Saturday - Sunday

Saturday morning my family had to clean the church for our final time. We were done fairly quick. After this we cleaned the house and began decorating Christmas. We have our tree up and the wreaths the lights and all sorts of other things. The house looks really nice. This year was my first year actually setting up Christmas lights out front. I did all the bushes and had help with the really tall bushes. I think it looks really good for my first time doing it. I also got shocked by an old strand. I got electrocuted on my calf muscle and had to sit down. After being afraid of touching that strand I had Connor take it down and throw it in the garbage. Guess what... Connor got shocked to lol. I felt bad for him cuz it hurts.

It was a lot of fun and am so excited for Christmas this year.

On Sunday I had to give a talk. It was definitely my best talk yet. I sounded smooth and looked up at everyone. Here is my talk if anyone would like to read it. :)
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My name is Jonathan Hooper and I have been asked to talk about the Spiritual Development requirement in Duty to God. There are 12 different goals in this requirement and I will only be talking about 3.

One of my favorite goals out of all 12 is collecting a dozen quick meals that can be used on my mission. I love to cook. A lot of the time I will be peeking over my mom’s shoulder when she is cooking dinner to pick up a helpful tip. Before my mission I would like to learn how to cook Sour Klopse. Sour Klopse is a German dish with meatballs and potatoes that my grandma makes every now and then. It is a very delicious but kind of a tricky meal. On my mission I am sure that I am not always going to be fed lunch or dinner and macaroni and cheese or spaghettios get really old really fast. I need to be prepared with quick and easy meals. By the time I have completed this goal, I will have 12 meals that I can easily cook in a short amount of time.

Another goal is to regularly add to my mission fund. Missions are not cheap and it is up to me to plan and save for my mission. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money all the time, but a little bit at a time can add up over time. I have noticed that when I pay for my clothes or things I want by myself I end up taking better care of them. Especially if I worked hard to earn that money, I don’t want to see it go to waste. Paying for a mission by myself as much as possible will help me to be a better and more dedicated missionary.

Last but not least, memorizing the articles of faith. Almost any question that a person can ask about our church can be answered by one of the articles of faith. My favorite article of faith is We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. It says as long as a repent of all my sins and obey the commandments and laws of the land, I will be saved at the last day. Joseph Smith was inspired when he wrote the articles of faith and I know that they are true. I am trying to memorize them so I can use them on my mission to help people that are seeking answers about our church.

The spiritual development requirement is, in my opinion, the most important requirement in the Duty to God program. It has definitely strengthened my testimony and has helped me understand my priesthood duties more fully. I know by completing this requirement it will help me become a better young man, and a stronger member of the church.