super short group email

we buried a dog. it was owned by a super poor family who basically lives in a shack, also it's full of things that their grandma hoarded. they keep their dogs tied up on like 3-foot leashes all the time and just forget about them. this one was only about two years old and i'm pretty sure it starved to death. super sad stuff. (we let the dogs go every time we go there, which I can't decide is actually bad or not)

shift key is too much effort to use I realized.

we went to a tri-mission conference with all the Houston missions. Russell M. Nelson came and spoke to us. it was totally awesome. he really is just such an ordinary guy, it's just the calling that he holds that's really extraordinary. he completely conducted the meeting by the spirit and did everything so spontaneously. literally everything he did was an attempt to follow the Spirit. also, it was awesome to hear him talk about scripture and expound it for us. he interpreted some verses in doctrine and covenants with such absolute authority. it was way cool to see. (lots of churches will oftentimes cite the bible for authority since it's the word of God. but the Apostles speak with such utter confidence that they have the authority in their calling and what they say (when inspired) IS the word of God. it's cool.) (the Apostles are nothing if not honest. they absolutely believe in what they teach. I know that.)

having a member present with your lesson is just so essential. i learned that this week in a bit of a negative way because so many people just fought with us alone when they had been super nice with a member present. new year's resolution: always always always have a member present.

it was a bit of a long week. but it was a good one. thanks again to everyone who emailed me.

i love you all!

elder Taylor