Dear family,
I'm doing well. The first week of MTC life has been hectic, but one expects that sort of thing to happen.
Besides my companion and me there are two other sisters in District 30E, Sister Owen, and Sister Bishop. Our district is made up of 5 companionships. The Elders are: Elder Harrison, Elder Willis; Elder Kelley, Elder Pritchett; Elder Myler, and Elder Falkner, with Elder Myler as District leader.
In the District we have 3 converts, they're Edler Willis, Elder Kelley, and Elder Pritchett, with Elder Kelley being the newest (he's been a member for about 18 months). He's very righteous, but not in that way--he's very spiritual.
Mom, would you send more stroop, it was very good. Elder Pritchett would like it if you sent more cookies, I still have half of what you sent, but he'd still like more; I suppose I could say the Elders would like you to.
Yesterday was our first time going over to the Training Resource Center (TRC) it was fun. We also went to the Referral Center (RC), it was a little scary, but fun as well.
Oh Sister Kingston and I have similar cameras, which one of the elders said was pink, we both said it was purple.
Before I forget, I'll tell you about our two teachers. Brother Dixion and Brother Tew (two). Brother Dixion comes up with crazy names for himself. Brother Tew just recently got back from his mission.
When Sis. Kingston and I first got here there were 4 sisters in the room, they're all going to Japan. Now there's only half. We had Sisters Holmes, Ieremia, Patrick, and Tohara. Sis. Tohara and I share a bunk bed, she's on top. Sis. Kingston shares with Sis. Patrick, who's also on top.
The food here is okay, but I think they're trying to fatten us up before we go out into the field. It isn't very filling, about and hour later I'm hungry again.
Well I gotta go. Send my love to the others,
Angie
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Drop-off at the MTC
Nina, Bart, and Angela
Angela
Angela and the two Elders escourting her awayWhat a short trip! Angie's arrival time for the MTC was 1:45 p.m., so we (Bart, Nina, Nathan, & Angie) left the house around 1:25 p.m. As we approached the MTC we could see missionaries and their families taking pictures around the entrance to the MTC. I was glad we'd done our picture taking early. We had our entrance permit on the dashboard and drove in. We got a pink sticky note put on the windshield and we were directed to go to the left. All down the sidewalk there were Elders waiting for cars to pull up so they could help unload and carry off the luggage of the new missionaries. Around, and farther around, the MTC we went until we pulled up along the curb. In just a few minutes Angie was out of the car and her two bags were out of the back. A few quick pictures were taken. We each gave her a hug. Then two fine Elders took her luggage and walked her to the Sisters' dorm where a group of Sisters were waiting to welcome her in. (I have since learned the Maegan Clawson, another missionary from our Ward, got to show her around.) Bart, Nathan, and I got back in the car, followed the road around where it exited by the BYU Press Building and headed home. We were back in the house by 2:05 p.m. Whew! So I set to work making cookies so Angie and her district could have a treat box the very next day.
Family Photo
The Family: Angela, Bart, Nina, Nathan, and Lisa 
The Girls: Angela, Nina, and Lisa Since we had time, I insisted on getting a family photo before Angie left. Since we didn't have a current photo to send with her (the last one has Lisa still in braces), it was important to get this done. Dad set up the camera on the tripod and set the timer. We tried standing in the sunshine, but we had white-out faces. So next we tried the porch and I was pleased with the pictures.
The Luggage and Hugs Goodbye
More pictures. Nate couldn't believe how patient Angela was about all the pictures. She said, "If Mom wants them, there's no point in arguing. Might as well go along with it."Setting Apart
Bart/Dad, Angela, President Spencer, President Lambson, Grandpa Verl, Bishop Stephens
Just before 9 p.m. President Ross Spencer came and had his last interview with Angie: "Do you still want to go?" "Yes," she said. Shortly after that President Jeff Lambson and Bishop Lynn Stephens also came to set her apart. Her dad and Grandpa Verl got to assist. She's a missionary now!
Dinner at iHop with the Family
Gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.
Lisa
Grandma Vina and Grandpa Verl Abbott 
Aunt Liz and Uncle Elvin Tanner
Nathan and Nina/Mom
Bart/Dad and AngelaGrandma Vina and Grandpa Verl took our family and Aunt Liz and Uncle Elvin to dinner at iHop in Orem--Angie's last family dinner! A few of us had breakfast food, but most of us had dinner. Grandma and Grandpa gave Angie a winter scarf, a photo album, and some cash for the MTC. Tanners gave her some money too. Grandma and Grandpa also gave her this poem (author unknown):
To Our Granddaughter
Pearls of Wisdom
We’ve traveled paths you’ve yet to walk
Learned lessons old and new
And now this wisdom of our lives
We’re blessed to share with you
Let kindness spread like sunshine
Embrace those who are sad
Respect their dignity, give them joy
And leave them feeling glad
Forgive those that might hurt you
And though you have your pride
Listen closely to their viewpoint
Try to see the other side
Walk softly when you are angry
Try not to take offense
Invoke your sense of humor
Laughter’s power is immense!
Express what you are feeling
Your beliefs you should uphold
Don’t shy away from what is right
Be courageous and be bold
Keep hope right in your pocket
It will guide you day by day
Take it out when it is needed
When it’s near, you’ll find a way
Remember friends and family
Of which you are a precious part
Love deeply and love truly
Give freely from your heart
The world is far from perfect
There’s conflict and there’s strife
But you still can make a difference
By how you live your life
And so we are very blessed to know
The wonders you will do
Because you are our granddaughter
And we believe in you.
Monday, November 16, 2009
My "Farewell" Talk on 15 November 2009
Good morning brothers and sisters. I’ve been called to serve in the Tennessee, Nashville Mission. People have asked me if I’m nervous about going into the MTC, and the mission field, and I’ve told them no, in fact I’m more nervous now than I’ve been this past week, though ask me Wednesday morning, I’m sure I’ll be just a tad bit more nervous than I am now.
Why do we need to know God and Jesus Christ? What are the ways we can get to know Them? How do we maintain, and increase our knowledge of God and Jesus Christ?
Elder Hales said, this past General Conference, "As prophesied, we live in a time when the darkness of secularism is deepening around us. Belief in God is widely questioned and even attacked in the name of political, social, and even religious causes. Atheism, or the doctrine that there is no God, is fast spreading across the world.
"Even so, as members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, we declare that ‘we believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.’ " Some wonder, why the belief in God is so important. Moses 1:39 says, "For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."
"Without God, life would end at the grave and our mortal experiences would have no purpose. Growth and progress would be temporary, accomplishment without value, challenges without meaning. There would be no ultimate right and wrong and no moral responsibility to care for one another as fellow children of God. Indeed, without God, there would be no mortal or eternal life." I suppose another way you could say that is: "Life is just busy work, it doesn’t really matter," but it does. In order to get back with the Father and the Son we need to know and love Them.
Elder Hales councils, "If you or someone you love is seeking purpose in life or a deeper conviction of God’s presence in our lives, I offer, as a friend and as an Apostle, my witness. He lives!
"Some may ask, how can I know this for myself? We know He lives because we believe the testimonies of His ancient and living prophets, and we have felt God’s Spirit confirm that the testimonies of these prophets are true.
"From their testimonies, recorded in holy scripture, we know that ‘[God] created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness.’ Some people may be surprised to learn that we look like God. One prominent religious scholar has even taught that imagining God in the form of man is creating a graven image and is idolatrous and blasphemous. But God Himself said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’
"The use of the words us and our in this scripture also teaches us about the relationship between the Father and the Son. God further taught, ‘By mine Only Begotten I created these things.’ The Father and the Son are separate and distinct individuals—as any father and son always are."
When we are young we lean on our parents’ testimonies before we stand on our own. We learn from others the way we talk, the way we walk, and the way we behave, are just to name a few.
Reading the scripture is another way we learn. From the New Testament we "know that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have a physical presence. They stand in one place at one time.
"We also know that the Father and the Son have voices. As recorded in Genesis and the book of Moses, Adam and Eve ‘heard the voice of the Lord God, as they were walking in the garden, in the cool of the day.’
"We know that the Father and the Son have faces, that They stand, and that They converse. The prophet Enoch declared, ‘I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another.’
"We know that God and His Son have bodies, in form and parts like ours. From the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, we read, ‘And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood.’ Later the Lord revealed Himself, saying, ‘Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and . . . I [will] appear unto my people in the flesh.’
"We know that the Father and the Son have feelings for us. The book of Moses records, ‘And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept.’
"And we know that God and His Son, Jesus Christ, are immortal, glorified, and perfected beings. Of the Savior Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith recounts, ‘His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters.’
"No testimony is more significant to us in our time than the witness of Joseph Smith."
What about personally? It’s easy to say "we," but what about "I"? "In matters of personal belief, how do we know what really is true?
"I testify that the way to know the truth about God is through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, is a personage of spirit. His work is to "testify of [God]" and to "teach [us] all things."
"However, we must be careful not to constrain His influence. When we do not do what is right or when our outlook is dominated by skepticism, cynicism, criticism, and irreverence toward others and their beliefs, the Spirit cannot be with us."
And how can we keep the Spirit with us, and truly seek to know God, Our Father, and His Son Jesus Christ? Elder Hales says, "You may already know, deep in your soul, that God lives. You may not know all about Him yet and do not understand all His ways, but the light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God and the Light of Christ, which you are born with.
"So come. Believe the testimonies of the prophets. Learn of God and Christ. The pattern to do so is clearly taught by prophets of old and prophets today.
"Cultivate a diligent desire to know that God lives.
"This desire leads us to ponder on the things of heaven—to let the evidence of God all around us touch our hearts.
"With softened hearts we are prepared to heed the Savior’s call to ‘search the scriptures’ and to humbly learn from them.
"We are then ready to ask our Heavenly Father sincerely, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, if the things we have learned are true. Most of us will not see God, as the prophets have, but the still, small promptings of the Spirit—the thoughts and feelings that the Holy Ghost brings into our minds and hearts—will give us an undeniable knowledge that He lives and that He loves us."
I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and want us to succeed in all that we do, and when our hearts are turned to Them, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. I know that when we follow the promptings of the Spirit we will be blessed in more ways than just one.
And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Why do we need to know God and Jesus Christ? What are the ways we can get to know Them? How do we maintain, and increase our knowledge of God and Jesus Christ?
Elder Hales said, this past General Conference, "As prophesied, we live in a time when the darkness of secularism is deepening around us. Belief in God is widely questioned and even attacked in the name of political, social, and even religious causes. Atheism, or the doctrine that there is no God, is fast spreading across the world.
"Even so, as members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, we declare that ‘we believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.’ " Some wonder, why the belief in God is so important. Moses 1:39 says, "For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."
"Without God, life would end at the grave and our mortal experiences would have no purpose. Growth and progress would be temporary, accomplishment without value, challenges without meaning. There would be no ultimate right and wrong and no moral responsibility to care for one another as fellow children of God. Indeed, without God, there would be no mortal or eternal life." I suppose another way you could say that is: "Life is just busy work, it doesn’t really matter," but it does. In order to get back with the Father and the Son we need to know and love Them.
Elder Hales councils, "If you or someone you love is seeking purpose in life or a deeper conviction of God’s presence in our lives, I offer, as a friend and as an Apostle, my witness. He lives!
"Some may ask, how can I know this for myself? We know He lives because we believe the testimonies of His ancient and living prophets, and we have felt God’s Spirit confirm that the testimonies of these prophets are true.
"From their testimonies, recorded in holy scripture, we know that ‘[God] created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness.’ Some people may be surprised to learn that we look like God. One prominent religious scholar has even taught that imagining God in the form of man is creating a graven image and is idolatrous and blasphemous. But God Himself said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’
"The use of the words us and our in this scripture also teaches us about the relationship between the Father and the Son. God further taught, ‘By mine Only Begotten I created these things.’ The Father and the Son are separate and distinct individuals—as any father and son always are."
When we are young we lean on our parents’ testimonies before we stand on our own. We learn from others the way we talk, the way we walk, and the way we behave, are just to name a few.
Reading the scripture is another way we learn. From the New Testament we "know that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have a physical presence. They stand in one place at one time.
"We also know that the Father and the Son have voices. As recorded in Genesis and the book of Moses, Adam and Eve ‘heard the voice of the Lord God, as they were walking in the garden, in the cool of the day.’
"We know that the Father and the Son have faces, that They stand, and that They converse. The prophet Enoch declared, ‘I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another.’
"We know that God and His Son have bodies, in form and parts like ours. From the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, we read, ‘And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood.’ Later the Lord revealed Himself, saying, ‘Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and . . . I [will] appear unto my people in the flesh.’
"We know that the Father and the Son have feelings for us. The book of Moses records, ‘And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept.’
"And we know that God and His Son, Jesus Christ, are immortal, glorified, and perfected beings. Of the Savior Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith recounts, ‘His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters.’
"No testimony is more significant to us in our time than the witness of Joseph Smith."
What about personally? It’s easy to say "we," but what about "I"? "In matters of personal belief, how do we know what really is true?
"I testify that the way to know the truth about God is through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, is a personage of spirit. His work is to "testify of [God]" and to "teach [us] all things."
"However, we must be careful not to constrain His influence. When we do not do what is right or when our outlook is dominated by skepticism, cynicism, criticism, and irreverence toward others and their beliefs, the Spirit cannot be with us."
And how can we keep the Spirit with us, and truly seek to know God, Our Father, and His Son Jesus Christ? Elder Hales says, "You may already know, deep in your soul, that God lives. You may not know all about Him yet and do not understand all His ways, but the light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God and the Light of Christ, which you are born with.
"So come. Believe the testimonies of the prophets. Learn of God and Christ. The pattern to do so is clearly taught by prophets of old and prophets today.
"Cultivate a diligent desire to know that God lives.
"This desire leads us to ponder on the things of heaven—to let the evidence of God all around us touch our hearts.
"With softened hearts we are prepared to heed the Savior’s call to ‘search the scriptures’ and to humbly learn from them.
"We are then ready to ask our Heavenly Father sincerely, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, if the things we have learned are true. Most of us will not see God, as the prophets have, but the still, small promptings of the Spirit—the thoughts and feelings that the Holy Ghost brings into our minds and hearts—will give us an undeniable knowledge that He lives and that He loves us."
I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and want us to succeed in all that we do, and when our hearts are turned to Them, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. I know that when we follow the promptings of the Spirit we will be blessed in more ways than just one.
And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Another Hurdle!
I got a letter from the MTC saying I needed to have the H1N1 flu shot besides the seasonal flu shot I'd already received. Monday, 9 November, I got in line at the Utah County Health Center for a ticket. My appointment was Tuesday morning at 8. Didn't have to have a shot though--got the mist! Another item checked off the list. Now I'm cleaning my room, finishing some books I have to read, and getting ready to pack! Oh yeah, and writing a talk for Sunday.
It's Official! I've Got My License!
It's done, and here's the proof! I passed my road test on Wednesday, 4 November. Mom took this picture of me in front of the car at BYU on Friday, 6 November.
Friday, November 6, 2009
A-1 Driving School
The beginning of August Mom decided there was enough time for me to get my driver's license before leaving on my mission. By mid-September I had nearly 40 hours of driving time completed. The beginning of October Mom got me signed up with A-1 Driving School so I could complete the hours of observation and driving required by the State of Utah. Each session lasted 2 hours and in four weeks I was able to complete my training on 26 October 2009.
Observations: 10/8, 14, and 20
Drives: 10/13, 19, and 26
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Dinner at Red Robin
Lisa joined the family for dinner at Red Robin after my temple endowment session. (10/17/2009)
Temple Day
I decided I wanted to be endowed in the Provo Temple. Mom called to make the arrangements and we were set to arrive at 11 a.m. for the 12:40 p.m. session. Sister Marilyn Bateman is the temple matron and she spoke to Mom and me and a bride-to-be and her mother.
Grandma and Grandpa came, as well as Uncle Elvin and Aunt Liz. Of course Mom, Dad, and Nathan were there too. I loved the temple! (10/17/2009)
My 21st Birthday
I'm officially old enough to go on a mission! Myriah and Neeka came over to celebrate my birthday with my family and grandparents. I got lots of writing materials from Myriah and Neeka (I think they want me to write) and a camera from Mom and Dad (I think they want me to take pictures) and money from my grandparents to help with my mission expenses. (9/28/2009)
My Mission Call Arrived
After a long wait, my call finally arrived! Mom, Dad, Nathan, Lisa, Grandma Vina, and Grandpa Verl were all there for the big opening.
And the verdict is: Tennessee Nashville Mission! MTC entrance date is 18 November 2009! (8/19/2009)
Missionary Application Photos
The missionary application process began with a brief photo shoot in the front yard. We got a good chuckle from the picture with the tree horns coming out of my head! (6/29/2009)
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