Our niece Dayna served in the Orem Utah Mission for 18 months, with her mission office just a few minutes from the house we moved into in August. Even though we've never run into her on the streets, we enjoyed knowing that she was close and reading about our own mission area in her emails and getting an insider view of the work that's been going on. A pair of her fellow missionaries came to our house earlier this year to share a message about the importance of the work in our area and challenging us to share a Book of Mormon with someone. This was the first time Ben and I could remember having missionaries in our home since we moved to Utah and we really appreciated the message. They shared the following quotes with us and challenged us to pray about giving the Book of Mormon to someone.
The Book of Mormon is the instrument by which the promised gathering of Israel will be accomplished - it was written for our day. It is the tangible and irrefutable evidence that Joseph Smith is the prophet of this last dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times, the dispensation when the world is to be prepared for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Pres. Russell M. Nelson
Make no mistake, the Lord is gathering His elect to Utah. They think they are coming to be near family or friends. They think they are coming to gain an education. Some don't really know why they are coming here. But the reality is that the Lord is gathering His elect to Utah and He expects the saints to welcome them, embrace them and share the Gospel with them.
- Pres. Craig C. Christensen
We were excited to have Dayna and her companion over for breakfast when they were on their way to the mission office for Dayna to get dropped off before flying home. It was great to see her and find out more about her experiences. She spent most of her mission Spanish speaking but was English speaking for several months also. She had many investigators and baptisms throughout the mission, but when we asked her about the mission's push to have missionaries meet with members at the beginning of the year and remind them of their role in and the importance of missionary work in Utah County, she said the results had been dramatic: their investigators tripled and the number of baptisms doubled. Whoa!
I'm so proud of her hard work! It might seem like serving in the middle of LDS-Central would be easy but she had plenty of challenges of all kinds in the last 18 months and she kept working and learning and growing and was a great example to all of us.
These are the little messages we sent in our last email to Dayna, a few days before she went home.
You've been gone for so long! I love you! You're the best. - Luke
The Book of Mormon is the instrument by which the promised gathering of Israel will be accomplished - it was written for our day. It is the tangible and irrefutable evidence that Joseph Smith is the prophet of this last dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times, the dispensation when the world is to be prepared for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Pres. Russell M. Nelson
Make no mistake, the Lord is gathering His elect to Utah. They think they are coming to be near family or friends. They think they are coming to gain an education. Some don't really know why they are coming here. But the reality is that the Lord is gathering His elect to Utah and He expects the saints to welcome them, embrace them and share the Gospel with them.
- Pres. Craig C. Christensen
We were excited to have Dayna and her companion over for breakfast when they were on their way to the mission office for Dayna to get dropped off before flying home. It was great to see her and find out more about her experiences. She spent most of her mission Spanish speaking but was English speaking for several months also. She had many investigators and baptisms throughout the mission, but when we asked her about the mission's push to have missionaries meet with members at the beginning of the year and remind them of their role in and the importance of missionary work in Utah County, she said the results had been dramatic: their investigators tripled and the number of baptisms doubled. Whoa!
I'm so proud of her hard work! It might seem like serving in the middle of LDS-Central would be easy but she had plenty of challenges of all kinds in the last 18 months and she kept working and learning and growing and was a great example to all of us.
You've been gone for so long! I love you! You're the best. - Luke
I think that you deserve to think that you did a good mission because you worked hard to serve it and you chose the right thing, so good for you. I love you and you're my example. - Eliza
You're a great missionary. I can't wait to visit you. You're a really great example for me and I think that you're amazing and one of the best cousins ever. And I love you. See you later. - Jack
You are a powerhouse missionary and I'm so proud of you! Looking forward to seeing you and giving you a big hug soon! - Brett
Great job getting to the end of your mission! Have a wonderful week and we can't wait to see you on Wednesday. - Ben
(Cat emailed separately.)
(Cat emailed separately.)
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