At home in...Leon!

                   
     Tanner made it safely to Leon today.  We were able to speak with him when he called from the airport this morning, and it was SO great to hear his voice.  We asked him to call back and leave his testimony in Spanish on our phone recorder and it was so wonderful to hear how much he's grown with the language, though we didn't understand most of it!  Here was his email when he arrived at the mission home this afternoon:
     "Mom - made it safely to Leon! It looks beautiful here and President Valles is a very nice man. I can´t wait to get started here!  We are having dinner here at the mission home tonight, then a district meeting and we´ll be assigned tonight or tomorrow to our area.
     The driving was crazy here but I'm very excited! The Elders that picked us up were very nice. Can't wait to see Nikki's brother!  Wish me luck!  Love you all!!

Elder Aiken

Visa signed...and ready to go!

     Good morning everyone! This week has been another great week.  It's now official, I'm  leaving for Mexico in less than two weeks!  It was so weird traveling into Salt Lake on Monday to sign my visa and going down town! I should have my travel plans here tomorrow. There are 5 of us traveling to Leon, and I'm am so excited to go and serve the people.

     The spanish is coming along little by little. With fasting and prayer the Lord has helped me to better understand conversation.  I know it's going to be difficult once I get to Mexico to even understand what's going on, so this next week I'm really going to push myself as hard as I can.

     Yesterday we had a great talk from Elder Carlson of the Seventy and he talked about how there are three types of people in this world:  We have the sheep, the wolves and the shepherds.  We as missionaries are the shepherds going to fnd those lost sheep, there are wolves all around us trying to tear down this gospel and make sure that it is not heard throughout the world. This time in which we are in, never has Satan had such an influence on the world, but at the same time never has the Holy Ghost had such a presence on the earth. People are very interested in knowing more about are Church and they are being prepared at this time to hear the restored gospel.

     I heard a great conversion story from one of the Elders in our zone and I was simply amazed by this.  When he was thirteen years old, he had been studying diligently from the bible. He one day went into his pastor and told him this Bible cannot be the only book, "there has to be more, I know it!" he told him. The pastor then told him that he needed to continue to read the Bible and he would find the truth that the Bible is the only true book on the earth. He went about his life for the next two years trying to find the truth but that same impression came to him telling him that there was more than this book. He returned to his pastors and told him the same thoughts, about how he knew there was more then the Bible. The pastor took offense to his comments this time and told him that he was a complete fool and he was to leave his office immediately. He said he was pretty hurt by this.  When he returned home he told his mother that he had been "fired" from the -------- church. He kept searching and searching for something more in his life. That same year he was watching a cartoon - one that is more mature You've probably heard of it, it's called South Park. It's made by directors who love to make fun of the Church and teachings by making fun of it in some of their shows. This episode he was watching them make fun of the Book of Mormon. He told me right when he heard the words "Book of Mormon" something touched his heart.  He went on his computer to search for this book. He came to the LDS website where he read all about it and how it was another testament of Jesus Christ. He requested a book and two days later the missionaries were at his door.  He was baptized three weeks later. He said it was like coming home after a long long vacation. He has never had so much peace and love in his life since he joined the church. He then went on to baptize his sister and is now going to serve a Spanish speaking mission. He was a sheep that was found by our shepherd, Jesus Christ, and He was calling out to him, He had His arm fully extended for this Elder and was preparing him to hear the gospel as a young teenager.

     I have a testimony of Jesus Christ!  He is my Savior, and the Light of the world. His light will never be burned out or dimmed. He took upon Himself the sins of everyone who has lived or will live on this earth.  He did this in the Garden of Gethsemane so that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven. He is our advocate above and pleads for our case to the Father. He is the shepherd to his sheep and he is constantly there to comfort us, protect us, and call out to us when we are lost. I love my Savior and I'm so grateful for what He has done for me in my life!  Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become clean and pure. Any trial or difficulty we may think is too hard to bare, we can always turn to the Redeemer and he will make our burdens light.   

     Have a great week!   

     Love, Elder Tanner Aiken

Priesthood Power!

     Buenos Dias! Wow this week was truly amazing!          The first experience I had was last Thursday. There is an Elder here from France. He is in our zone and is such a strong member of the Church. But last Thursday my companion and I were asked to speak with him because he was struggling. We walked into the room to speak with him and he broke down and really cried. He told us how he was ready to go home and that he couldn´t do it here in the MTC anymore. The culture was just a really hard thing for him to adjust to. My companion and I shared our love for him and I shared a scripture with him in D&C section 121 when Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail and was going through some really difficult times. He prayed to the Lord asking why must we go through this torment, why must the hearts of these people be so corrupt?The Lord comforted him and it says in verses 7 & 8: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."  He seemed to feel a little better but was still really struggling. I could see it in his eyes as tears ran down his cheeks. I asked him if we could give him a blessing he said he would love that. My companion, another district leader and I, all got ready to put our hands on his head, but none of us had given a blessing before. We knew how to start a blessing but did not know what to say. I was a bit nervous but I felt in my heart that I needed to use this opportunity and use my priesthood authority. I thought back to all the great fathers blessings my dad had given me and peace came to my soul as I started the blessing. I knew not the words I would say but as I began I felt the words flow to my mouth and the spirit came over me so strong. I felt the love Heavenly Father had for this Elder and he had an important mission that was needed to be served. As I closed the blessing, the spirit in the room was something like I haven't felt. I knew that if I ask in faith, and that if this Elder would show his faith, the Lord would bless him.    

     The next day we talked to him and this Elder was doing so much better! He was able to focus on what was important and he was able to put a smile on his face. That was one of the greatest moments I've ever felt knowing that the priesthood is truly a great and marvelous gift from God and we should always be prepred to use it, because we may be called on to use it when it's least expected.

     This Elder is serving in the Montreal, Canada Spanish speaking mission and will be his seventh language he has learned! He is incredibly smart and I can't wait to hear about the success he has.

     I testify God lives, Jesus Christ died for our sins and through the Atonement we can be made clean. I know that through the priesthood authority that has been given to us we can bless others lives. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful dad who has truly blessed my life! Grateful for a wonderful mom who has always taught great principles of the gospel to our family and has always been there for me! I'm greatful for my brother Brock and the terrific example he has set and not only how much he has blessed my life but others. I'm also so grateful for my younger brother Trevor! He is a stud and I know he will be a great missionary when the time comes!

     Less than 3 weeks and I'll be in Mexico! I'm a little nervous because I probably won't understand a thing that is spoken to me but I know the Lord will help me out!  Have a great week love you all!  

Elder Tanner Aiken

         

Work through trials!

     Hello! This week was great, I'm learning so much here! I'm so happy to be here to learn Spanish and to learn how to teach the gospel! 
     My district leader position didn't last long. My companion and I got called as Zone leaders for the next few weeks and I'm excited for that. 
     This week was hard not to think about BYU football. My companion had to get a cyst removed from his face, so every Wednesday morning we drive right past Lavell Edwards Stadium and I look up at the new scoreboards they have and it makes me miss BYU football a lot!  After we went to the dermatologist we went to the pharmacy to get some bandaids and they had a song playing on the radio. I don't know who the artist was or what the name of the song was but it was so weird to hear worldy music which I haven't heard in over a month ha ha! I know I'm in the right place though and this is where I'm supposed to be. 
     One thing I saw this week has really stuck with me and it actually happened to me and my companion on our Wednesday drive to the dermatologist. There was an elder in the van who has torn literally every ligament in his knee. He was serving his mission in Peru when he tore it and he had only one month left to serve. The Mission President asked him if would like to go home and end his mission. The elder told him no, that this would not be the end of his mission and there was so much work left for him to do! He decided to finish his work as a missionary in the referral center. I thought that was awesome! He was a great example. I think some missionaries just would have finished there mission right then, but this elder didn't. He knew that the Lord has never given up on him so why should he give up on the Lord right before the finish line! That has strengthened my faith tremendously and I'm so excited to give my time and efforts to serve others in Mexico! When the trials come, that's when we need to work harder! And the Lord will bless and help us through those trials. 
     I'm so grateful to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, to be a part of this great and wonderful church, and I'm so grateful for the privilege I have in serving others! This church is true, I know it with all my heart, The Book of Mormon is the word of God and has been given to us by revelation to the prophets and through their words! I treasure the time I get to read in it, I love applying the the truths into my life as a missionary and it has become such a strength to be able to read out of it everyday!! Have a great week!!

Love,
Elder Tanner Aiken

Listening to the Spirit!

     This week was another strong week here in the MTC! The days here are starting to fly by and everyday that goes by gets me more and more excited to get to the field! 
     I was called as the District Leader probably for the next four weeks and I'm happy that I get to do that!! 
     Yesterday we were able to hear Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Twelve Apostles!  His talk was one of the best I've ever heard pertaining to missionaries. The spirit in the room when he walked in was something I'll never forget,  hearing a somewhat roudy bunch of missionaries go from talking, to dead silent.  You could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium and the building was filled with the spirit of the lord as he entered the room. 
     Elder Anderson talked on fullfilling our duty as missionaries and listening to our promptings and how key they are especially now that we are missionaries.  He said we are young and just starting our path of learning how to listen and to recieve those promptings, and how it can be tricky at first. 
     One story that came to mind was when President Monson had just became a bishop.  He was young and one night he was asked by the Stake President to go see a man in the hospital.  The man was inactive and he was dying.  President Monson also had a priesthood meeting that night and when he got to the meeting he had a prompting to go to the hospital and see that man.  He ignored the first prompting he had then towards the end of the meeting he thought he had better go to the hospital.  When he arrived at the hospital he walked into that man's room just as the nurse was placing that sheet over his corpse.  His heart sank as the nurse told him that the last thing he said before he died was that he wanted to see Bishop Monson. He learned a very valuable lesson that day of the importance of listening to promptings and acting on them as they come to you!!  I'm trying to apply that to my life everyday any good thoughts that come to me through the power of the Holy Ghost I try and write them down the best I can!!  
     Follow the the promptings of the spirit, and the Lord will bless your lives, those promptings may also help others with their struggling inactivity or testimonies!  Love you all - have a great week!!

Elder Tanner Aiken

The Power of Prayer!

     Que Pasa familia? How are you all doing? I'm am doing just great. This week my ingrown toe nails are gone and I'm not sick anymore! 
     This week I would like to talk about the power of prayer. I had an experience this week that strengtehned my testimony tremendously about prayer and its importance in our lives. I was praying very, very hard for an answer that I desperately wanted to know. I had strong faith I would recieve that answer.  As I went walking into sacrament meeting this Sunday, I had a good feeling that my answer would come that day!  As my branch president uttered some words that stuck out to me, and were exactly the words I was looking for, the spirit fell over me and I knew that my prayer had been answered. Prayer is so important in our lives!

     My favorite story of prayer is in the book of Enos, where Enos is filled with grief and burdens.  He kneels down to his Heavenly Father and prays all the day long pleading for a remission of his sins that his burdens may become light. The Lord tells Enos that he his forgiven of all his sins for the great faith that he had shown. The Book of Mormon has many great examples of prayer and I'm trying to apply all that I can into my personal prayers.  
     We need to be grateful for everything that the Lord has given us. We need to ask Him questions and show faith and personal righteousness so that we can recieve answers to those questions! We should tell the Lord how our day has been and ask for guidance and help in what we can do better in improving our lives! I love my Savior Jesus Christ!  I love setting aside just a few short moments a few times a day to talk to my Father in Heaven! He wants to hear from each and everyone of us! If any us are struggling with prayer I would challenge them to start praying now!! It is so key in our lives! We are taught as missionaries to constantly have prayer in our heart and to pour out our concerns and struggles to our Father in Heaven! 
     Yo se que jesucristo is mi redonter, el es my salvador! dios contesta nuestros oraciones. Estoy agradecido por la oportunidad servir mi mision, es muy importante tener oracion en nuestros vidas! Dios y jesucristo son amiable y amoroso y quieren oir de nosotros cada dia!
     Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Tanner Aiken

Week #2 in the MTC!

     This week has gone by so fast, I cannot believe I got dropped of two weeks ago!  This week was a very spiritual week even though there is a nasty cold going around which I happened to catch.  I also have a pretty infected ingrown toe nail, awesome I know! 
     The Lord has taught me some great lessons in such a short time. I have learned to study the scriptures as often as I can.  This past devotional we had another area seventy and he spoke about the miracle of the Book of Mormon.  Did you know that Joseph Smith translated that book in about 70 days, seven pages a day? That is incredible!  Did you also know that Joseph Smith had over 200 lawsuits against him? Wow, I can't even begin to comprehend the amount of faith he had! The Book of Mormon is the word of God, it teaches us all in different ways we must listen to what the Lord wants to teach us through the Holy Ghost. 
I love going into reading the Book of Mormon with a question in mind and it seems every time I read I find an answer to that question! 
     The MTC food is getting so old!  Cod nuggets and carboard waffles are starting to take a toll on me!  The spirit can be felt all around here, knowing that we are all serving our Heavenly Father and bringing others unto Christ, it is truly an awesome work we are engaged in!  
     We have 10 missionaries in our district and we are all super close now and love each others examples that are being set.  Four missionaries are going to Guadalajara, Mexico, 4 are going to Columbia, and me and my comp are going to Leon!  Funny thing is that my Branch President, President Mortensen was the Mission President in Leon and has given some great advice! 
     Love you all have a great week!!

Elder Tanner Aiken