"Your Mother Would Be So Proud of You!"

I love receiving Aldste Milne's letters each week.  They make my heart smile and swell with pride.  It sounds like he has had a wonderful week, and that he is happy and well.  He talks about speaking in church this week in Karlskrona and that one of the members told him "if your mother saw you she would be so proud of you." I am so proud of him, and I am so grateful that he is my son.  Do you know that he gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting when he was five years old.  It was a two minute talk that he memorized word for word.  The congregation was so impressed, and the bishop called him later that day and told him what a wonderful job he did.  I can still see him beaming.  Apparently he still has that effect.  It is the greatest feeling in the world for a mother to see her son's testimony blossoming and his confidence ever increasing. Keep up the great work Aldste Milne! Onward and upward!

Here is the letter I sent Dallin this week:


Here are some great quotes from the book I am reading by Brad Wilcox called "The Continuous Atonement":

The Atonement is the means whereby our hearts might be cleansed and our souls transformed and prepared to dwell with Christ and our Eternal Father... The Atonement does more than fix the mistakes.  It does more than balance the scales.  It even does more than forgive our sins.  It rehabilitates, regenerates, renews, and transforms human nature.  Christ makes us better, worlds better, than we would have been had there been no Fall. (p. 69)

The English word sacrifice comes from two Latin words meaning to make sacred. (p. 71)   Whatever it is we are sacrificing for, we are making that sacred to us.  Christ sacrificed for us therefore we are sacred to Him.

Jesus will not only save us by lifting us out of the hole.  He will redeem us by lifting us to a much higher plane.  He will not only save by paying the debt.  He will redeem by paying us in addition.  He will not only save by finding the lost, reinstating the alienated, or bridging the chasm.  He will redeem by making us better. (p. 77)

Lasting change, here and hereafter, comes only through Christ. (p. 72)

There is only one thing that the Lord and Lucifer have in common:  They both desire us to become as they are. (p. 79)

Saving requires an Atonement.  Redeeming requires a continuous Atonement.  Being born again requires an Atonement.  Being reared to spiritual adulthood requires a continuous Atonement.  Knowledge of the Atonement is light.  Realizing its continuous power in our lives is more light that grows "brighter and brighter until the perfect day" (D&C 50:24).  (p. 80)

Dear Aldste Milne,

How is my favorite missionary today?  Sorry I got a little carried away with the quotes, but I thought you would enjoy them.  They really give you something to sink your teeth into.  The Atonement is real, and there is so much more to it than forgiveness of sins, healing, succoring, etc...  It is designed to enable us to become like God Himself.  "For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."(Moses 1:39)  Our Heavenly Father not only wants us to return home to Him, he wants us to be like Him!  He wants us to have all that He has!  As Elder Nelson said to your new mission president while he was at the MTC preparing to come to Sweden: "God wants His children to return home to Him.  What else would you expect from a loving Father?" (Church News, p. 5).  Something else your new mission president heard was from President Eyring (this one made me think of you):  "God knows His servants....  And he prepares the way in detail for them, if they have the faith to find and follow it" (Church News, p. 4).  I also heard that there are two PVHS kids coming to Sweden in October for their missions:  Adam Luke and I don't know the other one, but there are supposed to be two.

This week my health has been much improved.  I have had more energy, and have not had to take so many naps.  I am happy about this and hope it continues.  I have been doing a lot of writing for the book again. I have put in at least 6-8 hours a day for the past few days.  Recently I had to take a 27 page, single-spaced interview and condense it to 12 single-spaced pages.  It will be the story that we are using in the introductory chapter.  Harder than it sounds.  The interviewee had some great insights and experiences, but during her interview she was all over the place.  I had to go back and find some chronology to it, identify what we would use, and then write it as close to her own words as possible.  I also just finished writing another interview that was just as challenging that will be used in what we will call the disclosure chapter of the book.  Our goal is to be finished by August 18th because Dr. White is moving to Salt Lake City to start a job at the church office building doing research for the church.  I do not know when it will be published.  That will be up to the publisher.  I will keep you posted.

Did you get your debit card yet?  Tomorrow I will put some more money in your account.  Try not to spend more than $100 a month.  But let me know if you have a major purchase you need to make and I will transfer some more into your account whenever you need it. 

Carter had the Dixie State basketball camp this week.  He loved it.  He really had a great camp and seems really excited about basketball.  He is a great kid!  I hope they will give him a fair chance.  He is just as good as anyone on the team.  His American Legion team played in a tournament this weekend in St. George, and they won.  They beat Cedar City in the championship game 11-9 in 11 innings.  Dad was elated of course.  He really is a great coach.  He has really turned this program around.  This coming week Carter and Ty's teams both play up north for the fourth of July tournament so Dad and I will be heading up there on Wednesday evening.  The following week is when dad and I fly to Colorado to interview with Comfort Dental.  Not much else happening around here other than it being stifling hot!  I hate St. George in the summer.  It is unbearable.  The heat destroys me.  It makes my body so much weaker.  I wish I was in Karlskrona where it is beautiful and cooler!

How has your week been?  I hope you are doing your best to stay positive.  I know that missions are full of highs and lows.  One week everything seems to be going fantastic and the next week everything unravels.  Such is mission life, and such is life in general.  Hang in there Dallin.  I pray everyday that the hearts of the people of Sweden will be softened, but also that you will have the experiences that you need to strengthen your testimony and prepare you for your future.  There is no better place than the mission field to lay a solid foundation for a successful life, and of course that all starts with your testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We love you so much and are so proud of you!  Thank you for your service, and thank you for your letters home.  They really are a boon to my happiness.  Way to go Dallin - you're the best!  Stay safe and be obedient!  Have fun and be happy!

Ty just walked in and he says to tell you "hi" and that he loves and misses you.  He did not have any ballgames this week.  However, he is becoming quite a chef.  He proudly made spaghetti dinners for his friends two nights in a row.  He announced today that he wants to learn how to cook all kinds of food!  We'll see how that goes.  He is getting better at not complaining about work which is nice and has really been a great help to me this summer. 

Much Love,

Mom
#keepthefaith, #bestsonever, #stayintheboat, #2by2, #threadtheneedle

Here is Aldste Milne's letter home this week:


Dear Fam,

Thanks for the atonement quotes mom, the Atonement is definitely something that I have come to appreciate more than anything else on my mission.  I don't think we will ever fully understand all that it means and everything the Savior had to go through but the more and more we do understand it, through the power of the Holy Ghost, the more love we gain for our older brother Jesus Christ and what he did for us.  Truly is a great message to share.

First off, good to hear that things are going well back home, especially about your health Mom, that makes me feel better than anything else.  Hope you continue to improve.  And that is exciting to hear that the book is coming along, that is going to help so many people, what a great work you are doing. You'll have to be sure to send me a copy when it is finished this fall!  I haven't got the debit card yet but I actually just got a call from the office that said that it had arrived and I will be getting it on Thursday when we go to meet the new mission President in Göteborg.  I am really looking forward to that.  But I am really not looking forward to the 5 hour train ride that we will have to take there.  It is amazing how much travel the missionaries do in this mission, buses trains planes, the works.  I can imagine this being one of the more expensive missions for the church for sure.

That is awesome to hear about ball.  Pine View sounds like they sure have panned out.  I'm really excited to hear about Carter's senior year.  Make sure he keeps up his eating and working out or whatever he is doing.  His time is going to start to go really fast.  Before you know it he'll have his mission call as well.  I have been looking at the weather app on the phone for St. George.  Wow it looks like hell, ha it says it will be up 106-110 all this week?  That's nuts!  We are kind of cooling off here a little, staying in the mid 60's and it rained quite a bit this last week.  July and August are apparently the months when it really gets nice.

We had a pretty good week, and taught quite a bit more then the last couple weeks so it was good to get "back on track".  We went over to a members home to help do some yard work and then she fed us some REALLY good moose meat that her husband had hunted way up north.  She then gave us a kilo of meat to take home, so nice, I love moose haha.  I gave a talk in church this sunday on the scriptures and the role that they play in helping us "endure to the end"  I read from a bunch of different scriptures but I focused on these verses from 2 nephi 31

For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

 18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

 19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

If there is one thing I have learned on my mission it is the joy of feasting on the words of Christ daily. It is pretty easy to do it as a missionary because it is basically our job but I really hope that I will be able to keep it up when I get home.  After my talk one of the member sisters in the branch came up to me and said that "if your mother saw you, she would be so proud of you."  That sure did make me feel good.  I love the members here they have all become like family to me.

Anyways as always it is wonderful to hear from everyone, be sure to tell dad and the boys that I love them and think about them often.  And be sure to let me know how that thing goes in Colorado with dad.

Love

Elder Milne

I love taking these river pics in Sweden, and then the selfie with some horses because why not

Love the hashtags mom, good to know that you are catching up with the times and becoming "hip" haha!

 

Breathtaking!

 

I love taking river pictures in Karlskrona

 

Selfie with some horses.... Why not?

 

Here is an email Blaine sent to Dallin yesterday:

 

Aldste Milne,

 

I just read your letter home and your mom's letter to you.  I really enjoyed reading about the beautiful relationship you have with your mom.  You are one lucky boy to have such a wonderful mother who has taught you so well.  I am so proud of you for taking her teachings and applying them to your life.  I want you to always remember that.

Your letter sounds so good.  You are doing a fabulous job of learning about the Savior and his Atonement.  I too also understand the power of the Atonement and how it strengthens, lifts, and makes us a better person.  I Love you Dallin for being you.  Thanks for making my family proud.

Love,

Your earthly Father

Daddy Milne