2/6/12

I had a little miracle this week.  We are teaching B, one of the
most humble people I know.  He has soaked up everything we've taught
him, and reads from the Book of Mormon every chance he gets.  One
night when things were a little crazy he read for three hours
straight, without even realizing it.  His baptism is set for the Feb
18, and he is working hard so that he can recieve this ordinance and
more fully serve the Lord.  But, as usually happens, once a baptismal
date is set, the adversary steps in.  Last Saturday he spent the day
at the hospital because of some pains in his chest, which miraculously
turned out to be nothing, but it was enough to keep him up all night
and have to miss church.  Shortly after he gets out his dad is checked
in.  His dad has not been a big supporter at all of B's decision,
and has been pretty outspoken about how he feels.  So B  has been
running in and out all week trying to take care of him.  Then things
got worse Saturday.  At 2:00 in the morning B  was sitting in the
hospital, and stayed there until about 7:30 that night when we called
him and he was finding something to eat.  We talked to him a little
bit.  He said he was planning on running home, straightening up his
house, taking care of a few things, and then would be headed back to
the hospital, which would make for a very late night.  Trying to let
him use his agency, we asked if he was planning on church.  He said
no.  He was running so ragged he didn't think there would be any way,
he would just shoot for next week when hopefully things calm down.  We
tried to hide the devastation from our voices, and told him that while
we understood, it's not going to get easier.  There will always be a
reason to miss. Already we had to change his date once because of
missing church.  After the call the two of us sat in silence, praying
our hearts out.  In my mind I was pleading, "please Heavenly Father,
help B  to know how much church will help him."  After about a
minute we called up B's ride and told him B  wouldn't be able
to make, so not to plan on picking him up.  He understood and was
going to try to give B  a call during the week to check up on him.
While we were talking, B  called us back.  He had been thinking
about it, and would just have to take a nap after church.  He wanted
to be there.  What's one day without sleep.  We practically shouted.
Humbled, we said a quick prayer of thanks.  Sunday morning, despite
every opportunity to bail, B  walked in to church.  He was a little
tired, but very glad to be there.  In the Elder's Quorum lesson, we
talked about prayer, and how the adversary is trying to stop us from
praying, from finding the truth, from getting closer to our Heavenly
Father.  The instructor asked B  if he had seen any opposition
since he started investigating.  Elder R  and I laughed to
ourselves.  I'm excited for him, he is a strong example of faith.

In other good news, R  had her baptismal interview last night and
is good to go.  Saturday night she will be baptized into the church.
She has come so far, it's exciting.  The zone leaders have a baptism
for the same time, so the kingdom is slowly growing.  This is a great
place to be.

The best way to stand up truly is the simple things,
prayer morning and night, feasting on the scriptures every day, and
using our talents to bless those around us.  The Book of Mormon and
Preach My Gospel are the only ways I can keep going.  They have helped
me understand more about my Savior and all that He has done for me.
That is the big difference, a knowledge of Christ.  That is why Nephi
read from Isaiah, so that his people would not forget their Savior,
but would live as He would have them. (1 Nephi 19)  Captain Moroni is
one of the greatest examples of diligence I have found in the Book of
Mormon.  One of the key things I have noticed that drives him are his
desires.  Those chapters (Alma 43-63) mention and make clear what
desires we can have to do good.  There is a video on mormon.org of
coach Larry Gelwix, he explains this a little bit.  The biggest thing
is to not get discouraged, but to continue to lift where he stands,
while bringing those who are weak with him (D&C 84:106, 108)
Developing the attributes of Christ, especially that of Charity and
love (PMG ch. 6)  will set you apart.


Elder Tanner Newey


http://mormon.org/me/7H9W/