Happy birfday Nate Chad!

Happy birthday to my studly manly brother Nate (you are studly and manly too Seth ;)! Ha ha wow, you are growing up so fast. I can't believe that it's already your birthday again! I hope it goes great and you get to eat some delicious mock eclaire or something :D

Hey, thanks so much for the cards & money! I got a card from you guys as well as Paul and Melissa and their family with some letters and money. What a lucky week ha ha! Thank you all so much. I hope I didn't make everyone think I am starving or really poor or anything like that in one of my past emails, because both the card and letter had money in them! If I accidentally misled, I am sorry. I am really doing fine though and have all of my needs well provided for! In fact, I am really trying to learn to be thrifty and cost-effective. Today when we went shopping I only spent $21 for the weekly groceries, and that includes my buying some fancy 3D whitening toothpaste. Aren't you proud Mom? =] One of the things I have loved about the mission is that you find some really cheap, easy things that you can buy from week to week. For example: a loaf of wheat bread, eggs, ramen, rice, spaghetti, milk, tuna, etc. Things like that. Well, that's probably enough about all of that food stuff.

I am so thankful to be here. I am thankful for apostles. When Elder Bednar came a while back, he invited us to get a missionary (standard blue hand-out ones) copy of the BOM and read it, marking and looking for the Atonement. Well, I finally started (I wanted to finish reading it in my quad first). I am on chapter 5 in 1 Nephi, and let me tell you - I have probably learned more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon so far than I have ever learned before. The Book of Mormon is full of the power of the Atonement in all of the lives of the prophets, and the people around them! I am beginning to realize just how important and true the scriptures are. There is always more to learn from them, always more connections to make. I heard from someone that Bruce R. McConkie said something about how the teachings in the scriptures are all spider-webbed together, and he made a "map" or wrote a description of that once. Have you heard anything about it? I also heard he memorized the scriptures... wha? I don't know if that's true or not either, but if so... kudos to him! He was an amazing man. But hey, if you learn more about Elder McConkie, and his studies of the BOM & other scriptures in his life, and would love to impart it to your brother/son who can't really do any research outside of the scriptures, pmg, and 4 other missionary-approved books, then I'm ok with you telling me what you learn ;)

But, despite my tangent, I just wanted to say that it really does change things in the Book of Mormon when you specifically read it looking in every verse, every sentence, for the Atonement. You find things you never knew where there. You ask yourself questions you'd never thought about. You gain insights and feelings of the stories that you probably never had before, and it really does come to life. Mom, I don't know if you remember, but you sent me a letter a while back that had a clip from the Meridian Magazine thing. I saved it, it was a letter from the Washington D.C. mission president or something like that. Anyway, the letter someone sent to one of his missionaries told him to "look for the Atonement and you will find it in everything. Write down what you learn." I have really been trying to do that.

So Dad, heh, sorry about that call. Hopefully it didn't have you worried or anything like that. We were in the mission office after ZLC, and we had our baptism record there to turn in. Well, the Lake Reams ward is still really new, and so as we were calling around, we couldn't get a hold of anyone that knew the ward unit number. I jokingly said, "Hey, we could just call my dad. He could probably help us with that.. he works in the church office building, etc..." Anyway, Elder & Sister James, the AWESOME office missionaries, were like, "Sure, why not? What's his number?" And so I gave it to them and they called. I heard them get your voicemail. It was way intense watching them to see if you would pick up! Oh man. I think if that happens again I'll definitely have to just get out of there ha ha. But anyway, if they didn't explain, that's what that was all about :)

I am so thankful again to be here serving; this is truly the best experience of my life. I know that the gospel is true. I have no doubts in my mind or heart. Now my mission is just to learn as much as I can, become the best I can be, and give my all to serving the Lord throughout the rest of my life. I know that I am weak and small and nothing without God, but thankfully He is there to lift and strengthen me.

Yesterday we got to go on exchanges with the Assistants, Elders Gregson and Engemann. I love them! They are so much fun and we had an awesome time. My faith and testimony and desire to do better grew a lot. I want to be better after just being around them. I love this work =]

Well, I love you all! Have a great week, and I'll keep in touch. I'm planning on sending that tape I'm still working on, along with some other things if I can ever get the time to finish it ha ha. Today for P-day we had to go help clean out an old missionary apartment and then we have an appointment at 4, so not much we can do there. I love you though, and hopefully you know that =] Love ya bye! ;)

-Elder Andrew Beckett