Elder Corbin Moore-- January 23,2012

Well another week as gone and I am still here in my same area LA 6th. Elder Reichman and I are here and continuing the work in this part of the vineyard. This week has been a pretty interesting week. Since we have recently had two baptisms, our teaching pool is starting to run a little dry. We have been doing a lot of tracting. Walking the streets of LA talking to people can be some of the funniest things and at the same time the scariest. When I first came out on the mission I was so nervous knocking on peoples doors or talking to everyone in the streets. But it really is a way of life for missionaries. We have been knocking so many doors and talking to so many different people with different stories. It really kills me the things that people tell us. People have these things that they have never told anyone, and then they talk to two 19 year old young men, and they start to tell them everything.
We have been working a lot with our two recent converts. To make sure that they are getting the support that they need in this time after their baptisms. So I tell you about something that happened in one of our visits with Yecenia. So we went over to Yecenia's house to have dinner, and her uncle was there. He is an inactive member of the church. He served a mission, and after he returned he fell away and stopped going to church. So we were eating dinner and I just starting talking to him about his mission and his experiences. He said that he wasn't ever sure if he went on a mission for the right reasons but that he learned a lot, about the church, life, and himself. So we talked a little bit more and then after dinner we had a lesson with the family. The lesson that we were teaching was the Restoration. As we finished up the lessons and we were bearing our testimonies, I looked over at Yecenia's uncle. He had tears streaming down his face. It was completely silent for a long time. Then he looked up and didn't say anything. We finished off the lesson with a prayer, and then after Yecenia went over and hugged her uncle, and then his mom(Yecenia's grandma). It was so amazing. I don't think that they have had a bonding experience like that in a long time. The next day (yesterday) was stake conference. He showed up and we had the oppurtunity to talk to him a little bit more. He said that he was going to come back. That he had been away to long, and that there was nothing that could bring him happiness more than the Gospel.
That experience is something that I will never forget. What he said is so true. In reality there is nothing in the world that can bring you more happiness than the Gospel. Being here in LA I see a lot of worldly riches. I see people that have these mansions by the beach. People who drive around in some of the coolest cars. People who are just filthy rich in general. But it is funny because none of that stuff can bring you eternal happiness. In this life sure, you will have that temporal happiness. But they are missing the eternal perspective. If people only knew, that this life is NOT the end. And all of these "amazing things", can't be taken to where we are going. The only thing that we are taking with us after this life is our knowledge and our families. Mansions, Cars, Money, Fame, Jobs, Boats, ATVs, Multi-million dollar franchises, Drugs. None of these things are going to matter. But unfortunately they are people in the world who spent every dying second of the day trying to achieve all of this. They fail to see what matters most. If you are one of these people who has fallen off the path, and has lost sight of these more important things. I would invite you to turn around and walk back towards "the Path"( the Gospel). It is never to late, and there is never anything that can't be overcome. Do it today. Re-evaluate.....Re-focus......Re-turn.
Hope that this week has been a wonderful week for everyone out there. If not hope that a new week full of great things is on its way. I would love to hear from eveyone our there. Feel free to drop me a line. Josh, what is going on, let me know. Well until we talk again.

Con Amor, Elder Moore