Goodbye Mayfield, Hello Blackman

Blackman, Tennessee:

“I have been made a district leader and am excited about it! I am in Blackman Tennessee, it is just about 30 minutes outside of Nashville.  Pretty crazy how close it is, I am so used to being so far away!  It is a pretty nice area, and definitely a city area!  There isn't much of a country to Blackman area haha.  It is more on the wealthy side, but not super duper wealthy.  The ward is pretty big.  It has probably about 100 or so fully active people.  There are a ton of young families here.  It is pretty crazy, I really like it though.  I think I will enjoy time here.  Our dinner calender is filled up pretty much everyday.  If somebody cancels dinner or doesn't sign up, we call the Adair family and they feed us on those nights.  They ask us often if we have dinner or if dinner has cancelled and what not.  Pretty awesome!  There are some really awesome families here though. My companion is Elder Harris, he is from Murray Utah.  He is good.  I think we'll get along just fine.  He does enjoy sports, which is always a plus.  It should be a good transfer though.  The district is, well big.  There are 4 sets of Sister missionaries, us and the Zone Leaders in our district.  Pretty crazy!  It is a big district, full of Sister missionaries.” 

“Blackman is great though and we have been focusing on working with the Ward Mission Leader in fulfilling the wards goals and so been focusing on the Less-Active people.  I have been meeting lots of good people, both members and non members.  I really enjoy it and have been having a good time.”

“And there sure are a lot of Sister missionaries!  In our district there are 8 Sister missionaries!  That alone is a big district, and then for Elders it is just us and the Zone Leaders.  But two of the Sister companionships will be turning into tripanionships.  So we are gonna have 10 sisters, and 14 total people in our district!  That is so crazy how huge it is!  It should be fun though.”

Food:

“The squirrel was good for what it is.  It wouldn't be my preference of meat, but for it being squirrel, it was actually decent.  I'll be sending home a picture of the squirrel and dumpling stew that we had.  It was crazy though!  I can finally say that I ate squirrel haha!”

Zone Conference:

“When you follow a GPS in the South you get an off roading experience!  The worst part about it is that it got our car all dirty and at Zone Conferences they do car checks and they're supposed to be clean.”

General Conference:

“There were some incredible teachings, and some very bold statements.  I always love how the Apostles never shy away from being bold, but so loving.  I am amazed always at the teaching, I just wish I could remember all the awesome quotes and each individual talk.  I surely am excited about getting the opportunity when they come out in the Ensign to be able to study them more in depth.  Some people surely are crazy though.  The teachings about how the church is always the same and will always be was pretty awesome.  I really thought it was awesome how several of them said that man can change laws and make immoral acts legal but they will never be allowed in God's kingdom.  Can I get an amen?!  But in all reality, the teachings were so amazing.  I am also excited to be able to study out my notes I took.”

Service:

“We also helped somebody move.  It was us and Brother Shields and the couple that we were moving.  And it was just a little townhouse, but they only had a Tacoma.  So we loaded it all up, trying to fit it all in one trip of course.  Well we played a nice game of tetris and filled it up as much as well possibly could.  Well there was a mattress on the right side of the truck standing up.  We are in Brother Shield's car following the Tacoma.  As we are driving the mattress is moving and what not.  Well, it folds over and half of it is now leaning outside of the truck.  Well we are just wondering how much longer it'll be before the mattress falls out when suddenly it nails a mail box!  We bust up laughing and are all amazed when suddenly it nails a second mail box.  It hit the second one hard enough to knock the mattress out and it was just sitting on the corner of the yard.  Luckily it didn't break the mail box or anything and it was an easy fix!  It was pretty funny though, I won't lie.”

Training and Facebook Missionary:

“I had received a call from President Andersen and was told I was training and that was all that he had said.  So we had to wait for the rest of the night to hear the final details.  Those final details revealed that I would in fact be staying in Blackman and that Elder Harris was leaving to Crossville.  I thought that was funny, he is gonna have to say hi to a lot of people for me over there!  But I am pretty excited to get the opportunity to train.  I think that it could be a lot of fun. So I have also become a Facebook missionary.  I will start online proselyting now, that'll definitely be interesting!  It is so crazy how the online efforts are going.  It is pretty awesome.”

“Training has been good.  Pretty stressful, I won't lie.  It is more difficult than I would have thought.  But it seems to be going good, I guess the only thing I can really do is be obedient and then rely on miracles from the Lord!  He promises to make me equal in all that I do and I have really been trying to rely on that promise.  My greenie is Elder Wilkinson.  He is from Seattle, WA.  He is a good missionary.  I just hope that I can be a good trainer to him.”

“Being a Facebook missionary is definitely interesting.  We basically do the same thing but online.  Share posts and updates that will spiritually uplift people, contact and talk to people that we are teaching, or less active people, or members.”

“Being a Facebook missionary is pretty cool though. I am very glad to hear that yall enjoy my posts.  I try to make them good and I sure hope that other people enjoy them as well!  It can be a pretty powerful thing.  It sure is neat getting to share the gospel online.  My companion is not yet a FB missionary as one ya can't be one until after the first 12 weeks, so when training is done.  But everything here and afar is going good with the teaching.  We have been working mostly with Less Active people in this area as well.  The Ward Mission Plan is to work with those who are not coming and we try to do our best to help with the WMP.  But the training as well is going good.  We seem to be doing good work.  He definitely is a good missionary, still has a lot to learn.  But he is probably with the wrong missionary to learn all of it as I still have oh so much to learn as well.  I think it is neat how we can always learn something new from all of our companions, even when they are brand new they still have something to teach their companions.” 

Weather:

“We had Tornado Warnings yesterday, but nothing happened.  The weather is starting to get cold.  It isn't terrible though.  TN gets some Tornadoes, but not too many.  They get a lot of warnings though.”

Testimony:

“It so awesome when people truly accept the gospel and let the pure love of Christ take over.  That is always something amazing.  The Gospel can always have a powerful effect upon people.  Just like Brad Wilcox states in the speech "His Grace is Sufficient" that isn't about being saved by grace, but being changed by grace.  And that is a very powerful thing when we truly allow gospel to firmly plant into our hearts and change us for the better.  That is something I have always enjoyed, is studying about the character of Christ and how his love on us can influence our lives.  I sure do love it!  Speaking of the character of Christ, Elder Bednar gave a bomb talk about that!”

“This last Friday I had the opportunity to be able to give two baptismal interviews, those are always so legit!  I really do enjoy them a lot.  Getting the opportunity to talk and discuss with soon to be new members is so much fun.  And getting the opportunity to hear their humble testimonies is a huge faith builder.  This work is a good work and I am ever so grateful for it!  It is always neat getting the opportunity to be here serving the Lord.”

As always, Elder Moore would love to hear from you! Send him a letter to:

Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027

Mayfield, Kentucky

Elder Moore has been serving in Mayfield, Kentucky for most of his mission. He has been serving there since April and he loves it there!

The Work:

"We have been teaching a lady who said that she would become a member of the Church if she knew the Book of Mormon was true.  It was a pretty cool experience though!  We were teaching Friday and we planned to read 2 Nephi 2 and go over a little bit of the Plan of Salvation with her.  When we first started Elder Day started with the question How do you expect and answer from the Holy Ghost to come?  And after he asked the question the Spirit took over right away and we got into a discussion about how the Holy Ghost works and how answers come.  We also talked about how God works by small and simple means and that learning come line upon line.  It was definitely an amazing experience and I am pretty positive we helped her realize that she can't try to learn every tidbit within the Book of Mormon right away but that it'll come little by little.  It was pretty awesome."

"We mostly knock on doors here in Mayfield.  A whole lot of tracting!  We don't even work with an entire stake.  We just cover a single ward, well here in Mayfield it is a branch.  Usually the Zones are the area of a Stake and each individual area is usually a ward/branch.  Sometimes there are two sets or more in a single area, like here we have a Spanish speaking and English speaking.  Our teaching goes well."

"We have also been trying to focus our efforts on the less active people.  That can be tough sometimes though.  Some people just don't understand.  Really makes me want to make sure that I never go less active because from what I have seen once you get out and comfortable it sure is difficult to get back into the swing of things!"

Weather:

"It has been pretty hot as well, and it has rained.  There was one day it down poured like crazy!  We were in the car and had just left our apartment after lunch and we were driving on the main road, as we were driving we see this wall and it kinda looked like a wall of fog.  As we get closer we sit it is a wall of rain!  It was crazy how much there was, ya could barely even see!  It was so crazy how much rain there was!"

"Pretty crazy how hot it has been back there, sure glad I am missing, but then again it can't be any worse than here.  Humidity is so annoying!"

Service:

"Every Thursday we go to a Food Pantry were they hand out bags of food to people who need it and we help there.  We fill the bags and put them into peoples cars.  I really love doing it!  And the people who are the main people there really appreciate our help so I am glad that we are very able to help out a lot."

"This week I also dumped chicks.  Lots of them!  We helped our Branch President with his job, well kind of.  We actually slow him down a little bit, but it is such an great experience I am glad that he gives us a chance to do it!  It was such a blast I really enjoy it. The chicks we dumped just get dumped into a barn and it isn't a conveyor belt, it is just a platform kind of thing that they slide down.  They raise the chicks, which they mature in about 6 weeks and send them out to factories like Tyson and others so that they can make their meats."

Temple Trip:

"We had the opportunity to go to the Temple.  It was so awesome. The Temple really is a beautiful place though!  It is so small, it is like a little pocket edition of Temples.  The crazy thing is that it is right next to a Stake Center and the Stake Center is probably bigger than the Temple!  But it is so beautiful. I dearly love the Temple.  I definitely enjoyed my Temple trip.  While in the Temple I was prompted to study the Atonement.  So while I was there I read in Luke about the suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Then I have been continuing the study of the Atonement the past couple days and will continue to study it in the days to come.  I have been reading in Preach My Gospel and True to the Faith and been looking up the scriptures.  I plan to study some talks by past apostles and prophets and reading about the Atonement in Jesus the Christ and in anything else that I can find.  It really is an incredible event.  Everything about it amazes me, it surely is a powerful thing.  All things within the gospel are made possible by it.  It amazes me how much love the Savior and Heavenly Father had for us to allow for such a thing as this to happen.  And I am dearly grateful, I am so excited to be able to study more and get more into.  It'll be a really, and has been, a great experience!"

Food:

For you all that know Cody well, you know how picky he is! He has tried so much new food and some crazy stuff that we are dying that he has eaten!

"Oh and by the way for dinner last Saturday I ate leugua de vaca.  Now since y’all don't understand Spanish I guess I'll have to translate.  That translates into Cow Tongue.  Yes y’all read it correctly, cow tongue!  Pretty crazy huh.  Thankfully I didn't know what it was while eating.  Then after dinner she showed all of us a picture on her phone and it was her holding up a cow tongue over the stove.  It wasn't terrible for what it was.  But if I had a choice I probably wouldn't eat it again."  

"I also made my first attempt at cooking eggs yesterday.  I am not sick so I must have cooked them good enough! haha!"

"Just thought I liked to tell ya that we get to eat Squirrel this next Tuesday!  I am pretty excited, I not gonna lie.  Hopefully it is good, but I'll do it just to say that I did it!"

As always, Elder Moore would love to hear from you! Send him a letter to:

Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027

The work in Mayfield

4^th of July:

“I was very tempted to buy fireworks, but I can't as a missionary.  Especially because bottle rockets and fire crackers are legal here in Kentucky, that even more so added to me wanting to buy some, but I didn't.  We were told to be back into the apartment by 7 on the 4th, so that was a different experience having to go in early.”

New Presidents:

“Our Zone Conference was really good.  It was pretty great to be able to meet President and Sister Andersen and to be able to be taught by them.  They truly have been called of God and I know that they will continue to lead this mission to greatness.  Nothing will be changing as President Andersen put it, if it is not broken why fix it?  Which is true, so no changes!  It was really neat to be able to hear from them though.  I always love hearing from the President though, they always have such amazing trainings.”

Weather:

“It is also getting very hot here.  Last week it hit triple digits on two of the days, I think it was Monday and Tuesday.  Pretty warm haha!  Makes riding bikes very fun, it actually isn't too bad, the part I hate the most is the sweat though.  My shirts get soaked from sweat, especially on the back where my backpack sits.”

“We do not have to wear jackets, which is very nice.  The only time we wear jackets are for meetings and church.”

The Work:

“All is well here in Kentucky, we mostly focus on finding people.  There usually isn't too many people who are receptive, they just mostly tell us that they go to a church and know Jesus and that they are saved.  Most are generally polite while saying it, but sometimes there are some door slams and not very happy people.  Some people just get so frustrated by even looking at us. We do a lot of tracting, but we mostly try and get in contact with our potential investigators.”

“There are some good investigators that are starting to be found as we continue to work.  Pretty crazy things people can be found through the simplest of ways.”

“One of my favorite things about being a missionary is being able to teach people and see that light click on when it all makes sense or rings true to them.  It is really neat to see that and get to experience it.  So I do enjoy that, and something I think is funny is that everybody always waves, or yells something out the window, and sometimes even throws stuff.  That is always fun haha.  I sure do love it!”

The Reward:

“Shayman was baptized this Saturday and confirmed a member and received the Holy Ghost on Sunday. It was such a great experience to be a part of; it was so awesome to see how happy he was. What a blessing the gospel brings, it truly does have a sense of Eternal Happiness to it. A happiness that can never rot or be broken down. I think when the scriptures talk about treasures laid up in Heaven, one of those treasures is happiness. I did have to give a talk on Baptism and we made the program and everything. Brother Estes baptized Shayman.”

“I did attend that Worldwide Broadcast, it was pretty awesome. There definitely is a sense of urgency, and for good reason! Not even the fact that time is winding down, as each day is one day closer, but in my opinion more so the fact that the world is getting more and more wicked. As we need the gospel in our lives just to be able to make it day by day, it is such a crucial thing to be truly happy. But there definitely is a sense of urgency to the Work and we definitely wanna Catch the Wave!”

“I am learning a lot and loving it a lot. It is incredible how much there is to learn in the gospel. I feel like sometimes I don't have enough time to study. I just I can become better and better each day and be the type of missionary that Heavenly Father can trust to watch over this part of His vineyard.”

As always, Elder Moore would love to hear from you! Send him a letter to:

Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027

Mayfield Kentucky

Tracting:

“We have done lots of tracting this week, really been trying to find some new investigators.”

“Then on Friday it was raining really hard and we were out tracting.  Nobody on the road we were knocking was home.  But we knocked on this one door and a man opened, surprised to see us out in the rain.  He asked us what we were doing and we tell him and he invites us but says he won't listen to anything we say.  So we just start talking about him and getting to know him and stuff and eventually he gets to asking us where our church was and stuff.  So we tell him and he then says we can talk about what we need to talk about.  So we get into teaching him the Restoration and he was very interested by it.  We gave him a Book of Mormon and tell him about Moroni's Promise and he said he would read it.  We set up a day to come back this next week and he said it would be hard to read all of the Book of Mormon by that time but that he would do it.  We explained we didn't expect him to read all of it by our next visit, but he was set on reading it.  We should be seeing him Thursday so I'll have to let y’all know how it goes.”

Testimony:

“We 
had a really great church service yesterday too. It was fast and
testimony meeting and all the testimonies were so good and the Spirit
was definitely present. It was kind of a crazy experience, this one
man was talking about how he had a child who at birth the umbilical
cord wrapped around his neck and he passed away. He talked about his
experiences and the testimony of life after death. He said that no
sin is worth forfeiting his chance to live with his son again and that
his son is worth everything in his power to make it there someday. It
was a powerful testimony and the only thing I could think of was Tate,
I know he is there waiting for us and he is strengthening us in times
of need and cheering for us that we will be worthy to be where he is
right now. My testimony for life after death has increased so much
since being out here and it is something I have never really
understood. But I understand that Heavenly Father truly loves us and
wants us to succeed and so are our loved ones who have passed on.”

“It goes to
show that sometimes our most improvement in our spirituality is
through the hard times. It makes me think of Elder Cook's talk "Hope
Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time", I have always loved that talk, but in it
he shares a quote from President Harold B. Lee which says “Sometimes
the things that are best for us and the things that bring eternal
rewards seem at the moment to be the most bitter..." How true is it!
When we are at our lowest points in all humbleness is when we can grow
closer to Christ. Just read the Book of Mormon, it shows that
hundreds of times with the Pride Cycle. Unfortunately for them they
kept falling and got prideful though.”

“The gospel truly is so great as y’all have said.  I remember in the MTC when we got the chance to hear Elder Holland speak he said "Everything I love is because of the Church."  That statement has stuck with me since he said it and it rings so true.  The gospel truly is the source for happiness.  It is such a great blessing to have and I am so grateful for these two years I have to serve the Lord.  Though it may be short, at least I get two years to do so as some people don't even get that chance. “

“It truly is amazing how you can see the blessings of Heavenly Father everyday, even when they may not be the best days there is still a visible blessings constantly.  And though things might get tough it is incredible to think we can always rely on the Lord.  I know that He doesn't set us up for failure, He gives us commandments and then provides the way for us that we may accomplish them.  It is hard to believe how some people can so easily/quickly reject the message we share.  Some don't even give us a chance to say anything, it definitely is sad that they're not giving themselves a chance to hear this message.”

Bed:

When we were able to talk to Cody on Mother’s Day, we found out that his apartment only had one bed and he had been sleeping on the floor, but he really liked it. Since then he has gotten a bed.

“So I got a bed last Friday!  Woo-hoo! The bed is very nice and I enjoy sleeping in it.  The ground wasn't too bad, but the bed is better.”

Weather:

“We did have some severe weather but it wasn't too terrible.  I do enjoy heavy rainstorms... As long as I'm inside, but it is just so cool to watch and listen to it.”

“It has been getting more and more warm, but it isn't too bad yet.”

Food:

“One of my favorite things is chicken Alfredo or pulled pork sandwiches with BBQ sauce.”

Bikes:

“On Thursday we were riding our bikes and I got a flat!  I bought some of that green goop stuff that you put inside the tires to fix it and as I was pumping the tire it exploded!  So that was pretty crazy, guess the tire was old and weak.  I had to buy a new inner tube..  So that quite exciting though.”

To Mom:

“I love and appreciate all ya do for me and I know that you do support me fully.  It is funny because yesterday in Sacrament Meeting we had to give a talk about our mothers and it was great to be able to reflect back and think about how much ya have helped me and prepared me for this time.  I truly do love ya and appreciate all that ya do/did for me!”

Don't forget to send Elder Moore a letter!

Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027

Goodbye Tennessee, Hello Kentucky

Elder Moore is out of Crossville, Tennesse and is now serving in Mayfield, Kentucky. Here is how the past month has been going for him!

First Week in Mayfield:

"The area is pretty great and it is a small branch of probably 30-40 active members... If even that.  But it seems like a strong branch thus far and the people are pretty great.  It still seems a lot like Tennessee except people are UK/Louisville fans instead of UT fans.  And also they say "tuck" but it means "take" or "took" so that really through me off at first.  The accents are a little different but not too different.  I can still understand them for the most part.  To get here we have Transfer Meetings in Nashville and meet up there and stuff and then head up.  So it was a 2 1/2 hour drive from Crossville to Nashville then from Nashville to Mayfield was probably another 2 1/2 hours.  We do a lot more bike riding and walking here and so that has been something.  On Wednesday we walked pretty much all day, and it was a down pour.  We live about 2-3 miles outside of town, so we drove our car to the CVS Pharmacy and parked it there and then walked until dinner time.  It was raining so much that it actually soaked through our rain coats a little bit!"

Food:

"I did try a hamburger and that is crazy for me! I thought it was pretty good. Nothing too crazy for me yet, but there is a family who is fixin' to have us over for squirrel! I hope that I get that chance cuz that is straight up southern food!" 

"Blue Bell ice cream is the best ice cream in the country.  It is only available in the South though!  But it surely is delicious!"

"So this last week I tried probably one of the best desserts in the world.  Deep Fried Oreos!  They are very delicious, it was incredible how good they were."

"Another crazy thing, KFC has a buffet out here!  It is $6 or so and you can get all you can eat and such!  Pretty awesome, I had some chicken and potatoes and lots of biscuits and jello and pudding!" 

Temple Trip:

"We got to do a Temple Trip on Brady's Birthday, it was great!  But we had to wake up at 3:45!  We had to leave by 4:30 to get to Jamestown by 5:30 (because we got a ride with the members who were driving the Elders in Jamestown).  Then it takes about 3-3 1/2 hours to get to Franklin from Jamestown, so it was a pretty long day.  But it was all worth it!  Temple trips are so great, I surely do love the chance of going to the Temple.  It was so nice and I enjoyed it very much."

The Work:

"We did have a pretty great lesson this week.  We mostly talked about coming unto Christ and the Book of Mormon.  The Spirit was very strong and I know that she felt it was well.  We also talked a little bit about Eternal Families and how through this message she can live with her family forever.  It really was a great lesson, we watched a Mormon Messages video about the parable of Justice and Mercy with the creditor and debtor and how the debtor can't pay the creditor in full and then Christ gives the Creditor justice by giving him the payment in full and the debtor gets mercy because now Christ is his "creditor."  It was good though and she really enjoyed the message as well!  I think that if we could just get her to come to Church she would love it and enjoy it and want to be baptized.  Hopefully we will get her to church soon though!"

"I have to give a District Meeting Training this Wednesday on the talk "You Matter to Him" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf and one of the side subjects I was going to bring up was Christlike attributes and the enabling power of the Atonement.  Do you get the Ensigns?  Because there is a really great article in it called "The Enabling Power of the Atonement" in there and it truly is wonderful.  I love reading it and you are so right about it being able to help us in all aspects of our lives.  If more people would realize that, they would truly become closer to Christ and be completely converted."

"Since being on my mission I have grown to love the song "There is Sunshine in My Soul."  I love it so much because it is just so happy and cheery and when things seem to be going bad I'll just start singing it and it makes things more happy and upbeat, like walking in the rain.  Going along with what you said, it really is a lot about attitude; I got this poem about attitude that is very great.  I've been trying to memorize so I can recite and keep it in my mind to have a positive attitude about everything no matter what happens."

Weather:

"We didn't get hit with much snow at all, especially compared to Utah.  It has mostly just been bitter cold!  But it is all well, the snow is much different here than in Utah though.  The flakes are a lot smaller and they don't stick very well.  It mostly just flurries when it "snows."

Testimony:

"It truly is a wonderful thing to know that the Lord puts these opportunities in our path but He doesn't expect us to do it alone.  He provides many ways in which we can gain His help and we can see the blessings from Him."

"The Atonement is quite an amazing blessing and makes the future so promising.  The more I learn the more excited I get about the Gospel.  Because of the Atonement, we will get the opportunity to live with Heavenly Father for all eternity as long as we remain faithful to the covenants we have made and what not.  But it so great to think about." 

"I will say, being in the South, my love for the Bible has greatly increased.  And therefore my love for the Book of Mormon has greatly increased because the Bible can be so confusing but the Book of Mormon can help you understand more so those things.  I couldn't imagine only having one or the other.  Both are so great, and our standard works is a huge blessing to be able to have!"

Don't forget to send Elder Moore a letter!

Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027

Tennessee

The Work:
"I'm in an area called Crossville. It is about 30 minutes away from Knoxville, and 3 and 1/2 hours away from Nashville. There is only one ward in the area but a lot of good people here in the ward and they feed us well."
"The people here are usually very nice, every once in awhile we get a door slammed in our face. I laughed the first time it happened. It is actually kind of funny in my opinion."
"We don't have many people to teach right now. We try to visit some less active people and part member families and share a message with them. We did pick up 7 potential investigators through tracking so hopefully they'll be willing to hear our message. We are getting more and more potential investigators everyday and that is really good."

Weather:
"We got some snow. They cancelled church because of it. Pretty crazy! There wasn't even an inch and it all melted by 1:00 PM. But I guess for those who live in the backwoods don't get plows out there and it can be pretty icy."
"It is mostly just windy here. All day pretty much everyday. I guess the wind is super common here." 
"The humidity just cuts right through you. It makes it so much colder because of all the humidity down here."

Teachings from Elder Oaks:
"Elders Oaks came to talk to us. He talked about missionary work of course. He gave us this story about he takes his grandchildren fishing but never catches anything because he is constantly helping his grandkids and only has his line in the water for about 15 minutes or so. He related it to us by saying that it doesn't matter how long we are away from the apartment, but rather how long we have our lines in the water. We won't 'catch our fish' is our 'lines aren't in the water'. We must be searching for people and not just being out and about. He also talked about being an instrument in the Lord's hands. He used a pen for this example and said that the pen is an instrument, but for the pen to be a good instrument, it must be filled with ink as we must be filled with the knowledge of the gospel. Then he said that for it to work, all parts must be present and working (the spring, clicker, and all other mechanics of a pen) and we must be all working and healthy and following the rules. We cannot have a broken part or we won't be effective instruments. He also talked a lot about the Spirit and how we can better follow it and make better studies. That is that we must always pray before. He said 'The scriptures are inspired writing, so we must be inspired when reading them to better understand.' I loved that. That is so very true! It is very easy to see the difference in studies when you have the Spirit and when you don't. It also isn't necessarily about praying though, but rather praying with real intent. Praying to just pray is pointless. We must truly mean what we say and truly have that desire to have the Spirit to be with us."

Testimony:
"I sure love the Atonement, it truly is one of my favorite topics to study. Christ gave so much, so much that we can't even comprehend what He went through. There is a talk I found by Bruce R McConkie where he goes over the Atonement step by step and describes each part. It is so powerful! Definitely makes one think about the Atonement in a new way."
"I love the gift of the Holy Ghost. Although I do not fully understand, I continue to put an effort to learn more and more about it. There are so much wonderful things about this message and it is so sad that someone could reject it."

Cody is loving Tennessee. He loves the work and being an instrument in the Lord's hand. 
He does, however, want to hear from you! So send him a letter!
Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027

MTC

Learning the Work:
"It is very crazy how much there is to learn to here. You are constantly learning something and it is really great. One missionary pointed out that the MTC could stand for Make The Change, I really liked that because we do need to make the change. Whether we don't have a strong testimony, are shy, or just don't know the doctrines all that well."
"Our teachers are really great. He never gives us straight answers, he always answers with another question to make us find the answer ourselves. He has also really helped us with our TRC Investigator and making connections with some scriptures that we didn't see ourselves."
"I am learning lots and am becoming better and better at following the Spirit when teaching. We must learn from the Spirit and know that the Spirit teaches best when we are working for an answer. The investigator must feel the Spirit and have that change of heart and desire to change. They won't be converted unless they find out for themselves. Silence can be a good thing, as that really allows for the Spirit to teach and testify. Teaching is a 3 way communication between the missionary, investigator, and the Holy Ghost."
"I just love how strong the Spirit is here. Even when role playing, you can get a grand spiritual experience. Every practice feels so realistic, and we act like it is, and as long as you follow the Holy Ghosts promptings, teaching will become easy and you'll be able to have that self conversion. Another acronym for the MTC is My True Conversion. It is so vital that you feel that self conversion before you go out and teach others."

Excited to serve:
"MTC is still fun, but definitely can't wait to get out into the field. I got an email from my mission president where he basically copied and pasted parts of other missionaries weekly letter and it sounds like it is a very active mission down there! Tons of baptisms going on and it is really growing fast. I've very excited to get down there and help out in the work!"

Elder Moore left the MTC on Monday, January 21, to fly out to his mission to serve in the Nashville Tennessee mission. Cody enjoyed the MTC but is very excited to get out and serve!

MTC Bound

On January 2, Elder Moore departed to the Provo MTC. 

On the evening before, Cody was busy getting packed, learning how to iron a shirt from Brady, playing games, and saying his last goodbyes to his friends.

 

  

 

 

 

 He was told to report at 1 PM so he still had most of the morning with his family. After being set apart by the stake president, we headed out to have one last family meal at Paradise Bakery.

After breakfast, we all headed back to home to enjoy each others company. 

 

 

 

After his final see ya in 2, Elder Moore headed down to the MTC to receive his training for the next few weeks before departing to the Nashville TN mission.

 

 

 

 

 

We are so excited for what the next 2 years will bring for Cody. Although it is hard to say good bye and see him go, we know he is doing the right thing! Cody is anxious and excited to serve! He has prepared his whole life for a mission and now it's here! 

Check back often for updates on how Elder Moore is doing!