ELDER TYLER BRADLEY JOHNSON: March 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

2 NEPHI 31. READ IT. GOOD STUFF

Yo Yo, what up famm.

First of all, i definitely forgot to send that memory card in the letter to Mom and i said i did in the letter...so just ignore that! haha. Ill send it in a letter to Jess or court or something! ha. MTC life is something else ill tell you what...we are in class anywhere from 10-12 hours every single day! its cuuhhrazzyy! I have learned soo much here, i cant even begin to tell you how much everything about the gospel just...makes sense!! its so great to be able to read the scriptures all day long! it gets tough somethimes to stay busy and stay working, but when i do the Lord just pours blessings upon us. i know it will be the same for you!

By the way, the food here is something else......................my district farts so much its honestly ridiculous! ha. I'm, already soo sick of the food, so keep sending good stuff! ha. Also, i really want a yo-yo....wierd i know, but i really want one! ha. Oh, and pictures of the fammm and stuff like that! Maybe some...sour patch kids?? haha. i have really been craving those lately! it was so funny the other day, we were sitting in class and i had the fattest craving for a powerade slush from sonic...i dont know what came over me but if there is one thing that i have really missed a ton, its powerade slushes! ha. i brought it up to everyone, and all we could think about for like 15 minutes was powerade slushes! ha. ooh, also...air fresheners!!! like scented things that will make my room smell good, that would do wonders! ha. other than that, if you can think of anything cool to send, i would love it!

Anyway, everything is well here at the MTC. tell my girls i say whats upp. but let them know that the mailbox isnt big enough for all of their letters so theyre gonna have to cut down a little bit! dont get me wrong, i love it...its just overbearing sometimes. Tell all M' Gents i say hi too, and tell trev to stay out of the pantry! ha. love you trev. Anyway, i love all of you and i know the Lord is blessing our family so much at this time! listen to the whisperings of the spirit and have courage to follow it's promptings! yo-yo, sour patch kids, pics, and cool gadgets that are simple yet fun. love you all. Follow the gospel of Christ, 2 nep 31. read it. good stuff.

Con Amor,

Elder Johnson

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

THE MTC IS SO AWESOME!

Dear fam-ill-e,

So i just want to let everyone know that im doing great! The MTC is so awesome, we just had a devotional last night and Elder Costa spoke (he spoke at general conference recently...maybe it was priesthood) i cant remember, but he is so powerful! I would love to spend my time telling you about all my funny stories...but the humor in the MTC is, well, not so humorous...ha.

Anyway, our P-day is obviously on wednesday, im just guessing you knew that but just to make sure. My companion is great, we get along really well and he's one of those guys that i would have probably hung out with before the mission..which is great. But yeah, we can just hang out and talk all the time without getting sick of eachother which is what i was hoping for. Oh, i did get the packages you sent and not only was i happy but basically my whole floor was pretty happy too..haha. But im expecting more....joke, but really ha.

Alright, its time to get all missionary on you! This work is soo great, i cant even begin to describe how honored I am each morening to put on that badge and look at it and realize that every single day, im representing Christ! We are representatives of him, which means that we must do what he would do if he were here getting ready to teach the people of Mexico. Im beginning to understand the absolute importance of serving a mission, i always knew that it was so important and that i was doing a great work but now i have a whole new view on everything we do here! its hard to explain. But what i realized is that im not on my mission at all, im on the Lord's mission. Im doing everything he would do, im teaching how he would teach. As missionaries, we are on the Lord's time, we need to completely sacrifice everything (no matter how small it may be) and always be striving to learn as much as we can. The Lord does not need young men who come on missions to get better at living on their own, he doesnt need the guys that are coming to get better at planning things or anything like that...HE NEEDS MISSIONARIES!! What i mean by that is, we need to already be prepared to serve him, we need to understand that what we are doing is a sacred work. The Lord's purpose is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, that needs to also be our purpose. Everything else is secondary. Through the process of serving a mission, we will get better at living on our own or learn how to plan things better. What were doing is inviting others to come unto Christ, by helping them recieve the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the girft of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. thats our purpose, which is right in line with the purpose of God. This is the greatest thing we can possibly be doing, it is the only thing i would want to be doing and it was what i hope to do throughout the rest of my life! Be examples through not only word but in deed. let people see the light of Christ that is within you. People yearn to know what the truth is, it is one thing that every person is born with. If we are being example of Jesus Christ and living how he lived, PEOPLE WILL NOTICE! i promise you that! I love this gospel, we are blessed beyond belief to know the truth and know the plan that God has for us. Help him out and make him happy...he will bless you! I love you all sooooo much! keep up the family home evenings, it is so important. stick together as a family and love the Lord!!!

Love,

Elder Johnson

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

THE FIRST EMAIL

Dear Family,

Thank you so much, that really does mean a lot. And to Dillon, let him know that i love him so much! This work is so great and so true and im so honored that i can be a part of it! Dillon, i want you to do all that you can to CLEAVE unto the gospel with all your heart might mind and strength...prepare for a mission now, go to seminary every single day and go to church every week you possibly can! I cant stress enough the importance of partaking of the sacrament and being able to renew those baptismal covenants each and every week. Strengthen your testimony at all times and always strive to be like our savior Jesus Christ! He is perfect and he is the greatest example we have! Courtney, same goes for you, I love you so much! go to seminary every day, always have a desire to strengthen your testimony and increase your knowledge of this gospel, i promise that as you do, the Lord will bless you more than you can believe! Promise!
Oh family, I love you all more than you know! I know that this is the Lord's work, and it is the greatest gift that we can give to the world! I love this gospel with all my heart and i Promise that i will do all that I can to spread it to every single person that i possibly can! I want you all to know that as we live in accordance with Christ's teachings, we will be happier than at any other time! Truly happy. You are all so great and I PLEAD for you all to live worthy of the blessings that our Heavenly Father is just waiting to pour out upon us!
Love,
Elder Johnson

Thursday, March 10, 2011

WHATTT UP FAM?

Hola mi familia! Well, today is my second day here at the MTC. So far it’s been soo great here, I absolutely LOVE it! My companions (we are in a triple companionship) are so awesome. Their names are Elder Bigelow and Elder Hernandez. (Hernandez is fluent Spanish, so he’s moving districts soon) but it’s been great to have his spirit in our presence for the time being. He’s moving to a more advanced Spanish class, and because he’s fluent, he leaves in only 3 weeks. Me and Elder Hernandez (excuse my grammar, Elder Hernandez and I) are both headed to Culiacan Mexico and Elder Bigelow is going to Monterrey Mexico. We are all so excited to be here and to feel of God’s love for not only us, but all of his children!
Anyway, I thought I’d let you know that today, I got called to be the District Leader for our district. I am so honored to be called of the Lord to this calling and I receive it with a humble heart. Our district includes Elder Bigelow, Elder Hernandez, Elder Newton, Elder Brinkerhoff, Elder Scott, and Elder Harper and myself. We all get along so well and we had an instant connection with each other. I have a deep love for each and every one of them and want to do all that I can to lead them not only in word, but in deed.
The classes the first couple days, I’ll admit, are pretty long and tough, but the spirit that is in the room moves me forward and urges me to do more. We learned how to pray in Spanish (espanol) today and it was great. I feel like I’ve already progressed so much in the language.
Anyway, I will give you more details in my email, but for the time being, I will be quite “frank” and tell you that my hand is starting to kill me.
I love you all sooo much, and I know you will stay close to the Lord and gain a greater relationship with Him. The Lord, Jesus Christ, truly is our Savior and God loves us so much. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I want all of you to stay VERY close to that book and I know that it will bless your lives so much. The blessings of this gospel are exponential and there is ALWAYS room for improvement.
I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Take Care,

Elder Johnson
(Hijo de Juan) hehe!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

IT'S TODAY! IT'S TODAY!

We drove to the airport as a whole family to drop Tyler off. Some of Tyler's friends came also for the send-off. Then, Chris and I flew with Tyler to Salt Lake City and then drove down to Provo. We met some more of his friends and all went out to lunch at the Brick Oven Pizza. Good times! Then, we drove on over to the Provo Temple...took some last pictures and drove Elder Johnson over to the MTC. His host's at the curb were Elder Joe Decker and Elder Cole Jacobsen. Completely random (?) and so fun for Elder Johnson to see his friends again. And he took off in a flash to get inside and start serving the Lord! So excited to get to work!!