Tuesday, December 30, 2014

New Years/ Goals

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Spirit

Dear Family and Friends,
The Lord is good. Elder Christensen and I have been so blessed this week. I don't even know where to start. The Sage Ward is full of excitement. There are miracles and people are really reaching out and sharing the Love of Christ in abundance. We have had the best week of our Mission along with some of the most spiritual days of my life. Hopefully I can put into words my feelings and thoughts.
First of all, I know that the power of the priesthood is real. I have seen many miracles brought to pass, people have been healed, minds have been cleansed, hearts have been changed. It is such a great blessing to be able to serve and bring about the Lord's work in all aspects of life.
The thing that really stands out to me this week, and I've had a inclination to this idea for a while now. The word Remember is used in the scriptures fairly often. I have made a point to highlight it every time I see it and here is why. Remember when we lived in the spirit world with our father in heaven? Wait no we can't because the veil was placed over us so we would have to rely on the spirit and Faith to gain a Hope of Salvation. So every time we are told to remember it is an invitation to bring things to the front of our mind. These things are the most important for us to do, else why would they be preceded with the word remember? So we must remember, to keep ourselves in the world but not of the world we must have thoughts of holiness and virtue. Then we can gain confidence in the presence of God. (D&C 121:45)
By remembrance I want to pose a similar question to the one in Alma chapter 5. Have we sufficiently retained in remembrance the sacrifices that have gone in to the bringing forth of this last dispensation of the fulness of the Everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ? Each of us will have a different idea of what those sacrifices might be and which ones mean the most to us individually. But the important thing is that we remember them. Now if you were called at this time to die, would you be able to stand before our Savior and say that you have been sufficiently humble? Things to ponder. I know that life is busy at this time of year: there is excitement, there is recollection, there is joy, there is peace, and most importantly I surely Hope that each of us can feel that there is Love. For Perfect Love casteth out All fear. (Moroni 7) Through perfect love we are brought to sing the song of redemption and that Christ has risen. We are so frail and simple, but with a touch of the master's hand we can become just like him. Only through his great love. I Love this work.
We have exciting news for the coming month! Four baptisms are coming up, Andrew (Date pending for his father's work schedule), Michelle (Jan 10), Nelly (Jan 24), and Lisa (Jan 31). I can't wait to share the experiences as the time progresses. More will come because the Lord is hastening his work day by day just as it says in Isaiah. Trials are still abundant, but I look at them only with great excitement because I personally Know that the lord giveth no commandment save he shall prepare a way for us to accomplish the things which he does command us. This I testify to be true and I have gain this through diligence and prayer and studying. I hope that we all can take this spirit with us into the coming months and years as we draw closer to the day when our Savior will come again.
I love you all,
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Elder McGarry
P.S. For those of you who want to receive my e-mails directly to your inbox please let me know. I have the blog set up for ease of access but I also want to hear your preference. I'll be making a list of the people that I send this directly to their e-mail every week. Other will still be able to access it at the blog where my messages are uploaded. (Big thanks to My sister Rachel!!)
 

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Opening Our Eyes

Dear Family and Friends,
Transfers this week brought a new elder into our apartment. (I am lucky enough to be in one of three mission houses that has two companionships living together). Elder Chamberlain moved in to be companions with Elder Smith, AND they are our new Zone Leaders! So that's exciting, but it's not even the best part. Elders Chamberlain and Smith are both from Holiday Utah and Elder Christensen and I are both from Logan Utah. Needless to say there is a lot of love and we are all so excited to be serving and working our hardest to bring people closer to Christ.

As we went through this week  we had very high goals and standards hoping to keep momentum building from our best week the week before. With that way of saying it you already know where this is going. We felt like we hit a brick wall. Plans did not work out, everything that we thought and prayed to be able to accomplish just seemed to be falling apart. The only thing that we had going for us was that we were both determined to keep working. A couple of times we had to stop and pray that we would end up where we needed to be. If there is one thing that I learned this week, it is that prayers are answered. We may not have had the member involvement that we wanted. But we as a companionship grew closer together through these powerful and trying days. Not only that, but at the end of each day looking back we had great success, just not the way we planned it. Now looking back over the week, we had a great week and thought it seemed like we didn't get a lot done, we had just about as much success as we did the week before! The Lord helped us find three new investigators! And THREE (not all new ones but still) investigators showed up at church this Sunday. That may not sound like a lot, but this ward has not seen that many new faces in a while.
Church was a whole other deal. While Elder Christensen was playing a piano solo, I got called out to give a blessing (the first of three over the course of the next two hours) to a recent convert who has been through a rough week too. He was questioning his testimony and seriously thinking about not coming back. His family kicked him out when he got baptized. The family he lives with is in the Ward and the dad was there to help. We had a good talk and one of the most powerful blessings I've ever heard was given to him. That brings us to Monday. This young man, while still struggling I can only imagine, came out with us to do splits. He went to two investigators who are both in some serious life situations, and even potentially fatal circumstances. This was the eye opener. One is leaving a gang and they are not happy about it. The other is caught up in so much addiction he is slipping into despair and losing a hope for this life. This is what power the adversary has. He will not let up. He will not stop trying to fight against everything that is right and true. This Testimony is what I want to share: I know that the darkest hour comes always before the ray of light. Just as it did when the True Gospel of Jesus Christ was about to be restored in this dispensation, in the moment when despair was ready to overcome and sweep away all hope, a pillar of light came into the grove of trees where a young boy was ready to begin this great work. I know that our Savior will allow us to struggle and despair, only so that we can fully understand and comprehend the fulness of Joy and happiness that only He can give. Everyone has trials. Everyone will be pushed through things that they are not sure that they can bear. This is happening all around us and by listening to the Holy Ghost, our companion in promise, we can all be instruments to help up those that are down. Doctrine and Covenants 76: 22 "And now after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all which we give of him, that HE LIVES." Galations 5:14 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Helaman 5:12 "Oh remember, Remember, ..." These scriptures have helped me so much and have pressed on my mind so much this wee and I felt prompted to share them.
I love you all so very much and I hope that you can each find a brighter ray of light in this coming week through the gift that you have the privilege to carry with you. Remember, and open your eyes to the miracle of life and understanding.
I'll look forward to hearing from all of you and I hope that this Christmas Season is Merry and white (OR at least bright for those of us that don't get so much of the white :P) Until next week
!

-Elder McGarry

 This is the best. A tumble-weed as big as I AM!
What is this Madness, People have nothing better to do with their time than put shopping carts EVERYWHERE in this city. Or maybe just the South Valley...

Monday, December 8, 2014

Miracle Month Report

Dear Family and Friends,
I have been so tremendously blessed in the work in this area. This past month we have been praying for Miracles, and they have surely been abundant. We have had so many powerful experiences and so many people willing to open up their hearts to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In some small way the Lord always goes about performing Miracles, and if we put forth the effort we can be part of them.
I want to focus mostly on How we can bring Miracles about, not only in our own lives but in the lives of others as well. What we talked about in Zone Conference was what makes things Sacred. We took time to look at Temples, Martin's Cove, The Sacred Grove, and The Garden of Gethsemane. Reflecting on each of these places and the things that happened, or still happen, there was such a powerful spirit that came. Each of these places are Sacred. But what makes them that way. The Presence of God can be felt in each of them, to that I testify because I have been to them all with the exception of Gethsemane, but I still know that the Savior did atone for each and every one of us in that place so the very Son of God gave his all. For you. Words cannot describe what has been done for each of us, but there is one that comes close, and that is Sacrifice. The words Sacrifice and Sacred come from the same root word. It was quoted that Sacrifice is what makes things Sacred. When we give of ourselves in order to help or edify others, that is how we make things sacred. The testimony I have of Sacrifice is truly one of the most sacred things in my life. When I think of my ancestors, some still living, others who have passed on in the midst of tribulation, I can't express enough how grateful I am to them and their sacrifices. I know that I would not be where I am today if I was not willing to sacrifice, but to each of us Sacrifice has a different meaning. Some sacrifices may seem unimportant, or not meaningful when they are taken out of perspective. I would like to invite each of you to think about the sacrifices in your life, and probably even more dear to your hearts, those sacrifices that have been made for you and your life. Then you will see the Miracles that have been brought to pass. Each of us is a miracle, and when we make sacrifices for the Lord and for others then we are able to make miracles happen in the lives of those around us.
Often times it is uncomfortable, or scary, or we don't think that it will make "that big of a difference." But I testify that any sacrifice even the very smallest in our eyes, with a touch of the Masters hand can make a mighty change and a miracle in the world around us and in the eternal perspective of our Father's plan. I am so humbly grateful for all of the sacrifices that have been made on my behalf. I Wish with all of the energy of my heart that I could show to all of you what those sacrifices mean to me, but That is why I invite you to ponder on those sacrifices that have been made for you. Then you will have some feeling of the appreciation that I have for these things. I love each of you and I hope that we can all continue to learn and grow in all areas. With that thought I will close and look forward to the new week and start of another fantastic Transfer here in the Sage area!

-Elder McGarry
Beautiful sunrise this morning. Pictures don't even do it justice!! 
Faces on a tree in our area

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Dear family and friends,


I am always torn about what I should write because there is so much that I would like to say. That being said, I'll start with Thanksgiving day. We had a wonderful time with members and ate a ton of food. We started out with traditional thanksgiving turkey dinner, then we went and had Chili Rellenos with green chili(New Mexico specialty), then finished off the night with some amazing homemade Calzones (See Jon, I get a little taste of Italy here even!) We also had some little cards that Elder Christensen and I made to give to people with a little scripture. It was a great day.
We have a very productive week. We are pretty sad that Manuel is not progressing anymore. He is the one that was doing a World Religion class and chose to learn more about our church. On a more positive note, we have a baptismal date with an investigator named Donald Pitts who has been investigating for Nine Years. The Lord has really been working with him and we felt prompted the last couple of times to give him a little push. The power of the Spirit is so amazing and it's a beautiful thing to be a part of. The date is out four months, but it is a step to the right direction. Another amazing thing that has happened is we were out contacting this last week and found an older gentleman named Alex. He is really open minded and when we met with him for the first time last night, he said that he wished that he had more power or authority to act in the name of Jesus Christ. The spirit guided us to him at just the right moment and that is a miracle in itself. We are so excited to learn and grow with him and help him accept the ordinances and principles of the restored gospel. The blessings are so limitless if we rely on the Lord. Another investigator Named Timothy is working to quit smoking. He has been working so hard and even pushing himself more than we would have thought he would. We are going to work toward a baptismal date this week.
My favorite thing I've learned this week, or the thing that sticks out to me the most right now, is D&C 121:45 "Then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God" How do we as imperfect beings gain confidence to be with God? It is only through Faith in Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice that we can be cleansed from sin to have that confidence. When Virtue is the garnish of our thoughts we have no desire to do evil, but as Alma 13 talks about we look at sin only with abhorrence. The work is good and not without struggle by any means. Friday last week, we had plans fall through over and over, but we kept a prayer that we would be guided to where we needed to be. Let me tell you, prayers are answered we ended up trying by a family that we have missed the last two weeks and found out that recently the husbands father had passed away. They are a middle aged couple and they were in pain and had a lot going on especially right after Thanksgiving. We were able to teach a beautiful message about the plan of Salvation and bear strong testimony of the plan in it's perfection. The wife has never sat to listen to our messages before now and this time she even accepted an invitation to read Alma 40 which talks about the resurrection and eternal life. My companion and I are so grateful for the area we are in and the people that we are able to serve.
Sorry this one is a little more surface deep I guess I'd say. There is a lot going on and what I'm doing is more in the forefront of my mind so anyway, just like the Moroni, I feel that my written words are insufficient. I love you all very much and continue to pray for you. Scripture for thought 1 John 4:8 "For he that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is Love." This is one of my all time favorites and can be applied to any circumstance. Act in Love and you will not regret or look back wishing for change. This I know to be true.
Have a great week!

Elder McGarry
 The elders from our apartment. We had an epic rubberband fight last night!!! P day shenanagins
Thanksgiving dinner at a members house. 

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Thanksgiving (And THE GIFT)

Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been so amazing. Last Friday we had a cone training in Rio Rancho with Elder Corbridge from the first quorum of the 70! How cool is that? it was a very powerful meeting and I learned a lot. They even introduced THE GIFT, a Christmas Initiative that the church is doing this year and I'm SO so so excited about it. But I'll get to that in a second. The message that Elder Corbridge shared was about the things we don in life and about the opportunity costs involved. For those that don't know what that means it is that when we choose to devote our lives to something, a career, a hobby, a talent or anything we do it at the expense of everything else that we could choose to do with the time spent doing the thing we are doing. That is the cost involved. Now the question is, Is there One thing that is more important than everything else? Well we all know where I'm going with this so I'll skip the elaborations that he gave (Which were very insightful) but the truth is Yes. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is more important than anything else we could do with our lives. And the best part is, there isn't ANY opportunity cost! Not only do we not have to sacrifice anything (save our sins) to devote our lives to this one thing, but we are promise that if we do then the Lord will bless us with more than we can receive. We have this opportunity of life. We are given this beautiful experience to learn and grow and the Gospel is the way that we align ourselves with the one true source of knowledge and truth. As is says in Isaiah 55:8-9 our thoughts are not the Lords. He knows and understands so much more and as we align our thoughts with his and our will with his we are able to accomplish all the things that are necessary and even desirable in our lives. He guides us in all things through the power of the Holy Ghost, and by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. That leads me to THE GIFT.
As the gospel spreads we all have an important duty to share it. This is Christmas the church is giving everyone a very simple and powerful way to do that. They are launching a Christmas Initiative this Friday that is awesome. It brings the focus of the holiday back on the true meaning of it all. Our Savior, the greatest gift this world has ever received. If you are looking for a way to make this Christmas more meaningful and memorable, I urge you to think of someone that can use this gift, our Savior and his atonement  more fully in their life and to share this message with them. I promise that it will not only brighten your spirits but you might just save a precious soul of our Father in Heaven. He is The Gift and we need to give that gift more freely now than ever before as the world around us is spiraling downward.

The miracle we had this week was found in a soul named Jonathan. This is a new investigator that we found and he is committed to be Baptized. We are working on a date, as he has a few things we need to sort out. He has such a powerful testimony of prayer and in his life about a year ago, he hit rock bottom. He didn't see a reason for hope or anything worth living for. He was arrested and needed a way out. He shared with us that as he turned his will over to the Father through out the process of the Last year he not only turned his life around, but it is going better than he could ever have imagined before. He sought us out and I am so thankful for the Lord in bringing our paths together. He truly does work miracles. I wish and pray that I could only share the power of Jonathan's testimony but mine will have to suffice. I Know that the Gospel is true and it is expressed through the simple concept of Love and Charity. As we learn to Love more fully, our natural course is to follow the principles of the gospel by helping those in need and seeking to right the wrongs we have done to those around us. If you take only one thing from this e-mail, take this: 1 Corinthians 13: 2-3(The whole chapter really) without Charity we are nothing. Take that into this season of thanksgiving and truly KNOW that Charity never faileth. The gift is very real and The Savior's love is sufficient for All men who are humble and submit to his will. That is my testimony.
I Love you all very much, and I hope you have a Fantastic Thanksgiving. Eat a lot and remember the blessings we all have. 
 
Until next week,

Elder McGarry
  Lunch at Zone Training :)
Hot air balloon in the Sunset as we walked out of Zone Training!! COOL :)

 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Beautiful skies

Dear family and friends,
First of all, every single sunset here is SO Beautiful! The pictures I post do no justice to the real beauty and richness of color but the one with the Sandies (Watermelon) Mountains and a big cloud over the top... My companion and I are pretty sure that Jack's bean stalk leads to the top of those clouds and there is a goose laying Golden Eggs! Anyway I'm so happy to have such a beautiful planet to live on. All things both great and small Testify that there is a God and when we allow our eyes to be opened we truly see the beauty in everyone and everything around us!
This week there have been some amazing things happening. We invited a couple of people to be baptized and two accepted!! Another, the guy from the military, said he's not ready or not sure yet, but he is still making progress and we are seeing a lot of growth. Our biggest miracle this week is Lisa. She was raised catholic and she and her family have always believed in God. We met her on Saturday when her cousin came down from Arizona to introduce us to her. We had the most powerful little testimony meeting in Lisa's home, and after which we shared the message of the restoration, gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read pray and find out for herself if it is true. She (And ME TOO) is sooo excited she said. I even cried, and I'm not even ashamed to admit it. She has such a powerful strong spirit and the Lord is working miracles in her and in our work. The sad part is she is not in our area like we originally though, so we are going to have a lesson today to introduce her to the sisters who are in her area. It is sad but I know that the Lord will continue to work miracles in all areas and all over the world so I am just excited to see what is next.
Faith: I have studied this each morning this week. Faith one of the most important things we can obtain. Without faith, the red sea would not have been parted. Without faith Nephi would not have been able to obtain the plates. Without faith Alma and Amulek would not have been delivered from the prison where they were spat upon and ridiculed continually. WITH faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we can obtain all that our Father in Heaven has. I love the power of Third Nephi Chapter 7:18 where the faith of Nephi is so powerful that all he had to do was Testify and the people had no power to disbelieve his words, because of the greatness of his faith. I think that this is even greater than moving a mountain by faith. How is it that we can begin to have the faith that it would require to bring such a change into the very being of another person. We all have our agency, but along with that we have the knowledge of what is true and right, as well as those things contrary to truth and right. And only by learning line upon line putting our faith in Christ and following his example can we grow to any measure of profit to him who we are eternally indebted to. He only wants us to ask, and he has faith that we will. As a closing thought on faith, the book of Hebrews explains: We understand that Faith is the very creative power used to form this world. If God didn't have faith that His word (Jesus Christ) could create the world he would not have taken the steps to even begin doing so. Faith is power and I hope that we can all continue to nourish and grow our faith no matter where we are at right now.

​ I love you all and thank you for your support and strength. I hope that as we go throughout this week we can all focus on the blessing of this life and let those manage our thoughts rather than the challenges we face. Challenges come and go, as I like to say "Circumstances never come to stay, they come to pass, and it is up to us to make the best of each and every moment." ​
 
-Elder McGarry



 

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Miracle Month

Dear Friends and Family,
I'm a day late this week because of Veterans Day yesterday. While I'm on the topic I want to sincerely thank all of my friends and family who have served our country defending our freedom. In particular my Dad who has been a great strength in my life and I'm so grateful to be called his son. If any of you forgot to thank those people you know who have served in the military I urge you to take a moment to do it today. They have sacrificed more than we know to stand up for all of us and allow us to have the lives that we do.
This week has been so great! In zone conference we set a goal to make this month a Miracle Month. Our God is a God of Miracles, but we only obtain anything through faith. Anyone that understands faith knows that it requires effort. Ether 12:12. Faith is a requirement for Miracles. Throughout this chapter is states over and over that none of the scriptures would have been fulfilled without this faith. In verse 27 we all know that if we humble ourselves and come to God in faith he will make our weaknesses into strengths. The biggest thing that I took away from Zone Conference is that I can teach people and "Give them a Fish" over and over. But until we learn how to fish we will be as it says in James 1:22 "...hearers only, deceiving your own selves." We are striving to teach this to our investigators and less-actives alike and it has been very effective. I think the principle that i think of is best described by a quote I heard at the MTC "The study of doctrines will do more to change behavior than the study of behavior will ever do." I wish I knew who said it.
The work here is going SO well. We have two new investigators just from this last week! The Lord is working in the hearts of men all around us. One in particular is a young man just older than me named Manuel. He has been in the Army for four years and when he deployed to Afghanistan one of his comrades gave him a book. You'll never guess which one! (It was a Book of Mormon *in case my blonde mother needs to read through this Quickly(LOVE YOU MOM, I miss our laughs)) So he's had this book for four years. Now he is going to school and taking a world religion class where he has a final project to either write a paper on religion or investigate a religion to find out more about them. This may be taken as coincidence but I know that the Lord does work by small and simple means and those that are willing and have faith to ask are blessed. We made it very plain that we are Missionaries and as such we Will be inviting him to make commitments and exercise faith in the things that we teach him and he is progressing so well. The Lord is great and I'm so grateful to be able to be part of this great work!
I hope that all of you are doing well! I'm glad to hear that a lot of you are and thank you for your letters and your support. I look forward to this next week and can't wait to see how it turns out for all of us. Pray for Miracles exercise Faith, and the Lord promises that you will see them.
Love, 
Elder McGarry



Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Photos from Albuquerque






Dear Family and Freinds,
This week has been so tremendous! Where to start?
My Trainer is Elder Christenson, and guess where he's from??? LOGAN UT! He knows the Triplets from swimming. He went to Mountain Crest and his little brother is a Champion swimmer I hear. We are in the Albuquerque South Valley, Los Lunes Zone and I am in the Sage area. Our area is HUGE and we live in a house on Gun Club Road. Haha I got a big kick out of that. The mailing address is: 2015 Gun Club Rd, Albuquerque, NM 87105. We keep telling people that in Utah and area this big would have at least 8 stakes with as many wards per stake! So there are plenty of fish! As for P-Day it is on Tuesday and we are in the same time zone so I will be e-mailing from 10:00 to 11:00 or pretty close to that time every week.
My companion and I get along so well. He has only just finished training and now he is training me so we are both still learning so much but He is such a good example and he is a very hard worker. Our Ward is good. There are definitely "Clicks" that people hold onto so it's proving to be a struggle to get people to fellowship less-active and investigating individuals. But we are trying our best. The ward mission leader just got changed and actually we won't find out who the new one is until Sunday. I got the chance to bear my testimony on Sunday and introduce myself to the ward and that was a great privilage.
The work is rough. Many people are Catholic and they don't really give us much chance to explain what our purpose is but the Lord has surely lead us to a few people that we are hopeful for. There is one girl who is set to be baptized in January, Her dad won't let her so she has to wait until she turns 18 and I have only met with her once but I can see that she is really determined to do what she knows is right. There are so many people that fall through for appointments and that has been the hardest thing for me to cope with. Yesterday we had a member out to visit an investigator with us and they called and said that they have to reschedule. Then we went on a wild goose chase through our back-up list without much luck. Finally we found Brother Smith. He has been struggling while his wife was in the hospital and it was a powerful meeting where we shared a scripture and spent some time offering the comfort of the spirit. We are going to go to the hospital later this afternoon to give his wife a blessing as well. After Brother Smith we went to Brother Dixon who is in for surgery today. Elder Christensen and I were able to give him a blessing also. The biggest thing that I learned from this is that even though some things don't work out the way we plan, the Lord always has a purpose. People are suffering all around us and it's our job to reach out and "bear on anothers burdens." It was a great end way to end what started out to be a discouraging day.
I love you all so much and thank you for your letters. I am grateful for the stories the pictures, and the strength that you all give by taking the time to share parts of your lives.

​Love​




Elder McGarry




Friday, October 24, 2014

Hello Family and Friends,

It's crazy how time is morphed at the MCT. Every day seems to go by in the blink of an eye and I'm struggling to fit everything in, yet this first week feels like I've been here a month. I have been learning so much. It's crazy that I'll be flying out to Albuquerque already on Monday!!! We leave at 4:35 AM so it's two more days and I'll be set out into the real world. No more mock runs, no more role playing investigators, this is the real deal and I'm SO Stoked. I'm gonna miss having so many people to bounce ideas off of and having the constant support knowing that everyone around me is struggling and striving to learn how to teach and listen to the spirit and the wants and needs/concerns of investigators all at the same time. Luckily growing up with Triplet little sister has helped my brain to better understand the meaning of "multi"-tasking. (Not saying that's a bad thing sisters :) 
I have not been very successful at gaining weight yet. But hey it's fine, I'm still trying and happy to be where I'm at. Speaking of where I'm at, this is my Last P-day here at the MTC, and all those letters I was promised... I haven't seen very many of them yet, better get on that. You know who you are! Thanks to all of you for your support and love. I know that the lord blesses our lives as we apply the atonement and invoke the promise that the Lord has given, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, you have no promise." The atonement isn't just for sins of commission, it should by applied regularly to our lives to strengthen us in reaching our goals. The Lord wants to help us become everything we want to and more. Let him, that's all. My thought for the day from the scriptures is this:

D&C 19:38 "Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing- yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extent thereof."

Pray and ask for his help. Take five minutes from playing a game on your phone, on facebook, on youtube, whatever it is and the blessings will far outweigh the effort put in if you are willing to simply ask. I love you all so much and I can't wait to tell you about Albuquerque next time I write.



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Friday, October 17, 2014

Hello Family and Friends,

Today is P-day. These first few days are so exciting and hard and fun all at the same time. I'm learning day by day that the spirit will qualify those that put forth the effort. In class today we discussed a lot about the fundamental Doctrine of Christ. We have committed to memorize our purpose which is to invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ and in his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end. That was from memory so I think I got that down.
On our first day we were presented with three "Investigators" as a group and we were able to ask questions and share the gospel all in the first day. It was hard in such a big group to be able to stay on topic and answer the questions that they had asked. My companion, Elder Banks from Cottonwood Heights, and I are getting along well. Since we were discouraged by the off topic discussions in the big group we are excited to be able to practice with our instructors in a smaller group. He are learning so much. Today as I was sitting in class I was feeling a little out of it though. As I started to drift I was able to recognize it and ask for help to learn what I need to be able to. I pray continually for the mental stamina and focus to be able to glean every bit that I can while I am here in the MTC. There is so much. In this class in particular I was able to recognize a new light and perspective on repentance. I realized that in my situation and any stage in life really we are given opportunities to learn and grow. If we do not take full advantage of these opportunities we have need to repent because the reason we are given this life is to better ourselves in every way that we can. We are given personal revelation to discern the weaknesses that we have, mine was staying focused in class and listening to the spirit, so that we can understand and learn to improve. The power of Prayer is real and it is an ongoing thing. "Pray always that ye may come off conqueror, yea that you may conquer satan and that you may escape the hands of the servants of satan that do uphold his work." That's a Doctrine Covenants scripture that comes to mind. I think it's in Section 10 but I'm not sure. My scriptures are in Class... OOPS! Anyway my district is growing strong. There is a lot of fellowship and people are really opening up to each other. It's a beautiful thing.
I was asked to be the District Leader last night after we met and interviewed with our branch president. This is a big responsibility especially since we already have SO much to do and so little time to do it. I am grateful for the opportunity though and I feel that the spirit is definitely guiding me in helping the Elders and sisters of my district. I think more that that though they are helping me. I am able to practice listening to the spirit and offer thoughts that come to improve discussions as we role play investigators and learn to teach. The other Elders in our zone that leave on Tuesday were given the opportunity to go to the temple this morning. We will get to go next week on Friday and then the Four Elders and one sister from our district will be leaving to Albuquerque NM on Oct. 27! The other two sisters are heading to Reno NV, and they will leave the day after us.
As you probably know I've been trying to gain weight for 8 years, well I've been eating about three meals at every visit to the cafeteria and my companion is giving my all the support he can muster. It's been a fantastic few days and I can't wait to see what happens this next week. I'll keep learning and noting and journaling until next week and hopefully I'll have some better stories by then. I love you all!

Sincerely-- 
Elder McGarry
Elder McGarry is now at the MTC.  He is excited and ready to serve.  His email address is jacob.mcgarry@myldsmail.net 

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

To all of those who read my post on FB you find the right place. I'm so freaking excited it's not even safe! This is going to be a trial and blessing and journey to remember. Thanks again to all those who are so supportive and thanks for all your prayers. Now that it's about to begin I better go finish packing! Talk to you all soon and I can't wait to hear from you!