October 1, 2018

Okay I'm sorry! My emails aren't normally this long...... but I learned something really cool this week that is changing my life so i want to share it! You don't have to read it if you don't want to haha. 

Quick thoughts:

- Transfers happened! I have a new awesome companion Sister Andersen, and she is just the best. I will share more of our adventures in the weeks to come! 

- We had to say goodbye to some of my dearest friends and biggest role models, the sisters who went home. Sadness. But also happy because I'm excited to see what they do! 

- And of course even though it is slowing down here in Nauvoo I don't love it any less. In fact I love it more! It allows us to give more personal and meaningful tours. So my life is pretty much wonderful right now (: 

Now for what I learned: 

Do you know the story about Moses and the children of Israel, when the flying firey serpents came and infected them? Then Moses was commanded to make a brass serpant on a cross and whosover whould look upon it, would be healed. First of all, my personal opinion is that those sound like dragons.... which is awesome. But besides that I hadn't given it much thought earlier in my life. This week, I decided to dive a little deeper. 

Why did Moses use a brass serpent? 

If you have ever been bitten by a poisonous snake (and I havent) you would want an anti-venom. How does one make anti-venom? Well you take a strong animal, inject it with the poison, and it's blood will create an anti-venom. Then you use that blood to heal others. (Sound somewhat familiar to the Atonement of Jesus Christ? He took our poison upon Himself and His blood can heal us.) 

What are we required to do to be healed? In the story, all they had to do was look. 

"And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal." (Helaman 8:15) 

What does it really mean to look? 

In the dictionary we learn that looking has lots of meanings. Here are some:

1) perceive with attention, direct ones gaze towards

2) spend time trying to find, search for

3) be oriented in a certain direction 

4) look forward to the probable occurrence of, await, expect

5) have faith or confidence in, depend, count on 

So this week I have spent time looking for Christ, looking to Christ and looking forward to Christ. He is my Savior and Redeemer from all the poisons that afflict me. And I know that if you will but look for Him and to Him, you can be healed! Maybe not all at once, but you can be healed. 

I love you all! Take time to LOOK this week! 

Sister Bush

September 24, 2018

Thats right, never! "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved!" 

That is a quote from my friend, President Monson. It has become my life motto. However, this week I discovered more ways to apply it(: You can just fill in the blank with anything. 

Never let your desire to eat that cookie become more important than a person to be loved. 

Never let your phone become more important than a person to be loved. 

Never let your personal goals become more important than a person to be loved. 

Never let your fear or shyness become more important than a person to be loved. 

That's right, you can put lots of things there. Because there is nothing more important that helping a person feel loved! That's the biggest thing I've learned this week. 

I've also had tons of fun! I've spent my time waiting for tours, making Brazilian fudge, diving deep into the Book of Mormon, finding out that my companion is secretly a squirrel and listening to the spirit. All great things! I sure do love this place!

Have a great week everyone (: 

Sister Bush

To the Family:

on tuesday our mission president held a meeting and encouraged us to double up our efforts as missionaries. plus gave us lots of news! (no i dont know where im going on outbound yet haha) he told us that october 22-26 is the mission presidents seminar, happening here in nauvoo. so elder andersen of the 12 as well as other general authorities (70s and others) will be here touring the sites, training these future mission presidents. big deal! president told us we need to make sure our minds and all our efforts are focused on nauvoo, especially for that so even though he has our outbound calls before then, he will not tell us where we are going until a like a few days before we leave.... !!!! some sisters are frustrated with this but im fine with it. i trust that he knows what hes doing. plus this seminar is a big deal! also i think as we work harder to be better missionaries here in nauvoo it will help us when we are outbound. president also made sure we understand that whether we are giving a tour to a general authority or to a member family or to other missionaries or to non-members, we should do it about the same. not memorize a tour, but give the guests, no matter who they are, the same amount of love and respect and thought. which is so important. im glad i get to learn this and have this experience! 

on wednesday, i served for the first time in the print shop! and let me tell you i love that place. i love the process of writing as you know and so it was so neat for me to learn and explain to others how they made writings available to the public back in the 1840s! so much work. but worth it, just as it is today!

also this week some people in our mission started this thing called the Book of Mormon sprint. its to read the book of mormon in a week. 76 pages a day. i was excited about this because ive never read it that fast and i was sure i would get some insights with the big picture. so ive been reading a lot. the first day i got all 76 pages. the next, i didnt finish all of them and the day after that i didnt even do half. at first i was bummed that i hadnt stuck with my page goal, but ive learned a valuble lesson. remember that quote by Pres Monson? "never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved" its kinda my life motto. well these past couple of days there have been a lot of people needing love. and instead of giving them a tiny amount of love so i can speed read through the book of mormon, ive decided to not let a page to be read become more important than a person to be loved. when i did that, i learned that you can subsitute anything in that space! never let _______ become more important than a person to be loved. so actually, im still reading fast to try and get the big picture, but its not about the pages anymore for me! so i think what ive learned most about the big picture is Gods love. 

speaking of opportunities to love people, i have to tell you that many of our sisters (and some seniors too) arent doing too hot. it breaks my heart. some of these sweet sisters have been struggling this week with deciding to go home early or not. to go on outbound or to just go home. they all have different reasons and struggles but no matter what it is, it makes me sad to see so many that i love going through such anguish. i know that it isnt bad to go home early if your mental health wont allow you to stay out, and that it is between you and the Lord. but its so so so hard to make that decision. and if it isnt mental health and its family or its something else that is still super painful! i wont mention anyone by name but please pray for my fellow nauvoo sisters. ive been praying for, fasting for, spending time with, listening to, hugging tight, crying with, making Brazilian fudge for, serving alongside, eating dinner with, and bearing testimony with and to these dear sisters. they really are my sisters. family is family so im asking my other family back home to help with this family. cuz change is always hard and there are going to be a lot of changes around here. some good changes and maybe some not. 

plus also transfers will be taking place on friday, since that is when the 7 sisters who started last summer will be going home! im going to miss them all so much they are my role models. they leave on friday so on wednesday president is going to announce who will be moving where and which companions will be with which and then the transfer will take place on friday. so i might send some pictures as hints on wednesday when i find out haha. also because of transfers on friday, i have no idea when my next pday will be. i think ill be allowed to email pday change on wednesady so you can have a heads up but who knows haha. sorry for the craziness, its just part of Nauvoo!!! 

on thursday i served at Heber C Kimball again! i love that place and i love that family. they have such faith!!! their stories are so inspiring. the only thing was that because it was slow we only gave 1 tour all day hahaha. so we were there from 10am to 5pm and gave one, 10 minute tour during that time. the rest of it, we read the book of mormon, talked, joked around and i faked a tour haha it was great. we are getting along way way better than before. not that we didnt get along but now we have quite a bit of fun together. i have nicknamed her jurassic squirrel because of those random noises she does. also she seems to think its funny when i call her rat goddess for some reason haha she has this thing about rats i dont know hahahahahaha

also on thursday i was a part of a focus group with a researcher from salt lake. we talked about how to improve the site guide here and helped brainstorm some things for the next and improved version that will come out next summer. so that was a really cool experience to be a part of that.  

on friday we served at lucy mac smith with sis Oldroyd, and it was her last day there before going home. she is a powerful person. 

also that day i found out that Heidi had a stroke. she is being as strong as ever but it is physically difficult now, especially to talk. i got to call her for a bit though and help her know that she is loved and we are cheering for her. she definitely reminds me of Job. her integrity is unflinching. 

on saturday i was on the wagon! i worked on making puns for people to laugh but also making it personal. that way they can see my testimony as i talk about all the different saints and their homes. it was lots of fun, just cold! 

it is getting chilly out. im not used to wearing sunday clothes all the time so im not sure how to stay warm... i know i need a coat for sure. and some other winter accessories like beanie hats and scarves. im planning on buying these next pday maybe, but you can research online too! send me pictures of things you are considering, and if i like it you can use my card to buy it. speaking of, how much is on my personal card? and savings? cuz president said we will probably go somewhere cold on outbound haha so i want to be prepared. 

on sunday, my companion gave a talk too! her talk was about revelation and it was super super good. sis swaney is still the Alma to my Amulek! im hoping she will finish typing it up so you can read it too. then we served at family living center with sister Jones and Yamamoto! we only had one tour. and it was at 4:55.  we spent some time studying of course and then when we got tired of that we learned how to sing different hymns and such in different languages! ill send you the video of us singing i am a child of God in english, japanese, spanish(; and french haha. oh plus we had a mini pretzel food fight. the sites can be boring haha but im glad i got to give that one tour to that family that came in at the very end. im grateful for every opportunity to give tours!

then we had the sunday concert! us young sisters have been working on this for awhile. and on sunday we got to perform! we pretty much teach the first lesson, the restoration in song form. we read scriptures or quotes that work with each topic in between songs. these are the songs we sing: (check out PMG if you dont know all the points in order for the lesson) 

God is love, love at home, I saw a mighty angel fly, i stand all amazed, where can i turn for peace, Joseph Smiths first prayer, the iron rod, sweet hour of prayer, i believe in Christ.  it is amazing and i love it so much. i quite enjoy singing to testify(:

i love love love love love love love love love love love you both so so so so much!! haha 

Sister Bush 

September 17, 2018

Leslie Bush	Mon, Sep 17, 3:12 PM (6 days ago)
to me

Hello all! 

It's been a little while since I wrote! Here are some highlights: 

- I gave a tour to Elder Quentin L Cook and his wife! 

- I had the opportunity to teach someone about our beliefs in a lesson

- I've spent a lot of time in the temple before it closed, so that was nice (: 

- my companion had some family come to visit 

And last of all, I have once again discovered the power of music. 

"The only thing stronger than truth is truth in a musical setting" is something I learned from sister Cook. 

So this week I've spent a lot of time with music. I listened to hymns, wrote new verses to some that reflected my personal feelings, and made medleys of some together! I also had the wonderful opportunity to listen to some talented musicians play this week and I always left feeling uplifted and inspired! 

The reason music can be so beautiful is because it can be a form of prayer. And this week I gave a lot of musical prayers, so certain songs have become sacred to me. I guess I'm just rambling on about music and how much I love it but I want to testify of how it can heal our souls and give us strength! Why? Because it is a way of connecting with the Heavens, and when we connect with the Heavens we will find answers, peace, comfort, love, joy, strength, wisdom and inspiration. He loves us. He loves you. 

If you want, email me back with one of your favorite songs and why! How it has helped you in some way-  it doesn't have to be a hymn, just tell me about a song that has touched you, some music that has been a medicine to you (: 

Until next week! 

Sister Bush

September 13, 2018

Hello!!! 

Sorry for all the typos I was working fast haha 

People keep asking if i got to see Elder Cook lol. Oh boy did i!! So on Sunday we had to leave church early (my comp and i) and go to our site. They asked us to be videoed by the people that make the World Report!! So look out for me at conference haha. I was already anxious about that, so yep. Sister Swaney and I planned out the whole entire tour to be perfect. We practiced for like an hour! I had a joke planned and we had decided who would do what And everything. And then all these cars showed up. And then all the sudden my mission president is knocking on the door and says "hey just give them a tour of the gardens! You'll do great!"

In my head I'm going oh shoot I know nothing about the gardens. It isn't in our site guide! So we walk outside like what? And then Elder Cook and his wife are there! Walking up to us!! He shook our hands, said our names, asked where they are from and yeah! They were both so sweet. The way that they both smiled at me i could just tell that they really cared about us. And so we gave them a tour, showed them around, and it was just amazing!!! They loved looking at the flowers, the butterflies, peppers, and especially the gourds! They were so cool! AND THEN we got to be at the face to face that night, shake their hands again, and then the next morning we had a mission training with the Cooks and got to shake their hands again!! So wow!! It was such a cool experience. I'm so blessed!!

The face to face was awesome. My biggest take away was that the Church and our history can withstand scrutiny. Everything has been led by God. The saints weren't perfect but this church is! And the more we take the time to research the history and get to know the early members of the church, we can more fully understand our Savior who is the same yesterday today and forever. 

I also loved how they talked about how the past is a foreign country! Cuz it really is. So I have been called foreign, there are so many things I'm learning and having to adjust to. (I can't imagine how hard it is for sister Yamamoto hahaha)

The mission training with the Cooks was amazing. First of all he gave a very inspired message to us missionaries that was needed in this mission. A lot of people here have issues and concerns and trials associated with home and family. And he promised us that everyone we love will be blessed for our service, and all the concerns we have about home will be taken care of. And I thought of you dad, and your practice. The spirit spoke to me and testified that one of the reasons your practice will work out is because of my service here. An apostle promised that. So I know it will work out! Also, I put your name on the Nauvoo temple prayer roll. So it'll stay there until the temple closes for matinence(: 

More holiness give me! I did a lot of pondering about this hymn and seeing what those words meant to me. So the song I sent was kinda the crowning thing I learned about what those words meant to me. So thank you mom so much for giving me that idea! It's really helped me these past couple days to feel the spirit. Im sorry you've been sick with migraines!! Just know you are awesome even when you are sick. You still do such amazing things just by being yourself!! Love you so much. 

This week I served in the cultural hall for the first time and that was neat. 

I felt impressed to Call Heidi, and i found out that that day the doctors said that she decided that her daughter probably has cancer. But Heidi had a response similar to jobs: "till I die I will not remove my integrity from me" which is awesome. She is pressing forward! And can use prayers still. 

Sister Moss has been struggling a little bit too. We haven't really gotten to talk cuz of how busy we've been (sites, teaching appointments, meetings galore!) 

This week I also served in the Family living center! I enjoyed making bread again, and also learned a new skill of weaving! So I'm going to weave a bag for myself the next time I serve there:D 

We taught three lessons since sunday,  to the seniors so we can practice and also uplift them. Weve had some awesome experiences with that. 

Sometimes sis swaney and i have a Difference of opinions, but other than that I think we've achieved a pretty good unity in our companionship. And the differences aren't huge or anything, for example she made a goal of running for 30 minutes every day on the treadmill and it interfered with the singing practice for the sisters (We have a Sunday concert) and my opinion was oh well, just stay sing and support and her opinion was I need to stick with my goal and be consistant. Both good things and not a huge deal but every once and awhile we don't see eye to eye. That's okay tho! We are working on it haha. 

We also served at the Bakery this week and I loooove telling lucius Scovils story. He is inspiring. 

So! I apoligize for the pday switch. Agaib. Sister Swaneys grandparents decided to surprise her and come visit! They just showed up at the bakery yesterday so sis Swaney got permission to switch pdays with another companionship so that we can spend time with her grandma and grandpa. She gave them a tour of Carthage after serving at the sites yesterday and then they took us to dinner at el Camino real. Then because it's our pday we did a session at the temple with them and did some gift shopping and then lunch together. Then My comp and i went to the grocery store while they toured a little bit of Nauvoo and we will get together to tour with them a bit more before our pday ends. Then tomorrow her grandparents will leave and we will go back to normal missionary life! 

It's so weird when family visits, but it's also an amazing experience you can't get in any other way or any other place. President always talks about how much of a blessing it can be to see your missionary being a missionary. Because you sorta see it from emails and you receive blessings from their service, but when you come to Nauvoo to visit you have the unique opportunity to not only be served by them but see how they serve others. And that is just so cool. I hope that I get a chance to show some family what I do here either before outbound or next spring, summer or fall. Because it is way cool. And it's not as much of a distraction as I expected haha. So that's cool. I'm just supporting sis Swaney so she can spend time with her grandma and grandpa and have that cool experience. 

Sorry my email is shorter today. It's cuz we've been touring a lot with her grandparents. Good news is, my pday is changing to Monday  (hahahahaha I know) so it should stay Monday the rest of this month. Should. Who knows. 

I love the temple!!! I got to go one last time today before it closes. We did a session this morning and I saw a film I've never seen! Finally haha I've seen all of them now I think. But I went in fasting and praying for an answer and it was amazing. Super eye opening and a blessing to receive answers in the celestial room. This temple is becoming very special to me. I've had so many wonderful experiences there.

Sorry I typed this up all day and I just finally got wifi. Love you both so much 

Sincerely 

Sister Bush

September 8, 2018

Hello all(: 

Sorry it's been awhile since I emailed, my pday has been weird! This month it's Saturday. Unless it changes randomly haha. Who knows.

This week has been an adventure! Full of surprises since I moved back to Nauvoo. I've enjoyed moments of peace, been inspired by those around me, biked in the rain, felt love for people I've never met before, ate too many cookies, learned more about Jesus Christ and have spent quite a few hours in a site bundled up to stay warm as I read the book called SAINTS. maybe you've read it, maybe you haven't even heard of it! This book helps me remember the history of the Church and discover the stories of those pioneers who went before me. They are real people! Real people. And I've learned a lot from them. I encourage you to try reading it, because it is amazing. Inspired I will even say. 

Aaaaand that's about all I got. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Sincerely, 

Sister Bush 

I'm actually sending pictures this week! Haha 

There's some of me at Lake Linda and then some from carthage. 

August 28, 2018

This week has been wonderful! And i have learned many, many things (as usual) 

This is one of the many beautiful truths I have learned, this is one that I want to share with you: 

"In the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi, broken pottery is mended with gold. The cracks, instead of being hidden, are highlighted to show respect for the vessel’s history and showcase the beauty of a broken thing made whole.

What if we could learn to do the same? To celebrate the person we have become, not despite our struggles but because of them?

The poet Robert Bly wrote, “Where a man’s wound is, that is where his genius will be.” Our wounds inform our experience and shape our journey. They teach us things we can’t learn in a classroom. Our moments of brokenness inspire us to turn to the Savior for healing, to humble ourselves, to rely completely on Him. They allow us, bit by bit, to become more like Him.

Jesus Christ would not be the Savior if He had not endured His brokenness. And you would not be the glorious person you are becoming if you were not required to endure your own. When you recognize that, you can say with Paul, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). You can finally thank God for the gift of your brokenness." (August 2018 Ensign) 

I testify that the Saviors Atonement can mend you with gold. His sacrifice wasn't so we could press a magic reset button on our lives, but rather, become new, better people. That is why repentance is a JOYFUL thing. I'm so grateful that all of my broken pieces can be mended by His perfect grace. 

Have a great week everyone! Thank you for being you! 

Sincerely, 

Sister Bush

Email to family:

Hello!  

Don't worry about pday haha. The way it works is if that week it changes to a new month than my pday changes that week. Does that make sense? So because we begin september on saturday, my pday changed this week. Haha I know it's confusing, I didn't get it for awhile too so its partly my fault. 

Anyways, great to hear from you! ready for this jumble of thoughts? you may needs Reubens help in putting my week together haha

i looooove that picture of the temple and im so glad reuben did that puzzle!! so neat!! and beautiful. wow. 

ill go to Nauvoo the day after labor day. im not sure if ill still be with sister Swaney or not. probably im thinking we will. 

haha i hope the house gets fixed up soon! we neeeeed our pipes to be fixed here in carthage cuz the water tastes like swamp water. im suspecting its the reason i got sick in the first place.... 

all that yard work makes me think of repentance! i know, im a missionary haha. but its true. you cant do it on your own, its hard work but its also very satisfying and fulfilling. and there is always more to do! thank you for your example of putting your mind to something and working on it! 

you are doing just what i knew you would. having faith, but acting too! doing all you can. its kinda like Hinckley says. pray earnestly and tell Heavenly Father our needs and desires and then get up on our feet and go to work. otherwise He doesnt have anything to work with and cant answer our prayers! man you guys are awesome. 

BREAKING NEWS: STEVEN SHARP NELSON IS IN SISTER SWANEYS HOME WARD. When she told me this I about passed out. He played at her farewell. She often dogsits for them. Like her family is good friends with their family. What! She calls him steve! How crazy is that. I just can't believe it!!! They might come to Nauvoo and that would be so epic. I'm hoping that because she knows them I can somehow hire him (or all of them) to play at my wedding. That would be a lifelong dream. Wow. So that was first on my list of things to tell you haha. 

This week has been quite an adventure. First of all, it's getting a little bit colder here but I know it's getting a lot colder in utah! And I was thinking about how cold the first winter might be for you mom haha. I'm happy to hear you feel prepared. Also, I've taken some time to crochet you and dad scarves. I call them conference scarves because I work on them whenever I am listening to conference talks! I hope that you two go to a conference session and wear them! In fact I will extend that invitation to you- either just you two or take the family to a session of conference in october. I feel like that would be an awesome experience! Anyways, I will be sending those scarves soon. I just need to add the finishing touches and find time to go to the post office haha. I hope you like them and that they keep you warm! I love you both! i wont send pictures cuz i want to surprise you(;

Sweet tour moment this week: 

There was a special needs girl who came to Carthage and it was touching to watch her. She asked her mom for help so that she could touch the door. Very sweet. 

Comparing zoramite prayer with almas prayer, from alma 31 was really cool this week- it was one of my neat studies, seeing the difference in prayers. how they were both "praying" but only Alma was communicating and conversing. love it! 

There is a new preach my gospel!!!! The paper version won't be out for another couple months. But the electronic version is ready for the using! Something pres Lusvardi has told us to do is get a fresh copy of PMG and study it side by side with the electronic new one. Write in the notes of all the changes. And as I've been doing this I've learned so much!! They are changing lots of words. Getting rid of words like: investigstor, less active, proselytizing, meeting, doctrines, ect. You should check it out if you wonder what those have been changed to! Or go side by side through the whole thing like I am. You'll learn a ton, I'm telling you. I feel like I'm learning a lot about missionary work but a lot about President Nelson because I'm doing it. Man I love it. 

Sis Swaney and I have had 100% companion unity in the martyrdom room a few times this week. One time was with these two women and I felt the need to share some of the trials I've been through, testify of how the master calms the savior and promise them that He can calm them during the midst of their struggles. I wasn't sure if it was right. And then sis Swaney bore testimony of how Heavenly Father comforts us during our afflictions. And I knew it was right. So I did what the spirit said. Afterwords, the lady said she recently lost her husband, doesn't have a house right now and other things. So it was exactly what they needed to hear and I'm glad we both listened to the spirit!! 

Okay so its hard to not gain weight here. Right now I'm eating really healthy on my own, I don't eat anything with added sugar (and I'm doing good with that!) And staying under 1500 calories every day. BUT the seniors are always inviting us over to eat way too much food and bringing goodies all the time. It's so hard! Not just to resist cuz it tastes great, but because it's the way these couples are trying to show their love for us haha so to help them feel appreciated we have to eat their food. It's hard. And I've heard outbound is even worse! So I'm doing what I can to stay healthy haha. And besides the seniors in really proud of how I'm doing. Normal meals are like eggs, oatmeal, chicken salads, soups, spaghetti squash or mashed cauliflower. I have usually 1-2 fruits and veggies everyday. So I think I'm doing good besides the seniors hahaha 

We went to alfanos as a district in carthage! Alfanos is a the only place to really eat out in carthage. It's pretty lame but hey it's Italian haha. Sis Swaney and I shared pasta and BBQ pizza. It was pretty good. The pasta tasted cheap tho. But that was a lot of fun! The hard part was that the radio was playing and we were half wanting to dance and the other half of us wanted to plug our ears haha. 

So our mission took a vote  (under the direction of president) and he decided to move mission trainings to the evenings cuz it worked better for the majority of people. Apparently there was some complaining so he canceled mission training for a bit so that he could talk to those people. He was trying to follow the counsel of Mosiah 18:21-22. On Sunday the subject in sacrament was obedience. And sister Owen. A senior sister got up and was a complete savage! She chastised the mission as a whole for complaining and murmuring against our leader who is called of God. Not directly like that but she applied her message specifically to the mission training situation. It was quite a sacrament meeting haha. Luckily, we have resumed mission training so I guess it worked! 

my sundays and studies have all been way more enriching since i have been trying to write down every piece of revelation i receive. it makes my hand hurt but i have found it makes me learn way more and connect more with the spirit! so its worth it! my journal is filling up faster tho haha. 

did you find a gold chain for my personal progress and charms?? ive been missing mine and i hope i get a replacement soon haha. you can use my money i just need a chain (:

i have felt bad for sis swaney this week a little cuz her back has been hurting. sadness. we dont know what it is but she doesnt want to go to the doctor again... so yeah im just doing my best to help her with that struggle. 

even though we arent getting a lot of tours im still as busy as ever, President used the scripture DC 84:85 and told us that right now is a time to treasure up. he said that our Heavenly Father is aware of the extra time we have and we are to use it wisely. i think that applies to life as well, kinda like you said dad. sometimes we are given periods of time in our lives to work on treasuring up and things so that we can be ready for what Heavenly Father next asks us to do!

Chaismus in the book of mormon. (examples: the whole book of 1st Nephi and alma 36) 

"Chiasmus, sometimes called an inverted parallelism, is a Hebrew literary form where words or ideas are arranged in a certain order and then repeated in reverse order. This repetition emphasizes important ideas and words. In addition, the writer’s main idea is often located at the center of the chiasmus.

Alma used chiasmus to tell the story of his conversion to his son Helaman. The presence of Semitic literary forms such as chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is an external witness that the book is what the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that it is: a translation of an ancient text written in a Middle Eastern language." (institute manual) 

Now. i know you guys knew about chaismus already and probably know what im about to say but it was really cool for me to discover this and plot out exactly how everything works together, verse by verse. then i realized that the writers main idea is often located at the center of chiasmus. so. i deceided to find the exact center. i counted all the lines, words, and lines in the old version of the book of mormon too. (first edition copy we have here at carthage). and the exact center is the same for both editions. so that isnt a coincidence. 

there are a total of 194 lines in the current edition of the book of mormon. and line number 97 says "the coming of one Jesus Christ". finding that out really hit me for some reason. Alma chose that line on purpose to be the center of his chiasmus. why? because it is the exact turning point for him. it is the moment when he remembered the teachings of his father about a savior and found hope in Jesus Christ and His atonement. what a lesson for us all! everything just sort of clicked after that. and i feel like i know not only alma on a more personal level but the Savior Jesus Christ as well. it was quite an aha moment for me and i know for a fact that the spirit was very involved.  

as for the whole book of first nephi here is what i found: 

"By far the most subtle use of chiasmus in any work is its role in creating the structural design behind longer passages and entire books. Consider briefly the outline of the First Book of Nephi and how the order of Nephi’s narration revolves around his vision of the Spirit of the Lord:

a) Lehi’s dream leads him to prophesy warnings to the Jews (chapter 1)

b) The departure from Jerusalem (2)

c) Nephi accomplishes a great feat emphasis>in obtaining the brass plates of 1 Nephi 3:7; the brothers are confounded (3–5)

d) Ishmael joins the group with his daughters (7)

e) The tree of life (8)

f) Lehi prophesies about the Old World and the coming of the Lamb (10)

g) Nephi and the Spirit of the Lord (11)

f) Nephi prophesies about the New World and the coming of the Lamb (12–14)

 

e) The tree of life interpreted (15)

d) The sons of Lehi marry the daughters of Ishmael and Ishmael dies (16)

c) Nephi accomplishes a great feat by building a ship of 1 Nephi 17:3; the brothers are confounded (17)

b) The departure from the Old World (18)

a) Nephi warns the Jews and quotes the prophecies of Isaiah (19–22)

More than ever before, we are now in a position to admire the purposeful and stunning unity of Nephi’s message. The long-neglected principle of chiasmus unfolds the fact that when Nephi revised the record of Lehi, Nephi’s mind was clearly organized and his heart was intent upon expressing the central importance of his great vision with the Spirit of the Lord. He achieves this expression via chiasmus. By understanding this, we can point to the concerted power of Nephi’s style, and we can get explicitly to the point of Nephi’s inspiration." (new Era, feb 1972)

woah. how amazing is that. Nephi also chose to put at the center of his chiasmus, his discovery of the savior and who Jesus Christ really is. 

so now i am pondering what the middle of my spiritual chiasmus is. and considering writing one! according to my testimony. some form of poetry. idk. i hope all of that made sense hahaha

We gave a tour to a family from Thailand. so that was cool. But get this: they moved there not for the dads work or anything, but because they felt like their kids needed to experience more of the world outside the US and the spirit said Thailand so that's where they have been living for a year and they are going back for year two! They had never been their before, didn't know the language or anything. So that is just crazy to me and is an example of obedience. I was impressed by this family! Made me think of all the times you guys have followed the spirit in raising us! Thank you for being in tune with the spirit when considering how to teach us(: 

So! We found out our outbound will be after October 26th. We will most likely leave the Monday after that. And it will probably be for about 5 months. I don't know where I'm going yet but last year the sisters found out a month before they left! So I should be finding out pretty soon! That is exciting (:

So this week I've been studying in Alma 32 and it's probably one of the most complex chapters in the Book of Mormon! 

My perspective changed when I read a quote by elder Holland when he said (about Alma 32) "Christ is the seed, the tree, and the fruit of eternal life." 

And I was like woah. Hang on. I wish I had time to type out all the crossreferences I found and things but my favorite was in Alma 34:36. It mentions how the Lord dwelleth in the hearts of the righteous. 

So that's how He's the seed. 

And He's the tree because as our relationship with Him grows and we nurture it, we can feel Gods love. 

And He's the fruit because in Him we can have a fullness of joy. and theres so much more to learn about that so check it out!

sorry this email is so long haha and crazy random, i wish i had time to organize my thoughts better. just know that i love you all dearly and im so happy when i get to hear from you. you guys mean the world to me. you make everything worth it! and i super duper love being a missionary! every second of it :D

ps what are you guys being for halloween????? 

yours truly,

Sister Bush

August 22, 2018

hello all! its me again. 

How is it already another week gone? this mission is going by too fast.

but actually things are slowing down here quite a bit! we went from having like 820 people visit Carthage in a day to now like 64 a day. So thats quite a contrast! Nevertheless. I am still happy to serve here and bear my testimony to whoever comes here. 

also surprise! on Labor day i will be transferred back to Nauvoo. so thats coming up(:

my little thought for today is a quote from a lady who I gave a tour to. she got it from somewhere but I dont know where so im just giving the credit to her haha. if it is your quote, please step forward to be recognized because it has made my week. anyways, here is the quote:

"Sometimes the Master calms the sailor, not the seas." 

Please read that again and let it sink in. We all go through stormy waters, and sometimes all we want is for Christ to come and say "be still" and the waves to calm. But sometimes what we really need is for Him to say "be still" to us, and calm us. Calm us so that we can have the courage, strength, and grace to sail through the storms calmly. I want to add my testimony that I know He is the Prince of Peace. and as we turn to Him, He can help us be still, even in troubling times. 

(for further study, if you want you can read Mosiah 24:13-15, D&C 101:16 and Mark 4:37-39.) 

have a great week! 

Sincerely,

Sister Bush

email to family:

"to bring thousands of souls to repentance"

that line is from alma 26:22, and this is what the whole thing says: 

"Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance." 

when i first read this verse in my mind i thought wow thousands of souls to baptism! what a promise! and then this week i realized that is not what it means. repentance means turning away from sin and to God. that can be done by either giving up something bad we are doing or by starting to do something good that we havent been doing. repentance = progression. so really my job as a missionary is to help people progress and come closer to their Heavenly Father. and Carthage jail can be a huge step in their progression. so i can testify that that promise in the scriptures is true. this week ive been focusing on really caring about the people i give tours to and bearing pure testimony. its made quite a difference. this week i will be focusing on using the gift of discernment as well as the principle of revelation to testify to their needs specifically. im already trying to put this into practice! for instance... things have been super slow around here. on pday we only serve at the jail for 3 hours. well we hadnt given a tour and our time was almost up. i started praying that we could have one. well some people showed up! but they showed up at 10:45ish. and a tour lasts 30 minutes. my companion didnt want to use up 15 minutes of her pday giving a tour (cuz the next part of our pday is emailing time). but the spirit told me i needed to be on this tour. so after debating with her i ended up taking another sister with me and still doing the tour. i know i needed to be on that tour, bearing testimony to those specific people. nothing crazy happened but i know that i followed the spirit and therefore fulfilled my purpose. sorry that it cut into emailing time. (but really its just computer emailing time cuz we are allowed to email from our phones all day. so its not that big a deal.) dont worry your email wont be cut short haha. 

so this week i was sick. nothing huge, but a cold. and a frustrating cold haha cuz i just felt like i was in a fog for a couple days. but i got some rest and im feeling better now. 

in a tour this week sister swaney lost it and started laughing cuz of something i did. i dont know what but for some reason she lost it haha. we are getting closer! 

this week i gave a tour to a family from spain, and another from the netherlands. im so inspired by these people! they dont know english super well but they come because they want to see the church history sights and gain stronger testimonies. wow. 

this week their were two YSM birthdays so we had a party on saturday night to celebrate. so that was fun. i snuck over to sister Paystrups place (since she is their neighbor) and covered her room with mustard packets i got from the YPMs that left haha. it was hilarious. i need to get that video from sister Green and add it to the share!

in carthage we are now serving with the Hills, nielsons, and Adams. so cute but all of them loooove to talk haha. so senior dinners take a long time haha. but they are so sweet and have such good life stories and lessons to share. im so grateful for them and the chance to get to know them better. 

so! transfers! haha dont worry not just yet. but this week we found out that on September 3rd, all the ysms here in carthage will be returning to Nauvoo. so that is sad. i will miss carthage, but im excited to return. i dont know if they will be switching us up with new companions or not, i just know that ill be returning to nauvoo. so yeah. 

also i think next week my pday will switch to tuesday. i think. haha so just a heads up.

because its so slow now i used to feel discouraged that i only give like 3 tours a day (or 1 like today) but i realized that i am blessed because in other missions the missionaries can be working hard all day and not see any success but over here if we arent getting tours at least we can study while we wait! so that is a blessing. Heavenly Father knew i needed to come here where i could continually be learning from the scriptures(:

i love you guys so much and how much you inspire me. im so so grateful to be your daughter. it is a huge blessing. 

love love love love love

Sister Bush