Week 45: Illness and Transfers - December 18, 2018

 Elder Wright said he donated a Gas Pass/Bus Pass at The Giving Machine in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Hello people! So, Christmas is almost here, which means that everything is going to go flawless, right? Wrong! Okay, I would like to point out that it's actually not that bad. In fact, I think why I'm even pointing these small things out is because things have been going pretty well for me. Anyway, the things that I would mainly like to point out is that 1. transfers is today, so that means I had to be quick with things, even though that's not too much of a problem, and 2. I was sick on Friday and Saturday, which is probably the bigger pain. Even then, it's not that big of a deal since it was just a cold, but it did make sleeping difficult for a little bit. That being said, I'm feeling a ton better now and I'm looking forward to next week with Christmas Skype calls!! I hope you all know that Christmas is a wonderful time to really show how much the people in your life mean to you, not just by giving gifts, but by giving service. Hope you all have an amazing Christmas and a happy New Year!!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

The Temple Square Christmas Lights as seen from the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Some pictures from the mission's Christmas Devotional Lunch

Week 44: Shaking Hands With An Apostle - December 11, 2018

Mom: I was excited to see this picture on the mission Facebook page today. It was taken last Wednesday at the Family History Department Devotional. These are the young Elders of the Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission.

Hey friends and family! So, not much has changed since last week (if you are keeping track of how many times I've said that, there's another one to add to the counter). It hasn't snowed since last time, but from what I can tell it's starting back up again, so I'll have to deal with that now (sigh). 

Okay, now onto the title topic. Last Wednesday, the Family History Department got to have a Christmas devotional that was presided by Elder Renlund. My companion got there a little bit early, not early enough to realize that an apostle would be there. So anyway, we got to our seats, and this guy is going around the young elders and shaking our hands. People shake our hands all the time, so I didn't think too much of it, but after he walked away, an elder who was sitting by me said that that was really interesting. I asked him why, and he told me that we just got to shake hands with Elder Renlund! I didn't realize it was him when he shook my hand!! That was really weird, but at the same time I think it's kind of funny looking back. I guess I can mark myself down for shaking hands with 2 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12. Well, that's all I really have to say. Hope you all have a great week and remember that Christmas time is a great time to give service!! Talk to you later!!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

Elder Wright also wrote to his dad and me that he has been taking a break from the AGES project recently, but he will start doing that again soon. He said, "I mainly just needed a break from it since I did a lot on it." And, "I have no clue how to pronounce any of the Chinese symbols nor do I know what they mean, so I just give them nicknames like 'tree house' or 'guy with swords.'"

He also told us that he sees the Light The World machines in SLC regularly. He was excited to hear about the machines here in Gilbert and wanted to know if our family had been there to donate yet. We plan to go this weekend. He told us we should donate a goat!

We also got this letter in the mail on Monday. We are so blessed that Elder Wright has these opportunities to serve!

Week 43: Teaching An AI Chinese - December 4, 2018

Hello from SLC again! So things have changed a little bit since I last wrote. For starters, it has finally started snowing. ARGH!!! Oh well, it hasn't gotten really bad, but it's still annoying to deal with. Another big change that has happened is that the Family History Library is now open on Saturday nights, meaning that we have to be working there during that time. Thankfully, though, I'll only have to be serving there every other Saturday night since they are planning on having the elders who aren't in the FHL to help out, since it would be unfair for one half of the mission to have a free Saturday night off and the other half to not have one, so we'll be alternating with them. Also, I forgot to mention this, but last Monday I gave a short talk in the Monday morning devotional that my mission has each week. It wasn't to interesting, but I feel like it is worth noting. 

Okay, now on to the subject that I named this email after. Recently, the young elders in this mission have been given this new project called the AGES project. This project, in basic terms, is teaching an AI the written form of Chinese characters. What happens is the AI will pull have an example picture of what the character looks like and a digitized version of it thinks is the same symbol. We then decide whether or not if the symbols are identical, different, or if the digitized picture is not even a symbol and just weird smudge. I've gone through 3000 pictures so far, and I'm having a ton of fun with it. I find it so exciting going through all these symbols and seeing how many I can do! Sure it might not be as cool as some might think, but I think it's great! Hopefully you are all having a fun time wherever you are this winter. Have a great week and remember why we have the Christmas season in the first place!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

Elder Wright also told mom that he's enjoying the Christmas lights on Temple Square and he got to go to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. He's having so many exciting opportunities serving at the SLC Headquarters!

Also, here is Elder Wright's Christmas ornament this year

Week 42: Thanksgiving Fun! - November 27, 2018

Hello friends, it's time for me to do the emailing thing again! Okay, so I actually do have stuff to tell you about. Obviously, we had Thanksgiving last week, so that makes up the majority of it. 

Okay, so we actually started having our time off on Wednesday night, in which we spent our time playing games like Smash Up. On the actual day of Thanksgiving, we actually didn't have much free time, since they kept us pretty busy. We did get to sleep in an hour, though, so that's cool. We then went to work out like usual, but unlike the other times we actually got to be with all of the mission rather than just the rest of the FHL side of the mission. That was pretty fun since I got to spend some time with people that I hardly see any more. After work out, we had to help set things up for the actual dinner in the cultural hall, which took a couple of hours. We then went back to the apartments for an hour, then we went back to have Thanksgiving dinner/lunch. It was being catered by this one restaurant along with any missionaries that wanted to contribute, so the food was really delicious. It was great because it reminded me of my family's Thanksgiving tradition of having Thanksgiving at our church building. After we finished eating, we went back to the apartments for an hour or two, then back to the stake center again to watch a movie. The movie we watched was "Rudy", and I really liked it, even though I'm not much of a sports person. The main reason I liked it is because it shows that you can reach your goals as long as you put in all of your effort. You don't have to naturally be talented at something, as long as try your best, which it has to be your best, you can accomplish anything. 

The next day we had the same kind of work out thing that we did the day before, but without the set up part. After that, we had a ton of free time, which my district used to go shopping and to, as I put it, scavenge the remains of Black Friday. This plan, however, kind of fell flat because 1. we didn't realize that stores usually keep things well stocked, even after the initial stampede of Black Friday morning, and 2. we didn't really see anything that we wanted/needed/could use. It would have been cool to get something, but every time I saw something that I would usually want, I just didn't feel the desire to get it. I do feel like that was for the best, though, so it's good thing. That evening we watched another football movie called "Remember the Titans", and it was alright, but I still liked "Rudy" a bit more. I did like how it showed how people can easily get along despite their different races, but it had a strange pace to it and the little girl that's supposed to be the one we're seeing these events from just comes off as annoying and a bit unnecessary.

The only other thing that I know to tell you all about is that we had transfers last week, so I guess I can talk about that. The only thing that really changed is that we got a different elder in my apartment now, and his name is Elder Gale, who is a former district leader so that means he knows what he's doing. Other than that, nothing else affected us. All I have left to say now is that I hope you all had a great time with your Thanksgivings! Have a great week, and remember to do your best no matter what you do!!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

  

Week 41: Fun Visit from the Fire Department - November 20, 2018

Hey friends and Family! Yep, it's that time of the week again, and I bet that title got your attention. Just so you know, everything is fine, nothing was harmed or anything like that, but I'll explain more later on. Okay, so first things first, today is transfers, but from what I can tell, nothing is really going to be changing for me. My companion and I didn't get moving notices, so we are probably going to be with each other in the same zone for another transfer, which is good. I'm just happy that this will be my first time that I'll be completely unaffected by what happens in transfers! 

I guess now is a good time for me to explain what happened with the fire department. Okay, so this morning I was working on my laundry, and since we have the laundry room right next to our apartment, I can just easily keep our apartment door open and still be within sight and sound. However, I didn't take into account that my companion was cooking eggs on the stove, which makes a lot of smoke. Now, if the door was closed, the fire alarm in our apartment would have just gone off, which is an easy fix since we can just open a window, turn on a fan, and so forth. However, since the door was open, that meant that it set off the fire alarm for the entire apartment building, meaning everyone had to get out while the fire department shows up just to see that we burnt some eggs. There wasn't any danger, but it did cause a bit of a nuisance for the other elders in that building. The smoke alarms here are very sensitive, so it's not like we had a pillar of smoke or something like that. All we had was the minimal amount to set off the alarm, so you could easy see everything and breath just fine. Oh well, I can laugh at it now, and I think this will be a great learning opportunity for everyone involved. I hope you all have a great week and remember to turn on your stove vent when cooking!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: I still have no clue on what we are doing for Thanksgiving other than a Thanksgiving dinner at the stake center and watching a movie, so don't bother asking what we'll be doing

 

Elder Wright also sent this:

 Q: What does a typical Sunday look like for you?

A: I wake up at 6:30, fall asleep on the couch till about 8:30, then eat breakfast, take a shower, read the scriptures, and talk with my fellow district members in my apartment until about noon, in which we have lunch and get ready for church. We have church from 1 to 4, and then we head back to the apartment until 5:15, which is usually when we have dinner appointments. After that, we either hang out at our apartment till bed time or we go to a fireside if Pres. Fenn has one planned.

Q: Are you excited to be so close to Temple Square with all the lights for Christmas- I am assuming that you'll get to see the lights? Any other activities that you may be participating in for Christmas?
A: It will be interesting to see all the lights on Temple Square. However, I don't know of any upcoming activities that we'll be doing other than having Thanksgiving and Christmas off.

Q: Do you have a warm coat and gloves to keep you warm from the cold weather?
A: It's not my arms that get cold, it's usually my face and hands. I did get a scarf and a beanie recently, so that will definitely help. I also have a pair of gloves that I'll probably be breaking out soon.

Q: What's your favorite food to eat for Thanksgiving?
A: Turkey! I love having turkey, because after you eat a ton of it you just end up falling asleep wherever!

Hope this answers the questions that you all have been wanting answered! Shout out to Sister Crawford for these questions!

And he sent this in his email to me and I thought I would share:
1. The best part of my week was hearing how much my zone leader & the assistant zone leader appreciate me.
2. The worst part of my week was finding out that I'm not going to be a trainer this transfer.
3. The funniest thing that happened this week was the thing that happened today, which you should already know about from my mass email.
4. My most spiritual experience from this week was the talks given during the sacrament meeting at Temple View, which was the old person's place that we helped out at on Sunday.
5. I learned that if we recognize when God is testing us, we can use that as fuel to go through that test and receive the blessings that he wants to give us.
6. Pray that we can realize that being grateful isn't something we have to do one time a year and that we can be thankful all year round.

Week 40: Cold Weather Is Stupid - November 13, 2018

Hello, my fellow youth. So, not much is different from last time I emailed you (If I had a dollar for every time I said that in an email, I'd probably be able to buy something expensive). I will say, though, is that it's definitely starting to get a lot colder around here, and I'm not to fond of that. The weather here is probably what Chandler gets to at it's cold time of the year, and the temperature is still dropping!! I'm thinking about getting a scarf and/or ear muffs to stay warm, so that will be fun to deal with. Other than that, not much else is happening. Zone work is still the same as usual, and apartment life is also pretty much the same as well, so I have no interesting stories from there either. Hope you all had a more fun week than I did! Have a great week, and remember to always strive to have The Spirit with you!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

Week 39: Daylight Savings Is Still Stupid - November 6, 2018

Hello friends and family, it's me again. As you might have guessed, not much has changed between the last time I emailed and now, except for one thing: daylight savings recently happened. Yes, that stupid thing has happened again, but thankfully, this time it is the good kind, which is the one where we move the clock back so we get an extra hour of sleep. It was great having that extra hour, but that still doesn't change my opinion on how silly daylight savings is. Oh well, I only have to deal with this one more time before I go back. The only thing that I feel is even remotely noteworthy for today is that we went shopping at Sam's Club, and they have an exclusive flavor of Mountain Dew, so that's neat. I'll let you know if anything else happens in the near future. Have a great week, and remember to do some temple work if you can.

Till Then,

Elder Wright

PS: Here are some pictures of me from Halloween.

Elder Wright also sent this to our former bishop, who forwarded it to me. I loved it so much that I wanted to include it here!

Hey Brother T,

I'm really glad to hear from you! It's always nice to hear from you and I'm glad to get your emails. I'm doing pretty well here, since things aren't going crazy right now. My companion is doing really well so far. This is his third month on the mission, and Library Services is the second zone he's been in, so I'm doing my best to make things great.

Okay, so here are my answers to your questions. The best part of being a district leader is that you feel like what you do matters, so you actually feel useful when you have to do something like make decisions on what the young elders do in the zone and all that stuff. The worst part is that you have to deal with stressful situations, like counseling other district members and having to deal with any problems that happen between missionaries. I don't personally interact with the mission president that often, but we do have leadership meetings with him about once a week and a mission conference once a month, so somewhat often. The thing that I think is most important to teach to the future missionaries is the importance of daily scripture study, specifically out of the Book of Mormon, as well as the importance of the Book of Mormon. As for advice for the future missionaries, I would say to prepare mentally. It's not just about staying off your phone, video games, internet, etc., it's about keeping you mind focused on the goal of the mission, which is to bring the spirit to all. If all you talk and think about is the worldly stuff like pop culture, sports, politics, etc., then you won't survive a mission, because you have to gain a love for the gospel and a love of learning and sharing it. The mission isn't a time to continue being iffy on your religion, it's a time to be all in! I know that might be a little bit long winded, but I do think it is something that needs to be taught. I hope this helps. Have a great and enjoyable week!!

Sincerely,

Elder Wright

Week 38 1/2: Transfer Updates and Halloween - November 3, 2018

We were super happy and surprised to get a bonus email from Elder Wright this week. Read below and you'll understand.

Hey everyone! So, just so you know, no, this is not my new p-day, so be ready for me to also do emails on Tuesday. The reason I am emailing is because my new companion, Elder Barron, is new to the zone, and because of how our zone works, this first p-day is today so that it would not interfere with his training. Oh well, it gives me an extra chance to talk to you all. 

As for transfers, it went pretty well. As you know from my last email, I didn't have to move this month, so that was amazing. I do have a new companion, though, and he's pretty cool. He's from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a fan of skate boarding, drawing, and Dark Souls. He kind of reminds me of my first companion, Elder Halliday, so that's pretty cool. We haven't done too much as a companionship, but I think that will change in the future.

Halloween was on Wednesday, and we were not kept from having fun. At 5 pm, we got to go to the JSMB to eat Dominos and to watch Coco, which was really fun since I've only seen that movie once before, and that was before the mission. That movie does a good job at showing what happens to us when our family doesn't do their family history. Sure, they may not physically fade away (is it physically if they are dead, or is ethereally), but they do fade away from our memory and from our lives, making it like they have never lived at all. I just hope we all can remember that and use it to help us remember to do our family history work. Sorry for the tangent, but anyway, after that we went back to our apartments, where I had some fun with a fake mustache. I have pictures, but I forgot to bring my camera with me, so I'll send those on Monday.

I think that's all I really have to say for now. We are going to be having a temple day today to do baptisms, confirmations, and initiatories for some of the relatives of the senior sister missionaries, so that will be great. I'll have to let you know how that goes. Have a great week!

Till then,

Elder Wright’s

Week 38: Not Moving!! - October 30, 2018

Elder Wright didn't send any pictures this week (again!) but this picture showed up in Mom's Facebook Memories. One year ago today was his first day serving at Save The Family here in Arizona. He loved serving there!

Hey everyone, time for my email for the week. So, not much is too different, but that's going to change in a few hours because transfers are at 4 pm. I don't know much that is going to happen this time around, but I do know that my companion is moving, while I am not, which is what I'm so happy about. The 'not moving' part, that is. This is the first time my entire time here that I will not be changing apartments, and I'm super pumped because that means I won't have to pack up and change apartments for the ninth time. I know it might seem like a small thing to be excited about, but this is something that I've been wanting for a long time now, so that's all that matters to me. It will be sad to not be companions with the guy that I'm currently with, but oh well. I know that he will be fine.

Another development is that one of the elders in my district, Elder Blanton, is finishing his mission today, which means that his companion is with my companion and I for now. Things have been going well, but hopefully I'm not going to be in the trio next transfer.

As for Halloween, we do have a thing planned for it. Instead of night zone, we will be going to the JSMB (we won't be able to go through temple square, though, so that will make that trip longer) to have dinner and watch a movie, which I believe has been confirmed to be Disney's Coco. I think it will be fun and I can't wait. I'm just mainly surprised that things have been going by so quickly. I mean, even Google has it's little Halloween logo/game up, yet it still feels like it's only the beginning of October. Things will also be going a lot quicker, since this next transfer is only going to be three weeks long so that they can do transfers right before Thanksgiving. What I'm trying to say is, is that things go by a lot quicker when you are doing all that you can while in it, which can apply to things both good and bad. Just remember to do the best that you can in what ever you do. Have a great week, and remember that I have transfers, so don't be too surprise if things change, even though I'm fairly sure they aren't going to change too much!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

 

Elder Wright also sent some more Q&A this week

 

Q: What is your schedule for a regular p-day?

A: Wake up and get ready for the day, do laundry if there is enough time, go shopping around 10 am, eat lunch, do emails, do laundry if it wasn't done in the morning, clean the apartment, and enjoy any free time that is left.

Q: What is your schedule for a p-day on transfers?

A: Do laundry the night before, then everything else as normal, but also making sure to be at the JSMB by 3:45 pm.

Q: Do you get hot in your work area? Can you take off your suit coat?

A: I don't get hot too often here, since it's still not as hot as Arizona, so I don't really take my coat off that often in my current zone.

Q: When you play dodge ball do you have the same team every time?

A: No, mainly because we have so many elders here and that would kind of get boring.

Q: Does your team ever win?

A: We don't really record wins and losses, but that have been a couple of times where I was the only one left, which was interesting/terrifying.

Q: What are the names of the elders in the mission from Arizona?

A: I probably don't know all of them, but the ones I don know are as follows: Elder Wright from Chandler (me), Elder Durrant from Mesa, Elder Haroldsen from Gilbert, Elder Perkins from some place that I've never heard of, and Elder Bastian from some town near Tuscon.

Hope these questions are helpful for those who want to know more about my mission.

This article was posted on his mission Facebook page about the young Elders service project last weekend

Week 37: This Is The Place Park and Other Stuff - October 23, 2018

The young Elders with President and Sister Fenn at This Is The Place State Park

(Insert witty opening statement here). I guess I could just offer the greeting that one of the other young elders here likes to use, but I literally would just be saying "I greet you". Anyway, things haven't changed much here lately. We recently got 5 new young elders, and we have two young elders going home next transfer, which is next week. This will also be taking care of the THREE trios that we have here, so that's good to hear. One thing that did happen recently, though, is that we had a service project at This is the Place Park, which is where Brigham Young said that famous phrase. We mainly helped with clearing out dried leaves and branches, but it was still pretty fun. I'm glad that we were able to help out and that we were able to have a really great dinner afterwards! We also were told some stories by President and Sister Fenn, along with President Unger, specifically stories about their ancestors and how they crossed the plains. It was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. It kind of reminded me of the Children of Israel and how they had to start a new life after leaving Egypt. I hope you all have a great week and remember to read your scriptures!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: I didn't know how to naturally put this into my email, so I'll just write it here. The other day we saw a dead owl on the sidewalk. It was sad, but thankfully it got cleaned up before anything could start tearing it apart.

Elder Wright also answered some more questions for us this week

Okay, here are some more questions:

Q: What was one of your favorite talks from General Conference and why?

A: It's hard for me to pick just one, so I'll say all the ones in the Sunday Morning session, because they were all really great and really touched me.

Q: Have you been able to hear, read and study all the conference talks yet?

A: Not yet. My zone keeps me pretty busy, but I'll try to do better on that.

Q: What are our thoughts on the new schedule for church starting with this next year?

A: Don't know. I will miss the 3 hour schedule a bit, but I think this is a great idea, since it will give us more of a reason to care about how we live our lives outside of the church building.

Q: Do you prefer cold or hot weather?

A: I really like it when it's in between cold and hot, but I can handle hot way better than I can handle cold.

Q: Do you get t spend much time outside every day?

A: Not really, except for when we are going to and from zone. I don't really mind that, though.

Q: How long does it take you to get from where you live to where you serve each day?

A: About 5-10 minutes. Our apartments are just across the street from the Family History Library.

Q: Are there any senior missionaries working in your area?

A: Yes. In our mission, we always senior missionaries working along with us, and each zone's Zone Leader is a senior couple, rather than a young elder.

Q: How often dare you chosen to help senior missionaries move in?

A: Not that often. They rotate us around a bit, so I've only ever help with doing it once.

Q: Where do the senior missionaries live?

A: They live in the Garden Apartments, West Temple, and Desert Apartments.

Q: What areas have you served in?

A: Church History Special Projects, Help Services, DIP, Data Services, and now Library Services.

Q: What areas haen't you served in?

A: I don't know all of them, but we have about 18 zones on the mission, so I haven't served in about 13 of the zones here.

Q: What has been your favorite area so far?

A: Data Services, because I had a work station there and it was fun getting to hear about the cases that people got.

Q: Where else would you like to serve?

A: I have no clue. I'll serve where ever I'm told to serve.

Q: Do you have to work with material that is in a foreign language, and if so, what languages?

A: Yes, I have to re-shelve the books on the international floor, and I don't exactly know what languages they are. Mostly European ones, with a couple of Asians ones as well.

Shout out to my Dad and Sister Crawford for these awesome questions!!

Week 36: A Year in Review - October 16, 2018

This may sound crazy, but I think you can see part of Elder Wright’s head just behind President Oakes. These are the lengths a mom will go to when her son doesn’t send pictures!

Hello everyone! So, not much has happened in the last week, other than the fact that yesterday I hit my one year mark! It's really weird to think that I have been serving for a year now, but it's also really cool. I didn't do anything special for my year mark yesterday, but that's mostly because I forgot all about it! That kind of stinks, but oh well, I'm making the best of it now!

It's been a long journey to get this far. I had to wait several months just so to be told that I wouldn't be serving a proselyting mission, which I didn't really mind because I knew it was a possibility. I then served 4 months at home on a service mission, which I really enjoyed and felt like it was a great experience that all missionaries should have at some point. I then came here in February, and it was really difficult for a while. Not going to lie, there were times that I considered giving up and going home, but I stuck it through to the end. I have had hardships, but I have also had many wonderful experiences. Made some new friends, learned about new hobbies, and gained a love of the gospel! Despite any trials, I would not trade this experience for anything else!

I hope you all have a great time hearing my adventures as I go through this mission. Also, hopefully you won't get tired of it either, since we still have a long ways to go till I finish, so be prepared to hear even more about this mission in the future. Have a great week, and remember to read your scriptures.

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: Shout out to former Elder Miskin, one of the elders that I served with while I was doing my service mission. He was a great guy to have around and I'm glad I was able to serve with him.

Week 35: Conference and Being an Adult - October 9, 2018

Elder Wright with Elder Hancock

Hey guys! So, I hope you all enjoyed General Conference, because I sure did! I honestly didn't think that they were going to change the church schedule to two hours, but they actually did it! I think my favorite session was the Sunday Morning session, because all the talks were really good and I got to listen to it outside in Temple Square. I hope you all realize how important General Conference is because it is the time when we get to hear from The Lord's mouthpiece and receive revelation for all of the church.

You're probably wondering why my title for this email talks about being an adult, aren't you? Well, I can't go much into it, but I can say is that being a district leader is difficult, mainly because all the people in your district are counting on you and expect you to be able to solve their problems. The best way I can put it is like this: "Oh no, I need an adult! Wait, they expect me to be the adult! Oh no!!" Oh well, it's not that difficult, but it is a bit stressful and does take a lot of energy. I know I can, however, be able to do all that I need to do with the help of The Lord. I hope you all have a great week and make sure to read your scriptures!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

I forgot to mention one last thing. So, a few months ago, an elder from the Provo MTC mission transferred here. His name is Elder Hancock, and he's a really great guy, even though he's been through a lot. He has dealt with brain cancer 3-4 time, and yet he's still very upbeat and is always willing to joke about his condition. So, why am I bringing him up? Well, recently, the doctors have found a mass in his kidney, so he's going home to take care of that. He won't be coming back to the mission, since he's been serving for 17 months, but he's glad that he was able to serve with us. I just wanted all of you to know that if you ever have any big challenges, just remember to take it one step at a time and to keep a positive outlook on life!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

 PS-Recently, I finished the Book of Mormon, so I was going to read it again, but when I was reading the 1^st chapter of 1^st Nephi, I noticed that it said that he was writing it during the 1^st year of the reign of King Zedekiah. I wondered if he was in The Bible, so I looked and he was! So I decided that I would read the Old Testament until I got to the point where it talks about him, then I would read the Book of Mormon from there. I just thought you might find that interesting.

Here are some screen shots of President Nelson waving to the young Elders of Elder Wright's mission. We think he is the missionary waving on the far left behind the cabinet with the TV monitor.

Also, Elder Wright hit the halfway point on his mission on Thursday, October 5, 2018. We’re super proud of him!!!

Week 34: Not Much Has Changed - October 2, 2018

Elder Wright didn't send any pictures this week, but he did say he's excited to watch Conference!

Hello everyone! So, as you can tell from the title, not much is different from last time I emailed. The only things that I've notice that's different is that the weather has gotten a bit cloudier, so that's interesting, I guess. I also held my first real district meeting yesterday! For those of you who don't know what that is, it's when your district (which in my mission's case, usually consists of 4-6 young elders) and you discuss the gospel and the happenings in the district. All I can say is that I need to plan these things out more. It wasn't terrible, but it was obvious that I was making it up as I went along. I think main thing that everyone is waiting for down here is Conference, which will be really cool. A lot of people say that a ton of changes are going to happen, but I haven't seen much evidence to support that. That being said, it will be a great opportunity for us to hear from a real life living prophet! Let me know what you all enjoyed the most out of it when I email next week! Have great week and conference!!

Till then,

Elder Wright

Here are some more questions that I have been asked:

Q: Do you have a new companion?

A: Yes, I do. His name is Elder Heath, and he's a nice guy. I hosted him in my apartment a couple of months ago, so we already knew each other. He mainly likes music and he plays the violin.

Q: In your new library assignment, do you interact with people very much?

A: I do, but not that option. Since I'm mainly working with the books and films, I don't really have much opportunity to talk, but if someone were to ask me a question, I probably would be able to answer them.

Q: Does filing the document and films, etc. fill up most of your time or are there periods when you wait for things?

A: There are times where we do have to wait for patrons, such as the window and doc center assignments.

Q: Do all of the elders get to say goodbye to the ones that are leaving?

A: So, this is what happens at transfer conference. We all meet in the JSMB for the conference, in which we have to wait till everyone gets there until we can start. Next, we do things like have an opening hymn and prayer, followed by the testimonies of the elders that are going home. After that, President Fenn give a small lesson and then presents the transfers. After the closing prayer, we all go down stairs where we all cheer for the elders who are going home as they go down the stairs to meet with their family. It's really cool because we all get to show support for our fellow elders!

Q: Do you have any traditions in the mission that you haven't yet told us about?

A: Not that I know of. I'll have to think about that and get back to you on it.

Q: Have you heard about the new security measures that will be implemented for General Conference?

A: Yes, I have heard about that.

Q: Whose talk do you want to hear the most at conference?

A: I haven't really thought about it. I'm mainly just looking forward to hearing from modern day prophets. So I guess you could say I'm looking forward to all of them.

Q: Will you get to hear or see all of the conference sessions?

A: Yes, I will. In fact, we will be attending the Sunday afternoon session, so that will be cool.

Hopefully this answered some more questions for all of you!

Week 33: Elder Wright the Librarian AND Questions and Answers for all!! - September 29, 2018

I was able to steal this picture from the mission's facebook page. The young elders did a service project replacing mulch in a local park. You can barely see Elder Wright on the front row behind another missionary!

Hello to all of you! So, as you remember, my mission recently had transfers, and I was not exempt from this. I did get a new companion and a new apartment, but the biggest change I have to tell you all about is that I'm not in Data Services anymore. I'm now the district leader of Library Services! Now, just like every other time I changed zones, you're probably wondering what that means. Well, if you were to read the title of this email, you would discover that it basically means that I'm a librarian. I get to put the books away, make sure all the books and films/fiche are put in the right spot, and help patrons locate the things they are looking for. I do miss Data Services a bit, but I am warming up to this zone since it's not too stressful. However, I would hope that I don't have to move around anytime soon, because it gets kind of annoying after a while with having to change apartments literally every month. I feel like with the amount of zones that I've been in while I've been here, I could do some sort of fireside after I get back. May I could even make a kids book series (similar to Curious George) about Elder Wright and His Wacky Mission. This month would be Elder Wright Becomes a Librarian! Let me know if you all have any questions! Have a great week and remember that your prays can be answered according to your faith!

Till next week,

Elder Wright

PS: Saturday will not be my usual p-day. It was just this week because of how things are in Library Services. My usual p-day will be on Tuesday, which means I'll be emailing again in 3 days. Looking forward to hear from you all then!

 And then he sent s second email too!

Hello again everybody! I recently received some questions from some of my family, so I'm going to answer them. Here we go!

Q: Where can I find the blessings of the 12 Tribes of Israel in the scriptures?

A: You can look in the first 5 books of the Old Testament, but if you want to know more about the blessings of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the Book of Mormon does an amazing job at explaining those.

Q: What have you learned recently in your study of the 12 tribes?

A: Recently, I was thinking about Ephraim and Manasseh, and then I came to a pretty interesting realization: Since I have Native American ancestry, that means I have connections to go all the way back to the Nephites and Lamanites, which lead back to Ephraim and Manasseh. This made me realize that as their descendant, the blessing that apply to them also apply to me. I did know this before, but it was this realization that made it seem all the more real to me.

Q: What do you go over every week at district meeting?

A: We mainly go over the White Handbook and Preach my Gospel, but since I haven't really had an opportunity to have a real district meeting since I became a district leader, I don't really know what exactly I would be teaching.

Q: Do you have treats at district meeting and what do your have?

A: We don't really have treats at district meeting since we usually have district meeting right after zone on Mondays, so we usually don't have to get any treats. Maybe I could start doing that.

Q: Does each companionship have an assignment for district meeting?

A: It mainly depends on the district leader. I, however, plan on having assignments for my district.

Q: Do any of the couple missionaries attend your district meeting?

A: No, but I'm not exactly sure why. My guess is because they might have their own meetings or something like that.

Q: Are you the district leader over any of the couple missionaries?

A: Young elder district leaders don't usually have any authority over any of the senior missionaries, so no, I do not have any senior missionaries in my district.

Q: Do you know of anybody in the mission that is from another country or speaks another language?

A: I recently discovered that you must be an American citizen if you want to be a young elder on this mission. That being said, we do have some missionaries that are dual citizens with other countries. For example, the elder who trained me has dual citizenship with Canada, and an elder that I'm friends with has dual citizenship with Peru. As for senior missionaries, they can come from all over, including places like Australia, England, and Japan.

Q: Do the elders in your zone associate with the elders of the Deaf zone of Translation zone?

A: The elders in my zone don't associate with the elders in the Deaf zone, mainly because of location and the personalities of the Deaf Zone Elders. We don't have a Translation zone, but we do serve on the International floor of the FHL, so there are people there who help people who speak other languages.

Q: Have you recently had any meals provided by the Mission? What did you have? Did you like it?

A: If I were to list all the meals that were provided to me while I was here, I would be typing all day. I will say that the last one that I had was a couple of days ago when I had the district leader meeting. We had sandwiches made by the Church Office Building (COB) cafeteria, which those were pretty good.

Hopefully this answers some lingering questions you may have about my mission!

And here's another picture with Elder Wright that was posted on facebook of mission transfer day.