Miracles? Whaaat?

This week. Wow. Elder Salmon is legit. I love the kid. We are literally having the time of our lives. I have NEVER been more exhausted in my life. This week was the busiest of my mission so far.

 

So let me tell you about this area. We have 6 baptisms planned for this month as of this week. We have a family of 5 from Columbia being baptized on the 18th. Only 3 of them are eligible to be baptized thoug (age). Then we have two more baptisms that are set in stone and this week we will be scheduling some more. This past week we found over 30 new potential investigators and then on top of that we found 8 new investigators that are now progressing and reading the Book of Mormon. It has been a week of miracles. Me and Elder Salmon have knocked 3 doors in our area. We have been simply relying on the Lord to show us who to visit and who to see to network the area. We have been trying to gain the members trust and serve them in anyway possible and then we just casually talk with them about their friends and they are so willing to do missionary work. Essentially, effective missionary work is done by the members and this ward is LEGIT. We have seen the Lord take us literally by the hand and just lead and direct us to families who have been prepared. I want to take some time to describe a couple of cool experiences I had.

 

First one is the funny one. Out here in Yukon there are some houses and areas that when I opened my mission call, I imagined this. haha So we went to this one family's house and we pull up and its basically a farm. Not to mention, I am known as the pretty city boy who knows NOTHING about the country everywhere I go. Its humiliating. I'm doing my best. Anyways, we get to this house and its a pure farm. Goats and chickens and everything. Then we sit down to dinner and this family has 4 little kids. They were sitting down at another table since they didn't have room. I looked at the food and we were having meat and other things. Classic. I was stoked. Then all of a sudden, I heard the little 4 year old excitedly yell "Hey mom is this Big Mac that we are eating?!" She then responded by saying "no honey, big mac is still in the freezer". I looked at her and said..."you freeze your Big macs from mcdonalds?" She casually looked at me like I was retarded and said "no, big mac was our pet cow"....man did I get a good wake up call. I couldn't stop laughing. These little kids were SO EXCITED to eat their pet cow hahahah I love oklahoma.

 

So we are teaching a guy and I will call him Joey. So Joey when the missionaries first met him, yelled at them and apparently long stor short and ambulance was called and the missioanries thought he would never let them back. It just went bad. So my first day we went to see him. We taught him and he was super interested. Each time we go back and see him, he has come to the conclusion on his own that what we preciously taught him was true. It has been one of those experiences for me to see how the spirit has worked in this mans life. He gets so excited to see us and is making HUGE changes in his life. He has come to church with us the past two weeks and gets answers to his prayers every single time he prays. I guess you kinda have to be here to see it. Long story short, the Spirit softens hearts and converts if we can create an atmosphere where the Spirit can be fostered like a seed. Its the truth. It's a miracle.

 

This story is my favorite. I was so humbled by the experience I had. I went on exchanges this past Friday with an Elder and his Companion. Elder Manwaring is a brand new district leader and he is training a brand new missionary from texas named elder Rodriguez. They have a companionship with 3 missionaries so their companion Elder Winterton went with Elder Salmon to Yukon and I went to Bethany, OK. This companionship had a little bit of a rough start. Lots of pride and contention. Elder Rodriguez has so much fire and passion as a new missionary and is full of faith. It had been a rough week so I had been praying for a spiritual experience the whole week leading up to the exchange. When I got there, my allergies escalated and I felt miserable. We had no car so we had to walk everywhere. Anyways, we saw a couple of people but overall had no BIG successes. After dinner we tried 5 different people and NO ONE was home. I kept a prayer in my heart and KNEW the Lord would provide something. The member then got frustrated with the appointments falling through and took us home at 8:50. As we were driving home it started POURING and HAILING. Basically everything "seemed" to be going wrong with this exchange. So The other elders were pretty down and were about to turn in. We got outside the door of our apartment and were soaked. I told them to stop and said that we were going to still be 100% obedient and stay out until 9pm. So in the pouring rain, we gathered together as the Lord's servants and prayed to our Heavenly Father that in 10 minutes he would guide us to someone. After the prayer we looked at Elder Rodriguez....the brand new missionary and told him to follow the spirit. We turned and followed him. We knocked an apartments door and no one answered. We then went upstairs and knocked...no one answered. It was 8:55 pm literally and we said we would try one more door. We walked across to another apartment and knocked. Finally someone opened and she just looked at us. We were DRENCHED from head to toe and freezing haha She told us to come in! We were so excited!! We asked if we could pray with her and she said of course. After the prayer she said "you know, this is really weird because I just moved here from Arkansas and I was meeting with the missionaries up there and didn't know how to get in contact with ones down here. My heart just melted. I literally started tearing up as we walked outside that door into the pouring rain and walked back home at 9:10 pm. God is a God of miracles and He works according to our faith. that night He taught us two important lessons.

1. When we work unceasingly to be obedient for Him, He provides.

2. It is not about quantity...but rather quality.

 

Think about all the ways the Lord has influenced your life for the better. I promise you that as you pray for your eyes to be opened to the miracles surrounding us everyday, you will begin to feel more grateful for all the Lord has done for us. He is involved and He does care. He will make us struggle all throughout the day sometimes just to strengthen our Faith and humility in Him. I love Him. I know that He is worth it.

 

One more month and I will have a year left. CRAZY.

 

Love YOU!!

 

Elder Dallin Cutler

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This week.... - 4.22.13

This week was BY FAR one of the better of my mission. I feel so happy. My new area is LEGIT!! My new companion....just as LEGIT. He is a soccer player. His name is Connor Salmon and we have a BUNCH of mutual friends. He is from Orem, Utah and the kid is a stud missionary. We are having the greatest time together. We have seen so many miracles in this area, which by the way, has an AMAZING ward to go along with it.

 

We are splitting the ward with 2 other elders who are posted in El Reno. So there are 4 of us at dinners and stuff. We cover Yukon, Piedmont and another area and they cover some other areas... Anyways, it has been crazy busy. Always driving around AND we had a surprise visit from Elder Andersen of the Quorumm of the 12 Apostles (which i have a cool story about), Elder Soarez of the Presidency of the 70 and then Bishop Davies of the Presiding Bishopric.

 

Elder Andersen came and spoke to the whole mission but as he got to teh stake center, he wanted to have everyone line up and shake his hand and everyone else who I listed. I get up there and he stops me and so does President Taylor who is standing right next to me. I introduced myself and he said "So you are the soccer player that served in the Edmond 3rd ward huh?" and then he talked to me about it for a little and I continued on down the line and Elder Soarez and Bishop Davies were talking to me about Edmond 3rd and soccer and stuff. I was shocked.... Apparently they heard about the Edmond 3rd ward and the area and what had happened. That day he called church headquarters and asked them to come down and do like a presentation on it that will be featured in some training that is going on in the BYU channel. he said he was wating to get approval from the first presidency. Yeah, it was pretty nuts to say the least. Goes to show how freakin' awesome the Edmond 3rd ward is. I miss them like crazy. Elder Byrd is tearing it up down there.

 

As for me, I don't know why I attract the weird stories. We were teaching a guy this week in his appartment and long story short, I was too passionate with my sitting stance and the way i was talking to him because he flipped out and picked a chair up and was about to throw it at me....it was pretty nuts. I apologized for the way I was sitting and he calmed down a bit...it was pretty funny.

 

One thing I want to say again is that miracles happen. We should EXPECT them. That is not wrong to do. It is what the Lord wants. But our faith has to match our desires. :) This week, me and Elder Salmon were on an exchange with two elders. He was walking down this road coming back home and some guy called out from a house "Be safe Elders". They didnt think much of it. Then the next day, me and him were in the same area and he told me about it and said that we should go back...so we did. We walked up and he invited us right in. He started telling us about a dream that he had. He dreamt that he was in water and everyone was dressed in all white. He said the thing holding the water was being held up by 12 gold cows. He then saw a man dressed in all white at a pulpit and he wanted to know what it meant. I walked out of that lesson and thought Ashton Kutcher was going to show up and we were going to be featured on Punkd. It was legit. We will continue to teach him this week, but he is ready for baptism. So crazy.

 

Little things like that will happen in our lives, but not because we are above others...but because the Lord shows are willingness and dilligence in excersising our faith. If we do that, sometimes he just drops miracles like this guy in our hands. The Lord wants to be able to show how powerful He is through us, but He can only do it if we trust Him and work hard for Him. :)

 

I have such a strong testimony of that. I know that Jesus Christ is the redeemer of the world. He IS a ressurrected being. He lives...I KNOW it. I don't just believe it.

 

I love you guys and want you to know again that obedience to law is liberty....and liberty is happiness. Being obedient will only make us happy and when we are obedient, we are promised to ALWAYS HAVE HIS SPIRIT TO BE WITH US. What a promise.

 

Be good...be chill...and read the Book Of Mormon. #celestial

 

Elder Dallin Cutler

Mi semana loca - 4.15.13

This week was a blur for sure. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to stay motivated when you know you have to start all over in a week or two. I don't like getting transfer doctrine early :) I leave for Yukon, Oklahoma this Wednesday where I will get to start in a new area with a new comp and a big ol' zone. We have about 7 areas in our zone and it covers a lot of ground apparently. Although our area (Oklahoma City 5th Ward) is in the City, the rest of the areas are in the boonies of Oklahoma. Should be a good time. 

This week I spent a lot of time in the city. I was at the Doctors and then Elder McMillan had to take a defensive driving course (cause he's from Utah and Utah drivers are THE worst) ;) It has been a good week though. We have done alot of walking and biking, until my tire got a hole in it...now we just walk everywhere. It is really cool to do that because when you're out walking and in the middle of everything being observant to everything that is going around you, you are able to feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost and then act on them. This week I have been given promptings that have put me way outside of my comfort zone. Those are the HARDEST promptings to follow because sometimes you look like an idiot in the process. For example, we were driving down the street to an appointment when I noticed a guy walking on the sidewalk. It was kind of getting dark but he was just going for an evening walk. I had a strong feeling to turn around pull over and talk to him. I tried to ignore it once, but then I just swallowed my pride and did it. Elder McMillan always gets annoyed when I have these promptings cause he has to come with me and so we both look creepy together :). We pulled up got out of the car and I asked if we could just say a prayer with him. We did and it seemed to help and we got a return appointment. Little did i know though that he was a less active member already and that he had been struggling with things for a long time. Elder McMillan told me that when we got back into the car and drove off. It was a cool little experience that taught me about how much God knows His children and how a simple prompting can make a difference in the life of someone else. I am constantly reminded to stop worrying about what others think and do what God asks and prompts you to do. Thats all that really matters in the world and will matter in the worlds to come. 

I have also been spending alot of time studying the character of Christ and all of His teachings. There is no better place to look to then the New Testament for that. It's amazing how much we can learn from Christ and the example He set. I find myself being motivated on a daily basis to become better as I study more about Him and the love He has. Love is so important. Charity never faileth. The most amazing thing that I have learned from Matthew this week is what Christ knew. Because He knew these three things, it helped Him become who His Father needed Him to become.

1. He knew where He came from

2. He knew who he was FORORDAINED to be and that He was SENT by a Father in Heaven

3. He knew what awaited Him after He accomplished the Atonement

When we truly know who we are and where we came from and who sent us and where we CAN be someday....we will act accordingly. That is why personal revelation and prayer and scripture study is so important. Our Heavenly Father can teach us about who we were who we are and who we can become and then through the Faith in the Atonement of Christ, we can be changed and BECOME.  We have to do our part though. Seek and ye SHALL find. Everything all lies within our desires... :)

I love you all. If you are debating on going on a mission...just go. You can't go wrong. If you are debating whether or not the church is true, hold on to what you know is true and just simply believe. Stand firm on what you know and believe until you can know someday. Stay strong!! I love yall!!

Elder Dallin Cutler 

p.s the picture is of me and Myles. He is a kid we started teaching and is getting baptized on my birthday may 4th. He is legit. 

Crazy week. - 4.8.13

So this week was literally the greatest. I used to take for granted the fact that we all get to listen to modern day apostles and prophets twice a year. It is such an amazing blessing. The spirit that radiates from these amazing leaders is so strong. I learned so much from this weekend and I am filled with gratitude for the knowledge I have of this restored gospel and the happiness that it brings me. 

I took notes on all of the talks and saw a common theme in alot of the talks. A lot was said about missionary work and a lot was said about obedience. I loved the obedience part because I have gained a true testimony and love for the principle of obedience. Obedience is the key to unlocking all the blessings that lie in store for us from our Father in Heaven. He is waiting to bless us, but He can only do so if we are obedient. I love how the whole mission of Jesus Christ was "to do the will of the Father". His whole mission was to exemplify obedience and love for His Father in heaven. We are to do the same. If Jesus Christ was able to perform the Atonement and experience pain unimaginable for us, then why can we not just do the little things that we are asked to do? If its so small "it doesn't matter" then just do it. We have quite alot of these talks with missionaries out here who think a rule is just stupid or doesn't matter. Our response is always, "if it doesn't matter that much anyways, do it". Christ did it and so can we, and he even promises that if we depend on Him that we will strengthen us to be obedient. He will strengthen our desire and then in turn will bless us for our humble submissiveness. Man I love obedience. It is one of the greatest ways to show our love for the Lord and His Son. I promise you all (and this is coming a long way from someone who hated obedience) that if you will just submit your will to the Fathers will and do the little things He asks us, YOU WILL be happier and you will be strengthened spiritually and physically. I see it every single day. 

This week, we found 10 new investigators from knocking doors. Me and elder McMillan have really made it a point to look for opportunities to serve and to talk to everyone, even if it completely makes us look a fool. We aren't out here to look pretty ;). We have seen multiple miracles this week. Unfortunately I got some bad news on friday that shocked us all. We all thought that I was going to stay and take over this area and Elder Mcmillan was going to leave because He has been here for 3 transfers, but President called me on Friday morning and told me that I was leaving for Yukon, Oklahoma in the OKC North Zone. Me and Elder Salmon will be the Zone Leaders. I am pretty excited to be with Elder Salmon because he is a soccer player as well. He knows Watkins and Sackett from BYU too. I have talked to him a couple of times. I was pretty sad that I am leaving. I have LOVED working with these Elders. This has been the most exciting/funny transfer I have had thus far. Being in the same apartment as 4 elders is bad most days, but other days, soooo great. :)

The Lord has really taught me alot about relying on Him completely and looking to Him for approval and confidence. I really liked what was said in conference about approval from the Lord. He said that the greatest indicator of the Lords approval is the companionship of the Holy Ghost. When we feel the Holy Ghost work through us and comfort us, we can know for a surety that the Lord is pleased with us and the path we are on. I find that so comforting. As we continue to humble ourselves and acknowledge our weaknesses, He will make us strong in Him. What a great honor. We are all weak, but with the Lord, we are strong. 

I want to take time to bear my testimony once again of a loving Savior and Heavenly Father. They TRULY love us. We cannot begin to comprehend the perfect love that they have for us. They will NEVER let us down. I cannot begin to describe the peace and teh joy that comes from this knowledge. As we look forward with an eye of hope to eternal life through the atonement of Christ, every trial we go through will seem a little more insignificant in the grand scheme of the promised blessings and potential we all have to become like our Heavenly Father. Romans 8:18 says "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us". So true. And it is only in and through the Atonement of Christ. He is real and so is God. 

I love you all!! Can't believe I turn 20 in a month... what the heck?

Here's a pic of the district #hugginWhileThuggin

Elder Cutler

Pictures! - 4.1.13

I went to BYU with this guy

Mom and megan, you'll appreciate this. I love you guys hahah those were so good.

I love these fools hahaha we snuggle every night 

I seriously love this district so much. too many #goodTimes

I cut elder mcmillan's hair too short...on purpose :) 

Me and elder woodland. He's the man. he's from wyoming. and unbelievably tall hahah

This week. - 4.1.13

This week was a roller coaster let me tell you. I have never had so much fun on my mission then I have with these elders in my district. We have the greatest times for some reason. Gotta tell you a couple highlights of my week then I will get to the spiritual part ;)

So on tuesday we went to an investigators house named Tiffany, and we went over to teach her some more. She is so amazing, she knows alot and has such a strong conviction of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Her kids are THE CUTEST kids I have ever met (no offense). But really, half of me goes over there just to be able to talk with her kids, they just brighten the rest of the week. Anyways, we went over there tuesday and she had asked us to move some furniture from the attic to her garage. Of course she asked us, the huge, built strong missionaries....sike. So we went up to her attic to get this super heavy dresser. Her attic was above her laundry room. You will need that info for later purposes haha. So me and elder McMillan lift this dresser and start carrying it towards the stairs of the attic when all of a sudden i hear a CRASH! All of a sudden Elder McMillan was gone. hahahahaha!! He had fallen right through the ceiling hahahah I dropped the dresser I was laughing so hard!! He fell right through the roof. I attached the picture of the hole. Man it was so FUNNY!! The best part of the transfer so far. I thought you only watched that stuff on americas funniest home videos hahahah!

Oh man. So this week was awesome. It is so difficult here in Mustang, i think that is why I enjoy it so much. It really FORCES you to depend on the Lord for everything. So many miracles have been happening recently. I will tell you one cool story that we had happen to us this week. It was a classic "follow the spirit" prompting/experience. So we were walking around and we make it a point to talk to everyone no matter how dumb we make ourselves look. Gotta get rid of dat pride right boys?! ;) So were were walking around our complex looking for a lady's apartment. As we were walking I looked up at the second story and a lady had opened her door and peeked out so see us. When she saw me looking she poked her head back out. She kept the door open but we kept walking. I felt impressed to go back and talk to her. But we kept walking...finally I just did it. We turned around and started walking back. I felt really awkward doing it but it's one of those things you just gotta do if the Spirit is telling you to. We walked all the way up the stairs and went to this open door and I just said, "I had a feeling to just come give you this card and talk to you". Long story short, she had been wanting to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ for a long time. She was so excited that we had come up to talk to her. We are going back on tueday to teach her. Just one of those experiences that was really cool. Following the Spirit out here is key. The Spirit knows all things and so when we let it guide us, things happen, but more specifically, God's will happens.

I have also learned the importance of submitting to God's will. Especially after focusing my studies on the atonement of Christ. 3 Nephi 27:13 is such a profound scripture.

Behold I have given unto you my^agospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you葉hat I came into the world to do the^bwillof my Father, because my Father sent me.

Christ came into the world SOLELY to do the Will of His father. We are commanded to be like Him. Our WHOLE purpose on this earth is to overthrow the natural man and become "humble, and submissive...willing to submit to all things, even as a child doth submit to his father" Mosiah 3:19. Overthrowing the natural man and submitting to God's will can be hard. Luckily Christ teaches "Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world". We don't have to do it on our own. Christ will motivate and push us through it if we let Him. We can cheerfully submit to the Fathers will as Christ did as we continue to apply the doctrine of Christ in our lives. Trust in the power of the atonement of Christ. Study it. Love it. Apply it. I am so grateful for it. Words could never decribe.

SO STOKED for general Conference. I think alot of us take it for granted that we get to listen to a PROPHET and 12 APOSTLES twice a year. So freaking cool!!

Things are going well!! The Lord is good and I love my district.

Yall are too kind ;) #CelestialKingdomGangorDie #yourChoice

Love,

Elder Dallin Cutler