Good times at Moorpark College

Hello Family! (:

This week was awesome! We kept really busy, and we've got another busy week ahead of us. We get to watch Meet the Mormons tomorrow! We are stoked! You should go see it (: I'm sure it is showing in Utah. Then we have President interviews, a temple trip, setting up tables on Moorpark College Campus, and a few other things. We are so excited! 

  The area is doing really great. We got to proselyte a quite a bit this week and we had a good time at Moorpark College participating in the club rush there. (Where all the clubs set up a table and get people to sign up) So the institute there had a table up, and we talked to a lot of YSA's and it was really successful! We are excited to follow up with those people. Ryan is doing good, he came to church again yesterday, and we had a pretty good lesson with him this week. Ben bore his testimony about how he wants to share the Gospel with ALL his friends! He is so great (: I love him to death! He also received the Priesthood which was amazing. Such a great example of what Elder Bednar talked about in conference. We taught a new investigator this week, who's name is Ryan B. He has really been prepared! He's had a lot of friends get baptized within the past year, which is a great influence on him. We also had a couple really intense lessons this week with people who just wanted to debate, but it all turned out alright. The bishop of the Thousand Oaks 3rd ward invited their daughters friend over for dinner last night and had us over. Their daughter is on a mission in Honduras, and we were celebrating her birthday although she was gone, and we got to teach her friend, Colby. She committed to read the Book of Mormon last night, so we will follow up with that. 

   My testimony was definitely strengthened this week. During one of the "debates" we were in, one of the people we were teaching, John, asked this question: "If God really wanted everybody to believe in Him and follow Him, why doesn't he magically show up on all the TV channels, or appear into everyones' mind and tell them straight up?" I've thought about that question a lot, and there are many answers that people could come up with. We then asked him, why would you remember that? What would be so significant about that experience? Then we discussed how we forget what things look like, and we forget what things sound like over time, but we will remember our feelings for much longer. If God were to appear to everybody, it would be a great experience, so much that we would remember perfectly how we felt. But why would God do that, when He can give us that same exact feeling through the Holy Ghost, and through prompting others to do good? That way we have the choice to follow Him by faith which causes us to grow in the process. I know that the Holy Ghost teaches us all truth and it can be just as powerful as a knowledge as if we saw God Himself. 

Sorry this is shorter than usual! Thanks for all your love, prayers and support (: I love and miss you lots! Talk to you next week! 

Love,

Elder Teeples! 

PS Brother Leatham, thank you so much for being such a great example to me of humility and charity. It really has changed the way I act and respond to many situations. I always appreciated your willingness to go out of your way to minister to me and my brothers. I will always consider you as such a great friend. A new missionary just moved into our apartment with us, Elder Alexander Harper. I was looking at his pedigree chart and I think his grandpa or greatgrandpa's name was Alexander Leatham. So maybe you're related? Pretty cool though! I have definitely learned though that the Lord's Will will always be done. Whatever happens is for our good! Thank you again for your stellar example of love towards me. Love ya!