June 6th, 2016

This week has been solid! Elder Foster and I have been getting along so well and he is such a good friend. We have been doing a lot of work and seeing a lot of cool miracles.

We were tracking around Andover on Tuesday and it started to pour. We were fairly close to a member and my poundland (dollar store) umbrella was on its last leg so we decided to pop in and wait out the rain. The Covils are a couple in their late 70s early 80s and they are very kind. We shared with them some of our personal insights and then Ron shared a really cool analogy that stuck with me.

The church is like a gym. This gym has everything you could ever want in a gym. Because of the sacrifice Christ made for us we all can get a free membership to the gym we just have to go up to the desk and ask for one. Many people go to the gym because they have this vision of being in great shape and having a great body. This pushes them to go regularly and work our really hard while they are in the gym. Then there's the other who know they are out of shape and they know the gym will help so they get there. Others go to the gym because everyone they know goes and it's a fun time. There are many other people there for their own individual reasons too.

People who go to the gym, whether they work really hard or hardly work at all, will not see immediate results. But over time they get healthier and stronger. Most people don't notice the results of going though, they just generally feel good and are happy with the gym, but if you asked them they probably wouldn't be able to say how much stronger or healthier they actually are. 

There are people who stop going to the gym for many different reasons. They gradually lose results gained from going and the less they go, the harder it gets to go back. They get to a point where they recognize they are out of shape. It doesn't bother them too much though because they look around and see that most people are out of shape too. Their old gym friends encourage them to come back and enjoy the gym with them. They may go back but when they do they see their old friends lifting weights they can no longer lift and doing things they no longer want to do because it's hard and they think something along the lines of, "sure, exercise and being healthy makes them happy but it won't make me happy anymore. I have other things to make me happy now." They forget the joy of the gym and only see it as hard, meaningless work because, "what's the point of being in shape and healthy anyways?"

So this analogy could be expounded on way way more, but I kept it short. We can still relate so many different gospel principles to it. I didn't directly relate to any because I think it's more fun and it sticks to you more as you find relations to gospel principles yourself and aren't told them. It's exactly how Christ taught. He would give them a parable, but not the meaning. So as you read and think about this little gym parable, let the Spirit teach you what you need to know from it. What can you take away.

So remember that less active guy we were doing MMA with. Well we got a teaching appointment with him and he said he wants to come to church!

A really cool miracle we had yesterday was being able to teach Josh. He's a security guard at tesco who we see a lot when she go shopping there. We had a dinner appointment at 5 and we walked out of our flat at 4:30 and the first person we run into was him. We said hi talked for a bit then told him what we do as missionaries. He said he has 20 minutes right now so we sat down on the small wall right where we were and taught him he restoration. It was a short but powerful lesson.

Tomorrow we are going to Hyde park chapel in London to hear Dallin Oaks speak to our mission and the London central mission so there will be 400 or so missionaries there and I'm so excited. I'll take lots and lots of notes to let you know how it goes!

Love, Elder Johnson

May 30th, 2016

The week has been really good! We have been able to pick up a new investigator and set a baptismal date for Alex on the second of July. He is such a good kid and I'm so excited for him to be baptized. The new investigator we got is 24 and is pretty well versed in the bible. Our first discussion was about an hour long and it consisted of him asking a lot of questions. We gave answers that he generally liked and accepted and he wasn't bashy at all. It was really quite fun to teach him. He was excited to be able to read the BoM and actually funny enough already had a copy that someone gave his sister years ago. He told his sister that he was meeting with us so she gave him her old copy of the Book of Mormon she got years ago from missionaries in the past.

Missionary work is hard and can be quite exhausting, but it is so rewarding when I'm able to help people come closer to Christ. I feel that I am developing good habits for the future. I'm learning how to be a good missionary and a good follower of Christ in general. I love this work.

Next week we are going to London for a double mission conference where Elder Oaks will be speaking so that should be cool. He is a funny guy so there should be a lot of laughs. I'm also exited to see some of my old MTC buddies who went to the London central mission.


A cool miracle we had this week was being able to do MMA with a less active. So we have this less active named Jo who is a beast. He owns a fighting gym and teaches MMA. He's also a semi pro fighter. So he always invites us to his gym to come fight and practice because he said a lot of his students need God haha my last companion never wanted to go but me and Elder Foster decided to go to see if it would be a good place to do missionary work. So we went to a Jujitsu class which is a non striking class (can't bruise the money maker) and there were about 10 other students there. When we got in, he turned the music off and introduced us and told the guys that we were there to convert them! Well during the class we got a chance to talk to all of them and I even got a chance to grapple with some of them. I'm sure glad I did a little bit of wrestling when I was younger so I wasn't completely stupid. Jo the teacher asked to grapple me in front of everyone and since they don't really do wrestling here in England I could hold my own. Elder Foster who is a soccer player just talked to the guys about us and the gospel while I was grappling with Jo and other guys as well. It was a really cool experience and something I never thought I would be doing in my mission, but hey the Lord gives us talents and abilities for a reason and I'm just using what the Lord gave me to spread the gospel haha I think we are going to go every week!

Love, Elder Johnson

Our new investigator who is 14 and from Portugal. (The one in thebasketball jersey)

new companion!

I made pizza and quiche from complete scratch dough and all. I've been learning a lot of new recipes and do all the cooking. 

I have done face masks with every companion.

went on a hike with some members 

found a hedgehog

England has lots of history

May 23rd, 2016

My week was fantastic. Elder Foster is such a good missionary! He is a super hard worker and we have seen a ton of miracles. One day we were walking on a bus and the bus driver asked if she could come to church. She just asked! We are going to be teaching her Friday. Also we played soccer, or I should say football, with about 20 Africans. It was so much fun and we got some referrals from it. Elder foster is a varsity soccer player so he was killing those guys. Then we taught this lady named Feya. Hernandez and I taught her about 3 weeks before and since then she has read 19 chapters of the Book of Mormon and in her closing prayer of the lesson, she said "if I come to know if these things are true I will embrace them whole heartedly"! Also our investigator Alex who is 14 gave a talk in sacrament meeting... Yes our investigator gave a talk. It was so good and he bore his testimony! The whole young men's program was asked to speak in sacrament for priesthood commemoration and we figured he has been to church 6 times so he's ready to give a talk haha not sure if it was allowed but it was so so good! That's my life. I'm loving it!

One of my favourite personal insights from last weeks studies was in the fifth chapter of Jacob versus 21 and 22. The servant asks why would you plant this tree here, the ground is bad. The master replies don't council me for I have been working here a long time. The Lord's hand is in all things. We need to have faith and stop asking "why did you do this" or "why did you put me here". We need to be asking what can I do now with what you have given me or what would you have me do. The Lord has been working on us and those around us forever. Have faith that He is doing what he says He is doing. An abiding trust in Him will bring miracles. 

I love you! 

Love elder Johnson 

May 16th, 2016

My week has been up and down. The family of 5 dropped us. They didn't give us a reason, they just said they didn't want to get baptized. Also we got stuck in the house of an anti-Mormon who told us we were going to hell for a while so that was fun.

The good part though is my new companion. He has been out on his mission for 7 1/2 months, he is 18, and he is from Utah. He is such a good kid and he is striving to be exactly obedient which I love. We have already seen a huge influx of miracles. One is we walked on a bus and the bus driver asked if she could come to church and where the location is. She didn't come this Sunday, but where going to find her and chase her down! Another one is a member in our ward brought a family to church and we are going to meet up with them this week sometime. I was so happy they came. Alex came again too but I'm a little worried about him because we weren't able to see him this week. Other then that life this good. I love Elder Foster and I love being in the Salisbury area! 

I'm learning more and more of what a privilege it really is to be able to preach the gospel on a daily basis especially in such a beautiful country.

Love, Elder Johnson

May 10th, 2016

Hey!!! 

It was so so good to be able to talk to the family!! They are doing so good. I got to talk to my future sister in law for the 3rd time and my sister is putting her mission papers in!! The family is great! 

Missionary work is going really well! 2 out of the family of 5 have a baptismal date for the 28th of May. They are progressing really well. We just need to get them to church more! We are also teaching Alex still who is the 14 year old boy with two less active parents. He has come to church every week for past 3 weeks. He's a really good kid. 

A few cool miracles I was able to see this week was from an exchange I went on. I was in another area that I didn't know and the goals we set for the exchange was to be exactly obedient and to speak to every person we saw. We went berserk. We talked to a guy named Shawn and he was very religious, but he was open so we boldly asked him is he had 20 minutes. He said yeah so we walked him to the chapel and taught him the restoration. The Spirit was flowing so strong. Later we talked to a grumpy old man walking down the street. He didn't believe in God and didn't like religion. We promised him if he would walk into church he would be able to feel the Spirit of God. We had him promise he would come and he said he would come but it may only be to just step in to prove us wrong. We testified of Christ and told him he would feel the spirit there. The missionary I was with on change told me yesterday that he ended up staying all 3 hours and they have a return appointment to teach him this week! 

It amazing the power that obedience brings and the spirit that comes when we testify if Christ. I love being able to boldly testify of Christ everyday! 

I love you! Have a great week!

May 2nd, 2016

A cool miracle I got to see this week was when I was on exchange with Elder Fairwell from Texas. We were walking down a road and saw an old lady walking towards us so we stopped, said hi, and told her we were missionaries for Jesus Christ. She instantly started crying. We asked her what was wrong and she said through sniffles "God would put you in my path. I'm a believer too. I'm a recovering alcoholic and I was just on my way to the shop to buy a bottle." She then explained how she had some recent tragedies occur and she couldn't handle life any more. She said she was going to the shop to get some alcohol and be alone. She then asked us what we thought about suicide. 

Me and Elder Fairwell were able to testify of Jesus Christ and His atonement. We talked to her for 10 minutes or so and she said she was past saving and helping. She cried a lot and we were able to teach her with the Spirit. The Spirit was powerful the whole time. Eventually we stopped talking and let her on her way after trying different ways to get her to come back to her house or to talk with in the park. She ended up still walking towards the shop, but I know that we were where the Lord needed us to be and we did what He wanted us to do. I don't know the result of what happened to this lady but it was a huge testament to me that God loves everyone and that day I was able to be the way that He told someone He loves them. I felt His love for her so strongly and His love for me. I'm grateful to be able to see God's hand.

I've felt so much growth on my mission so far and I have been getting very sensitive to the spirit. During my morning personal studies I end up crying like half the days because some scripture or some talk touches me in a profound way. I am coming to know who my Savior is on a personal level. As Nephi says "I glory in my Jesus who hath redeemed my soul from Hell." 

I feel like Christ is my personal Savior. I love him.

Thanks for everything you do for me! I love you! You're always in my prayers! 

Love, Elder Johnson

April 18th, 2016

Work is good for the soul and without hard work life would be so boring and kinda miserable. I love how working hard makes moments of peace so much sweeter. Work is truly a blessing. That's something I have been learning out here.

This week was good. We taught the our investigators (the family of 5) and the mom was really into it. She said she was having a rough time understanding answers to prayers so we taught mainly on that. They didn't come to church which was weird and we haven't heard anything from them. Trying to call and text so hopefully they are still all well.

A really cool miracle we saw was Sunday evening we went to a members house and had dinner and a lesson with them then after we went with the member to a part-member family. There is a mom, dad, and 14 year old son. The dad doesn't speak any English (all Portuguese) and the mom and son are bilingual. So we just popped in unannounced and they let us in and fed us and we were able to commit the son who isn't baptised to come to youth and church every Sunday. The parents work Sundays and don't drive so they can't go to church so we set up a consistent ride with the member. Is was a great miracle!

Other than that nothing too crazy happened. Church was good and all our recent converts were there and we had a lot of less actives which is always a great sight to see. I got to give a talk which is a pretty common occurrence as a missionary serving in England apparently. I have gotten really good at giving 15 minute talks with no preparation haha I spoke on the talk by Elder Hallstrom about being a child of God and what it means to have diving heritage and diving destiny. my favourite quote from that talk is, "you can have what you want, or you can have something better." I have been trying to live by this principle the past few weeks due to a lot of hard situations. I have found it so much better to just do what Heavenly Father wants than what I want. My companion and I are still going good and I'm still learning a ton. I am constantly being taught by the Spirit. It can be exhausting sometimes, but I know it's worth it. I'm 8 months out now! Amazing how time flies. And the days seem get go quicker and quicker.

 

Thanks for the love and prayers!

Love, Elder Johnson

April 11th, 2016

This week has been splendid! So many prayers have been answered and my companion and I are getting along much better. We had a zone training today and I gave a presentation on Grace. As I was studying, preparing, and being taught by the spirit, i realized that by submitting our will to The Father or how Moroni says it, "deny yourself of all ungodliness", we allow grace to work within us more and that is when the deep soul changing happens. When we feel like we have so many problems in our life we cannot ask how can we fix the problems, but how can we improve ourselves. This was a lesson that the Spirit taught me this week. i am so grateful for the teachings of the Spirit that are personal for us. 

Thanks for the love and support! Have a great rest of you week! 

Love, Elder Johnson

April 4th, 2016

I actually talked to my mission president this week. He gave me some great advice. The mission has made great changes to me.

The family of investigaters are on fire! So we taught them 3 times this week. The first time we taught the mother from the Book of Mormon about faith. We read alma 32 with her and just broke down the scriptures and helped her read it. We helped her understand the significance of faith and how it's an action. Peter and the kids were sick so they couldn't join us, but two days later we gave the whole family a chapel tour and showed them the brand new chapel that we have here in the Salisbury branch. It is less than a year old. The Spirit was strong when we took them into baptismal font and taught them about baptism and the Holy Ghost. Then this Sunday they watched a session of conference. Because of the major time difference they could only watch the Saturday afternoon session which wasn't the best one but I sat next to the Dad who silently asked me questions the whole time. Elder Bednard's talk on baptism and the Holy Ghost was perfect and they also like the parenting tips from Elder Ballard. The sprit was strong. The Lord is most definitely working with them and with me.

Conference is like the super bowl to a missionary. It is a time of spiritual rejuvenation and for me reflection. I have seen so much growth in the past months of my missionary service and I have come closer to the Lord then I have ever been before. An impression I had while listening to Elder Christofferson's talk was, our capacity to love increases as we love and feel love through time and experience. He never said this word for word but it was an impression I had from the Spirit. As I reflected back on the love I have received and given in the past I realized how much growth has taken place within me. The Savior through His atonement has truly increased my capacity to love. The power of love is unmeasurable yet it is the most powerful force that exist. It is the reason for our existence and the more love we give the closer we will come to our Father in Heaven and His Son who is our rescuer.

Life can be stressful, but I am trying to do what Heavenly Father wants me to do. I strive to follow Him because I love Him.

Thanks for all your love and support. I don't think I need anything right now besides a lot of prayers. Let me know if you need anything! 

Love, Elder Johnson 

March 29th, 2016

One of our investigators got arrested so we will have to postpone that for a while. We will see how this next week goes. The miracle we saw this week was we were knocking and there was a guy named Derol opened the door and said "go away I'm Muslim" (he was very English) and quickly shut the door. So we moved on to the next door and began to knock. Derol then opened the door again and said my girlfriend wants a bible. She then shouted from the background "I used to be a Jehovah whiteness" she was lying on the couch naked covered by a blanket so we just gave Derol a BoM and ran away! Later last week we went back to see if anything came of it and the girlfriend read the intro to the BoM and she loved it. She wants Derol to sit in on the lessons as well and he is said he was "open minded" which really means he is a pot head, but we be teaching them next week!

We went to a Jamaican wedding which was great until we had to wash the dishes... Washing 500 plates makes your arms sore. We were washing for a solid 1.5 hours. The whole time I was thinking about Tearzah and how she always complained about doing the dishes. I now fully know why.

We got our moves call this week and my companion and I are staying together another 6 weeks. When I first got the call I felt like my mission president completely forgot about me. I think everyone has "that one companion" during their mission and he is mine. I've tried everything to help him, but I've gotten to the point where I just say in my head "some people are lost and there's nothing you can do". The problem is though he is hindering the work and hindering me. I've recently started to get empty feelings where I just think what's the point of trying because literally nothing good comes from it. If anything if just creates tension. 

I'm just having a hard time right now. It's has not caused me to stop trying or stop doing, it's just discouraging. I've tried making a list of all of his best qualities. It's a short list but it's something I'm trying to focus on. I also pray a lot which usually helps a ton but I feel like God is putting me through a big trial right now and I just need to step up and face it. I'm trying.So the family we are teaching are super solid. I'll tell you more about them next week though as we are teaching them this evening. They are really fresh too so not much to say other then they are a family of 5. The Dad is in the army and is a quiet guy but has very good questions. Mom is a full time mom and is really funny and open. Oldest daughter Daisy is 8 and loved the sister missionaries they used to see. Rubin is 6 and loves super heroes. Lacey-Ann is 3 and is adorable and has the cutest little northern English accent. The family as a whole is very solid and unlike most investigators we have, they aren't crazy! They are perfectly normal. I'm excited to teach them more! Thanks for helping me with all the prayers. They help a lot. Let me know what I can do to help and if there's anything you want from England! 

Love, Elder Johnson

February 29th, 2016

My week was good!

My companion is still struggling. I've decided though that I can't get mad or disappointed just because he isn't working the same as me. He is trying to improve in other ways that I can't necessarily see. I am trying to help him and I think I am. I just kinda drag him along and be the best example I can be by trying to be exactly obedient and doing everything I do for the right reasons and not in a fake way. Also I rebuke him a lot, but it's for his own good. We had some pretty sweet miracles this week and they all came directly from following the spirit! We got 2 new investigators and have 2 others in the works. An amazing one was seeing Charlie who is our most promising investigator. So we have known about her for 4 or 5 weeks now but never actually saw her. We met her mom knocking who wasn't interested in our message but said her grown up daughter would be. Her daughter, being Charlie, just lost custody of her 3 year old because she was making a lot of negative decisions in her life. Her mom gave us her address so we knocked every other day for the next 2 weeks occasionally to see Cheryl, the mother, and seeing if there was anything we could do for. We sorta stopped worrying about Charlie and tried to focus on Cheryl. We developed a friendship with Cheryl and we planned on painting a few rooms in her house at one point. One day we were in Cheryl's town and an appointment we had with someone else cancelled. I felt we should go see Cheryl, but Elder Hernandez felt we should just go another day so I just started walking and he followed and lo and behold Charlie was there. We taught her about prayer, repentance and the Book of Mormon and now she is a new investigator!! She is at a place in her life where she desperately needs a change and I hope she clings to the gospel so it can help her make those changes she needs. I love you all and hope all is well!

Love, Elder Johnson