December 31, 2013

Mummy,

Christmas was fantastic, seeing you all and speaking with you was so great.  My comps are all great, were getting along just fine.  Happy New Year! Only 15ish months left!

You and Dad looked great; it was so nice to see you. You are still my wee little family in our wee little home in our wee little town. The new guns dad showed me were cool as well ha-ha altogether a good time.  I hope you have an amazing first week this year.  I love you.  Thanks for everything you do, the package was really great, so thanks again for that. Miss ya,

Elder Merrill

PS … the temple calendar was amazing. I miss the temples, so it was a blessing

Dear baby sister,

I have received a lot of strength to deal with the many things the Lord has in store for me to face.  I want you to know that this strength comes from all of you.  The love and example and faith that you all have inspires me and drives me forward. How blessed I am to have you all.
How true James's statement is in the 5th verse of chapter 1 of his epistle, to ask of God that which we know not. God wants to tell us truths, and scarcely will those truths come in the way we expect them to come. Just listen and they will come. Ask, Listen, ask again, and listen again. Our father is a very wise man; it is truly a blessing from Heaven to have such a humble and Christ like man to lead our family. Let us show our gratitude to our Fathers by keeping God's commandments, all of them.
I’m very happy to be made aware of your Christ like attributes and your wisdom. Remember, you know the truth.  But that doesn’t matter.  It’s what you do, and how you act once you know the truth that matters.  You’re doing perfectly.  Love you.

Thanks for being you; it means more than you think.

Elder Merrill

Evan,

Twas awesome to see you Christmas day buddy; it was the best present ever! I love you and I’m proud of you and your hard work.  You’re a special kid; you have the ability to influence a lot of people through your example.  Keep choosing the right and you will keep this gift your whole life. I’m glad things are going well for you and that you’re having fun. Ski hard!
Elder Merrill

Dad,

How I wish I could have been there for your talk, you’ve always been a great speaker and have inspired me to work on my own ability to "wing" it. Well done on the improvisation, it needs to be done quite often, and is a skill learned in the mission field. Regrets are a part of life, and in my own experience are some things I prefer not to look upon.  Thank goodness for the Atonement. If anything, I’ve learned to think before I act, and to be wise.  Those two things are words vie heard come from your mouth many times. Also, nothing is free.  That is true as well. Someone always has to pay for something.  It’s important to be aware of the sacrifices made by others to give us our blessings such as the great blessing of liberty. The ultimate giver of freedom and liberty to mankind is the Savior, but of course many mortal men have died preserving the rights given man by the atonement.  Gods plan is for man to be free, Satan’s plan is to bind man and destroy agency.  DC123 let us waste and wear out our lives to expose and compromise Satan’s ways of darkness, which target the freedom of man.

It was fantastic to see you all on Christmas.

Anyway, thanks for all you do.  Happy New Year, see you next year.
Love you pop,
Elder Merrill