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| It snows in South Carolina...SORTA! |
This week went by really fast. When the weeks are quick, it can be hard to grasp onto topics and ideas to send in my weekly email.
To start, it snowed on Saturday! If it snowed in Pocatello like it did here, some might say "Come on, is that all you got?".
On Tuesday, we met with Garret, one of the investigators I mentioned previously. Our meeting mainly consisted of him asking questions and us answering. He asked question about things omitted in the Bible and what the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine Covenants is. We did our best to answer his questions, and he sure had a lot of them! We then offered to give him a Triple Combination book (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price). One of the best things of our visit was that he had a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon for himself. That is all we missionaries can ask someone to do. Read for yourself and pray to know if it is true. Some missionaries may think, and members as well, or believe that an investigator may be converted to the Gospel simply by their own words. This simply isn't true. Our purpose is for those individuals to have the chance to read it for themselves and to bear humble testimony of your witness that the Book of Mormon is true. I have certainly grown to love and cherish the Book of Mormon. On two occasions I have been able to read through it, I learn something new every time. The Book of Mormon changes lives, it changed mine. It can change your too.
On Wednesday, as you may have heard from the missionaries serving where you are, there was a Missionary Broadcast from the Mission Department of the Church. There were multiple talks and training's given that stood out to me. Elder Anderson said in his talk and I paraphrase 'The Doctrine of Christ can only be received by revelation". Elder Bednar said this which blew my mind, "We can only bring our message unto the heart". He noted that there is a key difference in saying 'into' and 'unto'. Like what I said before with the Book of Mormon, we can only bring our message unto their heart, but only they can bring it in. One more thing that Elder Bednar said that I found to be profound, "Invite them (the investigator) to prepare to learn". Let those quotes sink in. I loved being able to watch that broadcast. It gave me a new perspective with how I teach and getting down to the base of our purpose.
I know this email is a little more preachy than others, but I felt like I needed to share it. Like the prophets of old, like Moses and Alma, they speak plainly the things pertaining to God. I absolutely cherish the Book of Mormon and I want to read it many, many more times for the rest of my life.
Stay warm y'all!
Elder Alexander Kestner
