Elder Dallin Stout

                                                                                                                                     Elder Stout

January 12, 2015

This week I went on exchanges with Elder Deem and I got to Drive!  That's the second time!  Ella had to cancel with us because she is sick.  A lot of people are sick right now so we haven't been able to see them.  We saw Todd and his little room that he rents out is even more decorated!  Every time I go over, he has more statues of Jesus or Buddha, and now they are painted!  I'll have to get some pictures of his room for sure! 

We taught Cristina and the Tapia family the Plan of Salvation lesson, and brought Josh Fielding to both the lessons.  He's preparing for his mission and wants to know what he can best do to prepare.  We told him to read the white handbook!  We went by David's and he invited us in for a few tacos and something to drink.  He had a bunch of friends over for a party.  They were playing NBA 2K13.  On an end table we saw a bunch of empty beer cans!  We went to Rob Brec's house for a Tri-tip barbecue!  He also made something called Chile Rellenos. He barbecues these big green Chile's till they are golden brown, then he smokes them in a bag for a minute, pulls off the skin and dunks it in melted butter with garlic salt, before eating it!  It is super good!  The Winchell's are also good friends of his and they came over! 

     Elder Robinson is doing great, we have been teaching well together and we always get along!

     I know that we are lead today by prophets who are inspired men of God. I know that we can always be happy when we abide by their counsel and heed their warnings.

     Wednesday night we were going to see Naomi when a guy on the street told us "their is a 91 yr old lady that just got evicted and is now homeless. What can your church do to help her?"  We checked it out and found a woman, named Lisa, and her mom who both got kicked out.  Their stuff was all out side the apartment in the open.  We volunteered to come back in the morning and help her move her stuff to storage.  Thursday morning we got Brother Campbell to bring his trailer and help us load everything.  It took way longer than it should have. Lisa was scatter brained from lack of sleep, and had to watch her 91 yr old mother with dementia.  We called Brother French to take our place, because we needed to be gone at 1 pm to get to Santa Barbra for a zone meeting at 2 pm.  We left at 1:30 and quickly changed into suits and got to the meeting about a half hour late. But they waited a bit for us, so we didn't miss much. 

I'm glad we had members to respond quickly to be good Samaritans to help Lisa and her mom even after we left!

Elder Stout

***

Elder Dallin Stout

January 5, 2015

The Zone leaders gave us a referral, his name is Pete. Elder Cavazos and I went to see him we talked on his front porch. He is really cool, last Sunday he took his family to church at the other ward. We saw Jim Scott and found out that he also was a professional official for High school and College football! He liked the video camera we gave him for Christmas. We actually were given it from an investigator, so it was good that we could pay it forward. A lot of people in our area that we work with are sick, so it's been hard to teach them. We saw the Topete family and brought their home teacher with us. We read out of the Children's Book Of Mormon and challenged them to read daily as a family. They have been consistent at coming to church since William got baptized!  In the past, they would get active right as one of the kids needed to be baptized and then stop coming.  But now, Brother Topete is taking Sundays off to come to church!  We also taught the Topia family, They are less active and have an 8 yr old son named Issac who wants to get baptized after seeing his friend William Topete baptized!  We took Jake Heath who is leaving on his mission soon, and taught the Restoration. Sister Topia said the kids can come to church with the Topete family since she works Sundays!

     Elder Robinson was sick at the beginning of the week, he threw up last P-day in the showers at church during sports!  He says McDonald's doesn't taste as good the second time!  So I was stuck inside for a while, but I got to blitz with Elder Cavazos, so that was good.  Elder Robinson is better now though.

     Something I learned yesterday is that Heavenly Father definitely loves us and wants to help us. His goal is not to try to keep out people from the Celestial kingdom, He want's us there!!  All of us!  As long as someone desires to live with Him, and to be with their family for eternity, then they can and will!  Heavenly Father loves us so very much that's why he prepared a way through Jesus Christ. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

     We did service for Rob again this week. He had this wheelbarrow full of Dog poop that he left outdoors, it rained and filled the Wheelbarrow. When we helped him it was full of this black sludge looking stuff and its been like that since the last time it rained! So it stinks really, REALLY BAD! We duga hole at the entrance to the backyard and poured it all in there and covered it with white powder to mask the smell a little. We wheelbarrowed bricks to the backyard past the hole, careful not to step in it! We also organized his garage and tools. He is going to have us over for dinner next week for BBQ tri-tip! We found out that his family is also good friends with the Wares and Wynchels!

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

December 29, 2014

 So our P- day was shortened to 2 pm because of all the meetings we had this week.  Tuesday we had a Christmas devotional in Goleta,  President showed us part of "The Polar Express" and at the end we brainstormed similarities to the movie and the Gospel.  It was really cool!!  I don't think I'll ever watch "The Polar Express" the same way again!  We also had a huge talent show, one of my favorite acts were the assistants. They wrote a poem like "The Night Before Christmas," but they made it about all the rumors that we hear about the AP's.  Part of it went like this: "They are all robots, every one the same.  For fun they correct each other, what a sick game! They drink spinach and oat smoothies and they get more pay. They each have a car, a Frontier, a Corolla, and a Mazaratti."  Another talent was Sister Hurley.  She did a stand up comedy act for us. Her parents are professional clowns, she is a Pro entertainer and Pro at animal balloons!  We also played a game, everyone had a baby picture on the wall and we had to guess who was who on a piece of paper. I couldn't find myself until Sister Felix read off the results and which picture was mine!  We caroled to Jim Scott and gave him a Christmas present. It was a video camera that we got at Robin's house when she was getting rid of all her stuff. We caroled to a lot of members and investigators with other missionaries in their areas. Christmas morning was great!!!  We opened our packages and went to district meeting.  We had a district gift exchange that was great!!  I got a cool California T- Shirt from Elder Mulford.  We took Brother Thomassen and Sister Young to a lesson with Ella.  We read Ether 12 with her and committed her to start Reading the Book Of Mormon  a little each day from the beginning.  Rene, (her 9 yr old), was quietly playing mine craft on her Mom's phone the whole time and listening.  It was the most well behaved I have ever seen her, and the most focused lesson we have had!  We also saw the Topete's and taught about missionary work.  They also came to church!  They have been on a good roll with that and are getting more active!  Shiloh told us she wants to move her baptismal date back, but we haven't met with her yet and talked about it. 

     Elder Robinson and I are still doing great with each other and the work in our side of the ward. His parents sent me a gift. It was a pair of leather work gloves and a card! :) 

     I love doing missionary work it brings me great joy!  I love the Lord and absolutely know that He is good and loves us all.  I know that He is patient with us and we need to be patient with ourselves to be able to grow and allow Him to change us. 

     We did service with Brother Campbell at the Hawkins.  We shoveled a giant pile of dirt into a hole where a giant stump used to be.  We also helped a guy, named Rob, clean up his back yard and clean his fish pool.  It was my job to catch the fish with a net a keep them in a small bucket of water.  Elder Robinson told me he would give me a big hi- five if I caught a fish with my hands.  So I set out doing it, and it was hard!!  But I eventually got a big goldfish with my hands and set him with the others!  Rob later got us lunch and we found out that he works with Brother Winchell and is close with the family!

Happy New Year! 

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

December 22, 2014

  It's been an awesome week in the Poc! We had a lesson with Ella about the Word of Wisdom. She understood it very well and knew what she had to do. We asked her to live it and she said she will work on living all of it. She has a smoking habit, but says she will start quitting. We also talked to Shiloh about moving her date to the 3rd of January and she is fine with that. We saw Jim Scott, he showed us a picture of when he was in the major leagues as an umpire!  He is yelling in the face of an Angels batter who had just mouthed off to him!  We also saw him at church this Sunday for the first time since I have been here!  We also saw Todd and Sister Craycraft.  We had a lesson with Olivia and sister Kaiser.  Sister Kaiser was watching the NBA, she is in her 80's and loves basketball!!  She is super cool! 

     Elder Robinson and I are doing great work!  We now have our own car so we can see more people and make less trips other places. He has a good sense of time and knows how to get us out of lessons on time so we don't get behind on other things.

     I know that to serve others we need to have Charity. If we can see our lives the way Heavenly Father see's them, then we can have greater love for ourselves and for others. Understanding self worth is something a lot of people don't have. I know that if we can reach out to those people, they and we will have greater love for God and his children.

     We helped Ron repair part of his fence that was damaged in the wind storm. We did yard work at the Women's shelter and helped the Skulyers paint their house. We helped move in a part member family into the ward, they are from Solveign. We got it done in about half an hour and they were very appreciative. I think service is the best way to learn to love someone. It is selfless and helps build stronger relationships. 

Merry Christmas!!! 

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

                       Elder Robinson, Santa and Elder Stout.....Have they been naughty or nice????                                                   Only Santa and the Lord know for sure!!

December 15, 2014

This week was a very eventful one, we had a church tour with Ella, Rene and Bro French. We have to push Shiloh's baptism back a little, because she needs to live the WOW (word of wisdom) for 3 weeks and she didn't quite understand it until we taught it this week. But she is solid, she said she will live it, and the law of tithing! We found a few potential investigators street contacting. We had Ella, her 2 daughters Rene/Autumn and Shiloh come to a Relief Society dinner at the church. (Its probably the only time I will ever be at one of those.) There was a good Christmas program, and they all had a great time meeting with the members. We also had a ward Christmas breakfast that we got Shiloh, Naomi and her 4 kids to come to!  Elder Robinson and I also got pictures with Santa!  It's really good to get all these people into the church building where they can feel the spirit and make friends with the members there.  Naomi could not come to church, due to a gas leak/flooded kitchen. But, she told us how her kids and she really want to get involved with the church!  Friday night, we saw the biggest Rocket launch off of Vandenburg base that they have ever had!  I got a video of it, it was absolutely amazing!  It looked like the sun rising very fast, it was like day time with the sun down!  Right after, we went to a baptism that the sisters had. Saturday, William Topete was baptized!  In a week or 2 he turns 9, so we got it done just in time!  We were both in the circle for his confirmation and Elder Robinson did the confirmation. 

     Elder Robinson and I are staying together this transfer!  I am excited to meet our new district and to be working here longer with my companion!

     I know that the gospel blesses our families and can help us grow closer together as we build them on the foundation of Christ.  This Christmas season, I would like to help as many people as I can know about this important principle, and find what the meaning of Christmas is all about.

     We have done service for Sister Schuyler this week and also Sister George. They are both older women in the ward and its good to help them where they need it.

Much love,

Elder Stout

my address is the same I didn't get transferred. 

P.S. my address is the same I didn't get transferred. 

                                            325 W. Burton Mesa Dr. #207, Lompoc, CA, 93436

Elder Dallin Stout

December 1, 2014

So Tuesday we went to a big interfaith Thanksgiving celebration at the Methodist church. It was really cool their hymn books are like 800 pages! We sang some hymns that are also in our own hymn book.  They had choirs sing, our Primary sang, and they had lots of readings from different faiths. They had Buddhist, Islamic, Confucius, Taoism, Judaism, Christian, and a bunch of others that I can't remember all gathered there. There were lots of LDS people there, and 2 other sets of sister missionaries that we saw.  We also met the mayor of Lompoc there, he is around 6"10, (Super tall), he was really nice he asked Elder Robinson and I where we were from and talked with us for a little bit.  On exchanges with Elder Wickern, we ran into Tamra outside her house. She told us how after we left last week, she had a personal experience where she discovered that there is a God!  That is the most positive thing I have heard her say.  We talked a bit about how God talks to people in their own understanding and read from the Book Of Mormon.  We had Thanksgiving with Bishop and his family. He wanted us to play in the turkey bowl, but President said we shouldn't so we ate a lot instead.  We took Brother Issacson to Ella's for a lesson, but she had to reschedule.  So we walked over to Juan and Shiloh's which is close by.  We had a very focused lesson on what they desire and how they can get there.  They know a lot of doctrine and the steps of the gospel, they say that they are ready for baptism and Shiloh told us that she wants to be baptized soon!  Juan wants some time to prepare, but we set Shiloh with a date for baptism on the 20th of December!

     Elder Robinson and I are working effectively and in unity.  He knows his way around the area like the back of his hand now, and we are working a lot with members.  He has had older brothers go on missions and one of them went to the Hong Kong, China mission!

     I know that through our Savior, we can develop Christ like attributes such as Charity. That we can learn to love our fellow men around us and serve them as Christ did. I know that true happiness is found through living the gospel, keeping covenants and spending valuable time with our friends and families. 

     We were able to help Robin move out everything from her house and put it in storage.  That was a big project!!  We also helped the Julca's (recent convert family), tear out a few bushes from their front yard.  Our neighbor was moving and he knocked on our door during lunch and asked us to give him a hand.  So we helped him move some big mattresses and box springs.  We found out that he is a member from New Zealand, that he served his mission is Australia.  He was very nice and we got to know him better right as he was getting ready to move.

Sincerely Elder Stout

December 8, 2014

We met a guy on the street, named Frazier, who remembers Elders coming to his home when he was a boy in London. He asked for a Book Of Mormon and wants to learn all about it! We exchanged numbers and also gave him a Restoration pamphlet.  We contacted a referral from the sisters, his name is Balthazar!  We made plans to meet with him next week.  We saw Naomi, and she is a friend of Shiloh's.  She told us that Shiloh is excited for baptism, and that she's prodding her to go to church with her!  It's awesome to see people get excited about the gospel, they spread it around like wild fire, and naturally become great missionaries!  William Topete is an 8 yr old that is about to turn 9.  We have been working with him for a long time and he is now getting baptized this upcoming Saturday!  We have challenged him to read the children's Book Of Mormon before the end of the year and he has so far been doing great.  We have been giving members that we eat dinner with, "He is the Gift", pass along cards and challenged them to share it with someone.  It's a great video the church has put out about the true focus of Christmas.

     Elder Robinson is doing great work connecting with everyone and helping them come unto Christ. We are getting along great and are keeping busy with lots of work to do here. 

     I love this time of year when people are prepared with softened hearts to hear and apply the gospel in their lives. I know that Jesus Christ, is the Son of God and that He is our Heavenly Father's gift to us. It is through Him that men are saved, and if we learn about and embrace Him more, we will notice the many things that have been given us. We will also know true happiness and enjoy our lives abundantly more.

     The service we have been able to do has been a great reminder of what I am here to do. It is to love others and support them in doing good. This is an effective way to show people that we do love them individually and that we desire their happiness. 

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

November 24, 2014

 This week we brought our ward mission leader to a lesson with Ella, we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and committed her to read the Book Of Mormon daily. We had a lesson with Tamra, we watched a Mormon message called "The Hope of God's Light."  It's about an atheist guy who comes to a knowledge of God's love and how people can find out themselves.  We asked her what she thought and she said it was "depressing."  So she apparently only understood the first minute and tuned out the rest. She expressed how she doesn't care if God is there or not, so we straight up asked her why she lets us come by.  She said she doesn't want to say no to us. She gave us back the Book Of Mormon and pamphlets, so she is dropped now.  We had an awesome Zone Conference in Ventura!  President Felix gave us a new five areas of focus for the mission.  We learned a lot about what the spirit of the law and the letter of the law is, along with many other discussions.  We committed Juan, Shiloh and Ty to come to church, but only Shiloh came with her baby.  Denise and Juan stayed home to watch the 3 boys. Which was really good, considering I haven't ever seen any of them at church!  We also went on a blitz on Tuesday, with the Elders quorum president, Brother French, and his priest age brother.  Elder Robinson went to see the Topetes and Brother Scott, while I saw the Julcas and the Pools. 

     Elder Robinson and I are doing very good, he is a hard worker and is great with peoples names! He remembers more of the members names than I can!

     I know that gift of the Holy Ghost is the first and most important gift to us. As we learn to recognize his voice, familiarize ourselves with his companionship, we can be more sensitive to his still small voice and know what our Father in Heaven's will is for us.

     We did service for the Mark's home by cleaning up the yard and trimming their hedges. We also helped out at the food pantry where we met another less active member who works there with their being 3 total. We also helped Robin clean out her house more before she has to leave her house. We got some tools and went to the Julca's house to dig out a few of there bushes that are pretty big. Service is helping us build positive relationships with people even when we don't really know them. Its a great way to show people that we don't only claim to be Christian but live what we teach.

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

November 17th, 2014

 Our highlight lesson this week was with Ella (the Mom) and Rene (11). We took the Youngs (Chris is a recent convert) with us and taught the Plan of Salvation (POS) by having them draw it out with us as we went along. It was good to keep their attention and keep Rene from getting too far off topic. It was a long lesson but was good, We will see them again tonight. We have met a lot of new people on the street the past few weeks, but all of them are disappearing! Either we can't find their address, or they don't live there. One example was Jim, We met him last Saturday, and went to his house to be told that he didn't live there. But just 2 days ago, we found him again and he confirmed the same address, so, we're not exactly sure how that works out.?? Yesterday our next door neighbors came to church for the full 3 hrs!  So did 2 other people that we don't see much or ask to come! It's kinda funny, no one that we are actually working with or bugging to come, comes! 

     Elder Robinson Is great, although we both got a little sick with something this week. Other than that we do great, we teach in unity, have a plan for what we are doing and are always striving to improve.

     I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes people's hearts, that it makes us want to change for the better and follow the commandments because we love our Heavenly Father. John 3:16, I know that God loves us and has shown us by sending his Son to help us return to Him.

     The other day we helped Robin clean out her garage. She is the Woman that we helped push her truck to the gas station several weeks ago. She is getting Evicted from her home and needed our help to get the things she needs and get rid of everything else that she doesn't need. Yesterday our neighbor Errol came to church with his family, and asked us to help him move in a few big oak wood dressers to his upstairs apartment.  So later, Elder Robinson and I helped and also got to sit down and get to know him better.  He really likes zombie stuff and we connected with him on that and MMA/Wrestling.  We later got around to a good discussion about the gospel, found out that in the past he has gone with missionaries to teach investigators and is a member with the Aaronic Priesthood!  Later, we helped him organize his furniture and bring in lots of groceries. Service has been a great way to segway into the gospel and build lasting relationships with people. 

     

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

November 3, 2014

Transfers!

Transfer calls came Saturday afternoon to give us more time to say goodbye to all the people we know which was awesome. So Elder Beus is leaving to Newbury Park which is right next to Thousand Oaks. My new Companion is Elder Randall Robinson, who I served around when I first got into the mission, so we're gonna have fun! Elder Hurst is going to Camarillo with my old companion Elder Slaugh. Elder Thornell is staying and he's already been here for 6 months so we're calling him the Lompoc Dinosaur!

Elders Thornell and Beus as clone trooper missionaries

Elder Stout and Hurst with the clone trooper missionaries

A P-day for the Lompoc missionaries in Solvang





Elder Stout in
the Hat shop



















                                       Elder Hurst with clogs on















Elder Stout's purchase....fish socks!!



































                The Lompoc Missionaries with their Solvang hats and socks!!




My family is great, my bro has a lot to do in preparation for his mission. He says people think his mission is cooler but I'm working on fixing that! [Note: Elder Stout's younger brother, Sam, has just received his mission call to Hong Kong!]
We had a really good lesson with Juan, Shilo and Ty. We watched the full Prophet of the Restoration with them. It helped them see what role Joseph Smith and the Book Of Mormon play and how there has always been opposition against prophets, but the gospel/God's purposes cannot be hindered by man. The Topete family came to church this week! Chris is 12 and is working to receive the priesthood, Will is 8 and wants to be baptized. They are both keeping their commitments to read the children's Book Of Mormon a little each day to finish it by the new year and pray each day. We had a lesson with Ella last week and took Josh Fielding who is preparing for a mission. We read Alma 32 with her and committed her to read a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. Wednesday we had an awesome ward Halloween trunk or treat! There was a Chili/Mac and Cheese cook off, Elder Beus and I played games with the kids and did the Doughnut on a string eating contest! Lots of less actives and investigators came to that. Elder Beus is doing good. He's just bummed to leave and say goodbye to everyone. He hasn't been south or around rich people yet so he's kinda nervous, but he'll do good. I know that the Lord sends us where we need to go for a reason and that he has a plan for individuals to receive the gospel through certain missionaries and people. I know that this work is directed by the Lord and when we trust his will and guidance we cannot go astray.
 For service we helped an investigator, named Ron, go through his stuff and be able to live in his house. He hoards a lot of stuff, He has 2 giant containers full of stuff that we started going through! He really appreciates our help and seems to have progressed in learning the gospel. Sunday he went to the church and watched some conference which Elders Thornell and Hurst put on for him.

Love,
Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 3:48 PM

First week of fasting!

 The work has been great here. On Wednesday Elder Beus and I were fasting for the ward 40 day fast for missionary work. The past 3 months here Elder Beus has not had a referral. But while we were talking with John, a potential investigator, he saw his neighbor and said that we should visit her. After praying and setting up a return appointment with John we went to meet her. Her name is Tamara, she just had a baby and Elder Beus has met her before. We gave her a POS pamphlet and set up a return appointment for next week! Later while in an apartment complex we met a little girl who told us to go see her mom. We did, her name is Ella, and she is great. We set up a return appointment with her too! Before heading in for the night we met a guy named Gustavo who speaks mostly Spanish but accepted an invite to read the Book Of Mormon. We referred him to the Spanish Elders. So the fasting miracles were 2 referrals received and contacted, 3 new investigators and 1 referral to give!(just in one day!) My arm has been healing great, I can do most things, I just don't have my full range of motion/extension yet.

     Elder Beus has been awesome, he has a great connection with the people in town. (he knows a lot of them!) He is not afraid to be bold in his teaching to let people know what they need to do. We also get along really well and know that we can be completely honest and open with each other.

     I know that the complete gospel of Jesus Christ is found in this church, that Jesus is the Son of God and that because of him we all have 2nd chances. There is nothing, no person, no matter how far away from God, that is out of reach of the atonement of Jesus Christ. If we believe and have faith in him, through God all things are possible.

     We also found out something cool from Elders Thornel and Hurst. Colt is the referral we gave them that we met at Wendy's with our ward mission leader. They went over to teach her and also met her mom. Her mom is the lady that all 4 of us helped on the side of the road to push her truck to the gas station! She expressed to them how she was impressed with our service. That when she looked in her rear-view mirror she saw us smiling, laughing and having a good time as we were pushing her down the street. We helped Chris pool to move into his new house, helped clean up at the Marks home, painted at sister Skyler's etc. 

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Oct 13, 2014 at 1:04 PM

This week

     Sister Young invited us to lunch this week with Juan and Shilo. They have connected well and been really great fellowshippers for them. We invited them both to the baptism and to church but they canceled on both. So we didn't go to the baptism but we had great success that night instead! We saw a former investigator and he agreed to meet with us. His grandmother is in the hospital and asked for us to pray for her. We also met on the street a family, the parents were Jennifer and Jimmy who had met with missionaries before. We got their address and will see them soon. 
     I got my arm X-rayed again and its still messed up, but I got the splint and sling off! Elder Beus has been very helpful with everything I can't do still. 
     I know that the Lord is mindful of all his children, and that out of everyone he wants to hear from you and me. Through prayer we can come close to him and receive direction. I am very grateful for that because there is very little that I can do on my own and I am dependent on him to do this work.
     We have done lots of service helping out the women's shelter, painting Sister Skyler's front porch and random acts throughout the day. We helped a lady push her truck to a gas station who was stuck on the side of the road. We helped a "devout atheist" as he told us, fix his tree in his front yard. It was an awesome week!

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 2:04 PM

This week

     Well last Monday I saw Bob, my investigator from Santa Barbara! He was drunk out of his mind, beat up and homeless. I think he had a friend take him up here since he lives in Lompoc. We got a local bishop to take him to a shelter but ended up getting him a motel room for the night. 

     Tuesday, we had President interviews and also watched "Meet the Mormons" which was really cool! 

     Wednesday, we took Chris Young, a recent convert, and his wife to a lesson with Juan and Shilo. We talked about Eternal families and the temple. We related it to baptism as our first covenant to follow Jesus and invited them to take that step and Shilo said yes! The Youngs shared their experiences, testimonies and connected with them. 

     Thursday, we saw Naomi, she has been stressed because her husband just got out of jail and went back to drug abuse and cheating. He turned himself in this same day. I felt to opened my Book Of Mormon and randomly did so right to Alma 34:40-41 and it says: "And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions;  that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them;  But that ye have patience and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions." It brought her comfort and she took a copy for herself. Just the night before I was praying and felt to ask for guidance on how I could use the Book Of Mormon more effectively. 
     Sunday we Went to see bro Lusby who is LA. He used to live in Layton and is currently an assistant football coach at Lompoc High! Well Elder Beus is from Ogden and also played football, so we hit it off and connected with him really well!

     My companion has been really awesome and a great support for me. We get along very well, talk about our family history and he loves to get out and work. Monday was crazy we were at the insta care and hospital for our entire P-day getting x-rays, a splint and sling and he was patient. 

     General Conference was awesome! In the MTC choir I saw Cameron Peterson from my Layton ward, Dallin Tracy from my Centerville ward and a kid I recognized from Layton high! I loved all the insights I got from the speakers, I have felt my testimony grow in prophets, the Lords appointed servants and in Jesus Christ.

     We have done lots of service at the food pantry and met a few less active members who work there. We also have  worked at members homes but all I really get to do is watch and do what I can with one-arm jobs.
Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Sep 29, 2014 at 4:44 PM

First week in Lompoc!

 Crazy week! At transfer meeting I was able to see almost all of my past companions. Elder Sandholtz (one of them) is going home and gave his last testimony to us. This week has been quite eventful in my new area. Elder Beus has taken me to meet some of the people in the area for the first few days. The ward is very great, we share it with Elders Thornel and Hurst. We are in a 4 man apartment with them and its awesome, we get along very well. 

     My companion Elder Beus is awesome! On Saturday we were riding into town on a bike path and I was going very fast. I took a sharp turn with my brakes locked up and slid over a small gutter, gravel and hit hard into a cement wall. My left side was banged up but I stayed on my feet. I couldn't feel much pain because of my adrenaline rush so we rode to the church and cleaned up. we left a message for the Elders to come get us before our phone died and I iced my elbow until they came a few hours later. By then the instacare was closed so we went home and my comp made me a sling out of a scarf. I went to church Sunday and continued to ice my arm. The wrist thumb and elbow were swollen and my hip had a big bruise. I just got treatment today, the doctor x-rayed my arm and he is confident that my elbow has a hairline fracture. so he made a splint for my arm and got me a sling. We just now got back from the hospital where a recent convert is in the ER and wanted a blessing. So I am typing this one handed, its been a crazy day but Elder Beus is patient and has been helping by doing things for me.

     I definitely know that the Lord is looking out for me. The Dr. said a guy wiped out at the same place I did and was in the hospital for 3 months! Elder Beus was behind me at the accident and said that it was graceful, the best way I could have crashed. So I'm counting my blessings, I have a testimony that the Lord watches out for us, loves us and that this work truly is his work.

     We have been able to do 9 hours of service for people this week, I have met some terrific people doing so and it feels great to be helpful everywhere we can!  

With love Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 1:07 PM

Awesome Week!

    Tuesday

We did service for Maurice, who we met Sunday at church, a friend invited her.  She has chickens, roosters, turkeys, rabbits and horses.  We trimmed hedges, I dug up a small palm tree and tilled hard dirt with a pick ax. We had lunch with her after and she invited us to come over again to go swimming.  We said we'll come by again but to do more service instead!  We taught Bob the plan of salvation. As we started, he mentioned that his Dad died when he was 7 and he doesn't know if he was a man of God. He asked "will he get a chance to know the truth?" Then said "I might be crazy for thinking this, but that means he needs to be baptized. Is there a way that I could be baptized in his behalf?" We said "YES!" we were completely blown away by that. He had a cup of coffee, so we addressed the Word of wisdom and after teaching it, he committed to live it.  As we were leaving he grabbed his cup and said "well this cup is staying empty tonight!"

     Wednesday

For exchanges Elder Banks came with Elder Slaugh and I. We did service for Tony, the hoarder, for 41/2 hours and didn't make much progress.  Then we biked to Elliot's house. (the Jew guy we just met).  But he wasn't home.  So we went to the Crows and read Alma 32 with them and Brett. 

     Thursday

Our shower wouldn't turn off completely, so it stayed at a small steady stream all day and maintenance never came.  After district meeting all 5 of us (Elders Banks and Grey) went to a sushi place for lunch. I had a lot of wasabi left over and the Elders  dared me to eat it all at once.  So I did and so did Elder Banks.  After dinner Elders Banks, Grey and I felt sick, so I'm not gonna do that again!  Our neighbors were watching the Ravens/Steelers game. I saw that the Ravens were winning 24-6 with short time left, so that made my day!  Elder Slaugh and Jimmy rigged our leaking shower head to slow down the flow.

     Friday

We did service for Brother Buck Poulsen,   In his attic are hundreds to a thousand canvas paintings!  We sorted huge piles of them!  He played minor league baseball as a pitcher and got into painting at 28. He's been doing it for 50 years and has had a TV show ("Painting with Poulsen") for over 20 years!  He gave us each a season of his TV show on DVD.

     Saturday

This morning we rode along the coast and rode up the back side of Correo Street. "The Correo" is a huge hill, we went down it at about 42 mph!  Later we went to Bueno Vista (The care center where Bob is) and the receptionist had some questions for us.  We had a little lesson and gave her a Book Of Mormon.  We met with Bob, he told us that a lady asked him what his religion is and he said Mormon!  She wanted some scriptures to help her out and he gave her Book Of Mormon and Bible verses!  We took Bob to stake conference and he stayed for most of it before he had to go.  I saw Elder Bartholemew there!  Before he left Thousand Oaks I told him in his Shout Out Journal that we would meet in Santa Barbara... Prophecy fulfilled!  The plumber finally came and fixed our shower after the 3rd time we called.

     Sunday

We went to Bueno Vista and the Mormon lady that works there took us to their church service with all the old people.  We sang hymns, that was awesome (Even though they had voices only a mother could love) and they bore testimonies about Jesus.  We met a lady named Hannah who just turned 101 years old!   We read 1Nephi 3-4 with Bob and she sat in.  As we left, the receptionist told us that a Catholic priest was just there, saw her reading the Book Of Mormon and told her that she shouldn't be reading it.  He said we don't believe in Christ and she said,  "Well that's not true!"  Then he said we don't believe in the holy trinity, and she said, "Neither do I.  Look the boys are right in that room, why don't I get them so you can talk to them?"  He said, "No I have to go." So she totally backed us up!  She has read the whole intro to the Book Of Mormon and started 1st Nephi yesterday, when we gave it to her!  It has been a great week! 

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 1:39 PM

Transfered/Miracles Week!

It has been an amazing week with many things happening!

Monday

     So after dinner we got a call from the assistants and they told us that we're both being transferred. Elder Martin is going back to Simi Valley to replace an Elder who is going home. I am going to Santa Barbra (AKA Santa Babylon! Its called that for the local college that is the number 2 biggest party school in the Nation!) and my new companions are Elder Yager and Elder Slaugh. The 1st ward Elders (Elders Pace and Comin) are now covering their ward and 2nd ward. (ours)

Tuesday

     We spent the day deep cleaning the apartment, packing and updating the area book. We said a quick good bye to the Gonzalez's and the 1st ward Elders. Then Brother Henderson gave us a ride to the mission office in Oxnard at 8pm. Elder Martin went with his companion to his area and I stayed the night with Elder James, President and Sister Felix at the mission home in Ventura.

Wednesday

     At 3:45 am I woke up and got ready.  We took Elder James to the Santa Barbara airport and President dropped me off at my apartment. We got there at 6:15 am and President called my companions to wake them up and come get me. They didn't know what time I was coming so it really surprised them! Elder Yager is the District leader and has been out 6 months. Elder Slaugh came out a transfer after I did, he has a small dutch oven that he uses to make peach cobbler and stuff! We share a ward with Elders Banks and Grey (Elder Banks was also companions with my trainer Elder Driggs).  We saw a part member family called the Dunnings, we were talking with the Mom when her 11 year old daughter came up to her and whispered in her ear "Can I be Baptized?" and the Mom quietly said back "yes"! They said they would come to church for sure. 

Thursday

     I got to meet my new district, it is the largest in the mission! We have 9 sisters and 7 Elders! Sister Ashworth is also in a tri-companionship (she was in my MTC district) and Sister Wilson is here. (who was in my last district in Camarillo).  We had an amazing district meeting. Elder Grey gave a great talk on Charity and read us a story from Saints and Soldiers that was about giving our lives for our friends. We did service for a guy that is a hoarder. As we were helping clean out the magazines in his garage, Elder Slaugh totally pulled out a Porno right in front of me by accident from a huge stack! We made sure that it was buried at the bottom of his trash can! (not the first or last of similar things that I've seen since I've been in Santa Babylon! but besides that I really do love it here.) 

Friday

     Elder Yager went to a leadership meeting so Elder Slaugh and I teamed up with 2 other Elders who have district leader companions, Elders Philips and Lewis. We spent the day tracting and seeing less actives. 

Saturday

     We biked to the other side of our area (about a 45 minute ride). We were at a Care facility and were going to see Brother Giles, but we got held up by a Jewish guy, named Elliot, that was really cool. We talked for about an hour and got his info so we can see him again. Then a Catholic guy named Armondo gave us prayer cards with a picture of Jesus and started to bash. He talked about the Spalding theory but we had a lesson with him. (that took about 30 min) Then we read scriptures to Brother Giles, right as we started a guy named Bob came up to us and asked to talk with us after we were done. We met with him, he said he's been praying for guidance to get back in tune with God. This morning he felt like something big was going to happen, he was in an area of the facility with a friend that he never goes to and he saw us. We taught him the restoration and he felt the spirit hit him! He just got his big toe amputated and has been in pain, also his breathing is labored. But after the lesson he said that he couldn't feel it and felt completely at peace. He is excited to come to church and read the Book Of Mormon. We invited him to be baptized when he finds out that its true and he said "yes, absolutely!"  Then we had apparently "the best lesson ever" with Brett. (a homeless guy living with a part member family. We talked about overcoming trials with the Lords help. We read 1Cor 10: 13, 1Nephi 3:7, and Ether 12:26.

Sunday

     We were expecting 5-6 investigators that said they would come to church but none of them came, but we had one dropped investigator come. (which no one was expecting)!  After church, we saw Bob and he was caught up in physical therapy but plans on coming next week. We read 2 Nephi 31 with him, it talks about the doctrine of Christ. He said that this is his number one priority now! That he will make time to see us and go to church! Meeting him was a definite miracle, we were held up to the perfect timing, We prayed for people to find, the ward fasted for missionary work today, he prayed to find God and His brother is a good example to him as a converted member!  It is awesome to see the Lords hand at work.

Love,

Elder Stout

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 1:22 PM

Good Week
   So in our car we have this thing called TIWI, this mission was the first to get it because it was tested here and now its approved to be used in other missions. Its a little box in the bottom corner of the drivers side wind shield. Its a computer that tells us when we are driving bad and sometimes reports us. He tells us to slow down, put on our seat belt and tells us if we are driving aggressively. 
Tuesday
     Our lesson with Dan fell through so we had a lesson with Zeny instead. Then we saw Brother Nolan and went over tithing with him. After dinner we had a lesson with the Goyeneche's and commited them to do daily family prayer/ scripture study.
Wednesday     We tried to see Brother Brodbeck but he wasn't home, We ran into his son and found out that he has been in a care center for the last 3 weeks. Later we had a lesson planned for Erica, who is a refferal from the zone leaders. We have not met her yet but confirmed the lesson by phone, we took 2 laurels with us but Erica fell through.
Thursday
     We had a zone meeting and got our new zone goals. They are to be exactly obedient to the daily schedule, pray for people silently who reject us and read some of our patriarchal blessing each night. We went to see the Logans, durring the visit their daughter came over and needed help moving things to her house.. So we schedules a time to help her. We had a lesson with Richard Perry and Bro Santini.
Friday
     We were walking to the Logans in our service clothes and while waiting at a light to cross the street some girl drove by and her passenger cat called at me. (Elder Martin to this day has teased me since) It was weird, when we're in a shirt and tie it usually seems to repel that kind'a stuff. When we got to the Logans we helped move stuff from the side of their house into their truck and killed many black widows in the process. Later we saw the Goyeneche's. Elder Martin is a little frustrated with them because of their procrastination to get baptized.
Saturday
     We went on a blitz, I with Elder Comin who has been out a week. We knocked doors and talked with a few people. We went to a garage sale and talked to a guy named Richard, who told us about his visit to Salt Lake. He had a big knife collection and I got one for $2, then he gave us both a utility knife free because he said "your doing the Lords work". Later we met a few less actives we didn't know and also saw Zeny. We had a lesson with her about overcoming anger by being prayerful/trusting. She says its still hard for her to pray on her own but she's improving.
Sunday
     At church the Bells spoke about member missionary work for the 40 day fast and shared some personal experiences that they have had with sharing the gospel. The Morris family had us for dinner and also invited the Perry's. Then we saw the Goyeneche's and tallked to Juan about his questions that he had in class about the gathering of Israel. Zeny sent us a text and said that she was really upset. When she came home she didn't tell us in front of her family, but we were able to cheer her up and she told us that she will tell us later.

Love,
Elder Stout
Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 12:34 PM

This week

     Tuesday
This morning we got 3 calls from Juan. We answered every time but our phone wasn't connecting, so we figured that he wanted help fixing his truck. We got into service clothes and drove over but only Zeny and the kids were there. We stayed and talked with her for a while, she wants to be baptized but can't because she is not married to Juan. They have been planning to get married for a long time but we found out that she is uncomfortable with marriage. We were there at the right time to comfort and encourage her. We had a lesson with Dan right afterwards. He has been doing good on his resolve to quit smoking, he has gone from 2 packs a day to gradually using only 3 cigarettes and now to a vaporizer! This is a huge improvement for him, we talked about a patriarchal blessing and how they help guide us in through our lives. We also saw the Gonzalez's after dinner and encouraged them in their efforts to quit smoking in a few weeks. They gave us a bunch of food and milk before we left.  Neither of us had money to shop on Monday so this was like manna from heaven!
     Thursday
We had a really good district meeting.  We discussed our studies about prayer in chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel. It really helped me to analyze my prayers and how I can improve them. Later we tried to visit some people, but no one was home. So we went to see Zeny and talked with her for a while before the rest of the Goyeneche family showed up and we had dinner with them later.
     Saturday
We were able to visit Sister Madsen who is less active. She is super nice and had us work on a project with her, as we talked and caught up on how her trip had been. She has been out of town and really busy for the past month so it was good to be able to visit her again. We had dinner with Brandon who took us out to an awesome Chinese restaraunt.  Apparently he knows several people from my last area in Thousand Oaks. His wife works with a member of the ward and he also knows Dago. He is a recent convert, Brandon helped teach him with the missionaries. He has horns tatooed on his head, so now I know a Mormon that really has horns.
     Sunday
Fast and testimony meeting was really good.  It was the kick-off for our ward 40 day fast and several of the members bore their testimony about missionary work and the opportunities/experiences that they are having to share the gospel with people! The Gonzalez's haven't been to church in a while, so afterwards we tried to see them. They told us that they were sick, so we couldn't meet with them.  We ended up walking to dinner and stopping on the way to see the Goyeneche's.  Only William and his siblings were home so we talked with him for a bit.

Love,
Elder Stout