Elder Tanner Rogers: Whoah Dude, Are You Crying?

Howdy,

It was a pretty good week. Honestly, it was a little bit of a blur. I was sick for most of the week, but I just popped some Tylenol and everything worked out pretty well.

It rained a lot this week and so we were soaking wet a lot of the time. It was really fun, to be honest, and a lot of people were willing to talk to us because they were curious about what we were so committed to that we were willing to walk through the rain. It was fun to tell people we were willing to walk through the rain because the message is true.

One of the biggest challenges of missionary work is that people have their agency. Our whole job is to try to help people do things and make difficult changes in their life. We face a lot of rejection and letdowns, but it is amazing to see them actually choose to make a change for the better. This week my friend Rickey went to the temple for the first time. It was so amazing to see how excited he was and to see that the gospel has changed his life. Joseph Smith said in the Wentworth letter: "The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done." It is amazing to see the fulfillment of this prophecy as I serve as a missionary.

Keep Striving

Elder Rogers