Email #51 - Listening to the Spirit

August 27, 2017

Montgomery, Alabama

Family! Hey I'm real sorry but I'm going to have to keep this pretty short. This week was pretty darn good! We were in Birmingham on Thursday for a Multi-Zone Conference with Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Seventy. It was amazing. He talked a lot about listening to the Spirit, and always referring to the Spirit in our endeavors. It really was an amazing meeting. That evening afterward, there was a Spanish Fireside for all of the Hispanic members across the mission and it was super great! We were able to go and it was quite amazing! This week in Montgomery has been a lot of insanity! ha! But I'm really sorry I have to keep this one short. I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

Strength and Honor

Elder Noah Featherstone

President & Sister Sainsbury

Davvvviiiiiiiddddddd

#Doublechinbama

Some Trash

"They see me rollin' they hatin'"

The "Swagmobile" HA! Just made that up! 

*insert announcer from Space Jam* "ELDDDEEEEERR JOHNSONNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!"

Email #50 - He Lives

August 21, 2017

Montgomery, Alabama

Well this week was a short one huh?! haha! It's been a solid 4 days I think. It's so good to hear how you all are doing! I love hearing about all the great things you all are up to.  These last few days have been a little hectic to be honest.  We had English Class last night and only one person showed up so we are going to be doing a lot of contacting on the streets and at the mall this week.  That's the plan.

Yesterday we were sitting in church and I was thinking a lot about all of you and praying and hoping that you were all doing well and were happy. I started thinking about my future family. I feel that I really have come to know of the truthfulness of this gospel while I've been out here. It's been amazing to testify of the truth of all these things. We were out tracting yesterday and had nothing but doors slammed, and drunk people swearing at us, and I honestly loved it. I love knowing that I'm here testifying of our Savior, and yes I might be ridiculed and disliked, but I am here for the cause of Christ. I am his representative here and I have been called to bring others to the fold of our Savior. It really is amazing. So... back to me sitting in church, I was thinking about everything to come. Thinking about everything to come and of my future generations after me. I really don't want anything other than my kids to stay faithful in this gospel. I want them to know of a surety that Jesus Christ lives. I want them to know that the Priesthood really has been restored to the earth and that we have living prophets in this day and age. I love this gospel. I'm not sure where I would be without it. I know that He lives. I know that we can do anything with the help of our Savior. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that a man can come closer to our Savior by reading that book, than by any other book.

I love you all! I hope you all have a great week. I hope we can all come a little bit closer to our Savior this week and realize that He loves us more than we can comprehend. This is real. It's all real. He will come again and we are preparing for that day. He lives.

Strength and Honor

Elder Noah Featherstone

Email #49 - Relying on the Lord

August 17, 2017

Montgomery, Alabama

Hello everyone! This week has been another great one! We went to the temple this afternoon and we don't have a whole lot of time before we head back to Montgomery.

We had a few really amazing experiences this week! A few weeks ago, Elder Hasleton and I started a Scripture Study Class that is still kind of getting started and we don't have a whole lot of people coming but there are a few.  Last week the only one that showed up was Steph. (She was baptized about a month ago.) We hadn't been able to see her for about a week so it was super good to be able to see her come. We got talking and she proceeded to tell us all about everything that had been going on. I don't want to say anything that I shouldn't or give out details but there are a lot of family situations going on as well as a few loved ones that have died recently in her family. After talking for a few minutes she said to us, "I think Satan is really trying to get to me because he knows that I made the right choice to be baptized and turn my life over to the Savior, because all of this stuff has been happening since I was baptized." Wow... I was speechless. It is so amazing that she can recognize the influence Satan is having right now. She said to us, "I know that there is no way I can get through all of this unless I am constantly in touch with God, and praying to Him."  It was really amazing to hear her bear her testimony to us.

On other news, a few weeks ago we started English Class down here in Montgomery and we had a bunch of people this week. It was super good to actually have some people show up.

Also, I was doing some Family History work this week and I was searching and searching for names and I kept running across names that our extended family had already reserved and was working on their temple work! So S/O to all the Featherstone/Poelman people doing the Lord's work through their ancestors! It's really amazing that we are able to be apart of helping the kingdom grow and influencing others through temple work. So if you have a few minutes this week I'd really encourage you to get on familysearch.org and find some names that you could take to the temple!

Anyways! That's about it for the week. I hope you are all doing well and just tearin' it up. Have a stellar week. Love you all! You're in my prayers!

Strength and Honor

Elder Noah Featherstone

Email #48 - The Sweet Gift of Prayer

August 7, 2017

Montgomery, Alabama

Happy Monday Everyone! It sounds like it was a blast of a week.  It was so good to hear that my nephew Rudy was blessed this week! He is going to be a stud! Crazy to think he'll be walking when I get back.

This week has been so crazy. We spent a lot of time this week helping a member pack his Uhaul trailer and boy was that an experience. We were all pretty worn out after that one. After helping all day with moving, I looked back and thought about how we are called to bless those around us. There are so many opportunities to bless those around us if we will only take advantage of the blessings that God is giving us to be able to serve. At times the Lord blesses us with opportunities to serve, but it is our responsibility to take that leap into serving our God.

So on the more spiritual side of the missionary work this week, we visited a Less Active this week who we have been visiting a lot lately. We had an amazing experience with a man named Morgan! He is the son of the Stake Relief Society President here in the Montgomery Alabama Stake and he has been Inactive since he was about 14. The missionaries have been visiting with him nearly every week, if not more, for the last 7 or 8 months. Since I have been here in Montgomery, we have been doing a lot with him, and have started to teach his wife. This week they invited us over for dinner. We had a great time talking to them, and about 2 or 3 minutes before we were finishing up the meal and were going to share The Restoration with them, Morgan's Mom who is the Stake Relief Society President walked in. We then visited for a few more minutes and asked her to stay for a short lesson with Morgan and his wife. As we went through the lesson, we asked her to share her testimony and her thoughts about the things that we had shared. She bore witness of the divinity of the Book of Mormon and that we can come nearer to the Lord by abiding by it's precepts. It was a very spiritual experience. At the close of the lesson, I turned to Morgan and said, "Morgan would you be willing to say the closing prayer?" He originally said he didn't feel comfortable but we persuaded him into saying it. He said one of the most sincere prayers I have ever heard. This man has not prayed in over a decade, struggling to know if God is really there for him.  He received the answer to his prayer. He prayed to know and feel of the love of God.  He prayed for us….that we would be safe in our travels, and he prayed that we would be able to recognize the spirit in our lives. As we closed and left the house, you couldn't help notice the impact that prayer made on his life. We walked out with his mother as she was leaving as well, and she said to us, "I have never heard my son pray like that. Thank you so much for your hard work and the love you show toward my son and his family." It was an amazing experience that strengthened my testimony of the supernal gift of prayer that our Father in Heaven has given to us. It truly is a blessing to pray to our Father in Heaven. My plea is that we all take time to "counsel with the Lord" (Alma 37:37) and make each one of our prayers everyday to pray for those around us and for opportunities to grow and learn. Our Savior is pleading that each and every one of us pray to the Father for His help and His guidance. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)

“Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.” -President Monson

I pray that you all have a great week, and find joy in the scriptures, and in following the example of Christ. Thank you for all the love and support that you show me as I am here in Alabama representing our Savior. I love you all and I appreciate each of your examples to me. Keep smiling and having fun! Love you!

-Elder Noah Featherstone

Last week at the Driving Range

The parking garage outlook at the hospital

Today at the First White House of the Confederacy

From the steps of the Capitol​

The Moo-seum haha! (A museum about Cows)