These past weeks have grown brighter and brighter until it feels like we live in perfect days. Even amid the sirens of ambulances and squad cars, the world is not devoid of light and truth, for we live in a world created by gods. One important update to make note of is that we have someone on date to be baptized on August 16th! She's so great! We found her in late June I believe. We were knocking doors on her street, and at every house we met rejection and disinterest. We were about to return to the truck and drive to our next destination when we felt impressed to knock one more house. She lived in this last house! She used to be married to a less active Mormon, so she has a couple copies of the Book of Mormon. She later told us that in the days prior to our meeting, she'd seen the Book of Mormon everywhere in her house.
She'd knelt down to pray for someone to help her in her life and we knocked on her door. What was amazing was when we showed her the Bible video of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. She's never been baptized or even seen one happen. After she watched it, the Spirit was powerful beyond earthly happiness, it was the love of God. When we invited her to be baptized, she was ready to accept. Those little moments are what I live for now.
President Fenn says that a mission is a series of disappointments occasionally interrupted by perfect moments of indescribable joy. That's about as true as one feels while on a mission, and our entire lives. We just have to learn how we can invite the Holy Ghost to make these interruptions. Charity, I feel, is at the core of it. There is a section in Preach My Gospel where it talks about the teaching skill of listening, and it also quotes some words I love from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He says that “More important than speaking is listening.
These people are not lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic. They are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do they cherish, and what do they hold dear? And then listen. If the setting is right, you might ask what their fears are, what they yearn for, or what they feel is missing in their lives. I promise you that something in what they say will always highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear
testimony and about which you can then offer more. . . . If we listen with love, we won’t need to wonder what to say. It will be given to us—by the Spirit and by our friends." I have a testimony of the principle of listening. As we sincerely love others, we'll ask them inspired questions which will always highlight a truth of the gospel. We then discern their needs, and teach the truth which will hopefully meet their concern, and we promise them blessings. We end with something essential: we testify. I testify that this gospel is true.
Jesus Christ is our Savior. He died for every person who has lived or will live, because He loves us with a love that we cannot understand. As we embrace His gospel, we will be able to make covenants which will seal our family for time and all eternity. This is the destiny for our family. I've felt the Holy Ghost testify to me that this will happen while we are on earth. May we all follow Christ and make the changes necessary to have the blessings of a sealed family! I love you all so much and pray for you every day!
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