Cara Famiglia,
My time in Torino is up! It was pretty surprising when President called and said I was getting transfered. I will be going to Verona and my companion will be Anziano Neff, who I've heard is a really cool guy. And I get to live in four again, one of the four being Anziano Webb! Yieah! But I am pretty sad to leave Torino, I love this city! The work is always great and I will be praying for Anziano DeVincent and his new comp. Other fun note, Anziano Proctor is going to Busto! He is so lucky.
Anyway, this week went pretty well. The worst part though was a lesson with Gianpier. We went over on Thursday afternoon with a Sister in the ward because Filomena had been asking 'are there any women in your church?' and we always said 'Yeah definitely!' So we went over and we told the sister that they were doing really well and we were planning on talking about the Word of Wisdom. So we go in and start talking and then Gianpier just drops a bomb on us and pulls out a computer, and I'm thinking 'oh no, what happened??' And he pulls up all these anti-Mormon websites that he found and talks about all the doubts he has now and is just barraging us with all this anti-Mormon stuff. We basically spent an hour and a half trying to just bear really sincere testimony and testify that his doubts will be resolved as he reads the Book of Mormon and prays sincerely to know if it was true. It was a huge bummer because he was doing so well and now it's really unlikely that he'll still want to meet with us, but we will see what happens. I really felt the spirit as we testified of the Gospel truths and hope he can feel the difference between that and the feeling he gets when he reads all this stuff against the church. It was the first time in my mission that an investigator stumbled upon a ton of anti-Mormon stuff and it was not cool! We are really hoping he keeps reading and praying though.
Other than that we're still working with Bright, Antonio, and Assunta. The work seems a little slow right now but we're exercising a lot of faith and really working hard to find new investigators and help the ones we have to progress. Keep praying for the work in Torino 1!
One cool thing that happened was that I found a Bortolussi! We were knocking a palazzo and we just walk down the stairs and bam, there was a nameplate that said 'Bortolussi I.' I thought Mom might have rented a house here in Torino and put her name up! But they weren't home! So it was a bummer I didn't get to meet any possible relatives.
Also I forgot to mention in my letter last week but we made it up to Courmayeur! It is a city that is past Aosta in the Italian region of Valle d'Aosta, and it is right at the foot of Mont Blanc and about a 10 minute drive from France! It was incredibly gorgeous! We went up to teach a part member family, the husband is semi-interested in the gospel. They made us a delicious Peruvian lunch, and seriously Courmayeur is breathtaking. I think we are the first missionaries to go there in a long long time too, it was really cool.
This week I translated my Patriarchal Blessing in Italian. It was really eye-opening! As I really focused on every word it helped make this reading another really spiritual experience. I really like a line in it that says the trials I face in life are simply an opportunity to help me find no fault in the Savior's gospel. Also, I wanted to share a quote from a Henry B. Eyring talk that goes along well with it:
"Our humility and our faith that invite spiritual gifts are increased by our reading, studying, and pondering the scriptures. We have all heard those words. Yet we may read a few lines or pages of scripture every day and hope that will be enough.
"But reading, studying, and pondering are not the same. We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections in scripture. But when we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit. Pondering, to me, is the thinking and the praying I do after reading and studying in the scriptures carefully." (Oct. 2010 Conference)
This promise applies to the scriptures and I would definitely say that includes Patriarchal Blessings. I would invite each of you to not only read and study your Patriarchal Blessings, but to ponder them throughout the day, which is when a lot of revelation can come to us. I know that this church is true, and that it is guided by a living prophet called of God. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I love you all lots!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Torino Week 10
Cara Famiglia,
This week was a good week, we made some good progress with our investigators. The weather is also getting really nice recently; most of the snow has melted and it's spring-like warm and sunny. I wish we had clouds like Mexico though!
So this week we went and picked up Bright for church. We knocked on his door and woke him up out of bed to get him there, but he seemed truly grateful that we did. So we walked like 20 mins. to the chapel and had him there in time for the Sacrament, which was really good. Afterwards he said he liked it but then he escaped and didn't stay for the last two hours for some reason! We are going to see what's up with him. Gianpier was not able to come to church this week for sickness reasons, but the good news is that now his wife wants to come and bring their daughter too! We saw them Saturday with another solid member who struck up a really great friendship with them, and so Gianpier invited this member and his wife to come over for dinner sometime. Then we taught him yesterday about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was a really good lesson, we helped clear up some things. He is really interested in a lot of things and already says he wants Anziano DeVincent to baptize him! Haha but first we have to set a date to do it. Unfortunately Antonio, Sandro, and Assunta all didn't come to church. But we had another FHE with Antonio at a member's house two days ago that went pretty well, so we're hoping to help get these people really progressing towards baptism.
We've also been doing some good finding work, last night we found a cool Romanian guy named Tun Vasile(I don't know how to spell it!), and he was pretty interested so we'll see how that goes. We've also been blessed with some sweet referrals that we hope turn into solid investigators. The work is going really well and I am quite happy!
This week I read in 3 Nephi 18 about the Sacrament, and I can't really quote just one part so you should all just read the whole chapter. It is amazing to think about what the Sacrament really reads and know that we have the blessing and opportunity to partake of it every week. I have been trying recently during church to really focus on just being in the true Church of Jesus Christ as a member instead of just spending all the meetings stressing out about investigators. The Sacrament is a great opportunity to focus on the things that are truly eternally important. I know this church is true!
Vi voglio bene!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
This week was a good week, we made some good progress with our investigators. The weather is also getting really nice recently; most of the snow has melted and it's spring-like warm and sunny. I wish we had clouds like Mexico though!
So this week we went and picked up Bright for church. We knocked on his door and woke him up out of bed to get him there, but he seemed truly grateful that we did. So we walked like 20 mins. to the chapel and had him there in time for the Sacrament, which was really good. Afterwards he said he liked it but then he escaped and didn't stay for the last two hours for some reason! We are going to see what's up with him. Gianpier was not able to come to church this week for sickness reasons, but the good news is that now his wife wants to come and bring their daughter too! We saw them Saturday with another solid member who struck up a really great friendship with them, and so Gianpier invited this member and his wife to come over for dinner sometime. Then we taught him yesterday about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was a really good lesson, we helped clear up some things. He is really interested in a lot of things and already says he wants Anziano DeVincent to baptize him! Haha but first we have to set a date to do it. Unfortunately Antonio, Sandro, and Assunta all didn't come to church. But we had another FHE with Antonio at a member's house two days ago that went pretty well, so we're hoping to help get these people really progressing towards baptism.
We've also been doing some good finding work, last night we found a cool Romanian guy named Tun Vasile(I don't know how to spell it!), and he was pretty interested so we'll see how that goes. We've also been blessed with some sweet referrals that we hope turn into solid investigators. The work is going really well and I am quite happy!
This week I read in 3 Nephi 18 about the Sacrament, and I can't really quote just one part so you should all just read the whole chapter. It is amazing to think about what the Sacrament really reads and know that we have the blessing and opportunity to partake of it every week. I have been trying recently during church to really focus on just being in the true Church of Jesus Christ as a member instead of just spending all the meetings stressing out about investigators. The Sacrament is a great opportunity to focus on the things that are truly eternally important. I know this church is true!
Vi voglio bene!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Finding IS Teaching!
Cara Famiglia,
Buon giorno di San Valentino! Happy Valentine's Day! I guess it was yesterday, but holidays basically don't change anything for us haha. This week the weather has gotten better, less cold and today is actually quite warm. Last week we actually went to the Egyptian Museum here in Torino (apparently the second biggest one in the world after Cairo!) and it was very interesting. A bunch of the papyri looked like the Pearl of Great Price. Today we are going to Collegno to eat at a supposedly really good pizzeria ftw!
This week we did a lot of finding work! But it was great! We did really good work and taught a lot of people. I believe I mentioned we set a baptismal date with Bright for the fourth of March, so keep praying for him to make it! He is really great. We also taught Giovanni and Gabriella again! They were the couple from about a month ago, and they had their newborn son the day after we taught them. They decided to name him Joseph Smith in honor of our message. Just kidding! But then their son went to the hospital for a couple weeks because he had some form of bronchitis, but he's back home now and so we went back with a member and taught the Plan of Salvation! It was awesome, they liked it a lot and it really grew their faith in the Restoration. Having a member at lessons makes a huge difference!
We also passed by Gianpier yesterday with another member who struck up a really good friendship with him. And the member is teaching a lesson on Sunday so now Gianpier is going to come and bring his whole family! I just hope there will be church in our building, because this last Sunday the heater was broken. Everyone was in Sacrament Meeting the first hour with coats and scarves and hats and then they just canceled the other two hours. So we might have to go to church in another building this week, who knows.
I never remember past emails I've sent, but we're also teaching this Italian lady named Assunta, who is maybe 70 years old. We found her in the Area Book and have taught her three times in the past couple weeks. She's really nice and you can tell she wants to know if this is true but is kind of scared of changing her life at this point. But we will build up her faith!
This week in a spiritual thought I share 3 Nephi 11:3, probably one of the best verses in the entire Book of Mormon. It says:
3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.
There are a lot of voices in the world competing for our attention, but whether they be good or bad the best voice to listen to is always the still, small one. I know that as we open our ears to hear this voice and pray for it, it will guide us to what is right, and testify of the truth. I know the Holy Ghost has borne witness to me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this is His church. I love you all lots!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
P.S. Hebrews 13:24-25
Buon giorno di San Valentino! Happy Valentine's Day! I guess it was yesterday, but holidays basically don't change anything for us haha. This week the weather has gotten better, less cold and today is actually quite warm. Last week we actually went to the Egyptian Museum here in Torino (apparently the second biggest one in the world after Cairo!) and it was very interesting. A bunch of the papyri looked like the Pearl of Great Price. Today we are going to Collegno to eat at a supposedly really good pizzeria ftw!
This week we did a lot of finding work! But it was great! We did really good work and taught a lot of people. I believe I mentioned we set a baptismal date with Bright for the fourth of March, so keep praying for him to make it! He is really great. We also taught Giovanni and Gabriella again! They were the couple from about a month ago, and they had their newborn son the day after we taught them. They decided to name him Joseph Smith in honor of our message. Just kidding! But then their son went to the hospital for a couple weeks because he had some form of bronchitis, but he's back home now and so we went back with a member and taught the Plan of Salvation! It was awesome, they liked it a lot and it really grew their faith in the Restoration. Having a member at lessons makes a huge difference!
We also passed by Gianpier yesterday with another member who struck up a really good friendship with him. And the member is teaching a lesson on Sunday so now Gianpier is going to come and bring his whole family! I just hope there will be church in our building, because this last Sunday the heater was broken. Everyone was in Sacrament Meeting the first hour with coats and scarves and hats and then they just canceled the other two hours. So we might have to go to church in another building this week, who knows.
I never remember past emails I've sent, but we're also teaching this Italian lady named Assunta, who is maybe 70 years old. We found her in the Area Book and have taught her three times in the past couple weeks. She's really nice and you can tell she wants to know if this is true but is kind of scared of changing her life at this point. But we will build up her faith!
This week in a spiritual thought I share 3 Nephi 11:3, probably one of the best verses in the entire Book of Mormon. It says:
3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.
There are a lot of voices in the world competing for our attention, but whether they be good or bad the best voice to listen to is always the still, small one. I know that as we open our ears to hear this voice and pray for it, it will guide us to what is right, and testify of the truth. I know the Holy Ghost has borne witness to me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this is His church. I love you all lots!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
P.S. Hebrews 13:24-25
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Cold!
Cara Famglia,
This week has been really cold. Although probably not as cold as Anziano Richards in Denmark. After the snowstorm last week which left about 6 or 7 inches here in Torino, it got super cold and windy. It's been sticking around -5 celsius each night. But it is really fun to be out talking to people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ on an awesome Italian Piazza, even when it is freezing.
Well Antonio and Sandro came to church! Antonio is making more progress than [Sandro], but he is still kind of shaky. He says we talk too much about Joseph Smith and not about other prophets, and he keeps saying "I want to follow Jesus Christ, not a church." So we are working on that. Gianpier is doing well, we taught him a lesson on Saturday and it was really cool. His brother-in-law Stefano was also there, and Gianpier taught him how to pray! It was really cool. He really understands everything we teach really well, but he's kind of hesitant to unite with a church and be baptized again. So we are going to keep helping him recognize the importance of the Restoration. Stefano was also very interested, seeing as we taught the Plan of Salvation, and we sent him off with a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon.
Bright did not come to church, but last night we set a baptismal date with him for the 4th of March, so pray for him to make that date! He is really good and will be baptized, he's really noticing the difference the gospel makes in his life.
We are working on finding new investigators too, and last night we found a lady named Jennifer! She is from Nigeria, here in Italy for 7 years and is super brava. She let us in to her house while we were knocking doors and we taught her about the Restoration and invited her to baptism and she said yes! So it was really cool.
The work is going really good, we have some other good potentials/investigators that we are continuing to work with.
This week I was reading some of the Book of Helaman and I really liked some verses in chapter three:
28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—
30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.
First of all, I think it would be really awesome to hang out with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and have a good conversation with them. But I really like the message of the gate being open unto all, and how powerful the word of God is to help us know eternal truths that will bring us eternal happiness. I know it is an eternal truth that Jesus is the Christ, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will bring peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. I know this church is true. I love you all!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
This week has been really cold. Although probably not as cold as Anziano Richards in Denmark. After the snowstorm last week which left about 6 or 7 inches here in Torino, it got super cold and windy. It's been sticking around -5 celsius each night. But it is really fun to be out talking to people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ on an awesome Italian Piazza, even when it is freezing.
Well Antonio and Sandro came to church! Antonio is making more progress than [Sandro], but he is still kind of shaky. He says we talk too much about Joseph Smith and not about other prophets, and he keeps saying "I want to follow Jesus Christ, not a church." So we are working on that. Gianpier is doing well, we taught him a lesson on Saturday and it was really cool. His brother-in-law Stefano was also there, and Gianpier taught him how to pray! It was really cool. He really understands everything we teach really well, but he's kind of hesitant to unite with a church and be baptized again. So we are going to keep helping him recognize the importance of the Restoration. Stefano was also very interested, seeing as we taught the Plan of Salvation, and we sent him off with a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon.
Bright did not come to church, but last night we set a baptismal date with him for the 4th of March, so pray for him to make that date! He is really good and will be baptized, he's really noticing the difference the gospel makes in his life.
We are working on finding new investigators too, and last night we found a lady named Jennifer! She is from Nigeria, here in Italy for 7 years and is super brava. She let us in to her house while we were knocking doors and we taught her about the Restoration and invited her to baptism and she said yes! So it was really cool.
The work is going really good, we have some other good potentials/investigators that we are continuing to work with.
This week I was reading some of the Book of Helaman and I really liked some verses in chapter three:
28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—
30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.
First of all, I think it would be really awesome to hang out with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and have a good conversation with them. But I really like the message of the gate being open unto all, and how powerful the word of God is to help us know eternal truths that will bring us eternal happiness. I know it is an eternal truth that Jesus is the Christ, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will bring peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. I know this church is true. I love you all!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Pictures!
1) Chiesa di Gran Madre, which poorly translated means 'Church of the Big Mama' hahaha
2) The view of the Paramount Pictures mountain that you see from our apartment balcony
3) Anziano Russo and I hitchhiking on Christmas Eve on the way to a member's house
4) The Duomo of Torino
5) La Mole Antonelliana
6) La Piazza San Carlo in Torino with the Twin Churches
2) The view of the Paramount Pictures mountain that you see from our apartment balcony
3) Anziano Russo and I hitchhiking on Christmas Eve on the way to a member's house
4) The Duomo of Torino
5) La Mole Antonelliana
6) La Piazza San Carlo in Torino with the Twin Churches
Snow problem!
Cara Famiglia,
Well this week has been great! I have a new companion! I was kind of sad that Anziano Russo left because he was awesome, but Anziano DeVincent is super bravo too. He's from Morgantown, West Virginia! Three hours from our house! Haha he's a really cool kid though, he's already graduated from WVU with a degree in Finance. I always joke with him and say 'Go Pitt!' But he's a good worker, he's in his 4th transfer after spending three in Livorno. He never complains, which is something I really admire in a companion.
This week was tricky for teaching. We weren't able to see a bunch of our investigators. But we taught Bright a really good lesson about the Sabbath Day and he finally came to Sacrament Meeting! It was awesome. He's doing well, although we probably need to move his baptismal date towards the end of February. We also saw Gianpier and Filomena and Filomena's mom Angela who are all really cool. It was funny, in the middle of the lesson like three or four times they started the stereotypical 'Italian family conversation' style of speaking, which if someone was watching and didn't understand would think they were getting in a huge fight. But they were just talking. It was really funny. I hope this story makes sense...
We also had a really cool experience with a member named Sorella Orlandini. She's a single lady who lives alone and we were trying to just go visit members we didn't know and we set up an appointment with her. But we couldn't get a male member to come with us, so we were just going to stop by and say hi. So we knock and the door and we're like 'Hey, sorry, we can't actually come in but we wanted to stop by and say hello!' And she says 'Ah dang! Well here, maybe my neighbor downstairs wants to meet you guys!' And she called them but they were eating so we couldn't go visit them. But then she just went and knocked on the door next to her and her neighbor opened and she goes 'Hey, these are the missionaries from my church, can we come in?' And so we taught her neighbor about the gospel blessing families and gave her a Book of Mormon and Sorella Orlandini bore some awesome testimony! It was probably the best member missionary experience I have had here in Italy. So I would invite all of you to help out the missionaries like that if you can!
It finally snowed this week! We got a good six inches a couple days ago, and today it's snowing a bit more. It was fun to do finding work on an Italian piazza in a blizzard. We actually found a cool guy and got an appointment. It was very picturesque.
My spiritual though this week is Alma 62:41 -- "But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility."
I thought it was really cool how the people that underwent the same trials and tribulations of the war came out of it either more bitter, or they let their hearts be softened. It was a big reminder to me that we are truly agents 'to act, and not be acted upon', so we can decide whether to be happy or not. I invite you all to continue to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the source of the greatest happiness there is! I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and was called as a prophet of God. I love you all!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
Well this week has been great! I have a new companion! I was kind of sad that Anziano Russo left because he was awesome, but Anziano DeVincent is super bravo too. He's from Morgantown, West Virginia! Three hours from our house! Haha he's a really cool kid though, he's already graduated from WVU with a degree in Finance. I always joke with him and say 'Go Pitt!' But he's a good worker, he's in his 4th transfer after spending three in Livorno. He never complains, which is something I really admire in a companion.
This week was tricky for teaching. We weren't able to see a bunch of our investigators. But we taught Bright a really good lesson about the Sabbath Day and he finally came to Sacrament Meeting! It was awesome. He's doing well, although we probably need to move his baptismal date towards the end of February. We also saw Gianpier and Filomena and Filomena's mom Angela who are all really cool. It was funny, in the middle of the lesson like three or four times they started the stereotypical 'Italian family conversation' style of speaking, which if someone was watching and didn't understand would think they were getting in a huge fight. But they were just talking. It was really funny. I hope this story makes sense...
We also had a really cool experience with a member named Sorella Orlandini. She's a single lady who lives alone and we were trying to just go visit members we didn't know and we set up an appointment with her. But we couldn't get a male member to come with us, so we were just going to stop by and say hi. So we knock and the door and we're like 'Hey, sorry, we can't actually come in but we wanted to stop by and say hello!' And she says 'Ah dang! Well here, maybe my neighbor downstairs wants to meet you guys!' And she called them but they were eating so we couldn't go visit them. But then she just went and knocked on the door next to her and her neighbor opened and she goes 'Hey, these are the missionaries from my church, can we come in?' And so we taught her neighbor about the gospel blessing families and gave her a Book of Mormon and Sorella Orlandini bore some awesome testimony! It was probably the best member missionary experience I have had here in Italy. So I would invite all of you to help out the missionaries like that if you can!
It finally snowed this week! We got a good six inches a couple days ago, and today it's snowing a bit more. It was fun to do finding work on an Italian piazza in a blizzard. We actually found a cool guy and got an appointment. It was very picturesque.
My spiritual though this week is Alma 62:41 -- "But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility."
I thought it was really cool how the people that underwent the same trials and tribulations of the war came out of it either more bitter, or they let their hearts be softened. It was a big reminder to me that we are truly agents 'to act, and not be acted upon', so we can decide whether to be happy or not. I invite you all to continue to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the source of the greatest happiness there is! I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and was called as a prophet of God. I love you all!
-Anziano Benjamin Smith
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