My focus is to pray with real intent 4-17-15

Hi!

 Start of my 6th transfer! (P-day changed to Fridays.) So crazy, so fun. 

 Sister Kemple and I are still companions (SO HAPPY!) She is the best. 

 I'm trying to think all the way back to last Wednesday ... a lot has happened, I just can't really remember what. 

 We went on a hike as a zone for our last week together. It was really fun. It was more of a nature walk ... but the view was gorgeous at the top. All the sisters in my zone bore their testimony in their native language. It was really beautiful because there was only one other English speaking sister so I could literally understand no one, but the Spirit was so strong. So I understood.

 So we've been at Welfare Square 3 days this week and Wednesday was our last day. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to learn more about the church's Welfare Program. I feel like the more we explained the program during tours, the more I started to understand the purpose of it all. 

 The Welfare and Humanitarian programs of the church are not done because the prophet or leaders of the church say they should be. They are implemented because they are Christ's programs. They are led and created according to what He would have us do. 

 That's why there is such a special spirit at both the Humanitarian Center and Welfare Square. I love it because the programs are for those who need help and the cool thing is, we all need help! None of us could return to live with Heavenly Father again without Christ. The Welfare and Humanitarian programs of the church enable people to have their temporal needs met, so that eventually, their spiritual needs can be met as well. 

 One day, I will serve a humanitarian mission!

 Tuesday was probably my favorite day this week. Sister Kemple and I were finishing up our Explore Day hours and we got a phone call saying that there was a man on the Square who wanted to speak to an Italian sister. We got soooo excited because Sis K hasn't had the chance to really use her Italian on the Square yet and so we said we would go chat with him! 

 He ended up being a member of the church but he just said that he really felt like he should come to Temple Square and talk to missionaries. He said lately he's been feeling like he has no motivation to do what he knows he should. He prays everyday and reads the scriptures, but he said he just hasn't been feeling the Spirit at all. He asked us how to find the motivation to continue living the gospel. 

 At this moment, in my head I just had to laugh because sometimes being a missionary is so crazy. People come to you with these questions and you have no idea how to respond because you're 19 and these people have lived so much longer than you but somehow think that you have insights into the gospel they don't have. I need the Spirit to guide.

 It was amazing though. Sister Kemple is such an incredible missionary. I am so lucky to be her companion. 

  It's so interesting to me how it's hard for us as people to recognize the good that we do. As this man was talking to us (he spoke some English so I would have a little idea of what was going on), I didn't see that he was lacking motivation at all.

 He made the choice to follow the Spirit and come to Temple Square and sought out missionaries. That act all in itself just showed me that he does know what he wants and he knows how to get there. 

  I think it's just really hard sometimes to allow ourselves to change and think that Christ is there to help us change. 

  If I could just share one message with everyone who I come into contact with I think it would be that we are never alone. Even when we want to be. We never need to feel like we're going through life by ourselves. God doesn't want it to be that way. He wants to help us! He wants to guide us and he's given us all the tools to understand who He is and what His Son has done for us. I love the Gospel.

 Something I've also been thinking about a lot is the Plan of Salvation. I realized that I've never actually prayed and asked God if there are 3 degrees of glory. So I did last night. 

 It was really cool. I rarely get specific answers to my prayers, but last night, I did. 

 This transfer my focus is to help people understand how to pray with real intent; how to pray to receive answers directly from Heavenly Father. 

  I think as an investigator, it might get annoying because missionaries always say "Don't take our word for these things, pray about what we've said."  

  I'm now just realizing that because I struggle with receiving direct answers from God, I need to be better at explaining the steps to receiving answers to those we teach. Let me know if you have any insights :).

Love you tons! P.S. I got to see Cindy and Niese yesterday!! Best.day.ever.

Sister Helton

Denise and Cindy Burnett took a Tabernacle tour.
They also brought 2 new BFFs they met on the plane coming from Seattle
who had an hour to spend in SLC while traveling on to New Orleans.
It was amazing to introduce them to the Church through the Burnetts. Thank you!

Transfer time in the T2 Mission

Happy Easter and conference rundown 4-8-2015

So much has happened this week! The most exciting thing, I think, would be that we met two apostles, Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Quentin Cook! There was a big meeting downstairs in the South Visitor Center where we have a few theaters and several General Authorities came. We were told to be on our best behavior haha. Sister Kemple and I went downstairs really fast to grab our lunch and we walked right by them and they all said hi! So. cool. 

  General Conference was also amazing. We had some really special experiences. So, just a lil rundown of what conference is like: 

  We are literally on Temple Square from 7:30am till 9:00pm talking to people allllll day. We have a 20-minute lunch/dinner break but other than that, we are on the Square chatting/inviting. 

  It's actually my favorite because we get to really talk to members which is rare for Temple Square. I love meeting members from all over the world because they all have such different backgrounds and such unique conversion stories and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what unites us all! 

  After the Saturday morning session, Sister Kemple and I were talking with this old couple on one of the couches and this lady came up to us and asked if we had a minute. We said "yes" and she just completely opened up and told us all about her past and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what has kept her moving forward. 

  She started telling us about her friend who is currently in one of the hospitals in SLC. She told us about his medical issues and Sister Kemple literally had gone through the same procedures he was undergoing. This woman asked if there was anyway some missionaries could visit him in the hospital. She said she would go give him a Book of Mormon, but he just needed a message of peace and of hope that God has a plan for him. 

  We thought it was amazing that of all the sister missionaries on Temple Square, she chose us even though we were in the middle of talking to someone and Sister Kemple can relate almost exactly with the persons medical issues. 

  A really special personal experience I had this week was during my personal study. Obviously, on Temple Square especially during conference, there are crazies that come here. We talked to a few people that came to talk to missionaries only to diminish our faith. So, I've just been praying a lot that Heavenly Father would let me know again, that this truly is Christ's church and that Joseph Smith was called to be a servant of God. 

  I decided that I should start reading Doctrine and Covenants because I've never really read all of it and it's mainly the revelations that Joseph Smith received from Jesus Christ.   

  So, I read through the first couple sections and I just wasn't feeling anything. Then I just started praying and just telling Heavenly Father that I didn't need to receive an answer right away, but if he could just sometime in the near future let me know without a doubt that I was in the right place, that would be nice. So, by that point I was in D&C 6 and when I looked down I read this verse: 

14. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.

  That experience just reaffirmed to me that God is aware of us. If we have questions or if we feel weak, we can always turn to the scriptures. It is God's word, and He will be able to communicate directly to us through it. 

  

  I LOVE being a missionary on Temple Square. It is such a special place. We were able to go to the temple this morning and just feel the peace that exists there. I am still waiting for conference to be loaded onto Gospel Library so I can read all the talks. 

  We got to attend the Sunday afternoon session so I'm not really sure what was said in the other sessions. Email me the names of the ones I absolutely have to read! Love you so much! Happy Easter. It is never to late to celebrate it.

Sister Helton

Sister Rivas

Sisters Soavu and Smith

In the original Tabernacle

President Poulsen, my mission president

Elder John Delong, serving in Ogden, at conference

Sister Makovei

Sister Kemple's first General Conference

Becca and I saw each other when
 she was attending the SLC Temple

So many people searching. And Conference 4-1-2015

Hi!

  This week has been the best. The first big update is that we received our Ipads! I'm not really sure how to effectively use them here though since we already have so many resources available to us already...but it's really nice to be able to use Gospel Library during studies! 

  Sister Kemple and I took a ton of pictures during our Explore Day this week. We went to the capitol and also to the Relief Society building. I can't figure out how to connect to the Wifi here (I will forever be technologically challenged) but hopefully later on today I'll be able to send them to you. 

 Last week in my email I talked about "Because He Lives."

 I'm sure you have all already seen it online, but we had the coolest experience EVER showing it to an investigator on Temple Square. We had an amazing discussion with a man last week who was only going to be in Salt Lake for 5 days because of a business conference he was attending. We invited him to come to the Square so we could teach him another lesson. 

  During the lesson we talked all about who Christ is and how you can recognize the Spirit and answers from God. He still wasn't very convinced that Christ was his individual Savior, Mediator and Brother, so Sister Kemple suggested that we watch "Because He Lives" and then end the lesson with a prayer. 

  After we watched the video we asked what he felt while watching it. Literally, it felt like we were in a movie. He said that he truly felt that God was speaking to him and that this was the path God intended for him to be on. I cried. He probably thought "these missionaries are crazy." 

  But we called him yesterday because he returned home and he's already read up to Alma 11 in the Book of Mormon and asked when he could be baptized. It just is such a testimony builder to me that God truly does prepare people. So many people are searching. They may not know what they are searching for, but it's the coolest thing ever because when they find the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they realize it's that missing piece. 

  I was reading the New Testament in my studies yesterday and I just really wanted to share a verse that I fell in love with. It's Luke 12:32. 

  Christ is talking about how we need not fear men but we need to testify of Christ. He goes on the explain that we don't need to worry about our temporal needs because God is aware of what we need and will provide for us. 

  The verse says, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 

  First of all, I thought it was just so cute how Christ refers to us as "little flock" and I just really loved the comfort that this verse provides. It is Heavenly Father's work and glory to give us immortality and eternal life. He wants to give us all things. We don't need to fear when we understand that God is on our side and is rooting for us to succeed! He has a perfect plan and with Christ, we cannot fail. 

  I can't believe it is Conference this weekend already! The flowers are in full bloom up here and the landscapers are working like crazy to make the flowerbeds look perfect. 

  I got to attend Women's Conference on Saturday which was AMAZING. Elder Eyring can bring every woman to tears, I swear. 

  It was such a sweet experience to be able to sit in the Conference Center and listen to the talks on Family and service. I also got to see Grandma Jean after which was the icing on the cake! 

  Oh, this was just an interesting little side note: On Friday at Welfare Square, we met the Ambassador of Papua New Guinea! You never know who you're going to meet in Salt Lake City. Apparently Obama is visiting this weekend. Maybe I'll see him at conference ;)

Love you all so much!
Sister Helton

Instagram: Pres. Obama's meeting with church leaders

At the Conference Center, waiting for Women's Conference to begin

          Exploring the capitol in Salt Lake City with Sister Kemple

Beautiful Sisters

                                                    

I am grateful God has a plan and we aren't alone 3-25-2015

This week has been full of learning! We have had ups of finding so many new, prepared people, and also downs of cancelled baptism dates. It's amazing how Heavenly Father has a plan for everything and whenever something doesn't work out, he gives you opportunities that help you feel his love. I love missionary work! 

  Friday was one of the best days ever. We were at Welfare Square and it was a pretty slow day compared to the previous weeks.  

  We were starting a tour and 3 people joined in after we'd already started so we didn't really get to chat with them that much. At the end of the tour the guests are allowed to eat the bread, cheese, honey, chocolate milk, jam, butter, peanut butter, etc., that is made there. It's sometimes a struggle to invite people to keep in touch with us because we were just explaining how the cheese is made! haha It just doesn't really flow with the tour. 

  But anyways, Sister Kemple and I just explained that if anyone has further questions, they can come onto mormon.org chat and we would love to answer their questions. 

  The lady who had joined the tour late started asking tons of questions and told us she has some really good friends who are members. She ended up giving us her number and asked if we could teach her which NEVER happens. I shouldn't say never, but it's so rare. Sister Kemple and I were feeling so sad about our investigator who cancelled his baptism date and Heavenly Father gave us a miracle! I love him so much.

  Something that I've really been working to understand is Blacks and the Priesthood. We get soooo many questions regarding this topic on Temple Square and I've tried to research it, but I haven't found that much info. as to why it was implemented or why it was discontinued. 

  I decided last night to just ask my roommate, who is from Ghana, to tell me her take on the issue. She had some amazing insights, I just thought I'd share them. 

  She used the comparison of how God commanded that the gospel should only be preached to the Jews. Why did he exclude the Gentiles for a period of time? Why was England the first place out of the US that LDS missionaries were sent to in the early days of the church? 

  She said: God's ways are not our ways. God's timing is different than our timing. God works in mysterious ways that we don't necessarily understand, but I know he has a plan for our lives and for his gospel to reach all nations. 

  I sometimes wish I could just see the big picture of life/after this life/why certain things go wrong or go right, but the conclusion I've drawn is that I just need to have faith and trust in Him. 

 I am so grateful to know that God does have a plan and that we're not alone in what we're going through. 

  We were talking with a man this week about his struggles with Christianity and he said what he struggles with the most is that we give humanistic characteristics to God. He said he doesn't understand why we refer to him as Father. 

 Sister Kemple and I were talking to one of our friends about his question and why we know that God is the greatest of all, to be all-loving, and the Father of our spirits. Our friend asked if we have a mother (or father if we happened to be a guy). She asked if we look like our mother. We said no because obviously we don't...yet. 

  She used this analogy of us being a child to our mother to explain that it's the most beautiful thing that God allows us to refer to him as the Father of our spirits so we can recognize the divinity within ourselves. Of course, we will never BE our father or our mother, but one day, we can possess all that they possess and love as perfectly as they love. 

  Sorry this email was all over the place but my thoughts are just kind of like that today! Love you all!

Sister Helton

P.S. "Because He Lives" comes out on March 28th!!! All of you watch it :) So short, so powerful.

 #becausehelives

(On mormon.org it explains: Jesus Christ lived. He walked the Holy Land, working miracles and teaching truth. Then, He was crucified. But His death was not the end. Because of His resurrection, we will live again. Because of his sacrifice, we can rise above sin to experience true joy. Join us as we share the good news with the world. Starting on March 28, we'll be introducing a special series of messages centered on the power of the living Christ. 

You can sign up for updates on mormon.org

You can also watch sessions of LDS General Conference (April 4 and 5) on lds.org or on the LDS General Conference You Tube Channel or go LIVE to an LDS chapel. Times are at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. There's also a general all-women's session March 28 at 5 p.m. You will love it!

All things denote there is a God 3-18-2015

This week has been so amazing. I love people. 

  Last Thursday we had Zone Conference. President Poulsen and the APs talked with us and we had basically just a big meeting about missionary work. It was all centered around the atonement of Christ. 

  It just never ceases to amaze me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for every single person on this earth. Any aspect of Christ's gospel can resonate with a person and help them feel the love of God. We as missionaries, just have to figure out what portion of his gospel that is and build on it. 

  

  We had a really cool experience this week. Sister Kemple and I had a desk assignment for 1 hour. (We just stand around a desk and can go up to people if they're nearby, but we have to stay around the desk in case people have questions). 

  Anyways, I started talking to this lady and somehow she started telling us about how much she loves drawing/painting. Thennn she was telling us about how when she went to Italy she saw all the beautiful buildings and artwork, etc., there. 

  It was perfect because Sister Kemple lived in Italy for 4 years so they bonded over that and while they were talking I heard this voice in my head say: 

  "She notices the beautiful things of this world." 

  My mind instantly went to one of my all time favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon -  Alma 30:44 when Alma is talking to Korihor. It says:

 "Yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which do move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."

 We shared this verse with her and she told us that she was pretty familiar with the church but that she actually would like to have a Book of Mormon and she ended up giving us her information!

 It was just so cool to me that God really does know each one of His children and He knows what they need. He knows how to show each one of us individually that He loves us. People feel God's love in tons of different ways, and He knows how to perfectly connect with what we, as individuals, need.

 Heavenly Father really is just blessing us with the greatest people ever to teach. Everyday Sister Kemple and I write down a miracle we hope will happen during the day! It was really cool,so on Monday Sister Kemple picked the miracle and she chose "touch the heart of a teen." 

  I never really choose ones like that because I don't like to be specific. I just like to pick ones that are more likely to happen (for example, find a new investigator) hahaha. 

  But anyways, we actually ended up taking this awesome tour with these 3 German students who were traveling all over the U.S. and they actually ended up each taking a copy of the Book of Mormon and giving us their info! It was the best because we totally forgot about the miracle we had set and when we got back to our apartment at night and checked if we had our miracle, we both literally started crying! 

  Such a good day. I love the gospel. 

  Sister Kemple and I have been doing some exploring this week because when you first come on a mission, you have 12 hours you can spend going around Salt Lake City. We call them "explore days."

 This week we went to the Pioneer History Museum. I actually am not that big of a fan of the museum because the one time I went there, one of the volunteers told me that the spirits of pioneers will come back and let the volunteers know if they are not displaying the artifacts correctly. 

  She was dead serious. 

  SO, obviously I never wanted to go there again but I thought Sis. K should have the experience so we went and it was actually super fun! We went with Sister Vasi (a missionary I was in the MTC with) and her trainee. 

  I attached a pic. It's in front of an old firetruck that they restored. The wagon Brigham Young rode in to the Salt Lake Valley for the first time is in the museum, as well! Kind of interesting. 

Anyway, I love you all so much! Miss you!

-Sister Helton 

New companion Sister Kemple 3-11-2015

Hi!

  This week has literally been the best. I saw Ness on Sunday!! Literally the best surprise ever. Also just a side note, I love my new companion, Sister Kemple, sooo much. We have been together for one week. I think I am learning so much more from her than she is from me. haha.

 We have had some miracles this week! So, we have been teaching a guy for about a month and a half now and he was previously studying to be a Catholic priest. He has a master's in Catholic Theology and went to seminary for around 7 years. 

  He came on to chat and we just ended up teaching him over the phone. He's seriously amazing. He's been so diligent at reading the Book of Mormon this past month and he prays every single morning. But when we talked to him a week ago last Monday, he still hadn't received an answer that the Book of Mormon is inspired scripture. We have been praying for him so much this past week and when we called him 2 days ago he shared the coolest experience with us. 

 He said he got a ride to church on Sunday. They ended up being about 45 minutes early to the meeting so he had time to just chat with the member who had given him a ride. They got talking and the member asked him if he's been reading anything lately. Our investigator responded that he's been reading biographies about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.      The member asked him if he's been reading anything else. Our investigator responded, "Well, I mean, I've been reading the word of God, the Book of Mormon." 

  He said he had no idea how those words even came out of his mouth, but he said when they did he felt a peace he's never felt before. 

  I definitely didn't tell this story exactly like he did but this was probably one of the coolest experiences of my mission. Just to know that when we are truly seeking for an answer, God cannot withhold that answer from us. We can know the mysteries of God. I just love how God answers prayers. He does it in such a variety of ways. 

  He knows His children so well. I think for this situation specifically, our investigator needed to hear himself say that the Book of Mormon is the word of God in order for him to believe it. 

  It has been so beautiful here in SLC. Everyday has been really sunny and SO warm! We are serving at Welfare Square (my other lifelong dream) on Fridays. It's so great because we're having the opportunity to learn about the Welfare program of the church. Another plus is that we get free bread/honey/peanut butter (and for those who can have dairy - cheese and chocolate milk) everyday we are there! 

  I feel like this email is really scattered, but Sister Kemple and I bonded so much over food haha. She showed me that there's a chocolate ice cream made with coconut milk!! We will be so good together. She actually cooks real food which is good for me. She has heaps of recipes and so she's teaching me how to cook fast and have it be healthy/tasty. I love it. 

Love you so much!

Sister Helton 

The first pic is of Sister Kemple and me at Music and the Spoken Word. I also attached a pic of Sister McDaniel and me - both wearing Sister Jones' clothes. hehehe. She gave me a ton of clothes when she left.

Questions of the soul answered 3-4-2015

Ok... hi! (big sigh)

  It is 8:15 p.m. It has been such a long day, but I have my new companion! Her name is Sister Kemple and she's from SEATTLE. So crazy. haha. She's so cool. We had been companions for like 30 minutes and all of a sudden an Italian sister came up to her and they started speaking Italian to each other. 

I was like, "You speak Italian?!" Yes! She lived in Prussia, which is like the funnest thing ever. Just picture 2 little blonde Americans and one speaks fluent Italian. Too fun. 

  I can't believe I have been with Sister Bellais for 6 weeks. I will miss her so much. 

  I think this past week has been a week of questions answered.

  I have had several questions on my mind recently and it is so amazing how God does answer your prayers - no matter how long it takes. 

  My first question has been: "Why do bad things happen to good people?" 

  The second is just a two-part question that is asked so frequently on Temple Square and I was tired of not being able to answer it well: "If you believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, how can you possibly believe that God once was as we are?" and also "How can you believe you can attain all God has?" 

  The answer to my first question came this week in district meeting. Our district leader asked Sister Bellais and me to be in charge of the lesson. We did it on "The Role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion."

  In Preach My Gospel, there is a section that discusses how the Book of Mormon answers questions of the soul with references to different verses. Sister Bellais and I printed out the questions with the scripture verses that accompany them. We gave different questions to sisters and invited them to study. 

  We did it too. I randomly grabbed the question "Why does God allow evil and suffering to occur in the world?" The verses that accompany this question are 2 Nephi 2:11,13 & 14. 

  When I read those verses I just felt like this light bulb turned on in my head. I've read these verses before that there must be "opposition in all things," but as I continued reading verses 13 and 14 it just became so clear in my mind that God has a perfect plan. He knows what we need. Even if we don't understand why difficult things have to happen, he does. He created all things and has a purpose behind every opposite that he created. 

  It is the coolest thing ever because this happened on Friday. On the following day, we took a man and woman on a tour. The woman ended up really opening up to us and sharing that she is just unhappy and most days she doesn't want to live. She doesn't understand why she feels the pain she does or why her life hasn't turned out the way she pictured. 

  We were able to share these verses to her and help her feel that she can find peace in the gospel of Jesus Christ and that The Book of Mormon can be a source of light in her life. It never ceases to amaze me how God times everything perfectly. Sometimes he waits MUCH longer than we want to answer our prayers, but he does answer them in his perfect timing.

  

 The answer to my second question is kind of small, but it was significant for me. 

  I've been studying this doctrine for a while now because a few of our investigators have questioned this teaching. 

  A quote I absolutely love is something Joseph Smith said: 

"If men do not understand the character of God, they do not understand themselves." 

  I think this is really beautiful for 2 reasons. The first being, you know how when people find God and Jesus Christ, they say they've found meaning in their life, they've found their purpose? 

  This relationship/knowledge/meaning doesn't make life any less challenging, but it increases our capacity to cope with trials. That is because when we understand God, we understand more fully our potential because we understand we've been created by something divine.       

  

 The second reason I love this is because it brought to my memory a verse that has always kind of bothered me. haha 

  When Christ says in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:48: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect," I was always like "Are you serious?"

  If Christ said that, then it's a commandment - but physically impossible. I felt like He was basically setting us up for failure!

  But now I realize that it's so beautiful. 

  Christ is telling us to be like God and telling us that He is the way. Why would Christ tell us to be perfect like our Father if God doesn't intend for us to actually be able to accomplish it and become all that he is? 

  Anyways, I just love being a missionary. 

  I'm SO excited for this transfer! I'll send a pic next week of my new companion:) We both look kind of crazy right now because it's been quite a long day, so we'll take a pic when we're cute. 

I love you so very much. 

Sister Helton

P.S. Sister Isaksen comes back from her 3 months in California tonight!!!! I am dyinggg to see that Norwegian!