Final Letter- August 17, 2015

Hello Everyone!
Wow. I can't believe it's here. It's been two years! They've been the most amazing years of my life. It's been the hardest, greatest thing I've ever had the chance to do. Granted, I know my life hasn't been that long, but it's still the most incredible experience.

I think it's funny how Las Vegas has become the home of my greatest spiritual experiences. What some people call Sin City has become holy ground to me! I have loved my time serving the Lord here. I can't really describe how much I love the people and the memories I've made. I could try, but it would take years. 2 years, actually. Maybe more! I've watched the Savior work miracles in so many peoples lives. I've watched a mother who was broken from the suicide of her son and the abandonment of her family rebuild her life on faith in Christ as she read the Book of Mormon. I've seen a man relieved from his guilt of 15 years in prison as he learned about repentance and baptism. I've watched a 15 year old son lead his father to follow the Savior like he had, and another father do the same for his son. I've made so many wonderful friends here that have changed my life for the better. I'm so thankful for the technology of this era that allows me to stay friends with them for my whole life. I can absolutely testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. I know that this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the perfect organization to dispense the gospel to the world. I have a testimony of revelation from inspired priesthood leaders. On my mission, I've had such sacred experiences. I testify that I know from God that the Book of Mormon is true. I also know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and so is Thomas S. Monson. I testify that God answers prayers and the grace of our Savior has the power to enable us to do good. I've felt him lift me through trials that I felt were breaking me. I've had the privilege of facing heavy persecution for the sake of bearing Christ's name. I've had the opportunity to learn how to lead, how to teach, and how to love. Seriously, I could go on for years.

This week was a great benediction to my mission. I got to go back to Henderson for the baptism of a good friend, Sister Carlyine Michaelis. She's the sweetest old lady you'll ever meet. She's from Cleveland, Ohio. Her husband, Phil, who's a member, introduced her to the Church and we got to teach her! I remember when she bore her first testimony to us. She said that she was pondering on the kindness and love she felt from the Church. She thought of the members who left their homes to travel across the valley to visit her husband in the hospital. She thought of the work of the missionaries and how we paid to come out in the blazing hot sun to talk to people about the Savior. She said "as I thought of these things, I realized that no one would do any of this if it wasn't true. It had to be true!" And then she said "I felt something in my heart then, and I knew that it was all true." What a beautiful experience. 

Also, this week I had a few tender moments through the Spirit. As we were pulling out of a trailer park, I saw a UHaul truck by one of the trailers. That little voice inside said "stop." We stopped and I asked the lady there if she needed help unloading. She broke down crying and praised the Lord. She explained that she had just been praying and pleading for help. The people that were supposed to help her didn't show up. She had pulled her back and was losing hope. I love being an answer to someone else's prayer. That's why I love being a missionary. I pray that I'll have these experiences throughout my life. I want to stay a missionary, even if I'm not a full-time one. This mission has changed eternity for me. How grateful I am for the privilege and the Call to Serve. 

I bear my witness that it's true! In the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Matthew Norton

August 10, 2015

Hello!

This week has been good! Full of hard work and sweat and all that good stuff! I'm having fun for sure. I can't believe this is my last week! AUUGHH!!!!! It's still not totally real for me yet (although I had a very realistic dream last night about the airport. weird!) but I am excited. This week we saw some awesome miracles. The Zamora family is one of them! A polynesian family. 13 of them in the house!! They were a referral from bishop and we went over and they've had us come back every day. 7 of them came to church! It's been so much fun to teach them. All the kids start with E - Ethan, Eric, Eugene, Essence, Elena, Emerald. Tons of fun. We're praying hard to be able to set them for baptism here soon!!! My companion Elder Guinn is doing really well. He's grown a ton in the last 6 weeks. He's planning well, going out to talk to people all by himself, and being a stronger teacher. Very proud of him. 

So much to catch up on. Cant wait to see you NEXT WEEK!!!!!! As for an email next week, I'm sure I'll send one. I won't be too busy, since most of the preparation to go home will happen prior. I'll send out a final last email to put on the blog and some pictures. 

I love you so much! Thank you for the pictures of the reunion. I showed them to some of my friends. I'm so proud to be part of this family. We have such an awesome one. I got some good news this week. One of my investigators in Eldorado, Carlyine, is getting baptized this saturday. What a tender mercy of the Lord to be able to finish my mission with a baptism. Such a treasure. 

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I feel them! Give the last of vicarious hugs and kisses to the family. Next week I can do that myself :) 

All my love!
Elder Norton

July 13, 2015

Dear everyone,
Life is good. Crazy right now. I got transferred up to Central Las Vegas. Not the best part of town, but close to the temple. We have so much work to do here. Our apartment and area book were a MESS! The last Elders went home together and didn't really take care of their wad at all. Our wards are SMALL. Really struggling. We had 80 people at sacrament meeting and 59 last week.  The strong members are burnt out and tired. So much inactivity. So we've got a lot of work to do. I'm praying to stop the downward spiral and boost the ward members. Light a fire again. 

I'm so tired! We've been working so so hard. My companion has been a good sport about it. He's a good kid. Had a rough couple of companions (two were engaged, one got sent home) and so President's hoping I can help turn him around. But he likes to work after so long of not being able to. 

This week was one of the most spiritual highlights of my life. I got to go see recent converts from Seven Hills get sealed in the temple. It was such a beautiful experience. I had never seen a sealing before. I was amazed at how simple it really is. So simple, so real. Such a treat. And it was SO fun to see my friends from that ward. It really felt like a homecoming. I didn't realize just how good of friends I made with that ward. AH! Pay day for sure. 

Love you tons! Thanks for your prayers and your faith. I'm doing well and plan on working as hard as possible. Loving life and staying happy.
Elder Norton

PS. Hair cut day… sort of.

April 20, 2015- Transfer!

Hey!
I'm writing from the Eldorado Stake, Arrowhead ward. I'm serving with Elder Perrins, who's a good friend and came out with me. Eldorado Stake includes part of Old Henderson and down to Boulder city. It's a nice change of scenery. I needed something new. The ward is good, the work is good, the companion is good. So life is good! Our zone has been struggling along for a long time, and President asked Elder Perrins and I to get it pumped up again. I'm looking forward to it. I'm trying to give my whole soul to this. I don't have too much time left, so I need to make it all count. 

This week I came into the area and a baptism. The elders had been teaching a wonderful young couple with two young kids. They're amazing. They love the Book of Mormon. 4 weeks ago they were completely different, fighting all the time, frustrated, lost, and broke. They have seen some amazing blessings because of their obedience. I wish I could send pictures, but I forgot my camera cord. Sorry. Next week! 

Well, I'm happy and healthy. Just working hard. Love you! 

Elder Norton

April 1, 2015- Happy 20th to Matt!

Matt turned 20 today and his companion (Elder Gould) turns 24 tomorrow April 2nd!

March 30, 2015- *Please Read*

Hey everyone! Just want to share a quick miracle with you all. It starts almost a year and a half ago.....

I was still in my first area, with my second companion. I had recently been made senior companion, so mostly all the decision making was up to me. I worked hard for sure! But didn't have a very strong ability to understand the Lord's will. In fact, I'm still working on that.

So one evening I was feeling pumped up. I told the Lord that I would give it 110%. I was going to be everywhere I had planned on time and full of energy. I was feeling good and it was going to be a good night. Then, as things always do, my plans changed when my bike broke. BANG! chain off, gears messed up, somehow got 2 flat tires. Seriously, it was a weird combination of things that happened for absolutely no reason. And when you're a missionary, you depend on your bike like oxygen. My enthusiasm deflated almost as quickly as my tires. (poetic, huh? :)) I was so frustrated. We were far from home and walking back would have taken about an hour. The only choice was to find someone to help. The only one close to where we were was a family who were members of the church, but hadn't been in a while and didn't really have a testimony. We had spoken with them a couple times at the doorstep, but nothing really had come from it. But when we asked them for help, they were more than willing. Still, the repairs took a LONG time and pretty much messed up our whole evening. I was upset, for sure. I couldn't understand why the Lord would have my bike break when I was so motivated to do His work. We had a good conversation with the family as we worked on the bike, but it didn't go anywhere and I didn't feel like it was productive at all.

Got it? Part one complete.

Part two:
This last week our bishop called us and asked if we had been praying lately. We said" ...... um, yes Bishop. All the time, actually." He said that a family had moved in to the ward and were willing to have the missionaries by. They were a part-member family. The parents were members of the church, but they had 2 unbaptized children. Of course, we were SO excited. That's like Christmas for missionaries. And, even better, they moved in RIGHT NEXT DOOR to us. True story!!!!!! So we went to meet them as soon as we could. When the lady answered the door, we introduced ourselves. She looked at me funny and said
"I know you. You're that missionary that had all those bike problems, aren't you?"

WHOA!! This was the family!! They had moved away from that house that I knew them at and up to Utah. They started taking the missionary lessons and wanted to keep them up! Their 12 year old daughter wants to be baptized and we did a little celebration dance. Because I had met them before, it was incredibly easy to start interacting with them and teaching them. It felt really comfortable. Who would have guessed that what seemed to me as a complete waste of time was actually a really important step in a miracle that would happen 15 months later!!! I love the Lord!!!!! This Church is so true. He is watching over us and has a plan for all of His children. So if things aren't going how you'd like it, just remember that there may be something much bigger at work. Trust in the Lord and He'll reveal to you His plan. It's masterfully made.

Love you all!
Elder Norton.
P.S. This is "Fifi." the last B-29 bomber still in flight. This was the same type of airplane that dropped the Atom Bomb in WWII. We have a small airport in our area and we got to sneak some pictures :) We don't know what kind the little one is

March 9, 2015

Hey everyone!

This week has been great. The weather is warming up and it's beautiful here. It should be in the 80's by the end of the week. It sounds great now, but since it was such a warm winter it's going to be brutally hot in the summer. 

I got a new companion this week! Elder Kilgour from Australia finished his mission and I now have Elder Gould. Elder Gould started his mission 3 weeks after serving in the Army for 4 and a half years. He was station in Louisiana, but spent a year in Afghanistan as infantry. He's an awesome guy. Hard worker! Surprising, huh? We really get along well. In fact, he was in my district in North Las Vegas this time last year. He's a goofball and we've had a lot of fun and seen a lot of miracles. He still jumps at sudden noises and I almost got punched in the face when I accidentally scared him. If I send home pictures of black eyes, you'll know why ;). He's the real deal. In fact, the Green Berets were trying to recruit him before his mission. So yes, I'm serving with Jason Bourne. It's pretty cool. And his birthday is one day after mine!

This week we definitely saw miracles. I have a strong testimony of prayer. On Tuesday night we had planned to see an investigator family when, as is quite common, they had to cancel. We had a member of the ward with us and so we really wanted to make this time a good experience. We had planned as a back up to go see a less active sister. So we prayed together that we might be able to share the love of God to this sister and have the Spirit with us to teach. As we walked to her apartment, we street contacted a man smoking at his car. We introduced ourselves and he immediately told us that he was looking for a church. He is LDS, but hasn't been active at all for a while. He and his wife had just moved here last week. We went into his home and met his wife. Dustin and Tasha are awesome. I feel a friendship with them already, even though I just met them. They're taking the missionary lessons now. 

Cool, right? Well, it gets cooler!

Right after we left Dustin and Tasha, we got a text from our Elders Quorum President asking if we knew where apartment 2216 was in the apartment complex across from the one we were in. I remember thinking "hmm... that's a funny coincidence. We just left Dustin and  Tasha in apartment 2216 in this complex." But I didn't think too much of it. We met with Bishop the next night to introduce Elder Gould and report on this family we found. When we said their names, he lit up and said "That's them!!" Tasha's grandfather had called Bishop to request that someone from the ward go find them. He had assigned our Elders Quorum President to find them that night (Tuesday). But he had given them the wrong address, so they were looking for them in the wrong complex. 

SO! My point is that the Lord wanted these people found. We found them out of circumstance right at the exact time when our ward leaders were searching for them. Even though they had a wrong address, the Lord used us as tools to make sure that these people were found. I love prayer! I love being a servant of God to find the lost sheep and experience miracles like this one. I love you all! Remember that prayer works!
Love,

Elder Norton 

February 23, 2015- Matthew's Testimony

Hey everyone!
We had a great week this week. Our friend KC Foltz made the decision to be baptized! He is 13 years old and is a sharp kid. His family has a really cool story too. His Grandma, Sister Odonahue, was raised in the gospel but fell away and made some wrong choices. Her actions not only took her away from the peace of the gospel, but also put her children on paths that brought them a lot of struggle. She said that when she finally realized what had happened, she felt an overwhelming amount of agony for the consequences of her actions that hurt her children. She worked hard to come back, got a temple recommend again, and has been going there weekly since. As part of her reactivation, she promised the Lord that she would do all she could to bring her children back. Recently, her son Casey and his son KC (funny, I know) left California and moved in with her for a time. She immediately got to work. Casey is a member of the Church but isn't very involved anymore and his faith has dimmed. But his son KC accepted the invitation to listen to the missionaries and work towards baptism. He's a great kid. I remember one of the first lessons we had, he asked us "What is a testimony?" What a great question! What is a testimony? Why do so many Latter-Day Saints focus on bearing their testimonies? How does one gain a testimony?

A testimony is something that you know to be absolutely true and is centered on the gospel. It's obtained by a witness from the Holy Ghost about certain principles of the gospel. We experiment upon the word of God by reading the scriptures and applying what we read in our lives. We see the difference and blessings that come from living those teachings. Knowing that a principle of the gospel is true means you have a testimony of that principle. Testimonies are never complete in this life, I think. There is always something more to learn and a deeper understanding to attain. I love my mission because it has taught me a deeper level of understanding on the most basic principles of the gospel: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, covenant keeping and making, and being led by the Holy Ghost. I truly know that these principles bring blessings and happiness to our lives. 

So after explaining what a testimony was, I asked KC what he knew was true. He said "Well, I have a testimony! I know that the power of God is real!" Since this was his second lesson and hadn't grown up learning about the gospel, I was a little surprised. I asked him how he knew that. He said

"Because of my Grandma. She's gone through a lot of pain and sadness. She has had 2 husbands pass away and has been through a lot. But she's happy! Only the power of God could make her happy after all that." What a simple testimony.

I agree.

I know God lives and loves us. I know the fullness of the gospel has been restored to the earth through Joseph Smith. I know with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is true. I love that Book. I know these things through a number of real-life experiences. I hope you all can identify what is the root of your testimony and take the time to think about why you know it to be true. Then search the scriptures, live what you learn, and watch your testimony grow. It's a guarantee formula for everyone! 

Love you all!
Elder Norton

February 16, 2015

Dear Family,

So I'm still in 7 Hills, and I'm loving it. It's definitely harder than a lot of areas still, but it's getting much better. Our mission has two focuses: Become a Preach My Gospel Missionary for Life and to build a new stake. So our charge as Zone leadership (us and the Sister Training Leaders) is to create a zone culture where we can do this! Our Zone vision is to create "Self-Sustaining Wards" and push from behind so that we can help change our member's hearts so that they're the ones doing the work. So far so good! We're focusing on improving ward coordination meeting, teaching with the members, and participating in ward council. Those are kind of our three pillars to achieve this. It's been amazing to see the blessings that are coming because of it. We've had two families this week invite coworkers to take the lessons in their homes. Both have been amazing spiritual experiences for us, the investigator, and the members. Truly, it's the best way to do missionary work. One of them, Rick, has committed to baptism at the end of March. I can see in him a longing for the Savior. He's so burdened by guilt and shame. He made some heavy mistakes in the past that have hurt his family. He's seeking relief. I can't wait to help him discover the Savior through the Book of Mormon. What an amazing book. I wish sometimes that I could forget all about it so that I could have the opportunity to open it up for the first time again and feel what these people feel. That Book has power! 

I've been learning so much about leadership. We're encouraged to have a personal vision, to become something. I want to become someone who enables others to fulfill their potential. And it's amazing to me how Heavenly Father has helped me with that request. He's taught me about balance in the work, sharing responsibility, helping others see their strengths, succoring the weary, and so much more. I sometimes can't really believe just how spiritual life can be. Spiritual experiences can happen every day. They should! It means our progress is on track and when that's in place, what more do we need to worry about? I think part of why the gospel brings peace into our lives is because it gives us the assurance that when trials come, we'll have the ability to make a right decision. It gives us confidence that we know no matter what happens, we know how to choose the right. I love that. I'm starting the final quarter of my mission and I feel like I'm just beginning to understand faith, repentance, covenants, the Holy Ghost, and enduring. I trust that the end of my mission won't be the end of this progression. In fact, I've decided that it won't be. It'll just be the foundation for it. I have such a desire to be good. I just want to be good. And I'm very grateful to be a part of a Work that is simply good. 

I love you so much!
Matt 

February 9, 2015

Hey here's just a small miracle that happened this week!
Last week we contacted a woman who was carrying in her groceries. We helped her carry in the rest and got talking to her and her husband. They're Alicia and Jim Adison. Cute little family, very nice. We talked about Christ and about prayer. They are very active and happy at their church and I was really afraid that it was going to turn into a bit of a bash session between churches. We said a prayer with them and asked if we could come back. They agreed! So this last week we went over to teach them. I was still really doubtful that it was going to be anything but a bash. Just had that feeling. But I was so wrong! We asked if we could present our missionary lesson to them and they said yes. We taught them the Restoration (it took a while, since they both talk a lot) and it went really really well. In fact, Alicia started crying from the Spirit when we taught her that Christ appeared in the Americas. We asked her what she was feeling and she said "an overwhelming amount of love." they accepted a baptismal date and said they wanted to come to church! Just goes to show you, sow wherever you go! You never know who's ready. We're excited to work with the Adisons. They're a great family. Anyway, that's something special that happened this week! Sure love you!
Matt 

December 28, 2014

Hello Everyone!
Hope you all had a good Christmas and that you're going to have a safe New Year. It's incredible that this year is already over. I can't believe it sometimes. Yet here it is! 

I had a wonderful Christmas. The people here took care of us. We ate some delicious food and being able to Skype the family was a special treat. Everyone looks so much older! (except Mom and Dad, of course). I think my favorite part of Christmas was the stockings. My companion and I had the idea that it would be fun for our missionaries to wake up to a Christmas stocking like you would at home. So we bought a bunch of socks (actually we bought double the number we needed because we forgot that they're sold in pairs.....) and filled them with cuties and candies and other stuff that we had. We hit a few of the missionaries Christmas Eve, but we soon realized that we didn't have enough stocking stuffer stuff to stuff every stocking! So we called the missionaries we had already given one too to ask if they had any stuff to stock the stuffed stockings. And this was the coolest part: when we called to ask, they told us that they had already gathered things together for the other missionaries and that they were writing notes to these missionaries. It amazed me how quickly the missionaries want to turn around and give as soon as they received. Immediately they wanted to give a gift, as little as it was, and went about doing it on their own initiative. In fact, they all asked if they could help deliver them. So at 5 30 Christmas morning, we went out to deliver stuffed stockings that were stuffed full of stocking stuff. What a good way to start the day. I could feel an extra sense of love from the Savior. It wasn't much that we had to give, but it felt wonderful to give what we had. The rest of the day just got better. I testify that the Savior is real and loves us. He gives us the choice to go  out and help His fold. I want that feeling again, because it felt like He was smiling at us. What a special feeling. Christ is real. I've felt his love and felt his forgiveness. He's given me strength and I have a growing relationship with him. I love this gospel and this Church. There's so much good here. I love you all and pray that one of your New Years goals will include strengthening your relationship with God. It's so worthwhile and more valuable than anything else you can do. And if you would like some tips on how to do that, ask the missionaries!

Love,

Elder Norton 

Pictures of the Holidays

Good ol' Matthew

December 23, 2014

Hey!!!

This week was incredible. Last week was VERY hard, but this week was very rewarding. It was still hard! But we saw so many miracles. We found a family of 5, a family of 4, 2 friends of some youth here, and two sisters from Russia. All in one week. The Lord was very merciful this week and it was so relieving. Now we're going to do everything we can to keep them. We've been really really blessed. This week was also our Christmas Conference (I'll send pictures), interviews with President, and zone training. Busy week! This one will be too, I hope.

Anthem is really a great place. Yes, lots of rich people, but so many good people too. This last week we were asked to be a part of a family's scavenger hunt and so the people at the party would have to find out where we were and come and take a "Selfie" with us. But when they came to find us, they brought us stacks of presents. I was really surprised, but felt so thankful. It was so nice of them to think of us and go out of their way for us. This ward is excellent. It's pretty small, but it's got variety all around. Well balanced between old people and little kids. Got a decent amount of youth. What I love about this ward is that those who are active are really converted. The majority of them don't go through the motions, but are willing to lift extra if they need to. It's a good ward for sure. There's lots of doctors offices around, dentists, orthodontics, real estate offices, and law offices. We have (get this) a private airport that's also in our area. We live in one of two apartment complexes, which is where we're able to talk to the most amount of people. I'm making some good friends here, too. 

Being a zone leader is good! In interviews, President Snow told me that the most important thing about the mission is the missionaries. He said God can get baptisms when He wants too. But He allows us to participate because we need to learn to be the leaders of the Church someday. So he said that as leaders, we have to go before them to provide them a safe environment to progress, experiment, and learn for themselves. It helped me shape my focus for who I want to be. I want to be someone who provides people opportunity to reach their potential. He's a wise man! I would say the hardest part is dealing with all the little minor details of day to day leadership while still juggling the bigger picture stuff AND the work in my own area. But I really love being a Zone Leader. It's fun :) 

I'm happy and healthy. Enjoying every day as best I can. Trying not to worry too much. I'm getting much better at that. Please tell Amanda I'm so so happy for her. She looks happy :) That's so good to see. 

Love you guys! 

Elder Norton 

These are pictures of a group of some of my close friends on the mission. We all served together in Paradise and now we're all back together again in the same zone. :) Also, I got to see President Snow- ho- ho! 

A compilation of emails from the last update-

November 10, 2014

Hey everyone! Greetings from the Anthem Stake in Henderson! 

Anthem is most well known for being really rich. Holy cow. It's SUPER rich. I'm sending a few pictures of the houses. One is just a random house. The white one is Mike Tyson's. Yup. Mike Tyson lives in my area. I want to go knock on his door but the last time missionaries did that, he didn't really like it. And it's one of those communities that has guards at the gate and stuff. CRAZY. 

My new companion is Elder Lopez, from Uruguay. Well, he was born in Uruguay. He came out on his mission from Salt Lake. He's a great guy and we're already laughing a lot. Some genius put a ping pong table in our apartment..... I'd like to shake his hand. What a great way to unwind after planning! 

This last week we had Elder Bradley D. Foster from the Seventy come. He gave us some wonderful instruction on working with members and being a part of every aspect of Hastening the Work of the Lord. I love being a minister. It's such a great calling to have. I love teaching people about the Savior and seeing them develop their own love for him. It truly brings light into their eyes. Elder Foster's message mainly consisted of two related principles: God loves you. And He answers your prayers. I can testify that's true. I can testify that I've heard His voice and felt His love. He answers prayers. My goal is to work on knowing what to pray for! What a wonderful promise. I know that's the same for you too! God loves you and He answers your prayers! Love you all! Take care!  

 November 17, 2014

The Lord is definitely not forgetting about us. I can feel it. This area is known to be really hard. It's not as hard as everyone thinks. You just have to be smart about it. For example, we have an old folk's home with a lot of people in it but we can't proselyte in there. So we're going to go into it and teach all the old people how to do family history :) A little more long term, but it will sure be worth it. I love the talk on "the Fourth Missionary." Incredibly inspiring. I don't have my own copy, so if you have a chance, I'd love one! Thank you. 

I love you lots. Don't worry about me out here. The Church is home for me. And so when I'm working for the Church, I'm pretty much just working from home ;) Not a bad gig. Love you tons!!!!! Hugs and kisses!
Elder Norton 

November 24, 2014

This week was pretty good. We worked hard and saw blessings. As always! But this week was especially good because I got to go back to Hacienda ward for a baptism! His name is Kane Owens. I may have talked a little bit about him before, but I'll tell the story again anyway. 

One day, Elder Borden was on exchanges and was walking around our apartment complex. He street contacted a man and asked if he was interested in the gospel. The man said he wasn't, so Elder Borden asked who else he knew that might be interested. The man pointed to an apartment and said "I think they have something to do with the Mormons." So Elder Borden knocked on the door and Monica Farmer opened the door. Elder Borden and Monica grew up in the same ward! They had no idea the other was there. Monica was actually at her friends house. But a few weeks later, she and her boyfriend Kane moved into the same apartment complex that we lived in! They had just happened to meet. Kane had been "investigating" the church for two years. He had actually gone to a ward campout in Hawaii and had met Elder Borden there before Elder Borden's mission. They were going to school at UNLV. So Elder Borden and Monica set up a time for us to come visit and catch up a bit. On our first visit, Kane said "yeah, I've been wanting to get baptized! Where have you guys been?" It was pretty much smooth sailing from there! He already had a testimony of so many things. The biggest challenge though, was the living situation. They were living together but weren't married and so it was preventing him from getting baptized. This was a big trial of faith. They didn't have another place to move out to and at 20 and 19 years old, marriage was a big commitment. I got transferred out while we were still teaching him. But a few weeks ago, I saw Elder Borden at a meeting and asked how Kane was. He smiled really big and told me that the night before, they had gotten married! After a lot of prayer, they had decided to do it! It was a small ceremony. The Bishop, the elders, and the couple. What an act of faith!! I was so happy when I heard it. This last Saturday, Kane was baptized by Elder Borden. He gave an awesome testimony afterward. What a happy story! I love this gospel!!!
Love you Mom!
Elder Norton

P.S. Guess what? Monica, Kane, and Elder Borden just found ANOTHER friend from high school who is living in that same apartment complex!! He's also going to get baptized. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL! The Lord's timing is incredible!

Kane is the one with the lei on. The guy in the gray suit coat is the friend from high school

December 8, 2014-

How could God not be real? He is so real. I love inspiration. I love vision and hope. I love hard, sweaty work. And I'm really glad to hear that you're receiving inspiration for your family. :) That makes me so so happy. Not sure why, but I think it's because it means my family is rooted deeply in the gospel. How lucky are we to know about these things! 

Haven't gotten the CDs yet. But I probably will soon. Saturday night we had a ward Christmas dinner. It was amazingly spiritual. Also ridiculously fancy for a ward dinner (it was catered, with a menu. Suit jackets required. Oh, Anthem.) But it was very spiritual. the Bishop's brother came down and talked about the condescension of God. We had amazing musical numbers. During "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" on a cello and piano, I felt the Spirit so strongly and the inspiration I got was about you guys! I know what I want to send you all for Christmas. I'll send it as soon as I can. And I may or may not have completely bawled thinking of you guys together on Christmas morning.... :) Only one more away. Thank you for your emails! It's lifted my day a lot. I love you so so much.

Elder Matt 

November 3, 2014

So, this area is WAY different from my last one. I have a lot of work to do here. I kinda get a feeling that the effect of my work might not be felt until after I leave.... we'll see though! I'm hopeful. Tomorrow we get to hear from a Seventy. Definitely looking forward to that. This zone is going to require some innovation when it comes to missionary work. It'll be fun.

The Lord is sustaining me. He's helping me be patient because some of these changes are going to take a long time to come about. He's giving me hope and vision for the future.  I had a weird feeling this morning as I put on my tie and I thought "I think I'm the only Elder Norton now in the family." Interesting. 

I love you so much! Your emails always make me smile and make the day so much better. Thanks!

Love,

Elder Matt

October 27,2014

Dear family!

 I'm getting transferred to Anthem stake in Henderson. It's known to be incredibly wealthy. Mansions and stuff. It's going to be a huge change, since here you can find investigators mainly through just talking to people on the streets, and there there's almost no one outside. It will be different, but I'm very excited. We have a general authority, Elder Foster, coming next week that we're pretty excited about. Halloween activity should be fun. The weather is beautiful. Life is good! Looking back on the last 6 months here, I feel like I've changed more in these last few months than I have in any other period of my life of the same time. I've changed a lot! Mainly in my understanding of revelation and decision making. I have a strong testimony of the Church now. The organization of the Church, I mean. I new it was true before, but now I have a real testimony of the inner workings of the church, the importance of meetings, the revelation that leaders receive, and how activity in the church truly brings happiness. I feel like church meetings are going to be a big part of the rest of my life, and I'm okay with that! I'm excited for all the revelation we will receive. I have a real witness about the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph, and even about the Sabbath Day! It's been a great adventure here. I'll definitely miss the friends I've made here, but I know from the Lord that my new assignment is where I need to be. It's going to be much harder than anything I've ever done though, so I'm going to need your faith and prayers. I feel the effect of your love, though! You guys sustain me through my hardest times. I love you all so much. 

I forgot my camera today, sorry!! I'll send you pictures of the new area and new companion. I love you so much!!!!

Matt 

October 6, 2014

Hey everyone! I'm doing well. This week was crazy. We had meetings galore and lots of prayer, effort, and hours went into preparing and delivering them. I've been getting much better at recognizing how the Spirit "distills upon the soul as the dews from heaven." Elder Bednar describes it as a sunrise, gradually and slowly delivering light and revelation. What the Lord has been telling me recently about the work is that the most teaching, the best teaching, happens when we're not even there. It comes in the quiet moments when the investigators are following through on their commitments and receive witness from the Holy Ghost. Understanding that has changed my teaching a lot. I went into Conference looking for a big, life changing experience like I had last time, and was really confused when I didn't feel like I had it. But then the Lord told me "The most teaching, the best teaching, happens when you're not even there." He was reminding me that Conference will make a huge impact in my life IF I ponder the messages I got, review the teachings, and have those quiet moments. I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.

Elder Norton 

September 29, 2104

Hey everyone!

It's been a good week! The temperature is cooling off and it's PERFECT weather. So nice. Now I can see why people live in Vegas. It rained buckets the other night. We got soaked, but it was a blast. Huge blessings. 

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that God continues to speak through prophets today. These men are righteous men of great faith and are given priesthood authority, the same that the Apostles in the Early Church had. Twice a year, we get the chance to hear from the Prophet and the Apostles in General Conference. And it's coming this weekend! I'm so excited!!!

Last General Conference in April, I was going through a tough time on my mission. I was feeling a lot of stress because of my work and I went to Conference looking for guidance, just like I would the scriptures. As the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, gave his address, I felt my burden lifted. He spoke of charity and love. But as I listened to his words, the Holy Ghost gave me an answer to my problem. It fit perfectly. Immediately, I understood what I was to do. Because of this experience, I know for myself that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. He speaks the words of Christ and is the mouthpiece for God on the earth today. I love hearing his counsel. If you have the opportunity at all, please watch General Conference this weekend. It will be broadcasted online or on the TV, or in a local chapel. I promise that you can know for yourself that there is a prophet on earth today. It's part of the glorious message I get to share every day. How blessed we are to have living revelation today. And if you come with a question, and prayerfully consider the messages you hear, you will get an answer. It's happened to me. 

Love you all!
Elder Norton 

Meet the Mormons- September 15, 2014

Hey everyone! 

I don't know if you've heard about this yet, but if you haven't, listen! 

On October 10, 2014, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will be releasing a full-length documentary called Meet the Mormons, in theaters around the nation. This follows the stories of 6 individuals who are members of the Church and how the gospel of Jesus Christ affects their lives. 

Super cool. If you want to know more about who Mormons are or what we believe, this will help a ton. It's very uplifting and inspiring. It's not designed to preach to people, but to inform them. With so many voices saying who we are, go see for yourself! 

I love this gospel I love this work! Thanks for your prayers and support! 

Elder Norton 

August 19, 2014- The One Year Mark

So sorry it's been so long:

Friends and family,

Believe it or not, this week I hit my one year mark. I know, it's insane isn't it? I feel like it was last week I was writing my first email home. But a year has gone by and here we are. It's been the greatest year of my life. I've had to deal with challenges I couldn't imagine and I've received more blessings than I ever thought possible. I am definitely not the same person I was a year ago. But that's the point, right?

This last week has been good. I'm still in the Paradise Stake in Las Vegas with Elder Borden, from Hawaii. I'm also serving with Elder Howe from Alabama. He's staying with us until he goes home on Wednesday. He's hilarious. Both are great elders and I'm happy to be serving with them.

One of the benefits of serving with a Polynesian companion is that somehow, we always get fed. It's great. Other Polynesian families are so willing to give us food. We never go without. Huge blessing. Elder Borden has taught me a lot about Christ-like love. He cares for people genuinely. We've grown a lot serving together and I have a testimony of team work. We can't do it all on our own. That's why Father gave us families. 

This week my testimony has been strengthened because of the Book of Mormon. That book has been critical in my understanding of who Christ is. I truly know that it contains the words of eternal life. It fills my daily life with purpose and direction. As the people we teach read from its words, they find their own answers. If you desire to strengthen your relationship with God, read it and pray about it. The power of those verses is undeniable. And it's open to all who want to read it. Just try. Read from it, ponder what it says, and especially ask God if it's true. He will tell you. He's told me. I have a real witness that I can never deny is true. It came as I asked Him to help me understand and to reveal to me if that Book was from Him. And knowing that it is makes all the difference in the world. I would invite you all to be in the Book of Mormon every day. You will never regret it. It adds color to life and grounds me to the Rock of the Savior. I love that Book so much. I hope you do too. Stay safe, take care of each other, and trust that Heavenly Father has good things ahead for you! 

Happy 1 year!

Elder Norton