Elder Ogden in Taipei: Week 8- Time Marches On

"In case you were wondering what time it is, here is a double-sided clock with a clock right next to it."

親愛的朋友和家庭 (Dear Friends and Family)，

Wow, I can't believe I've been here for so long! I leave for Taiwan next Tuesday, at 8 in the morning, and I'm SO stoked.

So this last Friday was our Christmas, because we got our flight plans, so for Christmas Eve we built a blanket fort in our room and slept on the floor, after reading Luke 2 together. That was so fun, and it was crazy how we actually got it to work. That day we listened to some Christmas music, exchanged some simple gifts, and the other districts came Christmas caroling that night.

Daniel Li is doing pretty well. He has such a strong testimony of Christ, and he is reading the Book of Mormon, but we feel like he doesn't really want to gain a testimony of Christ's church. He knows all the doctrine, but hasn't realized how it can help him personally yet it seems like, so we've struggled to figure out what we can teach him and help him have that desire, but I know has the spirit works on him more and more he'll come to recognize the desires of his heart. He's super smart and a really cool guy (he can read 1000 Chinese characters a second and he isn't even a native speaker!), and we love him a lot, so my hope is we can at least help him come closer to Christ even if he's not ready to live the fulness of the gospel yet.

Yesterday, President Shumway gave an amazing zone conference about the importance of the Book of Mormon, and it really reiterated it to me even more than it has been already. I've really gained a testimony about the power of that book. It blows my mind how amazing the Book of Mormon is, how much people went through to bring it to us, and how much power it has to change the most hardened hearts and brighten the darkest of lives.

I love that book so much, and I want to add my challenge to that of many prophets who are much more qualified than I, and invite everyone who reads this email to really study the Book of Mormon.

If you aren't reading it, start, and if you are, read it even more.

I promise as you read it your mind will be open to the Spirit of the Lord, your capacity to do good and overcome challenges will grow, and you will feel a happiness like you've never felt before, and in the end, you will come to know of its truthfulness even more than you may already have done. I'm so excited to share this book, and more importantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ, with the people of Taiwan!

Love you All!

Elder Ogden