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July 20, 2026

Hey guys. What's the hap? I'll let you in on a secret... We've just been doing the same thing every day .

Ok, here's what I've got for our spiritual thought: Trust in the lord

Ok, this one will be quicker. (Editor Carter here and it was definitely not quicker)

I want to just remind people reading this that god hears all of your prayers to him. Most of the time, we may feel that there was no response or resolve but I know that more often than not, there was.

A few things come to mind from this:

First is Nephi when his brothers bound him with strong cords and left him to suffer death to the wilderness. Maybe to them, they felt less guilt if they weren't Nephi's direct cause. Either way, Nephi was down and not in a good place. He prayed to god and asked that he might "burst" the bands that tied him up.

But God thought otherwise. Instead of this dramatic bursting of bands and a heroic, epic escape from death that so many other prophets received, Nephi's cords fell from their place. Now, did Laman and Lemuel just not tie the cords very well? Possibly. Either way, the resolve came to Nephi.

Despite this, Laman and Lemuel went to tie him again. But got saved by other family members. That's the 2nd unspoken miracle. That he didn't get tied up again. It was set forth to just try a second time to knock him down, but the threat disappeared.

There's a video by Elder David A. Bednar that explains how we are not objects to be acted upon. We are agents to choose. In it, he tells us that "most of the time we pray like objects; 'make me better', 'make this go away'. That doesn't happen very often" -David A. Bednar

I really thought that was cool, but then he goes on to explain the resolve so many of us miss.

"Many times god will strengthen us, so we become a big part of the answer to our own prayer."

So, we pray for an answer and want God to do the work. I know that God works through character and experience. He wants these answered prayers to change you. So what better than straight through you.

Weekly haps

- We had transfers this week and that starts my 9th transfer? I believe that's it. My comp was in fact transferred for reasons unknown by me. But now I'm rocking with the Branch President choco Elder Nsilulu of Ayamé.

- We've now got sisters in the ward and we're gonna be grinding this transfer with contacts and baptisms. (You guys, I'm so tired being a zone leader... send HELP) Maybe some energy drinks might start kicking me into the type. But I'd need to actually start drinking them...

- Monday we went to the zoo and happened to come across THE(E) Elder Turley. Great time visiting the animals à well. (Check out the photos)

That was pretty much my week, hope yours was just as good. On, send me an update, it's been a long time. Yes you know who you are. Please

- Elder Hill

I don't know what they be feeding these dinosaurs