The week started off with an investigator named Miguel. Him and his family have been investigators for a couple months and the progress has been a bit slow. We decided to start from square one, the Restoration, and see if we could help them restart the path and maybe begin to see more progress. We got done and Miguel began to express his concerns for which church is true. He expressed his opinion that he doesn't believe that the church he is currently attending is true.
Or that ours is either.
So that's when we invited him to do the same thing Joseph Smith did when he was only 14 years old.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)
The only way anyone can REALLY know the truth is by asking the only guy with ALL the answers. (And, my friends, that would be GOD.)
But then he had a little bit trickier of a question. A question about as bold as our claim that God appeared to a 14 year old boy. He asked, "So I've repented of my sins. I've forsaken my old life and the things I used to do, and now I devote my life to Christ. But do you guys believe that my repentance was invalid because it wasn't done with the help of you church?" The look in his eyes and the tone of his voice indicated to me that he was about to get offended and reject whatever answer I had, throw us out of his house, and shut the door on the Mormons forever. I had no idea what to say. But then I remembered something, or rather, SOMEONE.
His name is the Holy Ghost. As a keeper of sacred covenants, I have the privilege of His constant companionship, and as a missionary, I have the responsibility to allow Him to speak through me. So I listened carefully, and let Him speak. Miguel's repentance was something very personal to him, as salvation is personal as well. We know and understand that Christ cannot save us against our will, so we must do what we can, forsake our sins and obey His commandments. But that effort is not enough. To be completely honest, It's not even close. We cannot receive a remission of our sins and be saved in the Kingdom of God without the Savior.
We explained to Miguel that the steps he had taken towards the Lord were extremely valid and important, but that there was one more step required to access the power of Christ: Baptism. Not just any baptism, but by somebody who holds the power of the priesthood.
His countenance changed. He no longer wanted to content. He felt it. He knew that he needed to ask God if what we were telling him was true. To this moment, I don't know that Miguel prayed like he said he would, or if he's received an answer, but that day, I was reminded of the importance of letting the Spirit take over. I don't know how I would've handled that on my own, but man, I'm glad I didn't have to.
On Thursday, I had a throwback to my days in the Lynbrook ward priest quorum. It was the birthday of the guy that lives above us, so they threw a party and signed up to feed us on the comida calendar. They hired some guys to come and make tacos, and every time I finished an order, they would say, "There's more if you want." Well, of course I wanted more.
I ate 24 tacos that day. No regrets.
I also taught my first English class on Friday! (We were supposed to have class last week but nobody showed up.) It was super fun. And it felt good to be the smartest guy in the room for once. Right now we have the whole zone referring people to our English class, so I hope more people come and it just keeps getting better.
And to top off the week (and a super long email, sorry bout that), GENERAL CONFERENCE. In just a few lines, this is what I learned:
1) They changed the font on the thingy that pops up and shows the name of the person speaking.
2) Heavenly Father will always love each of His children. His plan was created so that we can be happy in this life and the next. While our salvation is dependent on the choices we make, Heavenly Father's love for us is not.
3) The prophet, Thomas S. Monson, due to his health, only had a total of about 10 minutes to speak to us. Of ALLLLL the topics he could've spoken on, he spoke about charity, and the importance of the Book of Mormon.
4) Look up, open your mouth, and DRINK IT. (Apply that to your own life as you will.)
5) John 3:16 had to have been quoted AT LEAST 8 times. Who counted? I'm curious to know. (See comment no. 2)
6) C. Scott Grow, C. Scott shrink. C, Scott run, C. Scott blink.
7) The Lord has given us a prophet, the Holy Ghost, church leaders, parents, and in my case right now, companions, to lead us, guide us, and walk beside us in this life. Listen to them and trust them. They're there for a reason.
PICTURES
1) Chilpancingo from the top of our area. (Jardín makes the top of our area feel like we hiked to the top of an ant hill.)
2) The Real White Kids of Chilpancingo
3) We watched the conference in English.
4) The view here is different, but I like it.
5) Then there's some dude trying to tell me how to live my life. (Translation: Do not pee here.)
I hope everyone has an amazing week, and I hope to hear all about it! I love all y'all!
-Elder Tyler Steven Aldrich
