JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
COMPANION: ELDER WELSH
ASSISTANTS
Everything is better when you start with a joke! So I came up with 11 this week!
What's the most popular thing in the Book of Mormon?
Siah. Everybody wants Mo-Siah.
What did Stephen, the super supportive Apostle, say to Peter when he tried to walk on water?
Jew can do it!!!!
What did Nephi say when he got to camp and saw that Laman and Lemuel had set everything up incorrectly?
Retent! Retent!
What did the Stripling Warriors say about their captain?
He-de-man!
When the Lord told the Jaredites that He did not approve of their wars and wickedness, what did the prophet say?
"Me Ether!"
Who was the biggest whiner in the Book of Mormon?
King La-moan-i
What is the first thing you say to a Nephite who loves the ocean and the color black?
"Hey Goth!" (Hagoth)
Who was the most romantic character in the Book of Mormon?
Kisskumen
Who was the hungriest character in the Book of Mormon?
Om-om-om-om-om-ni.
Did you know Joseph Smith had an African cousin who made swords for a living? They called him "Blacksmith"!
What do you call a nephite general who was just taught the word of wisdom?
Herbal-Teancum. (herbal tea)
And then here are some that I just know:
What did the three wise men say when they gave their gifts to Jesus?
We brought gold and frankincense! But wait, there's myrrh.
Why did the Lamanites walk with a limp?
Because of all the Knee-fights!
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, oh goodness. I think I need to lie down. That was wonderful.
Alright. We had a great week! Tuesday was some meetings on the west side and then lunch at the Olive Garden, of course. Wow we eat a lot of salad. Then wednesday was a meeting here downtown. It was delightful. Then Thursday was the TEMPLE TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the temple. I love going every six weeks. I made a goal to do 100 sessions in the first year after my mission. That's going to be a gorgeous year. I got to sit right next to the mission President the whole time there and we talked about it afterwards. It was just special.
Then friday we did weekly planning. The highlight was probably our plan to buy 30 yoga balls. we have this one red yoga ball that is always in our way but Elder Welsh loves it so we decided we might as well buy it some friends. We'll see if those plans come to fruition. Saturday we raked leaves and I got a tick on my side by where your ribs meet your back! They are MEAN little creatures! I accidentally pulled it off because I thought it was a thorn or something so Elder Welsh announces that he needs to torture me. He puts a knife on the stove and heats it up and then puts it where the bite was but the stove is electric and the knife is metal so really he just electrocutes me. THEN he takes the knife and burns the bite with it! Apparently that gets the head out? Gross. Anyway, he burned me pretty good! It's been a few days and there's no infection. So I guess it's good! Elder Welsh to the rescue!
What else happened? Goodness so many things. Ummmmmm.... Oh! You will love this. So about six weeks ago a fantastic young man named Marquez was baptized. Hopefully you remember him. Well Marquez's aunt just moved in with him. Her name is Jessica, and she has five children. Their names are Heaven (13) Praise (11) Melchizedek (9) Wisdom (7) and Righteousness (3). Melchizedek and Wisdom came to Church. You should have seen the look on the bishop's face when we introduced them! HAH! Best day ever.
This whole beautiful new development prompted some serious discussion between Elder Welsh and I about names for our future children. I, as most of you know, would like at least 15, so there will be a big demand for names. Some of the ones we came up with were:
Elder Priesthood Jorgensen
Mormon Peter Jorgensen
Micah Zerin Jorgensen
Joseph Hyrum Jorgensen
Nephi Lehi Jorgensen
Enoch Zion Jorgensen
Seth Isaiah Jorgensen
and then for girls
Eve Mary Jorgensen
Hannah Elizabeth Jorgensen
Rachel Liahona Jorgensen
Rebekah Sarah Jorgensen
So good.
It's just so GOOD! It's so FUN to be here. Never have I had more fun than when I have let go and learned and obeyed. I have chosen to make my life one of covenants, and so my agency is no longer independent, but representative agency. I don't choose whatever I want, I choose either to obey or to rebel. And to obey is such a JOY. Oh it's such a thrill. I have never been more happy or creative or lighter or more free. I have never had so much pleasure and liberty and ease and peace as when I work my life away in obedience. And it requires repentance. Sometimes major, tearful, frightening, difficult repentance. But repentance is deeper than I ever knew! Because of the Atonement, the past can be an innoculation against the virus of sin, not a permanent weakness. I love the Atonement. I love to repent. I love to change! I love that you do not have to wait! I love that there is no minimum amount of time that must pass. I love that this moment can be completely different than the next! I love that every modicum of time is a pivot that can change the trajectory and an infinite, eternal soul.
What other joy is there in the world? What could compare to this vision of Gods and men, of eternal families, foreordination, divine destiny, the drama of apostasy and restoration, the excitement of visions and miracles? What other thrill is there to be had????? What other life would even be worth living? I love this life. I love this gospel. And I love the Prophet.
One of our neighbors who also is one of our investigators has become a dear friend. He objects pretty strongly to there being so much talk in the Church about Joseph Smith. He asked very frankly why we talk about him so much if he's just a man.
Yes, he is just a man. A man among boys. A holy oracle. A Prophet of God. He performed super-human feats. He spoke with the voice of the Almighty. He lives on in glory.
But that's not why we speak of him. That's not why we sing "Praise to the Man". We talk, or I suppose I should say, "I talk" of Joseph Smith because through him I have come to know the Christ. I would never have found faith and confidence and the protection of the gospel without the evidence of the Book of Mormon. I could never have understood the gospel of Christ without the clarity of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, and the further corrections in the Pearl of Great Price. I never, ever could have found safety for my soul in this most thrilling and terrifying of times without the shield of faith given to me by the Book of Mormon. I have held the Book of Mormon, I have read it, I have obeyed the challenge held within it to get down on my knees in my native dust and beg my God for a witness, and I have had a matchless touch of the Divine confirm it's truthfulness to me. I know that it is true, and God knows that I know that it is true, and thousands and thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of people here in the Florida Jacksonville mission now know that I know that it is true. And because I know, I know that God the Father lives. That His son Jesus Christ came to this earth to be bruised, broken, and torn for us. I can cry unto Him for mercy for I now know that He is mighty to save. I can pray always that I may enter not into temptation. I know to repent, and to forgive. And although repentance is not easy, if I try with all my heart to obey His gospel I know now that He gives this promise: "Verily Verily I say onto you, notwithstanding your sins, my bowels are filled with compassion for you. I will not utterly cast you off, and in the day of wrath, I will remember mercy." I know the Savior wants to forgive.
I know of the ten commandments, of the sacrifice and boldness and righteousness of hundreds of mighty prophets. I know of miracles of which I never would have conceived. This raise in vision has banished the impossible and the unthinkable from my mind, for all things will be done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things. I know How to make covenants, when to make them, why to make them, and can be bound up to my Father through them. I know of His nature, of His attributes, of His feelings and thoughts. I know of His spirit, and through diligent searching and study have come to develop a communication with that spirit. I know of His prophet. That He has a mouthpiece on the earth who strides in glorious, divine power across this earth and declares truth and light. I know my family is an eternal, endlessly powerful dynasty. I know that my Savior loves me. That He knows me. That He longs for me. That He weeps with and rejoices with and begs and entreats and commands even me. That I may be His friend. That we may be joint-heirs. That we may be brothers again.
I know. And God knows. And if you don't know, you had at least better know that I know. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is a holy and a pure and a wondrous book. There is the light of the Lamb. There is the Word of the Holy One. I wish I could meet the Prophet Joseph and tackle him and sit and weep with him and thank him for his sacrifice, for his questions, for leading me back to my Jesus, that Shepherd, Heir, and Christ. I love Him. He lives, and because He lives, the whole entire world can know what I know. One day they will. I want to know so much more. So much. I am thrilled to learn it.
I love you.
~Elder Jorgensen
LETTERS HOME
Hi mom!
There is a Sister Malm in our mission! Not sure what her first name is. Oh wait! I can know everything. Sierra Malm is from Payson Utah, and has been on her mission for 3 months. I'm glad you loved snowboarding and skiing! That sounds incredibly fun. I love to remember the general authorities are real people! Sounds like the Elders are doing good work and Cassidy is quite the scripture chase champion. We play a game called Book of Mormon Baseball where one person reads a verse and the other person guesses first the standard work it is in (for a single) next the book (for a double) next the chapter (for a triple) next the verse (for a home run). It's a super fun game. I love it. Booyah!
I love Treasure Island! If Cassidy liked it, the same author also wrote Kidnapped which I loved as well. I love you. I'm glad you got so much revelation from conference. You are amazing! Thanks for working on my blog. My companion is very nice. He is from Morgan Utah, his father is a general contractor and he has a younger sister who is 12 and twin brothers who are 14. He actually went home for a while, but is back out and rocking it. He loves golf and trucks and cowboy boots and wants to study business and be a contractor like his dad. He's a good-old country Utah boy. I love him and sometimes he laughs at my terrible homemade jokes. And he makes delicious smoothies and eggs!
You are great! I sure miss you! Guess what? Mothers day is in like, five seconds! Can you believe it??????? WHAT IS HAPPENING? I love you. Thanks for being great. How's the diploma in my name challenge going?
Hehe, you're going to like the big letter. It's got jokes and an investigator named Melchizedek in it!
~Elder Jorgensen
Letter to Elder Joshua from Cassidy, age 13
Hey Joshy, this week Katie and I went snowboarding! OW! I must have face planted or fallen every 2 minutes! I am still sore! I got the hang of back rail and can almost do front rail! It was a lot of fun, but I worked so hard that that when we got home I had a mono relapse, but all I had to do was take a nap and I was perfectly fine, so fine I went skiing the next day! It was so much fun! I felt so cool being able to say "Yeah, I can ski and snowboard, whatever mood I am in." ;) We went up to Brian Head on Thursday, we snowboarded on Friday, and we skied and drove home at Saturday, we arrived at 1:30 on Sunday morning!
Dad and I have been playing dice every night and yesterday I won the game in 5 rolls! In one roll I got 550 + 1500 + 1500 + 2000 = 5550! AHHHH! I couldn't believe it! I went from a total score of 4100 to 9650! Dad was just amazed! I can't wait to play you when you come home, you will probably find I my skill has grown over the past 2 years.
I miss you and love to hear your stories every week, I still have my book of super coupons from you and there are times when I want to use a greek mythology coupon. I keep them on my bedstead so every night when I go to sleep I see them and remember you. I love you and not a day goes by that I do not think of what a remarkable example you have been to me. Some of my favorite memories are of you just sitting with me and i could ask any question I could think of, and you would tell me the answer. You are the smartest person I know and I want to grow up to be just as funny, playful, smart, and amazing as you are. I love you!
-Cass
Elder Joshua’s response today:
BEST LETTER EVER!!!!!!!!
Hey Cass. I think about you every single day! Do you know that?!? Way to go snowboarding! You are awesome. I love snowboarding! I'm glad you went even with mono! It's way more fun to play than be sick. You ski too???? Champion.
Dice is so fun! I love games. You got 5550 in a roll???????????? Holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is some serious skill.
I love you too Cass. I'm glad you read my letters! I'm glad you kept my coupons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for being my sister. I love sitting with you! Sitting and talking and hearing your awesome questions and stories and thoughts. One day when I grow up I want to be just like you. I love you. This letter made me tear up a little bit and I just love it. I just love you.