MTC Photos

1.


1. What happened to the MTC sign?

2. MTC companions Elders Atkinson and Thomas.

3. This is where we are going (Elders Atkinson, Huber, Palmer and Thomas).

4. MTC District.

5. MTC Zone.

Not Enough Time for a catchy subject, haha‏

Hello all, hopefully you all had a really awesome summer (I'm pretty sure this has been the fastest summer for me)

Alright, so I have my flight plans, we got 'em last Friday. I leave Monday morning at 5:00 and we fly from Salt Lake to Chicago, Chicago to Frankfurt (Germany), and then Frankfurt to Riga. Pretty exciting stuff. We should be in Riga by 2:00 PM their time on Tuesday the 31. So crazy exciting, I can't even explain it. We got a letter from President Dance talking about our agenda for those first two days. We'll be in the mission home for two nights when we get there, and doing a lot of training those first two days. There are 20 of us coming in (10 Russians, 2 Estonian, 5 Latvian, 3 Lithuanian) and there are only about 80 missionaries total. It's gonna be crazy having 1/4 of the missionaries being greenies. We'll get our training comp on Thursday the 2nd. Much more though not much time sorry =)
Oh, funny story, Jon Heder (the actor who played Napoleon Dynamite) was here on Sunday visiting. He's related to one of the Branch Presidency members in the other Russian branch here. Haha so we were sitting next to him and his family Sunday at lunch.
Oh, so I don't know if everyone knows this but Dear Elders are still going to be free when I get out into the field, they'll just take as long as a normal letter would.
Hosting was pretty sweet this last week, I actually got to host a couple people that I knew from high school (Tanner Bean and Chase Anderson) brought back some pretty good memories I guess.
Tomorrow me and my comp Elder Thomas get to be a part of the new missionary experience on Wednesday nights (It's the first real training session the missionaries have when they get here) They only select 7 or 8 companionships out of about 1000 or 1200 every week, so we were pretty surprised. Basically, we just walk into the room and begin teaching the "investigator" in front of a big group of new missionaries. Pretty cool yeah? I'm way stoked for it.
Oh, they finished remodeling the gym a week earlier than they anticipated, so we'll actually get to see the last two devotionals here live, rather than being in the cafeteria. Also Exciting.
We went to the temple today (last time for two years) and I really tried to absorb that awesome feeling. I'm definitely gonna miss it. Ah! so much on my mind, but I gotta go now.
Thanks for your love and prayers! God Bless

-Elder Atkinson

"We all live far below our privelages of the Spirit"- Brigham Young‏

Dear Family and Friends,

Woo! only 13 more days and then I'll be in the field, so crazy to think about. My district is getting pretty anxious to get out there and get to work. This past week, everyone else went into 100% Russian as well, so it's been pretty fun trying to do all that we can in the new language, plus we learn so much faster. I can only imagine how much it'll help when we get into the field (if anyone there actually speaks Russian, haha it'll probably be a lot of Latvian)
Tomorrow we get to be hosts for the new missionaries that are coming in, so that's pretty exciting. It's so weird that it's been 62 days since I was one of those new missionaries. Also, we should be getting our flight plans this Thursday, so we can't wait for that. So they're like tearing up the entrance to the MTC right now, and it's been like that for the past 5 weeks or so. I didn't get a chance to get a picture with the sign, you know, like everyone else does, because they're not even there anymore. Hopefully they put new ones back up within the next two weeks... I just got back from the Temple, that was sooooooo good. Only one more chance to do it...
This week I've really been thinking a lot about the Book of Mormon. David F. Evans of the Seventy came last Tuesday night and gave a way good talk on how the Lord intended the Book of Mormon to be used in Missionary work. I've noticed that it seems the church is still reforming the way missionary work is being done, and we are being taught things that those in the field right now haven't heard yet. Kind of interesting, and it's really awesome to be a part of. He talked about how it will probably be through the Book of Mormon that the investigators are converted, so it is very important that we utilize it in our teaching. I'm really trying to solidify my own testimony of the Book of Mormon, so that I can know better the power that it contains within it's pages, and then convey that testimony to the people that I'm teaching. I've finished it once already since I arrived here, and will probably finish it again this week sometime. He talked about the difference between "Sincere Heart" - just that you really want to know the truth of these things; and "Real Intent" - what you intend to do once to receive the witness and testimony. Really cool.
Sunday's devotional was a little different. We had three composers of some Hymns in the current LDS hymn book come talk to us and share their stories about how their hymns came to be. (the composers for hymns 128, 171, and 220) The last hymn that was talked about, was Lord, I Would Follow Thee. Bro. Dayley told a really cool story about how his came to be. I wish I could tell the whole story, but he said that he actually finalized it at the High School in Blanding, UT (shoutout to Steve and TD!!!)
I still feel like I'm making progress, though I know that the Lord has His own expectations in mind for me, and there is still much to be done.
Thanks for all of your love and support

Love- Elder Austin P. Atkinson

The Lord calls us with our weakness, but He qualifies us for His work

Hello family and friends, hope you are having a good week

This past week has been awesome for me, I continue to learn and grow everyday, and I am really beginning to see the Lord shape me in His own way.
Last Tuesday's devotional was from L. Lionel Kendrick, an Emeritus. And he gave a way awesome talk about faith - It was probably my favorite one so far. Again, I wish that I could share everything with you all, and paste my notes right here. I have really been focusing on what more I can do to increase my faith, because it is vital to my calling as a missionary. It's been way awesome to learn so much here, I still love it.
Sundays are really good for me, it's so nice to have a day where I don't have to worry so much about Grammar and Language concepts being thrown at me, and I can really focus on feeling the Spirit. One of my favorite parts about Sunday is being able to just sit and listen to my companion play the piano while I write in my journal. It's way awesome. All around sunday is the definitely the best day, which I'm sure many other Missionaries can testify of.
I mentioned the language, and things are still going really well with it. There are still a few grammar concepts we need to learn, but me and my comp have already gone 100% Russian and it's been way helpful. The teaching in Russian is also going very well. I never would have thought that just after 8 weeks I would be able to direct entire conversations, and understand everything, in a different language. The gift of tongues is definitely real.
So all of the native Elders went through the temple and took out their own endowments today, that was a really awesome experience, and it makes me more grateful for all of the temples that I have close to home. One of the Elders is actually from Riga, Latvia (where my mission home is) and knows President Dance (my mission Pres) very well. Apparently he was the ward mission leader at one of the branches in Riga. Kinda cool. We've been pegging him with questions all about what our mission will be like, haha I'm sure he's sick of us. Anyway, he told us that about half of the people will want to be taught in Latvian, and the other half would be taught in Russian, so we will find people. He also said that we'll most likely spend our first 6 months or so in the Riga area. He said that all of the youth speak English there, and a lot of the people will want to talk to us simply because we speak English. Though he emphasized that we aren't there to speak English with them, we are there to change their lives. Kinda cool. We can never remember his name though, cause it's some crazy Russian name, so for the mean time, we call him Elder Latvia.
Oh I forgot to mention that we all got a letter from Pres. Dance. He said that we will get to work the day we get there. It's way exciting- we get our flight plans hopefully on the 19. 3 weeks from now I will be walking the cobblestone streets of Riga. And from what we've heard, as soon as we get off the plane, he takes us to a park for 3 hours, and we need to place Book of Mormons (that's right, I said it- Book of MormonS) and all that fun stuff. Crazy.
Well that's about all I got right now, thanks for the letters and all of your support. Love you all

-Elder Austin P. Atkinson

"The more you know about exponential growth, the more excited you are about the Gospel" - Elder Palmer

Hey there family and friends,
Thanks to those who wrote me this week, it's nice to hear from all of you. I truly mean that.
This week went by just as fast as every other week, and I'm still loving it. I don't know if I've said this already, but the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. In reference to the weird foods that I mentioned last week- those were all from other Elders in things they got in the mail. Not from the cafeteria here haha.
The Russian is still coming along well, we've been teaching full discussions in the language for about three weeks now. I find that I can work my way around the language, so that I can get my point across, though sometimes it's hard because I can't really express myself. I'm not too worried about it though, because I have already seen how real the gift of tongues really is, and I know that if what I'm teaching is true, the Spirit will testify the truthfulness of my words. But yeah, we're still learning a lot about the language everyday- it's so crazy. We all get really excited when we're writing in english and we throw in a backwards 'N' for a normal n, or an 'H' for an n. Even better is the cursive 'D' in Russian is a g. So yeah, that's kinda cool.
Last week our Tuesday devotional was from Gene R. Cook, an Emeritus Seventy it was pretty good, those are still my favorite part. I think that this week, I've really learned that I have truly been called of God as a Representative of Jesus Christ. There is no need to fewr - especially because the things we are teaching are true. We can humbe ourselves before the Lord, and be bold with the message we are sharing. I'm really coming to see my faith grow by the small and simple things that I am doing everyday. I taught the lesson in District Meeting on Sunday on Faith (I found out only a few hours before, haha, guess I should get used to that) and Sunday was Fast and Testimony meeting, so that was exciting. My last chance to formally bear my testimony in English, so I took the opportunity. The new district is pretty cool, all of them are either going to Russia, or Ukraine. Anyway, I'm running low on time, so I gotta go. Thanks again for all your love and prayers. I'll try to share more next week.
Love- Elder Atkinson

Sweeeeeeeeeeet-Dis-po-sition

Nothing else really exciting has happened this past week, haha that's about it. As far as crazy foods go, I have no idea what weird things I'll be eating once I get out into the field, but since being here I've already had quite the variety- Astronaut Ice Cream, Bacon Flavored Mints, Chicken Hearts, and Pigs Feet. All very interesting. We, as a district, have also discovered that no living human being has the capacity or self-discipline to put a skittle in their mouth, and let it disolve entirely without chewing.
Tomorrow I'll hit 6 weeks here in the MTC. Not much else to say other than what I've said in the past. The time is going by sooooooo fast. Tomorrow we'll be getting a new district of Russian speaking missionaries in our branch (6 Elders and 3 Sisters) We don't know where they're going, but it's probably to Russia. The other Russian speaking Branch is empty now, except for one district of ten that got here the same time we did, and they're getting 18 more missionaries. It's been weird without all the older missionaries this week, but it'll be nice to see some new faces.
Last Tuesday's devotional was from H. Ross Workman (Emeritus 70) and it was way good. One thing he mentioned that I've been thinking about was Hebrews 11:1. When we keep a commandment, sometimes we don't see immediate results, and the blessing is delayed. When this happens, our faith is tested and it grows. It kinda got me thinking about the blessing of "delayed blessings" and how important it is that our faith be tried before we see results. It also puts things into a different perspective, about what truly motivates us to action. I've also been doing a lot of study in the first few chapters of Mosiah-with King Benjamin's address. I've come to love it more and more everyday, and see the truth in it. Anyway, that's a bit about what's been on my mind lately.
I have a feeling that tonight's devotional is going to be from an apostle - I can just feel it. I'll let ya'll know next week. I would still have to say that my favorite part about the MTC is the devotionals on Sunday and Tuesday nights. They always get me so excited to be a part of this work. I am truly grateful for this opportunity that I have been given to serve our Master Jesus Christ. Especially grateful to do it in the Baltic.
Anyway, my time is up, my typing skills are dimishing little by little each week, I feel like I have less and less to share, haha.
Thank you all for the letters, prayers, love and support.
Love- Elder Austin P. Atkinson

You sir, are a Moron!... A Mormon?!? but I'm from Earth!‏

Hello everyone, hopefully all is well.

I am going to have to say that this week has probably been the most uneventful, but hey, what can you do. I like the fact that I'm on a tight schedule, I always feel like I get so much more done, and I feel more organized.
The older District in our branch left this week, so we got a bunch of pictures and stuff with them on Sunday. They were all way awesome, but now we're the senior district, woo!!! We get 2 or 3 more Russian speaking districts on the 28th of July, so that will be very fun. We're gonna recite the first vision AT them, and make them think that we know a ton of Russian, haha. So because the older district left, we got new leaders in our branch/district. Our Zone Leaders are Elder Reynolds and Tucker going to Kiev, Ukraine (Ukrainian Speaking) and my district leader is my companion, Elder Thomas. I totally saw it coming, he's a way hard worker, and the job really suits him well. Though he is now also the Senior Companion, so I am completely and utterly powerless.
Oh another exciting thing happens next week-the temple opens up next monday, so that means I'll finally get to go again! It's been so weird not having the temple, I guess it's good I got a taste of what it'll be like when I actually get out into the field. But yeah, the gym is still closed here cause they're re-doing the bleachers, so no more basketball for me (probably a good thing, I know). You can still run or lift weights on the third floor, but I usually just go out to the field and play soccer. It's pretty fun, I love it.
But because the gym is closed, they have to send us to a bunch of random places whenever there's a devotional, like on Sunday we were in the Cafeteria and they just broadcast it to us. Sunday we heard from Richard Heaton, head of administrators here at the MTC and it was really interesting to see how everything works behind the scenes here. He also talked about the process of how Preach My Gospel came to be, and that the transition from the pre-PMG era still isn't complete. Last tuesday's devotional was from Elder Ronald T. Halverson (another Emeritus seventy) and he gave a good quote from Emerson "God will not have his work manifest by cowards" We have been called here to do the work and there is no reason to fear; Fear was not given to man by God. If I intend to be successful as a missionary it is going to require more effort and energy than I have ever put into anything before. (1Timothy 4:12 and Alma 29) He also said that as missionairies 'we are not to linger on a plateau of mediocraty" i thought that was cool too. Anyway, I'm still learning and growing each day, thanks for the love, prayers and support.
God Bless

-Elder Austin P. Atkinson

You're mocking me, aren't you?

Zdravstvuoytseh! (sorry, that's the best american sound translation I can give for hello)

I have now been in the MTC for 28 days- so so so hard to believe. The time is absolutely flying by. If I was english speaking I would already be in the field, so I am truly grateful for all this time that I have here.

We had a pretty good devotional last Tuesday night, from Elder Robert K. Dellenbach (and emeritus seventy) and he opened up his talk by talking about journal writitng. He showed us his Mission journals, and expressed to us how important they really were. I guess when he got back from his mission in Germany, the church was interviewing him about it, and asked if they could use his journals for their own records! Crazy right? I guess you'll never know what can happen. So I have set a little goal to try and write something everynight, and to remain positive about it. I think it was President Kimball that said those who write in journals every day are more likely to remember the Lord in all things- I can testify of this statement.
I'm still getting along very well with my companion Elder Thomas, sure we have our differences but he is so dedicated and it really helps me stay on task. We do very well with setting our goals and really helping each other reach them. Also, Elder Huber (the Canadian) says that I don't know how to really make my bed, so he does it for me every single morning. I can't complain =)

Russian is still going well, we met the some of the Latvian/Lithuanian/Estonian speakers this week. I need to go talk to their teachers to find out more about my mission. Because all of my Russian teachers went to Russia, they really have no idea what it is like there. I mean it's probably similar, but it would still be cool to find out more about. I found out there are like 20 of us going to the Baltic on the same day - August 30 (10 of which are in my branch).

So the gym is being closed tomorrow, they're finally putting the bleachers back in. But that means it'll be closed the rest of the time I'm here (that's what they tell us anyway) so we'll have to do gym outside from now on. It's also kinda lame that they took out the bleachers, because they don't have an MTC-wide choir without them. I was kinda upset about that but oh well, I'll get over it.
The temple is still closed too (bad timing? I'm not sure) but only for two more weeks. Hallelujah!

I'm still doing alright with the food, everyone else like hates it and complains about it all the time- I'm honestly happy that I don't have to cook for myself =)
oh the older district in our branch got their flight plans last week, that was pretty exciting. They're all going to be flying out next week, except they're all going by themselves. So I think they'll be switching up Leadership positions this sunday- again, it's so weird that I have been here for this long already!
The Sunday Fireside was really good as well; it was Sister Jenny Oaks Baker (renowned violinist and youngest daughter of Elder Dallin H. Oaks). She did a mix of talking about her experiences with the gospel, and performed a bunch of songs from her new CD, it was beautiful, and nice to get to listen to some music. Elder Oaks was there too, but he just sat in the audience (Like two rows in front of me, it was legit!)

I was also really touched by the talk that President Childs (our branch president) gave in sacrament. He spoke on the Atonement, and I swear- it was as if he prepared that talk exactly for me. It was just what I had been praying about, and what I have been working to increase my faith and testimony of. So good, I'm really grateful for our branch presidency, and all they do to help us.

Well my time is running short, thank you all for the love, prayers, and support.

-Elder Austin P., Atkinson

"so what are you gonna do about it?" - Elder Brimley

Hey family and friends, I hope that all is going well with you. Thank you so much for the letters and DearElders, I love hearing from all of you!

This past week has been a bit more eventful than the others. It's hard to believe that I've already been here for three weeks!!!
Saturday night they did a little presentation about how the founding fathers and people like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Columbus were inspired to help bring about the Restoration. Afterwords, they let us go outside and watch the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire (we also got to hear a bit of Carrie Underwood, oh yeah Cowboy Casanova) It was a pretty good show too, and we were allowed out until like 11:30.
I don't know if i've mentioned this before, but they don't allow your own music here in the MTC, kinda a rule so you don't try to play it too loud in the Residence Halls. So I am going absolutely crazy without it- I would totally kill for some MOTAB right now, only 8 more weeks until musical freedom. Also, something else funny I forgot to mention, in the cafeteria, we (all the Russian speakers) eat on the West side of the room by the windows and behind the pillars- We call it the Iron Curtain. =)
Sister Elaine Dalton was our speaker last Tuesday night, that was pretty cool I guess. After every Tuesday night devotional, we have a district review of it, and we all share our insights. Elder Derek Brimley (in my district, going to Donetsk Ukraine-Russian speaking) said the quote above, and told us that it was running through his mind the entire duration of Sister Dalton's talk. So that's what I've been trying to focus on- I'm learning all of these new things, but I need to think about how I am going to act on them. I've noticed that a lot of the speakers are starting to cover some of the same things. Like it's a three week rotation for the Elders that are always coming in and going out. I was also saddened when our district leader pointed out that one of his friends got his Mission call last week, enters the MTC the first week of August, and will be gone before we are. Yeah... I Know...
I also had my first Fast Sunday here, and it was a little bit different, being the 4th of July- which I'm sure most of you found out. We had our testimony in English, so I understood everything perfectly, and it was awesome to hear some of the other Elders in our branch bear their testimonies. Our Branch presidency is awesome too, they are way helpful and are taking a genuine interest in helping us to become the best missionaries we can become.
I've come to see the importance of obedience and planning in my time here so far. I know that even though most of the lessons I have been teaching here aren't to real investigators, that my preparation and desire to be exactly obedient is assisting me in utilizing the Spirit in my teaching. It is awesome and I can tell that I have learned and grown so much. I was also trying to think about how I can devote my entire self to my calling as a missionary, and I realized that I have nothing to worry about at home. Don't have to worry about the family, about school, about the real world. When I realized- "what am I thinking?" This is the real world. This is as close to real life as I am ever going to get. I need to remain diligent and faithful in the work before me, and I know that in doing so, the Lord will take care of everything at home.
The Russian is still doing alright, I can tell that this is what I need to remain diligent in, to avoid becoming discouraged in my work, but I know that I can learn it through the power of God.
Well that's all I have for now, sorry if this is kinda disorganized-they literally put us on a 30 minute timer here =)
I love you all and pray that the Lord may bless you. Keep the letters coming =)

-Elder Austin P. Atkinson

Jerimiah Was A Prophet, not a Bullfrog - District 9‏

Hey everybody, I hope that everything is going well with you.. I have been very glad to hear from a few of you through letters or Dear Elder so keep them coming.. Also this computer that I'm on puts in two periods everytime I type one, and the enter key isn't working, so don't judge.. Things are still awesome and going strong for me here, it's hard to believe that it has already been two weeks.. My ankle is doing a lot better now, and I've been cleared to play in gym again, just gotta be careful with it.. This last week was training week for the new incoming Mission Presidents here at the MTC, so things were really crowded around here.. This also meant that the 1st presidency and the Quorom of the 12 were spending a lot of time down here as well- We had a Special fireside on Friday night, and Elder Oaks was the speaker.. Elders Anderson, Christofferson, Cook, Bednar, Scott, Holland, and Nelson were also on the stand, it was really a powerful experience to have them all there during the fireside.. Elder Oaks gave some great counsel on why this Gospel is the one and only true one on the earth.. I also read Our Search for Happiness this past week, and that has given me a lot more to think about/ work on.. The Russian is still coming along really well, it's very different from English, but still not terribly confusing, there are just a lot of different rules to remember with all of the cases and verb conjugation.. We made our first contacts and appointments in Russian this week, and are getting to know peoples family and stuff like that.. I also have about half of the 1st vision memorized, so that's fun as well.. I've really been focusing on trying to increase my faith in the Savior, because that's something that I could definitely try to teach about Him and His Atonement with more convincing power.. I was able to watch one of Elder Holland's talks that he gave here at the MTC a few years ago, and that has really given me new ideas about the kind of missionary that I want to be.. There is no time to waste while I'm out here, and I'm going to be old a lot longer than I'm going to be young and able to do this, so I need to push myself to be all that I can be.. Yeah, like I said, I'm still really enjoying my time here.. The days are all just kinda blending together, P-day and Sunday are really the only ones that are different.. Anyway, my time is about up, love you all and hope to hear from you soon.. -Elder Austin P.. Atkinson

God Bless Us, Every One (Say like Tiny Tim)

Hey there family and friends,

I got your dear elders, and that is probably the best way to contact me here in the MTC, so I can spend my 30 minutes of E-mail typing and not reading. I didn't get an E-mail from anyone, so hopefully you haven't tried sending anything. These computers are being really faulty right now.
So guess what the subject of the E-mail is supposed to mean? That's right, I managed to get a 3rd degree sprain on my right ankle (which was my only good one) came down on an Elder's foot during my very first gym period on Thursday Morning. I was on crutches for a few days, and it was waaaaaaayyy swollen and purple everywhere. I got a blessing from the Zone Leaders though, and that has worked famously. I have definitely been blessed, especially that it happened at the beginning of my stay here, and not right before I was about to fly out. I have sweet pictures, though I haven't figured out the best way to get them to you yet, I'll work on that.
Our Zone has like 4 districts in it, 3 of them speak Russian and one of them speaks Ukranian. There are like 26 of us total. In my district there are 8 of us, and 4 of us are going to the Baltic. About half of our zone is going to the Baltic. My roomies are Elder Huber from Alberta Canada, he's like 6' 5" and he's a baller (I can't get enough of his accent either haha), and there's Elder Palmer. He reminds me of that kid Goob from meet the Robinson's (as far as looks go anyway) he's a pretty cool guy though. And then there's Elder Thomas, he's awesome. He wants to be here as much as I do, and I couldn't ask for anymore than that. Our District Leader is Elder Petterson (Russian speaking, going to Ukraine) and he's kinda funny. He has tried to convert us to using flouride-free toothepaste and he meditates and reads Isaiah for fun. Haha, he's not bad though, we have to remind him to check the mailbox a lot though. Oh well, we are all one in purpose and we learn to love each other. One of the Districts is older they've been here for 6 weeks now, there are 6 Elders, all russian speaking, all going to different missions. Elder Reeves (a ZL also) is going to the Baltic, he just turned 19 on Friday. The rest of us just got here on Wednesday.
The days are very long here, I come home very exhausted but not discouraged. I made it to sunday, and things have definitely picked up since then, we have a lot more time to choose how we want to study. The Spirit is very strong here, and it's way awesome. There's like no contention either, which I love.
The food is good here, I don't have any complaints as I'm happy I don't have to cook for myself for 3 months. I weighed myself yesterday though, came in at 10 pounds more than when I checked at home when I left. I think part of that is that I haven't been able to work out much with my ankle. I don't wanna get up to 2 bills, so I really gotta work on that. My P-day is today (on Tuesday) so that's when I'll be writing and sending letters and stuff.
The class and the Russian is super intense. It's like EFY on steroids, with no girls (at least that you can flirt with) and not as much free time. But I love it. We can already make a street contact, pray, read anything, and bare our testimony in Russian, and I know that that is only because we have been blessed by the Spirit.
Our Branch Presidency is really good too, on Sunday during Sacrament Pres. Childs asks two random Elders to come up and give a 3-5 minute talk on a certain topic. Guess who got picked. Me. and one of our Zone Leaders, so I spoke on commandments and bore my testimony in Russian in front of the whole branch, it went very well.
Hope you had a good Birthday Mom, and Father's day Dad I love you both very much =)

That's all the time I got, I love you all
Send me Dear Elder's when you get time
Love,
-Elder Austin P. Atkinson