Beth -- October 27, 2015

Our sweet little angel, Beth Mitchell, valiantly passed her earthly test and returned to her Heavenly home on
October 24, 2015.  Beth was born December 27, 1960, the baby girl of Clarence Everett and Barbara Atkinson Mitchell.
Beth lived a long and happy life.  She touched many lives and taught us how to unconditionally love, freely enjoy life, laugh, forgive, and to have a heart full of gratitude.  Beth especially loved spending time with her parents and family, Christmas, Demolition Derbies, the Family Sleepout, and the Utah Jazz.  She liked to be called, "Woman."


After her mother died in 2007, Beth lived with the family of John and Caryl Miles who took care of her until the end of her life.  Beth passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her loved ones.


Beth is survived by her siblings: Victor C. (Julie) Mitchell, Sun City, AZ; Connie B. (Michael) Adams, Ogden, UT; Caryl Ann (and the late John D.) Miles, Kamas, UT; Paul E. (Teri Sue) Mitchell, Francis, UT; Debra Kay (Wayne) Hillstead, Liberty, UT; Boyd A (Bonie Mae) Mitchell and Becky Sue (Dennis) O’Driscoll, Kamas, UT; and many nieces, nephews, and others whose lives she touched.


Beth was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Barbara; her brothers in law, Lloyd Ray Lazenby and John Darrell Miles; and her great-nephew Nikolas Miles Yturralde.


Funeral services will be conducted at the LDS Church, 387 W. Last Frontier Lane, Francis, Utah on Wednesday, October 28, 2015, at noon.  Visitation will be held Tuesday evening from 6:00 until 8:00 and Wednesday morning from 10:30 until 11:45.

Interment in Francis Cemetery under the direction of Crandall Funeral Home - Kamas.

My, (Kristy's), talk at Beth's funeral.  I added a lot of Kaleb's beautiful testimony from the previous post.  I am thankful for the spirit and testimony that he has.

Beth

I feel so blessed that Beth was has always been a huge part of my life.  My earliest childhood memories include Beth and playing under grandma’s quilts with her in the living room.  I love her so much—she is my aunt, my sister, my friend. 

My son Kaleb is on a mission in Virginia.  On Monday, he sent home a beautiful email about Beth.  He said, “When I was younger, I always wondered what exactly Beth’s purpose was in this life?  Knowing that she was not accountable for her actions or decisions, what role was she sent to play in Heavenly Father’s beautiful plan?  What was predetermined in the pre-mortal life that we were to learn from Beth?  Like Kaleb, I’ve also been thinking of this for several months as we’ve slowly watched Beth decline. 

We know mentally she did not reach the age of accountability. In the Book of Mormon, Moroni says, “But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God.”  We know Beth was without sin.  That means she was among a handful of God’s children that walked this earth without err.  Although she still needed the Atonement so she could live again, she always had a special relationship and love in Jesus Christ. 

So what can we learn from Beth’s example? 

I think the first thing I learned from Beth from a very young age is Empathy.  Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.  I learned that handicapped people are special and they need to be respected and helped, not teased and made fun of.  I’m so grateful that my children learned this from a very young age also.

The next thing I learned from Beth is Divine Nature.  Kaleb wrote, “Beth knew she was a child of God and you could see it in her.  We know this because her favorite song is I am a Child of God.  She sang it countless number of times and she would sing it with every breath she had, as loud as she could because she knew it was true.  How beautiful that singing was. What could be more inspiring and more perfect than someone with her challenges declaring to the world that she is a child of our Heavenly Father and she loved him perfectly?  This was heavenly sent, those primary songs rang so familiar to her because she had already known them before she even came to this earth.  Alma 36:22 says, “Yea, me thought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.” 

Going to church with Beth was a huge spiritual treat.  She was very emotional at church—you knew that she could feel the spirit very strongly.  I’m grateful for our dear friend Laura who took her to primary with her so she could listen to the music and feel that love from our Heavenly Father.  I know it was a special time for her and for all the children in primary.

I think grandma said it perfectly when she said, “A miracle was born the day Bethie entered into our lives.  What a blessing in disguise she was.  However, I did not know that at the time.  I now know what it is to raise a child that places one hand in yours and the other hand in God’s."

Another thing I learned from Beth is Love.  Kaleb said, “The strongest Angelic quality I have been blessed enough to see in Beth was her way of showing the pure love of Christ. Moroni 7:47 says, “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.” The pure love of Christ is the atonement of our Savior.  Beth showed countless examples of that atonement.  I noticed that Beth always seeked after the One, like our Savior did.  I remember on multiple occasions when I was having a hard time or when I may have been pouting in my own selfishness, Beth would always seek me out and come right up to me, grab my shoulders and shake me.  Then she would laugh, jump pretty much on my lap and hug me, even sometimes giving me a big kiss on the cheek.  Every time she did this, it lifted my spirit and put me in a better mood.  She loved every one; she did these kinds of things all the time, even to strangers.”  How many of us have had that same experience?

Every time I walked into my mom’s or grandma’s house and she saw me, she would get so excited.  She always made me feel like I was the most important person in her world.  She would just randomly say, “Kristy, I like you!” or “Kristy, you’re so cute!” or if I was lucky, she would say “Kristy, I love you!”  Have you ever seen anyone demonstrate so much compassionate Christ like love? 

Another thing I learned from Beth is the importance of having a family.  All she wanted in this life is to be married and have babies.  She knew it was important! She has spent hours and hours rocking her babies.  That is all she wanted for Christmas every year—a new baby. She talked about it for weeks in advance. She did find a couple boyfriends, but that was strongly discouraged by grandma and grandpa. When she told them she wanted to get married, they told her she had to wait until she was 30 and when she got to be 30, they said she had to wait until she was 40, and when she got to be 40, she had to wait to be 50.  But by then, I think she just gave up.  Whenever I had a newborn baby, Beth would always tell me, “You’re so lucky.”  It made me appreciate my babies a little bit more., for I am very blessed!

I also learned the importance of modesty.  Beth was very modest.  There is no way you were ever going to see Beth’s knees.  And she would always say, “Company.”  If she said that to you, you needed to cover up and fast—your underwear was showing!  She would rearrange your shirt or pull your shorts down if she thought they weren’t long enough.  I appreciate her example of modesty and that true beauty comes from within.

Beth taught me about forgiveness.  D & C 82:1 says, “Inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you.”  Beth was very forgiving. And if she was mean or yelled at you, it only took her a few minutes to say, “I apologize” and she would give you one of those wonderful hugs.

The last lesson that I am going to talk about is Happiness.  Beth taught us that happiness doesn’t come from how many toys we can possess.  If you asked Beth if she had any money, she would just smile and say, “nope.”  Lance told me that he learned from her that you should just stop what you are doing and dance.  Just like the video of her 50^th birthday party.  She just stopped what she was doing and started dancing without a care in the world.  I believe happiness does come from all these qualities that Beth possessed: Knowing who you are and seeing others as Heavenly Father sees them instead of how man sees them, showing others the pure love of Christ, knowing that family comes first and treating our family members as they should be treated, Being modest in dress and thought, showing Forgiveness and in return asking for forgiveness. 

Kaleb also wrote this, “The greatest lesson I learned from Beth took me almost eighteen years to figure out. Beth in her older years had a hard time walking. Our family enjoys going to all sorts of events and we would always bring Beth along. After a rodeo, a derby, or a game of some sort one of us would usually pick Beth up in our arms and carry her down the big bleachers, or down the stairs. We would hold her hand and help her get to where we were going. Every time I would do this Beth would get so excited she would yell for everyone in the family to look at her so she could tell them how much fun she was having. When I would Lift Beth I thought I was doing her a favor, in all honesty, when I Lifted Beth she was actually Lifting Me. The humility I learned from Beth changed my life. She really did lift my family through the hard times. She lifted my Grandmother through the loss of her husband. Beth lifted each of us and carried us in such passionate and personal ways always putting a smile on our face when we thought there was no way we could smile. She proved us wrong.

I know this was a large portion of Beth's earthly mission.  To show us that Christ like Love. We may not know until after this life what the full meaning of Her purpose was but this we do know. Beth Mitchell fulfilled all the Father expected of Her. She stayed loyal and true to what she agreed to come down and do for our family. For this we are grateful! I know with every ounce of me that Beth will live again. She will be Resurrected through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. She will be among the faithful and those who kept the faith, that will rise at the morning of the first resurrection. She will be there, crowned in Celestial Glory. She still lives! She is still a part of this work in helping all of our brothers and sisters return to the Father. I guess the real question to ask is, will we be counted with her? We would all do well to follow the example of our sweet Angel Beth.

I also wonder if I could catch some of what the grand reunion must have been like when Beth did pass away last week, I can only Imagine her excitement and Her happiness. I echo the words of Enos before He passed as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Enos 1:27 "And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen."

I’m so grateful for Kaleb’s testimony!

Elder Russell M. Nelson said, “Irrespective of age, we mourn for those loved and lost.  Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love.  It is a natural response in complete accord with divine commandment, “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.” (D&C 42:45.)

Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now.  The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life. Beth showed us much love and I will be forever grateful for that love.  Her love is the reason why it is so hard for us now. I know she will be watching over us until we meet again.  I Love you Beth—thank you so much for everything you have done for us--I will never forget!

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ--Amen

Kristy, Beth, and Caryl - August 7, 2015

Till We Meet, (You and Me), Till We Meet at Jesus' Feet

God be with you till we meet again. . .

(That was how Beth sang this song--I love it!)

Our Angel Beth -- October 26, 2015

Hello Everyone,

The last few days have been hard. As you know, I received a phone call from my mission President on Saturday night right after we got into  bed. He informed me that my Aunt Beth had passed away; this news hit me very differently than I expected. I remember before my mission talking with my grandma and I received a confirmation in my heart that I would probably not see Beth when I returned. That was a struggle for me, hearing of her passing.  When I got off of the phone, I went into our study room in our apartment, I fell to my knees, and I sincerely thanked my God for the blessing I had of knowing Beth and recounted and gave thanks for the lessons I have learned from her. How thankful I am that for the last almost 20 years I have been able to be amongst an angel, heavenly sent to help our family.

When I was younger, I always wondered what exactly Beth's purpose was in this life? Knowing that she was not accountable for her actions or decisions, what role was she sent to play in Heavenly Fathers beautiful plan? What was predetermined in the pre-mortal life that we were to learn from Beth? This question was on my mind for years and I still learn from the spirit when I ask this question to myself.

Like I mentioned, because of the earthly position Beth was in, she was not accountable to the sense of sin or condemnation for any decision. We know this because of the truth in the scriptures. In the Book of Mormon, Moroni says, "But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God." We know Beth was without sin. That means she was among a handful of God’s children that walked this earth without err. Although she still needed the Atonement so she could live again, she always had a special relationship and love in Jesus Christ.

The strongest Angelic quality I have been blessed enough to see in Beth was her way of showing the Pure love of Christ. We learn from the scriptures what the pure love of Christ is:  47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. The Pure love of Christ is the Atonement of our Savior. Beth showed countless examples of that atonement. I noticed that Beth always seeked after the One, like our Savior did. I remember on multiple occasions when I was having a hard time or when I may have been pouting in my own selfishness, Beth would always seek me out and come right up to me, grab my shoulders and shake me! Then she would laugh, jump pretty much on my lap and hug me. Sometimes she gave me a big kiss on the cheek. Every time she did this, it lifted my spirit and put me in a better mood. She loved everyone; she did these kinds of things all the time, even to strangers. Have you ever seen anyone demonstrate so much compassionate Christ like Love? 

Beth knew who she was. She knew that she was a child of God--you could see it in her! One evidence of this is the countless times Beth would sing "I am a Child of God" I will always cherish the times we were sitting in church when that song would come on. She would be the most excited person in the world. She would sing that primary song with every breath she had, as loud as she could because she knew it was true! How beautiful that singing was! What could be more inspiring and more perfect then someone with her challenges declaring to the world that she is a Child of our Heavenly Father and She loved Him perfectly? This was heavenly sent, those primary songs rang so familiar to her because she had already known them before she even came to this earth.

Alma 36:22 "Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there."

The greatest lesson I learned from Beth took me almost eighteen years to figure out. Beth in her older years had a hard time walking. Our family enjoys going to all sorts of events and we would always bring Beth along. After a rodeo, a derby, or a game of some sort, one of us would usually pick Beth up in our arms and carry her down the big bleachers. Every time I would do this, Beth would get so excited! She would yell for everyone in the family to look at her so she could tell them how much fun she was having. When I would Lift Beth, I thought I was doing her a favor,  in all honesty, when I Lifted Beth, she was actually Lifting Me. The humility I learned from Beth changed my life. She really did lift my family through the hard times. She lifted my Grandmother through the loss of her husband. Beth lifted each of us and carried us in such passionate and personal ways always putting a smile on our face when we thought there was no way we could smile. She proved us wrong.

I know this was a large portion of Beth's earthly mission.  To show us the Christ like Love. We may not know until after this life what the full meaning of her purpose was, but this we do know. Beth Mitchell fulfilled all that the Father expected of her. She stayed loyal and true to what she agreed to come down and do for our family. For this we are grateful! I know with every ounce of me that Beth will live again. She will be resurrected through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. She will be among the faithful and those who kept the faith that will rise at the morning of the first resurrection. She will be there, crowned in Celestial Glory. She still lives! She is still a part of this work in helping all of our brothers and sisters return to the Father. I guess the real question to ask would be, Are you going to be counted with her? We would all do well to follow the example of our sweet Angel Beth.

I also wonder if I could catch some of what the grand reunion must have been like when Beth did pass away last week. I can only imagine her excitement and her happiness. I echo the words of Enos before he passed as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Enos1:27 "And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen."

We will miss Beth dearly until we will see her again. We will see her again--that is my testimony in Christ's name, Amen.

- Elder L. Kaleb Bingham

Half Way Through October -- October 19, 2015

Hello Everyone,

This week was an outstanding one! Elder Millard and I are working really well together; our lessons have been very powerful.  I think we have been teaching the best lessons either of us have ever taught. We have noticed that we have really emphasized teaching people not lessons. We have been really trying to tailor-fit everything we do to help our friends build their faith in Jesus Christ.

We had an example of this last night. We attended a planning meeting to think of ways we could better get involved in the community in the upcoming and busy months. We came up with some great plans that we are looking forward to. When we got done with our meeting, we had about 30 minutes until our curfew.  We thought about who we could see to finish out the night with little time. We felt prompted to go see a man named Chris that we have been trying to work with for weeks. We figured at least we could share a thought and get a solid return appointment for this week. We went with our member over there and we knocked on the door and Chris was super excited to see us! He invited us to sit down and talk. He opened up with many of his family’s concerns and needs. We shared what came into our hearts. He was blessed and then he, on his own, set up a solid return appointment for us this week. He thanked us for caring about him. He said he has been impressed with our persistence and is thrilled to have us teach him and his family. We always follow the Spirit! 

Well I think my companion and I made mission history this week. We taught a Skype lesson!! But no, we do not have Ipads. Our friend, Mcquesha, asked us if we could do a Skype visit out of convenience, so we did! It was super cool! We had a harder time meeting with her this week but this Skype lesson was so great! We followed up on what she liked about church and she absolutely loved it! She said that she felt so welcomed and involved. It was a blessing. And she came out and said how excited she is to get baptized in the coming month! She is doing so great. When she said the closing prayer it was so humble and powerful. She even came to church yesterday and also enjoyed it. Next week is the ward primary program and I can’t wait to see how she loves that. One of her concerns is she wants her son to live a good life and have a good influence--next week will be great!

One more miracle!

So this week we had to do some work at the library for our zone. When we left to go get lunch, we were driving home and passed a section of town homes that were fairly new. I felt an immediate impression to stop and go knock on  a few of them, so we did! We met a few people but nothing too promising, then we knocked on one more door and met a man named Joseph. We ended up teaching him the whole restoration. He accepted a commitment from us and we had a killer lesson. He said he wanted to stay on a straight path to God, not a wavy one. In my head I was like, “Oh have we got a story for you!” (The Iron Rod) haha But he was sweet. We have been blessed with so many of these miracles lately.

My testimony just keeps on growing and growing and my love for Jesus Christ continues to get deeper and deeper. I love it. I especially have reminded myself lately of the blessings of reading the Book of Mormon and other great scriptures.  It has really expanded my faith in the last few weeks. Roanoke is great and there are great things happening!

I found this promise in the scriptures this week: D&C 6: 33

33 Fear not‍ to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good‍ ye shall also reap good for your reward.

This is so true! 

Keep the Faith,

-Elder Kaleb Bingham

Fall Miracles -- October 12, 2015

Hello Everyone,

This week was great!  The Vogel family we have been working with is doing awesome. They have been a family that has been returning back to the gospel.  About a month ago, we were able to teach and baptize one of their daughters, Rorri, and this last week we were able to help one of their sons, Joey, do the same! It has been a blessing working with them. Joey was so excited to get baptized and when it came down to it, he was terrified of doing it in front of the ward. It took us twenty minutes to calm him down enough to get in the water and preform the ordinance. It was so worth it though! He was happy as could be after the baptism. I love the Vogels; they are one more family coming closer to being together for eternity. 

We have been teaching our friends Angela and Dominic. We stopped by last night and had a short lesson with them and then invited them to a baptism that was happening a few hours later than the time we were visiting with them. After promising them the blessings of coming to the baptism, we extended the commitment for them to come. I have to admit I had little faith in them, in my mind I did not think they would put forth the effort to come. Later at the service, we were visiting in the hallway when I turned around and saw both of them all dressed up and ready to be there! The words echoed in my mind, "Thou of little faith." I learned a great deal, as so did they while being there. I learned we need to have absolute faith in our fellow brothers and sisters and see them as our Heavenly Father sees them with that kind of perfect potential. They loved the baptism and are planning on attending church next week!

So for my fast yesterday one of the things I fasted for was for a girl named McQuesha. I fasted that she would start to progress in the gospel.  We found her by knocking on her door. We have been working with her for a few weeks and I see a lot of potential with her. She has a very rough past. She talks about how she grew up going from different shelters and being homeless with her mom, even though you would never tell. She has a 1 month old baby boy and all she wants is the best for him. She wants to raise him right so he will know God and make good choices. We invited her to church and she was excited to come! We found her a member friend and they both showed up to church. We planned ahead and asked different members to go and introduce themselves and they did. MaQuesha loved it. She loved church and now she wants to be baptized! Although there is still a lot of work to do, it never fails that God prepares people for his gospel and prepares them to accept it. The miracles of the fast!

I love the gospel. It is so great to know our Savior and be part of His work. I am so grateful that I have had such great parents that raised me in this gospel. I have never not known and loved my Savior and my Heavenly Father, I have always known them and I owe that to my parents! I love this work--It is the greatest!

Virginia is exploding with color! I will send pictures next week. I love you all!

Remember to Keep the Faith!

- Elder Kaleb Bingham

General Conference Week Miracles -- October 5, 2015

Hello Everyone,

This week was crazy!

We started out the week with having to go to Charleston for a leadership council. We do it every month. But we pick up other Zone leaders in our minivan and carpool down there. It is an all-day event that we have to wake up at 4:00 in the morning for. But it is always worth it! I loved this one, I'm so grateful for my mission president. I learn so much from him! 

We attended a media event for the church. It was hosted at a food bank called Feeding America. The church donated $165,000 dollars of food and trucked it down here to Roanoke all the way from Salt Lake. Pretty sweet! We took a lot of pictures with us and the Stake President and also the Church Media people that speak for the church. We sure felt fancy, it was fun. What other church spends that kind of money in donating food to places around the world every week? God’s true church does, that is for sure. It was cool to see people’s reaction to that here. It was a fun event.

We were there with our sister missionaries, as well, and after the media event, we were talking and decided that we needed to do more than show up and take pictures. So we went and helped for a few hours in the food bank. People were astonished as to how we were dressed and how hard we were working. The looks we got were priceless. It was a great experience. You always serve where you stand. 

We are still waiting to hear about when our news interview will be. It has to pass through some people and get approved. I hope it happens soon, we are excited for that!

I loved conference! We were able to share conference with many people! We had 5 or 6 of our friends watch some of the General Conference.  I love how the words of living prophets change our lives! The spirit is so strong in their words, you can know for a surety that indeed they are prophets and that God speaks to them. Elder Holland’s message was very personal and interesting. The greatest example of Pure Christ Like Love is through our Mother’s examples. I know that to be true. That talk hit a cord for me! How grateful I am for my mother! 

I was able to go on an exchange with  Elder Barnett this last week. He has been out two transfers and is currently assigned to be a District leader and a Trainer. I was so impressed by him. I was able to reflect on my mission with him. I have been in his shoes and just thought how amazing the Atonement really is. I think it is great to look back sometimes and recognize how much we have grown and have changed for the better. I have learned so much on my mission and I'm so excited to work even harder the last tail end of my mission. There is nothing greater than being in the works of God. I love this Gospel. This weekend I was reminded over and over again of why I love it so much.

I love you all! Hope you have an awesome week.

Keep the Faith!

- Elder Kaleb Bingham

Rain, Rain, and More Rain -- September 28, 2015

September 28, 2015

Hello Everyone,

This week was a wet one! It rained a lot. . . .  But my companion and I were determined to not let it slow us down. On one of the rainy days some of our plans fell through. We wanted to stay effective so we prayed and decided that we would work the area we were in. The rain was pouring down and we were getting soaked through our rain gear. It seemed like every door we knocked was slammed in our face but we felt in our hearts that we needed to keep going. Right when we were just about to head to the car my companion was inspired and said let’s try one more house down the street. So we did and we found a young family in their car port watching the rain storm. As we approached them, they looked surprised to see us. We told them who we were and who we were representing. The young father got our names and kindly told us that right now was not a good time for them but they gave us a time to come back the following day. We followed up and went to their house the next day and they were ready for us! They even made hot chocolate for us. We had a great discussion and this man already owned a Book of Mormon. He ordered one online and had read some in the past. When you work for the Miracles they do come! You just have to want them bad enough.

Let’s see, our Albanian family isn't doing as good as we would like them to be. The mother doesn't think she can change from being a Muslim; she is scared to offend or hurt her family. She loves the church, loves what we teach, but she said that she can’t convert, it would be too hard. The daughters don't want to upset there mom, so we are in a standstill. . They are still learning and coming to activities, so there is hope in the future, we will see. This made me pretty sad when you grow to love the people you serve all you want is for them to experience the full happiness of the gospel. 

Our Catholic couple is going to be watching conference this week! They are doing great; we are really changing some perspective there. We owe a lot to the Blueprint of Christ's church talk, thank you Elder Callister.  We have had some great lessons with them.

So guess what! Yesterday I got briefed by one of the churche’s public affairs regional reps. The man that briefed us is a close friend to Mitt Romney and worked for and spoke for the church during his campaign. (He was actually a missionary companion with Mitt Romney in Italy, that is how they met.) But he taught us how to be on camera and how to answer questions while being interviewed on the news. BECAUSE I’M GOING TO BE ON THE NEWS! Hopefully this week, we are not sure what time it is for sure. But it will be on the same channel that the reporters got shot on. . . but that is okay, I will give you all the details when it happens so you can look it up. 

So my mission president sent this out last week but I wanted to share it! The Refiners fire is real and we are all in the Refiners fire! The Refiner is Christ our Savior. He refines us to become like him.

 Malachi 3:3

·         The purpose of purification is so that we can give a better offering to Heavenly Father.
·         Even the purist of the pure people on earth still need to be purified.
·         When gold is refined, imperfections rise to the surface so they can be taken away.
·         When our weaknesses rise to the surface, it is a good thing - not only because it means we have come closer to Christ (as we learn in Ether 12:27), but because it means that our weaknesses are ready to be scooped out.
·         The refiner knows the exact temperature that causes our weaknesses to surface so they can be taken out. That temperature is just hot enough to allow the imperfections to be removed without losing any fraction of the gold. It is just cool enough so that the gold is not ruined. 
·         The refiner sits—because it takes a while to complete the process. 
·         When the refiner can see his own reflection, He knows the process is done.

My favorite part is the end, "When the refiner can see his own reflection, he knows the process is done." My question as I studied this was Can the Savior see His reflection in me? Am I reflecting His image to those around me and will I allow him to scoop out the impurities? These are great questions to ask. I love the opportunity we have in this life. I hate when I talk to someone and they tell me there is no purpose in this life. That bothers me because there is such a purpose and it is so simple to know, a child can understand it.

I hope everyone has a good week keep me in your prayers please! I love you all.

Keep the Faith!

Elder Kaleb Bingham

I'm Staying in Roanoke -- September 23, 2015

Hello Everyone,

The last week and a half have been awesome! We had so many great things happen! I love my mission in the fall time, things are starting to cool off and the Virginia colors are starting to come out. It is a great time of year to be a missionary.

We have been teaching a Jamaican man named Austin. We had been trying to get him to church for the last couple weeks and he always gives us the excuse that he has to work. We went to a lesson with him and we were thinking that we would have to start seeing him less because we could not get him to church and we could not force him to go. So we got there and we sat down and he said "Elders I have thought a lot about what you said and I need to sacrifice some things and come to church so God can bless me."  We were so excited! The spirit really does work on people; This is the Lords work! Austin came to church and stayed all three hours and loved it. We can’t wait to see how his sacrifices will bless his life.

Our Albanian family is doing okay. ..  The Mother of the family is worried that she can’t convert from being a Muslim, which is sad, but we have to be sensitive of that. The girls, Mira and Medina are loving the church! They have been involved in young women's and Mira went to a dance last weekend that was a multi stake dance, the young woman's leader said she loved it. And on the way back she told the leader and the girls, "don't tell my Mom I danced with that many boys!" I thought that was funny. We will see what happens with the family. I know the girls will join the church one day, hopefully that day is soon, but if not it will be to come. :) 

The Catholic couple we have been teaching has really taken off. We felt prompted to give him a talk called the Blueprint of Christ's Church. It is a great talk by Tadd R. Callister (who I think will be one of the new Apostles,) but he loved the talk we have been breaking it down for him. Things are going really well with them.

We had three of our friends we are teaching come to church--it was a blast. I'm so grateful for the revelation we receive at church and the answers we receive from our prayers as we listen to the spirit in our church meetings. It is awesome. I love seeing people come to church for the first time and be enlightened. It is great. 

We have been doing a lot of biking this week. We pack the bikes around in the minivan that we drive and then we unload them when we are in the city and we will bike around and talk to people. It has been really cool and really fun! I have loved it!

Well that is my update for the week! I love you all and I love this Gospel!

Keep the faith!

Elder L.  Kaleb Bingham

The Field is White -- September 14, 2015

Hello Everyone,

Well the best thing ever happened this week! The Robertson Family's kids got baptized and I was able to go back to Pembroke for it! It was so nice to go back. I love that family so much! I was so excited to see them and it felt good that they were pretty excited to see me as well. They really wanted me to be there for it, so we made it happen, thanks to a very nice member in my area named Chris that drove us up to Pembroke! 

The Baptism was great! Autumn, the daughter of the family, was super nervous and Lee, my favorite kid in the world was so excited. He was bouncing off the walls. They asked me to give a talk (which I didn't know about until they pretty much announced it.) But it was fun, I enjoyed that. Then my old companion, Elder Wilkinson, baptized them. He has been working with them for six months. But it was super funny. When Lee was baptized, as soon as he came up out of the water he yelled "I feel great!" He then proceeded to run out of the font with excitement. Haha It was so funny! Autumn enjoyed it as well, she was a lot happier after the baptism.

I have loved working with their family. They have changed my life! I found more of myself as I was able to help them get reactivated and back to church and help get the kids baptized. I found so much joy when I heard them talking about how they want to get to the temple and get sealed. That is what it is all about! The Gospel of Jesus Christ really does bless the family; it is what holds the family together. It really is the foundation on which we stand. (Heleman 5:12)

It was hard to leave the baptism but I felt so good in my heart about it. Lee, the son, even invited me to "stay a while." He said I can live in his guest room and still be a missionary in Pembroke, it was cute. Oh how I love the Robertson Family! J

But back in Roanoke, things have been going pretty good!

We taught a sweet lesson with our Albanian family. The lesson was on baptism. It was fun and super simple. The hard part was that I felt the spirit so strong in the lesson and I know the family did as well. I tried to commit them to being baptized using very simple wording. The Mother of the family said that they are already washed from their sins and had a harder time accepting it. But the girls really want to be baptized! We all knelt down and prayed together. I had both the girls say a prayer and in the younger girls prayer she said, "God please help me feel what you felt like when you got baptized" and the 17 year old said "help me prepare so I can get baptized." It was awesome! Please pray for them and especially the Mom that she will allow it. I am praying it will happen!

I love Roanoke! There are so many great people to be found all over! We are getting bikes fixed so hopefully we can start biking some days and leave our minivan that we drive at home! 

Thank you all for the prayers and all the help. I love you all--have a great week and Keep the Faith!

- Elder Kaleb Bingham

P.S. pictures from this week’s baptism!

"I Feel Great!"  He is the cutest!!!

September Baptisms -- September 8, 2015

Hello Everyone,

Well it was a great week to start off September! One of the girls we have been teaching got baptized on Saturday. It was a giant success. Her name is Rorri Vogel. She is 11 years old and we recently got her family back to church and starting to get back into activity. It was a good day! She loved it and it was very fitting. We had been working hard with her family to come back. They are a great family--we love them!

One thing that was also cool about the baptism is that we got our Albanian family there as well!  They are taking the discussions at a slower pace because Christianity is kind of a new thing to them. So they didn't really know what baptism was, but they came anyway and really loved it! The 17 year old girl after, the service, asked me if I was baptized. I told her I was when I was a kid. She then asked me if I felt that good after I got baptized like the girl did. I love seeing the spirit work on people!

They also came to church on Sunday! It was a fast and testimony meeting, which unfortunately, it turned into story time this week. We were biting our finger nails. . . but it is okay! We had an outstanding Gospel Principals lesson about the God head! It was an amazing lesson. We had like over 10 nonmembers there between all of the missionaries. Zurah, the Mom of the Albanian family told us after the class that she, "felt the power in the lesson and it took away the pain from her heart." When she said that, it really hit home for Elder Millard and me. 

So we took advantage of fast Sunday this week. Elder Millard and I decided to fast together for a specific miracle. We fasted to find a new family we can teach that will benefit the ward. As we went to church, we noticed a couple we had never seen before, so we went and introduced ourselves. We had some small talk and then found out that the man was a returning member that has been inactive for years and his fiancé is not a member but felt like she should come to church with him. It was awesome! We exchanged info and he called us that night to set up an appointment for us to come over. God really does answer prayers.

Elder Wilkinson called me on Sunday (my last companion.) He told me that Debbie got baptized and it went great. He said the whole room was in tears. I was super happy to hear that she did it!

The blessings of a mission are incredible. The less you think of yourself, the more blessings you see. I'm so glad I am here and I'm so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who made all of this possible!

I love you all--have an awesome week! Keep the faith!

-Elder Kaleb Bingham

My area is famous -- August 31, 2015

Hello Everyone,

Well guess it is no surprise that my Roanoke area made worldwide news this week. It was very sad about the shooting! It is super crazy; a member showed us the news clip. It was very sad. The people here are talking all about it. We have had many conversations about the shooting and it has actually given us some pretty sweet opportunities to teach. But it is very sad about the people that were killed. I have seen multiple cars with RIP and the people’s names painted on their back windows. What is crazy is that my companion, Elder Millard, was on an exchange and he was only a few miles away from where it happened. Crazy stuff! We have been keeping their families in our prayers!

It was definitely a week! It was a harder one, but there were some great things!

Last week I talked about an older Catholic couple. We have been teaching, and they are still doing great! Ray, the man, is outstanding. He has been doing some serious reading in the Book of Mormon and we have had the best discussions. They are so humble! Most older people I meet on the mission are pretty stuck in their ways, but this couple, you can tell, is looking to be healed spiritually. Keep them in your prayers please! 

We are now teaching a family from Albania! Well at least most of the family. They actually reached out to us and called the church. It has been super fun! The mother’s name is Zuhra and she has three daughters 11, 17 and 23 that we are also teaching. We have to teach super simply because the mom has a hard time understanding English sometimes. The daughters were all raised over here in the states, so they are very fluent in English. They have a Muslim background; we wouldn't be able to teach them if they had intentions of leaving the states, but they are not. We had a simple lesson yesterday. A member helped us teach it. We just taught them how to pray. It was so simple but so special! They loved it, so much fun. They are also teaching Elder Millard and I their language--they speak Albanian! So far, we can say Hi, how are you doing and have a good night, see you soon. We are making progress. :)

I just love being a missionary! Lately I have just felt an overall sense of love for everyone here. I don't think I have ever been so in-tune with the spirit, I love this feeling! The thought of not being a missionary and not being set apart scares me! I don't want this to ever end. But in the meantime, there is no better feeling then bringing souls unto Christ! I love it. Keep the faith!

Elder Lance Kaleb Bingham

P.S. The pictures are of a P-day hike. It was fun--we were on the edge of the world! A place called McAfee's Knob.

2nd Week in Roanoke -- August 24, 2015

Hello Everyone,

Roanoke just keeps getting better and better! It has been a good week. I have never met and talked to so many people in my life! We are just finding people everywhere! It has been really different; I'm not used to all the people still, but it is a blast. I will just summarize some of the great experiences we had here!

So we were tracting earlier this week and we knocked on one door and a lady answered and told us she knew who we were. So we were like, “Okay, how do you know us?” And she told us she was actually a member of the church and was inactive. She told us she had not heard from anyone from the church in 8 solid years. We were the first to make any kind of contact with her in that long. It was sad to hear. But then she expressed to us, in a lot of tears, how badly she missed the church and how she really wants to come back. She just doesn't know how. It was such a sincere desire to come back to our Savior. I'm so grateful we found her and made that contact. It was a blessing. It brought me to think about Moroni 6 where it talks about remembering everyone that enters into the gate. It also reminded me that we are all converts in the Lord’s eyes, heading on the same path home. I hope we are constantly reaching out to our Brothers and Sisters, especially the ones we are responsible for.

We had one more great find this week! We found a great nineteen year old girl that is a single mother with a two year old son. She is living with her parents and she was super open to talk with us. (Before you judge me, we brought a member with us to teach her.) But she is so elect! She understood the restoration almost perfectly. It was cool to see our message help her. She expressed to us that all the Christian people she knows keep telling her that she may be going to hell because she had a baby outside of wedlock. How crushing and discouraging that must be? Those churches are completely false. We taught her that no matter what she has done, if she repents and changes through the gospel, she will indeed be forgiven. That is the blessing of the Atonement. I'm looking forward to our lesson this week!

We are teaching an older Catholic couple here. They are good friends with the members of the ward and have been getting the lessons for a while. We were talking about baptism and they told us that babies need to be baptized when they are born to get rid of Adam’s sin. The thought of that theory made me so sad. I shared an experience with them that my Aunt had when one of her babies was born premature. Through my tears, I was able to express that children and babies do not have the need to be baptized because they are indeed alive in Christ. I expressed that my aunt and my family was able to get through the loss of our cousin because of the knowledge we gained out of the Book of Mormon in (Moroni 8.)  Children and all of God’s children have no need in being baptized until they are at the age of accountability. At the end of the lesson, the older man that we were teaching told me, "I always knew that that Catholic belief was false." It was one of the most powerful lessons I have had in a while. I was grateful for the knowledge I had gained out of my personal study to know what was contained in Moroni 8 to help the people I was teaching.  It is my testimony that I know this church is indeed true because of these precious and simple truths that other churches do not have.

It has been a great week. My companion is a fire ball! I love Elder Millard we took some pictures during lunch in our apartment. I will send them. Keep the Faith--I love you all!

- Elder Kaleb Bingham

I Found Zion! -- August 17, 2015

Hello Everyone,

I am convinced that I am in a different mission! Roanoke is so sweet! It is massive. I have never been in a city this big on my mission before--it is so much fun! The population of people in our area is 98,000 people. We can talk to people all day long, it is awesome. I have been having so much fun being here it feels great.

We have been doing a lot of work in down town Roanoke. Basically all we have to do is walk down the street and just talk to people and that is how we have been finding people to teach! It is the greatest; I feel like I'm in New York! I attached a picture of a street we were working last night.

We had a cool experience down town my first day I got here. We were walking and noticed a girl and a few guys moving someone in to a studio apartment. We offered to help them move in and they gladly accepted our service! We got talking while we were moving and once we were done the girl named Kristina told us how thankful she was for our help. It turns out that she just got a job on one of the Virginia news stations, she is a reporter.  It was neat. She invited us back to share a message with her; we were excited about that! It was cool to see how some simple service can really touch someone's life. After we were done helping her move in, one of the guys that were there bought us lunch! It was awesome. There is no better feeling then serving someone--there is so much we can do in our day to day lives. This is something I will always do because I'm addicted to the loving satisfaction that comes from a little service. 

The Roanoke ward is awesome! It feels like I'm out west. It was a good welcoming Sunday! We had a really great lesson in Gospel Principals about Repentance. After church we had a lunch and mingle where everyone had lunch and just talked, it was sweet! I like the ward a lot; it will be a lot of fun to work with them.

We had a good lesson with a 14 year old boy last night named Nasir. He lives in the inner part of the city. What a smart kid! It was a fun lesson; we taught him the Plan of Salvation and invited him to be baptized. After we extended the invitation we asked him, “How long do you think it will take you to come to know this is true?” He replied, “I don't know, probably like three weeks!” It was a powerful response--he has a lot of faith!

I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in Roanoke! I feel like I am needed here.  I can’t wait to see the miracles that are awaiting me here! I love you all--thanks for all the support and the prayers.

Keep the Faith!

- Elder L. Kaleb Bingham