Due to the President's Day holiday on Monday, Emily emailed us Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014:

I love you guys so much!

I love the Gospel.  It's all completely true.  I've been thinking about how the Book of Mormon isn't supposed to really be like "evidence" that this is the true religion because we should be able to pray and receive the answer through prayer and the Holy Ghost, but because the feelings of the spirit are so delicate, it is the Book of Mormon that will convince us of the truth of everything. 

Church attendance has become crazy important to me.  It's probably the easiest commandment to break which makes it one of the most dangerous.  I think I'm becoming a little bit of a fanatic but I know there are things about, and reasons for, attending church that we don't understand and can't possibly understand.  I have read so many scriptures that I feel apply directly to this.  For people that are just hearing about the gospel, coming to church is their first act of repentance.  Coming to church is their fruit meet for repentance.  (Alma 12:15, 13:13, 34:30, 32:40)  Of everything I've read and studied, I believe my favorite verse is this one in Alma 37:6-7 that says:

Por medio de cosas pequenas y sencillas se realizan grandes cosas; y en muchos casos, los pequenos medios confunden a los sabios.  Y El Senor Dios se vale de medios para realizar sus grandes y eternos designios; y por medios muy pequenos el Senor confunde a los sabios y realiza la salvacion de muchas almas. 

This is so powerful.  God uses these small and simple things to realize grand things.  These small means confound the wise.  To realize his eternal designs, He uses these small things and He confounds the wise and brings about the salvation of many souls.  (Sorry--I don't have my English scriptures with me ever, and now it is hard to translate back.)  Obviously I am seeing everything through my church attendance lens and I see these small and simple acts to be coming to church and reading and praying.  God confuses the wise.  They don't understand what goes on at church or what it is that is happening to our spirits when we are there.  There are effects of going to church that we don't even notice and that makes it so we don't appreciate going to church as much as what it does for us. 

I'm sorry I can't speak English anymore.  There is more I want to say, but this day has been weird and the computer is going to log me off. Transfers are on Tuesday (one week away) and we will find out Saturday if we are staying here in Santa Clarita or leaving.  So basically, I should be able to email you on Monday and let you know what will happen. 

I love you and I'll write to you in a week.