MTC: First email

Provo, Utah 

Terve mina Perhe! 

What an amazing experience the MTC has been so far! we are leaving to LA tomorrow to get our visas so i am writing a day early! i would like to start out by emphasizing the convinence of dearelder.com. it helps a lot for replying and answering questions! My companion is Vanhin ***, he is a really great guy! we work really well together and plan out the tasks for the day. 

 

Weve only been here for a few days and Vanhin *** and i have been learning a ton of Finnish. we have taught three lessons completely in finnish! the first one didnt go very well, when we asked him if we could come back another time he asked when and we didnt understand so we just said goodbye! it was super emmbarrasing but were learning! last week i was made District Leader and that has significantly increased my responsiblities here at the MTC. 

Our district has 8 Lahetyssarrnjia (missionaries) in it. 6 elders and 2 sisters. we all work really well together. as a district we are really trying to work on our positivity. as you can tell by the length of the word for missionary this language isnt a walk in the park! something funny is that when were in devotionals with the whole MTC they say "hey, you could be learning Finnish!" its really tough work but extremely rewarding and we havent even seen all the blessings from it.

 

The work here requires a lot of maturity. its really obvious who those mature missionaries are and its extremely helpful to follow their examples. Vanhin *** and i work really hard to be those kind of missionaries. we really work on obedience with exactness and that means being in bed with the lights off by 10:30 every night. ;) obviuosly i have no trouble with that one! here in the MTC there is so much to do and never enough time to do it!  also we write in our journals every night! (mom: i knew i could do it!) 

So far ive seen Elders ***, ***, ***, and a bunch of other guys from Gilbert!

Well time is super short for writing so i may be writing a hand written letter sometime durring the week to give some more details! 

Mina raakastan Sinua,

(I love You!) 

Vanhin Tippetts

MTC: Visiting the Provo Temple

A relative of the *** family shared this photo of Elder Tippetts and Elder *** while they were visiting the grounds of the Provo Temple. This is the first picture we've seen of Elder Tippetts wearing his missionary name tag.

Spencer saying good-bye at the MTC

Traveling to Salt Lake City

Waiting at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

Arriving at Salt Lake City Airport

Photo shoot one week before leaving for Utah

Farewell Talk

Spencer’s Mission Farewell Talk

January 27, 2013

My name is Tippetts, Elder Tippetts and I'm going on a mission! For those who are not of our faith, all young men are encouraged to serve missions as part of their Priesthood responsibility. We serve in the mission field for two years. Normally the minimum age to begin missionary service is 19 but just recently our prophet, President Monson, lowered the age to 18 (for men). After I heard the announcement I called my mom and said, “You know I'm going to leave right away!” she responded with tears and said, “I know.” My dad then told me not to walk but to run. I have received my assignment to serve in the Finland Helsinki mission and I leave in two weeks.

We took a picture outside the church after Spencer gave his farewell talk.

My friends and family, it is good to be with you this morning. I’ve been given the topic of elder Ballard’s general conference address entitled “Be anxiously Engaged”. After much thought and minimal preparation I learned that he is referring to engaging ourselves in the work of the lord. Preparation is kind of like Italian dressing. I’ve been filling the bottle up for 18 years and now I got to shake it up to get it all mixed together. Now, I have not seen the sea parted or the Savior heal the sick but I see the Lords hand in my life and it compels me to anxiously engage myself in his service.

For as long as I can remember I have suffered from a disease called hyperhidrosis. It had a severe effect on my physically and emotionally. Hyperhidrosis seems very serious but really it means I have really sweaty hands. To you this doesn’t seem very severe but to me it was devastating. Every time I shook someone’s hand id have to watch in horror, as my moist hands would grasp there’s and after the shake they wiped their hand off on the pants. For years I had prayed for the lord to take this ailment away from me and a few weeks ago my prayers had been answered. A fellow ward member had referred me to a doctor who could cure my sweaty hands permanently. After a consultation I fearlessly scheduled the surgery 3 days later. I arrived on operation day and was immediately hooked up to all the machines that were necessary to preform the procedure. I was wheeled into the operating room and was knocked out cold by a very interesting cocktail of drugs. After three hours of surgery, two lung deflations and a few incisions I awoke in the recovery room. As I regained conscience, I felt my hands… bone dry! It worked! I began to lose sight of who actually allowed for this procedure to be possible. I began to think, “I had just cheated the system” “I have improved my bodies weakness.” “I am no longer sweaty!” and I thought how great it was that I had figured it out. The next day as I was lying on the couch, watching a show about Mount Everest, my hands became a little sweaty. I became worried and kept watching the show. As the show became more intense, so did the sweating in my palms. I frightened alerted my mother who alerted the doctor who baffled, replied, “that’s impossible.” This went on for 24 hours exactly and just as immediate as the sweating stopped the first time, it stopped again and the results of the surgery were restored. I then had the overwhelming impression that God had done that on purpose. Our Father in Heaven knows the channels for which sweating is possible better than any doctor and for sure more than me. He did it to prove to me that he was still in control and if I didn’t use my new confidence wisely he could take it away just as easily as he gave it to me.

Never had I seen Gods hand in my life more clearly than I had with this experience.

Read D&C 88:104

104. And this shall be the sound of his trump, saying to all people, both in heaven and in earth, and that are under the earth—for every ear shall hear it, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess, while they hear the sound of the trump, saying: Fear God, and give glory to him who sitteth upon the throne, forever and ever; for the hour of his judgment is come.

In the mid 1950’s, my great-grandfather, Marion Tippetts owned and operated a large farm and cattle ranch in northern Wyoming. Naturally he needed a rather large work force; luckily he had 10 children. It was that time of the year to begin planting crops. The crop produced this year was the entire families income and was very important that everything be done on a tight schedule. This meant the fields had to be plowed, that day. Dean, having reached the age of 8 meant he was now allowed to operate a tractor. The young boy Dean left the family and rumbled along on his tractor towards the fields. He began plowing one straight line after another. Being only 8 years old one could imagine that his attention span would be quite short. After spotting a rabbit run across the field he shut the tractor down and bolted after it. This rabbit took him on the adventure to end all adventures. After chasing this rabbit for an hour or two he spotted a deer. Naturally he was compelled by his 8-year-old mind to chase it. He describes this experience today as being Daniel Boon for 4 hours. At this point, he is deep into the woods. He was having the time of his life while exploring the woods when he suddenly realized that the sun was setting and the fields were not plowed yet! He sprinted back to the fields and jumped on his tractor fired it back up and kept plowing.

Darkness was falling upon him faster and faster. At this point Dean learned that the headlight on his tractor was broken. He became frightened not only of what lay in the darkness but of letting down his entire family and having to face the wrath of his father. He finished one field at the same time it became too dark to continue working. Realizing how difficult returning to his family would be, he turned the tractor off and put his face into his hands. As tears of fear and sadness filled his eyes and over the sound of the howling coyotes, he heard a voice. “Dean… Dean… DEAN!” Dean responded to the shouting of his name, “im over here!” he could see the light of a tractor getting brighter as it approached him. Once it got right next to him the driver turned his tractor around and looked at Dean and said “its time to come home Dean.” Dean’s oldest brother Tom had navigated through the darkness and found his frightened younger brother. As Dean followed his brother home he inquired about the fields he hadn’t plowed. Tom replied, “don’t worry about that, lets just get home.” As they passed the last of the fields Dean saw in the glow of his brothers light that the rest of them had been plowed. Dean’s older brother had finished his work and helped Dean with his. That night Dean and Tom returned to their family and said to their father, “All the fields have been plowed.”

At one point or another, it will get dark in our lives. We will become sad and depressed, lost and confused. Guidance will be sought and will be found in no other place than in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Wentworth letter:

“No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

Whether by our own hands or by the hand of Jesus Christ, the work will be done. I am anxiously engaging myself in a good cause. No other way can I show that than by serving My Father in Heaven? This is why I am serving a mission. To help my brothers and sisters from the other side of the world to realize that Christ will lead them home.

Elder Ballard says,

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. …
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37, 39–40).

The Savior’s words are simple, yet their meaning is profound and deeply significant. We are to love God and to love and care for our neighbors as ourselves. Imagine what good we can do in the world if we all join together, united as followers of Christ, anxiously and busily responding to the needs of others and serving those around us—our families, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens.

Thoughts on positivity: Positivity in Failure.

I am 18 years old and one could argue that I couldn’t offer much advice due to a lack of life experiences. I’d say they’re probably right. That’s why I want to help others learn as I learn myself. I’m constantly striving to obtain knowledge from whomever I can and if it is useful to me then it must be useful to others. To help illustrate my reasoning I offer this silly yet valuable analogy. Recently, I was explaining how I felt about sharing knowledge with some friends. I proceeded to tell them about how knowledge is like a Hot Pocket. I bit into a Hot Pocket and was completely consumed by the delicious flavors that it contained. I then thought “I need to share this with everyone!” so I immediately started running around telling people about my delicious Hot Pocket. So, as I learn I want to share it with others. Its sort of like we are on a journey of self learning, together! Here is one of my valuable life lessons that I hope you find entertaining as well as informational.

It all started when I asked a friend if he wanted to join a competitive swim club with me. He responded with a not so enthusiastic “sure.” Little did we know that we had just found our passion. We went to the first workout and I had fallen in love with the sport of swimming. Swimming made me feel free and weightless. It helped me clear my mind of the happenings of that day. What was interesting about that day was I had fallen in love with this sport and I was the slowest person on the team. Although I wasn’t very fast I was having the time of my life.

After 2 years of hard work and sacrificing sleep and friends in order to be in the pool before the sun came up, I began to rise up in the ranks of swimming. This put me at the end of my junior year where I had a somewhat disappointing state meet. I failed to meet my goal times and fell short of the coveted “A” Final or the top 8 qualifiers. So, I shrugged off defeat and started working harder than I ever had before.

I had another year of training under my belt and my senior year was at hand. My school had a tradition of winning my best race, the 100 yard breaststroke. Now that I was a senior and team captain, it was my time to shine. I was having the season of a lifetime. Every time I got out of the water I was walking off the pool deck with personal best times and constant attention in the aquatic community. People I didn’t know would ask me “how do you do it?” or “do you have any advice for me?” I was making a name for myself and my goal of swimming in college was in my sights, but for now I was out to become a state champion.

My specialty, the 100 Breaststroke, was the catalyst of all the attention amongst swimmers and college coaches. After the qualifying rounds, I was ranked 2^nd overall in the state of Arizona. This meant that I’d be in the top 8 and I’d be right in the middle of the pool. Everyone knew that the race would be between the number one seed and me. After a good nights rest I was ready to compete.

Finally, the day was upon me. November 5, 2011, was the finals of the Arizona State Championships. You could feel the intensity in the air. During warm ups, my freshly shaven legs gliding through the water told me I was ready to perform. I knew that college coaches from all over the country were there, watching specifically for the fastest swimmers. Throughout that entire day, my coaches were telling me “watch what you eat!” and “stay off your legs, you’re gonna need em!” This just reinforced the enormity of the task that now faced me. The tension was building. The outcome of this race would determine if I’d be swimming in college or not.

At last, it was time for what could be my final race. Naturally I needed to do something spectacular. Running these thoughts through my mind forces me to relive the intense emotions I felt. The mere thought of my name being announced throughout the stadium made my palms sweat. I knew that behind me was the jumbo-tron where all my movements were being broadcasted to thousands of spectators and college recruiters. We stepped up to the blocks and were called to our marks. The sound of the starting beep pierced the Saturday afternoon air. Without hesitation we leap from the blocks, the cold water shocked me as I entered the pool.

            On lap one I felt the speed I got from the jump off the blocks. I began to swim as hard and as fast as I could, knowing that everyone in the pool was out to beat me. Lap two, my stroke felt fast and I feel myself getting into a rhythm. Lap three I knew I was going have the race of my life; my heart rate was off the charts. My breathing was heavy. The final lap and I could see the others out of the corners of my eyes. “They are gaining on me” I thought. It came time for the final lunge towards the wall to stop the time. BAM! I touched the wall. I glanced up towards the timing board for the results. I saw a red flashing “3” next to my name… I had finished in third place. The meet was over. We did well as a team but the bitter sting of my third place finish still left a bad taste in my mouth.

            For months I viewed this as my biggest defeat, my greatest failure. I had let down my family and more importantly I let down my teammates. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t revive the pain I felt from losing that race. After speaking with a mentor of mine I realized I had been interpreting my failure incorrectly for too long. My mentor said “in business, you don’t always have to be the richest man in the world to be considered successful.” Immediately, I realized the profundity of his words. I didn’t win first place, I didn’t get a college scholarship, and I didn’t even get mentioned in the school newspaper. What I had achieved wasn’t something that I could see; it was something far greater than that. I had stumbled upon the most important lesson of my life up to this point. I had learned that my failure and any failure for that matter could be a blessing. I learned that in the aftermath of defeat I can look back at the journey that got me there and see the vital lessons I learned. It’s important to work hard to be successful, but if you fall short of a goal its not the end of the world. During my high school swimming career I learned what its like to work hard. I learned how to form relationships with other people. As captain I learned how to lead. Probably the most important lesson that I learned was how to lose. When you fail don’t focus on the failure itself, focus on how you got there and the principles that you learned to apply.  

Leading up to the State meet I had the notion that I must win in order to have had success during my career. This experience has molded my life and my vision of success into something totally different. I know now that I’m not going to be a highly paid, professional swimmer. I now have a different approach to how I’m going to look at my life and my college career and I am confident that I can be successful according to my own definition. Success is a relative term. What do you consider success? How will you achieve it?