Just A Note From Mom: 

It is Kyle's Birthday on Sunday, June 23

If you are thinking about him it would be great if you could send him a quick Birthday note or wish.

Las Vegas Nevada

Journal Entry June 4, 2013 This was the only Pleasant Page I could find in my Journal entries that I felt might be of value to others. It also hints at some of the challenges I am facing.

I received a prompting the other morning while praying that I should wash Elder Hearne’s dishes.  I was a little upset with him at the time and it was so hard for me to do it, but I decided to follow through and wash his dishes.  Later in the the day, when he noticed what I had done, he expressed gratitude and things began to change very quickly.  The rest of the day was incredible because our communication with each other improved and we also began to street contact and open up to others.  I realized that whenever I find myself upset with Elder Hearn, it is because I am only thinking about myself.  Washing Elder Hearne’s dishes was my way of washing his feet  It is incomprehensibly less significant than what Christ has done and would have done in my place, however, it was a big thing on my level, and it helped to purify and cleanse our relationship.  One thing that I have learned from my various interactions with the residents of North Las Vegas is that there are some significant barriers dividing the community.  I’m not just referring to the physical walls, gates, bars, and rocks, dividing each house from the next, but rather the social barriers that have proved to be more effective.

Journal Entry Illustrating the concept of Personal Revelation(which is unique to our Church) and my testimony of it.

As I reflect back on some of my experiences this week, there is one in particular that stands out to me that I wish to share.  I believe that this experience demonstrates a concept that I am beginning to understand after a series of trying events.  The following experience is an illustration of the role of revelation in missionary work:

Yesterday I went on exchanges¹ with my District Leader, Elder Mcclure.  Prior to visiting an excommunicated member, Elder Mcclure invited me to prepare a spiritual thought to share with him.  I accepted and Elder Mcclure proceeded to tell me a little about the man we would visit that evening.  Here is what Elder Mcclure shared: ²”Brother Judd is an excommunicated member of the church that has recently lost 100 pounds.  We visited him and I felt impressed to offer to dedicate him home.  In the blessing I was prompted to cast out ³evil spirits that were residing within his home.  Brother Judd thought the event was a little silly at first, however, when his friend came over shortly afterwards she exclaimed “what have you done to your house?  The bad Karma is gone!”  There was a distinct difference in the atmosphere of Brother Judd’s home.  He recognized this miracle and his testimony was rekindled.  Currently he is working on quitting smoking so that he can be baptized again.   So far he has shown progress”.

Here was my mental response to what he shared:  “Well, that’s a great story, however, I don’t see how there could be anything for me to share with him just based on that limited information.”  As I pondered on the information I was presented with, I attempted to analyze this imaginary character that represented brother Judd.  I tried to formulate what the best prescription might be for this spiritual patient.  Perhaps I would have focused on a topic related to the Word of Wisdom if I had known all of the details listed above(I don’t think Elder Mcclure mentioned smoking or baptism now that I think about it).  Essentially what I came to realize was that I had nothing to share with this man, and that there was no way that I could possibly find the right scripture to share with him if I could not even discern his needs.  So I decided to turn to the Lord and depend upon Him to direct me towards the message he wanted me to share.  I began by flipping through a combination of scripture mastery scriptures and scriptures that I was familiar with.  For some reason, one of the scriptures ⁴ stood out to me. I didn’t understand why, and I didn’t understand how it would relate, so I continued looking for other scriptures that seemed more logical to share.  I found no other scriptures that seemed appropriate for the situation, and I found that the scripture I had dismissed previously had continued to come to my mind.  The scripture was Isaiah 1:18.  I was not ver anxious to use this scripture because I could not think of anything to say about it.   However, as I began to study the scripture using the Bible Dictionary, the footnotes, the topical guide, I began to receive greater insights into the Atonement, ad I begin to feel the spirit prompting me and confirming the truths that I learned.  I received quite a lot of revelations through this experience, however, I was able to clearly distinguish which things the Lord wanted me to share with Brother Judd and which things I was supposed to keep to myself.  That evening as I met Brother Judd, my first impression was-”Oh, no, that was the wrong message to pick for him”.  (He did not appear to be very educated-which quite frankly turned out to be true- and the message I had prepared was somewhat deeper than what I would typically share).  However, as I got to know him better, I began to feel the spirit testify in my heart and mind that this was the perfect message for Brother Judd.  When it came time for me to share the spiritually thought, I was able to testify of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost.  I felt it and Brother Judd felt it because afterwards there was a physical change in his countenance and in his demeanor.  He shared with me his own testimony, and he expressed his desire and determination to come unto Christ, be baptized, and endure to the end.  After visiting with Brother Judd, Elder Mcclure and I visited a family in his ward for a dinner appointment.  AT this appointment Elder Mcclure enthusiastically expressed his admiration for the insightful spiritual thought I had shared with Brother Judd, and then volunteered me to repeat what I said for the White family to hear.  Although I shared the same scriptures and essentially the same insights that I had used earlier, it was a completely different experience.  The Spirit didn’t seem to be present, and the message didn’t seem to have much of an impact.  As I reflect back on these experiences, what I have come to recognize is that the Lord permitted me to gain this revelation so that I could share His message with Brother Judd.  This message was not intended for the White family, and as a result, the Spirit could not carry it into their hearts the same way that it could with Brother Judd.

The key to revelation is knowing who it is intended for.  Most often we receive revelation for ourselves.  Occasionally it may be for others in relationships such as that between a husband and wife.  Missionaries can receive revelation regarding how they teach investigators.  Parents can receive revelation for raising their children.  The prophet can receive revelation to help him lead the church.  However, in all of these instances, there is a specific person or group of people to whom the revelation is intended for.  Only when the intended audience is present will the Holy Ghost truly testify of the truth of the message being shared.  Spiritual experiences cannot be forced, triggered, or arranged.  They come only as the Lord desires them and only to those whom He has prepared to receive them.  The message that I shared with Brother Judd belonged to him, it was not a message that I ought to have shared with others when I had not been prompted to do so.

~Elder Kyle Jensen~

1-Exchange=swap companions for a day in this case I spent the day in a different area/ward.

2-This is not a perfect record but rather my own attempt to paraphrase what he said.

3-Evil was not the word he used, I do not recall the exact wording.

4-It was not a strong feeling or anything unfamiliar-but rather it resonated in my mind slightly differently than all of the others.

Elder Jensen and Elder Mcclure on exchanges

Journal Entry-May 15th, 2013 This Journal Entry Describes what most days have been like for us this week. (This is one of the better days). Things went downhill afterwards.

Note:

According to the map, we biked about 90 miles.  

It has become apparent that our map key is incorrect.  I have no idea how much we are actually biking. 

Today we labored to the extent of our capacities.  We visited dozens of homes belonging to less active members.  The majority of the houses had gates in front of the doors blocking us from reaching them.  My companion refers to them as salvation blockers.  Out of the few homes that did not have gates, nobody answered the door.  After spending three hours biking in temperatures over one hundred degrees, having emptied the water bottles that I brought with me (only to realized that I probably should have brought twice as much water and applied sunscreen), we notices a couple of benches residing in the shade provided by a few small trees.  As I reflect back on this experience, it occurs to me that this may have been the only shade (sufficient to sit under) within miles of the area.  Palm trees and Cacti don’t offer much protection from the penetrating sun)  Almost immediately after resting on these benches(to plan our next course of action of course).  A man pulled up a and stepped out of his car.  He approached us and welcomed us into his house (which was directly behind where we were sitting).   It turned out that him and his wife were members, and that they happened to be the only active members in the entire neighborhood.  This type of event is what Nephi would call a “tender mercy of the Lord”.    These members gave us a chance to regain our strength and energy and they helped to lift our spirits at a time when I was physically worn out.  Afterwards, the day continued as it had started-Hot, dry & tiresome. 

We were not any more successful that afternoon.  After dinner, we returned to the same neighborhood.  As we rode through the street a gang of 7 year old children surrounded.   They closed in and begin asking me if I had anything for them.   Trying not to panic (noticing that my companion had escaped) I asked “Like what?”  

“Do you have any God cards” a particularly precocious child responded.  

Relieved by their request, (initially I had thought that they wanted money) I began distributing mormon.org cards to them (which they collected from me as if they were Pokemon trading cards).  At this point Elder Hearne had turned around and come back to where the children had cornered me.  We bid them a good day and then dismissed ourselves.  

Note: People never answer the door(unless children open it).  They don’t talk/w their neighbors-or know anything about them and they never come outside because it is so hot.

At the first home we arrived at this evening the door was answered by a child (who was scolded by their parents).  A man about 26 years old came out and began to talk with us.  After looking at the state that we were in (sunburned, dripping w/sweat), he offered us some water and invited us into him house.  We learned that this man was living with his parents, who were the less-active members in our ward. Note: His parents may be active members attending the Spanish ward-we just haven’t figured this our yet. After conversing with him a short while, his wife came downstairs and joined in our conversation.  Initially we discussed our lives.  We learned that this man worked at a golf course and that one of his co-workers had served a mission for the church in South America.  We learned that he had two children.  We learned of his respect for the members of our church and for the missionaries.  However, he then began to express to us that he believed that he didn’t need religion and that he simply wasn’t meant for the type of lifestyle we lived(he felt that he had found how he could be happy that we had found what makes us happy-which were defined as two separate lifestyles).  However, just when it seemed that we would not be able to make any progress with these people, the man turned to his wife and said, “You should talk to them about religion.”  Before his wife had a chance to express her irritation at her husband and dismiss this teaching/learning opportunity, we jumped in and began digging deeper.  She expressed that she had many questions about religion and that although she believed that there could be a God, she didn’t understand religion.  Through our discussion we identified that she felt that there was too much confusion regarding religion, and that she felt that having a religion was somewhat pointless.   She expressed her feeling that there wasn’t really a need for her to join a religion.  She said that she lived a good life, and made good choices and that she was happy.  As we answered her questions we were able to teach her the first lesson from Preach My Gospel.  It became clear to me that her questions were the questions of the soul-the questions ingrained in everyone’s mind-resulting from the absence of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  This need for the Atonement was made evident through the questions that she had, and it became my focus to help this woman recognize the emptiness in her life.  Recognize the possibility of something missing.  She expressed her sense of fulfillment in life, and then expressed her belief that she would be fine after this life.  I agreed with her.   I told her that her happiness in this life would carry over to the next life.   I explained that when we die our mindset does not change.  But then I said something that I believe had a profound impact on her.  I said, “But is there a greater happiness than what we already have?  Is the question that we must all ask ourselves.” We discussed many thing this evening, but in the end the biggest message that came from our discussion was: Life is constantly changing, however, God and His Church doesn’t change.  They had reached a critical point in their life and had began to wonder if there was anything more to life (they saw something in the two teenage boys speaking to them-who seemed to know much more than they should-They couldn’t believe we were 18 and 19)

Perhaps there is something valuable in religion.

At the end of our discussion, they desired to schedule another time to meet with us (really without us even asking-the husband tends to volunteer his wife and put her on the spot).  Although there may be alot of work for us to do before we make progress with this family(if they truly are ready at this point in their lives to accept Christ), I look forward to meeting with them again.  They were fun people that I came to this desert to meet.  In comparison to the happiness that finding them brought to me, the miserable days leading up to this moment were a small price to pay.  I wish that I could adequately express the joy that came to me from this experience.

~Kyle Jensen~

Journal Entry May 12, 2013-Here is a journal entry that describes Jamari-Our investigator. (we have 2 progressing investigators, but Melissa isn’t progressing very fast.

Today was Mother’s Day-I realized that it can be a huge distraction from the work when you Skype your family. I taught a lesson to our investigator Jamari-afterwards, and it was hard to focus on the work at hand. We committed him to baptism, and I knew that he was ready for it. He should have joined the church long ago-its just that nobody ever asked him. Some of the members in the ward even thought that he was a member. The Deacon’s quorum president even asked him to be his 2nd counselor at the same time he invited him to be baptized. He went as far as saying, “I hope you will become the next deacons quorum president.” Jamari already knows the lessons and he probably reads The Book of Mormon more than most members. Jamari will become a wonderful and faithful member of the church. He will set an example for his family and for many others. When the Lord says that the field is white and ready to harvest, he means it. Jamari was about as ready as they come. It wasn’t hard to picture him in the baptismal font dressed in white. His countenance is pure and his heart is strong.

Last week my companion crashed into a stop sign while riding on his bike. Since then I have thought of that image every time I see that stop sign (which is multiple times a day). Tonight I made the mistake of mentioning it to Elder Hearne-to mock him a little-and immediately afterwards I slipped off the sidewalk and lost my balance on my own bike-resulting in a somewhat humbling experience. I suppose you might call this Karma-but I suspect that it was the Lord giving me a reminder of my role as a missionary. After all, I did pray to be humbled last night.

~Kyle Jensen~

Well, these last few days have been pretty crazy.
A few things to mention:

We went to the Temple. It’s a beautiful temple and it was nice to do a session again. This is the longest that I have gone w/out visiting the Temple since I received my endowment. I will send a picture through e-mail. (I forgot my camera, so I will just have to get a picture from my companion). I didn’t realize that temples have cafeterias. Missionaries receive a discounted rate, so it was the best $3 meal I have ever eaten.

One of the members in the ward prayed that we would have a good time on our missions(during a dinner appointment) It reminded me of Tyler. It was a three year old girl named Phoebe-she had a pet chick and a baby duck, which I thought was pretty cool. I should have taken a picture(Caitlyn and Tyler would have loved to see them playing around in a cardboard box in their kitchen) I’ve had some interesting biking experiences and I had a flat tire last week. (We do a ton of biking and there is broken glass everywhere) My tires might not be very good(my companion says that bikes come w/bad tires usually). In one of my crashes one of my pairs of pants got a little beat up-But I’m going to keep wearing them anyways(they aren’t too bad) Don’t tell Remington. Fortunately I changed out of my suit before this happened, so it could have been much worse.

Apparently there are only five “certified organists” in the valley-according to a man I met last week(who prided himself as one of them)Sister Neider is going to utilize my talents.

I am going to be sending a lot more letters because there are so many people that use the computers on P-Day, and some of them will spend hours(and I like to spend time practicing the organ too) on the computers.

Weird event: Yesterday we were biking home and three people on motorcycles drove past us. They were wearing only Basketball shorts and T-shirts and they were driving the wrong side of the road(w/out helmets). We had to move off the road so that they didn’t hit us. If you don’t want these random letters than ask me specific questions so I know what you want to hear about.




~Kyle Jensen~