By What Authority?

Well hello there family!
How are things back in the good ol' USA?! Man those pictures of you guy's in St.George were so sick! I want to go out and run a marathon right now!

Elder Britchers dad actually was down there and ran the marathon too. It sounds like you had a blast. We'll have to do it when I get back in a couple years deal? Well this week has been way interesting. We had the whole leadership training with President Trejo and it's been way cool to start implementing those things into my teaching and missionary work.

Saturday night we finally got a meeting with one of our contacts who told us he had a "youth group" he wanted to introduce us too ha. so we went and we took another companionship with us and we found out that they were actually a Baptist Church ha that was a little weird, we had 4 Mormon missionaries in a Baptist Church with a youth pastor and about 20 youth.

We walked in and the other companionship says to me in English, "these were the guy's we almost got in a fight with a couple nights ago"... I was on edge. But it turned out alright, we talked with them and told them why we were here, and we even gave out a few copies of the Book of Mormon. I was showing them all my pictures and I showed a picture of Maddie and Dad after Maddies baptism, where they were in all white and wet and their main pastor came up and asked "by what authority can your father baptize people?"  I told him very calmly that My Father was commissioned of Jesus Christ, and had the proper Priesthood authority to do administer the ordinance of baptism. He then asked "is he a pastor?" and I said "no, he holds the Melchizedek Priesthood which was restored by Peter James and John to the Prophet Joseph Smith, who restored the Church of Christ to the earth." I asked him by what means he baptized people and he got quiet and changed the subject.

We sang some songs with them and prayed with them (they prayed a lot) and then left. I was ok, and it ended being cool. Later that night President Trejo called us... I thought he was going to say something to us for going and talking with them.. But he called to let us know that Elder Birtcher will be leaving Wednesday to go to the office and serve with Elder Espinoza thats the second great comp I've lost to the office!

So I will be with the zone leaders for a week until I get a new comp. We don't know who I will be with yet but President will call Friday and let me know. I will miss Elder Birtcher but what can ya do, gotta serve were you're called to serve! Anyway,. ...

I had a way cool experience in the scriptures the other day, we have an investigator who has a lot of questions about EVERYTHING, and we do our best to answer them but its hard to answer question after question. I was reading and I was thinking about why are there so many questions, why are the things of God such a mystery to us, and I just opened my scriptures to 1 Nephi Chapter 11 where Nephi is conversing with the Angel about Lehi's dream and the angel asks him a question. he says, " Knowest know thou the condescension of God?" I thought about that and I personally interpet that as "do you know why God does what he does?" and then I read Nephi's answer, he says, " I know that he loves his children, but I don't know meaning of all things." We all need to remember that God infact loves us, and that he wants what is best for us, that's why he's given us all that we have. We have the scriptures to know what to do, and we have the opportunity to pray to him, and communicate with him, I love our Heavenly Father, and I know he loves us.

I love you all! I hope all is going well I will see ya next week a probably the same time!

liveSTRONG,
Elder Eborn

Dad - Way to go big guy! another 26 miles in the bag! hope ya know I think
you're a stud and love ya dad :)

Mom - Sweet pics mom :) sounds like everything's going good at home, and
like you're all having a great time! i love you all :) see ya in 14 ish
months.

Tanner - ha sounds like a sweet date broski! i want to see some pics!