Only at the MTC...

My roommates in room 209 (aka Sis. Snow, Sis. Anderson, Sis. Hegstrom, Sis. Cusick and I) made a list of things that only happen at the MTC.  It is seriously funny because it is so true!  Some of them are particular to our group, (inside jokes, real life incidents) but anyone who has been there can relate.  Hope you enjoy it!

Only at the MTC…

 1.  Do you get free acting lessons.

 2.  Are you jealous of other people doing laundry.

 3.  You say “I just want to read my scriptures!”

 4.  Do you experience 20-30 year-olds singing “Called to Serve” at you.

 5.  Do you have hymns sung to you while on the toilet.

 6.  Do you feel weird that there’s not a closing prayer for breakfast.

 7.  Does the intercom announce there will be “male maintenance workers”
      coming to our floor.

 8.  Are church jokes really funny.

 9.  Do you forget you were given a first name.

10.  Do you get weirded out when you see a guy and a girl standing alone
       together.

11.  Do you have a constant “third wheel” in your photos.

12.  Nothing is strange anymore.

13.  Do you get so excited to wear tennis shoes.

14.  Waking up at 6:30 AM is sleeping in.

15.  Dinner is at 4:20 PM.

16.  “Outside world” stories like dating and hanging out are soooo
       interesting.

17.  When you see a cell phone, you want to touch it.

18.  Does finding Parmesan cheese for your spaghetti make your day.

19.  Is your best accessory a water bottle.

20.  Do you on Wednesdays, as a group, wear polka dots.

21.  Does the intermediate hymn have an intermediate hymn.

22.  Does Diet Coke feel like a drug.

23.  Do you go to bed at 10:30PM on a Friday night with 5 other girls
       in your room.

24.  Do you relate rocks to prophets and garbage bins to the apostasy.

25.  Do you leave an hour early to get to a devotional.

26.  Sunday night “movies” are General Conference talks.

27.  Do you have 5 extra minutes at lunch and don’t know what to do.

28.  Does a stranger from your hometown become your best friend.

29.  Does a teacher get mad at you for having an apple in your desk.

30.  Does deep doctrine make you squeal!

31.  Is family love measured in mail weight.

32.  You are so excited to go to the temple.

33.  Does your roommate have envelopes made of scrapbook paper.

34.  Going to the bookstore is the most real life experience you get in a day.

35.  Do you feel like being there a week makes you own the world.

36.  You are the cool kid for going English speaking.

37.  Do people talk to you in 5 different languages that you don’t
       understand.

38.  Do about 50 girls turn around when hearing the word “Sister.”

39.  Do you get peer pressured into shaving your arms.

40.  Are people jealous of your hanging jewelry organizer.

41.  Do you feel guilty bumping into an Elder.

42.  Is there always someone wearing your outfit.

43.  Do 18-year-old boys carry around hankies for crying girls.

44.  Do you feel like a scriptorian when you go to a reference and it is
       already highlighted!

45.  Do you have to try to convert your teacher if you are late for class.

46.  Do you fight about the opening hymn.

47.  The only way to take out your frustration is to play foursquare.

MTC Week 1

6/13/13

FAMILY!!!

So I can't remember exactly what I wrote you in my letter earlier this week so I will just tell you everything that has happened over the past 8 days! On our first day we started off in class and had a whole lesson about the rules and obedience. Later we went to this thing called "teaching experience" where we went to 3 different rooms and started teaching an investigator. There were tons of people in the class so we were supposed to all act like we were one big companionship and stand up if we had something to say or a way to answer their questions. I learned a ton because it taught me how important it was to sincerely get to know the person and their religious background so you can figure out what they need to hear.

Also I hope you won't take this the wrong way but I am surprisingly not at all homesick and I don't miss everyday things as much as a thought I would! I am so glad that I am not distracted at all about home things so I can focus on my missionary work! 

Remember that one day you dropped me off?

On Thursday we studied ALL DAY. Really though, we had personal study, companionship study, additional study, more additional study, and more additional study. It was just a weird day because we only had one 3 hour class when we usually have two of those a day taught by two different teachers. Anyways, we used that time to memorize Our Purpose, memorize some scriptures, and prepare to teach our first investigator.  We had a meeting with our Branch Presidency where we met them and got to know the missionaries in our zone/branch a little more. 

Friday we had class where we learned about the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end), practiced committing people to be baptized, and learned how to handle when investigators turn us down. Haha we got down to business. We taught our "investigator" Lisa today and it went pretty well. She was just stoked to hear about Heavenly Father and prayer. We had our first gym day! A few sisters from our zone went running for gym which was torture but it was still exciting to get out and get to wear some comfy clothes!

  I thought my name tag would go really well with my pajamas

Our first gym day! Can you tell how excited we are?

In class on Saturday we learned about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. I know, so exciting! Haha we actually learned how to teach those lessons and invite people to live those principles. We also took a break during class and tried relating random things like rocks, fire hydrants, and trash cans to principles of the gospel like the apostasy. Haha that was really funny. Thats the things we do here for fun!  It was cool though because during comp study, we ended up staying together as a district and teaching ourselves the Word of Wisdom lesson. It was awesome because we all shared things that stood out to us in the lesson, found some really powerful Word of Wisdom scriptures, and really learned from each other. We taught Lisa again and it didn't go very well. We ended up just preaching to her about Christ, Prophets, and the Apostasy. Really we probably didn't need to include half of the things we said because I don't even know if she understood them. The lesson ended up good though after she read an awesome scripture about Christ. The spirit was so strong and out of nowhere Sister Snow invited her to be baptized.. and she said yes! Hahah so it was a confusing lesson but it ended up great. We learned from that lesson that we had planned too much and we were just teaching her things we were supposed to teach instead of listening to the spirit for what things she needs to be taught.

Sunday we got to sleep in till 6:30!!! Seriously though.. that was a dream come true. Usually we have to be ready to go meet at breakfast by 6:45 am. All the sisters at the MTC met together to watch the Music & the Spoken Word broadcast which was cool and then we had Relief Society. Relief Society was seriously amazing! The lesson, the hymns, and the musical number was just perfect! Our lesson was about the 3 things we need to learn as a missionary: our purpose, how to be bold, and to expect miracles. After Relief Society we had a new sisters meeting where they talked about the dress standards and obedience. It was a surprisingly interesting meeting because they brought up things I wouldn't have thought about and they gave us great advice. Our branch meets together on Sunday for Sacrament Meeting. We all had to write a 3-5 minute talk on the Atonement and then the Branch President would announce after the sacrament was passed which missionaries would be giving their talk. I didn't have to talk but I am glad I was able to study and prepare that talk anyways because it was a great experience. We also went with our zone to take a Sunday walk to the Temple and take pictures there! We had a devotional at night where the MTC Administrative Director spoke. He talked about how lots of time the investigator and the missionaries are on totally different planes and how we need to find out about them and what they are expecting so you can teach them what they need to know. After that we watched "films" where Sister Snow and I watched an old MTC address by Elder Bednar about following the spirit. Sheesh that was one amazing talk let me tell you. It was just such a wonderful day! 

My District at the Provo Temple

Monday we learned about stress management, The Plan of Salvation, and "how to begin teaching" from PMG (Preach My Gospel). It was really funny though because as part of our stress management class we ran around doing some hardcore parkour off all the benches outside.

Hardcore parkour!

We taught Lisa again and it went way better! We ended up completely following the spirit and teaching her about the Restoration, how The Book of Mormon will help her learn about Christ, and committed her to start reading The Book of Mormon. It seriously was a pretty awesome lesson! We also randomly started teaching another "investigator' Jamie. It was kind of difficult with her because she is Catholic and says she isn't interested at all in joining the church. The lesson was kind of iffy because Sister Snow and I unknowingly tried to go two different ways with the lesson but I guess it was okay. We also taught this "investigator" Michelle and she was difficult too because she didn't believe it is possible to have a relationship with God, she doesn't believe in scriptures, she doesn't believe in Christ, and she wouldn't open up and answer questions we asked her. It was okay though.

Tuesday we learned how to teach about The Book of Mormon. We taught Jamie again and the lesson went a lot better but we ran out of time to finish our lesson about prayer. Sad. Gym time was so much fun though! Our zone usually gets together to play some hardcore foursquare and it it hilarious! So we did that, played a few games of speed, and played volleyball district vs district. It was seriously so fun! We had another devotional tonight and it was so awesome! There are too many missionaries here so we are now having our devotionals in the Marriott Center at BYU. This was the first devotional at the Marriott Center and it was just an amazing experience! Somehow our sisters got to sit on the floor on the second row so we had total VIP treatment. It was just incredible to have that many missionaries all in one room!

[Deseret News wrote a story about this:]

MTC overflows with LDS missionaries, moves devotionals to Marriott Center

Hike to the devotional at the Marriott Center

1st MTC devotional at the Marriott Center

Yesterday we learned how we can receive revelation through church attendance and how to teach people not lessons. We taught our first investigator Lisa again and explained the importance of the Book of Mormon. It went pretty well! We also taught our lady Michelle and although we didn't feel like we taught her much, she was way more open and it was a positive experience for her. Seriously the lessons have been stressing me out but none of them have ended up a complete disaster so far!

Today we were able to go do a session at the Provo temple at 6:30 am. It was so early but it was awesome! So today we have just been chilling, cleaning, and doing laundry! It is so relaxing!

We have 5 girls in my room (Me, Sister Cusick, Sister Hegstrom, Sister Anderson and Sister Snow). Three sisters are in a trio companionship and then there's just me and Sis. Snow.

My Sister roomies!

Sister Snow is my favorite! She reminds me a lot of Caitie Crandall. She is so hilarious and we get along really well. I actually love spending time with her!

Me and my lovely companion Sister Snow

We all are best friends already and they are the coolest! Seriously we have so much fun! They are amazing and strong girls! I love them I love them I love them. So we have us 5 sisters and 4 elders in our district. I seriously love my district and over the past week we have become so close. 

[This is what Sis. Snow says about Sis. Mason in her blog:
"Now for my companion Sister Mason! She is great. We became friends instantly and she gets my sense of humor and has quiet a funny subtle one (she'll give really good one-liners out of nowhere). She from Mesa Arizona and have her devils shirt which we took a picture of her wearing with her name tag. She started singing to me yesterday in the tune of the song "Hey Soul Sister" except she said "Hey Snow Sister" Ha it was pretty great, I still do my little singing songs and they rubbed off on her. This is my first companionship but I'd say it's really strong. Even though, or perhaps DESPITE, having to be next to each other ALL the time we talk to each other a lot even when in big groups or at lunch."]

The Sisters in our district decided to have polka dot day and the Elders randomly decided to have red tie day

The other district has 6 sisters and 4 elders. Our district, the other district, and 7ish Spanish missionaries are all flying together to the California Ventura mission on Monday! It looks like there are going to be about 26ish of us showing up together at the same time! 

Today we finally had our first p-day. I can't even tell you how jealous we were all week of people who got to wear p-day clothes and wash their laundry. Our day finally came!

Our "Abbey Road" laundry day

Basically the MTC has been hard and stressful at times but it has been amazing!

LOVE YOU,

Sister Mason

[Here is what Sis. Snow said in her blog about teaching with Sis. Mason:
 "On Sunday we were both having a hard time trying to balance all the teaching semantics and the order and points of the material like they stressed in class versus going by the spirit. We had taught a lesson the day before that was very strange. We said what we were "supposed to" but there was no conviction behind it. We had rewritten our lesson a few times that day to incorporate what we had learned in class. But what we said only left the investigator confused. It wended well however when Sister Mason had Lisa read Isaiah 53:3-5 where it talks about Christ being bruised for our transgressions and by his stripes we are healed. The spirit was very strong at that point, for which we were grateful but knew we weren’t responsible. So Sunday we went into our meetings trying to learn how to better teach by the spirit.

"We had some great lessons on Sunday and a devotional and they all seemed to say teach by the spirit. They emphasized talking and ASKING the investigator soul searching questions not throwing doctrine at them. Sister Mason was frustrated and confused because she felt conflicted with the two charges (I was a little as well). We went back to our classroom to get our stuff and ended up staying an hour and a half talking it out. She explained her feelings and I suggested we pray. So we knelt down and I asked Heavenly Father to please help us. I told him we were confused and wanted direction "how God, do we teach?” We would study with faith that he will answer our pray. It was very empowering praying as a companionship. My eyes glossed over with baby tears (I say that because I have yet to cry) and we said amen, got up and started studying our scriptures. It's nice to have someone to support you and help you out. We are that for each other. And through that companionship we encourage each other to constantly rely on God."]

The MTC is... a great, wonderful experience and a spiritual high (1st Letter)

Joyful Sister Melia Joy Mason enters the MTC on June 5, 2013

June 7, 2013

Dear Mom and Dad,

The MTC has been such a great experience!  Thank you so much for all the love and support you have given me as I have been preparing for my mission!  I love you guys so much and hope you guys aren’t having too much fun without me already!  (Ha, ha)

I love my companion, Sister Snow, already.  It has only been a little over 48 hours and I already appreciate her so much.  She is so friendly, kind, spiritual and hilarious.  We really get along well and I genuinely enjoy being around her.  We laugh about how a lot of times during meals we just ignore our whole zone that we eat with, and just talk to each other.  She is seriously so great and we have both learned a lot from each other.  BTW – She is from Holladay, Utah and is 23 years old.

In my zone we have 11 sisters and 8 elders.  Sister Snow and I estimated that the MTC looks like 50/50 elders to sisters.  On our first day here, we were told that over 900 missionaries entered the MTC that day.  That is a record high so far.

The MTC has seriously been a wonderful experience!  My teachers are great, the hours and hours of personal study and companion study have gone by pretty quick, and I feel like I am learning so much.  The one thing I have had to get used to is all the companion prayers.  We pray before and after everything we do and so Sister Snow and I easily forget to do that.  Today we dominated though!  I don’t think we forgot a single prayer!

The MTC has definitely been a spiritual high.  The spirit is so strong here and you seriously can’t help but know every second of the day of the truthfulness that is being taught.  I know that my time at the MTC is going to fly by, so I am trying to soak it in as much as possible.  It has been overwhelming at times to try to understand and apply all that we are being taught in such a small amount of time.  Overall, I am loving it even though it is exhausting!  I love you guys so much!          

 <3 Sister Mason

Pre MTC time in Salt Lake City

Before Melia left for the MTC, we spent time in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. On Monday and Tuesday of this week we were at Temple Square and what a wonderful experience that was! We were able to do an endowment session and do sealings together in the Salt Lake Temple, take tours of Temple Square and the Conference Center, eat delicious meals at The Lion House and The Nauvoo Cafe, and just spend quality time together. The best part was that we saw missionaries everywhere. It was especially great to have a sweet set of sister missionaries take us around Temple Square. It was sweet because they gave Melia some great advice and were able to relate everything they showed us and taught us to what she will be doing on her mission. Melia's favorite part was interacting with all the missionaries because she says it showed her more of what to expect on her mission and got her excited to enter the MTC. This trip was just the perfect thing for us to do as a family before Melia left for her mission.

The beautiful Salt Lake Temple!

We were able to do a live temple session and do some family sealings here

Panoramic view of the Christus

This sister missionary was able to meet some really great people
on temple square, including some really great sister missionaries
who gave her encouragement and great advice

Sister Mason and Mom at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

-Amy

Farewell Party and Setting Apart

Here are a few pictures taken the last few days at home in Mesa...

Cousin love! Melia is going to miss these girls!

Melia made this cake to match her outfit. 
Black ruffled skirt (bottom layer), cheetah print
blouse (top layer) and sister missionary name tag.

These guys :)

After being set apart as a new sister missionary with her bishop and stake president

With some of her family

Sister Mason with her grandma

Friends came by early in the morning to say one last good-bye,
but sadly they came by after we had left for Utah.

-Amy (missionary mom)

Sister Mason's Farewell Talk

5/26/13

     Although I am not in the Young Women’s program anymore, I have noticed the 2013 Mutual Theme found in Doctrine and Covenants 87:8 that says.. 

     “Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord.” 

     I have seen this theme “stand ye in holy places” many times online or in LDS bookstores and it has stuck with me over the past couple months. I have reflected on this theme many times and I have found how important it is in my life to stand in holy places and keep my mind focused on the truly important things in life. One song from the EFY 2005 CD has been inspirational and has taken become more special to me as I have been preparing for a mission. It says, “I stand in holy places, protected from the storm. Anchored safe in harbor though my sails are ripped and worn. I stand in holy places and I will not move until the Captain comes and says well done. He is the hope I hold on to.” I love how this song is a variation of the theme “stand ye in holy places”,  but it emphasizes the storms and trials ever raging in our lives. Many times with everything going on in our lives, it is easy to place importance on silly or meaningless things instead of dedicating our lives to the gospel. Jesus Christ is truly the hope we have in our lives and we should focus on living as He did and living in such a way that would please Him. Standing in holy places is important because it helps you keep yourself away from temptations of the world and keep your sights focused on Christ.

     President Thomas S Monson in the October 2011 conference talk “Stand in Holy Places” spoke about the changes in society, technology and morality over the span of his life time. He cautioned “Although the world has changed, the laws of God remain constant. They have not changed; they will not change… In this world where nearly everything seems to be changing, God’s constancy is something on which we can rely, an anchor to which we can hold fast and be safe, lest we be swept away into uncharted waters.” The most devastating change that has occurred is the world’s view of standards and morals. I know that although it may not always be the most popular thing to do, it is crucial to remain firm and steadfast on the gospel of Jesus Christ. By doing so, we can remember what is important in this life and pass through our life’s troubled waters. President Monson in this address promises “The storms will still beat at our doors from time to time, for they are an inescapable part of our existence in mortality. We, however, will be far better equipped to deal with them, to learn from them, and to overcome them if we have the gospel at our core and the love of the Savior in our hearts.” What beautiful promises to hear from the mouth of our prophet. How grateful I am to know that if I set my sights on things of eternal importance, I will be better able to deal with the unavoidable struggles in my life.

     My favorite thing about the mutual theme “Stand Ye in Holy Places” is how I have always seen the Salt Lake temple depicted along with the theme. I have had a special love for the temple and my love for this holy place has grown as I have dedicated myself to frequent temple attendance. Even as a young child, I set the temple as my goal even though I did not yet understand its importance. Over the past year, I have made a goal to attend the temple once a week. For at least the first 9 months, I would go at around the same time every Friday morning to do baptisms for the dead. What a sweet experience it was to so frequently stand in this holy place, to do the ordinance of baptism for those who have passed away and to feel the spirit that resides in the temple. I could not help but feel a huge difference in my life as I was able to set aside a small amount of time a week to forget about the world and focus on eternal matters. The temple is truly a sacred place where we can seek refuge from the storms of life and be reminded of what is truly important. Setting my sights on the temple has truly helped me get to where I am today. Receiving my endowment in the temple has been something I have been looking forward to for a long time. Frequenting the temple, for me has strengthened my testimony of temple work and has prepared me to be able to make sacred covenants with my Father in Heaven. What I blessing the temple has been in my life and what a change can occur as you set the temple as your goal.

     Another thing that I have learned that has been very special to me is the importance of being led by the Holy Ghost in my life. It is definitely something that I have learned over time. I will admit that too often I try to tell my Heavenly Father what I really want and remind him how desperately I want or think I need something. This is basically the opposite of being led by Heaven Father through the Holy Ghost. Over time, I have learned that I cannot plan too far in advance and that He knows better than I do. When I was younger, I thought I had everything planned out of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be in my life. Let me just tell you that I have learned that Heavenly Father has better plans for me than I would ever come up with on my own. For example, in High School, I planned on going to a culinary program to learn more about baking and pastry arts and to further my very small cake decorating business. My dream school did not end up working out for me and I ended up getting a scholarship to ASU. That scholarship helped me decided to change my plans and attend ASU although I was somewhat reluctant to do it. At first, I was kind of upset to go to ASU because that was not what I had in mind but I know that my Father in Heaven is aware of my needs and knows what is best for me. It turns out that I have done well at ASU after all and I have had the opportunity to do so much more with my cake business while working other small jobs to get me through school. Sometimes I still do not understand why I could not simply have things the way I planned, but I know that as I have been led by the spirit, I have been able to do things and go places that I would never imagine.

     The biggest example of being led by the spirit to go places I would never imagine was my decision to serve a mission. I never thought in a million years that I would serve a mission. My dad would always tease me when I was young about serving a full-time mission and I would always tell him “no way”. For me, that was never a part of my plan. In October Conference when President Monson announced the age change for missionaries, I had the first thoughts about serving a mission. I even remember jokingly asking one of my friends if she was going to serve a mission now. She said “no way” and asked me if I would. I surprisingly replied that maybe I would, but I soon brushed that thought aside. I do not even think I mentioned the serious possibility of a mission to any of my other friends or family. One interesting thing about promptings is that some are received instantly and intensely while others come gradually. I was shocked by the response of many young sisters to serve missions. Even though I had the slightest thought about a mission, I did not automatically feel the need to go or the need to go right then like some of my friends did. So instead of pursuing it, I left that idea aside. The biggest change happened when I realized that I was really close to graduating from ASU and that I still hadn’t decided what I wanted to do after I graduated. I started stressing over what I wanted to do and I again remembered the possibility of serving a mission. I soon decided that I wanted to serve a mission after my graduation this December. Not long after that decision, I realized how badly I wanted to serve a mission and that I wanted to go as soon as I could. Deep down, I knew how intense my feelings were to serve a mission and I knew that if I did not take this opportunity while I had the chance, there was a huge possibility that I would regret it. Let me just tell you that being led by the spirit brought me to the decision to serve a mission and that it could not be more perfect for me. I would have never ever thought I would be at the place I am today but I can honestly say that this is the best decision that I have ever made and I have never felt so good about something in my life. I cannot wait to serve the people of Ventura, California and spend the next 18 months on the Lord’s errand.

Because of situations like these, I have learned to fully put my trust in the lord. Although it can be very hard, I know that being led by the spirit has brought the most happiness in my life. I would like to read a scripture that gives me comfort in times of unexpected change. It is found in Isaiah 41:10 and says…

      “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

      My favorite part is “fear thou not… I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee” because it reminds me that if I am following the Lord, He is bound to help me and bless me along the way. In my life, I have found how important is it to have a great relationship with my Heavenly Father. I try to counsel with him with changes in my life. The most important thing I have learned is that I many times have to go forward in faith along a path and God will help me along the way. Although I have tried many different options throughout my life just to find obstacles completely blocking my path, I have learned to allow myself to let the spirit guide me and then change my goals and work towards something else.  This was definitely the case with my decision to serve a mission. I had many different goals and dreams that I had tried but time and time again nothing seemed to work out. Although it has been very frustrating at times to work so hard for something that ends up in disaster, it is comforting for me to remember that there is a higher plan for me and that I will be happy if I just do what my Father in Heaven would have me do. I have found that recognizing, trusting, and following the promptings of the spirit are essential to reach your full potential and weather the storms of life.

Although there are many things going on in the world today and many hardships that many of you face, what a blessing it is to stand in holy places and receive personal revelation from the spirit. Although there are trials that may seem to never pass, I know from experience that standing in holy places and setting your sights on important things in life can help you overcome them. Not only can you overcome hard times, but you can learn and be better prepared for the things life may throw at you. Personal revelation can also bring you hope as you allow yourself to be lead by the spirit through these times and into situations where you can learn and grow. I know that standing in holy places and setting my sights on the temple from a young age has prepared me to be able to serve a mission. It has reminded me of the eternal perspective and has given me the strength I need to prepare for this time in my life. I also know how important it is to allow the spirit into your life to lead and guide you. Looking back on my life, I am glad the spirit has guided me along this crazy path of life but that these opportunities have led me to where I am today and my decision to serve a mission.

TESTIMONY