Elder Skaggs vs free stuff - from 12/21/2019

I don't think it's been an extremely exciting week, however, I have a few interesting things to add. I don't have too many photos, but next week, I hope to have a ton. 

Let's start off with last Saturday. I didn't include this in my email because I was too lazy and we had a lot going on. However, we went to Deseret Book in the morning and found out that the cast of The Fighting Preacher would be at Deseret Book for a quick meet and greet. So, after shopping, we decided to go over there. It was a great experience. Scarlett, the girl who played Palmyra, is super adorable. I tried complimenting her and she was totally zoned out and distracted like any 7-year-old girl. Then, there was a background character who asked us if we had seen "Love, Kennedy".  We informed him that we had not and then he asked if we could buy it on the mission. I said we could, but couldn't watch it until afterward, but I don't have money anyway. He decided to buy us both a copy of the DVD and then have everyone sign it. It was super awesome. I was extremely grateful. We also got to meet the guy who played Willard and the girl who plays Rebecca. I've met her before. T C Christensen, the director of the movie and 17 Miracles, Cokeville Miracle, Ephraim's Rescue, and a few other movies was there. That was great.

There is also a corn dog truck that missionaries eat free and we went over there and some guy was going to pay for us. However, we found out that missionaries eat free. I ate there free last year with Elder Bartholomew, but I didn't know that it was a usual thing. 

Saturday evening, we had a chili dinner provided by President Fenn. He made four different chili's and then we all went to the church building near his house and just ate and had fun. He invited all elders who used to serve here to come also. It was great being able to see a few past elders who I miss and love a ton.  

Sunday was a normal evening. We got to go to Music and the Spoken Word. It was a blessing. I don't get to go often since I enjoy going to the senior centers, but it was a great experience.

Transfers happened on Tuesday. I had to say goodbye to a few good elders who have become good friends. And I said goodbye to a few elders who I wasn't super close with. No matter what, it was a sad evening, as is every transfer. It also hit me because I only have one more transfer conference and then it'll be time for me to go, too. The end of January will be the last one that actually affects me. Well, technically the February one affects me because I'm going home. 

Things didn't really change. I'm still with Elder Showgren. We have another transfer. Also, our transfers are weird because they are every month, not every six weeks, however, this is a strange transfer and it's actually six weeks, so it feels like I'm proselyting again. Also, I'm just going to throw this out right now, in case anyone wants to make plans, my homecoming will be on March 15th. I probably won't include it in my email again until the time that I'm leaving, but in case anyone is wanting to come, just be aware of the date.  

Old friends: After transfers, I wanted to go get Costa Vida, so we went on splits and another elder and I went and got food. As I walked in, I saw Travis Stolk, someone who used to be in my ward in Temecula. I got to talk to him for a little bit and catch up and then he paid for our meal. It was such a great evening to see him and to have my meal paid for. 

Not much more has happened. I don't have anything exciting planned for this p-day. Oh, CHRISTMAS IS THIS WEEK! We get to celebrate the birth of our Savior and I'm so excited. Being on the mission, as I have read the scriptures and studied them deeper, especially the Book of Mormon, I have grown to love the scriptures even more and draw closer to our Savior. Everyone knows the account of Christ being born in Luke 2, however, not many people, including members of the Church know about the account in the Book of Mormon. 

In Helaman 14, Samuel the Lamanite predicts the birth of our Savior by saying: 

4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born. 

5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you. 

6 And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven. 

I just love this scripture and the prophesy that he gave. The fact that our Father in Heaven didn't leave out those on the other side of the world. He allowed them to know of the coming of the Savior. They were given the knowledge of their Savior and knew about Him. Samuel was an amazing prophet and had so much courage to withstand the persecution he did. I know without a doubt, that the Book of Mormon is true. 

I hope you all have another great week. Let me know how Christmas goes. I want to hear from everyone. Continue to serve and love those around you and be amazing people. Keep in contact!

Since I left my camera at the apartment. Here are two pictures of me with a super duper cool Church History Library jacket that I bought. They're only for employees and missionaries and family, and bought one for me. I love it. (The other one is at the beginning of this blog post).

Elder Michael Skaggs 

15 E South Temple 

JSMB 3 East 

Salt Lake City, UT 84150 

Elder Skaggs vs seeing his friends - from 12/14/2019

Hey everyone! I hope you all had another great week. I know I did. Filled with lots of exciting events and fun times. 

Seeing my friends: Wow!! This was a crazy week. Saturday evening, Elder Martin and I

Maddy, Jacob, Roger, and I

ordered pizza from Domino's, because we could. Then, because I'm an extroverted person and I'm stuck behind a computer all day, we decided to walk around Temple Square. First off, I like being around people and just being in crowds. Second, I love the lights. So, we walked around and I came around the corner and I saw Brother and Sister Bohman (I totally spelled that wrong). I have a picture with them. We spent 2 hours walking around because I needed it. As we came out of the North Visitors Center, I once again saw Maddy Dixon, Jacob Child, Roger Smith, and another girl who I barely knew from back home. I ended up talking to them for a little bit and they updated me on life and I found out a couple of them were going on missions. It was awesome. Then we walked around City Creek and as we were passing in front of Deseret Book, I saw Olivia Yocum, a good friend of mine from Temecula. So that evening, it totaled to 6 people. Well, plus the one girl, but I barely know her.

Brother and Sister Bohman and I

Fast forward to Sunday, great day. We went to the First Presidency Devotional and I loved it. I don't remember much because I wasn't feeling well, but I just know the spirit was so strong. I love the leaders we have in the church who testify of Jesus and His birth and His sacrifice for us.

Anyway, once again, I needed to walk around and I needed to talk to Elder Martin, who is my district leader, so we went on splits and walked around. After walking around for a few minutes I ran into Jeremy and Jenny Duvall, twins from back home. That was awesome because they were some of my favorite people. Then literally 5 minutes later, I saw Nathan and Liz Jones, married friends from college. She also called me by my nickname from college which I haven't heard in forever. It was great catching up with them. AND while I was talking to them Benjamin and Jalie Craig came up behind me and said hi. I knew them from an organization at BYU Idaho that I was part of. Altogether, I saw about 12 people over the weekend.

Olivia and I (ignore the fact that I
only have one glove on. I took it
off to show Elder Martin how to work
my camera and didn't put it back on.)

With the lights, it's not uncommon to see people I know. And it's really just me. Most elders don't run into people they know, but for some reason I do. It's been great though. It has it's pros and cons and definitely is not somthing I want to happen every day, but still fun.

Elder Curtis: Wednesday, we had a devotional and lunch for the Church History Department and Elder Curtis spoke. He's the general authority over the CHD. I really enjoyed that too.

The rest of the week went by slowly. I don't have much more to report on until last night. But, it was still a good week.

Christmas concert: Last night, we went to the Christmas concert. IT WAS AMAZING!! Kellie O'Hare sang and Richard Thomas narrated. Kellie is on Broadway and Richard was in the Walton's and a few other shows and movies. I can't explain how amazing it was. Not as hilarious as Kristen Chenoweth last year, but it was just as good. You can't compare the concerts because the Tabernacle Choir and the Church knows how to put on a performance. We waited in standby for four and a half hours and didn't get in until 10 minutes before. And we were in the front of the line. However, they didn't know if they had tickets or not until right before. Unique performance and just a grand experience.

The Tree of Lebanon
(fun history behind that
and maybe I'll share it later.)

Spiritual Thought: Sorry, I'm so horrible at these. I wish I were better. I just want everyone to take some time to think about Christ and His birth this season. Think about His sacrifice and what He did for us. Always keep Him in your heart and thank Him for all He does. Christ is such an amazing example. Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you all have another good week. Look for the good in everyone and look for the positive things that happen in your life. Even on your worst days, see the good. There is always good around you. I truly love and admire and appreciate everyone. I especially love all of you on my email list and those who read my emails through my blog and Facebook and other means. It means a lot. With 10 weeks left, I plan on finishing strong. It's been a HARD 2 years, but it has been the most rewarding. Thank you for the love and support. Feel free to write or email me. 

Much Love,

Elder Michael Skaggs

15 E South Temple

JSMB 3 East

SLC, Utah 84150

Elder Skaggs vs the lights - from 12/07/2019

With the Christmas lights turning on, I always wonder what it's like for those who come to Temple Square to see the lights for the first time. Do you ever think they break out in song and start singing, 

"And at last I see the light 

And it's like the fog has lifted

And at last I see the light

And it's like the sky is new

And it's warm and real and bright

And the world has somehow shifted

All at once everything looks different

Now that I see you" 

Mom wanted pics of me for our
family Christmas card. This one is
my favorite. I'm sitting down on a
big snowball that I made earlier
in the day during exercise.

Well, I guess for everything except that last line. That's more of a romantic line for the movie. I don't have an answer for the question, but I thought I would throw it out there. It's from Tangled in case anyone is wanting to know where that song is from. 

The lights are really spectacular. I love walking around the square looking at the lights and being around people. I see little kids spending time with their family, teenagers with their friends, young couples, and just all kinds of people. It's super awesome because so many different people are here to enjoy the lights. It makes me smile to see everyone enjoying the lights together. Of course, I get to enjoy the lights with my companion, but in a year from now, I definitely hope to be enjoying the lights with either family, friends, or anyone. 

I also like how the lights
look in this photo

This was a slow week. It's crazy with the amount of people on the square each night because of the lights. Also, construction starts on the temple in less than a month. In case you haven't heard the update, they will be demolishing the south visitors center and the south wall at the beginning of January and then the annex on the North side more towards spring. I'm excited to see how that goes. 

With Christmas around the corner, don't forget to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Remember Him and the sacrifice He made. Also, go out and serve and love others during this holiday season. 

I love you all! Hope you have a great Christmas season! I'll send out a couple photos that I didn't get to send out last week.

Cool add on story:

Someone left a huge block of
snow in the middle of the sidewalk...

So, I had my companion take a
picture of me trying to step
over it (secretly, it wasn't that hard)...

Hey everyone, so I was going to finish emailing an hour and a half ago, but then got preoccupied on something and now have a cool story to share. As I got done emailing, I printed out my talk that I am to give at the senior center tomorrow. When I was walking back to get my stuff, a gentlemen asked me a quick question. Now, I haven't served in the library for almost a year. I haven't worked with Family Search for almost a year and I am not even assigned to help people on my p-day. HOWEVER, every missionary knows that even on your p-day, you look for ways to share the gospel. As for me, even on my p-day I look for ways to help people. Well, he asked me why the question mark key was doing an underline and then the

As a result, he got this majestic close
up of my face. Don't I look so good?

 underline key was putting a question mark when you type on a keyboard. I knew there was a solution, but I couldn't think of it right away. He asked another question and this is where I had to pull my knowledge out of the back of my brain and help him. Halfway through helping him, I realized the keyboard language was changed to Spanish and we fixed that problem. I ended up being able to help him for about an hour, which I did not expect. However, I can assure you all that God knows what he is doing. Although it wasn't part of my responsibilities, I think it was meant for me to help him. I think I needed it and I think it helped me a lot. Never turn down an offer to help someone. I was hoping to walk by and he wouldn't ask for my help, but he ended up doing so. And I'm glad I did. So, I haven't had a helping story in a long time and it probably will be a while until it happens again. 

Elder Michael Skaggs 

15 E South Temple 

JSMB 3 East 

SLC, Utah 84150 

Another picture for my mom for our
family Christmas card

And the last one for my mom...

Here is what the ground looked
like covered in snow

Look at this cool picture I took of
Angel Moroni through the trees.
At least I think it looks cool.