See you soon!

Dear Family and Friends,

Not much time today. Transfers are all underway and we are geting things wrapped up! 

​Tomorrow I'll be at the SLC airport there have been some lapses in Itineraries getting where they need to go, but my flight is Delta #4862 from ABQ to SLC departing around noon. From there it's truly a new begining. 

Thanks for all of you who have supported me, and encouraged me. I have gained much from you and I am so grateful for each of you!​

--

Elder McGarry

My Last Car Selfie (From this side)​

104

Dear Family and Friends,

This week begins my last week #104 approximately (I haven't really counted). I can say that these last two years have literally changed my eternity. The 15th of October this week marks the two year to the day that I was dropped of at the MTC by my family. I still remember like it was yesterday the feelings of the unknown and the excitement and energy. I have been blessed to serve in the greatest cause known to man and the whole purpose of the initiation of creation, to bring to pass the salvation of souls of God's children. It is hard to believe that two years have gone by so fast, but the best is still yet to come. I have learned to trust my Heavenly Father through thick and thin. Through challenges I didn't think I could possibly overcome at times, the Lord has magnified my best effort and made me a better person. 

I have had an outpouring of the spirit this past week in providing blessings and teaching people about pure simple truths that make an eternal change in people's lives and I am so grateful! I have felt the spirit confirm that thought there is much to do elsewhere my work here is nearly finished. I can feel him preparing me to make this transition and the allegory of the olive trees comes to life here when I think about being grafted into another part of the vinyard. I am excited for the change, yet still I am sad to go. I have grown to love the people here in Albuquerque and the surrounding regions so much. I will always have a part of my heart here in the southwest! 

Looking forward I have an eye of faith knowing that the challenges to come will stretch and grow me beyond what I am rigth now. I think it's perfect for me to see that 104 could be a percentage of effort that needs to be put in. I want nothing more than to please my Father in Heaven and return home to live with him again. I know he loves me, I know he is ready to support me in every trial, to help me use the gifts and abilities I've been given to help those around me wherever I am. 

To those who may be considering a mission, Do it. No questions asked I would not trade these experiences and time I have spent here for anything in this world. To those I'll see soon, I'm Excited to see you!

Mark your calendars-

My homecoming talk will be given on Octpber 30th. Chapel and meeting time:

Bridgerland Park 3rd ward, and the meeting begins at 11 am, 280 W 1200 N. Logan, Utah. I would love to see all of you there if you can make it, if not I understand and look forward to seeing you at another time. 

 

In case I don't get a chance between running around with new missionaries next week I'll say now thank you. Thank you to all of you who have supported me and given me the encouragement and love that I needed in times you may not have even known I needed it. I am so grateful to know each of you and I love you!

Have a great week! Catch you on the other side..

Elder McGarry

My companions and I this morning after our workout.

 At the Office

Pure, Simple, Powerful

Dear Family and Friends,

I have missed almost more weeks than I've written it seems these past few times. As you can imagine, I've had a lot of time to reflect these past few weeks on the time I've spent here in New Mexico. I am humbled and sincerely grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. This General Conference has been on of the most powerful and yet one of the most simple that I have ever been able to watch. I was very touched by the frequent and earnest invitations to make our prayers more meaningful and more faithful. How true is that? It is so easy to let the daily prayers we offer become more and more of a checklist item, especially if we are "too busy" to take time to ponder and take real consideration for the specific needs that we have, or the specific blessings we hope to obtain. At least for me I have too common taken the approach of praying for the strength to do it on my own, not considering the essiential element of Grace that enables us to do things beyond my own abilities. I have seen miralces in my life, yet if I were to go back and restart now, I would exercise greater faith in the possibility of greater and more frequent miracles. That being said, I now know that with this lifeline of prayer and with the desire to see the kingdom of God roll forth in greater haste will bring greater miracles to come as I exercise that faith from this time forward. 

We had a few minutes left after finishing planning on Sunday night at the office, so we decided we would stop by the gas station to wipe some bird droppings that had situated themselves on the front windshield with some siginifcant amount of adhesive white matter which was obnoxiously obstructing our view. As we were there we had time to talk to a few last people, and after having a few come and go, not too interested I engaged a young man who was just returning from the convenience store to his vehicle. After talking for a few minutes he opened up and asked what I had meant about the prophet and apostles on the Earth today. He asked if they perform miralces, and for some examples. I then proceeded to portray one of the most marvelous miracles of our day when a 14 year old boy, earnestly seeking to know God's will sought his council through sincere, meaningful and faithful prayer. As a result he saw God our Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, he proceeded from that time forth to hearken to the voice of the Lord in the most exact and diligent way he possibly could. Eventually that lead to the revelation of a book, some 531 pages after being tranlated from ancient reformed egyptian by the power of God, for the boy had but a 3rd grade education and couldn't hardly form a dignified sentance let alone an entire book, no matter what the size. The Book of Mormon is truly one of the most miraculous miracles of our day. As we spoke the spirit descended and he was visibly touched. A little fear came over him as he realized a couple of things. Since 4 years ago he had recovered from a heroine addiction which he had fueled daily totaling in cost of about a half a million dollars as he described, in order to do that he had to rely on the faith he had fostered in Christ and his study he regularly engaged in with the Bible. He said that there are times that he doesn't understand the bible and he wants to be able to grasp that first before he tries anything else. While the spirit did touch his heart and he did learn some important eternal truths, he was not invested and excited to accept the message. He casually accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and confirmed that the spirit had witnessed the truth of the things we had taugth him. This is something I share to imply an important point. One singular event in a persons life CAN create a pivitol turning point and lead them home. But with so many voices, and so many distractions and deceptions in the world we live in it is almost an instictive natural man kind of thing to become desensitized to the truth. To become so far removed from the sorce of light and truth that even a ray of light seems dismal and even annoying to those who may enjoy the darkness. But as with anything, if it is persistant it will always cause us to react even if we didn't choose to act in the first place. In that same perspective as someone reacts to that light and their eyes are able to adjust to see more clearly hey may catch a vision of what is awaiting them if the come to the light and allow it to envelope their lives. This is what the power of a member missionary can do. As a full-time missionary we may come in contact with some great number of people on a day to day basis teaching and testifying and shedding light on the confusion and decepctions of today's daunting world. Yet someone who has not had time for their spiritual eyes to adjust is simply annoyed or possibly just temproarily looking in the right direction but immediately they are surrounded by the same influences and confusions they had been dealing with before. But someone who can wrap their arms around that person and be with them, meet them where they are and then regularly and possitively shed that light with some gradual degree of increasing intensity will make changes that cannot be made by one singular glimer of light. I hope with all my heart that the light we hold as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will not be set under a bushel. I pray in faith, knowing that each of us KNOW already someone who can use a greater measure of that light in their life right now, that the spirit will give us the courage and the clarity to meet them where they are and to gradually shed that light in their lives so that they can recognize and partake of the joy this Gospel brings. I hope that each of you have agreat week, and that you may recognize the hand of the Lord in performing the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of conversion, each day in your lives and the lives of those around you. 

Elder McGarry

 

 

Divine Identity

Dear Family and Friends,

We've had a whirlwind of spiritual feasting this past little bit. We recently had a special MLC with Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the 70. He had some profound wisdom 

​ that he imparted to us. Actually it's not anything we didn't know before and he made that very plain, and so does the Primary song "I am A Child of God." He emphasized that this is the most important thing we can teach to anyony and to do that simply and powerfully we have to understand "Who" we are. It is easy to identify ourselves as such, but to understand it and act like it is something immensly more powerful than anything else we can do. When Satan came tempting Moses the response was quick and undaunted "Where is thy Glory, for I am a Son of God." Yet the Master deceiver still today is skillfully and craftily blinding so many from what and who they really are. This causes us to become objects victim to whatever circumstances we may find ourselves in. In reality we are all agents, given the gift of Agency to act and to choose liberty and Eternal Life. It is a diliberate action to be faithful, not just a happenstance that some people fall into because they were born to a family, or in culture were people beleive a certain way. Yes these things do influence us, but they are not the sum total of who we are nor who we are to become. Our true identity is reflective of our divine destiny if we so choose to follow the path which allows us to return home to the presence of our Eternal Father. 

​We had a cool Miracle on Saturday. A media referral came in for a girl named Natalie. As we taught her about the Godhead the spirit filled the room. It was a powerful lesson and I was so grateful for the good example of friends that she has had up to this point in her life that got her to where she is now. Something else that I have heard a lot recently is a qoute from President Kimbal I think that says "I've seen a lot of miracles in my life-time, but the greatest miracle of all is the miracle of converesion." I agree with that wholeheartedly. Natalie agreed to be baptized, and we will work toward a date in the coming weeks. We've had very little time in our area, but the Lord still provided a way for us to reach our goals. We have been riding bikes as often as time permits which is so great! I wish I had taken the chance to do that earlier in my mission, though I guess it would have helped to have a bike. The work rolls on. Tow more zone conferences this week, and general conference this weekend. I'm ready to have that refuel of the spirit to boost me up even more to where I need to be. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Elder McGarry

 

 

 Last week in El Paso

 

Our Zone at the Temple Yesterday

 

 

A Day in The Life, Sort of :)

Dear Family and Friends,

It is a Beautiful day in New Mexico! I wanted to share a brief glimpse of a Monday in the life of Elder McGarry. After finishing planning with President Guffey for the next four weeks to keep up to date on everything we return to our apartment to set goals and then plan our day to be filled with proselyting activities and meaningful ways to go spread the gospel (A good day always starts with a good plan). By that time, it's later than I ever feel like it should be (Does time just disappear?). Then I journal for the day, and we take full advantage of the only allowed ​"​nap time​"​ in our schedule. After an unknown amount of time we get up to pray and start exercising at 6:30. I have recently taken to eating cereal in the mornings which I have grown less and less fond of, but due to its convenience and timely preparation, or lack thereof :)​,​

 it is a regular occurrence. We study the scriptures, and this Monday was unique in that we returned to the Mission home to do some training conference calls​.​ Two of those last two hours each, in which the trio of my companion, myself, and President Guffey instructed some of the other leaders in the mission as to their specific duties and counseled on meaningful ways to fulfill them. We learned a lot form that. After that we discussed the upcoming transfer and ​planned​ a jump start on preparation due to the massive influx of missionaries coming in​, 25 with only 9 going home​.​

​ ​

S​poradically throughout the day we took calls from

​ ​

​m​issionaries asking about ​a special MLC on Friday, and about other questions they need addressed pertaining to specific things with the work. ​​And I decided that is getting a little boring. Anyway, it’s been fun. 

My point in writing some of this down is that my companion and I weer talking about how nothing else really seems real. Missionary work is all we think, talk, dream, or even breathe. At dinner last night there was a conversation some children were having about super heroes and even that was just a step in to an alternate reality. I feel yet, I know it is there and I understand it, it's just so far removed from who I am and what I do. I can't help but think that with that perspective I can see a little bit better how much our Father in Heaven pays attention to us, and how much he cares. I can imagine that as was stated by Jeffery R. Holland, "The first and great eternal truth is that God loves us with all his might, mind, and strength." His focus is simple, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Nothing else matters as much to him as the simple invitation to "Come Home", or in other words, "Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him." This is not to say that God doesn't care about the little things that we care about, but he wants nothing more for us than to be passionate about our own personal conversion, and the conversion of those that we have power given to us to influence for good. 

In our work right now, we are seeking to find people to teach. Many of the people we were working with have cut off contact or are too busy to meet as of late. Much of what we are doing is working to build ward mission plans and coordinate with the members, then working on finding efforts of our own. 

Miracles are happening throughout the mission! It's great to see!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder McGarry

                                                            Last MLC        

                                    A friend from a previous area, ALAMO! :)​

Missed One!

Dear Family and Friends,

Sorry I missed my main e-mail last week. We got tied up with some long lists of things to do for this week, so unfortunately I wasn't able to get one sent off. 

As for the work here, it is really cool being able to have a portion of foresight in preparing for things to come in the next few months. I have really come to love the principle of planning, even though I am not the best at it I realize more an dmore how important it is in our everyday lives. I really hope and pray that for the major goals we have set in our area that we'll see the miracles yet to happen through applying what I have learned thus far on my mission. Truly learning is an eternal process, and I am grateful for that. I love the fact that transfers are much like any phase of life. Somtimes you know where you're going, sometimes you don't. Either way the Lord has a plan and it will usually work out in the long runeven if it's not the way we anticipate. Ok enough rambling.

This week my Testimony has been strengthened on the principles of faith and prayer. Many prayers have been answered before my eyes and many others that I may not even be aware of that I believe are for the good of all God's children who seek to love and serve him. I have also realized more what it means to hear the voice of the Lord. In D&C 18 it talks about the call to seek out the 12 apostles, and how they can be recognized. It says by their desires and their works you shal know them. Further it explains that the words that are written are the words of Christ. Those that have desire to know can ask and receive. The words that are written plainly express that it is only by the power of God that we can have them. It was really powerful to read that. Bold and very loving as the words of truth are. Manifested by the spirit and by the power of God it has brought peace to my soul knowing that revelation continues today. Too often we get into the Groove of things and we get scared to step outside of the way things are supposed to be. STOP it. The Atonement is all for the purpose of change. If we are alwys doing the same thing and hoping to get different results we are just insane. The blessings of true and complete repentance are releif, peace, great confidence in our Father in Heaven's love for us despite our weaknesses, as well as a fresh perspective on life, ourselves, and the world around us. Through prayer these and many other blessings can be ours on a daily basis. Real intent is teh key. Tiyng back to a previous statement, God knows our real intent by our desires and our works. No-one else will know perfectly, or can know our deepest desires but our Father in Heaven does. And oh how he wants our righteous desires to become a reality! We just don't allow him to when we choose to follow a different path. I hope and pray that each of us may recognize more clearly the voice of the Lord in our lives and partake of the peace and blessings abundantly available. Recgnize the beauty of creation. Actually take a minute to stop and think about it. Right now. I love you all! have a great day!

 

Elder McGarry

 

 Our current Trio, Elder Garnder​, Larkin and McGarry. Or McGardkin :)

 

Albuquerque Sunsets. The running joke is that if there was nothing below the horizon New Mexico could be one of the most beautiful states!

 

 

Peace in This World

Dear Family and Friends,

It was quite a shock to hear of my grandmother's passing last night. I can honestly say that one of the hardest things I have ever done was to say goodbye to my grandma not knowing if I would see her again in this life. She was one of my closest friends. Someone that I grew up around, and laughed with, and served (albeit begrudgingly at times), and above all someone that helped me see more of my own potential than I could have grasped on my own. It doesn't feel like it has really sunk in yet. I just want everyone to know how much I love her and how much I look forward to seeing her again on that beautiful bright millennial day. Most of what I feel can't be put into words, but what I can describe is a reassuring sense of peace. The few times I considered the possibility of this happening I imagined that there would be pain, and sorrow and anguish. While admitting I am indeed saddened by the occurrence, I am yet swallowed up in the joy of the resurrection. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ" "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 

I send my love and deepest wishes of peace for each of you that have been affected by her passing. 

I need to clarify something that has been in confusion. Then I won't bring it up again because I don't want to dwell on it. My I will be flying home on October 19 around the middle of the day. Exact times during the day will be given the week before I leave, otherwise I will refer you back to this statement. That being said I'll shift gears to missionary mindset. 

The past week has been spent on exchanges with all the Zone Leaders throughout the mission. 11 companionships in 5 days is a fair amount to coordinate, luckily this is the Lord's work and he makes things work out the way they need to. I have been made more abundantly aware of what great missionaries and young men we have as Latter-Day Saints. To add to that I have seen first-hand the mighty change of heart wrought in a dear friend who was recently baptized. Chris shared his testimony with me and two other missionaries and the spirit pierced my heart. I haven'e felt the spirit so strongly for quite a while, and the amazing part is that his words were plain easy to be understood by anyone who would have heard. Yet the power truly shook me to the core. Faith in Jesus Christ is essential first. Repentance is change wrought within us; both a commandment and a blessing it allows a way that we don't have to suffer, we don't have to hurt, we don't have to have the pain of guilt and shame. These are not the exact words Chris shared, though in similar fashion I echo the message that was witnessed to by him. Though I have learned a lot this week, much yet do I lack which encourages me to push forward undaunted by the weakness of my flesh. The spirit carries us through when we learn to rely on it and trust in our Father and His Plan. By so doing we shall have peace in this life and following the Gospel plan allows us to be heirs of Eternal Life. Potential to become like our Father in Heaven.

I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Elder McGarry

Cause the heavens to shake for your good

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was like a roller coaster. It's been interesting working through the process of building a new Ward Mission Plan in one of our areas. It's neat to see how involved it can be and how many different aspects tie into it. With all the different moving parts in the church it is a wonder everything works out so smoothly. I am fascinated by the intricacy and detail that is given through revelation on certain aspects as a group councils together to seek the Lord's hand. I am definitely humbled to recognize again and again throughout my life how much is truly just in the Lord's hands and somehow he pulls from our meager efforts and makes things work out! I love being part of that. 

I have recently started studying in greater depth in the Doctrine and Covenants. Something that stood out to me was in Section 21:5 how it talks about when the Prophet speaks it should be regarded as if those words were proceeding forth directly from the mouth of God. That is the purpose of a Prophet, after all. The ensuing verse gives a powerful description of what promises we receive by doing so. Namely that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will dispers the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory." President Guffey has emphasized a great deal on the importance of obedience. This was the protection that came to the 2000 Stripling Warriors in that they were protected by divine power because they observed every command to obey with Exactness. This implies that they did not just ignorantly happen to do the right thing by trying to be the best they could be, or by seeking out to to good. Rather they sought to Observe the commands that were given and to execute the. For us that interperets into seeking the revealed word of God so that we might know his will for us through his prophets. As good as we may be by living lives of purity and service and other well intended characteristics, we will not be receivers of the afore mentioned divine promise unless we give our diligence to seek and observe the commands of our leaders to execute them with exactness. This doesn't mean that we will be perfect. It doesn't even mean that we will be able to do all that we have been asked to do often times, but that it should be our intent to do so. We must also recongize that by observing and executing with exactness we are not to expect that we will be impervious to incur any afflictions or trials. We also learn that even though not one of the Stripling Warriors was slain, there also was not a single one who had not received "many wounds" some even emaciated from loss of blood du to these injuries. Yet I conjunction with the very initial promise in our day, the powers of darkness were dispersed from before them, and surely the heavens did shake fore their good, and continue to bring glory to the majesty and power of deliverance through faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I pray that we can all observe, meaning to seek and find the council and guidance from prophets, and obey with exactness and by so doing we may truly sustain and "move the cause of Zion in mighty power for good..." 

I love you all!

​

​

Elder McGarry

 

 La Michoicana a really good mexican place

Double rainbow at our place

Honest

Dear Family and Friends

For P-day I was able to track down a mini print/pocket sized Book of Mormon!

​ I really love the Book of Mormon and​

 I have always loved miniature sized things, except candy bars. Don't get me wrong I love candy bars but the bigger the better in that case. Speaking of which, thanks for all the love recently! I am grateful for the letters and packages! Another thing we did for P-day, we deep cleaned our apartment. That wasn't too bad since my companion and I try to just stay on top of keeping things cleaned as we go. So that was that.

The biggest thing on my mind these past few days has been just being honest. I think in general people try to do things that they feel are going to be helpful for them or those around them. Whether this translates the same for others and is interpreted that way by the general populous may be debatable. As we come to a better understanding of who we are eternally as children of the most high God, our actions and behaviors even our very desires are changed by a sense of eternal worth, values and laws. I think one of the saddest things in this life is for someone to be disconnected from the reality that they are a child of God. This is foundationally incorrect in the eternities and a form of dishonesty to ourself and our nature.  Starting from that point if we are honest to ourselves and our eternal nature, then we know that there is nothing we can do to earn or become undeserving of the Love our Heavenly Father has for us. President Guffey taught me this in a such a simple powerful way by saying that. Building upon that as we are honest to Father in heaven about weaknesses, shortcomings and other things we struggle with he will show us how we can overcome all things. By embracing this we come closer to realizing the greatest of all the gifts of God, Eternal Life. 

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

​-

Article of Faith #13​

Simple words today. Short time, but abundance of love! 

Have a great week!

--

Elder McGarry

​

Greenie

Dear Family and Friends,

Because of Transfers I had to e-mail today, Lucky me :) Can I please just be a greenie again? We have had some super solid missionaries come into the field his week! It's going to be awesome to see how they move forward from this point and through their first 12 weeks of training.

This week we taught Buddy, our investigator who has set his own baptismal date he wants to do it so badly. We have had to adjust it a couple of times because of how much he works and has to reschedule the teaching. We finally got to teach about the Word of Wisdom and at first he said how the only thing that would be a concern is the tea. He drank instant iced tea daily, and by the end of our lesson he asked us to follow him back to see if the tea was against the Word of Wisdom (having been around herbal tea which is ok, we felt it was worth checking into). When we confirmed that it was not kosher he immediately told us to take it and dispose of it. He has so much Faith it is unreal sometimes. The Baptism will be in the not too distant future now that they are finished harvesting on their farm for a little while. 

Other than that we are in a mode of finding investigators and trying to follow up and visit with some others that have been hard to get in with lately. If at the very least I can have Green Chile when I come home next year, then I'll be mildly satiated, but not entirely satisfied. I've been trying to get my date extended but it doesn't seem to be an easy task anymore. I'm just gonna catch some greenie fire and burn myself out. That's the best thing any of us can do, sprint to the end :)

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

 

Elder McGarry 

The Alamo Bro's -Minus two; one who happens to be my son, he didn't come to the transfer site, and another who is going home today

Elder Roll, a Super Stellar Missionary From Seatle Washington. He went home today as well :( On to bigger and newer and brighter things :)

quick update

Dear Family and Friends,

Just a quick update this week, lot of miracles happening throughout the mission. We have a conference call every Tuesday night where everyone is able to unite in testimony and prayer to share miracles and receive training from President Guffey. It has really created a sense of being united with the rest of the mission. It's really cool.

We had Peter's Baptism last week! He already has two names of his ancestors that he'd like to take with him to to baptisms at the temple! We have another Baptism tonight at 7:00, more pictures from that to come. We've been greatly blessed! Another great blessing is many of the people I have taught and served throughout my mission are getting ready to go to the temple too. Lisa, the first person that I helped teach before she chose to be baptized already has been to the Temple! It is so great to be a part of this work! Nothing better! If you're not already, reach out to those around you through simply going about doing good. Example can be a powerful missionary tool, but inviting can also create opportunities that we may least expect. As I've heard it said, it's never a bad idea to be the "fat penguin" to break the ice on those gospel questions. Plus church media makes it so easy these days!! 

Look at LDS Pamphlets in the App Store. Also the brief 2-3 minute videos on the Mormon.org channel of YouTube are super simple and very effective. Have a fantastic week!!

I love you all!

Elder McGarry

 Peter's Baptism

President and Sister Guffey with us at the temple

Learning by Choice

Dear Family and Friends,

I had a really awesome opportunity to sing in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. It was cool because we have a Julliard graduate professional violinist in our ward that is in charge of all the special Musical numbers. She asked me to do a musical number and with her help and another sister on the piano we performed a version of Joseph Smith's First Prayer arranged by Rick Graham. It is done to the tune of Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, and I think it is one of the coolest arrangements I have ever heard. Anyway, that was a fun experience for me. 

I come to learn by more and more experience that people just don't choose to be obedient, including myself in many ways. A scripture that comes to mind is James 4:17 which mentions (paraphrasing), to him that knows to do good and he does it not, to him it is Sin. We learn from the first example of disobedience that this world has known that God's plan is a merciful one, yet a just plan as well. God instilled the possibility of doing wrong when he instructed Adam and Eve not to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He had instructed them as to what would happen if they chose one path or the other. On one hand they would live forever in the garden without learning, without feeling, without growing. On the other hand they could partake of the fruit and immediately feel the absence of God's presence, and consequentially they would become mortal and subject to sickness pain and death. That is the process of Learning. I believe that the fruit was not instilled with some magic substance that immediately gave them knowledge of everything that was right and everything that was wrong. Instead by their choice, they were able to learn what God had explained would happen by choice. It is no secret that the Jesus Christ, or Jehovah as he is referred to in the old testament, was chose before this world began to be the Savior of the World. It is only by our choices that we are able to learn and grow, and also to recognize right from wrong. This is what made the necessity for commandments. So that by living in the light of that which is true we can gain an understanding of who we are. I like the quote "There are two important days in a persons life, the day they are born, and the day they find out why." We are instructed sufficiently to know good from evil in the circumstances we are faced with, and from that point we grow from grace to grace until we are able to gain a fullness of the knowledge God is ready to give us. This is the pattern each and every day of learning by choice. I felt that I needed to share that today. I love you all!

The baptism this Saturday will be great! Peter is learning quickly and accepting the Gospel with an open heart. Thanks for all your prayers and love, I feel the strength and benefit that these simple things bring!

Have a great week!

Elder McGarry

 5th ward Quad :)

 Radiator Springs?? Not quite ;)​

Freedoms

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has included a lot of traveling, and a lot of miracles. We have been greatly blessed to be in the company of President and Sister Guffey. I can't help but notice the great sense of reverence that has swept the mission, in great deal I think because of the many evidences of the Lord's hand in this transition. It's fun to witness that and quite a testimony builder of the Lord's Revelation through Prophets and Priesthood keys. 

We didn't get a lot of time to teach or find in our area, but of what we did get chance to do we are glad to see progression. One young man we are teaching named Peter has been making huge steps. He will be preparing to be Baptized on July 16th. HE sought and found the church on his own, asked his friend if he could go to church with them and has been attending since that time about 6 months ago. We only ran into him because he decided to come to the singles ward a few weeks ago. Sadly the member had never thought to introduce him to the missionaries... I can understand some timidity but I hope that we are a little more bold than that with inviting people to receive the blessings of the Gospel in their lives. Just a thought. The other person we are working with for Baptism on the 16th is Chris, and he has been investigating for about a year now. He has made so much progress lately and even started teaching us out of the Book of Mormon and wearing a white shirt to church of his own accord. It's amazing to see these visible changes, but more importantly to see the changes in behavior, desire and attitude when someone personally experiences the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

I am looking forward to the next two weeks in preparation for these two events as well as a big mission transfer. We'll be losing a lot of great missionaries then, but we'll receive more just as the Lord sees fit. 

Lately I've started reading the Infinite Atonement with my spare time... haha not. I am amazed by the perspective and unfathomable comprehensive coverage that the Atonement brings into life. There really is no other thing that has a comparable level of value to all of creation. The better we understand it, the more enriched our lives may become by the enabling power thereof to have freedom from "the bands" which may fall upon us. I am grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the great freedoms we enjoy in this wonderful land of America. A big thanks to those who also made great sacrifices to defend those freedoms. In the Book of Mormon I am just reading Alma 47-49 about Captain Moroni and the promise to those that keep the commandments of God upon this land, that they are blessed in all things both temporally and spiritually. 

I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Elder McGarry

 

The second chapel ever built in Texas​, the Douglas chapel is where we had our last Meet the President Conference. 

 

From the Parking Lot of UTEP Sun Bowl we can see quite a bit of Mexico. It's pretty close!

The Bands

Dear Family and Friends,

First and foremost the biggest changes as of late is the transition of our Mission President, as you know President and Sister Miller have completed their service and will be greatly missed. The Lord knows what he is doing though, and President and Sister Guffey have surely been prepared and qualified for the stewardship bestowed upon them now. In use the first day of interacting with them we have felt a great deal of love and appreciation for them. I look forward to serving with them and continuing serve in this great mission!

I learned a very important Lesson from our stake president this last week. He was teaching about the experience Nephi had in the Book of Mormon when his brothers bound him with strong cords and decided  to leave him for the wild beasts a return to Jerusalem. He prayed to the Lord that he could be given the strength to burst the bands. In this there is insight alone, that he was able to recognize his own need to put forth great effort to obtain the desired result. In this he still realized that he would likely fall short he sought the help of his Father in Heaven early, before he had even engaged in the action he was about to perform. The response was immediate and possibly a little unexpected as "the bands were loosed." At that moment we realize his pure intent was not just to get away form his brothers or the harm that they constantly try to inflict upon him but rather to stand forth in the truth of what is God's will. He stood forth and spoke to them admonishing them to keep the commandments of God. later as they are on the ship traveling to the Promised land he again is bound and fastened to the mast of the ship amidst a terrible raging storm. He must have thought to himself "how long must I endure this, I have been in a similar circumstance before and the outcome was as I anticipated." On this occasion we know that he was retained by these cords which rubbed his wrists raw and caused swelling in great measure. Yet still he was patient in his tribulation not once murmuring against the will of God, in whom he trusted perfectly. So I our lives we have storms that come and go, but in all things our relationship with our Savior is what will carry us through. Our first response may be to react with natural questions of, How is this possible, why, what is the reason for this, who would do this, what will I become of this, why is this so hard, can I really make it through this? To these questions the only solace that is lasting and eternal stems from one pure doctrine which is central to the reason for everything that has ever been or ever will be, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He, the creator of worlds, condescended below all of creation, suffered in an unfathomable way for each and every one of us and then rose above every challenge, temptation and trial, sin and even death. What greater hope for peace can one have? What greater motivation can anyone find to love, pure and unrestrained, a person who would do such a thing simply because he loves you. he just asks us to hold on, to recognize that without tasting the bitter, the pain and the suffering that we would not be able to even understand, let alone appreciate the good. We can try to bandage wounds, and that may hold for a time, but the only way to be healed is to let Christ take you into his arms, and fill you with his love. That is something that is worth waiting for, whether it be on a boat tied to the mast awaiting the storm caused by those whom we are trying to love and help, or in our world so full of people yet having a feeling of hopelessness and loneliness or indifference because no matter what, in a world of comparing and contrasting there will always be someone somewhere who is better, or smarter, or cooler, or prettier, or richer, or (insert comparative category here) in some way. To these feelings and thoughts the Savior offers but one simple phrase with perfect authority and power;
"Peace, be still."

In our teaching we have been greatly blessed with finding a new investigator named Dustin. Also two others we have been working with are preparing to be baptized on July 16th. more updates to come. I love you all so very much, and hope you have. A fantastic week!

--
Elder McGarry

Pics Coming
​P1 - President and Sister Miller at the Mission Home before departing. ​
P2 - Our new phrase for pictures taking is "Do something you'll remember..." Results? disastrous but I decided I'll share anyway. :)

The "Bands"

 Dear Family and Friends,

First and foremost the biggest changes as of late is the transition of our Mission President, as you know President and Sister Miller have completed their service and will be greatly missed. The Lord knows what he is doing though, and President and Sister Guffey have surely been prepared and qualified for the stewardship bestowed upon them now. In use the first day of interacting with them we have felt a great deal of love and appreciation for them. I look forward to serving with them and continuing serve in this great mission!

I learned a very important Lesson from our stake president this last week. He was teaching about the experience Nephi had in the Book of Mormon when his brothers bound him with strong cords and decided  to leave him for the wild beasts a return to Jerusalem. He prayed to the Lord that he could be given the strength to burst the bands. In this there is insight alone, that he was able to recognize his own need to put forth great effort to obtain the desired result. In this he still realized that he would likely fall short he sought the help of his Father in Heaven early, before he had even engaged in the action he was about to perform. The response was immediate and possibly a little unexpected as "the bands were loosed." At that moment we realize his pure intent was not just to get away form his brothers or the harm that they constantly try to inflict upon him but rather to stand forth in the truth of what is God's will. He stood forth and spoke to them admonishing them to keep the commandments of God. later as they are on the ship traveling to the Promised land he again is bound and fastened to the mast of the ship amidst a terrible raging storm. He must have thought to himself "how long must I endure this, I have been in a similar circumstance before and the outcome was as I anticipated." On this occasion we know that he was retained by these cords which rubbed his wrists raw and caused swelling in great measure. Yet still he was patient in his tribulation not once murmuring against the will of God, in whom he trusted perfectly. So I our lives we have storms that come and go, but in all things our relationship with our Savior is what will carry us through. Our first response may be to react with natural questions of, How is this possible, why, what is the reason for this, who would do this, what will I become of this, why is this so hard, can I really make it through this? To these questions the only solace that is lasting and eternal stems from one pure doctrine which is central to the reason for everything that has ever been or ever will be, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He, the creator of worlds, condescended below all of creation, suffered in an unfathomable way for each and every one of us and then rose above every challenge, temptation and trial, sin and even death. What greater hope for peace can one have? What greater motivation can anyone find to love, pure and unrestrained, a person who would do such a thing simply because he loves you. he just asks us to hold on, to recognize that without tasting the bitter, the pain and the suffering that we would not be able to even understand, let alone appreciate the good. We can try to bandage wounds, and that may hold for a time, but the only way to be healed is to let Christ take you into his arms, and fill you with his love. That is something that is worth waiting for, whether it be on a boat tied to the mast awaiting the storm caused by those whom we are trying to love and help, or in our world so full of people yet having a feeling of hopelessness and loneliness or indifference because no matter what, in a world of comparing and contrasting there will always be someone somewhere who is better, or smarter, or cooler, or prettier, or richer, or (insert comparative category here) in some way. To these feelings and thoughts the Savior offers but one simple phrase with perfect authority and power;

"Peace, be still."

In our teaching we have been greatly blessed with finding a new investigator named Dustin. Also two others we have been working with are preparing to be baptized on July 16th. more updates to come. I love you all so very much, and hope you have. A fantastic week!

Elder McGarry 

Pic sent to us from someone who fed Elder McGarry and his companion.

 

President and Sister Miller at the Mission Home before departing.

Our new phrase for pictures taking is "Do something you'll remember..." Results? disastrous but I decided I'll share anyway. :)

NAMM So Far

Dear Family and Friends,

Up to this point in my mission I have come to love and be comfortable with the great level of dedication and consecration that missionaries have for the most part. Despite popular opinion, missionaries are not prefect, but in terms of obedience I have been blessed to serve with some really great and wonderful missionaries. A lot of that has to do with the leadership of President Miller, and it has been such a great privilege to get to know him these past 20 months. Sadly this is the last week President Miller will be here, and some of you might be seeing him more frequently than I will in cache valley. I'm so grateful for the dedication and service of He and his wonderful wife Sister Miller who have really made this mission blossom and excel. They are spiritual Giants and I have grown to love them so much! They will be greatly missed. 

Looking to the next week, we are going to have a lot to do! We have had two great miracles so far this week. On Sunday we met a young man in the River's Edge YSA who is scheduled to be baptized July 9th. There is a family in the stake that has been working with him for a few months now and he finally transitioned into the YSA where he can be fully fellowshipped and nurtured from here on out. That is something we are looking forward to. The other is a YSA aged young man that just moved from Michigan. His mother is a member and he is very interested in learning. He had a group of friends that he played in a band with back in Michigan who got into drugs and he didn't want to be in that environment so he came out here to live with his mom. The Lord is surely preparing people! 

We also look forward to the welcome of our new Mission President Tim Guffey who will be here before I e-mail you again. It's sinking in about now... This feeling of change is one of my favorite things in the world. Just like when people ask me what is my favorite time of year it is the next one. From Summer to Fall, Fall to Winter, Winter to Spring, and Spring back to Summer it is the change on the air and all around that invigorates me and motivates me to continue to change who I am to be a little bit better every day. I can always pull from past experiences and learn from them but the true test is applying and changing because of them, that is my goal. I love you all and hope that you are enjoying the warmth. 

Have a great week!

 

Elder McGarry

 

Elder Gardner and I holding on for life... not really. But I still can't wait to climb things again!

 The view from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge between Taos and Tres Piedres New Mexico.

Taking Time to Recognize

Dear Family and Friends,

This Sunday something simple stood out to me. Day to day and throughout our lives we have many times when the Lord's hand is evident and we recognize that. Bu there are so many times when the Hand of the Lord is there and either we don't recognize it or we don't realize it until later. In correlation to our covenant to Remember Him Always, it was suggested that we pray to recall the moments that we were too busy to recognize his hand in our lives and record those in a journal. I have seen this really open my eyes to some greater example of devotion to the covenant I have made. I have seen a difference in even having that perspective and I have had some really meaningful journal entries.  

Other than that, we are still working toward some big changes and it being the second day of the transfer dust is still settling and I don't have much time, but I sure love all of you and hope you have a great and marvelous week!

 

Elder McGarry

Talking to Everyone

Dear Family and Friends,

This week is a transfer planning week! It is so inspiring to see the spirit work in the process of transfers. I can't say enough that I know it is all in God's hands. I love being aware of the reality of the Lord's guidance in my life and the lives of those around me as it is made manifest. My companion says all the time, and I agree, that we wish everyone could just be a fly on the wall during that process. It is really amazing to see. 

This past week we had very little time to contact and find people to teach, but we've had three main investigators really come forth and make some major progress. First is Brittainy who we've only really started teaching this past week. She is super smart and sometimes ends up teaching the lesson for us it seems. In talking about baptism it will be a little bit of a struggle to overcome some pretty real and deeply rooted fears. Focusing on the Atonement though has really made an impact, and an understanding and spiritual witness of that can open the floodgates giving access to the Savior's Love which overcomes all fear. We pray that she'll gain that understanding. Chris Who has been taught for over two years has decided with some extra loving guiding pressure, to prepare to be baptized on June 27th. As long as he doesn't have a "stupor of thought" and forget the day :) I say that because it has happened before, but even the fact that he has agreed to make the decision is a huge step forward for him. The other main person we are working with is Buddy. We finally go to teach him this past Sunday and it was amazing. He wants to be baptized right now. His grandmother was the closest person to him in his whole life and when she passed away he lost faith and is just now coming back. He has a fellow San Filipe Pueblo brother in the branch who is one of our strongest members to help him along too. When he gets back from Arizona on the 13th we'll be setting aa date to work toward with him as well. 

One of the coolest things that happened this week was a Miracle out in Rio Rancho after Zone training. The topic was on finding and talking to everyone in order to find the elect. During a wrap up meeting with the Zone Leaders a young girl about 15 named Nina came to the door of the church to ask for some water. It turned out that after an argument with her step dad she had been kicked out of the house for a while. As we talked it became more and more evident that she has been prepared so perfectly to receive the Gospel. She has never felt right about getting involved in any kind of substances that could be harmful to her body. There were just so many things that were amazing as we talked and shared bits and pieces of the Gospel that she had been looking for solidity in with the standards that she has been trying to uphold. The Lord doesn't just put people in our path to find, he also puts us in the path of the people that are searching for us :) That is why it is so important to talk to everyone, even though it can be intimidating with the fear of the unknown. But fear has no place in the Lord's work. 

I love you all! Thanks for your support :)

Elder McGarry

 ABQ North Zone at tent Rocks National Monument

 The view from inside the slots :)