me that the scriptures have the power to answer our questions, and bring us comfort when things are hard. I am grateful that you taught me principles of truth and righteousness, and didn't just lay down a list of do's and dont's. You have eternally influenced me, and you definitely stand as one of the noble and great one's that Abraham saw, Mom. I love you, and I hope that this letter finds you well! Keep holding on!!

Love,

Elder Livingston

P.S. What scripture are you ponderizing? ;) haha Don't forget to do that! He challenged you to do it, and if you never try it you will never know if it works. Love ya! <3

Pictures this week - 4 October, 2015

Honda Kyodai (Studied at BYU Hawaii)

Hotta Kyodai

Ishikawa Kyodai (A genius studying at Tokyo University - the equivalent of Harvard)

YSA Missionary Day

NS - Letter to Dad - 4 October 2015

Hey Dad,

So, if you look at my email to Mom it has the majority of the busy things and things that are going on right now in my mission. But, I wanted to talk about NS. I need your prayers on this one.

NS is a xx year old man, and he loves Christ and God. He actually started to study the Lutheran church when he was young, and while he never joined, he has been feverishly studying Christianity and the Bible since then. Elder Loi-on and Elder Richardson found him the day before I moved here, and we have met him almost every single day since then. However, he has a problem. He has been smoking and drinking for about xx years, and it is very much

engrained into his system. He is really struggling with that. He has told us over and over again that he wants to receive baptism from Elder Loi-on, but that he understands that he can't do it until he quits drinking and smoking and things like that. Do you have any advice? Did you ever deal with this kind of thing on a mission, or as a bishop? We are struggling to know how to help him. He says that he wants to stop, but then he just goes ahead and drinks. Obviously I understand it is not quite as easy as saying you are done and then quitting, but I just need some help with this one. Don't worry, we fasted for him and we are praying our guts out, I would just love some advice here as well. :)

Other than that, I really haven't met any investigators here. There is one named S, but he basically dropped them right before I got there, so we were only able to say hi when I went over there last week. We are obviously working on a lot of finding right now. I love finding, actually. :) It is great. What kind of finding (proselyting) did you do as you were in Germany? I would love to hear any suggestions that you have, or any things that you did that seemed really successful. It is so interesting doing it here. There is definitely nowhere like Japan in the rest of the world.

One thing that I have really noticed as I have been here is the amount of happiness and hope that those that believe in God have versus those that don't. Japan, being a non-religious nation, could really really use the help and support that comes from believing in God. And I get the opportunity to go and help them believe in Him. :D

But, not only that, there is yet another difference, between those who believe in God and those who believe in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have something special. It is easy to see in their eyes and the way that they act. We definitely are a peculiar people when it comes to things of the world. We truly are in the world but not of the world, so long as we do all that we can to keep the covenants that we have made in the temple and at baptism and at the sacrament table. :) I hope that you remember those covenants. You promised to always remember Christ, and that really is a big responsibility (I know that I often slip up). I hope that you can do that more.

Please continue to pray for NS, and also that we can find some new investigators soon. I love the people of Japan. So much. I truly will be so sad when I have to leave them, because they are my brothers and sisters. Luckily, they ARE still my brothers and sisters, and I will be able to see them in the eternities even if I get separated from them for a time while I am here on Earth. I love this gospel and I know that it is true. When we abide by its precepts we get closer to God than through any other method. This method includes service, actively spreading the Gospel, whether it be by word of mouth or through letters or social media, this is His work. He is at the helm. We can always trust Him.

How are things going with the business? Any more bites from different companies? I hope and pray that you will find what you need. I know that you will! It just might not be exactly what you think you need. Just trust the Lord, and everything will work out. :)

I love you so so much! You are the incredible, Dad. Keep working hard and trusting in the Lord. Don't forget to put your study time for the Lord first every day! That will help everything go better. :) In fact, we are commanded to study the scriptures, as well as put the Lord first. :) haha I am excited to hear how everything is going soon! Love ya!

Love,

Elder Livingston

I Leave the Realm of Childhood - Letter to Mom - 4 October 2015

Hey, Mom!!

How are things going this week? I am sorry to hear that your health has not been doing well as of late. I hope that things have been a little bit better this week and that they continue to improve as you follow the counsel that you received at General Conference. Listen to all of the promptings that you receive, no matter how small or how strange they may seem. :)

This has been a good week! Busy, busy, but really good. As for a quick rundown of the mundane things before getting into details and things like that I had a normal P-Day last week, and then I had a zone meeting on Tuesday (which means that we are in charge of planning and facilitating the entire thing as zone leaders). That actually went really well, and then I went on splits to Kawasaki. So that was fun! It was great to work with an Elder Jenner in our zone, and I was once again reminded of the importance of just giving your all to the Lord, and holding nothing back. After that, I returned to my area for a night, and then the next day we went to MLC in Kichijoji. I was in charge of a musical number, so I put together a little 6 person choir-ish thing to sing Come Come Ye Saints. It actually ended up being really really good. Then, I stayed in Kichijoji for Splits with the Assistants. That went well, although it was super busy and we didn't get that much time to find. We did teach one lesson though, and I was able to go to the Kichijoji District Meeting, so it was good to hear about those things that are going on well with the district that I loved so much! Then I went back to my area, and then we had a good rest of the day. We finished off with a good Saturday just playing some basketball in the morning, and then teaching a few people and doing what we could to find some new people. It was good! :) Then yesterday! I  aged so much yesterday.... ;D haha It was good though! I'm 20 mom.....I'm not a teenager....it is so weird. I feel like that is the weirdest thing. Just that I can't be tagged as a teenager anymore. I became an adult for the second time in my life! ;D haha (20 is when you become an adult in Japan). :) And church was so good. I will talk about that in a minute though. That will be more my spiritual part of the email today. :) haha and then QS and SK actually came and picked us up (our area borders Hodogaya) and took us over to their house for dinner! haha :) It was super good, and they are doing great. He may even start taking lessons seriously soon (that is what we committed him to do). They gave me a whole bunch of Yokohama Marinos paraphernalia so that is fun. :) Sadly, neither your package nor Jenna's have arrived (funny right? It reminds me of the birthday letters being written by a certain Elder......). However Yosh is going to give me the package on Thursday, and I should hopefully be able to get Jenna's tomorrow....we will see if it arrived in time. :) haha

But, about church yesterday.

So, I decided since it was only my second week in the ward, as well as fast Sunday (our general conference is a week later, so no spoilers!), as well as my birthday, it would be a great opportunity to get up and to bear my testimony. :) So I did. I will be honest, I was trying so so hard to figure out what to say (there was a line to bear testimonies, so I had a lot of time to wait and think), and I just decided to bear simple testimony about the Restoration of the church, and what it really means to have Jesus Christ as our Savior. And I thought about it. I thought about how to explain why listening to lessons would be good for absolutely anyone, and I came to a conclusion. :)

If there really is a God, and He came to Earth, wouldn't that be the most important thing ever?

If He made it possible to overcome our mistakes, wouldn't that be the most important possibility ever?

What if He left for a time, but came back and delivered a message to a boy? What if?

No matter who you are, or what religion you believe in, if there was a .5% possibility that was true, it would be the most important message that this world could ever contain. And that is the message that I was able to share. I just bore simple testimony for a couple of minutes, and I sat down.

Mom, I know that Joseph Smith, as a 14 year old boy, went into a grove and saw Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that he was called of God to be the prophet to open this last dispensation. I know that Christ fulfilled all that the Father needed Him to. There was not one thing that was left uncovered by the Atonement which He humbly performed on our behalf. He sacrificed for us, and we can overcome our sins and our weaknesses because of that sacrifice which he made for us. How often do you think about what that really means for you? Do you think about how it changes your life? I hope that you do, at least once a week as you partake of the only ordinance that you repeat for

yourself over and over again. Christ lives. I know it. Heavenly Father lives, and loves each one of us. I know it. I hope that you know it, and that you frequently feel His influence in your life. That is my biggest desire. It truly would be life's greatest achievement to become 100% under the influence of our Father in Heaven by virtue of the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Do not take that gift for granted. It is so powerful, and will never direct us wrong. :)

I am so proud of you and Dad, and everyone at home for all of the incredible things that you do! You are such a support and a strength to me. :) I love you so so much. You are the best. :) Keep hanging in there. All things will be for your good, and I promise that. That is what the Lord promised Joseph Smith, and it extends to each and every one of us. And though the Earth and Heavens pass away, His word will not, so hold onto those promises that you have. :) I love you!!! <3

Love,

Elder Livingston