Book of Mormon>British Bible Bashers - England MTC

Hello!

This week has been great. I love the MTC here and it's fantastic how much we're able to learn about the Gospel. 

 I am getting a tad bit tired of sitting in class all day though and excited to get into the field. My favorite parts of the week are when we get to go practice proselyting at Picadilly square in Manchester! Elder Hardman and I got turned down a lot but we were able to talk to a lot of great people about the church and religion. Since the MTC sends 50 missionaries every week at the same time to the same place, a lot of anti-Mormons come to try and "bible bash" with us haha its fun to hear everyone's experiences when we get back on the bus. Lots of miracles and lots of rejection :) 

It's difficult to understand some people though because of how thick their British accents are, sometimes it feels like I got called foreign speaking and nobody told me haha. When you can't understand a word they're saying, you just gotta risk it for a biscuit and start talking about the book of Mormon or about Christ and have faith it will work out. Hopefully the MTC will start our language training soon

Another highlight from the week was when we went on a church history tour to Preston and learned about some of the very first missionaries of the church. We went to a town square where Heber C Kimball preached the gospel, saw the river where the first British saints were baptized and got to see lots of great parts of the city. President Preston (old Manchester mission president) led the tour and told us more about the great history of the church in England. It was so fun and it was nice to get out of the MTC

This week we've learned a ton about the book of Mormon and how it is the most powerful tool we can use in conversion. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and we will grow to know him and love him as we read the Book of Mormon. There's a fantastic talk about it by elder Holland that I highly encourage you all watch. It's called Safety for the Soul and is AMAZING. The book of Mormon manifests the power of the atonement and of Christ's doctrine. I'm so grateful for it and challenge all to read it.

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder McConkie

MTC Group - England MTC

Week One Baby - England MTC

Hello!

The first week here in Chorley England has been great. It took us 34 hours to get here after me and 20 other British missionaries missed flight after flight after flight. It's alright though, just happy we made it. 

The MTC here is super small but it's beautiful. Currently has only 50 missionaries so everybody knows everybody and it's right next to the Preston temple.There's a lot of foreign missionaries here too so it's fun to learn about their cultures. My companions name is Elder Hardman! He's awesome and we get along great. 

Some highlights from the week:

My district! Lucky me I got called as the district leader over the Manchester missionaries and I've loved the responsibilities that come with it. My district is phenomenal! We've got 8 Elders going to Manchester from Utah, LA, Finland, Norway, Germany, and Czech Republic. Seriously the best group of guys I could ask for. Love em all. 

The Classes! The teachers here are amazing and we learn and study SO much. Elder Hardman and I got to teach an investigator this week 3 times and it was fantastic. Can't wait to do it for real. We also do an exercise where we learn a lesson and then practice trying to teach another missionary the lesson in 3 minutes, then 1 1/2 minutes and then 30 seconds. Me and my Czech homie Elder Novotny were teaching each other the restoration in 30 seconds and we were both trying to talk so fast to fit in all we had to say it was so funny we lost it haha. It's been a while since I've laughed that hard. I've been refreshing my Czech language skills too with Elder Novotny it's moc dobry ;)

Yesterday all 50 missionaries were able to go out to a main square in Manchester and practice Proselyting. It was nice to get out of the MTC and do some real missionary work. We were only able to do it for 2 hours but we talked with lots of great people and placed a few Books of Mormon! We were also rejected a lot too tho, a lot of people just swore at us or flipped us off haha it was a great experience. 

We got to do a session in the temple this morning and I really am so grateful I have a temple in my mission. Temples are a blessing. 

This week we've talked a lot about our missionary purpose of Inviting others to come unto Christ. We watched a devotional with president Bednar in which he talked of how when the natural man would turn inwards and think of himself, Christ ALWAYS looks outward and looks at how he can; care for others. As I've been reading about Christ this week I've noticed it! In every instance, the savior looks at how he can help others. I get more and more excited to get into the field every day and invite others unto Christ and tell them of the restoration of HIS church on the earth today. The atonement blesses us with strength beyond our own and I can't wait to share it with others. 

Pics below

All the loves 

Elder McConkie

England MTC

Preston, England Temple

Good-bye, USA!