The Power of Porter

I love being a missionary. I have been asked to meet with one of the priests in my ward who was     baptized a couple of years ago. He wants to learn about and become more familiar with the book of Mormon. I am excited about that and think it’ll be a great missionary opportunity. I also I think I will get to help teach the lessons to a little girl before she is baptized, so I’m super excited about that too. At church I saw one of my buddies who is preparing for his mission. We are going to do a temple/gospel study night together. Service missions are the best and provide so many amazing opportunities.   I love talking about the gospel. Recently, I have had a couple of people reach out and ask my thoughts about some gospel questions. I love thinking about and trying to answer them. I know I don’t know everything and still have a ton to learn, but I love thinking through and talking about things. Here’s one question I would love to share. What will our bodies be like when w...

This week I had my first opportunity to go help teach a lesson with the proselyting Elders. They reached out to me and said that there are two boys, a 10 year old and an 8 year old, whose  mother is a member and wants them to get baptized.   I met the trio of Elders at a church building. Two of them left to go visit some of the people they are teaching, which left me with only one of the Elders. While we were waiting for this mother, we were informed that she had “terrible time management“. This whole thing was a first for me, so I didn’t know what to expect. After about 30 minutes, the mother texted us and said her son has a bloody nose. Since my mom had dropped me off, we could not leave the church building, so we just waited for another 15 minutes.  When the mother showed up with her two kids, I instantly understood why she had such “terrible time management“. Her 10 year old (who was supposed to be our focus) refused to get off his bike. Her 8 year old son, who she ca...

Service missions are the best. Doing Gods work complimented with home cooked meals, clean laundry, clean dishes, and last but not least, family vacation. All in one.  This week Paul, Soice, and I had the opportunity to drive to Palm Springs to watch professional tennis for the 3rd year in a row. It was a blast. So warm and beautiful. Here’s what the trip looked like: We drove to Saint George to sleep and cut the drive in half. The next day, stopped in Vegas for lunch and drove to California. We grabbed dinner and got to bed. The next morning, we ate hotel breakfast and headed to the courts. We are usually there from about 10 am to 9 pm just jumping stadium to stadium to watch the matches we want. Then we usually head out to get dinner and go to bed. Then we wake up and do it all again. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Sunday, we just checked out and drove straight home. It’s my favorite tradition. Tennis is such a fun sport to watch in person. They are incredible athletes. The pa...

I started the English practice program this week. It is so awesome. I talk to 7 different learners from all around the world each week for 30 minutes each to help them practice English. I love hearing their conversion stories and their testimonies. I am looking forward to going out with the teaching missionaries. We are figuring it all out so it should be in the next couple weeks.  I love this work. At baptism, we covenant to “keep his commandments.” Jesus said that the great commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Service is a way to love God. A section from PMG that I love: Love of God There are many ways we can show our love for God. We can keep His commandments (see John 14:15, 21). We can put Him first in our lives, submitting our will to His. We can center our desires, thoughts, and hearts on Him (see Alma 37:36). We can live in gratitude for the blessings He has given us—and be generous in shari...