"Mr. October" (Who???) Wants Your Photos! (read on)

19 October 2015

I haven't gotten your package yet but I hope to soon. We have multi-zone conference in Corona and I may get it there. I need to find a large envelope so I can send you the CD of my xrays. So I have one of those black Velcro boots that goes all the way up to my knee. I have to wear it for the next 2-3 weeks. I'm mobile and still can work just like before, but all of my left shoes will be worn out by the time I'm done with this gig haha. 

Your computer is dead eh?? Well just SHOOT IT! haha :) You can use my AR and place some of your righteous anger on it. I think that would be hilarious! 

I love the pictures of you and dad! I am going to try printing them out so feel free to send me as many as you'd like either digitally or in print! I'm working on having a full photo album so the more the merrier! 

Tell everyone that they're welcome to send 

me pictures too to decorate my apartment with! 

Elder Alexander C Jackson

California Riverside Mission

5000 Grand Ave

Riverside, CA    92504

Also, we don't get our own copies of the Ensign, so if you could send me one of the Conference editions for this October's Conference if you happen to have an extra, that'd be amazing!

This week has been another good one! We are slowly but surely seeing more success as we try to become more efficient in our proselyting efforts. We have been working to make it easier to see the most amount of people with the smallest amount of time in between. We still are struggling with finding those elect whom the Lord has been preparing to receive this Gospel, but we know that in the Lord's own due time it will happen. We just have to continue working hard and strive to always have the Spirit with us so that we know where to go, whom to see and what to say.

Elder Andrus has taught me that we need to always be looking to find ways to have the Spirit more consistently in our lives. The more we have it with us, the more we are becoming Christlike and being led, through our obedience to promptings, to those places we need to be. "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing," and we want to help this work move forward as efficiently as possible. 

Matthew 23: 11 was my favorite scripture this week. It talks about how the greatest are the ones who serve. We are so blessed to have the knowledge of the gospel, and since we are so blessed, we are expected to serve, just as the Savior served. He, a God, spent all of His earthly life in the service of the very beings he created. Are we greater than He? No. We need to follow the example of the Good Shepard and serve others; lift their burdens and show charitable love towards them. Charity is the end goal; the ticket to salvation, and without it, we are nothing. We need to strive everyday to develop that charity more fully in our lives.

​Elder Aguilar who was in my Tempe YSA Ward just finished a few weeks ago.

So I have met some real "fruits and nuts" here this past week. We met both of these people on the same street within minutes. The first was an ________ who had a blood-alcohol level close to that of my age, I'm sure! He was plastered! He told us he used to be friends with Mormons and went to Seminary. He said I was super cool and nicknamed me "Mr. October" (I think I'll keep it) and showed us all around his house and customized backyard, which had a pool with a bar built into it and a below ground kitchen that served the in-pool bar! It was awesome! He also grew all of his own herbs (and I wouldn't be surprised if he grew the herb in his garden as well haha) for seasoning his party food. He also had built a deck that wrapped around his roof! Such a cool house. We would have taught him a lesson, but he had to make a last minute trip to the hospital to help his grandma (hopefully he didn't drive!). We have a lesson set for this week!

Next, we met  ____. He is this man who we met while he was doing yard work. We asked his about his faith and he said that he believed that the earth is hollow and that inside is paradise. He says he knows because he has been there! He also said that UFOs visit the earth often, and that the sun is really only a balmy 70 degrees Fahrenheit. He also says that all sorrow, and hardship, as well as the weather and the sky (the sky controls the temperature, not the sun--obviously), are controlled by the government and that God exists as atoms. He even gave us cards with a website that we can learn more at! haha My comp and I had to do all we could not to laugh right there! And they say Mormons have a weird religion....HA!

Also, big news this week! October 21 (Wednesday) is the day that Marty McFly came to the future in the Back to the Future movies! What a hallowed day that'll be eh?!

I love you lots and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Jackson

Injured Ankle, Injured Camera

13 October 2015

NOTE: Elder Jackson, at the time this was written, was in a walking cast. He injured his ankle while playing basketball!!! We were a little scared he was going to have to come home to recover, but things worked out and he is still working hard in Riverside.

So I've been learning a lot these past few weeks. There are some things that, even though we should, aren't taught in schools. I finally learned the correct times of when to use "who" verses "whom" and also "lie" verses "lay". My word for the day today is je june (I think that's how you spell it?). I won't tell you when you use each; that's your homework ;)   But my companion is suuuuper into languages so I've been learning a lot. I actually went to Barnes and Noble yesterday and got a dictionary and some Spanish stuff to help me learn.

Thank you so much for putting my name on the prayer role. The power of prayer is so real and I can feel the results of those prayers, so thank you. I was actually really scared that I was going to get sent home when this all happened (funny how I was scared to go home, yet every time we go into a member's home for dinner and there is football on I have no problem wishing I was in a position to watch it haha) but I prayed about it and got the warmest, most reassuring feeling that it would all be ok and that I wouldn't need to worry about it, just like Dad's blessing said. But I really do honestly appreciate all your prayers. 

My camera is in the shop this week with something wrong with the lens opening mechanism (I swear I didn't drop it! I think the power button may have been pushed when it was in the case and the lens tried to open and stripped something) or else I would show you a picture of my super stylish boot. I mean, boots are in style for fall right?? But I will be in style for the next 4 weeks. You can believe that I have come up with soooo many clever one-liners for boot jokes. 

I have learned a lot about how to be more Christlike. It really is easy to say, but harder to do. My scripture that I've been "ponderizing" a lot this week was 2 Nephi 9:42. It talks about how to get Christ to open to us, as He promises to do so often in the scriptures. It talks about how the wise, learned, and the rich who are "puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches" (e.i. any prideful person) need to first "cast these things away and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them." So even if we're not boastful, if we always seem to think we're better than others or think we know what is better for us than God does, we're still "puffed up", which means we're full of nothing more than hot air, we are still then considered prideful and need to humble ourselves before God. Humility causes growth, and pride stops it. We aren't counseled to shun pride only for the negative "holier than thou" facade that appears in so many participants, we are counseled to avoid it also to allow ourselves to continue flowing down the river of becoming more like God, instead of damning ourselves and ceasing that growth. And we overcome that pride, in short, by doing as Christ would: forgetting ourselves and serving others with a love for them as pure as fresh snow. We need that charity toward others if we want to have any hope of becoming more like our Savior. It's a hard thing to do, but it makes all the difference.

My companion is a great example of this kind of love. He is always looking for the good in everyone we meet, whether member or not. I'm always amazed at how much of a simply Christlike person he is. He really helps me feel the Spirit when we study together or teach and is always so humble in the way he presents himself. He has so many talents and yet he never touts about how great he is or brags about what he has accomplished. He has cast those things away from himself and come down in the depths of humility and has reaped the benefits of grace and charity that come from that sort of humility. Learning to love others for no other reason than because it's what is the right thing to do is amazing and I thnk we should all try and do it more often. We should always remember the Savior, in everything we do and everywhere we go, so that we can become those Christlike people that we all want to eventually become. It's possible. We just have to get down on our knees, and accept that we can't do it all on our own. Then grace will kick in, and we will be able to do it all. We have the God of the universe on our side, so what could stand in our way?

But if you look up Proverbs 28:25, maybe that will describe why I am a little chunky :)

Love you lots! Have a great week!

Elder Jackson

5 October 2015    Sprained Ankle and Flat Tire!

So this week has been very interesting! I joined a Russian Tango group and we were rehearsing for a concert coming up next month when I slipped on the hardwood (why would anyone put bubble soap there?!) and my ankle went *pop*! Ok...so I lied about the whole Russian Tango part, but I really did jack up my ankle pretty good. It looks the same color as those decorative ears of corn that you get for Thanksgiving. Remember how I told you that I needed to get baskeball shoes so I'd stop rolling my ankle? Well, I got them a week too late. I rolled it super good Wednesday morning and pretty soon it swelled to the size of a grapefruit. My mission president's wife, Sister Mullen (bless her heart, she's a saint), was insistent that I go to the urgent care to check it out. The report came back that it was just severely sprained and that there was a few calcified fragments, and whether they were already there or broken off wasn't known.

Elder Jackson and Jasmine are both having rough days (Jasmine is the car).

But they gave me some bandages and a SUPER stylish boot (velcro is back in this season) and some gnarly pain killers. As we were driving to the pharmacy to pick up said gnarly pain killer, we got a flat tire. Now, if seeing two Mormon missionaries change a tire wasn't funny enough, just imagine one  of them wearing a boot and hobbling around changing a tire. But alas! The Lord loves those who serve Him, because we changed it and were back in action in under 10 minutes (I think I could work as one of those tire-changing guys on Nascar). We then waited at CVS for a small eternity while they got my prescription, but it was all worth it because I spent the next two days feeling as carefree as the people at Burning Man. I also seemed to have narcolepsy because I would randomly fall asleep where ever we went. I even seemed to have totally forgotten entire chunks of things we had done those days, as my comp reminded me. Even though I felt no pain while I was on the drugs, I didn't like how hazy they made me so I stopped taking them. Burt I am now doing much better. I picked up the nickname Gimpy Swag, so that's cool too.

I promise I'm, fine, but mission policy is pretty strict, so they made it seem like a huge deal. Sitting at home and not being able to work is a real pain in the rear though! I felt so useless! Our joke was that "No unhallowed [foot] can stop the work from progressing" (Standard of Truth).

I had a great spiritual experience this week! Our area has been slow and we haven't been seeing a lot of success. At District Development Meeting, Sister Spencer suggested that maybe our faith was lacking and that if we had faith to believe that we would have success that we would. We always hear phrases like, "Just increase your faith" or "Take a step of faith", and I think for the most part, I've done alright at that, but I've never had my faith tested to any real measure. I've never really had to think that simply trusting would work. And seeing as I am a missionary and that's what we preach, it is sort of important! Well, when we were working the other evening, I prayed that we would be led by His hand to those whom would be receptive to this great message. I really tried putting my trust in the Lord. I prayed very fervently. And lo and behold! The very next door we knocked on and we had a great lesson with the guy inside and his family. In fact, as we were about to leave, it started pouring rain and he allowed us to stay longer and we got to know him and his family better! A few hours later, we got a text from a member in our ward saying that his son wants to come back to church and his daughter-in-law wants to be baptized and start the lessons! What an amazing way for the Lord to show his power! I just feel ashamed that I hadn't done that weeks earlier so that we could have had stuff like this happen then and be so much further ahead!

My companion continues to teach me things. I am amazed at how well he is able to bring off topic conversations, wherever they may be, back on topic without making it feel out of place. He keeps the flow well.

Matthew 10:28 really stood out to me this week. It was comforting how we are told that there is so much in this world to fear, yet if we are on God's side, we don't need to fear anything that can do us bodily harm. In terms of eternity, none of that matters. What we really need to fear are those things that cause us spiritual harm; those things that distance us from God and can keep us from attaining the eternal happiness and exaltation that we all yearn for. This life is the time to prepare to meet God, "and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Work hard and do what is right, and it'll all work out in the end. We have a direct promise from God on that. Times will be tough, but we have a harbor to take refuge in, and as long as we follow the commandments with exactness, we will come off conqueror.

and of course... GENERAL CONFERENCE! 

It was so great! I have never been so attentive and thoroughly enjoyed sitting down and hearing 10 hours of conference as I was this time around. As Tyler always said, "It's like the Mormon Super Bowl!" and it really is! There was soooooo much good stuff that was said. I took 17 pages of notes, if that shows anything about how much I enjoyed it. I think the overall theme was that we really need to be converted to the Lord and His doctrine. With the world getting darker and darker, we don't have time to be half-hearted, weak-testimonied saints; we need to actively be striving every day to be coming closer to Christ and building our foundation on Him, otherwise we have no guarantee at staying upright when the winds of the adversary come blowing through.  We need to be brave to do what is right, and we need to be humble, to be able to receive strength from the Lord. Satan's determination is great, but ours needs to be greater. We don't need to be afraid to do what is right. Doubt and fear are opposite and we can only be possessed of one at a time, so we need to choose which one it'll be. As we seek to do what is right and follow Christ, we will be surrounded by those people who have the same goals and with whom we can seek refuge. I know that this is true and that these principles will bless our lives if we follow them. This all comes from God, and is an instruction manual on how to be successful. If we ponderize the words of Christ, we'll be able to "always remember Him" as we promise to do every Sunday during the Sacrament and we will receive the grace and divine help we need!

It was amazing! Let me know what you are ponderizing and which talks were your favorite!

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Elder Jackson

Zone Meeting

It was Blood Moon week!

28 September 2015

I'm jealous of the great weather you're having! It's supposed to be 100 again this week! But thank goodness for AC. That makes me glad to hear the the kids were involved in the Primary Program! They really are so great and I didn't realize how much I missed them (obviously they don't have them in YSA wards) until I saw one again!

"Sister Jackson. My name is Wayne M.
Your son is serving in our ward. We had him
over for dinner tonight and we thought
u might enjoy this picture. He is a great
young man and u should be proud.

This week I learned from my companion the importance of patience. He is such a great example of patience and is always so slow to irritation when I am so easily angered. I need to be a lot more like him.

A spiritual experience this week was in my scripture study and really learning how and where I can improve. It very much coincided with my favorite scripture, which was James 4:6-7, 10. I really learned in the temple that I need to work on my pride. I am a lot more prideful than I thought I ever was. My question was, how do I become more humble? Preach My Gospel, the scriptures, and True To the Faith all answered that, and by far my favorite was the one in James. It helped me realize that I need to continually turn to the Lord and ask for His help in doing things that I, as a weak mortal, cannot do on my own. I need to constantly work on my humility and charity if I want the divine help of grace. But, it's a process, and I've only started, and the best way to learn Christlike attributes is to be like Him, and that comes from "feeding His sheep," so that is what I am going to recommit my efforts to doing this week!



Going to the Temple this week was so great! The Redlands Temple is not too far from us and the session we went to was PACKED! I've never seen one so full. They actually had to bring in about 5 extra chairs because there wasn't enough for all of the companionships! There were 12 elders from our zone and then about 30 elders from the Rancho Cucomunga mission, which is where Kelton is serving, and I actually met one of his previous companions! They also had only three rows of sisters, and the rest was packed with elders and men! So crazy! But it was a great experience to be there with so many missionaries.

I am so excited for General Conference! It is going to be so awesome!! And I'm so jealous of you watching in Southern Utah! But the opportunity to hear from living prophets is a treat unlike any other! And I'm excited to hear who the new apostles are.

21 September 2015

We had a crazy experience at a less-active member's house this week. So first thing that we saw walking up was a giant 4' cubed metal cage! So sketch. Then when we walk in, we're greeted by a giant white dog the size of horse! Then, we see two big dogs in cages in the middle of the room. Come to find out, they are full-blooded arctic wolves!! One of them ate 3lbs of frozen chicken, bones and all, in like 15-20 seconds. So scary! Not to mention illegal! And then, the guy keeps talking about how much he wants to go to BurningMan and see all the dirty naked hippies! Like I said, #OnlyInCalifornia

So at zone conference this week, we got a thing called Tiwi. It uses GPS and plugs directly into the car's computer. It monitors everything from how hard you brake or turn, too rapid of acceleration, speeding, jumping the car, going over bumps too aggressively, and even going out of our boundaries and being out too late. It's crazy what they do! But we had a guy come and tell us about how effective they are, and they reduced speeding in mission cars by over 90 percent! So crazy! It's definitely helped Elder _____'s crazy driving, that's for sure! We also are learning about keeping the Sabbath more holy and how we need to always remember Him so that we are always trying to be more like Him. I prayed to have a more meaningful Sabbath yesterday, and it definitely worked! I felt so spiritual and grew so much! I'd challenge you to do that this week and tell me what you experience! 

I am definitely getting used to this missionary life and really starting to love it! The weeks seem, to fly by and it is so great to be able to meet new people every day and have gospel discussions with them. I never realized how much you can learn about someone by simply asking them what role faith has played in their lives. It's an easy, no-pressure way to lead into gospel discussions and make it possible to teach truths and testify. Elder Holland said that, "something in what they say will ALWAYS highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear solemn testimony" and I know that that is true! The hardest step is just opening your mouth!

Here are a few pictures from this week! Me with my old MTC district
 that all came to CRM and a funny bible we found.

My favorite scripture this week is Mormon 9:3-4 because it talks about what heaven will be like and how we'd feel if we are unrepentant and why the Atonement is so vital to salvation

14 September 2015

So some funny stories this week:

1) Just like AZ, there are a ton of old retired folks here who love this heat yet still wear cardigans while everyone else is dripping in sweat. So we had dinner with one such cute old couple this week and they took us out to a delicious diner. After dinner, to get out of the parking lot, they had to turn left. Keep in mind, the driver is very very old. Anyway, he turns out in front of an on-coming car, cutting him off, into the turn lane, cutting another off, and then into the far right lane, cutting another person or 4 total off, all while being honked at profusely and acting as if it was a regular day. The land of fruits and nuts.

2) We were street contacting and came upon a gate tucked away in a quite street. It looked like it belonged to Robert Redford or maybe even Donald Trump. It was very ornate and had all these fancy lamps and ironwork and such on it. So naturally we wanted to see the house, because judging by the gate, it had to be amazing, right? Nope. Double-wide trailer. 

3) So I have only been a missionary a month and I've already been to a college party. We were going around visiting some of the  people who said they were interested in talking to us and we had visited with a guy named Stephan a few times and were going to see how he was doing. When we walked up, he was pulling out his garbage can which was filled with beer bottles and there was music and girls everywhere. I've never seen a party stop so quickly. So if the police really want to crack down on underage drinking, just send in two Mormon missionaries to crash their parties. Works like a charm.

The past couple of days have been pretty relaxing for me. My companion has had a cold and so we didn't leave the house and so I just studied a bunch and tried to pick up some more Spanish. I'm surprised at how much I remember! I'm going the "slowly but surely" route on trying to learn this Spanish. I am currently the only missionary in my whole district who cannot speak Spanish, so that adds even more motivation!

Seeing as we've been inside for the past 3 days and been taking it slow for a few days before that (he's been feeling bad for  the better part of a week now), we really didn't have a crazy good week, but there was definitely some success. We picked up three new investigators. Nancy was a street contact who has always wondered why there are so many churches with conflicting doctrine, so obviously we were happy to oblige in teaching her the restoration. She is going to read and pray and we're meeting with her Wednesday. Amy and Fernando were a referral from a random 775 number so that was interesting! We stopped by and did a quick introductory lesson and Amy, the wife, seemed very excited (even though she is pretty shy) to be able to learn more. She really wants to have more to do with religion and work on her relationship with God. Fernando was raised Catholic but really has no concept of what religion and God really do. He didn't seem super interested, but is willing to learn and is very kind. We are very hopeful for all of them and have been praying for them!

Speaking of inevitable, my white Oakleys died on Wednesday :'( We were playing basketball at the church for morning exercise and...well...lets just say that even though we're "holy men" right now and representatives of Jesus Christ, we still have bones in our arms that can deal substantial damage to molded plastics. I'm going to try and super glue them (is that using my frugal side I got from Dad, or my "always prepared" side from Boy Scouts??) and see if that does the trick. If not, I might need to get you to send me another pair of my glasses or figure something out because the current glasses/time ratio isn't looking too good right now. But on the upside, I made the basket. So there's good in everything!

Also you could let everyone know they are more than welcome to write me!

8 September 2015

"We dropped a Clorox bomb on our apartment yesterday (due to my pleading with my companion saying that "Cleanliness is next to godliness" and "Organize a house of order [and disinfectant]"), it looks great now and it is so much easier to focus on studying and planning when we are home."

"Things have been great! We are in the finding phase right now, meaning we are trying to find people who want some Jesus in their life! This involves lots of street contacting and "talking to everyone" (President Mullen). It is cool to see the variety of people there are in such a small area! We have been teaching a lot of recent converts as well and they are so awesome! This one couple the _______, are amazing. He was baptized in April and she was less active. They both quit smoking and have cleaned up their lives and are currently preparing to go to the temple in like 8 months! They have such strong testimonies and desires to do God's will and keep learning. It is so amazing! The Spirit is so strong in their home."

We get fed here every night! It is so crazy. I'm trying my hardest not to get fat, and am eating healthy when I can, but that can be hard in tis lifestyle and with our budget. I try to eat as much raw food as I can (fruits and veggies) to try and offset all the junk we get. I've had some bomb food, though! It is so  good! We ate with a Samoan family twice this week and it was life-changing, but also I felt slightly like an adolescent blue whale. It was worth it, though!