Bell, Rigdin PT

This week was a special one, as it was the week I finally got to begin my in-person MTC training and when I finally met all of my district in person. Monday was my last day of online MTC, with our lesson being on how we can help investigators feel more comfortable talking with us. The next day was spent just getting everything packed again and getting anything I was missing. On Wednesday, I set off for the MTC, saying goodbye to my uncle Fred and aunt Corinne and thanking them for letting me do home MTC at their house. When I got to the MTC garage and started unloading my suitcases, I called my family so I could say goodbye to them and my grandparents before leaving with another missionary. Once I got all of the stuff the workers needed to give me, I went to my residence room and started unpacking while waiting for my companion, Elder Magnusson, to show up. When the rest of my district showed up, we all went and met with our teachers, and then attended meetings and devotionals for the ...

This week was special because I finally started the at-home portion of my MTC training. On Monday, we began with introductions and then proceeded to a lesson on our purpose as missionaries. Tuesday was P-day, and the only meetings I had to attend were a recorded devotional and a video call with my district, where we could get to know each other better. It was also the first day of companion study with my companion. We spent the time going over the first chapter of "Preach My Gospel." Wednesday consisted of more classes with the theme centered around how we arrived at our own conversion and testimony. On Thursday, we met our branch president and his wife after concluding the day's classes. On Friday, I attended an online workshop on the Book of Mormon timeline and its authors. Saturday turned out to be a shorter day, comprising only our classes and no devotional. After classes that day, I went out to help my grandpa with smoothing out the backyard. On Sunday, I attended a ...

Starting the week off a bit hectic, there was a massive dust storm with winds up to 79 mph. It was so strong, in fact, that across the street, a large house tent where the neighbors were staying in got almost completely knocked down, with multiple steel poles holding it up getting badly bent. Seeing this happen, my great-uncle, grandpa, and I went over to try and help put it back up. It took around three and a half hours, with a couple of other people showing up to help, for it to get fixed and put back up. For the Fourth of July, we had dinner at my mom's cousin's house and watched some fireworks from their yard. On Wednesday, we were able to go to the Bountiful Temple and participate in a session. It was an extremely beautiful temple and is one of my favorite temples I've seen. The next day was mostly just all of us cleaning up the yard by picking up rocks and leveling out the backyard. On Friday, we decided to spend some extra time studying and did that for most of the d...

On Monday, we spent most of the day doing service for my great aunt by trimming the tree in her front yard, fixing the lights in her garage, and repairing the handle on an old desk she has. We got a lot of it done pretty quickly, but trimming the tree took extra time due to the heat. I can now say for sure that I won't ever live in Arizona. The next day, it was time for us to get back on the road and start driving again. We spent most of the day driving and listening to "Jesus the Christ," which was a very informative record of what happened during Jesus's ministry. On our way, we stopped by the Grand Canyon for a little while and took a couple of pictures. Wednesday, we reached Nevada with no real change in the scenery (the entire southwest feels like a desert). Getting to the Las Vegas temple was a bit hard due to the traffic, but the temple was well worth it. It was extremely beautiful and probably one of the largest I've ever been in. By the end of the day, we...