Sounds like a good last fast and testimony meeting! That's awesome K got her patriarchal blessing, I'm sure she enjoyed it thoroughly! One of the greatest blessings on my mission has been seeing all the miracles on your guys's end! Being with elder R is very much like parenting I imagine. I think you did an excellent job dad, I've applied many of your tactics. :) I know the house thing will work out. All there's got to do is trust the lord and move forward with faith! How much is left to be paid off on the house in Virginia, just out of curiosity?

Do you know if the Bishop wants to speak on anything in particular? I've got plenty of things I'd like to say, but I know mission farewells and homecomings aren't supposed to be monopolized by the missionary kind of thing. If he's fine with me talking about whatever, fantastic, but if he's got something he wants me to speak on let me know! Thanks for the heads up in case you're not able to write. Elder R is not making any progress at all. It is very frustrating. I told President he needs to go home. I'm glad you enjoyed the talk! It's one of my favorites. Your hair is turning all white! What's up with that?!

 

This week we talked to a couple of girls arguing outside one of their houses. They were fighting because one had been strangling the other one. One went inside and we talked with the other one outside, then some loud banging a inside made the one we were talking to run inside and there were lots of screams and fighting from which we learned they were......a couple. And we almost broke the door down and ran inside to break them up, we thought someone was going to die. There was also a corn festival and a parade. So much corn! To polish it off, a lady ran out after us Saturday night after we knocked on her door and yelled at us about how horrible we were. It was pretty funny! Good stuff! Love you tons!

Elder Johnson

top picture Elder Johnson and Elder D

Bottom picture Elder R and Elder K.  (R is one of Hunter's companions)

I wrote this up two days ago for one of our investigators that tried to find the Book of Mormon on spark notes website. So I wrote one up for them!

Spark Notes on the Book of Mormon!

1 Nephi - 600 B.C. - 570 B.C.

Nephi and his family live in Jerusalem. Nephi has 3 brothers, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam. He also has at least 2 sisters. Nephi's father, Lehi, is a prophet (along with Jeremiah at the time) and the people want to kill him because he said they were wrong, they needed to repent, and God would destroy them if they didn't. Because they wanted to kill him God told them to leave. They left, and Nephi and his brothers went back 2 different times. The first time, to get the plates of brass which was basically a bunch of the Old Testament, and the second time, to bring another family with them so they could have wives. Laman and Lemuel try to kill him a few times. After a while, they come to the Ocean. Nephi builds a ship and they cross the ocean and come to 'the promised land'........the Americas! Significant events in this book are the vision of the tree of life and a sermon by Nephi explaining it to his brothers. Lehi also has 2 more sons while they are traveling.

2 Nephi - 588 B.C. - 545 B.C

Lehi is dying, so he blesses his children and gives them Admonitions and warnings. After he dies, Lamanand Lemuel plan to kill Nephi, so Nephi and everyone else that obeys the Lord run away! Nephi and those with him are called Nephites (the righteous ones). Laman, Lemuel, and everyone that followed them are called Lamanites (the wicked ones). There aren't many significant events in this book. Most of it is many doctrinally rich sermons given by both Nephi and his younger brother Jacob about the coming and mission of Jesus Christ, the Atonement, and Plan of Salvation. 

Jacob - 544 B.C. - 421 B.C.

Jacob is mostly a bunch of sermons Jacob gives. He gives a sermon on chastity, keeping the commandments of God and living righteously, and gives the allegory of the olive tree, which is comparison/allusion between an olive tree and the house of Israel. It is very good. A man comes denying the Christ, and is smitten by the power of God.

Enos - 420 B.C.

Enos is Jacobs son. He's out hunting and decides he needs to pray. He spends a day and a night praying, is forgiven of his sins and obtains a promise from the lord that he will bring the gospel to the Lamanites in due time.

Jarom 399 B.C. - 361 B.C.

The Nephites keep and obey the law of Moses. The Lamanites attack them from time to time. He purpose of the Lamanites is to be a scourge to the Nephites to keep them remembering the Lord

Omni 323 B.C. - 130 B.C.

A number of people keep the records. Mosiah, a Nephite King, is warned to leave the land of Nephi (that's where they live), so they take a hike and come over to a place called Zarahemla where they discover a group of people known as the Mulekites, who came over to the Americas around the same time as Lehi from Jerusalem. The join together and Mosiah is king over them all. A group of people go back to the land of Nephi to see if they can still live there. King Mosiah dies, and his son King Benjamin becomes the new king.

Words of Mormon - 385 A.D.

Mormon, who is abridging the whole Nephite record puts in this little insert. At his time the Nephites have almost all been killed. He talks about how King Benjamin has a war with the Lamanites, and works really hard to teach his people to be righteous and keep the commandments.

Mosiah - Mosiah 8 - 130 B.C. - 121 B.C.

King Benjamin is dying, so he gives a sermon to his people. He teaches them to love one another, keep the commandments of God, and serve each other. He dies, and his son Mosiah is the new king. A guy named Ammon leads a search and rescue party out to find the group of people that had left to go to the land of Nephi (from the book of Omni). 

Mosiah 9 - Mosiah 29 - 200 B.C. - 91 B.C.

Zeniff was the leader of the people that went over to the land of Nephi. He makes a deal with the Lamanite King and he lets them live in the land. Zen if is the King over his people. After about 12 years the Lamanites come and attack them to bring them into slavery. They are repulsed. These battles carry on for some time. Senior dies, and his son Noah becomes the king. King Noah is wicked and his people follow his example. A prophet, Abinadi comes and tells him and his wicked priests to repent, and teaches them the Ten Commandments. One of the Priests, Alma, believes, and runs away before Noah can kill him. They burn Abinadi to death. Alma, the priest that believed and ran away, teaches the people in secret. King Noah finds out and goes to kill him, but he is warned by the Lord and he and the 450 people that he has taught run away into the wilderness and start their own little city. The Lamanites come to attack Noah's people again and because they are wicked, the Lord allows the Lamanites it's to take them captive. King Noah runs from them with many of the men. A lot of them are ticked that they left their families, so they burn Noah to death and are going to kill his wicked priests, but they run away. Noah's son, Limhi, rules over his people as a tributary monarch to the Lamanite King. They have to pay 50% of everything to the Lamanites or else they will be killed. They try to fight them off a few times but don't do too hot when they try that. When all hope seems lost, Ammon and the rescue party comes and they make a plan to escape. They get all the Lamanite guards drunk and go join Mosiah and his people in Zarahemla. Meanwhile, Alma and his little group of people get found by the Lamanite army that ran after Limhi. They're lost, so Alma tells them how to get back home and they enslave Alma and his people. After a while, the Lord delivers them and they also join King Mosiah's people. Mosiah translates an ancient record found by Limhi's people that gave a record of a people that came from the Tower of Babel to the Americas and were destroyed. Alma has a son named Alma and Mosiah has 4 sons named Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni. The five of them go around causing trouble and destroying the church. An angel appears and shocks them. Alma is catatonic for 3 days and then gets up and tells everyone he's sorry and teaches about the Atonement. The 4 sons of Mosiah leave to go teach the gospel to the Lamanites. King Mosiah proposes that they have judges and Alma the younger is chosen as the first chief judge. Mosiah and Alma the elder die.

Alma 1 - Alma 16 - 91 B.C. - 77 B.C.

There's a guy named Nehor that tries to introduce priestcraft. He is executed. Alma gives up the judgement seat to a righteous guy named Nephihah and devotes himself to teaching the people. Most of these chapters are him teaching people. In the city of Ammonihah, he finds Amulek as a companion and they teach together. The people are very wicked and burn to death those that repent and believe Alma and Amulek. The Lamanites come and wipe out the city. There are many significant and doctrinally rich sermons and teachings in this section.

Alma 17 - Alma 63 - 91 B.C. - 52 B.C.

Ammon and his brothers go to teach the Lamanites. Ammon makes like a banana and splits, and becomes a servant of the Lamanite King, Lamoni. He defends the Kings flocks and singlehandedly repels a band of robbers, chopping off many of their arms in the process. He earns the trust and respect of the king and teaches him, his household, and the people. Almost all of them are converted and baptized. Meanwhile, Ammon's brothers don't have such great success and are thrown in prison. Ammon goes with Lamoni to talk with the king of that land and get them out, and along the way, run into Lamoni's father who is the King over all the land. King Lamoni's father try's to kill his son because he's now friends with the Nephites and Ammon takes him down because he's a boss and tells him he'll kill him unless he lets Lamoni do what he wants. The king agrees and Ammon lets him go. He goes and rescues his brothers. His brothers teach Lamoni's father and convert him, his family and many of the people. In all, the inhabitants of 7 lands and cities are baptized. They all come together and call themselves the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. The Lamanites that didn't convert are mad at them, so they start to kill them. The righteous Lamanites made a covenant to never fight again, so they allow themselves to be killed. The Lamanites killing them feel bad and some of them stop, repent, and join the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's. The rest of them are mad and go to attack the Nephites all of a sudden. They attack and wipe out the city of Ammonihah, and are then repelled by the Nephites. The persecution among the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's becomes so great that they decide to go and join the Nephites. The Nephites give them land and promise to protect them and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's give them food and support. They are called by the Nephites the people of Ammon, or Ammonites. Alma the younger the whole while devotes his time to the ministry. He has personal interviews with his three sons, and then disappears. A huge war starts between the Nephites and Lamanites. The Lamanites are led by a wicked Nephite that dissented. There are internal dissensions among the Nephites and at those times the Lamanites have more success. A Nephite assassin kills the Lamanite king who is a Nephite. Ultimately, the Nephites are victorious when the Nephite assassin kills the 2nd king (who is the first's brother). 

Helaman - 52 B.C. - 1 B.C.

Alma's sone Helaman, then Helaman's son Helaman, then that Helaman's son Nephi keep the records. There is war between the Nephites and Lamanites. Nephi and his brother, Lehi, devote themselves to preaching the gospel. The Nephites become wicked, and the Lamanites become righteous. A Lamanite prophet named Samuel teaches the wicked Nephites and prophesies of Christ's coming, and the sign of a star at his birth. A group known as the Gadianton robbers infiltrate the Nephite government and grow in power. The Nephites repent after Nephi asks the Lord to send a devastating famine.

3 Nephi - 0 A.D. - 35 A.D.

Nephi's son, Nephi takes stewardship over the records. All the Nephites and Lamanites are righteous. They all unite to fight against the Gaddianton robbers who infest the land. They gather together in one body and the Gaddianton robbers attempt to lay siege, but end up starving to death while they are attacked from time to time by the righteous Nephites and Lamanites. The Gaddianton leaders are put to death, and they are defeated. E people are righteous, but over time, pride, class distinctions, and contention arise. The chief judge is murdered, the government is destroyed, and the people divide into tribes. There are earthquakes, tempests, hurricanes, and fire. Many cities are burned, drowned in the sea, covered by earth, and the inhabitants of them are killed. There is three days of darkness. Out of the Darkness, the voice of Jesus Christ speaks to the people. The darkness disperses, and as the people are gathered around the temple, the voice of the Father introduces His son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ invites the people to feel the nail marks in his hands, his feet, and side. He calls Nephi forward and gives him authority to baptize. He calls twelve others, and gives them authority as well. Jesus teaches the people the same things he taught his people in Jerusalem. He gives them commandments and announces that the law of Moses has been fulfilled. 

4 Nephi 35 A.D. - 321 A.D.

All the Nephites and Lamanites are converted. For 200 years they have peace and prosperity. Eventually divisions, evils, false churches, and persecutions arise and after 300 years, all the people are wicked. The prophet Ammaron hides up the sacred records.

Mormon - 321 A.D. - 421 A.D.

War and carnage cover the land. The prophet Mormon leads the Nephite armies in battle. He teaches them and exhorts them to repent, but they refuse to change. Mormon prophesies of the final days, the bringing forth of the gospel to the Lamanites by the Gentiles, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The Nephites are all destroyed in a tremendous battle. Moroni, Mormon's son, admonishes those who don't believe in Christ to repent, and testifies of the signs of spiritual gifts that follow those that are true followers of Christ.

Ether - about 2500 B.C. - 450 B.C.

The Lord confounds the languages of the people at the Tower of Babel. The brother of Jared pleads wi the Lord to not confound his and his families and their friends languages. The Lord blesses them and guides them to the promised land. A kingdom is established. The people follow a pattern of righteousness and happiness, followed by extreme wickedness and sin. The lord sends prophets to tell them to repent. Sometimes they obey, sometimes hey don't. The 200 year period is plagued by constant secret combinations, lying, and wicked men conspiring to take the kingdom. Eventually the people all divide into 2 groups, fighting for 2 different kings. They have a tremendous war in which well over 2 million people are killed. Coriantumr, one of the Kings, and Ether are the only ones to survive. Ether disappears after hiding the sacred records so that the people of Limhi found them, and Coriantumr is found by the Mulekites and dies after living with them for 9 months.

Moroni - 401 A.D. - 421 A.D.

Moroni, the son of Mormon wanders around for about 20 years, trying to not get killed by the Lamanites. He sets for the manner in which someone is to be ordained, gives the sacramental prayers as given by the savior, and speaks about church meetings. Moroni writes some of the teachings of his father Mormon, and includes a couple letters from him during the war. Moroni testifies of the power of the Holy Ghost, gifts of the Spirit, and faith, and invites all men to come unto Christ.