Derrick Has Found A New Friend....SIRI!!!! 10.6.14

Wow! It is so good to see all these pictures from home. I was really a

little bit bummed out to not be able to be home for conference, but it

was so good here. I took like half a notebook of pages and got so much

personal revelation… it was amazing!

This week it was kind of crazy.  Pres. Toone called an emergency transfer, so now me and Elder Christianson live in an apartment all by ourselves. This morning we moved the other two elders out so now we are taking up another ward. So now we have two wards we’re covering. It has more than tripled our area! We do have a car, though. That's going to be really awesome. We still bike a lot, but we will be able to drive in our area.

I love seeing Nancy post on Instagram a picture with her with my sweatshirt on. That really was awesome to see! And I can't wait to see and hear from you all again. I haven't received any letters back from home, so I'm probably not going to hand write you all today.

We are at the church, so now I can use Siri to write my letter. So I can talk out the whole thing… so this letter will be a lot longer than beforeJ!

Elder Christianson and I are going to be alone in our house, so that's going to be really awesome. And we are going to be very, very comfortable.

On Wednesday, we’re going to have interviews and are going to watch “Meet the Mormons.” That's going to be really awesome. I can't wait to see that and be able to see it before everyone else.

For the personal address, it's not like a rule to not give it out. It's just that whenever people move I don't want all the mail to be going there.

So, if it goes to the Mission home it's a lot more safe. It is a little bit slower, for sure. And it’s also so other elders don't get into your mail and stuff like that.

Elder Christiansen and I get along pretty well. We don't have a whole lot in common, but we just are pretty relaxed. We go out and try to work hard and get as much done as possible.

We are, like I said, getting a new area. So now we have like 4 1/2 mi.² , which is two wards! That's going to be really interesting getting all that situated, but with the car a lot of stuff will be a lot better. Everything is going really well right now.

I am on my iPad, so we're hoping to be able to have pictures this week.

But, I did get the ties and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, THEM!!!!!.  In every package there should be two things; jerky and ties. That's all you need as a missionary.

Right now it's pretty awesome. I love getting packages, and emails, and mostly handwritten letters. My favorite thing out here right now is that work is pretty slow, but we're working with our members and trying to get them as focused on missionary work as we can. What we're doing right now is trying to get them to invite people to go watch “Meet the Mormons,” preferably less actives and nonmembers, obviously.

People around here, they don't really know their neighbors. It's really different from Emery county. People around here go from the air-conditioned job, to the air-conditioned car, to the air-conditioned house and that's like all and that's really different. They don't really even know who

their neighbors are, so, as missionaries, were trying to get them to get out and know their neighbors and just be friends with them right now.

I am in a pretty wealthy area so people are less receptive to the Gospel, but, like in general conferences they said that we are "ol ship Zion!!!” And if you're not on the ship, then we will reach our hands out and try to go out and rescue you. So right now we're just trying to get out and

Invite, invite, invite, others to come unto Christ and to get on the ship.

I love Gen. Conference so much. It was so awesome. We were able to go over to a lady named Marie and watch the second session on Saturday.

She was really awesome and wanted to feed us lunch right before, so we got one of our elders that is about to go on a mission in November. He came out with us, and we were able to watch that with her. She's catholic, but she's very open to hear other religions. She doesn't believe that there's just one true church out there, so she just likes what we believe, and she reads the Book of Mormon and everything, but she just doesn't want to commit at all. Her family would disown her. She is about 50 years old, so she can decide to do what she wants, but right now she's pretty settled in her ways. But, she does like to have the missionaries over. It was really awesome.

I love the priesthood session very much! Dad, I'm sorry to hear that your librarian at your school quit. I hope you're able to fill that job and have as little stress as possible on you. I hope things start working out, but it's great to hear that you guys were able to go down the Blanding and celebrate grandma's birthday down there with her. And, also, I'm so happy to see Brielle. It's kind of crazy to see all the things going on without me, but it's super awesome to see. She looks beautiful in her dress, and I hope the best for her. I can't wait to meet the guy again (I can’t remember his name.)

I can't remember if I said this before, but iPads are the best. Everyone knows that you really can't read my writing, and really, neither can I, so iPads just for typing are just super, super, nice. We are able to email like our stats and everything to our zone leaders and district leaders. That’s super nice. And we are able to take notes and everything for conference.

I did take notes on a notebook and I filled it up about half way.  There's so much personal revelation in them. Those men are profits and they are called of God. There's no way to put it in other words. There's no way that they could say what they said without the Spirit and not be called of God. I love Gen. Conference. Like Brinne said, it is like Christmas for missionaries. It is the best. I can't wait for the next one in six months.

I can't believe it was only six months ago that me and Jordan and Daniel were just over watching conference at the Conference Center. That just seemed like a month ago. Time goes so fast out here. I can't believe haven't seen my family, or anything, for two months. It feels like maybe two or three weeks. The MTC seems like a blur, but everything is so worth it.

The Spirit was so strong at conference, and I loved it.

The new area that we are picking up does seem to have quite a bit of potential. There are a few potential investigators that we're going to go see tonight, or at least this week. I'm looking forward to the future, and everything is going great here in the Tempe Arizona Mission.

I love being a Missionary, and can't wait to hear of everyone else in our family that is about to start their mission papers. I can't believe that the Morley family has five missionaries out and contributing to the 88,000 that was reported in general conference. That is so awesome I love to hear about other missionaries. I haven't got any of my cousin’s emails, so if you could, would you just forward those to me or give them to me somehow?

I love being a missionary!!!!! I'm so happy for Hayden and to hear from him in the MTC over in London. That's crazy! I was a little bummed that I was just out of the MTC so I couldn't sing in the choir for general conference. That would've been so cool. I would've loved that, but I'm super glad that I'm out here right now.

Everything is working out pretty well, and we were able to listen to Elder Christofferson a couple weeks ago. I think I wrote this in my last letter, but that was super awesome.

I'm so glad to hear about the family and how well the family is doing right now. I know the teenage years are pretty tough. hahaHahaha

With iPads I will be able to type more than Erica! (She has, like, fingers on steroids!! Hahahaha! I love this Siri for iPads!

When I get responses to handwritten letters I will write you back, but I don't know why Brinne is able to write every night. Look at the White Handbook. It says that we should only right on P-days.

You will have to do a lot of spellcheck because I am talking, and I'm not willing to reread everything. You're probably going to have to piece a lot of stuff together….and there's not going to be a whole lot of punctuation, but even if I was typing it normally, it probably wouldn't have any more punctuation.

It was great to see pictures of Grandma's birthday in Blanding. I love seeing her face! She is so awesome! I'm so glad she's doing well and is healthy now, but that is so awesome. I love her so much! Tell her Happy Birthday from Elder Dawes.

Because I'm covering two wards, I'll be going to six hours of church every Sunday. That will be the best! As a missionary you look forward to meetings, and Sundays, and Mondays are the best days in the whole mission… for me at least!

I have a question, “If I am able to send a letter to London for HJ, would I have to put like three stamps on it? Or how many stamps would I have to use?   I am really wondering that because I don't want to get it sent back and waste a stamp on him. So I will probably wait and hold back on the handwritten letter and sending it off. But if you could, like, handwrite me or email me next week that answer that would be awesome.

I think I'm good with supplies right now. I'm thinking jerky could always be used, but other than that, I'm doing pretty well!

I am gaining a testimony of The Book of Mormon a lot lately. Lately,

I've been able to read a lot of conference talks and a lot of other stuff. I’ve read the missionary library. I've read “My Heritage” and “Our Search for Happiness.” Those were super good, but that's all I was reading. I wasn't reading any of The Book of Mormon, and I did start to feel pretty down, but the day after, I picked up The Book Mormon and I felt so good… and a lot more energized! The missionary spirit goes along with The Book of Mormon and is so inspired. I love to read it.

I'm so grateful for Joseph Smith and all he was able to do it. He was definitely an inspired man and the prophet of the restoration. I'm so grateful for him and all he did for me… especially on the personal revelation that I received in conference. That just confirmed to me that we have prophets today, and they are called as Prophets, Seers, and Revelators!

I really like the analogy of going back 100 years and trying to explain to people about the technology that we have now…phones and stuff. That's how I think of our prophets today. People won't listen, will use logic and everything, and right now they might seem right. But that doesn't matter. The prophets know the future. They are just trying to warn us. All we have to do is head them and listen, and we will be safe. We will hop on the “Old ship, Zion.” This is my testimony, and I'm gaining more every day.

I love being able to study every single Day! Right now I'm trying to read “Jesus the Christ.” I love being able to read deeper doctrine and to strengthen my testimony of Jesus Christ. I love reading histories of the church and everything like that. I love being able to strengthen my testimony by reading Church-approved doctrine.

Sorry for the no punctuation, but you're welcome for the longer letter this time! Ha ha! I love you all, and I want to you to read The Book of Mormon as long as you can this week. I know it will be a testimony builder, but first of all pray and try to receive an answer. As you read, and I know if you do this, and you really want to find an answer to that question you have, you will find it in The Book of Mormon. It is the word of God. It is the most correct book above any other book on earth. And by a reading it you will come closer to Christ than any other book. I know this to be true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, along with the Bible, as it is translated correctly. I love reading scriptures and building my testimony!

I love you all. Have a good week. I can't wait to hear from you. And get some handwritten letters. I would love to spend more time on my hand writing by writing letters, but if I don't get any then I won't be able to practiceJ!

I love you all! I'm trying to work on my charity for all man… no matter anyone that I see. (Even when people don't treat me or my companion very well.) I still try to love them and not judge them and try to see them how Jesus would see them.

I am trying to work on my Christ-like attributes that have to do with Preach My Gospel. Preach My Gospel is so helpful. As a missionary, I love it. If you guys could all get in that, and just ponder it, and read it, it will help you build your own testimony before you go out. Sharing the gospel is the best feeling you can possibly have!

Love you all, and can't wait to hear from you next week!!!!!

I felt a little bad not being able to send you any pictures… so Elder Christiansen and I just took a quick picture for you. We are going to send it right now. Christianson is from Kansas City. Super awesome. He's been out for about a year now and we are loving it