Teeples, Dallin

As usual, this week was great, but this one was definitely extra great. I actually remember a lot of what happened, which means I can write a better email than normal (hopefully). First things first, let's address the biggest thing and reason for the email title this week: Elder Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to our mission and met with all of us at a big mission conference! It was such an amazing and spiritual experience. Definitely won't be forgetting it. He took the time to meet each one of us and shake each of our hands. It made me realize how individual the gospel is. The Savior ministered one by one, and I'm so grateful for prophets, apostles, and leaders who follow that example and do the same. I also got to sing in a musical number for him, which was kind of nerve-wracking but also super awesome. In other news, our car is in the auto body shop because someone sort of bumped our car a few weeks back, and the vehicle coordinator wanted to have the litt...

I really don't know what to say. This week happened, but I don't know what to make of it. As such, I've decided that it must've been a good week. I talked to and met some neat people. The work keeps moving forward. Unfortunately, things came up for our friends and a bunch of them didn't make it to church. As such, we're having to readjust our plans, but that's okay. We get there when we get there. We're still working with our friend Mike, just waiting until he gets over his cold/sickness. In other news, our friend Nathan came to church, which is huge for him. He's been meeting with missionaries for a while now but has been working on a relationship with God. We've been able to help him start praying, begin to recognize the Spirit, and come to church. There's still a long way to go, but it's awesome to see his progress. Our friend Frank and his wife Samantha also made it to church with their kids and once again loved it. They've also b...

That's right. The time has come. As of Saturday, I'm training and have a mission, son! His name is Elder Longson, and he's awesome. (He's even already got "son" in his name, how about that?) He's super awesome and already has such a strong and amazing testimony. He's seriously doing great sharing with everyone and promising blessings. It's really crazy to think a year ago I was in his shoes. It feels like I just came in. In case you're wondering, Elder Kuzmic didn't leave, and he's trio-ing it up with us! Definitely takes a load off of training in tech squad a bit since he's here to help out with tech stuff and be a good example to my greenie. This week, church went super great; we had 6 of our friends show up! Super hype. Our homie Mike came with his daughter Layla, and he even shared his testimony about the power of God during fast and testimony meeting. We talked with them a bit after, and they accepted baptismal dates for the 28...

This week was one of the most memorable weeks of my mission because of one simple fact: the McAllen, Texas, Temple was dedicated as a House of the Lord yesterday. Elder Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came down here to dedicate the temple. We got to watch the dedicatory sessions at our church buildings via broadcast. It truly was an amazing experience to be a part of, and the Spirit was so powerful. The title quote this week refers to something I've heard as we've prepared for the temple. Every time a temple is dedicated, the Lord Jesus Christ personally comes to accept it as His Holy House. Although we can't see Him, His presence truly can be felt. This has truly made me appreciate the blessings that come from having a knowledge of God's plan of salvation, having a living prophet and apostles, and the opportunity to make covenants in the temple. The people of the Rio Grande Valley have been praying and waiting for a temple for so long. So many faithful me...

First things first, general conference was pretty legendary. If you got the chance to watch it, you'll agree (and know what movie this week's title comes from). If you haven't watched it yet or missed some, I recommend it more than anything else. Especially President Nelson's talk. Life can be tough, but it's easier when we think celestial. Keeping that eternal perspective and looking at life through Heaven's eyes truly is a solution to all that holds us back or gets us down. We were able to help a lot of our friends watch conference with us, and a lot of them really liked it! It was so cool to have them watch, especially our friends Jacob and Emma, who are on date to be baptized here soon. So excited for them and their desire to make that covenant with our Father in Heaven. It's been awesome working with them and seeing their progress. In addition to the happy news of having General Conference, I've also hit one year of being a missionary! (Not includin...