I'm No Good at Goodbyes!

Another week, another transfer, and another area.

That’s right, I’m getting moved once again, this time to Selsdon. So much change. But the good thing about leaving is that it gives you time to be grateful. I love the people of Epsom. I don’t know how, but it feels like every time I move, I fall even more in love with each area. This last week, I’ve truly fallen in love with the UK.

It’s no secret that I’ve had a hard time being away from the U.S. Even though I’ve loved everyone I’ve served, I just haven’t felt like I belong. But this last week, that all changed. Maybe it’s the weather, or maybe it’s just the time I’ve spent here—but I really feel like the UK is becoming a home I love.

Last Thursday, I met with the second counselor in the bishopric. Turns out he’s a black belt in the Chinese martial art Sanshou, and every Wednesday he and another black belt train together. He invited me to join, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. A few non-members came as well, and I got to connect with a lot of people and learn so much. I absolutely loved it.

On Sunday, Paul and I had our last run. Part of me worried that because I was connecting so personally with people, they might stop coming to church after I left. I thought they were coming just to see me—and at first, that might’ve been true. But as we’ve continued to invite with the mindset, “Come as you are, don’t plan to stay as you are,” all my friends have made commitments to come to church next week. :) That makes me so happy! When I connect with people, I’m able to invite them into life-changing experiences. After that, it’s up to them—and our Savior, to change their hearts. And it works!!

I love you all, and I’m going to miss Epsom and Elder Fenton. But next stop: Selsdon!

Elder Hixon

Miracles! Too Many to Mention!

Hi everyone! :)

As you all know, during my last week in Kingston, after much prayer, I decided to leave all my boxing equipment there—except for some weighted gloves that Smitty gave me.

I didn’t know what to expect after that. I still feel a strong desire to pursue boxing when I get home, and I don’t feel like God was telling me not to. He was just saying, “Trust Me.” So I did, and this transfer has been filled with blessings. It wasn’t a miracle with a direct, obvious correlation, but I know I was blessed for my sacrifice.

The first miracle was running with Paul. It helps keep my mind and body healthy, and it gives me the chance to minister to the one. Running during the mission isn’t easy, you have to convince your companion to spend time running with you or just watching you. So being able to teach Paul while we run has been a huge blessing.

The second miracle: I learned that the Church does kickboxing every Wednesday. You can imagine how happy I was to hear that. I gave up something I loved, and God returned something even better. The ward member who hosts it is a high-level kickboxer. Even though this is exactly what I’ve been looking for, I was still hesitant, because after I left my heavy bag, I also promised God I wouldn’t use His time to train. But this member, who’s in the bishopric, told me that 10–15 non-members come every week! It’s a perfect opportunity to use my talents to meet people where they are. I’m so excited.

God really does bless me as I follow Him. Seeking the Holy Ghost is the most important decision in my life, and nothing will ever come before that.

I love you all :)

Elder Hixon

Finding the Why

Last Week

On Wednesday, we had interviews. This transfer, I’ve struggled a little with what I thought I was hearing from others, it seemed to conflict with what the Spirit was telling me. I expressed to President Sinclair my worries about my shortcomings in discipleship. Even though I’m doing my best, maybe I’m doing something wrong. He gave me this counsel: focus on how my actions align with my key indicators for conversion.

Listening to the advice of my brothers beforehand, I humbled myself quickly and followed President Sinclair’s counsel. But I didn’t fully understand it until Sunday. A family in the ward had us over for lunch that afternoon, they’re the best. They have four sons who are great friends, so it was a really fun time. The father asked me about mission culture and what I thought would happen if I participated in church activities and other events that aren’t typical missionary work.

It was the Spirit’s response to that question that helped me internalize what President Sinclair had taught me. I told him it’s not so much about what we’re doing, but where our focus lies. The Lord can magnify our efforts—if I’m diligent, He can magnify almost anything. Preach My Gospel says again and again, “The Lord will magnify your ___ as you ___.”

So where does our focus lie? Am I going to the store just because I want something, or am I hoping to meet someone who needs Christ? Am I attending a youth activity because I’m tired of proselyting, or because I want to inspire and encourage those youth who have a natural gift to love their friends to invite others to partake in greater joy?

My why is much more important than the how. That’s how I see it, anyway. And as I’ve kept my purpose at the center, everything else seems to fall into place.

Love you all again,

Elder Hixon

Running with the Spirit!

 Two Weeks Ago

We started off the week with another run with Paul—we ran 10 miles. I believe God gives us our interests and passions so we can use them to grow closer to Christ. Many of Jesus’s parables were based on things familiar to the people He was teaching. On my run with Paul, I tried to do the same. I let him lead the conversation as he taught me about historic battles and the origin of the marathon.

As some of you know, I also love history. One topic that fascinated me in my youth was the Das Unterseeboot, also known as a U-boat, a German submarine. As we ran and talked, I found myself in a prayerful state, wondering what to say. But then I felt rebuked by the Spirit. I realized I shouldn’t be focused on what I want to say, I need to listen intently. Listen to my friend and to the Spirit. My goal is to be a conduit between the two, like an interpreter.

It’s far from perfect, but hopefully you understand the model: I listen to my friend, relay that to the Spirit, and then listen to the Spirit and relay that to my friend. The Spirit doesn’t always give a word for word response, He prompts me, and then uses the knowledge I’ve previously acquired to allow me to participate in my friend’s conversion.

In that moment, I felt prompted to shift the topic to historic art. I mentioned my favorite painting: The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel. If you’re not familiar with it, it depicts Lucifer as he’s being cast down. In his expression, you can identify many traits of the natural man; lust, pride, shame, guilt, and anger. I think it’s a truly beautiful painting.

I told Paul about it, and he asked why Lucifer was cast out. That gave me the opportunity to walk him through the entire Plan of Salvation. It turned into a wonderful lesson, the Spirit was strong, and Paul was fully engaged. He then shared with me the story of the warrior Ammon, and I invited him to read about Ammon in the Book of Mormon, which he accepted.

It was a good day, and one that reminded me of this truth from Preach My Gospel:

“And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” —Doctrine and Covenants 42:14

If Cal Hixon were to go out saying what he thought was best, no one would be converted unto the Lord. If Elder Hixon were to do the same, the result would be no different. People might be baptized, but my calling is higher than that, it is to bring people unto Christ, one by one. That will be my lifelong mission. And it’s only possible if I follow and respond to the Spirit’s promptings.

Love you all :)

True Friendship

Hi! Ok let's get straight to the good news of the week! Jo got baptized! It was truly a wonderful time, it reminded of Mateo's baptism. It was just really good :)

Now I want to share one experience that has brought a lot of light to my life long journey toward authentic discipleship.

The week before Jo got baptized his dad Paul came to church. I got to meet him and he is super nice and he loves the Arizona Cardinals! But other than connecting and talking a bit I didn't get his number or anything. Then he came to Jo's Baptism and he came over and said H

hi to me. We started chatting and I found out he likes to go running. (I am not a good runner but I have run a lot because of boxing). So I told him we should go running sometime. I naturally get very excited about things and I have heard it can be contagious because he started to get excited as well. So we went our separate ways with no plan in place. After the baptism I walked back over to him and I asked him what time he would like to go running. He said tomorrow morning at 6. Now this was a Saturday so the next day was Sunday. One thing my Dad has taught me since President Nelson's talk about the Sabbath day is asking myself what is my sign to God. Ever since I really learned what he meant, I have never justified another activity on Sunday, I have done things that show God it is His day. With that in mind physical exercise is not something I normally do on Sunday, however I knew my purpose, I knew the sign I was showing to God was not about staying in shape, it was about caring for one of his lost sheep. So I say awesome and we plan it and my only goal is to make another friend. To make a genuine connection because Jo has become a genuine friend. And so we meet up, we run over two hills back and forth so Elder Fenton can be in sight and sound, and we just start talking as we are running. Talking about everything. We talked all about my life experiences, what his advice is and naturally it led to how I became a missionary. 

As the conversation flowed I taught him the entire restoration including the different witnesses of the Book of Mormon and the beauty of how it testifies of Christ. I told him that I truly was converted from reading the scriptures every day, and he said he is going to start doing it. It was a super spirit filled time. One of the biggest on my mission, and it all started with the desire to be a true friend. That is something my mom taught me.

I was thinking the other day about something I shared in my farewell talk. It was about when I was 11 and my scout group had only 3 people. I loved them but there isn't a ton of games you can do with so few people. I expressed my concerns to my mom and she simply said, "start making friends and invite one to scouts". So I did, and the friend that came has taught me more lessons about missionary work than anyone or anywhere else. Cash came to scouts and became one of my best friends. After a few months his family (who at the time was less active which I didn't know) started to come to church and they were reactivated. One simple, and in the words of Elder Lambert "woefully inadequate" 11 year old boy looking for friends got to partake of the fruits of the gospel.

It's taken me all of my short life and 7 months on my mission to truly begin to understand this principle. Because of this family, I will never forget the importance of making friends again.

Once again all my love to you guys! 

Elder Hixon 

Trash and Changes

Ok I am so sorry but last week I just forgot to send a weekly so you will get two this week!

So we were running around all last week trying to see as many members as possible, and for some reason I just felt like picking up trash everywhere I went. There are lots of bottles of vodka, trash wrappers, and other grosser things in the streets so I followed the little prick and started picking them up. Now nothing crazy happened. We didn't get some amazing physical miracle dropped in front of us but I did learn a valuable lesson. A lesson of great worth. More than I could imagine for simply picking up trash.

As I was picking up trash I really started to see the effects of people being too lazy to throw things away. I decided then and there that that would never be me. It made me think about some of God's commandments. One I thought of was serving others. When I serve others, a little like like picking up trash, I feel the spirit and I feel good. As I serve, I also start to develop a spirit that would never want to hurt anyone. You could liken that to the same feeling as never wanting to litter. It's like living a lower law elevates us to want to live in a higher and holier way. Doing the smaller thing helps us not only use self control in keeping God's laws but it also changes our literal spirit toward a desire to live a higher law. I believe serving changes who we are. If I struggle with getting mad and saying unkind things I need to serve. If I struggle with being 100% faithful and honest, I need to serve. Through service we can open the door for the Lord to change our hearts. Our desires begin to align with Christ and then we can become His true representatives. Jesus Christ refers to Himself repeatedly as the Father. Since the Trinity became a thing in the 4th century, its polluted His message. What Christ teaches me when He says "I am the Father" is that His very being is aligned with God so there is no distinction. I am striving for that unity of purpose as well. We all are. As I strive to have the same desires as Christ, I can more Boldy represent him. 

In Hebrews we learn about the word Boldness. It means authority. With authority I teach and invite. But whose authority? God's. God is the only person in existence with authority, Christ's authority comes from Him and so does mine. But I need to continue to change. Not just change my actions, but my desires. I need Him to help me do that. I need to engross myself in service so God can mold my soul to become more like Him. If I can work to become better at that on my mission I will become more like Him which will be better than anything I could hope for.

Love you all!

Elder Hixon 

Desirable Fruits!

The week went by too fast! Wednesday we had a visit from President Cook! And Saturday we had stake conference. And also on Saturday Jo set a baptismal date! Lots of good things happened this week!

One thing that put my heart at rest was what President Cook was teaching. Everything he was saying was another testimony to what I have felt is right, to what Brother Vargas had said and to everything I have been learning. Another interesting thing was what happened once I fully submitted myself to the mission defined standards.

Some of you might not know this but in the England London Mission we have an additional set of standards to compliment the ones the church has put out. I had a difficult time with these because they were very constraining. But I found out that one of the people who were responsible for the creation of these was my current companion  *wow*. When I found this it I decided that I really wanted to sustain him, so for 3 weeks I was completely obedient to each and everyone, I studied and applied. But after the three weeks we got a notification saying that the standards have been updated and a lot of the direct rules are gone. It was almost as if God was telling me, "I don't care what you are actually doing but I care that you love me enough to be obedient." I feel really grateful that I had that change of heart that let me see some of the fruits of this obedience :)

God works in mysterious ways. About 2 and a half months ago I started practicing português and I still am not very good at it but I met a ward member in Kingston who is still teaching me.  I got to the point where I can set up lessons on my own. Once that happened we started getting three português referrals about every two days and I was so excited! Now the referrals have calmed back down but just by attempting to follow the spirit, God multiplied my efforts. Once again I was able to partake of another fruit, the fruit of diligence.

And now back to Jo, Jo is super cool. He was being taught for a while before I got to the area and I wasn't going to jump in and offer him a baptismal date so I just started to get to know him. And would you know it he also loves combat sports so we clicked really fast. We met up at the park and just basically had another recent convert and Jo teach the plan of salvation to another friend we are teaching. And at the end I interrupted and said, "Jo I want you to pray for a baptismal date and I'll call you this weekend and we will pray together and set it" Had I not taken the time to get to know and understand Jo, that invitation may not have carried as much meaning. But he did pray. I did pray. And then my companion and I prayed. Then all three of us prayed together. And we landed on May 31st!! That is the last fruit I want to highlight this week. The fruit of connecting!

When we partake of desirable fruit we want to share it. That's the entire tree of life and Alma 36. So these are the fruits I tasted and I liked them. So thank you for letting me share them :)

Love you all

Elder Hixon 

Friends!

Another week has flown by!! There’s so much on my mind that I’m not sure I can even type out an email—but let’s see :)

This week started off really well. Thank you to everyone who reached out about last week's email. You brought some joy my way.

I've been thinking a lot about the changing of the word “investigator” to “friend.” When I “make” a new friend, am I really making one? Do I truly care about this person? Do they know that I care? And do I actually know them? This week, I can honestly say the answer is 100% yes. I’ve made so many friends, and it makes me so happy. These are people I would truly be sad to leave—just like it was in Kingston. And to me, that means I’m doing the Lord's work. I’ve made real connections and brought people closer to Him—not always through words, but through love.

In Preach My Gospel, there’s an incredible promise: if we’re feeling the Spirit, the people we’re teaching are feeling it too. That gives me so much comfort and motivation.

I don’t want these emails to turn into just a list of “what I learned this week,” but maybe they’ve always been that, haha. But just know—if my biggest “hangovers” are other people’s challenges and the doctrine of missionary work, I’m think I'm doing alright. Life is good here :)

One thing I’ve noticed on my mission is how much my empathy is growing. This week I listened to a member share the story of their home country, which is still fighting for freedom and often experiences terrorist attacks—both for religious and societal reasons. It made me genuinely sad. Honestly, a little angry. It got me thinking about what service for my country might look like someday—but that’s next year's problem for Cal :)

For now, that friend and I have decided to fast together for his country this Sunday. And anytime he fasts in the future, he’ll shoot me a text and I’ll join him. That kind of connection is one of the many powerful and heartbreaking stories you hear here in London. I am learning how much I love these people.

Because of the incredible immigration in this city, London doesn’t always feel like “England”—and frankly, I quite like it. For a few hours at a time, it feels like I’m in Ghana, then Brazil, then Korea, Nigeria, Turkey, and so on. I feel truly blessed to be serving people from all nations, kindreds, and tongues. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

To close, I just want to say how much I love you all. I feel so grateful for every person who takes the time to read these thoughts. Knowing that there are people I love that care about my journey and my growth in Christ means the world to me. 

Some days, it would be nice to hear Rich say “Up Tonga,” or relate a workday to a scripture, or take a wild trip with the young men, or change Ebut’s oil for mutual. But I’m where God wants me. And I know this isn’t just what He permits—it’s what He prefers.

Love you all,
Elder Hixon

Isso é muito bom

This week was amazing! Started off pretty sad saying goodbye to everyone, leaving Kingston, and then some really great missionaries went home so it was a bummer. But then everything just shifted. Something just took hold of me and I know it was my Savior. I found opportunity and joy everywhere the entire way to my new home. I even got someone's number walking home! It was a blessed time. We went on the whole week just practicing more and more of that authentic discipleship. We tried having quality time with each person we talked to. Every time we prayed to leave the flat we didn't pray for a number of people to find but that we could have positive interactions with every single person we come across. Having that in mind has changed everything! Even when we are in a hurry to an appointment, making sure we are smiling at everyone and wishing them a good day is much better than what I was doing before. 

The work is still progressing miraculously and we hope our efforts are part of that. Is there any other better way for God's work to go forward than to love? No! Some interactions, even if my eyes see that the person will stop and talk to us are as short as:

Hi, how are you

Good and you

I'm doing amazing. Have a wonderful day!

Because while my eyes and brain are telling me I could stop this person and probably get their number sometimes the spirit very strongly has been prompting me to hold off. But that doesn't apply for every interaction. Lots of people have been very generous with wanting to learn more and so, as prompted by the spirit, we invite them to call later that day or the next.

Through this letter it might seem as though I am being hesitant in sharing the joy and what I know but that couldn't be further from the truth, by loving the people with all my heart I just do not need to use so many words, I'm finding that the spirit will testify on my behalf as I live what I learn and honestly show that joy which has been full these past 5 days! I had one really simple, but genuinely joyful, interaction this week!

Like I said my companion and I have been simply trying to be authentic and genuine in our discipleship. We try to make sure every single person we see has a positive experience with us and who we represent. So we tell people to keep having good days putting smiles on their faces and offering service. 2 days ago as we were walking home a kid in the distance yells "ELDER! HAVE A GOOD DAY!" I yell back "YOU AS WELL!" This kid was not a member of the church and I probably will not see him again but that interaction has taught me more of the truth about missionary work then anything else I've learned.

Now to finish we will talk about Brother Vargas. He is from Bolivia. He made some good food at our lunch appointment with him. It was the first time I had South American food in a long while and I explained "Isso é muito bom!" Hoping it translated to "This is very good!" I didn't realize how good it actually was about to get. He then testifies boldy and powerfully about everything I've learned this last transfer. About what the spirit has been telling me. It brought tears to my eyes knowing God truly is guiding me and there is nothing else I need to do right now than follow him, lower my head and eat. He IS the good shepherd. If you follow Him you will never be hungry, in danger, afraid, tired, thirsty, or have any need or want. So this transfer, I left my boxing equipment behind. I still train and still plan to pick it up when I get home, but I know that if I fervently follow Christ he will provide me with what I need when I need it. I don't need to search anywhere else than where the shepherd brought me, doing so is just silly. 

I love you all!

Elder Hixon

UNO!

The week started off super solid! I was given the opportunity of playing Uno and winning so that was pretty much a highlight.

But uno has a more sad meaning to this email. It means I only was able to spend 1 transfer in Kingston serving with Elder Park. For anyone who has kept up it might have been easy to see that this transfer has been a blessed part of my mission. Both companion and area were perfectly what I needed to continue to grow. The success and growth we saw was the biggest blessing. The success didn't come from where I had previously deemed success, which was in people baptized or cool people found or other things, however, RODNEY DID GET BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!! The success was in me being a more diligent missionary. Me better understanding and fulfilling my purpose. Our service hours spiked up and we visited some members who had not been to church in a long time.  I was able to make a genuine connection with the people I met here and that helped all of us come unto Christ. Elder Park and Elder Lewis have really helped me this transfer to get over myself and into the work of the Lord. It's not about my "success" in a quantity amount it's about serving the Lord and sharing the joy of the gospel. The hard thing is leaving. When you've really put your heart into an area it is the worst to just get up and leave. 

Now you know I'm leaving Kingston but to where??? EPSOM! it's about a 20 minute drive but they are in different stakes so it might as well be across the mission. My new companion is Elder Fenton. I have no clue who he is or what the new area will be like but it doesn't really matter. As I learned through a talk from Elder Bednar, the only person who cares about what's in it for me is the natural man. There is a lot more to talk about with that and in the mission but I will just leave it at that. 

2x this week we were able to help a single mom named Hanna with her backyard (garden in England) and it has changed my heart. All 4 elders have been helping twice a week but she was a lady Elder Park and I found while knocking doors looking for opportunities to serve. She is absolutely brilliant. It makes me so happy that she's so grateful. It doesn't look like she is interested in learning about our purpose as missionaries but that is not the intention for service. It is to show love and to serve God. To allow your heart to change and to become authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. Amulek teaches that if we turn away those who need help, even if we pray all the day long we would be hypocrites who deny the faith. 

This week in my personal studies three verses have stood out to me 

Alma 37: 36-37 and Alma 38:5 give them a read :)

Love you all

Elder Hixon

Easter and Discipleship

Lots of thoughts to unpack this week so hopefully this makes sense. 

Elder Park andI have had lots of prayerful and inspired conversations about what is missionary work, what is a mission, and what is our purpose. I know in Preach My Gospel it says we are called to invite others to come unto Christ by receiving his restored gospel, faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, Baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end. It doesn't say who needs these principles or the one right way to invite them. For the past 8 months I've been going out and inviting those who have little to no knowledge of the restored gospel to learn of His divine mission and to have faith in Him, but what about those who need help enduring? Or what about those who don't understand that the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses all God's children (final principle of lesson 3)? What is the best way to have people gain a curiosity about His church? 

We started by listening to what the prophets and apostles had to say. Elder Bednar gave some great insight about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says that 'we' are the gospel. The ordinary, typical natural flow of our lives will bring more interest and curiosity than any invitation we can give. We just need to focus on being natural authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. After that, we began to study what Preach My Gospel has to say. There we see that if our efforts are paired with ward members they will increase exponentially. As a ward member I did not have the experiences or knowledge of enduring or the blessings it brings to others. After that we went to the scriptures to find examples of the greatest conversions, one of my favorites is King Limhi's father. What drove him to curiosity was the light of Ammon and love he naturally showed. That changed the course of his mission. Ammon's natural ability to serve and love and bring that to the Lamanites converted thousands!!! All he did was serve, and after his service was finished he was given the opportunity to teach.

We are trying to apply these principles in our missionary efforts. This week we spent ample time looking for service and working with ward members. We helped some with their ministering assignments, visited and called those active and inactive members. Next week we are going to work to build stronger relationships with the prospective elders. The blessings on our own souls have been huge and I know that God will work mighty miracles in this area just like with the Sons of Mosiah. 

Nothing else super crazy happened this week except EASTER!!! It was amazing to grow my connection with my Savior as I studied about his life and pondered on what he'd have me do. All my favorite words about the gift of Christ's life, atonement and death are in a BYU speech called "There Must Needs be a Christ" by Kyle S. McKay so give that a listen!

Love you all,

Elder Hixon

High Love and Boldness!

This week was a blast!

We had six people come to church, and two of them were members who hadn’t been since they moved from Ecuador. We helped them find the Spanish-speaking ward and got them connected with the sister missionaries there. More on that later!

This week has been powerful in helping me understand my individual purpose for serving a mission. You’d think that after working 11 months to get out here, I’d have a clear reason—but honestly, I think I mostly did it because my parents love me and wanted me to. Or at least, that’s what I think happened—I don’t really remember the exact moment. But it’s kind of like keeping commandments: at first, we don’t always know why, but we trust that God loves us and wants what’s best. Later, after we act in faith, we receive a witness and understanding of why.

So for anyone who doesn’t know why they should serve a mission—you’ll figure it out on your mission.

The end of Mosiah and the beginning of Alma have been especially meaningful in helping me understand both myself and God. I might’ve mentioned this last week, but I’m saying it again because it’s that important—I need to keep hearing it and maybe someone back home needs to hear it again.

The words Alma uses to describe himself and the sons of Mosiah hit me hard—the joy they found in being able to change. We are not who we were, and we’re not meant to stay who we are. The path to follow Christ is a path of transformation. And that’s the miracle: that we can change. Jesus Christ atoned for us and died so that we could be made new.

How incredible is that?

It’s taken me way too long to start grasping it, and I still don’t think I can fully put it into words. But I know this: because of Christ, I can change. And now that I’ve tasted the immense joy that comes through Him, I find myself deeply concerned for the people I’m called to serve here in England.

The importance of being a missionary has never felt more real to me. Without the gospel of Jesus Christ, these people may never know the joy that life can hold—and that thought truly saddens me. It reminds me of the sons of Mosiah, who said they "could not bear that any human soul should perish." Before I understood what repentance really was, my own soul was miserable. I had moments of giving up—thinking, What’s the point if I can’t change?

But then, one night at the MTC, the Spirit hit me so powerfully, and for the first time, I truly began to understand repentance.

I remember a woman in conference once said to replace the word repentance with “I love you.” That confused me at first, and maybe I’m still not smart enough to fully grasp it—but I believe that Christ calling us to repent is His way of saying exactly that: “I love you.”
Repentance is Him knocking at the door. It’s His invitation to experience true change and exceeding joy.

It’s kind of like going to the gym. The best part is the transformation you get to see. And once you start to see it, you want to tell everyone to give it a try—because you know from experience that change is possible. You have a testimony that if someone shows up with the intention to grow, they can. So you speak boldly because you know it’s real.

And that leads me to boldness. Boldness comes from testimony. But now, I’m realizing that high love is where the real effort begins.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. The Church’s study plan had an invitation: “Open your heart to greater love.” I know that as I grow in love for the people I serve, my efforts will deepen. And when I combine that love with boldness, I’ll start to understand the first great truth of heaven.

In Elder Holland’s words:

“My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed, it is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that we can have the confidence to keep trying to improve, keep seeking forgiveness for our sins, and keep extending that grace to our neighbor.”

Love you all! I hope this week is even better than the last for each of you.

Elder Hixon

Arizona!

ARIZONA IS GETTING ANOTHER TEMPLE 🤯🤯

Elect people over there, I swear. So exciting!!

This was a pretty wild week spiritually—even before conference started. I had some really meaningful personal study time where I took a step back and really looked at the miracle of change. The kind of deep, lasting change that only comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I realized that I’ve been using the Atonement—leaning on it—without fully understanding what it is. Without the Atonement, true change just isn’t possible. We’d be stuck—perpetually caught in sin and torment with no way out. Alma the Younger lays this out powerfully in Alma 36, and Mosiah 27 hits just as hard. It's humbling stuff.

In even more good news: another friend accepted the invitation to prepare for baptism!
The path may be narrow, but we can do our part to keep the gate wide open. I’m so stoked for him. Watching someone begin this journey never gets old.

Also—we just got back from a district trip to London and it was an absolute blast. (And no, I’m not already in London—despite what people assume. That’s about as deep as the explanation gets.)

I got to see Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and the London Eye. It was super fun getting to know the zone better. We sang with Elder Paz and Sister Numbers, and basically played bumper bikes the whole way around the city. Core memory unlocked.

Conference weekend!
We watched two sessions with this sweet older sister in the ward who’s homebound. She’s hilarious—conference ended, and boom, football came right on. 😂
I LOVED the theme of repentance this conference. The whole thing was centered on change and preparing to meet God—and honestly, it hit me deep. There’s such peace and purpose in knowing we can change.

Also... Elder Paz exchange!!
Once again, me and Elder Paz were out finding the elect. We ended up teaching this woman and her 11-year-old daughter for about 20 minutes. It was so powerful—deep gospel truths were flowing, and the daughter had some seriously amazing questions for being so young.
I love that guy. Every exchange with him is fire.

Gotta go love you all!!

Elder Hixon 

All Good Things!

I just got cooked in basketball, but this week was epic!! Second week in Kingston and the best district council of my mission!! No offense to anyone who led one of my District councils, you're all great but this was just an extra great one. 

Elder Park and I have been working this area to the bones this week! We had 5 wonderful friends decide to accept a date to be baptized! Elder Park has been making amazing food and the workouts have been absolutely beautiful. I feel like I'm truly growing in all ways and I'm being stretched, but it's perfect. One of our friends who's going to be baptized is a boxer! So we got to chatting a lot. I also got a super surprise visit by the one and only, Butlers! I'm so happy they made time to take me and my companion out for dinner. It was so awesome to catch up with them. It's awesome to hear about all you guys and how you're doing back home! One of the best things I've found on my phone is stubz baking channel. 10/10 gotta go check it out!

This week I also had an exchange with Elder Beller. That was epic! We taught some great lessons and worked the highstreet a ton. We taught one lesson and sadly one of the ward members was being ummmm a little silly you could say and his answers just matched up with what our friend who had never heard of the gospel before and we couldn't stop laughing. You couldn't make it up, he didn't hear what she said and gave her answer word for word . The flat is awesome. It's just so funny, there is nothing else to say about it. Everyone works hard and has fun. Can't ask for anything else!.

A scripture down!!

Elder Anderson invited us to memorize 10 scriptures. I could cop out and go with the ones that are already memorized for teaching but I decided that I could memorize 10 scriptures that really are close to my heart and the first one I picked was 

Alma 36:24

"And from that day until now, I have labored without ceasing that I might bring souls unto repentance. That I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste. That they might be born of God and filled with the Holy Ghost"

Love you all!

Elder Hixon