29 March 2026
VOLUME 14 – NUMBER 641
Monte with Elder Larson and couple
Monte
First week of the new transfer with Elder Larson! It’s been so fun! He and I get along so well! Overall, it was an incredible week. I’ve done a lot of singing with Elder Larson while he plays his guitar, so that’s awesome.
We started this transfer out swinging! We talked to so many people. We’ve got a fair amount of friends in teaching, so that’s a tender miracle. A few of those friends in teaching really want to know the gospel and want to get baptized.
To start the week off, Elder Larson and I had interviews with President Witt. They did not go anything like I had expected them to. At one point, he started talking about the aspects that I want my future wife to have. He told me to make sure my heart was locked on the mission, but to keep my eyes open.
Monte with other missionaries
Right after interviews, the assistants to the president sent out a challenge to the whole mission to help us bring more people to church. We were in the offices with them when they sent out the invitation, and they asked us personally that we do our best to complete the challenge, so we took it to heart.
For the next week, with every contact we made on the street, Elder Larson and I would try to teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. If they didn’t want to hear what we had to say, then we invited them to come to church. If they did want to hear our message, then we taught them, scheduled a return visit, and then we still invited them to church.
And guess what?! By the end of this week, we had invited 200 people to church—40 every day! Out of those 200 contacts, we were able to find 18 new people to teach, and out of those 18 new people, 2 came to church—Frida and Kimberly.
Monte and Elder Larson with the Glancys
At church I ran into some people that I did not expect to run into! In our old Spanish ward back home, Elder and Sister Glancy were serving there as service missionaries, and they were in our ward on Sunday! It was so cool seeing them again! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a familiar face from home, so it really helped make my day.
Frida and Kimberly are so potente, plus their mom Gregoria as well. On Sunday they both came to church! Gregoria had to stay back to run their small restaurant, but she wanted her daughters to go. I’ve got a really good feeling about these three, and I sure hope that they’ll have the desire to be baptized.
I want to share the key to success to any missionary companionship. Love your companion. Serve them. When they do something that might annoy you a bit, just know that you aren’t here to change who they are. Love them no matter what and always have their back.
Monte with Elder Larson
When there is something that you need to talk about, do it in a loving way and find a compromise. It is a sure way to make sure that your companion will enjoy your presence. The simplest way to put it is: treat them like Jesus would treat them, and love them like He would love them.
God is good, everyone. I’m so grateful to be out here serving the Lord, and I look forward to every new day. Do your best and take those little steps to becoming a better person and a more devoted disciple of Jesus Christ.
The message that I share as a missionary is a message of hope—that there is more than this world, and that no matter how hard this life is, there is always someone who knows exactly what is going on in your life. I say these things in the sacred and holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Family dinner
Kai
This week has been packed with one fun event after another. It started with Veidi, Isaac, and I going to a Jazz game, which they won. You know I’ve never been to a Jazz game where they’ve lost, but I’ve only been to four or five though.
The next day, Isaac and I went to Caleb’s to go to a BYU volleyball game. I’ve never been to a volleyball game, but BYU won! Afterwards, we went to see Project Hail Mary with Ashton, which was really fun. The movie was great!
On Saturday we went to Braden’s for our monthly poker night. I earned money again, which is huge! And to top off the week, on Sunday we had family dinner at our house!
New barn doors in living room
Veidi
Isaac, Kai, and I went to the Jazz game. It was really fun. They won, so that’s always a bonus. It was also my first time watching them play in person. I had a fun time going with Isaac and Kai.
The barn doors that Dad installed in the living room also look so nice. I really like how the doors are the same color as the walls, and the piano room looks so much nicer. It also helps to close off the dog room so you can’t see it when you first come into the house.
Quinn
I went to the park with Troy, Isaac, Kai, and Veidi. It was fun when Troy was the catcher, because we could trick him, and he would tackle me. Though I got bruises, it was awesome.
When we got home, Mom and Joanna were watching a show. We all got ready for bed while Isaac and Kai watched the new Harry Potter movie trailer. They said it was not that good. That was an awesome day.
Ellie’s birthday
Braden
This week we celebrated Ellie’s 6th birthday! Recently, she has been loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and so that was the theme for the day. Brooke made an awesome cake with Ellie’s favorite character, Leonardo, and we put up streamers and decorations that matched the Ninja Turtle colors.
After school on her birthday, Ellie invited her friend Carter to come to Fat Cats to play at the arcade and then get pizza and donuts after. It’s crazy Ellie is already 6; she’s getting to be such a big girl, and we love her!
Brooke’s ninja birthday cake for Ellie
Endia
When Cougar and I were doing sealings recently, I thought that it would be neat to be able to do the work to seal a family with multiple children. Around that same time, I read a book called Calling me Home, a story about an older white woman looking back on her past when was married to a black man in the 1930s and 40s. Her family was against it, and that opposition forced the two apart.
The woman was haunted by her past, and most of the people in her current life did not know anything about the relationship. As I read, it made me think of Grandma Dorothea Dean, Grandpa Lin’s mom. She also had a past—a previous marriage she didn’t talk about. I decided to go onto family search and see if I could learn more about her.
Then I remembered the thought from the temple about sealing a family of siblings. I started searching through relatives with ordinances ready until I came across an Edna Wheeler. When I looked at her family, she had a lot of siblings who all needed their ordinances as well.
First spring dinner outside
As I was looking through their family, I happened to click on a census and before I exited out I noticed one line that seemed to stand off the page: “Race: Black.” This piqued my interest, seeing as our family is not black! I was curious how we were related to this family. The relation is through Grandma Artie’s line—a southern family with a long and somewhat prosperous history in the United States.
Grandma Artie’s great grandma had a brother named Alexander Ray, who had two wives listed—Elizabeth Burton and Katy Ray. As I did some more research, I discovered that Katy Ray was a slave who was freed after the Civil War, took the name of her old master, and apparently already had children through him. Her daughter Amanda Ray was listed on all of her censuses as a “mulatto,” a older term that means one black parent and one white parent.
I don’t know the truth of their relationship, but masters siring children through slaves was sadly a very common practice. It seems Katy Ray was set up with her own household after being freed and is buried in the cemetery with the Ray family. This is how the family is related to ours.
Jenny in car with Emmett and Owen
Amanda married Mason Logan and their daughter Elizabeth Logan married Samuel Wheeler. The Wheeler family lived in the same time period as the book I was reading, and in the same place—Kentucky. It was a very powerful experience to find this family and to learn about the reality of what their lives might have been like because of the book I had just read. I felt like I was led to and connected with this family.
Another cool experience: I reserved the names for Elizabeth and Samuel and all of their children. I was able to also reserve Elizabeth’s father, Mason, but someone had already reserved Mason’s wife, Amanda. Then I noticed the name of the person who had reserved her…and it was Gloria! She had been baptized and confirmed for Amanda this past October! After I let Gloria know, she made the name available so we can do the work for her along with her family!
A couple weeks ago, Kai, Veidi, and Troy performed the baptisms and confirmations for the rest of the family, other family members helped with initiatory ordinances, and at the end of this month, several of us went to the temple to start the endowment work for the family members. When we’re finished with that, I hope to have us meet together as a family to do sealing all our family members!
Veidi, Kai, Troy with Wheeler names
Troy
School has been great. I have finished three classes already—science, history, and PE, and they are all A’s. I hope to finish school by the middle of April.
Dad also finished the barn doors. He had me and Veidi sand them down, since Mom decided she wanted them white instead of stained. Then me, Quinn, and Dad painted the doors with the paint sprayer.
Finally, me, Cougar, and Dad put the doors up. Well, mostly Cougar and Dad. I just gave them tools and switched out a light switch. Cougar and Endia also moved out, which is kind of sad because they were really fun. But now they have their own home.
Jenn and Natalie with children
Jenn
Hi everyone, it has been a while since I’ve written a newsletter submission! March has been very eventful for us. We celebrated James and Izzy’s friend’s birthday, and it was so much fun. The party was at Get Air in Kaysville, and it was such a great night to spend with friends—the boys were able to let all their energy out.
That same weekend, we met up with cousins at Thanksgiving Point. All of the kids had a great time spending a few hours exploring the different areas. After all the fun, we also helped Yarima move into their new house.
Selvin skiing
I also had so much fun at a concert my girlfriends invited me to. I also took Selvin and Yaretzie skiing for the first time ever. They seemed to have a great time, and by the end of the day, they were really starting to get the hang of it.
It was also my friend’s birthday, and she hosted a small get-together with friends where we enjoyed some cake. Another exciting highlight was that the youth in the program that I run at work graduated this week. We celebrated 15 youth completing the program, which is an amazing accomplishment for everyone involved.
Izzy with butterfly
Gloria
Y’all probably miss me because I miss you lots. It’s still so strange to me that I’m literally a missionary and have His name on my chest.
Last week was so crazy but with lots of miracles! The first miracle was with Dora. I really do love their family so much—Dora, Mike, and their two sons. We invited Dora to church Saturday night, and she actually came! That was her second time coming in the month that we’ve been seeing her.
We have this one inactive member who lives in the crack of nowhere, so it’s like a fun little side quest 30 minutes away from our apartment. Her name is Socorro, and her husband Fernando is not a member, but they are absolutely the best. They have lots of farm animals, dogs, and a cat. My allergies are so bad because I’m allergic to cats, but I love them so much.
Sisters Allen and Hill with others
On Sunday, me and Sister Allen gave a talk at our YSA ward. I spoke about the Holy Ghost and how it gives revelation. I was a bit nervy, but I got through it. It was about seven minutes long, but it was great. And let’s just say I made the ward laugh a few times.
And now for the best miracle of the week! We had a Baptism on Sunday—Yay! She was so precious and so excited. We had almost all the YSA ward members who came, which was so fun. The Spirit was so strong in that room. When she came out of the water, she was so happy. I love her so much and I can’t wait to see her progress in the church. She is such a queen.
And now for a spiritual thought: I recently read in 1 Nephi 10, and this chapter means so much to me. Even though Nephi did believe his father, he wanted to have his own witness of what his father saw in his visions and teachings, so the Holy Ghost appeared to him.
Gloria’s zone
Before my mission, I did have a personal experience with this chapter. One night at around 11:00pm, I was laying in bed and couldn’t sleep, so I decided to read my scriptures. I was reading Chapter 10, and I did the same thing as Nephi. I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father if what my parents had told me was true. Immediately I started to cry, and that’s how I knew the gospel was true.
This week for P-day, my zone played four square and exploding kittens. I absolutely love my zone so much. I really do enjoy spending time with them, and getting to know them is fun as well.
On Wednesday I hit two months as a missionary! We celebrated it by going to La Michoacana. I got ice cream! Friday we were supposed to have a few lessons, but they fell through. We did one lesson over the phone, and after that we knocked on a street called Santa Cecilia. One of our goals was to get one door slam, but that did not happen!
Gloria and Sister Allen at ward activity
Saturday was a grind for us, and we did lots of knocking so we could invite lots of people to Palm Sunday. We also had a ward activity with the Spanish ward. It was such a cool experience because it was a walk through the church, with rooms representing the last weeks of Christ’s life, like the last supper, the garden, and the tomb. It was so wonderful. We also had our friend Dora there, and she invited her friend Camila as well.
On Sunday, in one of our lessons, we were teaching a young woman whose family are members but her dad is not anymore. At the end of the lesson, we asked her if she was ready for baptism, and her dad started to bash about the church. It was a bit rough, but Hermana Allen did so good. That was my first time witnessing that.
Blink, blink, as tears are streaming down my face. Transfer day has arrived, and I’m leaving Temecula North, and Sister Allen is staying! I was so sad when I found out, but I’m going where the Lord wants me. I really loved the area so much and the people I’ve met over the past six weeks.
I love you all so much. Remember that God loves you and your efforts!
Family dinner