10/7 Letter

10/4--Hey, Family. Well I'm using some time before Conference to write a quick Hello! I am only supposed to write you on P-day, but the rumor is that on Conference weekend writing is allowable. But you can write me as much as you desire, and please do not hesitate on sending me cookies and snacks!

Well, first session is over now, and I loved every minute of it. To be honest that was probably the first session of Conference ever where I didn't fall asleep. After, I was thinking of how often Conference is, and after this weekend there are only 3 Conferences left till my mission is all done. . .It's almost scary how short an amount of time I'm giving up. Sometimes it seems like forever, but really it is no time at all.

10/7--Buenos Dias! No, I wasn't in the Priesthood Choir during Conference. I don't have time to go to choir practice, but even if I had, the guys who were in the choir were just randomly selected out of those who "applied." As much as I'd love to sing in choir (they sing every Tuesday at Devotional), I'd rather use the time to study.

So, I passed the half way point of my tenure in the MTC, and when you get this letter I'll have less than a month left here. Crazy. I've been thinking about the full 9 weeks here . . . that's 1/12 of a mission. And it drags on, yet flies by. I don't know if you understand, but it's too hard to explain.

I can now teach a rough first lesson in Spanish. The bigger problem is gauging the understanding of the investigator. Since they understand in Spanish, and answer in Spanish. But I feel ike my Spanish is around the same place as the district that is leaving for Chile on Tuesday, so that's good!

Conference: I have lots of comments to make for you, because it really did have more meaning for three reasons: 1) I'm a missionary, 2) I took notes, and 3) I didn't fall asleep in any session--first time ever. I took 19 pages (front and back) of notes. All of the talks were incredible.

Saturday Morning: I loved Elder Perry's first address when he encouraged us not to let stress get the best of you, and talked about a simplified life. I really liked Sister Allred's admonishing of everyone when it comes to writing missionaries (ha ha ha). But the best talk Staruday morning was definitely President Uchtdorf's. He talked about hope. It was incredibly uplifting and inspiring.

Saturday Afternoon: Elder Wirthlin was hilarious! And I quite enjoyed his talk. Elder Holland's was quite out of the ordinary for him, but still very good. He talked about angels in our everyday lives. I enjoyed, and have enacted, the guidelines of how to make prayers more meaningful in our lives (Bednar). It was awesome!

Priesthood Session: Elder Scott told us that we all needed to appreciate the women in our lives. Actually that seemed to be the general topic for the everning. President Uchtdorf's talk was again inspiring. His quote for the evening was "Lift where you stand." Awesome. President Eyring also addressed not feeling overwhelmed and how to help others. President Monson's first address of the Conference was awesome as always. Best quote from his talk: "The Lord will shape the back to hold the burden placed upon it." He also gave us 3 imperatives in life: 1) Learn what you should learn, 2) Do what you should do, and 3) Be who you should be.

Sunday Morning: I quite enjoyed Elder Hales' talk about "Christian Courage." But my favorite talks were Sister Dalton's and President Monson's. Sister Dalton talked about virtue. I really liked the part about spiritual training "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." President Monson gave us advice for life--Adapt to the change, review what's important, show your loved ones love, and find joy in the journey. Two best quotes from the talk--"If you pile enough tomorrows you'll find a lot of empty yesterdays," and, "Nothing is as constant in this life as change."

Sunday Afternoon: Elder Nelson's talk was good, but would have meant a lot more to me in later years since it was all about temple marriage. William Oswald's talk was awesome. He taught us how to be better teachers: show love, teach from scripture, encourage pondering. I also particularly enjoyed Elder Cook's talk (the third one about trials and feeling overwhelmed). The best line from his talk was "Sometimes the things that are best for us in this life are the most bitter."

So, it was awesome!! How was Idaho? No, I do not know Elder Reintjes, but he'll be in my travel party if we came in on the same day.

Everything is good here! Send Snacks!

Love, Elder Arntsen