December 8, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, this is the last email I will be sending out because I will be
going home to Connecticut next Wednesday. So, this letter will
(hopefully) be better than all my previous ones. Luckily, I have some
really cool experiences this week.

To start off, we taught London a couple 3 times this week. He was
reading, praying, and even came to the church for a bible study and
church tour. He was on fire.....and then we taught the infamous WoW.
The lesson itself was awesome. We could see the Spirit working on him
and he answered the questions we asked perfectly. We were going to
talk about how our body is a temple, but he brought it up even before
we got to it. It was really cool, but he said it was one of those
things he really liked so he wouldn't live it. We were so sad that he
wasn't willing to receive the blessings from living this commandment.

On a better note, we were teaching an investigator who was not
progressing, but yesterday, we really listened to the Spirit and asked
inspired questions and he was really touched by the Spirit. We were
going to drop him, but his enthusiasm afterwards let us know that he
needs another shot. The Spirit is so powerful!

I also had a life changing event this week. As the reckoning at the
end approaches, I have done a lot of reflecting on how well I've done
and how selflessly I have served. I haven't been the perfect
missionary and it was getting me down. I didn't think it was possible
to change so near the end. I prayed very earnestly for forgiveness and
fasted to know if my mission was an acceptable sacrifice. During fast
and testimony meeting and throughout the whole day, everything seemed
to be focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I also felt an
overwhelming feeling that I have been forgiven and my sacrifice was
accepted. This gave me a desire to share the Gospel even more. It now
reminds me of a scripture in Moroni 8:25-26, "And the first fruits of
repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling
the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth
remission of sins; And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and
lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart
cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with
hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto
prayer,until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with
God." I know as we sincerely repent, God WILL forgive us and this
forgiveness will give us a desire to share the Gospel. I bear witness
of the Savior and He really did suffer for us, that we might not
suffer if we would repent. My mission has changed me so much and I am
so grateful for the opportunity I had to teach so many of my brothers
and sisters. My joy is truly full! I love you all so much!!!!!

With love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

December 1, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Amazing few days since the Elder Arnold Conference! After his
trainings, we now have 2 people on date to be baptized. The first one
was an awesome experience! We met him while he was walking his dog. We
went by later that week and he let us in and we taught the Restoration of
the Gospel. He accepted a Book of Mormon and then flipped it open
randomly and started reading it silently to himself. He then read it
out loud and the scripture he read was, "And it came to pass that I,
Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord
hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto
the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they
may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." So.....it was
pretty awesome. What are the chances...slim to none. We then talked to
him about coming to know for himself. The Spirit definitely testified
to him that the Book was true.

This is really weird, but I will only send out one more email before I
go home to my family in Connecticut, but I've seen over this two years
that things in the Gospel are not easy, but they are always possible.
We all have struggles, but we can overcome them with His help. I love
you all and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

November 24, 2014

Dear Friends and family,

Awesome first week back in Richland! We had some great lessons this
week. Lately, I've been trying to ask more inspired questions, which
help the investigator feel the Spirit and receive revelation. I have seen
it work a lot.

We also had Elder Arnold of the Seventy come and train us about how we
can participate more fully in the Lord's hastening. He shared some
very applicable advise. Well, you can never be too old to repent and
improve. He had an incredible testimony of the Savior, which can only
stem from a lifelong commitment to follow Him.

Speaking of this...I read a scripture today that hit me with a lot of
power. Bartimaeus is a blind dude, and he implores for the Savior's
mercy in healing him. Mark 10:52 says, "And Jesus said unto him,
Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he
received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." What really struck
me is that Jesus said "Go thy way." We all have our own will or way
that is our agency. We can do what we want. Bartimaeus however decides
to follow Jesus in THE Way. THIS is the Gospel of Christ. He is The
Way. He is The Only Way. I testify that as we give our hearts to Him,
that he will be able to heal us. I love you and I love this amazing
opportunity I've been given to serve a mission! Have a Happy
Thanksgiving.

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

November 10, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was pretty good. The weeks honestly keep getting better! We are teaching mostly part member families and the ward is doing such a great job with fellowshipping! It is truly amazing how normal people can rise to the occasion and have such an impact others!

I've been reading the talks from general conference again and the Spirit that is in the words of God's chosen servants is so powerful. As I read, I feel the Spirit tell me what I can improve on, questions I have, and just inspiration. Transfer calls are this week though so the fate of my last 4 weeks will be decided on Saturday! My mission has been the greatest experience of my life. It has set the pattern that I hope to live for the rest of eternity, which is faith, repentance, keeping covenants, and enduring to the end. How great is the Gospel!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

October 20. 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, this week was super good. We are teaching this mother and daughter (who is dating a member in another ward) and the daughter is thinking about getting baptized. In our mission, we call it implementing the 43rd principle (there are 42 in Preach my Gospel) or FTC (which stands for flirt to convert) so this fine young man has mastered this principle:)

Lately, I've been working on focusing on other people. As I've gotten better at it during my mission, it has really made me happy. A quote comes to mind by President Utchdorf, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but less about yourself." With this being said, we stopped by a potential to whom we had given a Book of Mormon. Her husband answered the door with a serious foot injury. As we listened to his story with love, charity filled our hearts. He commented after, "Thank you for listening. Its hard to find people now days that care." I then told him, "Well, God cares." He then very excitedly said he would read the Book of Mormon and would love us to come back again. I love our brothers and sisters, God's love will fill our hears and we will be happy. I love you all and have a LOVEly week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

October 13, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was pretty good. It took me a long time to write these few
sentences because I am getting old so I don't have much to say, my
spelling is super bad, and my typing is even worse. Anyway....We had a
really good week! We found a really solid family. The mom let us in
because her daughter is dating a member and her daughter is
considering getting baptized. We tracted into them a month ago, but
they were on vacation for a while. We felt prompted to see a part
member family, but they couldn't meet, however, this family lived
really close and let us right in! It was pretty awesome. God knows
everything....who knew.

As I've gone over my general conference notes, a paragraph by Elder
Scott that I have really tried to implement into my life.

"The first tool is prayer. Choose to converse with your Father in
Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings
with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. He is interested in
the most important as well as the most mundane facets of your life.
Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences.

Because He respects your agency, Father in Heaven will never force you
to pray to Him. But as you exercise that agency and include Him in
every aspect of your daily life, your heart will begin to fill with
peace, buoyant peace. That peace will focus an eternal light on your
struggles. It will help you to manage those challenges from an eternal
perspective."

I testify that as we tell Him everything, we can find peace in our
lives as we speak to Him as one man speaketh to another. Love you all
and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

October 6, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, it turns out that I will be staying in Pasco for my last full
transfer! It is so awesome serving here.

So for those of you who have other missionaries writing you, I'm sure
you have heard about conference and I feel as does Jarom, "wherefore,
it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the
things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I
write more than [the prophets] have written?"

However, I came to Conference with Specific questions and had them all
answered. That's what happens when you're listening to prophets! I
really liked President Uchtdorf's talk in the Priesthood session about
judging. We as humans have the tendency to look at the faults of
others before we see our own weaknesses. As we strive to correct our
own weaknesses through the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ, I can promise you that you will be able to see clearly and you
will be able to love those people, in spite of their weaknesses. I
love you all and have a great week.

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

p.s. watch meet the Mormons this week. I testify its good.

September 29, 2014

Well......Baptism.....Pretty great. Super cool experience. I get to go
to another baptism back in Umathrilla on the 11th so that will be
great! A lot of great things happening here in Warshington.

Now that I'm approaching THE END, it causes you to reflect on the past
long, yet short, time. As I've thought, I've seen how God has guided
me and how His Doctrine has really changed me. I know that missionary
work changes lives, not only of those who you serve, but yours as
well. I love you all and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Coleman

Dear Friends and family,

Amazing week!  We had 7 new investigators this week! I think that's
the most of my mission. Most importantly though is the spiritual
growth I've experienced here. I love the people here so much and it is
a blessing to serve on their behalf. We have an awesome lady getting
baptized on thursday so we are so excited! We had her interview on
Saturday and she is so excited. Also, D________ from my last area that
elder G________ and I taught is getting baptized next week! We are so
excited for her! I can't believe (ok I can) that my last couple 3
months of my mission is so successful and that I have grown so much.

A cool scripture I found this morning in Isaiah 63:9, "In all their
affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them:
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and
carried them all the days of old." As we come to the Savior, He will
carry us through. I love Him and I continue to give Him my all. I love
you all and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

September 8, 2014

Dear friends and family,

Out of all the weeks in the month of September, 2014 years after the
Birth of our Savior, this one was the best. Our on-date fasted this
week (that was a miracle in itself) and she has no doubts about the
truthfulness of the Gospel. It has been an amazing experience teaching
her. She has been so changed by the Gospel and her baptism will be at
10 on the 27th. Our other on-date, Alex, is doing awesome. He has a
great knowledge of the Gospel, he just needs to act on it.

This week, we discussed as a zone what goals we could set to further
the work. We decided that as a zone we need to talk to 3000 people
during the rest of the transfer. So far, we have seen so many
miracles! We have tons of appointments, our investigators are
progressing, and we have the Spirit. What more could you ask for as a
missionary?

I know as we work hard and as we live the commandments, the Lord can
bless us in all aspects of our lives. I love most of you, and don't
know the rest of you, but I'm sure I would love you if I knew you, so
have a great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

September 1, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Well good news, one of our investigators is for sure getting baptized
on the 27th! Who knew that this is God's work. Lately, we've been
doing a lot of tracting because we aren't teaching that many people
that are progressing. So, I know the Lord will bless us for our
diligent efforts.

It takes me back to proverbs 26:13, "The slothful man saith, There is
a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets." We can't make excuses
for not working our hardest in whatever we do. I just thought I'd
share that. Have a nice day!

Love,
Elder Coleman

August 25, 2014

Dear Friends and family,

Hope you enjoyed last weeks email........Ok I got lazy and didn't
write one but this week, I am repenting. We had an amazing week.
Transfers are this week (already) and I am receiving Elder B______ so
that should be exciting. So last week, we got a referral from a sister
in the ward whose cousin was interested about hearing the lessons. So
of course we were very excited. She has come to church twice and is on
date to be baptized! It has been an amazing experience watching her
feel the Spirit and while our traditions aren't what she is use to,
the Atonement is changing her life.

We also are teaching A______, an awesome guy who loves martial arts. He
has investigated the Church before. His retention is awesome and can
teach us back. He is super cool and also wants to be baptized.

So this week, we had stake conference. The whole Saturday Session was
devoted to missionary work so I was all ears. As I listened, one
message stood out to me, and that was charity. I'm sure that was the
Holy Ghost telling me that I should work on it. So, I studied up some
more and read Moroni 7:45 for the hundreth time. I learned something
new though, and that's why I love the Scriptures. It says, "And
charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not
puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no
evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth,
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things." In normal English this says that Charity is patient,
kind, humble, selfless, peaceful, and righteous. This is Charity and
it is what I want to be like. I know as we all come to develop
Chirst-like love, we will be happy, because we will see people as they
really are. I love all of you and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

August 11, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Things are going well here. So maybe 4 hours after my email last week, I
rolled my ankle playing volleyball:( That was really painful but I
tried to endure. I took the old motto "Pain is just weakness leaving
the body" and toughed it out. Unfortunately, it turns out that the more
you work on it, the more it hurts. Who knew?

We did have a cool spiritual experience this week. Another set of
missionaries in the stake found a family of 7 and the mom and dad got
baptized on Saturday. The Spirit testified that they were doing the
right thing. I know that as we make correct choices that the Holy
Ghost will let us know through our feelings that we are doing the
right thing. I love all of you and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

August 4, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Good week, not as amazing as last week but still really good. We found
a new investigator that use to be investigating the church, but was
arrested the day of his baptism for not paying fines. So after a year
of try bys, we got in!

So lately, I've been reading Ye Olde Testament. A forewarning, I would
not necessarily recommend it unless you really like to learn and
really like to look at genealogies. Anyway, as missionaries, we teach
that God has revealed His gospel in every dispensation of time and
that, because He is merciful, He reaches out to us all the time, even
when we don't accept Him. I have seen that in the Old Testament. As
I've looked past all the craziness of the Old Testament, (for
craziness, see Judges 3:16-22, 4:21, 1 Kings 18:40, 2 Kings 2:23-24,
not all the examples, but my favorites. Not trying to hurt your
testimonies of the Old Testament...) I've seen that this is true and that
even though they, "refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy
wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in
their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but
thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and forsookest them not." (Nehemiah 9:17) I
know that God is ALWAYS reaching out to us so please take His hand. I
love you all and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

July 28, 1014

Dear friends and family,

This week was very difficult, but very rewarding. Before transfers, I
prayed for humility and patience. Because "tribulation worketh
patience" (Romans 5:3) and "a man’s pride shall bring him low: but
honour shall uphold the humble in spirit" (Proverbs 29:23), God made
sure I had plenty of tribulation. Needless to say, I was feeling kinda
down, even at church. After church, I took a little nap and read in
this month's Ensign. An article said that we need to patiently wait on
the Lord's timing and it struck me so much, because I was praying to
see the purpose in all of this. I felt the Spirit and learned that
valuable lesson, that God's timing is far better for us that anything
we could come up with ourselves and He will ALWAYS fulfill His
promises. We also had the most lessons that I've ever had so that was
another really cool blessing.

So when I started writing this, I made a spelling error on the
computer (been having some issues lately) and i meant to say humility,
but since the U is close to the I it came out Himility. I changed it
but it struck me that Humility is aligning our will with Him hence
HIMility. Pretty cool mistake but I love you all and have a great
week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 2:02 PM

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Spencer Coleman <scoleman@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 2:02 PM
Subject:
To: Lori Coleman <lcoleman@byu.net>

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a great week! We had a church tour with O_____ and he said that he felt the Spirit and wants to be baptized. Unfortunately, he is not as active as he needs to be. So, we will be patient as he strives to develop faith. We are also having Family Home Evening with the H______family tonight at the Brown's home. It should help them start to do it on their own. 

I had a really cool experience yesterday. Before I begin I just want to say that I love fasting. Some may say, "How does a 20 year old dude like to go without food and water for 2 meals. He is loco." I love the Spirit that accompanies you when you go without the desires of the flesh, to help the poor through fast offerings, and focus your mind on the Lord and His work. I just find it easier to be more like Him and feel the Spirit as I fast. The spiritual experience that stands out though was pondering what I should speak about next Sunday (we were actually given a full weeks notice:) so I prayed to know how I can best present the talk. (Elder Bednar's General Conference address "Bear up their burdens with ease." My favorite talk, I highly recommend reading it.) As I prayed, I felt that I should play the piano that was in my apartment. So I flipped it open and turned to "Be Still My Soul" and then "Where Can I Turn For Peace?" two of my favorite hymns. I felt the Spirit very strong as I played and knew what I need to speak on. So, I will be speaking on Finding peace through the Atonement of Christ.

I haven't written much more than this for the talk, but I think I'll share something I was thinking about. "Where Can I Turn For Peace?" It is a question that everyone throughout history has thought about, some use meditation, money, or medication. But the only way to find true and lasting peace is through Christ's Atonement. I'll close my letter with the last few lines of the song in answer to the question, "where can I turn for peace?" "He, only One. He answers privately, reaches my reaching in my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend. Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching. Constant he is and kind, Love without end." I know the Savior loves each one of you, more than you can possibly imagine. I hope you come to feel this in your life is my prayer. I love you all and have a nice week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear Friends and Families,

Really cool week! We had an awesome specialized training this week! I felt the Spirit as President Ware and the APs told us how we can focus on our purpose. The Spirit also showed me how we could help D________. So we went over there (side note: she read 80 chapters in one week nbd) and invited her to pray about being baptized and she said she would. We came by the next day and she said that her answer was that she would know when she was ready. It has been awesome to see someone receiving revelation for themselves, even though its not the answer we wanted, but God's way is far superior to Elder Coleman's way. She and her husband have noticed a significant change in their lives and its been an incredible blessing for me to continue to help them progress towards Christ. We also have a church tour with O______ and his family tonight so hopefully that will be awesome.

So I finished "Jesus the Christ" this week and it was such an amazing experience to read about Christ's perfect life and how He has done so much for us. So, I have decided to read Ye Olde Testament. We'll see how this goes. So far though, it has been really great to learn from the example of the early Patriarchs, especially that of Abraham. When God asked him to sacrifice his son, he with unwavering faith in God's promises and steadfast obedience, was willing to give up what he cared about most. Fortunately, he was not asked to give up his only son. As many of you know, Abraham's sacrifice was in similitude of God's sacrifice of His Son (Jacob 4:5). I know that Christ is my Savior and that through Him, I can return to Him whom I love. I am so grateful for Him and for all of your love and support. Thank you and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

June 18, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry this letter isn't going out until Wednesday. We went to the temple and so P-day is today. The temple was yet another amazing experience. I really encourage you to regularly attend the temple if you can or work towards that. We had a really awesome week this week! We have been going through the ward directory and we are trying to help some of the less active members of the ward return to church. It has been cool to me to see that amazing people sometimes can fall off the beaten path, but fortunately, Christ had suffered for us so that we can change and receive the blessings of the Gospel.

We had a really powerful lesson with D_______ on Monday. The Spirit was there because we taught as Christ did by using inspired questions so that she can receive revelation for herself. She now knows that she needs to pause and listen in her prayers so that she can recognize the promptings that come through the Spirit.

I can testify that as you live worthily and pray with real intent, that you will learn to recognize the promptings from the Holy Spirit and your life will be blessed immensely because of this. I love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

June 9, 2014

Dear family and friends,

We had a pretty cool week this week. D________ and T_______ came to church which was pretty awesome! We also started meeting with a few part member families so hopefully those go well.

Well, since we have knocked all the houses in our area twice, we have decided to take a different approach. Elder G and I also decided to go through every single name on the ward directory and teach whoever was willing. We had a super cool miracle because of it. We just had a list of names in the area and we got to the next one and went there, and she invited us right in. She said that she was watching something on the TV and it talked about the Elders and the laying on of hands for healing. She decided she needed a blessing to overcome an addiction that she has. So she decided to look for us. After calling different people and using various means to contact us, she decided that she would just walk and look for us. Before she could do that, we knocked on her door looking for her. We were there at just the right time because she was praying and was about to go for a walk to try to find us. So we gave her the blessing and it was a very good one. We set up a return appointment and hopefully, this experience changes her life. It was really cool that God would use us (unaware missionaries) to be an instrument in his hands of blessing (literally) the lives of one of His beloved children.

Lately, I've been trying to read to scripture with real intent, looking for answers to questions. I was reading 2 Nephi 4 (one of my favorites) and came across verse 28-30:

"Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation."

I looked up the word droop in the dictionary and it said, "to languish because of grief." Well, I didn't know what languish meant either so I looked up it and it said, "To become dull or spiritless." So the definition I wrote in my scriptures was to become Spiritless because of the grief. That grief is caused by the effects of sin, so we all need to not beat ourselves because we are not perfect because we have a Savior, one who has suffered for us so that if we have faith in Him and repent, we do not have to droop. Instead, we will rejoice and praise Him who "with wood and nails, built mansions for us all." I love my Savior and am ever grateful for His sacrifice for me, so that one day, I can be like Him and live with God for eternity. I love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

Still in Umatilla!

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a great week last week. Transfer are this week and Elder G______ and I are staying for our third run! He's a cool guy and we have unfinished business so I'm glad we are staying another.

Unfortunately, I have neglected to share any cool stories from the past few weeks so here is a cool story that happened 2 weeks ago. We were planning on doing service in the morning with K______, but she had to cancel. We were really bummed because mornings are really hard to plan for. During my nightly prayers, I felt that we should go see the H family in the morning. So, that morning we went and when we got there, D______ had prayed about Jacob 5 because it made no sense to her (no surprise). Then, 5 mins later we show up. C_______ commented, "Do you guys read minds or something?" We said no but inside I was chuckling to myself because God knows everything and he let us know so in a sense we do. That was definitely a testimony to her. She is still waiting for "THE answer" but it will come eventually. My message for today is The Church is true, the Book is blue, the laborers are few, and nothing much else is new (I've been working on my rapping;). Love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a great fantastic week this week! We taught a few people, but the highlight of the week was yesterday when we taught the H______ the Plan of Salvation. The cool part was we read 2 Nephi 2:11-12 with them and [the Father] said, "That is very wise council, no man could have possibly written that. I was pretty surprised. So we helped him put it on his phone so that he could listen to it while he drives to work. They are super awesome!

We also had a great Zone Conference. The conference itself was alright, but President Ware gave us a copy of "The 4th Missionary" after the meeting. To make a long talk short, I realized that I am often times the 3rd missionary, which doesn't have their heart in it. D&C 4:2 says, "O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength" and the 3rd missionary works hard and is obedient, but their desires are not in line with the Lord's will. I feel that sometimes I am like that, so I guess I'm the 3.5th missionary. I realized that conversion is a process that takes time, but I really felt the Spirit as I prayed with the attitude of "Thy will be done." I encourage all of you to ponder what the Lord would have you do, and then do it. I love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

5-12-2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Not gonna lie, the beginning of the week was pretty disappointing. We talked to almost no one and struggled to teach anyone. We were working super hard, but nothing was happening. We then had Zone meeting and one of the zone leaders talked about conversion. The words of Paul really struck me, "Lord, what will thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:6) So, when we got in that night, I read and pondered Elder Ballard's talk from general conference about the Atonement. Then, I said my nightly prayer and asked the same question that Paul did. As I tried to squeeze every ounce of humility and faith out in my prayer, I had an amazing spiritual experience, one of the most powerful on my mission. I distinctly heard the words, "Come follow me." That is really the essence of conversion, following the example of Christ. Now with a positive outlook, we had miracles.

The H_______ came to church, all 7 of them, and stayed for all 3 hours. It was pretty awesome. Everyone in the family seemed to enjoy to meetings and contribute to their classes. So all in all, the sacrifice was worth the reward. Great things are happening here!

Love,

Elder Coleman

Dear friends and family,

We had a cool week this week. We invited O_______ to live the word of wisdom last week and he said that after we taught him that, he just stopped and didn't have the desire to do it again. That was pretty awesome! We are also teaching the H________ family and the mother is in the Book of  Jacob and she is really liking it, although, who doesn't like feeling the Spirit? Unfortunately, no one came to church:(

Mr. H__________ said something interesting though. He said that all of the members that we have brought over are all amazing people. I wanted to say, "Well duh its because the church is true." But it is. The aspect of the gospel that I really loved this week was prayer. I was having a bit of a rough spot, but I said to myself, "If I pray, I know that God will answer my prayer eventually." I can testify that he ALWAYS does. It might not be the answer we want, but we will know. I love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

April 28, 2014

 

We had a really awesome week this week! First, we were introduced by a member to someone who had previously had met with missionaries and was almost baptized. We taught her the first two lessons and she should be getting baptized on the 17th! She just needs to give up smoking. We also met with O_____ and went big and taught him the law of chastity, tithing, and the word of wisdom. He agreed to live all of them which was very fortunate. We are still meeting with the H_____ family and it is cool to see a whole family who is interested in the gospel and how the ward is doing such a great job in fellowshipping. The bishop also told us to visit someone who thought they were a member, but weren't so they will be getting baptized soon too. Tons of miracles are happening here!

We also had stake conference this week and it was really neat to have questions coming in to meetings and having them answered by inspired leaders. I know that God answers prayers and that as we act in faith, that miracles will happen in our lives and others!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear Friends and Family,

K______ was baptized Saturday and confirmed on Easter Sunday so that was an awesome experience! That was the happiest I have ever seen her, so that made me happy.

K_______ made an interesting comment this Sunday in our gospel principles class. She said that after she was baptized, she saw people at the baptism had light around them and the people had different amounts of light around them. When she got home, she saw that people around her didn't have this light and it scared her. She wanted to have that light that the members of the ward possessed. This reminds me of a scripture that I'm sure everyone knows in Matthew 5:14-16: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." All of us have the light of Christ in us. D&C 93:28 says, "He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things." As we keep the commandments can have that light because Christ is the light. "Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do." (3 Nephi 18:24) If we hold up the light or share the good news of the gospel, we will grow in the light until the perfect day. I love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear Friends and family,

General Conference was Sweet! All the talks were awesome! I'll talk
about it later though because...K_____ is getting baptized Saturday!
We are so excited and even though she had to go through a lot of pain
to get there, it will all be worth it. This will actually be the first
baptism that I will be doing (although I think preforming might be a
better word because the Holy Ghost really baptizes people) so I am
super excited! She has really come a long way.

So back to general conference. Elder Bednar's talk was my favorite. I
tend to be the type of person who likes to do things by myself and not
accept others' help. His talk really helped me see the need to repent
and rely on the Savior's Atonement, not just for the forgiveness of
sins, but to strengthen us and make us better. When he was giving the
truck analogy, I had some physics (I'm a nerd) pop into my head that I
guess I'll explain. Hopefully I don't lose you all, but here it goes:
So centripetal force, or the force that causes objects to roll like a
car, is a net force and is caused by friction force, equation being:
umg=F. So as we increase the m or the mass by adding the load, we
increase the friction force. This might be conterintuitive, but if
there were no friction, the car would not move. Also, the more friction
force, the more traction the car has which helps the car to move out of the
snow. So it is with life: the more pressure that God puts on us, the
more spiritual traction we have. Also, it may seem like it will be
harder to move and the load seems heavy, but it is for our good. And
not only that, God has promised that through Christ's Atonement, we
can not only be forgiven of our sins, but we can get a sweet V12 for
our pickup and be strengthened so that we become better. I promise you
that as you look for the good in all your trials and be as President
Uchtdorf directs and be grateful, the Atonement will strengthen you
through ALL of your difficulties and you will eventually find eternal
happiness in God's presence. I love you all and I encourage you to
read the addresses and to continue to learn from them.

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

Since I didn't email until Wednesday, I don't have much to report on
this week. Not much happened since then I do have a few cool
experiences this week though.

First, I was in Richland for a baptism of one of Elder G_______'s
investigators. So afterwards, since we were just 5 mins from the
O______'s (the family I lived with there) we decided to visit them. We
came up and W_____, the youngest, open the door an said, "Elder
Coleman!" I was shocked that he didnt have to look at my name tag to
remember my name, because I left there a year ago. We talked with
Brother and Sister O______ for a while and we talked about their son
who is on a mission in Brazil and really struggling there. I then
offered to send some encouraging words from a fellow worker of the
vineyard. (side note, I worked in an actual vineyard this week digging
holes and plating grapes. Haha) Anyway, I thought about it after I
said that and was confused about how someone so self-centered as me
would take time to assist someone else who is struggling. So moral of
the story, as we serve those around us, like what I've been doing for
a little bit know, and pray for charity, we actually get some.

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the
energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath
bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ;
that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this
hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." (Moro 7:48)

I know for a fact that as we pray for the pure love of Christ and act on
it, we will be filled with not only charity, but happiness. We will
also come to know how Christ feels for us and a better understanding
on why he accomplished the Atonement for everyone individually. I love
you all and I especially love the people of the Northwest with all my
heart!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

p.s. Check out this picture: "I want you to serve a mission!"

We had an amazing week this past week! So many miracles as we relied
on the Lord and acted in faith. We taught a ton of lessons and a few
people started to progress. K_____ (T_____'s Mom) is going to be baptized on the 12th
and we are so excited for her. Instead of smoking, she is going to try
to finish the Book of Mormon! Replacing bad things with good and
uplifting things really helps all of us. Also, O_____ has been taking
the Book of Mormon to work with him and reading it there! Last but not
least, I_____ is so excited to get a Book of Mormon and come to church.
So many miracles for us!

I bet all of you are dying to know why you didn't get an email Monday,
but it is because we went to the temple today and so I sent my email today. The Spirit
is always so strong there and helps us go through the pressures of the
Work. Today though, I want to talk about relying on the Lord. It takes
a lot of faith and humility to put your trust in someone. I know on my
mission, I have struggled because I want to work super hard and do
what I think is the right way. I am trying to learn how to rely on him
and trust that He will give us success, but in His own time. Pray to
Him. I promise that He will answer in His own time, so be patient and
look closely for His hand in your lives. I love you all and have a
great week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear Family and Friends,

So we tracted a lot this week. When Elder Ballard came to our mission,
he said that if we talked to 10 people per day (70 a week), our
baptisms would double. Most of our appointments fell through this week
so that is what we did. I know that as we trust the Lord's servants,
that God will be with us.

Elder G______ is awesome! We are going to work
very well together this transfer.

To spare you all from the very boring stories of tracting, I will talk
about small and simple things, the topic I was assigned yesterday to
speak about next Sunday. This was a conference talk, but it comes from
a scripture in Alma 37:6, "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness
in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are
great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth
confound the wise." Some small and simple this in our lives may be the
primary answers: reading the scriptures, praying, going to church,
etc. These are the things spoken about in vs. 7 that, "bringeth about
the salvation of many souls." Make these small things a priority in
your lives, and I promise they will make all the difference. I've had
a few days on my mission where there was a meeting or something in the
morning where I didn't have the opportunity to study my scriptures. I
can feel an emptiness the rest of the day. Make it habit, and it will
bring fulfillment into everything you do. I really really like you all
and I hope you all have a week filled with the small and simple
things!

With much affection,
Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear Friends and Family,

Elder T_____ and I had a great week this week! Unfortunately, this is our last week together. He is being transferred up to Euphrata (however you spell it) and I am receiving Elder G.

Good news though...T_____ got baptized!!! It was awesome! It is so cool to see how much a little bit of water can change someones life. Her parents were both so affected by the Spirit that was felt during the ordinances. We also found some SOLID new investigators this week. We visited a former that Elder T_____ was teaching and wow, he had totally had his heart softened since the last visit. He wants to come to church and know how he can help his family. People can change, even in just a few short months. We also tracted into O_____. Apparently, he has been to church a few times with his wife in Herminston, who is not a member who we are meeting tonight. He says that he can feel "the Spirit" when he goes to church and he is very excited to learn with his 5 kids! We also taught I____ (interesting name after an Egyptian goddess) and she really wants her kids to learn about God. So, a bunch of success with a baptism on top! The Lord really blessed us!

So, this week I started the Book of Mormon over again and decided to study it for covenants or promises we make with God. In the Book of Mormon, especially in Nephi, it talks a lot about remembering God and keeping His commandments, which is our baptismal covenant. Always, after it says to do these things, there is a blessing promised; whether it be prospering or having the Spirit to be with us. I encourage you all to review the covenants you have made with your Heavenly Father and then try to see the blessings that he had promised and then given you in your life. I promise you that as you do this, you will see the Lord more fully in your life. I love all of you and hope you have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Coleman

This week was a great week. T____ is getting baptized in 5 days!!! We are so excited! Besides that it was a pretty typical week. I'm trying to eat healthy, exercise, and tract as much as possible:)

We had an very spiritually uplifting fast Sunday. I really felt the Spirit as I sacrificed the things that matter to me, for something that matters more to me. I have a cool experience from this week to share. Elder T_____ wasn't having a good day and he said he wasn't happy. So, I looked up happy in the dictionary. It said to be content. So, I looked up content and it has a very eyeopening definition: Having the desires limited by what one has. I thought about this for a while and I realized that to be happy, we must be grateful for what we have, and not worry about what we have not. I would encourage you all to, whenever you feel depressed, to say a pray of thanks. I promise you that as you do, happiness will come because you will be looking at the glass half full. I love you and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

 

Dear Friends and Family,

We had some cool things happen this week. First, the investigator we found last Sunday is a stud. He read 32 pages of the Book of Mormon in 3 days! He also called us the Elders and called the church building the House of God. So pretty much, he'll get baptized in a little bit, which is cool because we haven't even taught the first lesson yet. Some unfortunate news though, K_____ doesn't feel ready to be baptized yet so she'll probably be a few weeks after her daughter, who is getting baptized the 8th! We are so pumped! Great things are happening in Umatilla!

So this week, I was reading in the D&C and came across a few really cool scriptures. I already had this one marked but I still love its imagery. Its D&C 88:63, "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." I love to picture myself as I repent and come back to the Savior, who is waiting to receive me with open arms.        

The same can be applied to all of us. As we repent of our wrongdoings, we draw near to God. Luke 15:20 says, "But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran." God draws near to us, or rather, draws nearer to us as fast as possible. All we need to do is have the humility to repent, or turn to God, and ask for His forgiveness, He will forgive us. I bear testimony of the power of repentance and how God will change us if we but let Him. I love you all and hope you have a stellar week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a very...interesting week this week. Tuesday we found a solid new investigator, but the rest of the week was, to be honest, pretty terrible. We taught almost no lessons and walked for many many hours. Elder T_____ was very discouraged, because he is a fairly new missionary and it always happens. He was getting way discouraged, so I told him my "mission" scripture: the scripture I use to get me through discouraging times. "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6) I know that as we continued to act in faith, the Lord blessed us. We had daily contact with our investigators, which our leaders counsel us to do, and we worked super hard. Thursday night, I pleaded to the Lord to send us a miracle, so Elder T_____ could make it through this hard time. After I finished, I felt that we should fast. For those of you who don't know, I strongly dislike not eating, but I knew that fasting brings great miracles. So we talked about it, and we decided Sunday to fast, which is the first time I've decided to fast on my own.

We showed our faith by working hard and fasting. The Lord blessed us immensely. It was probably one of the best days of my mission. We were at church and we were talking with K______. Background: she wants to be baptized with her 11 year old, T_____, but her husband said no and she smokes. This has been happening for months. She told us that she talked with her husband about baptism again, and he said yes for them to get baptized!!!!! We were so excited! She also told us that she hadn't smoked in 4 days which is a miracle in itself! March 8!!! Oh Yeah! That would have been a miracle enough for me...but it gets better. We found a new investigator and then put F_____ on date to be baptized March 22! We were super bold and testified of the restoration of the priesthood. He now knows the Book of Mormon is true and is overcoming his obstacles. So again, I testify that if we hold out faithful, the Lord WILL bless us with miracles we can't even imagine. Overall, this week was amazing! I'm so grateful to serve a mission! Those of you who are struggling: don't give up. Trust in the Lord, and He will show you His power. I love you all and thank you so much for the many prayers said on my behalf!

Love, 

Elder Spencer Coleman

Feb. 10, 2014

Well...we got 9 inches of snow and being from Georgia, that was a lot. So, we spent our week trudging through the snow, tracting, and talking in British accents! Elder T____ and I have been passing the time by speaking in British, Warshingtonian, Batman and Joker, Russian, Italian, Indian, German, and Australian accents. Its pretty entertaining, but it goes to show that if you go on a mission to have the funnest time of your life (or to learn proper grammer and spelling), you will be sorely disappointed. We had a few lessons, and they were all spiritually uplifting. Well, I'm kinda reaching a point where much is the same and I don't really know what to talk about.

Being positive is the key to these kind of situations though. For me, being positive is an attitude of being grateful. We had a really hard day this week. We had 4 appointments fall through. And so we tracted for hours in the deep snow. We were pretty downtrodden. In my evening prayers, I knew that to be happy, I needed to be more grateful, so I told God many things, big and small, that I was grateful for. I'm grateful for a wonderful companion, I'm grateful to serve a mission, I'm grateful that we weren't hit by a car, didn't slipped on the ice, and weren't impaled by an icicle. As I listed things, I became more happy with the wonderful life I really do have. I know that as we are grateful, we will see that God has blessed us with so much. I love you all and hope you have a great, hopefully warm, week!

Love,
Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear friends and family,

I made it safely to Umatilla. Just a forethought, I pictured a mission being this: walking many miles with no car, living in an apartment, teaching in the Ghetto, and loving it. Umatilla is the dream I dreamed. Its pretty great here! We are teaching a lot of people and a lot of them actually have a testimony of the Church! Mind blown!

This week was really great though. I said farewell to Selah and while I was being transfered, I ran into Elder F_____, now a zone leader in Kennewick. He told me that L______'s daughter just got baptized!!! For those of you who don't remember who that is, we tracted into L_____ in like April I think and reactivated her and it was sweet! Her daughter, who had no belief in God while I was there, was the one baptized. It was a testimony to me that while we may not always see the fruits of our labors (in this case I got to here about it) good things always come.

"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!" (D&C 18:15-16)

We should all be looking for missionary opportunities. I know that as we "Ask the Father in [His] name in faith, believing that you shall receive," that "you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of men." (D&C 18:18) Ask Him, and He will answer. I testify of the joys of being in the Lord's service. I know that He lives, and died so that we may return to live with God again. I love you all and hope that you will see opportunities to share the good word Halleluiah!!!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear everybody,

 

Well it is time for another transfer! I am off to Umatilla, Oregon to serve with Elder T_____, who I thought I knew, but apparently there are two so maybe not. I'm really excited for the new experience that will come and the wonderful people I will be able to talk with there.

 

Well, this week's appointments all fell through. When I say all I mean ALL. Despite that, I think I have felt the Lord's hand in my life more this week than almost all the weeks of my mission. I especially felt it as I partook of the Sacrament yesterday and renewed my covenant to serve God and keep his commandments. I felt forgiven of all of the many things that I do wrong, which if I were to list would put you all to sleep.

 

We found out this morning that A_____ is back in Colombia and is on date to be baptized Feb 9th!!!! Shout out to Elder Bates who is in Colombia near there! So cool to see our labors paying off, even though we will not be able to witness the baptism. He changed so much from when we met him, and now, he will be following the example of our Savior by entering in a covenant.  

 

I also had an incredible personal study today. I read Mosiah 22-24 which is the story of the people of Limhi and the people of Alma. They were both delivered, but the key difference was their trust in the Lord. Limhi's people trusted in their own strength and then were humbled because of their afflictions. Many lives were lost. Eventually, they came up with a way to escape. Alma's people, on the other hand, put their total trust in the Lord and the Lord himself preformed a miracle because of their patience and faith. I encourage you all to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths." (Pro 3:5-6, I think one of my mom's favorite scriptures) If you trust in His almighty hand, I promise you that he might not deliver you from affliction immediately, (see Mosiah 24:14-15) but He will strengthen you to endure and He WILL deliver you from bondage, whether physical or spiritual, in His own time. I testify that we have a loving Heavenly Father, who looks after each of us and if we listen to His voice, he will direct our paths. I love all of you and I hope that you all have an awesome week!!!

 

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

 

 

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a great week this week! We had a great lesson with J____. We read 2 Nephi 2 with her and she really liked it. We bore our testimonies to her and we definitely felt the Spirit. Hopefully she reads and prays about it. 

We also taught A___, the last remaining Colombian. He had a dream that he attended church in a white shirt and tie so he took it as his answer to his prayer! It was awesome! Speaking of the Colombians, The rest of the family is already meeting with missionaries down there! 

Cool experience of the week though: We had a temple trip on Wednesday and someone told me that I should bring my patriarchal blessing to the temple and ponder it. So I did that in the Celestial room and had an incredible experience there. The Spirit was so strong and I can bear testimony that God does dwell in His holy temple and that he has restored the priesthood, so that the saving ordinances can be preformed there. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Coleman

Dear friends and family,

 

Elder Maughan and I had a great week this week! We had 6 people come to church! 4 of them though are heading back to Columbia, but I'm sure they will be baptized there. It was cool sharing the Restored Gospel with them, even if we won't necessarily be the ones to baptize them. We also met with J and R again. We read the Introduction to the Book of Mormon and helped them see how they can receive their answer. Unfortunately, they didn't come to church.

 

We had a lot of good lessons this week. However, none of the people who we would like to see progressing are keeping their commitments. I was thinking about why people won't do the things they are suppose to. I realized that if they don't keep their commitments, they will not be ready to make sacred covenants with God. I also realized that this is probably how God feels about us. He obviously has a lot more charity than I do, but I bet he is disappointed when any of us sin. I guess I'm experiencing a little of what God experiences dealing with each of us.

 

At church yesterday, I was wondering about this and the Stake President, President Grow, spoke about charity during ward conference. It was an incredible talk and helped me realize that we all need to have charity. He said that developing charity (or really any attribute for that matter) is done one decision at a time. Alma says that, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" I really felt the Spirit during that and I am going to try to apply that into my life. I know that as we try to develop Christ's attributes, that we will have the Spirit more abundantly in our lives, and that will bring that which we all seek: happiness. I love you all and I hope that you will all strive to develop charity this week, one choice at a time.

 

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman

Dear friends and family,

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! We certainly did! The days are starting to get longer. It is dark at 5:00 instead of 4:30 which is nice. Elder Maughan and I are getting along great, and we're doing what we do best, sharing the gospel.

 

We had a few great lessons this week. First, we taught Jessica and Ron, a couple that a member from the ward invited to meet with us. We asked them how they had felt about church, praying, etc. and they said they are not sure if this is the church they should join. So we re-taught them the Restoration, because they wanted to know even more. So, we showed the Restoration video (no its not because we are lazy) and the Spirit was very strong during the film. Afterwards, we asked her how she felt, and she said she felt "something." We testified to her that this was the Spirit, testifying to her that our message was true. We invited her to pray and read again and we are very excited to see her progress.

 

We also taught the McKinneys, the family from about a month ago. We taught the Plan of Salvation in the Godfrey's home and it was great! That is how missionary work should be. Technically, temple square missionaries referred them to us, but the Godfrey's set us this appointment in their home, and greatly contributed to the lesson. Hopefully, they will come to church next week and read the Book of Mormon and find out for themselves whether its true or not.

 

Serving a mission is the best experience of my life! It has been so wonderful to serve the Lord and be able to give all I have to Him. The thing I love most is the Spirit guiding us what to do, say, etc. I love in 3 Nephi chapter 11 where it talks about the Holy Ghost: "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." I have loved experiencing the Spirit and love how it uplifts me when I am depressed or tells me what I need to say, but most importantly, I love the feeling when I testify of Jesus Christ and the overwhelming feeling that I get. I have also loved speaking to my Father in Heaven, not just throwing some prayer up there and hoping something good happens, but listening and expecting that He will speak back. These experiences have really changed my life, and I hope that all of you will speak with God and tell Him your needs, and I can promise you that He will speak in return. I love you all and I hope that all of you will continue to serve the Lord!

 

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman