The Epistle of Elder Seamons on Talking to Others and the Amazing Post Fireside Discussion plus Pictures

Snail mail Sent July 16, 2010


Dear family and friends,

Hello again! I just completed my third week here. I realize that in a week and a half we will be half way done. I have learned so much here at the MTC! I have been learning a lot about the language. We know how to contact people on the street, converse with them about what they do for school and work, make an appointment, commit them to read a scripture, pray, or come to church with us, follow up with them to say if they kept their commitment, and I can bear my testimony and pray. Fre Jean had us walk around the MTC until we found a table. Then he called on different people from the district to bear their testimonies in Kreyol [I assume that is the Haitian spelling of Creole] and to answer our questions as investigators. Each person was up there for at least five minutes. Fre Jean asked really hard questions [that someone might ask us.]. We could have answered them in English easily, but with the little vocabulary that we know, it was difficult. Some of the questions were:

“Komon ou konnen ke Jozef smit se yon pwofrt?” How do you know that Joseph Smith was a prophet?”

“Poukisa mwen ka konnen ke liv Momon an vre?’ How can I know that the Book of Mormon is true?

I didn’t get to go up. I think he was trying to get the people who didn’t feel as comfortable with the language. In between testimonies, we talked with our companions as investigators and got each others’ address so that we could stop by and teach them. He told us the first week here that contacting people will become second nature by the time we leave the MTC.

In firesides and devotionals, they continually stress that we can’t teach people about Jesus Christ and His church if we don’t go out and talk to anyone. Finding people to teach is a crucial skill. I go out of my way to talk to people all of the time now. It feels weird and I was so worried about people thinking why in the world I would go and talk to them, but there is no reason to think that. We are all children of God. We don’t feel strange about conversing with our earthly siblings. In the same way, we don’t need to feel strange about getting to know our heavenly siblings. When you are by yourself or are in line next to a stranger, you should talk to them. You can do it in a way that is not awkward but meaningful. You can make someone’s entire day b doing that. I have been by people who didn’t miss a chance to talk to people and they are so interesting and wonderful. I have made friends who I only spent two minutes talking to, but who will always have a place in my heart. I may not even remember them, but they etched a permanent engraving on my heart, and helped me become more like Jesus Christ. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon which says that we are all brethren and that we ought not to hurt one another.(Alma 23:3 "and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness. ") I can’t remember the reference though. I think it is in Alma. I looked in the index but I failed to find it.

There is so much turmoil in the world, because people don’t take time to understand one another. The only way to establish love and peace among individuals and cultures is to show Christ’s love and interest to others, especially those strangers that are next to us who we don’t even take a second to stop and talk to. It is not only our great pleasure to be able to shore up our lives and interest with other people, but also our duty. When done in the right way, we can make people’s lives and days so much better. It doesn’t mean sharing religion at all. It just means to be friends with the people around you. I have met so many interesting people with so many different talents throughout my life and especially at the MTC. If people would work to pull down the social barriers between the people around them, the world would be infinitely better.

We see the people next to us and think they are so different and that they have a different personality that we could never get along with. That is wrong. All good people can become close and love each others’ differences. There were people at school who were nice, but that I didn’t like because they were sarcastic, had a weird sense of humor, and were too silly, or because they were socially awkward or unaware. But if they are good, loving people, I can still have a wonderful relationship. Even if they aren’t good, loving people, I should love them anyway and see the good in them. In the book of 4th Nephi in the Book of Mormon, after Jesus Christ visits the inhabitants of ancient America, the Nephites, everyone is united and there is no enmity or hatred among any of the people in the land. The Lamanites and the Nephites who were two separate people who had enmity between each other, became united and they were no longer called by their names. In 4th Nephi 1:15-17 it says, “and it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envyings, nor tumults, no whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God. There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.” That is a powerful part of the Book of Mormon. I love that book! I know that it contains true principals and that the events described in it actually took place. It is God’s word along with the Bible. In the Bible, when Christ talks to his disciples in John 10:16. It says, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” Those people are the people in ancient America, who Christ visited after his resurrection. He gave his gospel not only to the Jews, but to his other followers in the world. I love both of those books. I knew the records that they contain are true.

Going back to what I was saying about reaching out to strangers and talking to them, I extend a challenge to everyone who read or will ever read this letter to talk to other people whenever you get the chance. As a representative of Jesus Christ who has the authority to preach the gospel, I promise that you will find more happiness than you could ever imagine, and that special experiences will await those who accept this challenge. You will have the ability to change lives and influence people for good, even if you don’t realize until way after the fact, or if you never see the people that you encounter again.

Wow! I have so much to say about what has happened this week and about what I have learned and I am already on page 10. That is not good. I don’t even know if I will have time to write everything I want to. I will just do my best, and that will be sufficient.

The Samoan district in our branch will be leaving this week. It will be strange with them gone. They are so loud around 9:40-10:10 time (night). The first week they were here, they would get an empty trash can, play a rhythm on it and have a dance off in the hallway. Their classroom is just next door to ours in the building we have class in too. They sing more in their language than we do. It depends on the teacher you have. However, there is a Tongan district that will come in next Wednesday. The Haitians and the Fijians will be the more experienced missionaries in the branch. Elder Afsasa from the Samoan district, who also has a brother in the same district, said that we are very mellow compared to the last group of Haitianaries that they had. We still joke around and are a little rowdy at times, but the Samoans are crazy compared to us. Our district is doing great. I heard that some of the companionships in the Samoan district had contention in the beginning of their MTC time. I heard that the previous Fijian group had missionaries who got in an argument with their companions and ran off and just walked around the MTC campus after curfew. One ran all the way to BYU campus before they came back. The missionaries spent a lot time looking for them.

There are a lot of native Samoans in the Samoan district. Most of them are not Caucasian. Their culture really comes out. They are so funny. They are definitely different than what I am used to. There was a time when a Samoan missionary walked into someone else’s room and they got into a fight and were punching and wrestling. They were really mad. The other missionaries broke it up, and within a few minutes they were best buddies again. That is just part of their culture. That is how they deal with their frustrations sometimes. But they are very awesome people though!

Elder Terry drew a picture of what he might have looked like in the premortal life. It was very well drawn. He draws funny pictures all of the time. He also drew a diagram of the plan of Salvation. I have many of his pictures on the memory card of my camera.

On Wednesday, we went to the TRC, the place where we go to practice introducing ourselves and setting up an appointment with a person playing as an investigator. We contacted someone named Andy. He went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on his mission too. He was posing as a Catholic. We did another situation with him two weeks ago in the TRC. Afterwards, he told us that our Kreyol was so much better than the last time we taught him. We “contacted” Andy on a “bus” and we challenged him to read 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon. We did pretty well. I didn’t introduce the baptismal commitment very well though. I need to get better at that. We have learned so much in the language in the past 3 weeks! Fre Jean thinks we’re not making enough progress. Elder Terry is kind of irritated with him. Elder Terry was giving the Panse eseirityel (the spiritual thought) and he asked Fre jean if he was saying things correctly and Fre Jean just stared at him and wanted him to do it on his own without even correcting him. Fre Jean kind of drives me crazy sometimes. He has such high expectations and does so much that we can hardly keep up. He is an extremely good teacher though! I have learned so much from him. I don’t feel that he is as understanding though. I can relate better to Fre Nelson, who is 21 and got off the mission in March. He is extremely mature for his age though. I love both of them though! I couldn’t have gotten through the MTC this far without them.

On Sunday, we had a fireside where Jenny Oaks Baker, the daughter of Dallin H. Oaks, came and spoke to us. She is a famous violinist, and has played with dozens of groups and in famous places. She has played with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra .She has played at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall and a ton of other places. I would tell you more, but left the notebook that I used to take notes in the classroom last night. She had her nephew accompany her on the piano while she played the violin. She told a spiritual experience and then played a song. She used that pattern the whole time. She is an amazing woman with so many good insights and experiences. She started playing the violin at 4 years old and she is now one of the most renowned violinists in the country. She has several albums that have sold tons. Look her up. Elder Caldwell and I sat right behind the front row on the left side directly behind the piano. Elder Oaks came to see his daughter and grandson play. His grandson was standing in front of us and Elder Oaks came over, put his arm around him, and gave him a seat next to the rest of his family. It was such a good fireside!

On Tuesday, we had a fireside with Ronald T. Halverson. He is such a good speaker! His wife was also wonderful. I don’t have my notes with me right now though. Afterwards we had a meeting with the district where we told what our favorite parts of the fireside and what our insights were. We normally would have a branch presidency member with us, but we didn’t. It was just us. Elder Rybin wasn’t there because he was sick and Elder Major hit his head very hard against the wall while he was making his bed and he had a migraine headache. It is amazing that it all happened that way. We had a very powerful spiritual experience. We wouldn’t have shared all of the things we did if they had been there because Elder Rybin, as awesome as he is, is sometimes sarcastic, and we probably wouldn’t have been able to have had that experience. Elder Fenely took charge, which never happens, and he told us that he was thinking about D & C 11:21. It talks about how we must obtain the word of God before we can preach the word. He felt like he didn’t know it very well, even though he did before. He told us of his struggles in the MTC and everyone opened up and told of their struggles. After that experience, I realize that it is a miracle that we were all put in the same district, and that we all made it to the field. Everyone has to struggle to get where we are. Elder Terry made really good comments. As silly as he is, he is one of the most spiritual people I have ever met at our age. He said that when we are in our lowest valley, we just need to go a tiny bit further and around the corner will be the Savior there to rescue us. The rest is too sacred and personal for me to share, but it was a wonderful experience. If Elder Major was there, Elder Fenely wouldn’t have been in charge and wouldn’t have gotten up and told us how he felt. We had an amazing spiritual experience. I realized that everyone felt so inadequate. The Savior knows the end from the beginning, so he brought us all together. I wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for them lifting me up.

Our district is very good! They are really goofy, and do so many silly things on a daily basis that I can’t even tell you half of the stories. There is so much to do in the MTC that I can’t keep up with it all. I can barely write in my journal. If worse comes to worse, this will be a great missionary history. Like someone said during our post devotional testimony meeting, “I just have to try my best and God will have to do everything else because I can’t do it all.” Actually, the missionaries are weak. We get our strength from God. 19 year old Elders couldn’t do this without help. What the church has accomplished is almost impossible, unless God is really in this work. And he is. Jesus Christ lives and he changes lives today! He knows all of his people, and he has a perfect knowledge of how to help us. Those are my final words in this letter. My purpose on this mission which I was called to serve is to invite people to come to Christ. These letters would be pointless if I didn’t do that. Christ has changed my life. I have felt his power lifting me up throughout my entire life in every aspect- school, drumline, dance, language, my friendships, my family , and in my spiritual welfare. I would have failed miserably without him. But I haven’t, so I know he lives. He is always there; you just need to know where to find him.

I love you so much. I will write you next week! Bye!

Love, Elder Seamons

Elder Seamons in front of the Provo Temple

Elder Caldwell and Elder Seamons, companions

6 of the 8 from Elder Seamons' District- The only two I am sure about

are Elder Loder, the blond guy on the left and Elder Terry, the one between Elder Loder and Eric. Eric's companion must be taking the picture and I am not sure where the 8th guy is.

Fre Nelson, one of the MTC teachers