Third letter's a charm...

Why Hello There!

So guess what???? I was exposed to Swine Flu this week... I'll explain more about that later. So this week has been a very very very cool week. Very cool, but very difficult. Let me explain to you why.

So things at the MTC have become very monotonous. Every day feels kinda the same. Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days. Each day seems to take forever! But at the end of each week, we're always like, "Where did it go?" It kinda ridiculous, not gonna lie. Things were a little rough with my companion this week. So i like to compare my companion to my old seminary teacher Brother Dees. Haha they kinda talk and act very similiar to one another. It's quite humorous actually. The one thing that's driving me nuts is my companions lack of a sense of humor. He doesn't like and doesn't understand sarcasm at all. For all those who know me, know that I have come to love the art of sarcasm. He doesn't like joking around much and tends to be a little too serious. SO often there's silence between us. We've talked a little bit now though and things are getting better. I'm working on being nicer and being careful on how much I joke around and he is trying to loosen up and show his personality more. There's alot more to it, but that's all I can explain. (But don't get me wrong, he's a great guy! And also, I have been using about 1/1000 amount of sarcasm i normally do. He just doesn't like joking around).

Ok, so a few amazing things that happened this week:
1. The MTC became an extension to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple dedication of Sunday. We got to see the Prophet and his counselors on video dedicate the Temple. Then we took part in the Hossanah shout. It was truly an incredible experience and my testimony of Temples has never been stronger.
2. On Tuesday, August 25th Elder Richard G. Scott came to the MTC and spoke at our friday night devotional! He was insanely good. He spoke about following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. He also, using the Authority of a Twelve Apostle gave a specific blessing to all of us in attendance. I felt so blessed to be there and to feel of his power and testimony. You could "warm your hands by the fire of his faith" one might say. I'll never forget that experience.
3. And oh yeah, I was exposed to Swine Flu. Supposedly they had an outbreak here months ago that we all heard about. Well 2 kids were just found to have the swine flu and then our roommate was showing the same symptoms. So they were all Quarantined (locked in a room with a desk, a bed, and a bathroom for 5 days). Since we shared a room with him we were immediately given Anti-Virus pills or something that cost about $11 a pill. They gave them to 10 of us for about 10 days each. And they've had to do that for hundreds, maybe even a thousand students. Crazy huh? But luckily, I am not sick at all!

In answer to your questions Mom, I am in the choir. We practice every Sunday and Tuesday, then perform every Tuesday Devotional. And my departure date is October 5th, so I should be here for General Conference. Unfortunately, there will be no missionary choir for conference this year. :(

Anyways, all is well. Life here at the MTC is good, but I'm not gonna lie, I am very homesick. It's very tough to be away from home and away from the people you care about. I know it's all worth it though.

K, well I gotta go, but Choose The Right! Keep The Faith! And "El Poder es Suyo!"

Love,
Elder Mooney

P.S. I've seen Braden Hamel, Nephi Nelson, Cameron Roth, Stephen Andersen, Elder Mcclelan, the triplets quite often, Sam Wright, Ben Matalae, and i think more.... Very cool!

Carta Numero 2

Mi Familia....

I miss you guys sooo much. I miss home alot. BUT it's all good. I've finally become used to the schedule here. Everything just feels normal. I do miss sleeping in and being lazy though ;)

My favorite days here at the MTC are Sundays and Tuesdays. Sundays we have hours and hours of personal study time which is way nice and they have Ice Cream "Sundaes" (haha) at dinner, which is fun! But on both Tuesday night and Sunday night we get to go to Devotionals/ Firesides. We've had a couple speakers from the Second Quorum of the Seventy and a speaker from the Proselyting division of the church. His talk last Sunday was incredible. Talk about being "Spiritually Recharged!"

So the last few nights I have been sleeping very well. Fallin asleep just after 10:30 and getting up at about 6:20. The weird thing is, I've been having some InSaNeLy WeIrD dreams. The other night I had a dream that involved "The Muppets", Wild Wild West, Snowboarding, and a gang of theifs and terrorists. It was like the coolest and most random action movie I had ever seen! (or dreamed?) Haha! And last night I had like a some-what, but not really, scary dream. I was at home and we adopted a little boy and he was evil. It was like a cheezy scary movie or something. Very strange, I know.... I think my mind is having trouble not watching movies or TV so it's making up for it through dreams....?

Ok, well back to the serious stuff! I studied alot on the topic of Humility and how to recognize pride this week. It was very helpful and insightful. The scriptures are incredible at identfying every aspect of your life. It's almost unbelievable! So I'm gonna try to work on being humble, which I know I have ALOT of work to do.

I miss you guys alot and love you all very much. Please keep writing me! Letters are what make the days different one from one another. Yesterday I received a bunch of letters from you all and felt so supported. It was awesome! Well, I gotta run, but I'll definitely email again next week!

-Elder Matthew D. Mooney

Elder Mooney's First Email!

Hola Mi Familia y Amigos!

Wow... The first email to home is quite an intense experience. I have over a million things I'd like to say, but only enough time to say like 7 or 10 things. First off I want you to know that I love you all very much and I miss you. The MTC is amazing and I am learning more then I could have ever imagined, but there is definitely "no place like home!" MY schedule here is absolutely insane. I wake up at 6:15 and am completely scheduled and busy until 10:00 at night. Then i have a little bit of time to relax and think before LIGHTS OUT at 10:30.

Thank you guys so much for the letters you sent. You have no idea how badly I've wanted them. The first 3 days here at the MTC were so insanely long most of us Elders could barely stand it. It felt like we'd been here for weeks even though it'd only been a few days. We were told that time at the MTC and on your mission is relative, as you lose sight of yourself and focus on the Lord and serving him, TIME WILL FLY. I hope that's true because it seems like I haven't seen you forever.

Don't get me wrong though, I love it here at the MTC. Never before have I enjoyed being busy so much. My favorite part of the day is the one full hour of personal time we get to study any gospel topic we want. Studying the scriptures can be incredible if you do it the right way, I promise you that it will bless your life if you take the time to do so as well.

My companion Elder Sheahan is a great example to me. He is from Montana and has a twin brother. He's suffering from a little bit of seperation anxiety because he's never been away from his brother for so long, but he's still serving boldly!

I'm sorry I can't write more but the Lord's time is more important then my time. I love you all very much and ask you to please write me as soon as you can! Letters are the best... They are seriously 2 good... People basically compete here at the MTC to see who gets the most mail each day, so please send what you can. Well I'm out of time...

I just want to leave you with this:

I know that Jesus Christ lives and atoned for our sins. I've always believed it, but through devoted service, much studying, and sincere prayers it has been confirmed. Never before has the atonement been so real to me then it is now. I encourage all of you to seek out that same knowledge.

Adios,

Elder Matthew D. Mooney

Dropping off Elder Mooney at the MTC

Hanging out at Temple Square the day before going in to the MTC.


Elder Mooney is related to Parley P. Pratt so he took a photo by his portrait.


The next morning we made him pose for a few last photos and say goodbye.

Matt's Goodbye Open House

matt and his farewell cake, a chile!
he answered the door about a million times :)
his little sis' friends were all in attendance
and a ton of his friends as well!
and here's a "family" photo-Kelly, Jared and Hunter were adopted in. (His sister Becky and her boyfriend Tim are missing)