Jan 29, 2018

Hey all,

This week seems to have flown by, last Monday was the first time I've really played basketball on my mission, outside the MTC. I also had a great experience on Tuesday. We were meeting with one of our investigators and she told us she looked up a scripture we talked about in a previous meeting and it said nothing about what we talked about. She even looked it up for us and showed us and we immediately realized why. She had been using a New International Version, as opposed to the King James Version. It was very interesting seeing how different two people see the Bible and drove home to me the importance of the Book of Mormon. There's a metaphor that I've liked using on my mission to illustrate why we need the Book of Mormon. If the Bible represents a dot in space, how many lines can be drawn through that dot? An infinite amount. But if you add a second dot, the Book of Mormon, then you can only draw one line through it. 

We also stopped by a less active on Saturday night. We've stopped by a few times and he seems to be warming up to us. He showed us his locksmiths gear, a hobby he's picked up since retiring, and told us about his Great-great-great Grandfather, who was in the Civil War. He even had the original certificate that his grandfather got for serving. He has so many little trinkets and collectables, including an amazing classic book collection. They are even styled after the old Calligraphic style of bookbinding, From Frankenstein to Robinson Crusoe to Sherlock Holmes. He told us the same thing as before when we asked if he was coming to church the next day, that he'll surprise us one of these days. He's such a sweet old man and I really think we're starting to make progress. 

I love you all,

Elder Howell

Be Ye Therefore Perfect -- Eventually (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)