Good Morning
February 10th, 2026
Hola a todos! I am in Mexico City, having a blast.
To those of you who are currently serving missions, I took the the liberty of adding you to this, please add this email to your list as well
Real quick - some house keeping
1. If you ended up on the mailing list and don't want to be, please just block me. Don't ask to be removed, it'll make me sad :(
2. If you know someone who would like to be on the list, just lemme know
3. I can only email on preparation day (aka P-day). While I'm at the Mexico MTC that day will be tuesday, but that might not always be the case. Not sure how regularly I'll email yet
4. I will read any and all emails I get, just cant promise I'll respond to everything. Busy bee over here
5. Lo siento por todo "church slang", I know a decent chunk of yall arent LDS. If you dont understand something, lds.org is a great place for answers
After two weeks of Zoom meetings all day every day, I flew to Mexico on Thursday. I've been here a couple days now and I'm loving it. My companion is awesome. Élder Carter, the GOAT of Bountiful, Utah. Seriously, I've seen some of the missionaries here, and I'm blessed cuz I don't yet have the patience of ToeDawg (ToeDawg is a big fan of the nuerodivergent).
My district is also super cool. It's crazy cuz I only met these people a couple days ago, but we're so dialed in. Élder Ellis + Élder Vega + las Hermanas = phenomenal district. ¿Como se dice "trauma bonding but replace trauma with joy and excitement"?
I ate lunch with Ryder Lyons (byu star QB recruit, ifykyk), didn't even realize until lunch ended and my comp asked for a photo He was pretty cocky. (Lyons, not my comp)
Surprise spiritual thought!
A couple days ago, as a disctrict, we spent an hour researching the Atomement of Jesus Christ, and then shared our insights. I shared a quote from a General Conference talk I like (by Elder Cornish, October 2016), and man, I was choking up reading it. I never get emotional - I was the only person in my district who didn't cry when I said bye to my parents (no offense mom or dad) - but the talk really hit me. I'm quickly turning into the guy who cries every time he bears his testimony and that is not the change I was hoping for.
Here's the quote I shared: "Our members often ask, 'Am I good enough as a person?' or 'Will I really make it to [heaven]?' Of course, there is no such thing as 'being good enough.' None of us could ever 'earn' or 'deserve' our salvation, but it is normal to wonder if we are acceptable before the Lord... Let me be direct and clear. The answers to the questions 'Am I good enough?' and 'Will I make it?' are 'Yes! You are going to be good enough, you are going to make it as long as you keep repenting and do not rationalize or rebel.'"
I know that as we give the gospel our all, we can make it. God wants us to return to Him, that is why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer, bleed, die for our sins, only to overcome death, and in the process, save us all. If you're active in church, keep going. If you haven't been as diligent in seeking Christ as you could, there is no better time to start than now. If you've never been to church, I urge you to go. Build your relationship with God and His Son. I promise that doing so will bring you so much more lasting peace than any worldly pursuits.
I miss being called Bentley, Élder Smith is sooo basic. All the hispanic missionaries kept pointing at a statue of Joesph Smith and saying "José Smith?? Abuelo??" I just said yeah.
One of my teachers saw KANYE WEST perform in Mexico City, JUST DAYS before I arrived. I'm genuinely so jealous, if you know me at all, you know my love for Mr. West.
If I described my daily schedule (6:30 wake up, get ready, hour of personal study, 30 minute breakfast, 3 hours of doctrine class, exercise, lunch, 3 hours of language class, dinner, personal language study, companion study, then ready for bed and lights out at 10:30), you probably wouldn't believe how happy I am and how fun this has been. But seriously, the joy, the kindness, the comradery, the study, the learning. It's awesome.
It's not perfect and I am looking forward to getting to Puerto Rico and really learning the language, but I'm enjoying this now.
Also the weather in Mexico is Perfect, sorry VA & WA, I don't miss the weather there at all.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Nos vemos,
Élder Smith
Yo y Élder Carter
Los Hombres de Distrito 10B
El autobús
Todos
Hola a todos! I am in Mexico City, having a blast.
To those of you who are currently serving missions, I took the the liberty of adding you to this, please add this email to your list as well
Real quick - some house keeping
1. If you ended up on the mailing list and don't want to be, please just block me. Don't ask to be removed, it'll make me sad :(
2. If you know someone who would like to be on the list, just lemme know
3. I can only email on preparation day (aka P-day). While I'm at the Mexico MTC that day will be tuesday, but that might not always be the case. Not sure how regularly I'll email yet
4. I will read any and all emails I get, just cant promise I'll respond to everything. Busy bee over here
5. Lo siento por todo "church slang", I know a decent chunk of yall arent LDS. If you dont understand something, lds.org is a great place for answers
After two weeks of Zoom meetings all day every day, I flew to Mexico on Thursday. I've been here a couple days now and I'm loving it. My companion is awesome. Élder Carter, the GOAT of Bountiful, Utah. Seriously, I've seen some of the missionaries here, and I'm blessed cuz I don't yet have the patience of ToeDawg (ToeDawg is a big fan of the nuerodivergent).
My district is also super cool. It's crazy cuz I only met these people a couple days ago, but we're so dialed in. Élder Ellis + Élder Vega + las Hermanas = phenomenal district. ¿Como se dice "trauma bonding but replace trauma with joy and excitement"?
I ate lunch with Ryder Lyons (byu star QB recruit, ifykyk), didn't even realize until lunch ended and my comp asked for a photo He was pretty cocky. (Lyons, not my comp)
Surprise spiritual thought!
A couple days ago, as a disctrict, we spent an hour researching the Atomement of Jesus Christ, and then shared our insights. I shared a quote from a General Conference talk I like (by Elder Cornish, October 2016), and man, I was choking up reading it. I never get emotional - I was the only person in my district who didn't cry when I said bye to my parents (no offense mom or dad) - but the talk really hit me. I'm quickly turning into the guy who cries every time he bears his testimony and that is not the change I was hoping for.
Here's the quote I shared: "Our members often ask, 'Am I good enough as a person?' or 'Will I really make it to [heaven]?' Of course, there is no such thing as 'being good enough.' None of us could ever 'earn' or 'deserve' our salvation, but it is normal to wonder if we are acceptable before the Lord... Let me be direct and clear. The answers to the questions 'Am I good enough?' and 'Will I make it?' are 'Yes! You are going to be good enough, you are going to make it as long as you keep repenting and do not rationalize or rebel.'"
I know that as we give the gospel our all, we can make it. God wants us to return to Him, that is why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer, bleed, die for our sins, only to overcome death, and in the process, save us all. If you're active in church, keep going. If you haven't been as diligent in seeking Christ as you could, there is no better time to start than now. If you've never been to church, I urge you to go. Build your relationship with God and His Son. I promise that doing so will bring you so much more lasting peace than any worldly pursuits.
I miss being called Bentley, Élder Smith is sooo basic. All the hispanic missionaries kept pointing at a statue of Joesph Smith and saying "José Smith?? Abuelo??" I just said yeah.
One of my teachers saw KANYE WEST perform in Mexico City, JUST DAYS before I arrived. I'm genuinely so jealous, if you know me at all, you know my love for Mr. West.
If I described my daily schedule (6:30 wake up, get ready, hour of personal study, 30 minute breakfast, 3 hours of doctrine class, exercise, lunch, 3 hours of language class, dinner, personal language study, companion study, then ready for bed and lights out at 10:30), you probably wouldn't believe how happy I am and how fun this has been. But seriously, the joy, the kindness, the comradery, the study, the learning. It's awesome.
It's not perfect and I am looking forward to getting to Puerto Rico and really learning the language, but I'm enjoying this now.
Also the weather in Mexico is Perfect, sorry VA & WA, I don't miss the weather there at all.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Nos vemos,
Élder Smith
Yo y Élder Carter
Los Hombres de Distrito 10BEl autobús
Todos
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