Sunday, February 3, 2008

2-3-08 - Book # 34

Today was fast Sunday, and it was my day to teach again. It was an AMAZING lesson. I loved it. We learned about 1 Nephi 16-18. Everyone was super talkative, I think it was because they were fasting. We learned about trying to become more like Nephi and about the difference between worldly and Godly sorrow. One of the cool little testimony builders about the Book of Mormon I learned while preparing the talk, Nephi when he broke his steel bow, he made another bow out of wood AND an arrow. Why did he make another arrow? Why couldn't he have used his arrows from the steel bow he had? The reason was because the steel bow doesn't have to be pulled back as far, so the arrows are shorter. If he would have used the same arrows, he wouldn't have been able to pull back his wooden bow as far as possible to get the maximum amount of speed out of the arrow. So he had to make new longer arrows out of wood so he could get full extension and full speed. There is no way Joseph Smith could have known that fact when he was translating the book. So it MUST be true. Anyways, tonight I took the book to my one of my other neighbors who have not received the book yet. It was my new neighbor who moved in a little over a month ago. I hadn't been over to say hi yet, and I got home a little early from family dinner and decided it would be a good time to go over and introduce myself and share the gospel with her. It was a little weird, mostly because she was on the phone when she answered the door. I tried making small talk and to tell her a little bit about me but it was like she was just backing up. So I asked her if she was religious, and she said it depends on which one, so I told her I was LDS and that I wanted to share a book with her. She opened the screen door just enough for me to slide the book in to her. I told her it was nice to meet her and she went back inside. Interesting, but now I have a foot in the door and once she gets to know me a little better, we'll look back on this day and laugh.

2-2-08 - Book # 33

Tonight we went down to the strip for Emily's birthday. We ate at the cheesecake factory. I think that was my first time ever eating there. It was perty good. Afterwards we went and hung out at FAO Schwartz and played on the piano and the other toys they had there. Then Trey wanted to go act like zombies with his friend Andy, so I took Taylor and him back to my house. On the way there we drove through the shopping centers over by my house and gave away the book to a kid who was coming out of Vons. I say kid, but he was probably my age or a little older. When I gave it to him I asked if he had ever heard of it before. He kinda chuckled and said that he had. So what I decided that meant was one of two things, he is mormon, or extremely anti-mormon. Ya never know though, do ya?

2-1-08 - Book # 32

Tonight was just a quick give-away. Danielle, Emily and I were all going to go to Danielles softball game. Before we went, we needed to stop by Wal-mart. While we were checking out, the guy who was helping us seemed like he could use a good cheering up. I tried talking to him and asking how is day was, but he was practically deaf and could barely hear me. After I had finished paying, I told him I wanted him to have this book, and that it would change his life. He smiled when he saw what it was, maybe because he didn't hear me. He took it and as we walked away Danielle kept looking back and said that he was flipping through the pages. Hopefully our little run-in will make a difference. I know it will as long as he puts forth the effort to do it.

1-31-08 - Book # 31

Tonight was a first. Something that I've been wanting to do since I've been giving out these books. So tonight I had school like every other night. On the way back to the parking garage, this girl from my class was walking right next to me. Then she started talking and asked me about how I was doing in the class. This girl has talked to me before as well. So we chatted the whole long walk back to the cars. I told her about how I learned spanish on a mission in Kentucky. She thought that was pretty crazy. Turns out she graduated in 2002 from vo-tech… where that is I'm not sure. But she was only 16! So she's pretty darn smart too. Well right as we were about to part ways I pulled the BOM out of my back pocket and told her I knew it would bless her life. She smiled and told me thanks and walked away flipping through the pages. Finally somebody I'll be able to follow up with. I've been wanting to give one to the people in one of my classes just so I could see them again later. We'll see what happens!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

1-30-08 - Book # 30

Tonight I had school till way late. I got out at 9:45 and still hadn't given out the book. I went to Danielle's house afterwards and drove through a couple parking lots on the way. I was driving by Blockbuster and saw a guy and a lady walking out with their little kid in their arms. So I parked and before they got in the car I walked over to the drivers side where the guy was and told him I had something I wanted to give him. I told him I have been giving them out to people because they mean a lot to me and I knew it would bless their life. He didn't say anything at all I don't think. I asked him if he had heard of the Mormons before, and he shook his head yes. I told him to check out the website I had written down in the book and walked away. He seemed nice enough. Just didn't say a whole lot. It's crazy to think of the power that we have in this church. We are so lucky to be a part of it, if people only knew.

1-29-08 - Book # 29

Well tonight was a crazy night. I had school from 4-5:15, then I went back to work till about 8:30 when Danielle got out of her new teacher class. Then I went over to her house for about 30 minutes, then drove across town to Jeanine Taylors house to do home teaching. It went really good. This months lesson was on Christ being a bridge builder. There was a really cool poem in there about an old man… I think I'm going to go copy and paste it into here, I really liked it.


An old man, going a lone highway,

Came at the evening, cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;

The sullen stream had no fears for him;

But he turned when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,

"You are wasting strength with building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way;

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide—

Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:

"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,

"There followeth after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.


Pasted from lds.org

Pretty cool message. It was given by Monson who is always an amazing story teller. He talked about how Christ has been through it all, and has made ways for all of us to get through any and all struggles we might have. It was really good. Well anywho, book of mormon story, after we were done there, I still had to give away the book. I was in a different part of town than I usually am, so it was good to have different stores to roam around. I decided to go to wal-mart and see if I could find anyone. While I was walking around the inside of the store I saw these two ladies, who looked maybe a little older than me, walking around. I didn't do anything about it and decided to leave the store without having found anyone. As I was walking out, it was like out of no where they were in front of me leaving the store too. Then to top it off, they had parked RIGHT by where I had parked, just two spots over. So I had to do it, while they were loading their stuff into the car I walked over and told them that I wanted to give them something. As I was handing it to the one girl, I told them it was a book of mormon. The other girl who I wasn't handing the book to said, oh I've got one of those. Then the girl I handed the book to said, "Oh, weird, tomorrow we're hanging out with a bunch of mormons." I asked her why she was doing that, and she said that her husband worked for a company that was mostly mormon. The other girl said that somehow she was related to Gordon Hinckley's grandson. It was kind of cool how they both had connections, so I told them to check out the website and to call me if they had any questions. They were really nice. Man, the church is GOOD!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

1-28-08 - Book # 28

Man, only 12 books left. Kinda crazy. It doesn't seem like I've given out that many. Tonight Danielle and Emily came over for Dinner. We had Grill cheese and tomato soup. I made it, and I must admit, it was some pretty amazing stuff…. Heh heh. After dinner was done, Emily went to FHE with the Northstar ward and Dke and I went to give out the book of mormon. Oh, I should probably back up. Heavenly Father humbled me again today. So yesterday in church I had to open my mouth and tell everyone how easy it is to give them out at UNLV because EVERYBODY is looking for a free handout. Well today, I was proved wrong. This kid did not want to take the book. And I was persistant, and still, he wasn't havin it. So anywho, Dke and I set out on our journey to find someone to take the book for the evening. I wanted to go somewhere different than the wal-mart parking lot I always tend to go to, so we went up to the smiths shopping center on Rancho and Craig. We drove around, and as we were driving past K-mart, I saw a lady standing outside the store. She looked like she was waiting for someone or something. I decided she was the one. So I parked the car and headed over to talk to her. My idea was that when she made eye contact I was going to start up conversation with her. Well she didn't look at me at all, she actually tried to avoid me. So I walked past her. Then I walked inside K-mart, and walked right back out and walked past her the opposite way thinking she would for sure make eye contact this time. Well she didn't again! So I started talking to her anyway. I told her I wanted to give her something that has really blessed my life. I showed her the book and asked if she'd ever heard of it before. She said she hadn't, but was nice and accepted the gift. She didn't say much, but it looked like she could use some happiness in her life. I hope she lets the book work it's magic.

1-27-08 - Book # 27

Tonight I had people coming over to watch a movie, and I hadn't given out my book of Mormon for the day. So before they came, I drove around the Wal-mart/Home Depot parking lots looking for someone. I thought I found them, and got out of the car to give them the book, but once I started walking toward them it didn't feel right. So I turned around and got back in the car. I drove around for about 30 minutes trying to find someone and didn't ever feel like it. Well since it was getting late, I decided to head back to my house because people were going to be showing up soon. I got there and Danielle and Emily had just gotten there. I got out and they asked if I had given away the book of mormon yet, and I told them no, but that I was going to do it right then. I tossed them the keys to the house so they could get in, and headed over to my neighbors house. I knocked on the door a couple times and they weren't answering. Finally after the third knock they came to the door. It's the neighbors to my immediate right, and I still don't remember their names, but she came out and I explained to her that I had a really good day at church and that I just wanted to give her a copy of the book of mormon because I knew it would bless her life. She was very nice and took the book. Then we chatted about my dog Marley for a little bit, she really likes that dog. Overall a good experience. Good ol Book of Mormon stories that my teacher tells to me…. Heh heh.

1-26-08 - Book # 26

Today was a really fun day again. I hung out with Danielle pretty much the whole day. We got up and practiced softball, then we set up for this sadies dinner that Keli (danielle's little sister) was having at their house. It was good. Then I went home, took a nap and changed, then went back over to help entertain the kiddos during dinner. Well after dinner was over, we had planned a surprise birthday party for Emily at Alise's boyfriend, Timmy's house. So we rushed over there and long story short, it was a fun lil surprise. She had no idea. Well while we were at the party, time was a tickin and I hadn't given out the book of mormon yet… so Mark Pruter and I went for a walk in Timmy's neighborhood to see if we could find anyone. We walked outside and there were some people out sitting in their garage across the way. So I told Mark we should go walk by them and see what happens. We took a stroll over there and as we were walking past their driveway, one of the guys came out of the garage and asked if they could come to the party. We said of course! As he was holding his beer and cigarette in his hand. He asked if there was any beer at the party, and we said sorry, just a bunch of Mormon kids hangin out, no alcohol. He said it was cool, then we talked about where he was from. His name was Jay and he was from Guam. Mark apparently had a friend that served nearby there so it was good small talk. Then after things started to wrap up, I told him that I had something I wanted to give him. And when I told him what it was and handed it to him, he totally acted different and very gratefully said, "This is for me?" I told him it was just for him and that it had really blessed my life and I knew it would bless his too. We talked for a couple more seconds, then headed back to the party. It's crazy how God keeps putting people in my path that are open to learning more. Missionary work is great.

1-25-08 - Book # 25

Today was a busy day, and I didn't have school so it wasn't an easy Book of Mormon day like every other day this week. Tonight I went to Danielle's softball game and didn't end up getting done with that till around 11:00. Well I needed gas, so I went to the gas station and there was a nice looking guy who apparently was a security guard, getting gas. I walked over to him and told him that I wanted to give him something that has blessed my life, and showed him the book of mormon. He wasn't very enthusiastic, but he didn't seem upset about it or anything. Just said thanks, and set it on his car and finished pumping his gas. I hope that each of these books find their way into somebodies heart sooner or later. As long as at least one person's life is blessed because of this, it would make it all worth it.

1-24-08 - Book # 24

Not a very exciting experience today, just an easy give away at UNLV. I was walking to my car from my spanish class and there was a girl who was walking along side of me. It was kind of funny because my G.Q. (golden question) totally backfired. I said to her my classic line, "Do you like to read?" It was great because she told me that she really didn't like to read. I told her I wanted to give her something anyway. I pulled the book out and showed it to her. She was nice and said she would take it. I told her to check out the website and she said she would. I wonder how far this whole giving away copies of the book of mormon will reach. Ya know what I mean? I wonder if it'll be a person I give the book to, or if it will be somehow related to the person I give the book to. Another interesting thing, is that I totally think that I'm doing this for myself more than anything, I am definitely getting over my fear of sharing the book of mormon with people. Good stuff.

1-23-08 - Book # 23

Tonight was my long night at school. I have a class from 4:00 till 5:15, then my next class doesn't start till 7:00 and goes till 9:45. Looooong day. Well today at school I was walking with Trey over to the institute building and as we were getting close, I saw a lady walking who deserved the book of mormon. I stopped her real quick and told her I'd like to give her a book. She was a little hesitant at first, but I showed her what it was and told her that it had blessed my life so that's why I was sharing it with her. She totally loosened up, and thanked me for it and walked away. Giving books away at UNLV is so easy it almost takes the fun out of it. Everybody is accepting there!

1-22-08 - Book # 22

Tonight I had my first class at UNLV. The Book of Mormon is going to be sooo easy to give out here. Everyone is searching for something! They're all trying to find direction in their lives! So tonight I didn't have a pen to write in the front of the book, so I had to stop in 7-Eleven to borrow a pen. As I walked out, I was headed toward my car and there was a kid walking towards me. I asked him how he was doing and told him I wanted to give him something. He was VERY accepting. I asked if he'd ever seen the book before, he said he hadn't. So I asked if he had heard of the Mormons before, and he said he had, just that he'd never seen the book. I told him that I wrote down a website in the front of the book and that it has a lot of answers to common questions that people have. I told him that I was giving out the book because it had blessed my life so much that I wanted it to bless somebody else. He was way cool, and thanked me for it as we parted ways. College is sweet, giving out the book of mormon is going to be a lot of fun while I'm here.

1-21-08 - Book # 21

SO! Today was crazy! I hung out with Danielle all day and it was one of the best days I've had in a long time. Not only for Book of Mormon purposes, but just the whole day in general was great. But listen to this book of mormon story. So Danielle dropped me off to pick up my grandmas car because my truck is broken still. So on my way back to her house, I stopped by the shopping center by her house to see if I could find the person to get the book of mormon. I was cruising through the pretty empty parking lot and saw a few people so I decided to put the car in park and start walking around. Well right as I get out of the car, I see a lady walk out of the nearby store. I started walking toward her, and she walked between some cars, I thought she was going to get in the cars, but she didn't. All of the sudden she was right by me. So I asked her how she was doing. She said fine and kept walking. I told her that I wanted to give her something real quick. She turned around and said "what do you got?" She was kind of snippy, and didn't look very happy. I showed her it was the book of mormon and she frieked out. "You've got to be kidding me! I can't believe this is happening! I walk out of that store, where they just made me so frusterated praying to God for help and look who shows up! I can't believe this…" So obviously I was a bit surprised… and I told her that I was sent to her right then. The story in a nutshell was that her dad and brother were LDS and they had both passed away now. But that she went to church when she was a little girl. She told me about how about 6 months ago she was diagnosed with cancer and that she can't work anymore and has gotten behind on the rent. She said that she called the bishop of her area and he told her he could not help her with the rent. She was very mad at him and the church because she thought they would always be there for her, but now that she needed them, they weren't. She said her 20 year old daughter a couple weeks ago lost her baby at 15 weeks, so they had been struggling with that. And she eventually started to get very emotional. By the way, I liked this lady from the first second she started talking. We became instant friends. There wasn't a thing I could have said to offend her. Anytime she complained about the church, I came right back at her with a reason why she shouldn't say those things, or why heavenly father still loved her even though the church couldn't help her at that time. She also said that she had given up on this faith a long time ago, but that she was so happy that I had given her a book because someone stole hers a little while back. She was really starting to get emotional and we had talked standing there in the parking lot for about 10 minutes now. So I asked her where she was headed. She told me she was going to go get the bus and head home. So I offered her a ride, she was a bit hesitant at first… understandably so… but she eventually said okay. So on the drive over, I asked her what her name was, it is Barbara Devlin. She ended up telling me that she was divorced about 20 years ago. And we both talked about how horrible of a time that was. I told her about my divorce, and we really connected talking about that. She has 3 kids total, her two older sons are both married with families. She told me that she stopped going to church when she married her husband, a total of over 30 years ago. She said she'd never go back after her latest experience with them. I kept telling her that it wasn't fair to judge the whole church on that one experience. I also told her the God wants to see that she's willing to do what he asks, not only when she needs him, but all the time. She talked about how she thinks she hasn't felt like she's forgiven herself ever since the divorce. She doesn't know why her husband left her, just one day he said he was done, and left. So sad. We talked for the rest of the drive to her apartment, and as we pulled up to her place, she was wiping her tears and thanked me again for the ride. I had to drop her off at the gate because she didn't have her opener, but as she was getting ready to get out of the car, she said to me, "Well I live in building 6, apartment 63, in case you ever want to stop by." I definitely know that if I had to pick the one person up to this point that will benefit the most from the book of mormon, I would definitely say its Barbara. She is my new best friend.

1-20-08 - Book # 20

Tonight was crazy, I got rejected twice! I didn't let the second guy go away empty handed though. So it all started off because today in church I told the elders quorum that out of the previous 20 books I had given out, not one person wasn't accepting. I guess I just needed to learn my lesson a little. So Danielle and I went out to find someone tonight. We drove over to the wal-mart parking lot and I say a guy walking with his two boys. So I think the first problem was that I was still in church clothes. So they for sure thought I was a missionary. I jumped out of the car and said, "How ya doin?" and he totally answered me just like people used to do it on the mission, "I'm good" while he's looking the other way and trying to get in his car as soon as possible. I was a ways away still and didn't want to let him get away so I said, "Just real quick I wanted to give you something." And he yelled, "no thanks". So I insisted that it was just a book and that it would bless his life. And he said, "No, I don't want anything" and got into his car. Ouch. No good. So I got back in the car with Danielle and we took off to find someone else. We pulled up to a gas station and there was a guy filling up water bottles. I decided to go talk to him, and I was barely able to get out that I wanted to give him something and he was already saying no. I insisted that it was his choice if he wanted to do anything with it, but that I still really wanted him to have it. He shrugged his shoulders and said "What the hell…." Funny that he'd say that while receiving a book of mormon. So today's lesson was don't get prideful. It's still hard and I need to make sure I don't start thinking that it is just anyone that can receive the book.

1-20-08 - Books # 15,16,17,18 and 19

I was a slacker the past week and didn't write down many of the experiences of giving out the book of Mormon. It was an interesting week, it got kind of difficult to give out the book. I realized that I needed to give it out earlier in the day, because the later it got, the harder it was to approach people. Here is the short list of people from this week.

 
 

1-15 - I am totally a slacker and can not remember who I gave the book to on this night. I know I gave it out and if I remember I'll come back and edit this.

1-16 Guy at the Texaco - I drove around forever trying to find someone, granted I started looking at like 11:15 at night. First mistake. I finally found a guy at the gas station to give it to. He was inside buying a drink so I went in too. I got done before him so I just stood outside by my truck until he came out. Then as he was walking by, I told him that I told myself I was going to give this book to someone today, and here we were, 11:45 at night with 15 minutes to spare. He saw it was the book of Mormon and was really nice about it and thanked me a couple times.

1-17 Guy at Costco - Randy and I left work a couple minutes early so that we could go buy a projector from Costco. When we got there, right as I got out of the truck there was a really nice guy pushing his cart right close by. I went back to the truck and grabbed the book and approached him. I asked if he liked to read, and he said yes. So I extended him the book and asked if he'd ever heard of it before. He said he had. I bore him a quick testimony and we parted ways. He seemed really nice.

1-18 Girl at coyotes - This evening, we went out with a couple friends to eat at Danielle's favorite place, Coyotes. I was carrying the book of Mormon in my back pocket because I didn't have my truck because it broke down this morning. So we went and ate at the restaurant and as we were leaving there was a waitress outside the front door taking a smoke. She was really nice and said goodnight to all of us. My guess was that she was about the same age as us. As she said goodnight to me, I asked her if she liked to read (that's my favorite golden question). She said she did so I told her I wanted to give her something. I pulled out the book and told her how much it had blessed my life. She saw it was the book of Mormon and said that she has a bunch of Mormon friends. I told her to look up the website I put in the front and to contact me if she had any questions. She seemed really nice about it. As we were driving away, you could see her flipping through the pages of the book. Who knows right?

1-19 Security guard at Danielle's apartment - This was an interesting night, tonight I knew who I wanted to give the book of Mormon to, but I couldn't find him! I stood outside of Danielle's apartment forever waiting for the security guard to come by. Seriously 30 minutes in the cold. FINALLY he came by on his bike and I asked him to come talk to me for a second. I asked him if he was Christian, and he said he was so I extended him the book and told him that it taught about Christ and his visit to the Americas. He was really nice and took the book. We then small talked for a little while, his name is James and he's from Detroit, so the cold here doesn't really bother him too much. Good kid. I hope he lets that book bless his life.

 
 

1-14-08 - Book # 14

Tonight was not too exciting. It was a night of overcoming a fear for me. For some reason I felt scared tonight when I was trying to find someone to share the book with. And when I found the guy I wanted to give it to, I almost didn't do it because of fear. Fear is not Godly, so I knew I had to put it aside. But that is REALLY hard to do sometimes! I went to the gas station on the way home, and saw a nice looking younger guy, maybe 30 or so, just finishing pumping his gas. He went inside after he finished, and I timed it just right so that I was walking in, just as he was walking out. I really felt scared for some reason, and the craziest part is that I didn't know why I felt scared! Well he came out, I was walking in, and I told him that I had a book I wanted to share with him. I handed him the book of mormon and he kept getting into his car. I kinda kept going the other way and as I was walking about asked if he had ever heard of the book of mormon, he said "sure, why not." and got in the car. Tonight was definitely a teaching moment to myself to help me overcome fear. Stinkin satan really knows how to get us at our weak spots and it really is a constant battle to stay on top of it. I don't know what will happen with that book, but it's now in the hands of a non-member so hopefully someday, somebody down the line will pick it up and start to read it. I know it will bless their life.

1-13-08 - Book # 13

Tonight I came to the realization that since I'm giving out 40 copies of the book of mormon, every one of my neighbors should have one in their house as well! So I decided I was going to give it to one of them tonight. I got home and Danielle came over, and the house I wanted to give it to was all dark, so I felt bad knocking. But they'll get it another night… So I went across the street and knocked on the door with the lit up porch. They had one of those darn one way screen doors, ya know the kind where they can see me but I look like a weirdo talking to nobody… anywho, I told him that I was from across the street and that I wanted to give him something. I extended him the book and he opened the door to take it and said thank you. He seemed nice enough about it, so I asked him his name, and it was David. Conversation didn't go very far after that, except for when I was walking away he said, "hey, I noticed that you decorated your house for christmas, do you want a wreath?" I thought that was rather nice of him, even though I had no idea what I'd do with a wreath… He told me to come check it out because it was a big one. Turns out its like 10 feet long, and its not a circle wreath, it's like garlin (if that is the word). It was pretty sweet lookin! Although I had no idea where I'd keep it. Well he told me him and his son would bring it over in the morning. I thanked him and ran back over to the house. I'll get a book of mormon in the house of everyone on my street, you watch!

1-12-08 - Book # 12

Well tonight I drove around by myself for quite a while, and wasn't able to find anyone who I felt was the one for the book of mormon… I finally decided just to head back towards the house and see what happens. I got all the way home and didn't find anyone. Then my parents called and they were close by doing some shopping. So I decided to go meet up with them and have them help me give out the book. We drove around for a while, they kept offering lots of people to give it to. As we drove around, my dad finally decided that we should say a prayer to help us find the right person. After we had finished the prayer we drove through the home depot parking lot and saw a man carrying some wood looking for his car. We decided that he was the right one for the book. So we went out and parked and my dad and I started walking in towards the store. We passed by the guy and I said hello to him. Then I said that I wanted to give him a book. When I showed him it was the book of mormon, he said "I sorry, I don't speak much english". So I said, "Oh! Esta bien, hablas espanol?" and he said he did and kinda chuckled… I totally think he spoke english but tried to get out of it. Anyway, I talked to him the rest of the time in spanish and told him to check out the Website and there he would be able to find all the information he might need in spanish. He was really nice, his name was Jesus… Gotta love that.

1-11-08 - Book # 11

Well today was the first time I had to talk the guy into taking the book. He was a little resistant at first, but it went good after a little bit. So the story goes, tonight Trey Tagliaferi, and Jeff Evans and I went out to Buffalo Wild Wings for something to eat. After we were done the hunt began. We drove around for seriously 20 minutes trying to find someone to give the book of mormon to. Finally we found the guy, they had just pulled up at the gas station and so we followed them in. The driver stayed in the car with his window down while his two passengers got out and went inside. I pulled up to the nearby pump and just started small talking with him. Then I asked him if he liked to read. He said no, but that he had the internet so he read on there…. (I was a little confused by his comment so I said) So you like to read, but just on the internet? He said well yeah, and books. So I said I had a great book for him to read, one that would bless his life. I pulled out the book of mormon and he said, oh the bible? I said no, actually it's another testament of Jesus Christ, just like the Bible. When he saw it was a Book of Mormon, he said, oh no I don't need that. No no no, I believe in Jesus Christ, not that book. And I told him that I believed in Jesus Christ too. Then he said yeah, there's only the Father, the son, and the holy ghost. And I said, yeah I believe in that too! Then he said, no you can keep the book, I don't need it, only Christ can save me. And once again, I said, yeah I believe that too! Then I asked him to please just take the book. It's free. I told him he didn't have to do anything with it, but I hoped he would at least read the introduction to actually learn about the book. I told him I bet he thinks I worship Joseph Smith doesn't he? And he said, yeah that guy. I told him that he was a prophet who taught about christ, and that we don't worship Joseph but that we're grateful that he gave us what he did. I extended him the book and he took it. I flipped the pages and showed him the introduction. I told him it just explains what the book is actually about. Then I told him if he wanted to learn more after that, he was welcome to call me or check out the church website. He said he would, and I told him again that it'll bless his life. I turned to walk away and he said, "God bless you" and I repeated it back to him. It was really cool to see how the spirit was able to clear up the confusion this man had on some of the most simple parts of Mormon Doctrine. This gentleman's name was Tommy. That book will change his life if he lets it.

1-10-08 - Book # 10

Today I was feeling kind of bad, because it always seems like I wait till the last minute when I'm trying to give out the book. Well then after feeling bad about it, I STILL waited till the last second. I went with Danielle, Emily and John Ewell out to eat at claim jumper. It was a lot of fun. Well I didn't give it to anybody there, then we went back to Danielle's house, and I didn't see anyone to give it to either. So I hung out there for a little bit, then decided to head home. I got all the way into my garage and realized that I hadn't given it to anyone. So I didn't even get out of the car, and decided to go to Wal-mart. I got there and didn't see anyone in the parking lot. So I decided to go in and walk around for a bit. I really wasn't in the mood to just give it to some stranger, only because it was the easy thing to do. I wanted to give it to someone who would make a difference. Well I wasn't really finding anyone, so I went back to the electronics section. And right as I walked into electronics, I saw a girl that used to be in 2 of my classes last semester. A really nice girl who was very quiet and kind of acted like a stoner. But her an I were always good friends I guess you could say. We smiled at each other whenever we'd see each other. So I walked up to her and said hey, she remembered me. We small talked for a second, and then before I left I pulled the BOM out of my pocket and told her it had blessed my life and I knew it would bless hers and help her find true happiness. She said, that she hoped it would help. I thought that was interesting. I had to ask her what her name was because we were never really introduced to each other. Her name was Tanya, and who knows if I'll ever see her again, but I know that book will have an impact on her life one way or another.

1-9-08 - Book # 9

Well tonight I had a little bit of a different experience, it was something that I usually wouldn't have done. I had to stay late at work to get some files caught up, and after I left I went to Danielle's house. On the way I stopped to get gas. Well all the pumps were full so I was parked waiting for someone to move. While I was sitting there a homeless guy came up to my window and asked for some money. All I had was a dollar. We chatted for a second, turns out he was born in Germany and can't get any paperwork set up with immigration because he doesn't have his birth certificate. So after a little bit, I decided I wanted to give him a pass-a-long card as well. Well anywho, that's all I had, and a spot opened up so I went and got gas. He was walking around the pumps and walked by me again and we chatted again for another couple seconds. Then before my truck was finished, I ran inside and bought a bag of chips, a ham and turkey sandwich, and a pint of milk. I went outside and finished pumping my gas. At that time he was around the corner of the building. So I pulled over there and told him that for some reason I felt differently about him. And I believed his story for some reason and really wanted to help him. I told him I bought him some stuff, and that I wanted to give him a book that would help him find real happiness. I handed him the book and he asked if it was a bible. Told him it was a lot like the bible, but that it contained everything the bible was missing, and that together with the bible, they contained the fulness of Christ's teachings. He said that he loved jesus christ and that he prayed every morning and every night. Usually I wouldn't give a book of mormon to somebody who really wouldn't do anything with it, but for some reason I thought he would. So I drove off and got a little ways down the road and realized I didn't know his name. I flipped a u-turn and went back to the gas station. Turns out his name is

Thomas Lösch. Hopefully he'll be blessed in some way from the book of mormon.

1-8-08 - Book # 8

Today was fun, we went to soccer tonight. We got there at 8:00 and nobody else was there and I wasn't planning on anybody getting there till 8:30 at least. So it was me, Trey Tagliaferi, Enrique, and Tivo just hanging out waiting for people to come. Well some people that we didn't know came up to us and asked if they could play with us. I told them yeah, but that we were waiting for a few more people. They said, well lets just play right now. So we said sure of course, and played with them the whole time. While we were playing, I found out it was a dad and his two kids, and one of their friends…. So before the game was over, I ran out to the truck and grabbed a book of mormon and wrote my testimony about eternal families in it. After the game was over, I went over and told them thanks for playing and gave them the book. The Dad's name was Carlos so I gave it to him. He was very nice and openly accepted the book. I let him know it had changed my life and that it would change his. Pretty exciting stuff.

1-7-08 - Book # 7

Today I went with Danielle out on a couple errands. While we were out we decided to read helaman chapter 1. It was a good chapter about wars and how Coriantemer (sp?) was killed in a battle. Well anywho, we were looking for people as we were driving around and reading. We drove into the Albertsons parking lot and Danielle spotted a guy walking his cart out to his car with his little boy. So we decided that he was the one for the night. We pulled up to him and I asked if he believed in Christ. He said he did, so I handed him I wanted to give him a book. I asked if he had everr heard of the mormons and he said he had. I told him my testimony real quick about how it's blessed my life. He seemed really nice and his boy looked real good too. I hope they can grow to learn about eternal families and how he and his boy will never be separated after this life.

1-6-08 - Book # 6

Well today is Sunday and Bishop talked a lot about giving out the book of Mormon to the ward. Its interesting because it's kind of harder to give out a book on a Sunday because I don't go shopping or anything, so I don't have an opportunity to cross paths with many non-members. So tonight, I was headed home from my parents house, and I came to an intersection and the light was red. I looked over to my left and there was a guy in an older Jeep Cherokee, just him and his dog. I thought for a split second that he was the one that needed the book, but I brushed it off. Then I looked to the right and saw Craig Cuff sitting in his car. So I harassed him for a bit till he noticed it was me, then the light turned green so we left. Then I get to the next light which is where I have to turn right to keep heading toward my house. I looked behind me in the turn lane and realized that the guy in the Jeep was right behind me. The thought crossed my mind that I should run back and give it to him. But I brushed it off as well. The light turned green and we left again. Now we're both driving for a ways and I told myself at the next red light I was going to give it to him. I quickly wrote something in it while I was driving and as I looked up I noticed him turning right into a shopping center right by my house. So I quickly turned around and followed him. He pulled up to a smoke shop and I stopped behind him and waited for him to get out of his car. He got out and I got his attention by asking if he knew where a nearby street was. He told me it was down just a little further. Then I told him I had something for him, and showed him the book. I told him it was a book of Mormon and that I knew it would change his life. When I said book of Mormon he immediately said "Oh, I've got this book!" but then quickly said that he wants to keep this one. He seemed really nice. I asked him what his name was… but unfortunately I've forgotten it, but I do know his brothers name… When I introduced myself, he said, "That's my brother's name!". Inside of that book of Mormon I wrote a short testimony about how the book contains principles and teachings that will help him find true happiness, and that I knew the book was true. It's interesting how the Lord keeps putting these people in my path. It kind of makes me wonder how many other times they've been there and I've ignored the promptings, just like I did twice with this guy. I hope to NEVER let an opportunity pass me by, ever again.

1-5-07 - Book # 5

Today I met my new friend Felipe. I was hanging out with Ross, Danielle and Emily (BFF), we went and saw the movie "The Great Debaters". I was thinking I would find someone there, but didn't feel it with anyone we saw. Well on the way home we stopped by Wal-mart, and I was hoping to give out the book there. But still no luck. Then we left the parking lot and just started driving. I saw a guy walking across Craig and decided he was the one. So I parked the car in the nearby parking lot and left everyone in the car and ran out to the street to talk to him. I walked out and said "what's up?" He said nothing and asked if I knew were the closest bus stop was. I told him I wasn't sure, but asked him where he was headed. He told me just down the street to Decatur. So I told him I could give him a ride. He jumped in the car and we took off. We small talked, introduced everybody, found out that he was from California and had lived her for 10 years. He has a wife, an 8 year old and a one year old, and his sister lives with them. Well then once we got closer I asked him if he was religious, he said yeah, but that he never went. He asked if we were religious so we told him that we were all mormon. He said he had some mormon friends and acted really cool about it all. Soon we pulled up to Wal-mart and said goodbye to him. He got out of the car, then I got out on the other side and told him that I had a something for him. I told him it was a book or mormon and that I knew it would bless his life. He seemed pretty excited about it. I told him my number was in the front and that he could call me if he had any questions. He said he would definitely "hit me up sometime". As we were pulling away, Danielle told me to tell him to read it in his hour long break he now has before he has to work since we got him there so early. So I yelled it out the window to him, he laughed. These books are going to touch someone's life, if not Felipe's then someone close to him.

1-4-08 - Book # 4

So I JUST gave out book #4. It was interesting because I didn't know if I was going to go out tonight. I just got some cool recording stuff and wanted to just stay here and play it all night long. Well while I was playing, the doorbell rang. It was a kid selling subscriptions to the newspaper. I totally wasn't interested and told him no like 30 times I swear. But he was a dang good salesman. So eventually he talked me into buying a subscription for 13 weeks of the Sunday newspaper for 20 bucks. So while I was writing down my info, I invited him in. He saw the piano and asked to play it, then saw the guitar and asked to play that. He was a pretty cool kid. His name was Jeremy. He went to Cimmaron and graduated in 2004. Anywho, so before he left, I realized that he was the one supposed to get the book tonight. So when I was walking him out the front, we small talked for a second, then I told him I had something for him. I walked over to my truck and grabbed the book. I then told him how much it's blessed my life and that I knew it would bless his too. I showed him the website that I had written down in front of the book, and told him to check it out. He said, "oh yeah totally, like keep an open mind to all things right?" I said exactly man. We shook hands and he headed down the street. Seemed like a real bright kid. He'd make a great missionary someday with those salesman skills!

1-3-08 - Book # 3

So this one was a little different. I had previously decided that tonight I was going to give the book of mormon to someone who lived with in the boundries of the Centennial Hills ward and who looked like they were single. So I went to Ross over in that area. I shopped around for a bit, picked out some pants and shoes and a shirt and tie combo, then when I was checking out, there was a girl behind me who looked like the perfect candidate to receive a copy of the BOM. So since I checked out first, I went out to the truck and wrote in the book of mormon real fast something along the lines of "Hey there, I'm sorry if this is creepy, some stranger coming up to you in a dark parking lot, but I felt like I was supposed to give this to you. I know it will bless your life like it's blessed mine. Please check out the website, it has some great answers to some common questions that a lot of people have. Let me know if you have any questions." Soooo… I waited out in my car for a while, then she finally came outside. She was parked pretty close to me so when she was walking by I got out and said sorry for stopping her real fast. You could tell she was a little frieked out. Then I told her I don't want to be a creep, I just want to give her this book real quick then I'll take off. So I extended the book to her, she took it and said "oh you're mormon?" I said yeah and she told me that she had seen the book before. I said really? And she responded by saying, "uh yeah, I do live in vegas." What, like living in sin city and being a mormon go hand in hand? Heh heh… I didn't say that, but I thought it. I asked her if she's ever been to church. She said she hadn't, so I told her she should come sometime and that she'd really enjoy it. I jumped back in the truck and took off. Who knows what'll happen, but maybe if that book doesn't touch her, it'll touch someone else. Pretty cool.

1-2-08 - Book # 2

This evening I went to the temple with Jaron Wilson, Josh Fernandez, and Nick Becker. We went and did sealings with Nancy Ball for our ward temple assignment. It was really good. On the way home, we decided to stop and get some food at Arby's. After we had finished eating we were walking towards the car, and there was a guy in front of us heading towards his car as well. As he got to his car, he turned around and checked every one of us out. (you could tell he was thinking we were religious because we were all dressed in shirts and ties) So when his eyes locked with mine, I asked him how he was doing and if he liked to read. He enthusiatically answered yes as well. So I said hang on one second. I walked over to Jaron's truck were I had a copy of the Book of Mormon in my temple bag, grabbed the book and walked back over to him. He asked if we were Jehovah witness, so I cleared that up real quick. I then explained to him that the Book of Mormon had changed my life. He told me he was a christian and that he loved learning. So I then further explained that the Book of Mormon is a record of Christ's visit to the American continent. He actually seemed to be understanding. I asked him to check out the website I had written in the front of the book, and to call me if he had any questions. He extended a handshake and we went our separate ways.

1-1-08 - Book # 1

I had just left Deseret Book and was driving down the road when I saw a guy sitting on the ground at a bus stop with a couple back packs. I felt like he should be the person I gave the first Book of Mormon to. I pulled over, and wrote a quick note inside the cover. I walked up behind him and said "Hey what's up? Do you like to read?" He said yes so I knelt down beside him and handed him the Book of Mormon. He was excited and seemed to recognize the book. He immediately started flipping through the pages. He then asked me if I go to church, I told him of course, and he said, "Well hey! Can you take this bag of clothes there for me?" and he pointed to one of his 3 backpacks. He said he was planning on taking them to homeless people downtown, but he wanted me to donate them to the church instead. I said of course, and that I would be honored to drop that off for him. He told me he was headed downtown, and that his name was Eric. Really nice guy, had to be in his twenty's. He looked homeless himself, but I couldn't tell for sure. He would make a great member of the church, I could see the light of Christ in him. I dropped the clothes off at Deseret Industries on my way home.