Nauvoo Week 8

Helloooooo!!
Wow this week was great!!! I had so many great experiences and opportunities to share my testimony with people, I love being a missionary!
On Sunday, Sister Miskin and I had the opportunity to teach Sunday School. Let me give you my perspective: We had to teach a topic from the Old Testament in the Bible to over 250 people who are almost all missionaries. Ahhhhh!!! That was so so scary! Sister Miskin and I got 2 weeks in advance notice to do that and we worked so so hard to be in tune with the Spirit and teach what we needed to. Wow it went so much better than I expected! A lot of people after the lesson came up to us and thanked us for giving them a new perspective on things. The big question we asked all of them was "How can we be more about 'What God thinks of me' rather than 'What the world thinks of me'?" Are we too concerned with what people around us might be thinking of us? Do we let our actions be swayed based on how people will react? Do we ever think,"Would I do this if Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were right here with me"? The sooner we can think about what God would rather us do rather than what the people around us would have us do, the sooner we become stronger and closer to God.
On Sunday we worked at the Lyon Drug again, its such a fun little place to be! Lots of families come to that site.
Monday and Tuesday we worked at the Seventies Hall. The Seventies Hall is basically the first MTC, that's where the men of Nauvoo would go to learn about public speaking, the different cultures of the world, and more about the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is so cool to teach people about the importance of missionary work. A huge youth group came in, about 45 of them were in there, and we did a little readers theater with them. They got to act like missionaries being called on missions. It touched so many of them, I saw it click in their eyes that they needed to be missionaries. Wow it was so great to work there!
On Tuesday the Pageant cast got here and started rehearsals. Oh they are so much fun to watch!! I can't wait for when the shows start! I was asked to put my knowledge of ASL to use. They need interpreters for the shows and they need my help. There's a huge book that has the script in it, I've got to learn it pretty fast... It won't just be me, there's 7 sisters here who know ASL, which is a relief! All the missionaries were also asked to sing at the end of the pageant show. We sing 3 songs, Called to Serve, Say What is Truth and Redeemer of Israel. Ahhhh I'm so excited I can't wait for it to start!!
Wednesday and Thursday we worked in the Riser Boot Shop. Its this adorable little building where a man named George Riser made shoes and boots. I got to teach people his story and then show them how they made shoes back then. Its so fun!! We were really busy both days, its a popular spot for people. However on Thursday I got sick for a little bit. It just knocked me down, I couldn't even stand up. Sister Miskin had to teach a bunch of people by herself. She's amazing I love her!! I got better pretty fast, but it was really weird for that to happen! So many youth groups keep coming to see us. They come by the bus-load, its fantastic!


This week was a really important and memorable day for the whole church. On the 27th was the day Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered in Carthage Jail. We had a commemoration on Wednesday to honor their memory and all the good they did. The sister missionaries were asked to sing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" and the message just hit the crowd like a wave. I love hymns, it is an incredible way to share testimony. I got to testify of Joseph Smith that day, I know he is a true prophet. I know he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know he translated The Book of Mormon through the power of God. If you don't have a testimony of Joseph Smith, I plead with you to find out more. However, you must look at the right sources. Search through scripture instead of Google!
Something that stood out to me a lot this week was a devotional President Nelson gave this last Sunday. He taught that we really need to call the church by its correct name. It is not the Mormon Church, it is not the LDS Church. It is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We also need to join in with the youth in gathering Israel. Now is a critical day and age. Can't you feel it? Can't you feel this urgency to start getting to work? It drives my every action and fills my entire being! We need to stand out from the world, we need to be good examples. Gathering Israel means gathering all the people of the world. It has been prophesied since the beginning of time that every nation, kindred, tongue and people will hear the truth of Jesus Christ. Everyone will have the chance to hear about it, but sadly not everyone will accept it. President Nelson has asked us, which literally means that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have asked us, to let people know about the glorious truth and message of Jesus Christ. You don't have to have a missionary name tag to do this! Invite people to church, strike up a conversation about something great you read in The Book of Mormon, be a good example, share an uplifting thought on social media, talk to people and ask how their day is going, see if there's anything you can do to help. Wow there is so much we can do to be missionaries!!
I love this work. I love my Savior! I love that I can teach people about Him. Not only has He felt all the pains and sorrows we've felt, but He can take those away from us! We can ALWAYS turn to Him, even if we think we don't deserve it. If you aren't sure how to get this connection or how to ask for Christ's help, please just ask! I'd love to help any way I can. Your Bishop would love to help. Other missionaries would love to help. There is no reason not to ask, you're just a question away from getting an answer to a prayer or getting relief from a trial.
I truly love all of you so much! You mean the world to me! Keep being the wonderful people that I know you are!
Love,
Sister Taylor

P.S.- Would you like a more descriptive email about the places I work? I've thought about making another emailing list of the sites and the information that I teach in them. If you'd like to hear about them, let me know and I'll email it to you!