I don't even know where to begin this week. We have been busy with meetings, teaching
appointments, and a temple trip this week.
In between it all we still found time to deep clean the car and the
apartment. There were two baptisms in
the zone this week, one for Karen and the other for Alfonzo. I find it so inspiring to see other
missionaries working with zeal.
On Thursday we were able to go to the temple in Fresno and
worship there. It was a wonderful
experience. I love the house of the
Lord! I received direction and guidance
for the work we do and for my personal life.
God will always speak to us if we are willing to listen! Listening for the Lord's voice is an act of
faith.
One woman we met this week, Barbara, had the faith to
listen. She had been introduced to the
LDS church years ago by some friends in Las Vegas who met with missionaries,
and eventually were baptized. Barbara
never studied the church and its teachings though. She was born and raised Lutheran, and at the
time she attended a baptist church, and didn't see the need to investigate.
Fast forward to last night, and she invited us into her home
to share a message with her. We chatted
for a little bit, got to know her needs, concerns, and interests, and then
started into the formal discussion. We
shared the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ with
her. Elder Perkins and I were teaching
smoothly in tandem, and the Spirit of the Lord was present. I had never taught the restoration the way we
did---with such a strong emphasis on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ---which
makes perfect sense. I had never taught
Barbara before. As we unfolded the
doctrines of prophetic dispensations, of priesthood keys and authority, and of
the atonement of Christ she lit up noticeably.
After sharing with her the miraculous story of Joseph Smith's first
vision she told us in hushed voice, "Now, I have seventy-two years in the
back of my mind that don't want me to agree with what you two boys are telling
me tonight. This is asking for a big
jump, and I am not too good at jumping anymore, but I want to know if this is
true." She wholeheartedly accepted
the commitment to begin reading in the Book of Mormon and to study the pamphlet
we also left with her. Before we could
bring up the topic, she volunteered the idea of being baptized once she learned
for herself that the message we shared was true. She closed the discussion with a prayer, and
then coerced us into singing a slightly off-key rendition of one of the
church's hymns. The whole visit was a
spiritual high.
The experience got me thinking about God's love for all of
His children. It may be redundant to
say, but God has sent us into mortality to have experiences that optimize our
opportunity for exaltation. Here was
Barbara, who was unashamedly searching for absolute truth, and her entire life
had led up to that point last night when she first heard the message of the
restoration in its fullness. On a
micro-scale everyone's lives are oriented in this way. On a macro-scale all world history since the
life of Christ has been in preparation for the restoration. God is absolutely in the details! He knows our needs better than we do, and he
ministers to His numberless children and invites them to come unto His Son,
Jesus Christ, and be saved. We can live
lives full of light because we know who is behind the curtain. Our Heavenly Father loves us! We don't need to know all things to know
this! (1 Nephi 11:17).
Live the abundant life this week! Keep the commandments! Come unto Christ!
With love,
Elder A. Jared Cummings
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