Day 42-Together Again and a Testimony-5/9/06
Stand and report. Today I'm back where it all started. I'm reunited with Elders Thatcher, Patton, and Francom, my companions at the MTC. We came together to talk about our experiences we've had in our first 2 1/2 weeks in the mission field. It is great to see them all again. I'm the only one of our MTC group that does not have a car. Elder Thatcher and Elder Francom are both in areas with cars. Elder Patton is in a car/bike area. I'm the only one on a bike. I don't mind, though. I like my bike.
I told my MTC Elders about something that happened to me yesterday with Elder Oram. It was on our way home when we stopped and talked to this man. This was a strange man. He had a big white cowboy hat, a white mustache, very animated moments. He said, "I think it is great what you are doing; sharing the gospel of Jesus." We gave him a pass-along card for a Book of Mormon. He took it and said, "Thank you." We said that the Book of Mormon was a true book of scripture and that he could find out for himself by..." "I don't doubt it," he said. Then he told us, "Ya know, the funny thing about truth? One minute it's here in your hand," he held up the pass along card we gave him, "and the next, it's gone." He snapped his fingers and the card disappeared! He was doing magic tricks with the pass-along cards! He promised that he would call the number and read the book. I wish all of my street contacts were that entertaining.
I also told the Elders about a woman we tracted into yesterday. We knocked on this woman's door while tracting. We told her we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was rather rude to us. She said, "I'm already in a religion." In Virginia, you meet a lot of people in different religions. I'm going to have to start writing them down. Anyway, I asked her what her religion was. She snapped back, "that's none of your business!" and slammed the door. That wasn't a great teaching moment. I did not get to share my testimony with her.
It did teach me how you can know what the true church is like. If your church is the true church, if it has blessed your life and given you hope and joy, then I think you'd tell everyone you meet about how it has changed your life for the better. If someone came up to me and asked me what my religion is, I'd say:
"I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that through the answers to my prayers to Heavenly Father there is a prophet of God that receives revelation for the whole world on how we can be more Christ-like and what we need to do to keep God's commandments. The Book of Mormon is a record made and kept by prophets that lived on the American continent. It is another testimony of the love Jesus Christ has for all of us. It is His doctrine. It is His gospel. It is the most complete of all books of scripture. You can learn more about what our purpose on the earth is and what our potential is in the worlds to come by reading the Book of Mormon. I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon through the power of God. He was a prophet of God. The church is true. I could not imagine my life without the Book of Mormon. If all I had was the Bible, do you realize how many questions would be left unanswered? The time I spend reading the Book of Mormon is some of my favorite moments on my mission. I learn so much every time I read it. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I told my MTC Elders about something that happened to me yesterday with Elder Oram. It was on our way home when we stopped and talked to this man. This was a strange man. He had a big white cowboy hat, a white mustache, very animated moments. He said, "I think it is great what you are doing; sharing the gospel of Jesus." We gave him a pass-along card for a Book of Mormon. He took it and said, "Thank you." We said that the Book of Mormon was a true book of scripture and that he could find out for himself by..." "I don't doubt it," he said. Then he told us, "Ya know, the funny thing about truth? One minute it's here in your hand," he held up the pass along card we gave him, "and the next, it's gone." He snapped his fingers and the card disappeared! He was doing magic tricks with the pass-along cards! He promised that he would call the number and read the book. I wish all of my street contacts were that entertaining.
I also told the Elders about a woman we tracted into yesterday. We knocked on this woman's door while tracting. We told her we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was rather rude to us. She said, "I'm already in a religion." In Virginia, you meet a lot of people in different religions. I'm going to have to start writing them down. Anyway, I asked her what her religion was. She snapped back, "that's none of your business!" and slammed the door. That wasn't a great teaching moment. I did not get to share my testimony with her.
It did teach me how you can know what the true church is like. If your church is the true church, if it has blessed your life and given you hope and joy, then I think you'd tell everyone you meet about how it has changed your life for the better. If someone came up to me and asked me what my religion is, I'd say:
"I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that through the answers to my prayers to Heavenly Father there is a prophet of God that receives revelation for the whole world on how we can be more Christ-like and what we need to do to keep God's commandments. The Book of Mormon is a record made and kept by prophets that lived on the American continent. It is another testimony of the love Jesus Christ has for all of us. It is His doctrine. It is His gospel. It is the most complete of all books of scripture. You can learn more about what our purpose on the earth is and what our potential is in the worlds to come by reading the Book of Mormon. I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon through the power of God. He was a prophet of God. The church is true. I could not imagine my life without the Book of Mormon. If all I had was the Bible, do you realize how many questions would be left unanswered? The time I spend reading the Book of Mormon is some of my favorite moments on my mission. I learn so much every time I read it. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
posted by Garden Anywhere Box | 11:18 AM
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