Wow! Two letters in the same day! (5/19/08)

This week's installment of my mission letters features two letters I wrote in the same day. 

I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--but in a different way than everyone else

I am not a member of the Church.

I am a missionary of the Church.

One of the numbers we record is the number of lessons with a member present. My companion and I don't count.

Members are commanded to raise a family and be very family-oriented. However, we are not allowed to do more than shake hands with someone of the opposite sex or children. Holding, tickling, and babysitting children are forbidden.

Members are advised to make money to support themselves. I am unemployed.

Members are commanded to go to the temple frequently. I am only permitted to go once every three months, and then I cannot participate in couple sealings, prayer circles, or baptisms for the dead.1

Elder Bednar said missionaries are the full-time teachers and all others are full-time finders, clearly making another distinction how missionaries are not members.2

Members tend to associate with other members. We try to associate with non-members.

Church dances, movie nights, pool nights, etc....not for us.

We're not even allowed at adult sessions of stake conference.

I was a member my whole life until five months ago.

--Elder Melville 

Wow! Two letters in the same day!

I guess it makes up for not being able to email next week due to Memorial Day.

Thanks for the package. Honestly I was a little disappointed at all the trees and the small amount of my niece and nephews. Don't forget I've been on a mission for five and a half months and I haven't seen pictures of anything that's happened since November. But I understand if you have computer problems.3

At the moment I can't think of anything in particular that's interesting this week. I'll just start throwing out random tidbits as I think of them.

There are portions of the Isaiah chapers where the italicized words in the Bible are not included in the Book of Mormon, further evidence of its authentic origin. I want to finish Isaiah this week since I've read all of the standard works all the way through at some point in my life, except for Isaiah through Malachi.

I took a picture of a billboard this week for American Family Insurance. They have a shot of Spot breathing fire out of the staircase with a drippy font saying, "Nothing this family does surprises us." When I first saw it I proclaimed, "Hey! It's the Munsters!" Elder Condie said, "Is that what it is? I've been trying to figure out what that meant."

We had a missionary homecoming yesterday. He told a story of his second companion, with whom he wasn't getting along. His companion went to bed and he prayed to know how to get along with him. Then he opened his scriptures and the first thing he read was, "And the Spirit said unto me, Slay him."4

We are teaching a woman who is in very bad shape. She's a former druggie and still smokes. We were teaching her and she talks a LOT. She was also very tired. She fell asleep mid-sentence not once but twice. It was kind of comical.

This week I found Sister Welsh's red vest, bucket hat, and serious shades on the table. I sported them and went around for a while with them on before she realized I was wearing her clothes. Oh, the fun things you can do with a legally blind person!

Signing off,

Elder Melville

1 I think I might have been a little mistaken; I think the “no baptisms for the dead” rule was only in the MTC.

2 David A. Bednar, “Ask in Faith.”

3 My mom must have sent me pictures on a flash drive or something.

4 I’ve heard this enough that I don’t find it funny anymore.