Letters from our Missionary Son, 我们从传教士的儿子收到了一封信 Kevan (Elder Johnson) in Nebraska/Iowa!

We have a son who is in the mission field right now. We write to him every week, and he faithfully writes to us and the rest of his family every week as well.  His name is Kevan Johnson and he is in Nebraska.  Currently he is serving near the winter quarters temple in Nebraska and sometimes works in the visitor center there too. But mostly he is out tracting or meeting with people and discussing his beliefs in an official capacity as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. He is growing up and becoming more of a social and spiritual man. When he returns later this year to normal life after two years of service, he will have gained from his experiences a spiritual growth and confidence that will serve as a great foundation for him throughout the rest of his life. It will also make him a better husband when he becomes one.  I say, if a young man can make it through serving with several different other young men of different personalities and different backgrounds etc. Then that man can do anything. He can learn to get along and roll with challenges, and when things become stressful he can remember how he became positive again. Positive mental attitude!

My son Kevan with his Mission President's wife, Sister Weston.

Letter (email) from Elder Kevan Andrew Johnson:
"Oh my Gash!!! Crazy times over here!

so, This last week was Transfer week ( the end of transfers), and it was nuts.

I'ts hard for me to accept, but Elder Scott has been transferred out of Glenwood! I was dreading the call on Thursday morning....hoping that it wouldn't come...but it did come, from president Weston! Scott is now training a new missionary out in the Kearney stake. He's basically out in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska. So on Thursday we cleaned, he packed, and then he said goodbye to as many people as he could. He has been here since Feb. I think... so, around 7 months! The whole time he's been out, he's served in G-wood! I could tell that it was hard for him to leave. I served in my first area for about 5 months, and it was hard then to leave! But, that's part of the missionary experience. Change. One of the hardest things that we deal with in life, especially me! haha!

...

But, I know that whatever comes, I don't have to worry too much as long as I'm pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ! (2 nephi 31:20.....i think. or 33:20. ) I love that Scripture! Helaman 5:12 is a good one too! So much things in the scriptures give me hope for a better world. I'm thankful for the Book of Mormon and the Bible.

We taught Bailey last Saturday and yesterday. She came to church with Chelsey (Her brothers wife). We taught her about the law of tithing and fast offerings, and the law of the fast. It's really cool how everything seems to make sense to her. She said that if we don't meet 2 times a week that she feels like she's missing something, and that lead into a good conversation about the gospel, and how we can always have the Holy Ghost with us. Shelby might need some help. I think we are seeing them both tonight, and we'll see if Shelby has any concerns. I hope she can see the necessity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm a little shaken, and it might take me a little bit to get back on my feet, but other than that, all is well in Iowa! Love ya'll!
-- 
---Elder K to the J---

Comments:

SRA good thing I checked facebook; I was about to try and upload the photos! 

GWV He is growing up that young man

MRR More letters please. Love hearing from him!

LH Our daughter is in the Colorado Fort Collins mission, but is in Scottsbluff, Nebraska for now. Glad to hear he is doing well.

Today I watched this video and my Testimony of the Restoration was strengthened

Today I was watching some videos on my computer and came across this 6 minute song clip of the first vision song from general conference women's choir, that I put together a while back when I lived in the states. Everytime I watch this, or something to do with the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I feel the Spirit and know that it is true, because it is!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz064mMK8Yg  and I thought I'd share that. Apparently, these things are a very important part of my life and make up a lot of who I am and what I stand for. What I stand for is truth and in my heart I do know that these things happened a long time ago in upstate New York in 1820.

The First Vision set to music sung by a women's choir at a General Conference session of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. The lyrics of the song describe the events seen in the video of Joseph Smith's first prayer and vision and calling of God as His prophet. Joseph Smith was called of God to Restore the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ once again to the earth, complete with priesthood authority to baptize and ordain and bless, as well as new revelations given in ancient Nephite civilizations (Book of Mormon), and the modern day (Doctrine and Covenents). 


Applicable Lesson from the Book of Mormon on this:  The Lord will Bring Forth His Gospel...

• 1 Nephi 13:34

  34 And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.

Here are the lyrics to the music in the video:
Joseph Smith's First Prayer

With dignity

31243, Hymns, Joseph Smith's First Prayer, no. 26

1. Oh, how lovely was the morning!
Radiant beamed the sun above.
Bees were humming, sweet birds singing,
Music ringing thru the grove,
When within the shady woodland
Joseph sought the God of love,
When within the shady woodland
Joseph sought the God of love.

2. Humbly kneeling, sweet appealing—
'Twas the boy's first uttered prayer—
When the pow'rs of sin assailing
Filled his soul with deep despair;
But undaunted, still he trusted
In his Heav'nly Father's care;
But undaunted, still he trusted
In his Heav'nly Father's care.

3. Suddenly a light descended,
Brighter far than noonday sun,
And a shining, glorious pillar
O'er him fell, around him shone,
While appeared two heav'nly beings,
God the Father and the Son,
While appeared two heav'nly beings,
God the Father and the Son.

4. "Joseph, this is my Beloved;
Hear him!" Oh, how sweet the word!
Joseph's humble prayer was answered,
And he listened to the Lord.
Oh, what rapture filled his bosom,
For he saw the living God;
Oh, what rapture filled his bosom,
For he saw the living God.

Text: George Manwaring, 1854--1889

Music: Sylvanus Billings Pond, 1792--1871; adapted by A. C. Smyth, 1840--1909

Joseph Smith HISTORY http://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-...
JAMES 1:5 http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/jame...

Our first VIRTUAL 中国大会 District Conference here in China, Our daughter Jaylene was one of the speakers!

Our first VIRTUAL District Conference here in China, Our daughter Jaylene was one of the speakers!

我们的第一个虚拟区是在中国大会，我们的女儿Jaylene是演讲者之一！

There are several districts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints here in China all legally established with the Government of China, as that is one of our tenants of faith, to be subject to governments, kings, magistrates, Etc. The conditions are that we can only meet in a church setting with other expatriates who hold a foreign passport, and outside of our church meetings there is to be no active or passive proselyting. So that's what we do, We obey the local laws! Maybe one day when government officials see that we bring good things to society, Help build people up and make them better people, and are absolutely no threat to government stability etc., then things can become even more open in the future, like they are in so many other countries where the Church flourishes.

The Program for Conference

Applicable Lesson from the Book of Mormon on this:  Sacrament and Church Every Week

• Moroni 6:6

  5 And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.
  6 And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.

SEMINARY UPDATE

At the beginning of the school year I received a calling from my church leaders here in China (Pres. Weaver and Shaner) to teach seminary to the youth of my church who are not able to attend at a physical building here in China. I hadn't had a calling in the church here in China up to this point and I felt like I was already pretty busy with trying to learn the language, Stay on top of things at work, and make time for the family after work… but when a calling comes, You accept it!  That is because I believe these callings in the church come from the Lord and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Our church has permission to meet with each other regularly in China as long as each person in attendance or their spouse holds a foreign passport. All of my students in this early morning class do have a foreign passport, and we meet daily during the school year to teach a lesson about our scriptures.  This year the course of study is the Book of Mormon, my favorite book of scripture.  I am the teacher but I try to get everybody to participate. We start at 6 AM!

Seminary Update. Today, like yesterday and the day before, etc., went great (for me) and I suppose for the others too, because as we discuss the truths and principles learned from the Book of Mormon and how it applies to our lives, how can we not come away feeling blessed, especially after being able to share the testimony of the truth by the same power of the Spirit that gave us the testimony in the first place? I love the way that the Spirit guides during the discussion, and allows for scriptures to come to mind, and the Spirit weaves that all together into a tapestry of counsel customized for the day, for the class. For me. I am thankful so very much for all my blessings. Today we went through the things we could learn from 2 Nephi 1. Lehi counseling his sons just before he goes the way of all the earth. The words of a trembling parent. I got to bear my testimony of my acceptance of the commandment of the Lord to Honor your father and mother, that thy days may be long on the face of the land. I got to tell how, even in my 50's, and having kids already and grand kids, etc., that this does not dismiss the commandment that God gave us to honor your father and mother. I told them that my father is in his 80's and if he had something to

tell me, I would listen. I would honor (I do honor him and my mother), and although they are not perfect, neither am I, but the Lord did give the commandment and I still honor it to this day, until the day they pass on and can no longer speak to me. But I would still honor them in spirit, in the truth of this commandment. I counseled the kids in class that if there are any who are struggling with this one, to humble themselves, repent of it, and honor their parents as the Lord commanded. I also shared an experience of a long time ago when I disagreed with a bishop and had a short word with him, not respectful, because he did something that I strongly disagreed with... and so that percolated on my soul all that night and the next day was Sunday... and I repented. I first confessed to the Lord my sin, repented, and then resolved to walk right into that chapel the next morning Sunday, and make it right with the Bishop. I did that, apologized, and he accepted, and I put that behind me. It does not matter much who was wrong or right, they had trouble with Joseph Smith, remember, and all those who made an issue out of it got excommunicated anyway, so we know where that kind of rebellion goes. We also know where Laman and Lemuel's rebellion led them. It led to a sore cursing by being cut of from the presence of the Lord, as the Lord led Nephi and his family away out from them. Laman and Lemuel hampered themselves with their rebellions.

Applicable Book of Mormon Scripture on Callings in the Church:

• Mosiah 23:17

  17 And it came to pass that none received authority to preach or to teach except it were by him from God. Therefore [Alma] consecrated all their priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were just men.

Comments:

SRA True, true, true. Love the Book of Mormon

LA Thank you for sharing your testimony, Grant.

JDL You are a great seminary teacher--the Lord is correct in all his choices and your students will truly benefit.

CT LOVE teaching seminary! Sounds like you are really making the best of it.

GJ I do love teaching seminary. It is a great privilege and experience. There is an additional challenge to teaching virtual seminary. It's almost like you are a radio announcer, talking into a microphone on your computer or your phone, and not being able to see the faces of your students in the conference call. But once in a while as you teach the lesson, you make a pause and then call out one of their names and ask them to either read a verse or make a comment, and then you wait… Then you hear their microphone click on and they begin to speak and you know that they're still out there. There is the added advantage of having your lesson material right there in front of you, ever present, and color highlighted text in the PDF file with all kinds of help. But the biggest help of all is the spirit of the Holy Ghost which prompts you to say things and share things and take things in the direction that it needs to go.

Rainy Day Parade. The LONG HU GARDEN BASHU SCHOOL parade practice must go on...

It's April 10 in China, April 9 in USA.  Thursday now.  We live in a high rise apartment in the City of ChongQing, China, like most everybody else we know here.  High rise apartments is the only way you fit dozens of millions of people in a relative small urban area.  Density is high. We live right next door to an elementary school.  The LONG HU GARDEN BASHU elementary school. Many of the kids that go to this school also live nearby here, even in this apartment complex where we live, the Long Hu Xi Yuan.

We moved here about a year ago, and things are in flux right now, or so it seems.  Deadlines on visa looming, job opportunities outstanding and hanging out there, no final decisions made yet, and only 10 more days to go and time is UP.  If I weren't a praying man, I'd be pretty stressed by now, and have already purchased airline tickets, and made all of our preparations to leave this place, this country. But somehow, in my faithful mind and heart, I believe that there is an opportunity for us here.  You could call it a hunch, a premonition, or something like that, but I would go further and say that the spirit of revelation is at play in all of our lives if we would but listen to it. What's that scripture? Knock?  Its called inspiration, prayer.

• Matthew 7:7 ¶Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Those who have grown to trust in that also know that there are no absolutes on timelines or even expectations.  But hindsight is easy once the waiting is past, and it always has turned out that no matter the inspiration I got, the Lord was right and true in what He said, and sometimes I have slightly misunderstood it, but it turned out even more pleasant than expected in the end, because the Lord always wants to BLESS us... not hurt us.

He tells us just enough.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  That's they way it has always worked in my life anyway. I have found that if I put my trust and faith in the Lord that He has always given us what we NEED and we have never suffered.  Now there may come a day when I actually do suffer, in fact the way the world is shaping up we might all count on that happening as a norm in a future world... depends on whether everybody can get along or not, and also how much mother earth cooperates by not sending tsunamis, earthquakes, lightning, and volcanoes to test and try our patience and love for one another.

On this particular rainy day the Chinese kids at the school were out in full force and colorful uniforms, practicing for an upcoming big event.  This school is in an affluent area, and it shows.  So on this rainy day, we are in our apartment. I'm working on future job prospects, even preparing for interviews. All at the seemingly last moment. Seemingly? Absolutely the last moment!  But there was not much I could do.  It came as a surprise, an unexpected turn of events for me and my family here in China.

The company I work for now has had a significant change in management at the levels that affected me and my job there. Again, its probably all fate and I have nothing to worry about, but needless to say, I did not see it coming, did not expect it... but the company formed a new company internal to the original company, that was going to become the department I was a part of.  Problem is, the man they hired to be the General Manager of it, QUIT.  Yes, he left.

So with all new players and a host of uncertainty about the future of the department and a huge marketing hole, the Vice President of the local company here stepped up to lead it. Problem is, he knows virtually nothing about Transportation Engineering and Planning. He is changing the direction of the focus of the department, turning it into something entirely different from what I was hired to come and help lead.  Now all of that is in the past. I move on to other opportunities.
I must focus on what my talents are.

I have always thought of my skill set being something in addition to merely transportation engineering.

I like the creative side of things too.  Communications comes to mind. Data Mining, marketing, visual communication, all of these, and there are some opportunities over her that complement my skill set.

The school is called LONG HU GARDEN BASHU SCHOOL.

45 pounds lost! Since coming to China 5 months ago 45磅输了！自从来到中国5个月前

Summer/Fall 2013

95.7 kg = 211 lb = 45 lbs lost now. 

Just had cookies this morning, pancakes are on deck, last night mexican food chimichangas with friends, a chocolate shake, moon cakes the day before, but it keeps going down... so I am thinking it IS the walking (or a tapeworm lol), because I'm not trying that hard. 

I live in a walk world now. 

On my Korea mission I got down to 160 lbs, which was way too skinny, but HOW did I ever get up to 260 in the first place and keep it there for a decade??? Sitting in chairs and snacks on demand?

Winter 2012

For reference, here is a picture of me being in China for a visit to the company I currently work for, in December 2012, before we moved here. I was at about 255 to 260 lbs.

Song #100 this past year!!! Adam Lehi Johnson celebrates this milestone with a new soundtrack: "PARADISE"

Adam writes his 100th song in ChongQing, China, and is pretty excited about closing out his 7th album of music.

This song, PARADISE, is composed with 12 tracks of symphonic sounds using the Yamaha Motif XS 8, Adam records using Logic Pro 9 and X on a daily basis.

Here is his latest composition © 2014 written in June 2014:

The Enoch Studio has been revving it up for the Machu Picchu Shows including MPN: MACHU PICCHU NEWS,  IMO: IN MY OPINION,  and IBIS: I BELIEVE IN SCIENCE.  We are also rolling out our English Video Class series for Mandarin learners.

So everyone is active now, creating drawings, backgrounds, music scores, videos, animations, and green screen performances using tele-prompters in some cases.