Monday, July 23

Dear Family,

  Thank you so much for the letters! They've been great!  I'm having a great time here, I am so excited to go teach in Vegas! I don't really remember what things I said in my first letter so please forgive me if I repeat myself. Sorry I didn't get any pictures to you.  I'll probably send my SD card soon.  I feel like I've got the hang of this down, it already feels so normal.  Time goes so slow though, it feels like I've been here for weeks.  The foods all right, I mostly like all the fresh fruits I can get at every meal.  Unfortunately the gym has been closed for renovations, but beach volleyball is fun.  Even worse the temple up here is closed for a while, but we were still able to walk around it on Sunday.  My districts great, I think I mentioned that in my letter.  And dad, I have seen all of the Elders you mentioned; I see Hadley and Scott everyday.  When I first arrived I set goals for organization and note taking, and I am known as the most organized note taker in my district.  I have a 6x10 notebook that I have filled 50 pages with notes, thoughts, questions, and feelings.. with a glossary with 25 major gospel topics, and sticky tabs marking different questions, testimonies, and thoughts.  I have also begun a project of filling a few notebooks with my own 1-2 paragraph summaries of every chapter in the Book of Mormon.  I've got a ways to go, but I am very confident I can finish it, especially with the unbelievable amount of things I've already learned.  I am consistently running into scriptures that make me think, and I have done by far the best job in my life at looking them up, recording findings, learning through the Spirit, and recording everything.  I think that what I have had the most fun doing is finding Bible verses that completely outline the Plan of Salvation, the Fall, repentence, Atonement, Godhead, and a lot more.  I'm so shocked by how much there is in even just the Bible.  "True to the Faith" is one of my favorites and helps me a lot with certain things, but could you help me with a few things that I think the internet could do a lot faster?  Like maybe a timeline that marks major Bible events, including the apostasies, and has the Book of Mormon's major events as well?  an article that really covers the Law of Moses, an article on the history of the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants?  I don't have much time, and I realize Jesus the Christ and other books would be a great start on many of those things, but some of those things would be very much appreciated.  I never realized how easy it was to search and learn with scriptures, it is seriously mind blowing.  It is a lot of fun too, I get really caught up in it.  My grasp of the completeness of the gospel is amazing, it all fits together so perfectly.  Like almost every single scripture it seems.  I love you all.

Love you all,

Nathanael