Well Look Who Is Back! (In A Nametag)

Well HEY HOWDY everybody!!!

Look at who is emailing again!! Now I know, many of you follow me on Facebook (If not, now is your time to do so haha!) so several of you know that last month I FINALLY started serving a mission again!

Now, I am not in the great state of New York (yet *wink*) but instead, I am currently serving in Tucson AZ as a Service Missionary!! It's pretty fantastic I must say, because I am mostly working in the Temple!! In fact, I am in the Tucson Arizona Temple FIVE DAYS A WEEK!!! It's AWESOME!!

Now I do have some REALLY fantastic news coming to you all very very soon, but I cannot spoil the fun just yet! As of right now, I just wanted to say hello to you all, and let you know I am an Elder again!!!

One thing that's different as a Service Missionary is that my day designated for writing emails is Saturday! So I will be writing on Saturdays instead!

Now I got started as a Service Missionary- meaning I will live at home with my family but still get to serve in the community- on March 31st 2022... So yep, it's been a bit. I do want to catch you all up on what's been going on in my life though!!

First off, thank you all SO much to those who have reached out to me since I first came home from New York in August of last year. It's been really insanely hard to stay motivated and positive, but all of your kind words helped me so much!! So to those of you out there reading this, please know that I love you all very very much!

When I got home in August the very first thing I did was go to the Temple here in Tucson to worship the Lord Jesus Christ! It was really awesome, and I decided that I was going to go every day if I could... And it turns out I could! I started going about five times a week, and pretty soon all the people working there knew me! I was then asked if I would like to be a Temple Worker and help other visitors in the temple, and I quickly said yes!

In September I got to go to an AWESOME family reunion on my dad's side up in Utah, and it was about the time I got back from Utah that I started to get really into bodybuilding. Like... really into it. So from September to about February my days mostly looked like this:

6 AM: Wake up, go to Temple

Noon: Go to Gym

3 PM: Come home to shower and read scriptures

6 PM: Hang out with my family

10 or 11 PM: Go to bed

Aaaaaaannnnndd that's basically all I ever did. Oh! And eat. A LOT!!! But I enjoyed it! I never got into a job or anything like that, just kept serving and meeting with different doctors and therapists and what-have-you to try and try and try again to get back to New York! (I'm still trying)

However, in February, my Stake President (a local leader) asked me if I wanted to start serving as a Service Missionary in the temple. You see, up until this point, I had only been a missionary for a grand total of 48 days. But I still was just serving constantly! So my Stake President and I worked together, and I got started as a Service Missionary on March 31st 2022. I hadn't been a missionary for 240 days, but now I am back! My Stake President even let me count those 240 days as part of my two-years of missionary service! So, I am about eleven months into this crazy adventure!! Almost one year has gone by since I sent my first email! How crazy is that??

Anyway, this week was actually pretty awesome! I'll just tell you briefly what kind of stuff I did each day this week, and then share some favorite pictures from the last few months!

So Monday I got some really awesome scripture study in because I have been reading out of a reprint of the first ever version of the Book of Mormon! The Book of Mormon was first printed in English in 1830, but the original copies now go for something like 80,000 USD. That's WAY more than I can afford hahah! But I bought a new book that looks and feels like the Book of Mormon did when it was first published in Upstate New York (where I started my mission!) in 1830! I have a SUPER AWESOME CRAZY EXCITING reason why I am choosing to read the Book of Mormon this way, but more details on that later! After I read on Monday, I headed out to the Tucson Temple! There, I spent about five hours just super cleaning the floors, shampooing the carpets ("shampooing" has a lot of vowels in a row haha!) and dusting stuff like crazy! After that, I got to take a few of my siblings to go watch a new movie! One of the blessings of being a Service Missionary haha!

Tuesday I went to the temple again, but this time to just be a Patron! You see, in the temple we perform sacred ordinances for our deceased ancestors! An ordinance is a sacred ceremony or rite that shows that we have made special promises with God. And it was super powerful! It always is!

Wednesday I get to serve in the Bishops Storehouse, which is a great place where people who cannot afford food items or other personal hygiene items can come when they get a referral from their local Bishop. We then give these items to these people totally free! It's really great to see how much good all that food does. There is also a place where people can come to buy home food storage items for themselves (at a REALLY low price I might add!) In fact, the whole Bishop Storehouse operation around the world is a totally zero-sum equation, meaning we make absolutely no profit for the work we do! None of us there make any money because we are all volunteers! It's a great place to serve as Jesus would! After that, I went to the temple yet again, but this time with my parents! All three of us got to worship there, and then we went to Costco.... the cakes at Costco always look SO GOOD, but they are also SO EXPENSIVE! I'm torn... I want one... but my wallet would get too skinny, and I would get too bloated hahah!!

Thursday I woke up yet again (*gasp*) and went all the way back to the temple! (*double gasp*) But this time, I was a worker, and got to spend time with lots of the friends I have made there! It was a really special day!

Lastly on Friday I also worked in the.... drum roll please... TEMPLE!!! (yep, I'm there five days a week, all in a row! Someone get me a personalized parking spot please!) And once again, it was wonderful! Especially because I got to see one of my cousins there! Well, sort of cousins. He is my fourth cousin once removed, so to me he is more like an uncle, but it's always great to see him!! I also got to talk with my friends there about music, and Hymns, and then of course, I rolled on home to read the scriptures some more!!

If you can't tell, my days look a little repetitive. So instead of giving you a play-by-play next week, I will try to find some great stories from each day!!! Because all of what you read about (like where I go and serve each day of the week) is the same every week haha!

Anyway, I just want to share a verse with you all today before I show you the pictures I have!!

The verse this week is actually the same verse I shared in my last email when I was coming home. It is found in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi chapter 22, verse 2. It says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation."

Dear friends, my brothers and sisters, this verse means everything to me. My Lord is my strength, and he is my salvation. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I know He loves each and every one of you. I testify that he lives, in His name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Much love,

Elder Taylor!!!!