Month: August 2005

  • from a letter dated Aug. 20, 2005:


    “And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angles of God.” (D&C 42:6).


    Greetings from the Missionary Training Center.  In the four days I have been here, I have experienced some of the most wonderful, spiritual experiences of my life in addition to some of the hardest, longest experiences.  Those hard times have brought me to my knees and lead me to be utterly dependent on the Lord.



    The MTC is intense.  We speak, hear, feel, breathe, and swim in the Spirit.  In our sleep we speak the restored gospel.  As we eat, we hear the restored gospel.  All that we do refers to that gospel of Jesus Christ our Master.  Some have termed our training here the “Spirit Prison” because we are so intensely immersed in the spirit. The very layout of the MTC is designed to keep us inwardly focused.  The buildings are strategically placed so that your view is restricted.  Even the tilted bowl shape of the elevation keeps your vision within the boundries of the MTC.  The atmosphere is clean, beautiful, and very undistracting so that we can focus on our training.


    I have been so touched by the importance of our training.  We were given certificates that read:



    “This certifies that the bearer, Elder Daniel Embree, who is in full faith and fellowship with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a duly ordained minister of the gospel, and as such has authority to preach the principles of the gospel and to administer the ordinances thereof.  We invite all people to give heed to his message.”


    Gordon B. Hinckly

    17 August 2005

    Salt Lake City, Utah

    Daniel B. Embree

    What a sacred responsibility I now hold.  This certificate will allow me to enter hospitals at odd hours to bless the sick.  It lets local officials know that I am an official minister of the Church.  This sets me a part as representative of Jesus Christ.



    The people I have met here in the MTC are great.  I love the Elders and Sisters of my District.  I have also run into many old friends.  The day I entered the MTC it was so hard to leave my parents.  The moment I had to leave them, though, I heard my best friend behind me shout, “Elder Embree.”  Elder Wegner and I were able to go through processing together and help eachother out that first day as we were apart from our families.  I am so greatful for things like that – things that I consider the tender mercies of our Lord.  Those tender mercies have sustained me through the hardships of this intense training.


    So far the most powerful, wonderful experience here in the MTC is the referral center.  This is where people call the numbers on pass along cards and on commercials to reuest free videos and books, and we missionaries in training take their calls.  It is amazing.  Today in just a half hour I talked with two kids, a teen from Georgia and a preteen from St. Louis.  Both were requesting Book of Mormons.  The boy from Missouri was great.  When I asked him why he wanted a Book of Mormon, he said he wanted to learn more about Jesus.  It was the perfect opportunity to bear my personal witness that Jesus is the Christ and that the Book of Mormon teaches about Christ on its every page.  I bore fervent testimony that though Christ was crucified and died for us, He was resurrected and now lives.  It is from that empty tomb, from His words “come follow me,” and from His life an dministry that I gain the strength and comfort that sustains me each day.  I could tell from the sincerity in this kid’s voice that he had been touched and was anxious to read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.


    I want you all to know tha I’m doing well and miss you all terribly.  I really want to hear from you, which can happen through one of two ways.  One, you could call 888-537-2200 to request a free copy of the Book of Mormon and hope and pray you get lucky and I am one of thousands that picks up your call, or , two, you could just write to me at:



    Missionary Training Center


    California Arcadia Mission


    2005 N 900 E


    Provo, UT 84604

     My Mailbox has been more empty than the other Elders in my district.  This is not right.  WRITE ME!


    Sincerely,


    Elder Embree


    “Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation. . . your sins are forgiven you, and . . .your family shall live . . . go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place fo rthem. . . And I will establish a church by your hand. . .” (D&C 31:3-7)

  • “and all we need is time tonight we’ll touch the sky” (This Day & Age).

    “Let’s make this a night to remember. Let’s forget all the times we spent together. Let’s run with our eyes closed, because, I suppose, some dreams are meant to be broken. Let’s run away, because I don’t know how to say this anyway” (This Day & Age).

    Today was my last day home in Chicago. Tomorrow I get set apart and leave for the MTC.

    It was hard to say goodbye to Gina and Colin today. Gina has been such a great friend for so long- and Colin. Colin has been a major support for me these past few months. I wish we could have had more time to do more together. Today we went minature golfing and then we got drinks at Red Robbin. I held it together until I got in the car, and then the water works turned on.

    Tomorrow I say goodbye to my siblings. Ack. I don’t know if I can do it. This is going to be so hard for me. I love them all so much.

    By Wednesday I will have a companion and will be in every way a Missionary. You will next hear from me in the MTC. There will likely be only one or two updates in the next three weeks. After that updates will be weekly. I have enjoyed talking with all of you! I love xanga! Don’t forget to write! My address is on the public site- just click the link for contact information.

    “God be with you ’till we meet again, by his counsel’s guide uphold you, with his sheep securely fold you; God be with you till we meet again. “

  • “Neither take ye thought before hand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.”
    (D&C 84:5)

    Click Here for pictures from my last Sunday

    Today was . . . beautiful, spiritual, tear-jerking, hard, touching, thrilling . . .

    Sacrament Meeting was absolutely amazing. So many friends and family came, it was wonderful. Alison Ahmu gave a nice talk. Then Colin spoke- wow. He spoke with such composure. The spirit was so strong in that service. And then my sister sang Kenith Cope’s song, “His Hands” . . . she had the congregation wrapped around her finger. We hung on every heart-piercing word of that song. We all broke down- the Bishop, the Stake President, people in the congregation you wouldn’t even expect to. My face started doing that contortion thing where every muscle started twitching. She sang with conviction.

    Somehow I composed myself for my speech. I said everything that I wanted to say- needed to say. It couldn’t have gone better. I am so grateful for the Spirit felt during that Sacrament Meeting. It was just perfect. I felt great, and yet at the same time completely devastated at the prospects of saying goodbye to all these people who I love. I don’t think a thousand emotions could describe how I feel today.

  • Come hear me speak at the Buffalo Grove Stake Center tomorrow, 9:00 am. It is located on the corner of Prairie Rd, Port Clinton Rd, and Buffalo Grove Rd.

    “And I know you got the feeling, and I can’t say I’m agreeing with your topic of conversation. So just listen to the reasons and the hints I’ve been giving to the thoughts of my imagination” (Josh Kelley).

    Today was another great day. I speant the morning at work- my last shift. No one came to swim though. Did you know that it has rained on my last shift of the year every year I’ve been a life guard. Every year. It’s like Illinois weeps when it sees me leave. I will miss Old Farm Village. I’ve been there for three years and felt very close to the regulars there. And of course it was always nice to sit around and chat with the board. I will miss our conversations and questions with Richard, and I will miss Ed and his company. Ed was always so nice- bringing me tootsie rolls and even one time breakfast.

    Right after my shift I went over to Barrington for Collin’s farewell party. It was really nice to visit with him and his family and friends at his house while eating delicious Slovene pastries. And we looked up different things on the google satellite- like the MTC, my mission office, our houses, etc. It was really cool. I tell you- driving to and from Colin’s house down Rt. 22 brought up so many memories. I drove by friends’ old houses that now sit there like abandoned nests- once there were the Griggs, Ivies, and Haydens there. Once I used to drive down there to take Heather out on dates. Once I used to party with Jeff Prows out there. Now’s he’s been in the field more than a year. So many things I’ve done on 22. Take it east and you drive past the statue of the man on the swing where I used to pass as a preschooler to attend Church in the Highland Park High School. Good times.

    When I got home my Grandma Burris and Uncle Justin were up here. It’s been nice visiting with them. Well that’s pretty much my day.

    “I said baby you are amazing. I want to let you see that you are everything and more to me. I will let you be, I will, I will” (Josh Kelley).

  • “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” (John 18:38)

    Yet again while I was studying for my talk tomorrow I read so many things in the Bible that touched me. Today I read Mark, Luke, and John. I was surprised by how touched I was by Mark. I think it is not often read out of all the gospels. It won’t take long- I recommend going and reading the Book of Mark. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:9) Is an example of one of the many great passages in Mark. Chapter 13 is another great section.

    In Luke I was touched by chapter 2, verses 19 and 51. As I was reading, “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart,” I was struck by the distinct impression that Mary had helped write the Gospels. Luke was recounting Mary’s story- the experiences of Christ’s childhood and birth that she remembered. I don’t know why, but that realization really touched me. Mary testified of her Son.

    I was also touched by a realization in Luke 4:38. Peter, the chief apostle of the ancient church and someone who I admire greatly, was married. He had a family. I was really touched by that insight into Peter’s life.

    I was not surprised by all the things that impressed me in John. I have always loved the Gospel of John and the way it expounds beatifully on truth. “The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go” (John 8:14). What a beautiful statement. “I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me” (John 8:42).

    One of my favorite things that I read today I think was in John 9 when Christ heals a blind man. The pharisees then attack this man, trying to get him to condemn Jesus. They try to attack Jesus’s background, saying that they don’t know who he is or where he came from. I was so struck by the profoundness of this healed man’s response, “The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.” Yeah. Chew on that. (John 9:30)

  • “. . . Say something I can feel. I am never here and it’s impossible to heal. Kaye, are you even real? Do you think we’ll ever figure it out? I’m running out of hope. Say anything you feel. Maybe you can do it for the both of us, and I’ll untie the rope. Go ahead and understand me underneath this killer blue sky, Go ahead and understand me please.” (Jupiter Sunrise).

    I just had a pretty awesome night.

    I went out to Jamba Juice with Jessica to say goodbye cause I haven’t seen her all summer. It was really great to talk to her.

    Then tonight I went out to Olive Garden with Gina and Erin. It was lots of fun, and then we met Colin and some friends of Erin’s at a playground and played hide and go seek. Much fun.

    “I started to ache when I started to think of you, wondering how long it would take beore I step into something new. There’s only so much I can fake. There’s only so much that I can prove. Well, do it in a minute, I could go play the fool for you.” (MAE).

  • The more and more I read the Bible, the more convinced I am that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ in full. It is readily apparent to me that the Church teaches more Biblical truths and practices than any other church, despite those churches’ claim that the Bible is their only authority. As I have been preparing for my talk (Sunday, 9 AM, Buffalo Grove Stake Center), I keep coming across simple, yet profound truths in the Bible that testify of this Latter-day Church.

    Matthew 19:28, for example. We have oft been criticized for believing that the Apostles will join Christ as judges. Others say that God only is our judge. They do not seem to understand the delegation of authority through which the Apostles will “sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Though Judgment is God’s alone, it comes through his appointed servants.

    I found another example in Matthew 12:17-21. Here Matthew quotes Esaisas (Isaiah). If you look up the quote in Isaiah 42:1-3, you will find several parts of Matthew’s quote missing. Clearly there were at least two different Isaiah texts. One, presumably the older, Matthew quotes to testify of Christ. The other, which we use as the Book of Isaiah, is missing key points that testify of Christ. Surely this illustrates the Bible missing what Nephi refers to as some “plain and precious parts” (1 Nephi 13:34). Don’t misunderstand my point and think that I belittle the Bible, which I believe contains “the fullness of the Gospel” (Introduction to the Book of Mormon). I simply believe that the Bible has not been flawlessly preserved. Historically we know that a council of Rabbi’s in 90 AD censored the Old Testament tests to rid them of overly Christian references. We use that censored text as our Old Testament.

    This part of Isaiah leads me to another point of understanding taught exclusively by the LDS Church. Isaiah 42:4. One of the largest criticisms of the Church stems from our Book of Mormon claim that Christ’s gospel and ministry was not limited to the Hebrews of the Holy Land. We believe that Christ personally taught His gospel to many peoples, including the inhabitants of the ancient Americas and many islands. His dealings with the ancient American people are recorded in the Book of Mormon. Despite anthropological evidence of this possibility, we are attacked for a lack of “proof,” and yet Isaiah prophesied that it would be so. “and the Isles shall wait for His law” (Isaiah 42:4). This verse confirms Jacob’s claim in 2 Nephi 10:20-22. Further more I think this prophesy refers to the decedents of these ancient peoples, who wait(ed) on the islands for the missionaries to bring them the Law and Gospel known to their fathers. The Church has spread the fastest and the most successfully with the pacific islanders and inhabitants of South America. The message of the Restoration of the Gospel is not just for the Jew and Gentile. It is for all people who have fallen into apostasy and wait for the restoration of truth in its fullness.

    It could not be more clear to me that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly is God’s kingdom once again established on the Earth. I leave you with that testimony in Christ’s name, Amen.

  • “How long before I get in? Before it starts, before I begin? How long before you decide? Before I know what it feels like?” (Coldplay).

    So there was something I wanted to do before I left, and it just occured to me that I can’t do it.

    But I still want to.

    “Where do, where do I go? If you never tried, then you’ll never know. How long do I have to climb, Up on this side of this mountain of mine?” (Coldplay).

  • I think one of the things I will miss most next to family, friends, and music, will be good toilet paper. At home we use good toilet paper that is thick and has lotion in it so it doesn’t get scratchy. These are the things that are hard to leave.

    P.S. I joined the Mac Missionaries blog-ring. It actually is not related to me being a missionary, it is related to me being a mac lover. I couldn’t resist joining when I read it’s profile: “Ever find youself in casual conversation when the other person mentions their PC and that urge wells up inside of you. The urge to testify to the glory of OS X, to bring those decieved heathen into Job’s glorious light. For the oldschool 2GS users to the new converts with their shiny mac minis, if you find yourself unconsciously trying to convert family and friends to Macintosh, come friend, you are not alone.” I mean tell me that is not me.

  • “I’ll meet you at seven. I miss you already, goodbye to you” (The Starting Line).

    The party tonight was beautiful. It was everything I’d hoped it would be and more. Thanks. (http://homepage.mac.com/bembree6/PhotoAlbum52.html)

    Damon and Colin were the first to arrive. As more people began to trickle in we started up a game of Apples to Apples, which ended up involving a huge mass of people. It was really fun. Jori ended up winning twice- evidence of her mastery of words. I only won one adjective, and it was “dainty.” lol. The game was a great way to break the ice and let people get to know each other since a lot of my friends didn’t know each other.

    Of course, once the ice was broken there was no stopping the craziness:

    My sister Margot tried to get me arrested by my police officer friend Margaret. She couldn’t do it.

    And then Megan and I got in a big fight (not really, just pretend)

    It didn’t go over so well.

    But that’s ok because I have a tall, sexy supermodel friend.

    And Blackmail. Yeah. Blackmail:

    In all seriousness, it was so much fun hanging out with so many of my good friends

    I won’t see so many of them until 2007. When it was time to say goodbye to Megan, who I know I won’t see for two years and who has been such a great friend this past summer, I cried. I admit it, I broke down. I’d tried being as manly as I could, but it is so hard to say goodbye to all these people who mean so much to me.

    I know I left out so many fun details, pictures, and people from the party- sorry. It was all really fun. It meant so much to me. I was really worried that no one would be able to come or that no one would care, but it could not have been more obvious that you guys really care for me.

    Those of you who couldn’t make it- I hope I get to see you this week before I leave because I won’t be back until 2007 and I’ll miss you all so much. I have the greatest of friends.

    “Please, don’t leave me without saying goodbye, without saying goodbye. . . Precious remembrance saved for rainy days on february, Few scenes from my life where moments mean more to me than our fine nights, I remember like yesterday, the time of my life” (The Starting Line).

    P.S. Though I know it says below that I can’t read comments, that doesn’t go into effect until Aug. 16, so until then leave me comments. lol.