Letter from Dad July 11, 2011

HiJosh,


Hopethat this letter finds you well and working hard. It sounds like you arebusy but that the area is challenging. I appreciate your willingness towork so hard and serve. Some sad news from the home front. Do youremember Roman and Jaron the Sutter twins from the neighborhood? Theirstep brother Preston was killed over the Independence Day weekend. He wasserving in the Army and was killed in Afghanistan. I visited with thefamily yesterday. It is pretty rough going for them right now.


Justinhad his farewell yesterday. Gave an excellent talk on freedom. JimDuffin got put in the stake high council and spoke with Justin. It was anice meeting. Justin is a thinker, he talk was quite interesting. He drew some interesting conflicting parallels on freedom. For instancethe founding fathers here in America signed the declaration of independence andby so doing knew that if the fight for independence failed, King George wouldkill them. He then addressed the challenges of the anti-Nephi Lamaniteswho buried their weapons of war, and later laid prostrate on the ground while1,003 of them were massacred. He also drew parallels with the children ofIsrael as they fled the Egyptians and crossed the Red Sea and Victor Frankl andhis life changing experience as a Jew in a German concentration camp. That he was willing to hold back the anger and hate and learn to love. Understanding that anger and hate would become a cancer and destroy him.


Justinconcluded with thoughts on the points that we have agency but agency is notfreedom. Wrong choices bring us into captivity, it is only when wefollow the prompting of the Holy Ghost given to us by our Heavenly Father andthe being obedient that we are truly free. We had a fun gathering withfamily after the meeting. The aunts and uncles and cousins send theirlove and thoughts to you. Everybody thinks you are such a stud and soawesome.


Wehad a family baptized in our ward. The missionaries shared in theirtestimony that the Book Of Mormon was the conversion for the father. Thatafter having investigated the church for many years, his conversion camethrough reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. He was baptized twoweeks ago and his wife and 11 year old son were baptized this past week. It was pretty special.


Loveyou so much, think of you every day, you are always in my prayers. Youare awesome!!

Loveyou,

Dad