I discovered my major temptation of the moment: to be a smart
aleck with many of the people we meet. I mean, I've always had a smart
aleck tendency, that's old news. But I can't afford to be while I'm
wearing this tag. It's real hard sometimes to listen to people say
things that make no sense whatsoever and then have them not listen to a
word you say in response. So it's super tempting to say something to
make them feel silly. But then the Spirit stays your tongue and you
move on to someone who will actually listen who can be reasoned with.
I confess to another brief moment of soapboxing, this time with an
old minister who happened to be at the house of a potential. He
wouldn't give a straight answer to the questions "How, in all your
studies, have you come to determine truth for yourself?" or "Did you
ever pray to know which doctrine was right?" or "Don't you believe
Heavenly Father would want us to have a way to know the truth as it
pertains to our salvation, and know it now, not 'at the end, when it all
comes out in the wash'?" After listening to his non-answering
responses, I nearly said "Do you mean to tell me reverend, that in all
your years of study, not once did you kneel in prayer to ask God, the
author of all truth, which church was true? Isn't that like picking a
medicine off the shelf for an inexplicable and plagueing ailment without
once consulting a physician?"
But of course. Spirit stayed my tongue. And at his first chance,
that reverend hopped on his bike and zoomed away real fast. Go ahead.
Flee from the truth. Just because it disturbs your lifelong tradition.
Someone pointed out at our missionary fireside (which no
investigators attended despite our incessant texting everyone we knew)
that the world is looking for something - for some sort of deeper truth
that commonplace religion seems to only have slivers of. Well, let me
tell you. It seems that way because that's how it is. Slivers. There
is so much more. And the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has it all,
has the meaning and purpose you're trying to find by coming out with
movies like Son of God, Noah, Heaven is for Real, and God's Not Dead
(like duh, heard of modern day revelation? it exists.) This gospel has a
fabulous way of connecting the teachings of Christ and the stories of
the Bible and connecting them to real life. When we promise
investigators that "no matter what challenge or concern you may have or
go through, this message, the gospel of Jesus Christ, WILL HELP"
because it's the truth. Old news, guys, this is an eternal principle.
It's a promise we can make. So of course we take every chance to. Why
else would we take 18 months out of our lives to knock on the doors of
people who don't want to look at us?
Best thing we did this week: acted out the Book of Mormon for a
less-active/part-member family. He's in his 20's and has the same
attention span as his 1 year old son, so play-acting the brother of
Jared and Nephi and the brass plates seemed like a good way to go. We
were 100% right. They loved it. We tied ribbons around our foreheads
like headbands, the pirate-sword pen Aaron sent me served as the sword
of Laban, and a handful of gravel from the driveway turned into glowing
rocks right before our imaginations. Both times, he got the message.
After Bro of Jared, he's like "So you're saying that every time you have a
problem, you pray about it." And after the brass plates, he's like "So
you're saying that the scriptures are very, very important." and we're
like "YES now come back to church :]" His girlfriend came to church
yesterday of her own accord! She's also reading the Book of Mormon every
day because it helps her calm down and not kill people at work :]
Which brings me to the best thing that happened to us this week:
Two investigators at church! Diddy also came. Finally. And she
enjoyed it. Getting members to pick them up is so key, when it comes to
getting them there the first time. No one wants to walk alone into a
strange place where peculiar people have foreign customs and traditions
and inside jokes. That's why every time we missionaries come over to
your house, members, we ask you to invite a friend to church. Because
they know you, and know you're normal... mostly... probably..,.
1st dangerous thing that happened: knocked some apartments and two
of people that answered looked like they were on something and wanted
to murder us slowly. (don't worry, they didn't. we good.)
2nd dangerous thing: Free bread at church. And then free margarine at an activity. Hello carbs. Goodbye diet.
I think i re-learned what it means to bear one another's burdens a
couple nights ago. While teaching an investigator, another member of
the household mentioned in passing that she'd give anything to go to a
church again. I turned around and invited her, told her we could get a
member with a van big enough for both her young kids. She thanked us,
said she knows she needs to be in a church because nothing was going
right. Next thing I know, she's pouring out her heart to me, about how
she has nothing for the baby she's expecting in a few months, about a
family that can't or won't support her because they're all living off
one disability check (disability = the great plague of Mississippi),
about drunk fiance who told her to walk to her own doctors appointment
and would rather buy beer than clothes for the newborn or food for the
toddlers. I thought I knew what hard knock was. I didn't. Moments
like this make you wish you could save the world, or at least one
person, from all the small and great evils of life, but all someone like
me could do at the time was listen, put my arm around her, and assure
her as a representative of Jesus Christ, that God still cared and that
everything would be ok. Mourn with those that mourn. Comfort those
that stand in need of comfort. This is what it means to keep
covenants. This is part of discipleship.
Cassie sent me this quote:
In addition to teaching, encouraging, and cheering people on (that
is the pleasant part of discipleship), from time to time these same
messengers are called upon to worry, to warn, and sometimes just to weep
(that is the painful part of discipleship).
And this is what Alma told me this week:
" And he lifted up his voice unto heaven, and cried, saying... O
Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity
shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I
may abear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul.
O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul ain Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these bafflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.
O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with me...Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may abear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people.
O Lord, wilt thou grant aunto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ."
And He does.
38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of aafflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in bfaith.
Never underestimate the prayer of faith. Of course God's not dead. He's been here from the beginning, and will be with us, even unto the end of the world.
Sincerely,
Sister Valdez
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