Stay Close to Your Family!

'Ello! How is it going with you all? I hope you all know how much I love all of you. I am grateful for all the prayers and love you send--I can truly feel it, and I'm blessed to know you all!

Well, this last week was good. Elder Cook and I worked hard and it has paid off. We are seriously loving working together and we are very good friends already. We have written 2 songs together: one about mission life, and another very good song (you will all love when we get it recorded--haha) about the Saviour and Joseph Smith. It is very good and sounds so good--the music invites the Spirit and sets the tone.

We also had a pretty funny thing happen. Elder Forbes (one of the English missionaries in our area) came to our flat and we had a service project down in Brixton together. Well, when Elder Forbes left, the key bent inside our lock. Uh oh! So me and Elder Cook had to call the landlord. He came and he broke the key all the way off and was not happy. So then he broke the door so he could get into our flat, so we had to wait in our flat ALL DAY. We needed a new lock and we could not leave because the door was broken. So, we turned it into a good study day we looked up some sweet doctrinal questions and how to answer them. Some of the questions we looked up were asked to us THAT VERY NIGHT by certain people! This truly was a miracle and it helped so much.

We did a lot of service this last week and it was pretty chill--haha. We cleaned a garden spotless (seriously, it looked amazing--it really was fun because we made it look so good). We also laid some tile and did a whole room full of wood flooring, so it was a very good week for service.

I want you all to know we have a Father in Heaven who loves us just as a parent loves his or her children. Our Father really did send His only Son--think about this, His Only Begotten Son--to die for us all! How great His love was and is for all of us.

Now I want to share a story I have learned about Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith before they left Nauvoo to Carthage Jail (I believe this is an account of a fourteen-year-old boy, Hyrum's son). He said it was a sad and strange day when his father was made to leave. His father Hyrum took off his favorite pocket watch and hung it on a nearby tree. The son immediately broke into tears, because his dad never took his watch off and never left it. He then saw his father get on his horse and ride down the road! Hyrum noticed his little son, Joseph F. Smith, playing in the mud and rode up to him. He did not get off his horse, but reached over and picked up his son and just held him so close like a loving father would and just cried. Then he rode off to Carthage to join Joseph.

These twos names will always be remembered, as well as others who died across the long treks and voyages to be with the early Saints. Truly I can't say it enough how important families are. I want to challenge all of you to make a goal to write a letter or to stop by and see your families in the coming month, cause who knows what might happen within such a short time. Life is so short, so live a happy life, and stay close to the ones who you know love you as your Father in Heaven loves you.

I bear my solemn testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that He truly lives and loves us! I am so grateful for what these great men did for us, to bring the truth to the earth! We truly need to heed the counsel of living prophets because they truly speak the word of God today. I love all of you as my family and dear friends. Remember the One who allowed you to come to this earth--this life is a test, which may be hard, but do as Ether 12:27 says, and take your weaknesses to the Lord . . . He will make them strengths. Always do this and you will be blessed.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Church today, and I leave this things in the name of my beloved brother and Saviour, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

PS- The work here has been great! I am loving good ol' Brixton and I took some pics for you all to see the area that I work in, and the crazy people I get to meet.

The wood floor we put down for a service project

This is Brixton!

Sweet Batman poster I bought--I know you're all jealous!

The Worth of a Soul

I'm still in Brixton, so my address is the same--haha, just to get that cleared up.

The baptism went so great this week. Truly, it was a miracle and she will be an amazing addition to the ward! But let me tell you what happened . . . we told her something might happen where Satan will try his hardest to stop her from getting baptised, and she was tried and tested. Her best friend looked up anti-Mormon stuff and said we worship the Fall and that what Satan did was a good thing, and also a lot of dodgy doctrine about dancing and all sorts of weird stuff I talked to her for a good half hour to get all the answers to the questions she had and she finally calmed down.

Then came the baptism--we got there, and me and Elder Cook had to make programs, get everything ready, and just be super focused and try and do so much in such a little amount of time to get the font filled (it was stressful!). Finally it was time for the baptism--all went according to plan, and people came. There were refreshments, and Rosemary was happy! I felt the Spirit so strong, and I really realized how special it was, and took in all that happened this time--it was amazing!


I read a talk by President Monson from back when he was an Apostle. It was about the worth of souls, and is called "Our Sacred Priesthood Trust." Here is an excerpt I want to share:

"Many years later, Paul C. Child, then of the Priesthood Welfare Committee, and I attended a stake conference together. At the priesthood leadership session, when it was his turn to speak, he took his scriptures in hand and walked from the stand into the congregation. Knowing President Child as I did, I knew what he was going to do. He quoted from the Doctrine and Covenants, including section 18 concerning the worth of a soul, indicating that we should labor all our days to bring souls unto the Lord. He then turned to one elders quorum president and asked, “What is the worth of a soul?”

The stunned quorum president hesitated as he formulated his reply. I had a prayer in my heart that he would be able to answer the question. He finally responded, “The worth of a soul is its capacity to become as God.”

Brother Child closed his scriptures, walked solemnly and quietly up the aisle and back to the stand. As he passed by me, he said, “A most profound reply.”"

Wow! I thought about this, and keep thinking about this. If one soul is saved, many worlds and creations can come from this person! Think about that--one soul saves thousands, even millions, after this life as they strive to become like God. So, wow, this really opened my perspective and has made me strive to do my best!

I really do love these people here in England, and I love being able to serve the Lord. I am so happy for all the many blessings I have received, and I love the Lord so much! I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned, and for all the great doctrines I am continuing to learn out here! All I do is grow spiritually, and it is so cool to feel and to see myself change a little bit over time.

I love you all, and I am so grateful for the the great things you all do for me! I hope and pray for all of you, and care about you all so much. Stay close, and stay in touch. I love you! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

LOVE YA, ELDER COON

PS- Me and Elder Cook are writing good missionary music--hope you're lookin' forward to it, haha, it will be good!

New Companion

So, it has been moves week, and I have been terrified that Elder Hanks would leave me--and of course he has. He was sent to Portsmouth! It has been a very weird and sickening feeling to have to take over the area of Brixton and to show the new guy around and how we do things here, so I have been a little on edge, but very excited as well.

Well, my new companion's name is Elder Cook. He is from St. George and he is amazing. He plays the piano and loves to sing, and as you all know I love singing, so I'm stoked to serve with him. We have so much in common and he is excited to be in London area. We will get on just fine and all will be well, so no worries! I am so grateful for the opportunity to still be serving here in Brixton. I'm super stoked and excited to be with Elder Cook and I love this Gospel!

Today I kind of wanted to talk about families and the importance of staying close to our families. Before we came to this earth, we had a choice to choose to follow Christ or to be led astray by Lucifer. We who are on this earth are those who chose to follow Christ, to accept His plan, and to come to earth to be tested. I know without a doubt in my mind that we chose (or were with) our families before and we accepted to come here with them to learn and to grow together. We chose this plan and we chose to live in families.

I love the family unit and I love the Church we are in: both help us learn and grow so much. If there is someone in the family you dislike, and it causes contention, learn to love and serve them. I know you probably think, "Oh, that is so easy," well PROVE IT! Show them how much you love them, let them know how you feel, and help you yourself to overlook their flaws. Love your family members as Christ loves each and every single person. Love them as if you would do anything for them, because they are family and you should love and honor them always!

I want my family to know what a great strength they have been to me to get me to where I am today. I love our family and I love families I have come in contact with! In a world that is trying to pull families apart, we have the gospel of Jesus Christ which is here for us to have hope and find that peace that calms all troubles in the world today.

Rosemary is getting baptised this Saturday because she knows how important her family is. Like she said, she looks forward to baptism, but her main focus is on the temple and the work provided for our families on earth as well as those who have passed on! We all need to strive to look toward the temple and toward our families. Love and care about them all. I love you all so much and I care about every single one of you. In the name of Jesus Christ OUR Saviour and OUR Redeemer. AMEN!

PS- Pictures!

This is Eleanor and her kids--she is so cool!

Moves Day!

Hanks, Elmer, Me, Bink, and Dunaway

Me and Sister Piazze. She was in the MTC with me.

Email from the Bishop in Clapham

Hello there Hanks and Coon family, I thought I should write you a little note to let you guys know how much we love your boys.

Brixton is a very busy place made up of all kinds of people (including quite a few weird ones). Your boys are having the time of their lives. They teach with the Spirit of the Lord and testify with wisdom and counsel which far exceeds their years.

They are both fantastic missionaries. It's clear that they love each other, which, if you've served yourself, is the most important thing in a missionary companionship. They have a great sense of humour and you would be very proud of your own missionary.

My wife, Caroline, is a ward missionary and they work her like a horse! She loves them as well (perhaps even more than anyone else). Hanks has been in the ward for some time now, so we wouldn't be surprised if he got moved quite soon. When this happens, we will miss him in Brixton.

Just thought you might like to know,
Bishop Cooke

Best Week Yet!

Well, this week has made the whole mission worth it thus far--things are beginning to look up and I am so excited to move forward--it rocks!

This whole week, me and Elder Hanks found success knocking on doors and teaching people--we found tons of new people to teach! We also saw some sweet fights and fires this week, but best of all we had an amazing baptism this week!

A woman named Verona has been preparing, and she has been having a very good time reading the Book of Mormon and studying the principles, but before she would continue she told us she had to read the whole Book of Mormon. We said okay, and made her a calendar to follow and to work toward this last weekend! Well, all went according to plan and she was baptised! I performed the baptism and also sang a solo (I Need Thee Every Hour). The spirit at the baptism was so strong, and I felt so good to know that we helped her only because the Lord was with us. It is so amazing for me to think about this baptism and confirmation.



This was at the temple Visitor's Centre with Verona's kids, Aiden and Miriam. There was a sweet moment when a bunch of butterflies flew into the building and Miriam was chasing them--I wish I had a picture of it!

Right after the baptism, after I got changed, we received a phone call from an investigator, Rosemary, who we did not talk to for a week. Before I tell you what she said, I want to explain how we met her: Rosemary was a referral, and when we talked to her, she said she has had many teachings from the Watchtower people (Jehovah's Witnesses of Kingdom Hall) and the baptists, so she has had and heard it all. We taught her, and she said she would come to church last week so she did and she loved it. Then she told us she still was unsure--she loved church, but she wanted to find out through prayer. She said she would call us the following Monday, but we did not get a call Monday or throughout the week. Then she called right after the baptism and this is what she said: "Hello, Elders, this is Rosemary. Hey, I wanted to tell you I prayed and I received an answer--I want to join your church and be baptised." !!!!!!

So, we met with her Sunday; she came to church and she said, "I really received and I know without a doubt I want to be a member." We were so stoked, and she set a baptism date for August first! We saw her this morning at nine o' clock, she talked to us and we taught all about the plan of salvation. She was so astonished to learn about the temple, and she said she wanted to be baptised but her main focus is on the temple!!! How wonderful it is to hear!!! She will be amazing in the ward here--people already have learned to love her and already are asking about her.

The work is amazing--I just love it, truly I do! How great this work is--I am so happy to be a part of such an amazing work. I know that I am a tool in the Lord's hands. It's so good to raise your kids to look forward to the temple. I loved playing "who can see the temple first" whenever we came home from a trip when I was young. It always made me look forward to saying "Yeah, I will go there some day!" Instill the temple in your kid's minds--visit the Visitor's Centre--it is heaven on earth and everyone is welcome. Take friends and do not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

I am so grateful for all the prayers and blessings I have received thus far. I know the work will keep growing here in England. I love you all, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!

PS- Next week is moves week, so you might not get an email from me on Monday.

Me in front of the sweet Buddhist temple

At Battersea Park

No post this week . . . don't forget me!

Well, I did get your package, Ali, and we did not get the food from Tesco, so you might have to call and find out what went wrong. I wish we would have gotten it! I didn't get any post this week from anyone--I got 1 letter from Mom on Saturday, so it was a rough week!

The week really has seemed very long. We had to say goodbye to our beloved President and Sister Swinton, which was very hard. But we got to go to our meeting with President Shamo! He is a very cool guy--he has done all the audio/visual in the movies for the Church for the last 27 years, and he has worked with Spencer W. Kimball and Gordon B. Hinckley as well as Thomas S. Monson. He is very nice, a spiritually uplifting teacher. The Shamos have eight kids, which reminds me of my big family. I am so excited to get to serve with them, and I truly do look forward to it--they are going to do amazing things here in England!

Well, let's tell you a little about our week: it has been a very rough week, with stress and fatigue. We have not had the best teaching pool, and we have had to weed out a lot of people who are not prepared, which has been tough, but it has made me want to try even harder to find new people. President Shamo shared a story of a little girl in Utah, and I think it will change my outlook on my mission and truly make me try so much harder--it brought me to tears and strengthened my testimony. In Utah, on one of the busiest roads in the middle of the day, a little girl who was three years old was attempting to cross the road. People kept honking as she tried to cross and she would step back on the curb. Then she attempted a second time, and someone stopped and honked at the little girl and yelled at her to get back on the sidewalk. Then she decided to make a third attempt and she got no farther then about five steps in the road when she was struck by a garbage truck!

President Shamo shared this story to explain how important our call is. Those people who just rushed by that 3-year-old girl and did not get out to help her will always have to live with the fact that they did not stop and help her. SO NOW I, and all of you back home, have a solemn duty to help those in need, so we will not have to live with knowing that we did not try our best. Look for opportunities to serve in all that you do. Please remember this story, 'cause it truly has changed the outlook of my calling, and my life. I know I have the calling to do this every day, but you have the calling to help others at all time and in all places as members of the church . . . so find those people or friends who need the gospel!

Even though it was hard, I loved this week and I love the trials I have to go through--they continue to help me grow in faith and to lean unto the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. We truly are nothing without the Lord in our lives. Knowing this brings me down to humility and teaches me so much more as I admit this to myself. I know that many more blessings will come when we are humble.

Thanks for all that you do! Thanks for all the support and all the prayers! I love you all so much, and I care about you all as individuals and as brothers and sisters. I know that the work will go forward and I am going to try even harder than I have been. I am so happy to be here and I have learned so much and will continue to learn and to grow in faith. I love the Lord with all my heart, and I say these things humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN!

Me with President and Sister Swinton

Me and Elder Hanks goofin' off

This is a ward barbecue they had on the Fourth of July--haha, I thought it was funny to celebrate the independence of the United States from Great Britain . . . in Great Britain.

Me and Hanks doing some service with machetes!

Working hard

Me and Paulo--he is Lorena's son, the lady from Chile that we've been teaching