10/5/15 - 9th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

A Epistle of Epic Proportions,

This week a literal prophet of God commanded the entire world to repent and bore the most powerful witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ imaginable, whilst losing strength in his own body and regardless gave his all to the cause of Christ. Let's take a step back and realize how blessed we are.

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent His servants, the prophets, seers, and revelators of our day, to counsel us and deliver His will unto us. Blessed are we if we hearken to this counsel! I loved basically all of the talks that were given over this weekend of conference, especially the one given by Koichi Aoyagi...and partly because the beginning of this man's epic talk sounded like the plot to the next kaiju movie...

I loved the analogy of the surfers and the barrier of the bay, and that takes a lot because I can't tell you how many analogies I have heard of commandments being fences keeping evil away, but this one was just terrific...probably because it mentioned evil-looking sharks...

Elder Holland's talk about mothers was stunning. I'd like to give a small shout-out to the best mother in the world (mine, of course):

Everything that Elder Holland testified of in his talk about mothers is true of you, mom. You are seriously amazing.

Shout-out ended.

I loved, loved, loved the counsel given to us to teach more simply and with clarity. That is something I strive to develop every day, and it is so rewarding to be able to learn from the Lord how to simplify His gospel message.

Ponderizing is now one of my favorite words.

Scripture to PONDERIZE this week: Alma 36:27--> God will still deliver us as we continue to put our trust in Him!!! (Good ol' Alma...he's inspiring)...

Oh, and Elder Christofferson's throw-down on why we have a church in the first place was perfect in every sense of the word. Such good timing, too. I can't tell you how many people in this world are all like, "I don't need a building to worship God!" We need the church. We can't fully live the gospel of Jesus Christ in isolation.

I could go on for days about the raw awesome that was general conference, but I will just ask all of you: will you go and restudy your notes/re-watch the talks from this general conference?

*Pauses for a "yes"*

Thank you! So, anyways, this week was awesome. I mean, anytime you do missionary work, life just gets more and more awesome, but this week in particular was awesome.

We got creative with our food choices because we were out of money, and so...that was interesting. By the grace of God, last night we were able to scrounge up some stuff hiding in the cupboards and the fridge for a Mexican food night! Now I know for myself that the story of the loaves and the fishes was possible.... (I'm kidding...the Spirit already bore witness of it a long time ago...)

This week, I learned a valuable lesson of repentance and procrastination. Before everyone freaks out, the lesson came through an analogy...

I have been walking around for the past two transfers with an intense ingrown toenail. Unwilling to fix it due to either pride or fear of needles (probably a mixture of both), I let it fester and grow for months. Walking, which used to bring me so much joy and loss of weight, now became a task that required my constant vigilance and brought increasing pain. Finally, I decided to change it all. When the pain became so rough to bear, I reached out to the fabulous Elder Croshaw, a podiatrist-senior-missionary-undercover-superhero in our mission. He called me up on his way back from Chilliwhack as they were passing through Langley. Luckily, we were heading back from Abbotsford at the same time, and so it worked out perfectly. We pulled in to the Fraser Valley YSA chapel and he unveiled the tools for the job: needles, clippers, science-fiction-toenail-root-killing-chemicals, etc. And the games began.

Sitting on the couch in the foyer of the church meetinghouse, with my foot propped up on a chair for the black market operation, I felt like I was in one of those sketchy movie scenes where the guys end up having to get a surgery done in, like, a back alleyway or something...except this time it was in the Lord's perfect, true and living Church, so...it was kind of different...

Anyways, after agonizing moments of numbing fluid being pumped into my veins by needles, I realized as soon as he started clipping that it hadn't taken effect! Don't worry...I won't go into details, but....everything ended well. My toe feels great.

Let that be a lesson. If we procrastinate the day of our repentance, all that it means is that it's going to hurt even more...by the day...

We had our zone meeting this week, and I loved it. Such an amazing meeting! I got to train on how to have greater faith in the Work, and how to find people... It was pretty funny. I did a punk move on the zone. To get everyone to get the point of bashing is bad, I told them to open up to Chapter 9 in Preach My Gospel about finding and told them to find the section called, "Bashing with People"...they got the humor... I told them it was right next to "Sleeping In" and "Being Apostate"! Oh, I make myself laugh sometimes...

We got to watch a hilariously cheesy video about car safety, and learn how to plan better and how to use our time more effectively in the Lord's service. We also got to take a group picture as a zone! I love it. I love being in Langley, and the Work that the Lord is leading here.

We are teaching so many awesome YSA people, and the work is definitely hastening. I am grateful to be here and honored to be a part of this great and marvelous work. I love this gospel. It is so true. And it has been restored through a modern prophet. The Book of Mormon is undoubtedly true. By the power of the Holy Ghost, I know this to be true. And that is all that matters. And I know that as we build our faith, we will be strengthened for the storms ahead of us, because with and through Christ, we can do all things.

With awe and respect,
Elder Stock

The Langley Zone!

From left to right: Top row: Elder Gawrys, Elder Mattingley, Elder Slack, Elder Haase, Elder Swallow, Elder Sigrest, Elder Stirland, Elder Frei, Elder Jorgensen, Elder Nielsen, Elder Stock, and Elder Samis. Bottom row: Sister Christensen, Sister Cendreda, Sister Mumford, Sister Bernard, Sister Miller, and Sister Shroeder.

 The Vancouver British Columbia Temple here in Langley.

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

 That moment when you find yourself in this situation...

9/28/15 - 8th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

An Epistle to the World,

I am tired. That's a good thing. It's a sign that you did some work. And when you're physically tired but spiritually energized...that means you did some missionary work! Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not a passive, one-day a week deal. It's a binding, solemn, and epic covenant we make with out Heavenly Father at baptism that consumes our very lives and shapes our very natures. It is a promise of eternal life in the presence of our Creator. A promise that He will never break. It all comes down to us. Our commitment. Our desire to follow Him. To do as He commands. To really endure to the end by thriving on our covenant path and making the gospel of Jesus Christ, in its pure, beautiful form, a pattern of living.

I have seen in missionary work, on this short time that I have been out, that God is actively and anxiously engaged in His work. At this moment, as you are reading this, He is preparing His children, our brothers and sisters, to receive the message of His restored gospel. And as missionaries/members of Christ's Church, we have the privilege of listening to the Spirit and inviting these people to come unto Christ. And to prepare to return to live with their Father in Heaven. How great is our calling!

Our desire to share this gospel needs to be something that shapes what we do and how we interact with people. Because the gospel of Jesus Christ will bless everyone's lives, regardless of where they are spiritually, physically, emotionally. Our desire needs to be like that of Alma's, who declared, "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mind heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!" (Alma 29:1).

If our desire is there, if our desire is really to help others to partake of salvation, then miracles will happen. Because we will have shown forth our faith, and God works miracles according to our faith (Ether 12:12). Now, with that being said...our desire shouldn't overrule God's direction and plan for us. Alma goes on to say that, "I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me...why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?" (Alma 29:3, 6).

All we have been called to do is to Invite and to Help...

This week was full of miracles and blessings from the Lord. We were able to teach our investigators and apply the counsel that we had received from the Lord during our planning sessions, because we have started planning more for our investigators and less for ourselves. I feel a new light come into our companionship and our area...and our zone, for that matter! We were able to show the video of the Restoration to our investigator S, and she finally understood the magnitude of Joseph Smith's life. Whoa! Testimony in modern-day prophets = yes. She's progessing so well, now! Who knew that if you focused on helping your investigator receive a testimony, that God would work that miracle...?

We also had a goal of helping our investigator R to live the word of wisdom. He's been smoking forever, and to live it takes a lot of courage from him. Finally, we sat down with him last night and really let the Spirit into our lesson.

We testified of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it can bless us in all aspects of our lives, that Christ can help us overcome addictions. We then taught him how Satan wants to keep us down by giving us these chains of addictions. We read Helaman 5:12 with him and testified that we cannot fail when we build our foundation upon Christ. He burst into tears and literally gave us all of the substances that he had in his home to dispose of, and now he is living the word of wisdom and on track for baptism next month. Holy cow. It was the most intense and Spirit-driven lessons of my life. I testify to you that God is preparing and helping His children to live the gospel. We found some guy from Uganda names J....he is such a solid investigator! Teaching like angels has changed our mission and our areas specifically, I love it.

We have a new emphasis on driving safety in our mission due to some weird car crashes recently, and so President Burt has re-instituted park the car day in a big way. Our area covers, like, 4 cities...so....we were stressin', but then we realized that we have members that can give us rides! And so we did just that. And all day Saturday, we used 0 ks! Aw. Yeah. It was a feat to remember, and we couldn't have done it without our amazing members here in the YSA. Shout out to Ty and Adam!!!

My companion, Elder Gawrys, is great. He's super good at cleaning apartments...which is surprisingly a great skill to have in life and especially in missionary work. We're having a blast and always are on the go. YSA work is super fast faced and unstable...but it is fun haha.

I got to be reunited with some of my mission heroes/friends in Richmond this week for a meeting. It was fun being able to see them again and to talk about how the mission is changing a ton and how everyone's doing clear up north. It's a brotherhood of spiritual warriors around here.

I am having a blast up here. Been eating a lot of McDonald's because I ran out of money....oh, the hubris of Elder Stock, but it has been so fun to just go out and do the Lord's work. When we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are truly only in the service of our God (Mosiah 2:17)

I testify to you that the gospel is true. The Work is God's work. And our Savior lives and loves us.

Have an awesome week!

Sincerely,
Elder Stock

The Articles of Faith...color coded to fit the missionary lessons. I love the mini-quad!

2 Nephi 31...marked up according to the lessons...what an epic chapter! Live that gospel, peeps!

9/21/15 - 7th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

An Epistle to the World,

"And now, my beloved brethren, ...hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words, believe in Christ. [For] they are the words of Christ, and He hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good," wrote Nephi (2 Nephi 33:10). I can imagine his fervency and his boldness in desiring that his people come unto Christ. In reading 2 Nephi, we learn of the care that he and his brother Jacob put in to really teaching their brethren, their families, the truths of the gospel. Before my mission, I avoided 2 Nephi -- mainly because I looked at it as the Isaiah trap - - but it's full of gems.

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I know that the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ contains the fullness of His everlasting gospel. As we strive to increase our faith in Him, as we repent daily, strengthen and renew the covenants that we have made with Him through baptism, and as we strive to remain worthy for and enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we will experience the joy and the peace that comes from living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much, and He is so actively involved in our lives. He is blessing us and guiding us in ways that we will not comprehend for a long, long time. And He has a perfect, divine plan for us. As we follow His commandments and obey His counsel and direction willingly, we will find and recognize the blessings that He has promised us.

During the week, I found a lot of opportunities given to me by Heavenly Father to testify of the restored gospel. It was pretty awesome. I've really been working throughout my whole mission on cleaning up my teaching skills and really refining them so that the Spirit can be there, unrestrained. He is the true teacher. It's been sweet to watch the miracles happen as I have been able to teach more simply, more quickly, and more powerfully. I know the Lord has helped me in this endeavor.

As a mission, we've really been working on focusing on our investigators, on those we serve, rather than ourselves. Studies, planning sessions, conversations with our companions, are all more or less focused on the people we are teaching and helping to receive the restored gospel. And it's helped a ton. I definitely have a testimony of losing ourselves in the service of others.

That is what life is all about!

We had a super fun experience this week. We were able to take our best friend, Scott Hoffard, out on his mini-mission for three whole days! He was a trooper. He's testing the waters for serving a part-time mission here, and so this was a mock-beta test for that. We had a blast with Scott as he told us the goofy stories of his childhood and early adult life while we drove around from appointment to appointment. The highlight was him being on our conference call for the zone: "I'm Scott Hoffard...I'm being trained in the YSA...in Langley...." Classic.

We almost got attacked by a drunk guy at Surrey Central, we hardcore cleaned our apartment, we taught some really cool new people, etc. It was a blur of a week with transfers and everything. We were back and forth across our area basically the whole first half of the week...so that was crazy... It rained a lot, too....so that was awesome. Glad I have a good rain jacket! That is all I have to say. I love it up here in BC. And I love the investigators that we're working with.

My companion, Elder Gawrys, is hilarious. Love him to death. We're having tons of fun out here in the YSA wilderness.

The church is true. The book is blue. Live it, love it, preach it!

Have an awesome week,
Elder Stock

Scott Hoffard (our mini-missionary for the weekend) with his two best friends--the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel.

 Elder Stock, "Elder" Hoffard, and Elder Gawrys

 "Elder" Hoffard and Elder Gawrys

 "Elder" Hoffard and Elder Stock

 The Dynamic Duo: Stock and Gawrys

9/14/15 - 6th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

A General Epistle to the World:

Well, you might have guessed by the title that we got transfer calls this week! Oh snap! So, I'll let you fester on that thought for a little while. Where in the world could Elder Stock go? Well, your choices are in fact limited to most of the province of British Columbia...and, with tons of areas to serve in down here in the Lower Mainland, you could be pretty safe in guessing an area within the fabulous cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, Langley, Surrey, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, etc. You could also be pretty safe in guessing somewhere up North, e.g. Prince George, Terrace, Smithers, Burns Lake, etc...since I've collected 3/4 sub-missions thus far (sub-missions within the Canada Vancouver Mission include: Island, Lower Mainland, Okanagan, North). You COULD also be accurate in guessing that maybe I didn't leave the Fraser Valley YSA, because I've only been here for one transfer...and maybe my companion went somewhere else and I am still here...

But then again, if you had been studying your copy of An History of Elder Stock's Missionary Journeys, you would note that at one point, upon his entry into the desert landscape of Westbank, he left within one transfer and trekked out to Burnaby. But regardless, your guess is as good as anyone else's. Because transfers are unpredictable.

I wish I could say I was tranferred to the area my father and I often discussed in our many trips to the infamous McDonald's drive-thru: the moon. A lunar colony populated with ridiculously prepared people to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ, something so amazing and everlasting that surely it was...out of this world..... Eh? Eh? But...alas, the moon colony mission hasn't quite opened up. Give it some time, and I'm sure it will all come around...might be race between it and China, but...you know how the cookie crumbles...

Anyways! Tangents. Secants....geometry? What the...? I totally forgot math...how did...? The Spirit really DOES bring all things to remembrance... Speaking of remembering...

Oh yeah! So, my tranfer news is as follows:

My companion, Elder Miller, will be heading out the party city/vacationing spot of western Canada: Kelowna!!!

And I will be....

STAYING IN LANGLEY YSA!!! My new companion is going to be Elder Gawyrs. He's awesome. I've met him before and am super excited to finally serve with him. It's going to be good times. Especially because the work here in the YSA is seriously hastening! I am excited.

This week has been great. We were able to teach so many lessons. Which is something I always love doing. No matter the setting, the lesson, the person, it's cool to see that God loves ALL of His children enough to allow His Spirit to testify of the truths we teach as missionaries. Every. Single. Time.

I have grown to love what we teach as missionaries and how we teach as missionaries. Simplicity is what the Spirit can testify of with power. I love helping people understand the message of the Restoration, in its beautiful simplicity. Helping them understand the need for a prophet and for the priesthood authority of God to be on the earth. And sharing with them the account of Joseph Smith's First Vision for the first time in their entire life. The hope and the love that that brings into our lives is unbeatable.

I love teaching people and helping them understand that we have a purpose here in life, that our life didn't begin at birth and that it will not end at death. That we lived with our Heavenly Father before this life, that we are here to learn and to grow, and that we have an opportunity to return to live with Him after this life.

I love helping people live the gospel of Jesus Christ. To build faith in Him, to repent and change, to be baptized and confirmed, to endure to the end and enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost forever. I am grateful for the commandements of God, and for the direction they give to us and the enriching lives that they allow us to live. Surely there can be nothing so rewarding as being able to help our brothers and sisters to receive the restored gospel.

Everyone's so different, too. It's cool to be able to meet all of these people that are really reaching out to God for something they feel is missing in their lives. I taught a man last night by a campfire who literally asked me if God has a plan for him. Well, uh...yeah! And let me show you a pamphlet all about that! ;) The Lord is hastening His work. It's really energizing to be a part of. I know that He lives. And that He loves all of us. That matter where we are in life or what we go through, that He is there for us, and that living this gospel is more important than anything we can do. Sleeping, eating, breathing included.

I love missionary work. And I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior. They have done everything for me. And everything they have done has been given freely and out of love. The least we can do is follow their example and share it.

Sincerely,
Elder Stock

Me, Kyle Fifeld (recent convert in the YSA and our walking set of scriptures), and Elder Miller. The lesson teaching dream team!

9/8/15 - 5th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

Elder Stock's Other General Epistle to the World,

What a week! Tuesday preparation days throw me right off... But it's good. Labor Day was an excellent opportunity to teach, because no one had work or school! We spent most of our day out in Surrey, teaching people over by the Simon Fraser University campus about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. What a day. We were able to see so many miracles, and we took a member of the YSA branch with us named Kyle. He's a recent convert of about 5 or 6 months, and has such a burning testimony. While sitting at McDonald's waiting for one of our investigators to show up, we started talking to a lady who was very uninterested in what we had to say as full-time missionaries. But Kyle bore a really sincere testimony on how much the Church has changed his life, and we eventually were able to teach her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon.

I've really learned this week that it's all about the simple truths of the gospel. Those are what will change the world. As we strive to simplify ourselves, and make sure that our testimonies are strong and easy to understand, then the Spirit will testify of our words, and we will be able to help many of God's children -- our brothers and sisters -- to come unto Christ.

This week, I discovered an amazing new miracle. The pumpkin pie blizzard at Dairy Queen. Don't worry, a picture of this beautiful, decadent, divinely inspired treat will be included. So enjoy. What a glorious invention! That is all that I have to say about that...

The week was really great! We are preparing a lot of amazing people for baptism, and so that is always fun. We found a Chinese guy named Fred, and teaching him the gospel is a thrill ride. He soaks it all in, and it's all the first time he's even heard about Jesus Christ and about God, so it's pretty crazy. But he's doing really, really well. The YSA branch is super fun, and we are really trying to build up the faith here in missionary work and to do everything that we need to help them out. To truly be a SERVANT of God.

I have such a testimony of this Work. That it really is the most important thing that we can do to help our brothers and sister to come unto Christ. This is it. The work of salvation. And we need to be anxiously engaged in it. I know that our Heavenly Father works according to our faith, and that is because He is all loving and will never force us to do anything. But when we show our faith to Him and in Him, and we align our will with His, then that is when the conduit to Heaven and unceasing revelation flows. I know that there is no such thing as a dead area in a mission. But there are dead missionaries. And the way that we can revive ourselves is by stripping ourselves of pride and relying on the Spirit more than ever. When we do all that we can to invite the Spirit, then He will be there and we will find miracles. I know that my Savior lives. That He loves me, and knows me personally. That He knows each and every one of us the same way. And because of that. He has commanded us to invite all men to come unto Him, to "go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19)

We have a duty to perform. A labor. It won't be easy to follow Christ. Trials will come. But it will always be worth it and it will always be possible. Because we don't have to do it alone. He heals us, and He redeems us from misery, and from sin. So trust Him. Believe Him. I know that my Heavenly Father lives and loves all of us, and that He has a plan for us. That we can return to live with Him after this life. And that we are all a family of God. I love this Church, and I love this gospel. It has been restored today through a modern prophet. Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ that spring morning in 1820. And because of that, the world is blessed. I leave you these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

You already know,
Elder Stock

Oh mai goodness!!!! Church's Chicken! The cashier in this place is YSA and asked us for a Book of Mormon. We're going to teach him this week. Miracles!!!!

 The pumpkin pie blizzard, yet another evidence of God's love to the world...and that He does continue to inspire men, just as in days of old ;)

 E-mail time. In Surrey.

8/31/15 - 4th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

Another of Elder Stock's Epistles to the World:

"The God portrayed in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures asks not just for commitment, but for our very lives. (God) traffics in life and death, not niceness, and calls for sacrificial love, not benign whatever-ism...All of us can meet God's high expectations, however great or small our capacity and talent may be" (Elder D. Todd Christofferson, "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten").

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. But something that we need to realize is that He isn't a butler. It's His will that we must align with. Not the other way around. Something that I have learned recently is really just how powerful and intimate our Father in Heaven really is. He is real, and He loves each one of His children - us- so very much. His love is manifest in everything. The very ways that the trees grow and the wind blows, "yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it...do witness that there is a Supreme Creator" (Alma 30:44). It's amazing to me. He has provided us with His plan for our happiness - the gospel of Jesus Christ and He has restored it once again to the earth in these latter days through a modern-day prophet. He has restored His priesthood authority, which enabled His servants to bless the lives of His children, which enables His children - our brothers and sisters - to partake of the ordinances of salvation. He loves us, and He knows exactly what He wants us to be...what we can become. And if we ask Him, and follow His counsel, we can receive all of the blessings He has in store for us.

Those are some key words: Follow HIS counsel. This week, we really sought the Lord's help in our area. We asked Him in fervent prayer what we needed to do, where we needed to go, what we needed to teach, if the plans that we had made for that next day were good (or if we needed to revise them), and really just tried our hardest to turn our will - our lives- over to Him.

And he led us to those who were prepared.

It was a week of miracles! A huge windstorm descended upon the lower mainland this week, which was super intense. Trees were uprooted, houses were smashed, roads were blockaded, traffic was post-apocalyptic in flavor, and the power went out for a half a million people across the entire lower mainland...ourselves included....Those whom we had planned to meet with and teach in the central hub of Surrey could no longer come and learn about the gospel due to emergencies with the storm. And all the while, I remembered everything that I had recently thought about wind, and about how our job is to stand the wind. And so we did just that. Instead of being angry that our appointments were done for, and that we no longer had an operating fridge, and that we had to wander through our basement suite by headlamp light, we decided to realize the truth of the situation: that God had a plan for us, and that He was not going to let us suffer. But it would take us turning our will over to Him, so that He could lead us and guide us to what we were searching for.

And He did.

On Sunday, we taught so many new people, and really were just effective instruments in the Lord's hand. And it was awesome! And it was so cool to see God's hand in our lives even more.

This weekend, one of my old investigators back in Burnaby was baptized. He requested that I come and baptize him, and so I happily raced up to Burnaby on Saturday night to do that. This guy, Norman, is so funny and is always just so happy. When we got to the church in the aftermath of this storm, we realized that the power was out in the building, and that not only were the lights dysfunctional, but the faucet to fill the font was, as well. (Que dramatic Mormon message music).

So, with little time to go, we raced to the kitchen. Luckily, the sinks were operating in there, and so we started filling large pots of water and dumping them into the font in a mad dash to fill it with sufficient water to baptize. Norman got to fill his own font! We took about 40 minutes tossing in pots of water to this font, and just laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. A meager group of Burnaby ward members showed up for the baptism, in the darkness of the primary room, lit by the screens of iPhones and other contemporary flashlights.

The baptismal service got started, and the water looked about right. Just enough to baptize Norman in....who was a very tall guy, by the way...

We had some amazing talks, and then Norman and I stepped into the font. To my surprise...the ice-cold, unheated Canadian water reached about mid-calf on me. It was about to go down.

I spoke the words of the baptismal prayer, and then slowly dropped Norman on his back into the water. He literally was lying down in this font, and I had to pretty much push him down to the bottom to completely immerse him all the way under the water. It was epic.

Norman thought it was awesome, and we both agreed that we would never forget this day. He felt the remission of his sins, and was speechless after the ordinance was over.

That's why we're here...to help out brothers and sisters feel the joy of redemption by receiving a remission of their sins and enjoying the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Even if it seems crazy, and even if you might not be comfortable with what's happening around you, just know that God has a plan for you. His will surpasses yours, because He will make you into something great. Because He loves us, and He wants us to feel joy.

I hope that you all have a great week, and keep on serving the Lord in whatever capacity that may be!

Sincerely,
Elder Stock

This is not a celestial room...I promise!

It's a room in our branch president's house here in Langley YSA. President Terry is a boss!

 The White Rock lesson teaching crew. 

Elder Stock, Elder Miller and Josh Layton....he's leaving on his mission to Colorado this week! :D

My new homemade scripture box for my miniature standard works (dubbed now as the Confounder)...perfect for taking on the go and confounding false doctrine ;)

 The Vancouver British Columbia Temple at night. Chills!

The baptism of Norman...in the dark. That lantern and the flash of the camera is the only light there...if you look closely, you can see just how low the water really is in the background mirror. ;)

 Elder Miller and I

Planning by candlelight. Aw yeah! Best date I've been on for a year ;)  

8/24/15 - 3rd LETTER FROM LANGLEY

An Epistle to the World,

Wow. What a week. So, if you haven't already heard, I am at my year mark. And much to my chagrin, the year mark prophecies have come true. You see, the ramifications of hitting your year mark on a mission are kind of weird. Until that day, everyone considers you a "greenie", a brand new missionary with very little to offer to the Work. They pity you, telling you that one day, you'll get used to missionary work, etc. The second that you have been out a year, however, regardless of any preconception to your effectiveness as a servant of the Lord, you become a dying man.

"Oh? You've been out a year, eh? This year will go by in the blink of an eye," says a returned missionary. "Oh, a year? Have fun dying!" says a former companion. As if to say that death is eminent...

Well, brothers, elders and sisters! I testify to you that I am alive! I am living. And I ain't dying anytime soon. This Work won't be over until the Lord audibly says it is. And so until then, we run, we fight, we invite until we drop. Because we can't afford to do anything else.

I was struck this week by some very profound people and the counsel that they gave to us as missionaries. In our mission, we were visited by Elder Johnson of the Seventy and Brother Mike Hemingway, the head of proselyting in the missionary department of Jesus Christ's restored Church...yeah, that just happened.

They came to train us as missionaries on how we can do better. And the Spirit rebuked me a couple of times. The main message of their visits was that this is God's Work.

It's cool because it's true. Heavenly Father has a purpose. It's in Moses 1:39. He wants to bring to pass the--say it with me, now--"immortality and eternal life of man". Whoa. Did that say the immortality and eternal life of the members of the Church? Or of a select group of people? Or...of man? Implying....like, everybody ever? All of His children, our brothers and sisters?

Fascinating what the scriptures can teach you. We are all children of God. And our brothers and sisters out there need what we have. It is only through us, the messengers and deliverers of the true and everlasting gospel, that they can receive the full blessings and atoning grace that Jesus Christ can offer.  Now, Heavenly Father doesn't NEED us. But He wants us. He wants us to do this Work, because of what it teaches us. It teaches us that it isn't about us. Forget yourself. And go out and work in behalf of others. Their welfare matters. And that is why we do this Work.

We don't come on missions to become personally converted to the gospel...that's a side effect, not a purpose... We come out on missions to be instruments in God's hands to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. And He is preparing His children for this. So we need to ask Him where they are. And the truth is, they are our friends.

As long as we are just going out and inviting our brothers and sisters to come unto Christ, and we're doing it out of a sincere desire to help them, then we will be blessed with the opportunity of being able to be instruments in God's hands and we will be able to assist them and bless them in their lives. To deliver the message of the Restoration to them.

Something that a general authority said recently was that missionary work is the blood of the Church. It is what courses through us, and it is what the Savior commanded His true disciples to do. And so we will do so. Because we love Him and we love those around us.

Elder Johnson said that "everything improves as people become involved in missionary work", and I know that to be true.

Want to be happy? Then go out there and serve someone. Share the gospel with them. Be an instrument in His hands, and your worries, your sorrows, will be lifted from you.

This week, I started relying more on the Spirit, and less on myself. I started turning this Work over into God's hands...because it's His work, not mine. And miracles happened. We're teaching some awesome people, and most of them are in White Rock, which is a super nice little beach town right above Washington...that has the best fish and chips I've had in my life! (Picture included) It's been cool to see that as Elder Miller and I just ask God where we should go to find someone who's prepared to receive the gospel, that He guides us to them. And after all we can do, the miracles began to appear. The members here in the Fraser Valley YSA are amazing, it's such a close knit family of people that are just trying to make a difference. And it is awesome. I love their devotion to the Work, and their help in it. This can only take off when both members and missionaries work together. Because we are ALL enlisted.

We carry with us the most beautiful, perfect, hope-filled message in the entire world. And if we aren't helping others feel of its light, then we are keeping it for ourselves. I know that as we do the work that He has commissioned us to do, we will realize that it is not a business of numbered baptisms, not a pyramid scheme of adding statistics to the Church, but that it is a cause. Of saving the lives of our brothers and sisters and allowing them to live with Heavenly Father once more. I love missionary work, it heals the soul, because it accesses the Atonement. Because Christ is at the helm of this Work.

Sincerely,
Elder Stock

Me and Scott Hoffard, one of the YSA members

He says I have to wait a month to be his friend...I'll see about that...

 Elder Miller and Josh Layton (going to the Colorado Denver North mission in a week) eating at the best fish and chips this side of the Fraser River!!!

 That White Rock coast, though... A beauty!