How Great Shall Be Your Joy!

D&C 18:15,16

15.  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!

16.  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!

After reading Elder Milne's amazing letters this morning I caught Blaine singing "How Great Shall Be Your Joy" as he was getting ready for work.  It made me smile, and it caused me to reflect on these amazing scriptures.  There truly is GREAT JOY in bringing souls unto Christ!  In Dallin's words, "There really is no greater joy than the joy we get from sharing the gospel and seeing it bless others. Never been more happy!"  There is also GREAT JOY in receiving a letter from your missionary son who is finding joy and rejoicing in his labors.  The Lord has really blessed him and us!  Keep up the great work Dallin!  We love you so much!  Onward to Karlskrona!


Here is the letter Blaine sent this week:

Hi Dallin,

I hope you had a wonderful week. I hope everything turned out good for you and your investigators.

Dallin, I love you and worry about you. Make sure to stay safe over there. Don't go into places where you feel the spirit is prompting you to stay out of. Keep the mission rules at all times.
Stay off the edge of the road. Keep back in off the street a ways.

We all love you Dallin and miss you so much. You grew up way too fast. I didn't get to enjoy you long enough. I hope you have a nice p-day.

Love,

Your dad

Elder Milne's response:

sup pops

I am short on time this week, we have to get a lot done these next few days. But I have never felt better. Don't worry we have been extra careful lately especially after the news of the elder who was killed a few weeks ago. Sad to hear about the pv baseball situation. don't stress too much, you guys sure do have it nice. And you lucked out with a great family dad, as far as I know you have done a pretty solid job with the whole father thing. Me and my brothers are very lucky. Have a good week and don't worry about me. Enjoy that nice southern utah weather and enjoy being close to family.

Lots of love

Elder Dallin Blaine Milne

 

Here is Natalie's Letter:

 

D&C 76:22-24: And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That He lives!
23. For we saw Him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that He is the Only Begotten of the Father -
24. That by Him, and through Him, and of Him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.


Dear Dallin,

It was so wonderful to read your last email. You sound so positive, and I can tell that you are truly happy, and that you really love the people of Sweden. It is true that you really do come to love those whom you serve. We are so excited to see how this week turned out for you with your baptism and talking in Sacrament Meeting. We are also interested in hearing how flying down to Stockholm for zone conference went, as well as how your other investigators are progressing. It sounds like you are working hard and you are being blessed because of it. Keep up the great work.

We also hope that you don't get transferred anytime too soon. You have worked so hard there in Umea, however, the Lord is in control, and whatever happens will be His will. Work each day as if it is your last and you will have no regrets!

LOL about the Jehovah's Witnesses. It brought back so many memories from my own mission. It never failed, every time we went into a new area to work there they were. We never argued with them, but as time would allow we would respectfully visit with them and acknowledge their efforts and dedication to their work. You have to hand it to them.... They are diligent for sure!

I spoke to Aunt Nanette this week and she said that Devan is doing well. She said they hardly see him anymore so he must be settling into post mission life much better. He actually spent his Spring Break in Nevada working with a home security company. It was kind of a trial run to see if he would like to sell security systems this summer. They make pretty good money. He is currently working at a boys home for $9.00 an hour. Interestingly enough he is working with Jessica Nakken's two cousins  with the home security business. I guess they are a year or two older than Devan. Nanette also said he is dating more, but nothing serious. They all send their love.

This week was Spring Break. The boys did some yard work here and up to the adobe. Carter also planted some potatoes next to the beets, onions, and spinach dad planted last week. The rest of the time was spent playing baseball. Ty and Carter both had games this past week. It is definitely back into full swing. Carter is pitching really well. He threw five innings against American Fork's JV and beat them. He did an amazing job. Interestingly enough, most of the kids were on the AF varsity team as well, but our varsity lost to them. One of these days the coaches will wake up and give Carter more attention. Mom and Raymond stayed with us for three days this week. They spent a lot of time at the temple and also attended the boys games. They are always fun to have around. Dad and I made a really quick trip to Salt Lake City for the Utah Dental Convention. We stayed at the Marriott in down town SLC. It was fun! Dad and I met Diane Eyre and Nick's sister Pam for lunch on Friday afternoon. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. It was really good. We also met up with Nick, Diane, Pam, and Connor that evening at their home in Orem and ate dinner with them while we watched the Duke game. Dad and I drove home after that for more baseball on Saturday. I love the Eyre's. They are wonderful people. It is always so good to reconnect with them! They said to tell you hello, and to thank you for being such a great example to Connor.
 

Dad is really concerned with the PVHS baseball program right now. There are four or five players who reportedly are violating team rules. The coaches are trying to decide on the best course of action. Thank you Dallin for being such a great kid. It was so wonderful to not have to worry about things like this with you. I am concerned about dad right now. He passed out today after church and hit his head on the countertop. His heart rate is really high. I know he is really stressed with work and baseball right now. He needs to be better at taking care of himself. He will see the doctor in the morning. Hopefully the doctor can talk some sense into him and advise him on how to de-stress his life.
 

Young women's is making me crazy busy, but I really do love these young girls. They have incredible testimonies. The Institutional Review Board approved our research questions for the interviews, so we will be starting the interview process hopefully this week. I am really excited about this part.
 

Anyhow, the reason for the D&C scriptures is simply this. We have so many testimonies of the divinity of the Savior and his atonement - The Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and of course the Doctrine and Covenants, but I do believe that this declaration given in these verses is my favorite. A prophet of our dispensation - Joseph Smith - saw the Savior first hand and has added his testimony to the many testimonies that the world already has. I am so grateful for the knowledge that the Savior lives and that He loves us. His atonement is incredible. It has become very amazing to me that the more I reflect upon the atonement the more opportunities I find to use it in my everyday life. Viewing each day through the lens of the atonement really makes all the difference in the world.
 

Well Dallin, I am so excited to hear from you. I pray all is well with you. We watched "The Saratov Approach" which is a new movie about two missionaries that were kidnapped in Russia in 1998. It is a true story, and it was truly incredible. However, it caused us to miss you and to say an extra prayer or two for your continued safety. Dad declared that he would not allow anymore of his sons to serve a mission. It is too scary. He loves and misses you, and he worries about your well being. I know the Lord will bless and protect you. There is safety in obedience, and there is peace in knowing that no matter what, God is in control! Take care of yourself son. I love and miss you tons, but I am so happy that you are having this incredible experience. I know for a fact that serving a mission will never be anything you will regret doing. Keep up the great work!
 

Much, Much Love,

Mom

 

Here is Elder Milne's INCREDIBLE email:

 

Dear Fam,

What a week! The baptism on Saturday was amazing! After he came out of the water he just stood there with his eyes closed and his hands on his head and was like "woahhh". The spirit was so strong and then he gave me a big hug haha. I have never felt so good in my life. It felt like my chest was on fire! Coolest thing ever. There was a ton of people there and the member to non member ratio was about 1 to 1! It was the first convert baptism Umeå has had in over a year. Everyone was really excited and there should be tons more on the way. A lot of good things are happening up here.
 

Earlier that day we got a phone call from president Newell informing us that I will be transferring to Karlskrona on Wednesday. That was not what I wanted to hear but the Lord knows what is best. The good part though is that when I told that to one of our investigators at the baptism, he was very disappointed because he had wanted me to baptize him on the 25th. I told him that we could baptize him on Tuesday before I left, and that is what we are going to do! So we will have another one tomorrow! I am beyond excited. There really is no greater joy than the joy we get from sharing the gospel and seeing it bless others. Never been more happy.
 

Church on Sunday was really great as well. Olle was confirmed by the branch president and I got to give a little talk to say good bye to everyone. Everyone was sad to hear that I was going. I am really going to miss Umeå, the branch is so great and I love all of our investigators. It'll be nice to leave on a baptism though. He is a Swede named Daniel and he is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. It's been such a privilege to have been able to meet with him and help him out.
 

Zone conference in Stockholm was really good. It was cool to see some guys from my MTC group including my old finnish mtc comp Äldste Silvennionen. He is doing real well also. Something really cool about zone conference is that every companionship got iphones! That is really going to help with the work, gps, gospel library app with the scriptures in all the languages, google translate, and so much more. I am really excited.

 

But yeah I will be transferring to Karlskrona, which is south of Stockholm. I'll be companions with another Finnish elder who is an ex AP and an extremely hard worker. The branch is smaller with only about 40 members but missionaries love it down there and apparently its one of the most beautiful places in Sweden. I am just hoping that the southern accent won't throw me off too bad. 
 

So we have a lot to do the next couple of days. We have some people to meet with, I have to pack, and we have to get this baptism set up. Everything is looking good, I just like to stress about everything. Its always good to hear from home though hope you all have a good week. Thanks for all the prayers, I know they make a huge difference, I have never prayed so much in my life haha. Love and miss you all but I am loving Sweden right now, don't worry about me. I hope that letter shows up sometime soon, be sure to let Grandma and Glenda know that there should be one coming.
 

Love

Äldste Milne

lots of cool pics coming this week

 

 

Beautiful Umea!

 

Outside the Church the day of the Baptism.

 

Elder Hitch, Olle, Me, and Daniel....  My two favorite Swedes!

 

My First Baptism - Elder Hitch, Olle, and Me!

 

Cleaning the Font - Ha!