It´s been a great week! I loved General Conference, the weather is nice, I´ve been bolder in inviting others to come unto Christ, and I feel the Sprit in abundance. It´s good to be a missionary in these times.

I love how the speakers at General Conference can speak in their native languages now. I watched one in Spanish, and I watched the one in Portuguese with Elder Biggs. It was SO COOL how much I could understand of the Portuguese. It´s really similar to Spanish. It´s just barely different enough to be considered another language. Oh, and we met two people from Spain in the street. They speak Spanish very differently. It was fun hearing all the differences, like how they use "vosotros," "pues," and how they lisp :D Definitely excited to hear Chrissy´s Spanish.

I want to say that I cried during Elder Callister´s talk and it just hit me how I´ve been blessed to have such an absolutely wonderful mother :D You, mom, have been truly inspired in helping me be more Christlike. Your last email really helped me a lot.

I hope Maia doesn´t get mad at me for sending this excerpt from her email. I loved it :D

(from Maia at BYU Idaho):  "FHE was great this week. We went to Brother Young's house (a member of our bishopric), and we had an improve lesson from this guy in our group named Dan, and we ate yummy potato chili stuff made by Sister Young, and we went four wheeling!!!! Brother Young owned two four wheelers or quads or whatever and there's this trail next to his house. It was night and dark and pretty cold (it's been sweater weather here in Rexburg, though this week might be a bit warmer) and this guy in our FHE group (Brandt) took me out on one of the four wheelers. IT WAS SO FUUUUN!!!!! We went fast and it was awesome!!!!!!!!! It's the first time that I've ever gone four wheeling. Right after I went four wheeling with Brandt I got on again with this other guy named Jeremy. I didn't drive, don't worry (I have enough trouble driving a normal car), I just sat behind the driver. I forgot to mention four wheeling in my weekly phone call with our family. I wonder what our mom would think of me four wheeling, since I know that she doesn't like motorcycles..."

I assume by the word "forgot" that she would have told you and should therefore not get upset that I shared that with you. I´m glad you have a great FHE group, Maia. I´m glad college is going so well. Love you :D

Oh, gosh... I wrote in my agenda like 5 times to check on my shoe situation and didn´t..... I´ll be sure to do that this week. Sorry :P

To answer your questions, my next transfer is the 22nd of October. I end my mission in Chile in the 20th of May, so I´ll probably get back Friday of that week.

I´m about to get preachy, so watch out! Listen up.

It seems that the plague of carefully crafted doubts is spreading and the Lord´s called prophets and apostles have noticed and felt it. I sustain these men as prophets, seers and revelators. There were so many talks that focused on TRUTH. When logical paradoxes, apparent contradictions, and other doubts come in conflict with our faith, we feel lost. We feel dropped into a riptide, partially because we don´t feel like we have a good solid foundation or reference point from which we can obtain truth. Competing and seemingly reasonable ideas contest with our spiritual knowledge. Without a rock upon which we can set foot, we will never have confidence in what we know.

President Uchtdorf gave a particularly clear illustration. The natural man only has his 5 senses to take information and his reason to form truth from what he has. Our information in that context is very limited. It was only a few hundred years ago that we knew that the Earth wasn´t flat. Who knows what else we do not yet know. Using only our 5 senses, we could very well be in a dream, like in Inception, or in a computer program, like in the Matrix.

HOWEVER, we have more than just our 5 senses. We have PERSONAL REVELATION. I testify that personal revelation is REAL. It is as real as or even more real than gravity, electromagnetism, or any other scientific law we know.

We can receive personal revelation because our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to achieve our potential as His children. You don´t need to know that to receive revelation, but that´s why it works. To KNOW any spiritual truth, it must be by the Holy Spirit. You can know by searching for it. Truth can be found in all places, although it is the least diluted by falsehoods in the teachings of the prophets. You must ponder about it. Take advantage of those quite moments with all electronics turned off. Then you must pray and ask Him, who is the source of all truth. You will know as you act on the answers you receive. You will recognize your answer by the fruits of that answer. Does it make you angry, sad, frustrated, discontent, or confused? Does it make you calm, happy, peaceful, content, and sure? As you follow these steps of searching, pondering, praying, and acting, you will know as I know, and by the same power by which I know, even by the Holy Spirit. That testimony will melt your doubts in the most miraculous way. I share this solemn testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

oops... I´m overtime today :(

I love you all!

-Elder Connor Christopherson