IF THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU! THE BOOK OF MORMON ~ MORE INFO!

“And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, … and they teach all men that they should do good.” 2 Nephi 33:10

May 30, 2013

Hola Everyone! Welcome to my son Elder Matthew Hill's blog! Thank you for supporting him and reading his letters!
I have become increasingly aware the past few months of the world-wide attention this blog has gotten. Many stumble upon it looking for something else. I get several comments weekly, anything from thanking me for the information  to complete fascination at the contents of letters they stumble upon. I have decide to add this page in the faith that this blog page can provide more information for the many that seem daily to become fascinated with Matthew's Blog and the contents therein.
If this is "you", and you have some warm fuzzy feelings reading the posts here, and are interested in learning more about the things he speaks of, I invite you to visit the links I provide below. You should be able to get the content in any language.

I invite you to read the content of the Book below. Ponder the things you read. Listen to your spirit. There is a PROMISE in this Book that the TRUTH will be revealed to you. Pray to your God, our Heavenly Father, with real intent to know if these things you read are true, and ask Him with FAITH in Jesus Christ, our Lord, if these things you read are true. The Holy Ghost/Spirit will manifest to you by that same warmth, that this is indeed a Testament of Jesus Christ and is His restored Gospel.
"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. " (Moroni 10:4)

CHAT WITH A MISSIONARY!

Young men and women ages 18-20 spend 18-24 months away from their family, friends, TV, texts, phone calls, movies, dating, etc. to go where they are assigned to share this Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are allowed an email a week to family and 2 phone calls a year home. The rest of the time, they concentrate on sharing this message with others.
IF YOU PREFER TO CHAT WITH A MISSIONARY LIKE ELDER HILL, SIMPLY CLICK THE LINK ^^^^ ABOVE!

My love to you all. Thank you for visiting this site. :) Wendy, (aka. Elder Hill's mom) 

FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE BOOK (free of spyware, malware, etc.): Cebuano, Chinese, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italiano, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Español, Swedish, Tagalog, Tongan.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO! (Hope I got these languages right!) 
ENG (AU), ENG (NZ), ENG (UK), Español, Deutsch, Português, Pу́сский , Français, Nederlands, 日本人, 中国话的, Svenska, Українці, հայերեն, Italiano, Latvijas, Tagalog, 한국어/조선말, Cebuano, Indonesian, Polski, ไทย , Dansk, Hrvatski, Magyar, Norsk, Română, Slovenščina

Electronic text and audio recordings are also available on the Church’s mobile applications.

Electronic text is also available on the Church's LDS View application.

Audio recordings are available on iTunes and will soon be available at LDS Media Library.

Free copies of the Holy Bible and Book of Mormon are also available for those of other faiths.

Special Braille files are available online in English Braille and Spanish Braille. 

“Its origin is miraculous; when the story of that origin is first told to one unfamiliar with it, it is almost unbelievable. But the book is here to be felt and handled and read. No one can dispute its presence..." (L. Tom Perry)

(Excerpts from a talk by President Thomas S. Monsen about these promises & blessings , titled, "Precious Promises of the Book of Mormon") From its pages comes the promise of “never-ending happiness” to “those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual” (Mosiah 2:41).

From its pages comes the promise of “incomprehensible joy” to those who become “instrument[s] in the hands of God” in rescuing His precious sons and daughters (Alma 28:8; 29:9).

From its pages comes the promise that scattered Israel will be gathered—a work in which we are engaged through our great worldwide missionary efforts (see 3 Nephi 16; 21–22).

From its pages comes the promise that as we pray unto the Father in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, our families will be blessed (see3 Nephi 18:21).

From a study of its pages comes the fulfillment of the prophetic promise that “there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.”¹

And from the pages of the Book of Mormon comes Moroni’s promise that through prayer, real intent, and faith in Christ, we may know the truth of these promises “by the power of the Holy Ghost” (see Moroni 10:4–5).

With other latter-day prophets, I testify of the truthfulness of this “most correct of any book on earth,”² even the Book of Mormon,another testament of Jesus Christ. Its message spans the earth and brings its readers to a knowledge of the truth. It is my testimony that the Book of Mormon changes lives. May each of us read it and reread it. And may we joyfully share our testimonies of its precious promises with all of God’s children.

The Book of Mormon is published in 107 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online.
(Links are provided above^^)

History

In March 1830, 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed in the E. B. Grandin print shop in Palmyra, New York. From that humble beginning, today the Church prints over 3 million copies a year on large web presses. By the end of this year, nearly 150 million copies will have been distributed. Truly, this important witness of Jesus Christ is beginning to cover the earth.

It is also interesting to note the increasingly rapid pace of translation work. In its first 100 year history (1830-1930), the Book of Mormon was translated into 16 languages. In the next 68 years (1931-1999), all or part of the Book of Mormon was translated into another 80 languages. Today, all or part of the Book of Mormon has been translated into 107 languages. 82 are translations of the full book and 25 are translations of Selections from The Book of Mormon, which contains the doctrinal teachings amounting to approximately one third of the full book.
AGAIN, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO! (Hope I got these languages right!) 
ENG (AU), ENG (NZ), ENG (UK), Español, Deutsch, Português, Pу́сский , Français, Nederlands, 日本人, 中国话的, Svenska, Українці, հայերեն, Italiano, Latvijas, Tagalog, 한국어/조선말, Cebuano, Indonesian, Polski, ไทย , Dansk, Hrvatski, Magyar, Norsk, Română, Slovenščina

¡Muchas Hermanas Llamados A Servir! (Many Sisters Called to Serve!)

Jessica Dixon,  Merrisa Woodbury,  Kaitlyn Clifford, Megan Fowers and Emily Farnsworth

(Hope I get this right) Marianne Asmus, Jasilyn Brinkerhoff, Elizabeth Billings,  Rachael Gehmlich & Kaylee White

Ali Lloyd with her mission call to Sydney, Australia. (Connor, Ali, Anne, Trevor & Lynn Lloyd)

 ¡Felicidades a todas mis mejores amigas y los llamamientos que cambiarán sus vidas para siempre jamás! Espero que les vaya bien en todo lo que hagan y sé que el Señor les ayudará en todo aspecto de traer salvación a Sus hijos. ¡Qué lástima para ellas que no hablarán español, pero todo está bien!  Loosely translated: Congratulations to all my best friends and the calls that will change their lives forever! I hope to do well in everything you do and I know the Lord will help you in every aspect of bringing salvation to His children. Too bad for them that do not speak Spanish, but all is well! 

As I had said during the last General conference I felt the Spirit so strong when President Monson announced the new age requirements and I new that it was an answer to thousands of prayers throughout the world. It is great to hear of all of the prayers being answered and being carried out. I know that the mission will forever change your lives and everything in your lives- from your career, how to raise your family, how to serve the community, and so much more. 

Elder Martin y Elders en distrito y Elder Hill

This week we had zone conference and we talked about how important having a testimony is. King Lamoni and his father were converted because they obtained a true conviction that what was being taught was true. Salvation is to know the one and only true God; to know His Son; to know that all that we are doing in this Church is true and that it could not be invented. A lie will eventually end and contradict itself, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, swept every clime, and sounded in every ear. It is true and nobody- no matter how hard he tried- could convince me otherwise. This week an inactive sister stood at her porch and told us that everything we did was false, but I have the knowledge from God that she is wrong. 

If someone says in their talk in Sacrament meeting that "We all know the story of..." and you don´t know that story- study it. Find out. Pray about it. If you don´t know WHY Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world- STUDY and PRAY to know why because no man can be saved in ignorance. I am finding that out for myself as each day goes by. 

Yo sé que estoy en lo correcto, ¿y tú? ¿Tú lo sabes? o nada más sigues como borrego al redíl? 

Se lo dejo en el nombre de Jesucristo, amén. (I know I'm right, are you? Did you know? or just follow like sheep to the fold?

I leave it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.)

Ananías went to church yesterday and he brought his daughter. She didn´t want to go in at first, but we gave her  piece of candy and she was more than happy to go and do whatever she was asked. They both enjoyed it and we hope that they come back. 

Flor and her family are a special family. They have so many spiritual experiences that would be unbelievable had I not the knowledge of God that I do. It´s simply amazing. I am honored to be able to teach them and help them to understand WHY everything that has happened to them in the manner that it has. 

Daniel's papa, Elder Martin, Daniel's hijo, Daniel y Elder Matt Hill

 We also baptized Daniel. His dad is a member but has been less active for a while and his mom isn´t a member so he hasn´t been baptized until now. That was cool to see. 

Elder Hill's casa en Querétaro

Be good. Love, 

Elder Hill 

There is Sunshine in Our Souls AND ¡Un Año en la Mísion! (1 Year on the Mission)

The weather this last week has been "cold" and a little different. It was between 55-60 F during the day and everyone was walking around in fur coats and beanies meanwhile my companion and I were enjoying the spring like weather! It´s also been a little more cloudy than normal, but there has been sunshine in our souls. Out of nowhere, the blessings began to come this last week. We have about 15 referrals from members and lots of other people that we are trying to contact as well. 

Flor is a single mom who used to go to the Christian church and was really involved there until some things happened and she starting to separated herself from there. She has a friend who is a member and she shared the gospel with Flor and we went to see her. We taught her about the Restoration and she has lots of questions and doubts, but she likes it. She went to church yesterday and loved it and has a baptismal date for 9 February. 

Enrique is a self-referral from Mormon.org and is interested. He´s 43 and has had several bad experiences with other churches that have led him to investigate our church. He sent his information back in July but the missionaries never checked the referrals page that we use. He is reading the Book of Mormon and is willing to be baptized when he receives his answer from God that the Book is blue and the Church is True. 

Pascual and his wife Paola, daughters Paulina and Daniela are a family that contacted us when we went to look for someone who ended up not being home. Pascual was sick with early stages of kidney failure and wanted something in English to read so his wife talked to me on the street. We made an appointment and brought English pamphlets and the Liahona. They all went to church yesterday and dressed like members! Everyone thought that it was a family visiting. They´re pretty cool and are progressing well. 

Kelloggs Factory in Matthew's area of Querétaro, México

 Read the Liahona

I found a quote this week that I like-- 

"Live each day as if you were going to live eternally, for you surely shall." President Gordon B. Hinckley

 Click here to read: Pillars of Truth ~ Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley Jan 94 Ensign First Pres. Message

Querétaro Area

All too often we think that we should live like we are going to die tomorrow, but what would the difference be if we thought about how all of the choices that we make here will all be of eternal consequence. Repent not at your deathbed, but as President Uchtdorf said in conference- that we need to make the daily decisions so that when we are dying we don´t have regrets. Live the Gospel of Jesus Christ through His Church, and all will be well. Click here to read: Of Regrets and Resolutions ~ Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf Conference Oct. 2012

Have a FANTASTIC week! 

Elder Hill 

Seeing The Mission Through New Eyes!

2 MATEO'S!! Elders Matthew Hill & Matthew Clayton

Bueno!

This week is week number one for Elder Matt Clayton from Henderson (Las Vegas), Nevada! I told him where my grandma lives and he´s like, 'Oh yeah, those streets!' So, I´m not sure if he really knew, but it was funny! Elder Taylor left and Elder Treviño left as well to other areas.

I´m seeing the mission through new eyes now. All the little things that I have gotten used to and are just normal now, are extremely astonishing to my companion. I am also realizing that the Lord prepares whom He calls because I didn´t really feel ready to train a new missionary, but it´s not so hard. The new things that have sparked a reaction are the following:

-All the dogs in the street

-Teaching real people who accept the invitation to read the B.of M. because they want to

-Stopping people in the street to talk to them about the Church

-Eating weird things (consumé- greasy soup with beans and veggies....and chicken legs)

-Mexican people who talk so fast you don´t catch anything they say

-Well, this one I´ll just say people are more open about their feelings here than at home

-Teaching a lesson in a van while going to another area and this person saying he´s been looking for answers the last few months

-Things the Spanish teachers teach them from other countries that NOBODY does or says here

-and the list will go on for a few more weeks! :)

I ate Dominos pizza at the training meeting on Monday-- Dominos for the first time in a long time. Everyone says that they get sick when they eat American food, but it was delicious and I didn´t get sick at all! The funniest thing that Elder Clayton told me when he got here was that he remembers reading my blog before he went to the MTC.

Also, my voice is cracking again. I think my voice is hitting stage two of "the changing phase". It´s kind of funny when I speak Spanish and words that are accented funny because my voice cracks and I turn red and try not to laugh because it´s super funny. Oh, the things that entertain a missionary!

Something neat that happened was yesterday. We got in a van to go to another village and a little after we got in, a man stopped the van to climb in. As I saw him through the window I felt like I had talked to him before or at least seen him. He got in and sat by me. After a few seconds I asked him if I knew him. He said no. I introduced myself to him, and him to me, and I  said that we were missionaries. Jesús is his name, and he said that he knew that we were missionaries. He had been investigating religions lately and read something about our Church, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. As about 20 minutes of our ride went on, I taught him the whole first lesson, explained the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and gave it to him. He is the first person that I have met that describes the scripture in D&C 123:12  that says the people are kept from the truth because they don´t know where to find it. He´s a chosen one- he´s ready to be baptized. We just need to be able to meet with him because his family doesn´t like other religions coming over, so that would be a problem.

We have other people to teach, but I´m out of time to tell you about them. None of our investigators went to church this week so it was a bit of a downer, but all will be well.

Gotta go. Love you all! Keep your chin up and congrats on the beginning of a new school year.... or just another month if you´re an old person.

Elder Hill

IT`S PRETTY SWEET TO THINK THAT I`M FULFILLING A PROPHECY! :) DON'T DELAY! IT'S GETTING LATE.

Always has reminded me of Elder Matthew Hill!
(Artwork by Greg Olsen ~ permission granted for us in this blog) https://www.facebook.com/gregolsenfan

Buenas Tardes, 

This week went by super fast! Elder Treviño and I didn`t even notice it was Friday and now it`s Monday! Anyway, this week we had Zone Conference. That was great. We basically got told, "Good job, but why aren`t you guys working?" The Stake President showed up and said that it was an embarrassment to missionary work that a Stake took 20 years to be divided. Honestly, it was GREAT! I sometimes feel that people don`t understand what they need to do when they are told in a nice and round-about way. I think that the Zone (and me as well) will start to understand better what it means to be a missionary in these days. We are fulfilling prophecies of thousands of years past by Prophets of the Old Testament! We are also fulfilling prophecies in the Book of Mormon. It`s pretty sweet to think that I`m fulfilling a prophecy! :)

This week we were in a store that is owned by a member. Across the street is another store owned by our ward mission leader. So, some guy pulls up across the street on a red motorcycle  with a sombrero. The member across the street also has a red motorcycle. So, I whistle at this guy like (whooot-wooo)..... this guy turns around and looks at us and it was just some random guy who went to pick up something from the store. We just started laughing!! I learned to not whistle at people, no matter what.

Love is not looking at each other, it's
looking together in the same direction.

Our investigators Clementina and Nadia came to church yesterday. They are great people and are willing to learn. We don`t have very many new people to teach this week, so we are scrambling to get to work. Our baptisms should be for July 21. That will be cool.

Mexico City North Mission

Everyone here in my district keeps teasing me that I will be getting a call, everyone has started spreading rumors. Guys and gals-- rumors don`t end. They`re always there, but the topics change!

Jeffrey R. Holland ~ General Authority

This week I read Elder Holland`s talk from Conference- Laborers in the Vineyard. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-laborers-in-the-vineyard Read it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYogSVAZZVU (Click to watch it!) My favorite part is the last line. Don`t delay! It`s getting late. If that just isn`t a Spirit filled line I don`t know what is!

My friends, I love ya`ll! Keep at it and be good.

Con amor,

Elder Hill

Farmland Journey and Citrus Essential Oil

No matter were i go or what I do, there will
always be a lot of "cop" in me!

HOLA!!!

Life in Tezontepec is super cool because it is city with farmland. Just walking down the street, we hear cows, turkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs, etc. It’s nice to be out in the open air instead of in the city.

Just a few things that are kind of cool that I found out this week.

Elder Hill on a wire bridge

1- I went into the MTC on the wedding anniversary of Joseph and Emma Smith.

2- Elder Dillon Taylor from American Fork is in my district now, and he knows Melissa Angus. Strange to have connections when we’re like 6,000 miles from home.

Elder Trevino with a chicken

Elder Hill and a hen...did he ever
tell you the Little Red Hen Story
was cited to him MANY times!

I really enjoy my new companion and all that we are doing in our area.  I am working harder with him than I have in my whole mission and I really enjoy that. We have found a lot of people this week, but they’re not really secure for progressing. There is one couple, Jose and Flor, that we are working with. They have two kids, but aren’t married. Flor is a member just Jose no. We met with them yesterday after church to talk to them about the word of wisdom. Turns out that Jose has difficulties with smoking and drinking on occasion. He said that he is willing to give it all up to be closer to his family and friends. Then, the marriage thing came up. Jose said that he wants to get married, but Flor was a little hesitant. She said that she doesn’t want to marry him (keep in mind that they already have two kids together) because of how Jose drinks and smokes. We asked her that if Jose quit smoking and drinking in 3 weeks, if she would marry him. Her answer was YES! It’s just super cool to see how many blessings we can receive from living the commandments.

There is another hermana, Inez, who isn’t married either because her boyfriend is still married to his previous wife, and hasn’t divorced. He is a member but super inactive and she feels like he is holding her back a little bit from progressing (being baptized with her kids) and to keep going. We are working on that situation as well. We might be missionaries with the power of God, but we don’t have powers to marry or divorce people on the spot. That would be kind of cool though!

So here is the citrus oil part. (Mother’s letter last week: There are at least 20-24 months that you will have opportunities to have the oils serve you and during that time you will know when your mission is up who you are prompted to leave the oils with.)

Yesterday we were at a homecoming for a missionary that came home and there is this 4 year old kid in the ward who is super hyperactive and just mischievous as can be. He is innocent, but he is still difficult to control. Well, my mom so lovingly sent me some essential oils that I didn’t think I would use and yesterday I had brought some with me to show an hermano in the ward who uses them. I handed him a blend of citrus oils. He went over to this super active kid and rubbed this oil behind his ears and was like "Oscar! Smell this!"...... and within 5 minutes this kid was calm as can be! The 5 of us who knew what happened were laughing soooo hard! I think we found a solution for Sunday so that everyone can take the sacrament without yelling and screaming. :)

My Captain Moroni stance, overlooking the river.

Pictures--

-Elder Trevino with a chicken (like Simba)

-Me with the hen

-A super huge pig

-Oh, and "I didn’t know it was there.... It isn’t mine!" (Marijuana leaf)
-Me on a wire bridge over a river

Well my friends, this is what I am doing in Tezontepec!

I hope that you are all enjoying your summer!