Week 100: One in Three - Miami, Oklahoma

 Four Sundays left...

Hey all!

Well, first things first, I totally wrecked my ankle playing volleyball today haha. It's not broken and I'm not coming home early, but unfortunately I can't do normal missionary work on it right now. Prayers would be appreciated, thanks 

Life's been pretty wild in general this week. Four of our most promising friends—our miracle family from the farmer's market and a cool guy who was on date for baptism next month—all decided they weren't quite ready to live the word of wisdom and decided to stop meeting with us. We're on good terms with all of them still, though, and the lady we first talked to at the market asked if they could keep their copies of the Book of Mormon because they would join as a family or not at all but she was still really interested in studying it! They'll come around all in due time. 

On the bright side, some super cool friends of ours who were taking a little to warm up started coming through this week! 

Please pray for:

- Matthew

- Zeke

- Brent and Shelby (especially Shelby, she's having a difficult recovery right now)

- Andy

- Cindy, Ray, and Tim

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One awesome sermon I heard this week that I couldn't wait to share with you is called "Choice and Commitment" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Twelve. He had some great insights on becoming better at making decisions and at choosing to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ. Here's a link:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2020/01/12christofferson?lang=eng

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(Forgive my formatting these next few paragraphs, I ran out of time haha)

If you're between the ages of 13 and 35, please check out this article about the power of inviting friends to seminary and institute! I'm so pumped that the Lord inspired leaders in the Church with an initiative like this. Check out this excerpt from the article:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/youth-young-adults-asked-to-invite-a-friend-to-seminary-institute

Right now, over 800,000 youth and young adults around the world are enrolled in seminary or institute. Even better—more than 60,000 of them are friends not of our faith! And here’s the amazing part: One in three of these friends chooses baptism—often because they feel a real sense of belonging, peace, and community as they grow closer to Jesus Christ.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband reminded us in the April 2025 general conference:

“They are a mighty battalion, gaining strength from each other as they learn of Jesus Christ, follow, and testify of Him as the Son of God.”

The Church just launched the Invite a Friend to seminary or institute initiative—and it's all about simple invitations that open big doors. Here’s how you can join in.

As you feel prompted by the Spirit:

• Think about inviting your friends or contacts to join seminary or institute.
• Encourage members in your area to do the same.

In seminary and institute, your friends will find a place to feel the Spirit, learn about Jesus Christ, and develop lasting relationships.

One of my good friends from Fayetteville joined the church because of the seminary program. This is for real. Imagine if out of all the people you ever invited to seminary or institute, only one of them came to know and accept the truths our loving Father in Heaven so desperately wanted them to know. 

So says the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants section 18:

13 And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!

14 Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.

15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

Love y'all! See you at home soon.

Elder Rigby

Week 67 - Fayetteville, Arkansas

Hey all!

I think I've felt every single emotion this week. Like, the whole color wheel. From General Conference to transfer news to crazy lessons my own lovely demons, I'm just all outta feels, man.

♤ Transfers! So long, Elder Foster. It's been a good ride. He's heading up to Stockton, MO and I'll be staying in the YSA and serving with Elder Wasden! I've served near him before and he's a real cheery guy. 

♧ Crazy lessons! We taught our first lesson to an atheist dude who was just so full of questions and he and totally I ADHD'ed out so hard while Elder Foster sat there and looked at us like we were crazy, which was a fair assumption. The best part was that when we told him that General Conference was that weekend, he basically said "Wait, your prophet is speaking in two days?? I'm watching that for sure." ("Chyesss!" - Ignacio)

◇ Rough weekend. 'Nuff said for now. Thank goodness that Christ is always there for us in our dark times.

♡ General Conference! All of the speakers were outstanding and I was so fired up and ready to share the Gospel by the time it ended haha. The Saturday evening session was probably my favorite. I'm so thankful for prophets of God and the chance we have to come to know the Savior better through their words. 

☆ Went on a hike for P-day today at Devil's Den State Park and man, Arkansas is criminally underrated. This place is gorgeous. Check out some pics: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sk1refRidSszyYk7

○ Want a cool statistic? Numbers aren't everything, of course, but check this out: last year, 25,000 students attended high school seminary with their friends in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and 9,000 of them chose to be baptized and confirmed - over one-third. The math says that if three of your friends come to Seminary with you, statistically speaking, one of them will choose to join the Lord's fold. If you and your classmates each brought just one friend to seminary per quarter, you'd double your class size in less than a school year. 

Song of the week: "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground" by Coldplay

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Thought: The Triumph of Hope by Neil L. Andersen

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/12andersen?lang=eng

What better way to hear the news?

Elder Andersen was the first speaker in this year's October Generall Conference, and in it, he talked all about his grand-nephew, Trey. The funny thing is, we were actually in the same ward at BYU! Lived on the same floor and everything. He was a pretty quiet dude, but I recognized him instantly. It made me so happy to see him up on the screen and even happier to hear he'd gotten accepted to the BYU accounting program and even planned to serve a full-time mission! ...And then Elder Andersen told more of his story. 

 Honestly, I didn't know him super well despite having gone to church with him every Sunday for two semesters, but something about the idea that one of the guys I chatted with in the hall a year and a half ago just isn't alive anymore hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm assuming a lot of us from the 122nd ward found out last weekend, too, and while everyone deals with loss differently, it probably wasn't easy to process for many of us. 

But I'll say it again: what better way to hear the news? A living Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ was inspired to use Trey's story to teach the eternal truth that because of the Savior, hope will always triumph. Thanks to Christ, our story doesn't end here. 

Mosiah 16:8-9:

 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. 

He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

Love,

Elder Rigby