God Showed Up

Best week of my life. And next week will be better. The climax was our lesson with Will Landes and his wife Andrea. Will referred himself the first week we got into quarantine. The only time I've ever met him in real life was when we dropped a copy of the Book of Mormon off at his door and waved from 6 feet away. He has been on quite the journey and is the most dedicated seeker of truth I have ever taught. He has been praying and working through this whole virus to get an answer. We had our usual Wednesday night video call lesson with Will, Andrea, Bishop and sister Shapiro and as always, Will's questions lead right into what we felt we needed to teach him. We talked a lot about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost and I testified my heart out and totally cried when telling Him about the Priesthood and Eternal Families. It is CRAZY the amount of love you can have for a family you've only ever talked to over a screen. Promising blessings is by far my favorite thing to do as a missionary and under the direction of the spirit, we were able to promise him that he could baptize his wife and daughters when they were ready and that he would one day get the chance to go to the temple with his family so that they could be sealed beyond till death do we part. We also were able to tell him that he had ancestors in the spirit world who have been on the same journey as him and have learned and accepted these things and have been waiting for him to come along so that he could be a pioneer of his own family and do their work for them. At the end of this particular lesson Will stated that he felt "different" and "kindof weird", "overcome, emotional, weak, warm and peaceful." He used every word he could think of to describe the spirit and we pointed out to him what he was feeling and why. Even in a video call, the spirit speaks in silence. I wanted to invite him to be baptized, and that was the original plan, but something held us back. He said a closing prayer asking if all of this was right and we hung up the call. 10 minutes later our phone rings. It was Will calling us back. He told us that right after the call he got down on his knees and "God showed up." That was the only way he could describe it. The spirit came in waves and he said he just cried and cried and he knew that everything we had ever taught him was true. He then said that he wanted go jump in with both feet and asked if he could set a baptism date for himself. He chose May 23rd. This Saturday is going to be the happiest day EVER. I am so happy for him and amazed, but not surprised at how the spirit will speak to EVERY SINGLE PERSON who prays and puts in the work to know if the Book of Mormon and gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I am realizing through study and experience that sometimes our trials are the very thing that helps people recognize us as servants of the Lord. So it was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego and then later Abinadi when they were thrown into the fire for testifying. And so it was with Joseph Smith who sealed the truth of His work with His own death. The more I learn about and study his life, the more true and real the restoration becomes to me. The way he dealt with the opposition clearly defines him as God's servant in these Latter-days. It can be the same with us. We cannot choose our circumstances in this life, but we can choose how we react to the different trials life throws at us and where we put our focus. And more often than not, the way we deal with these things can help others see Christ through us. At least that is what it has done for us Missionaries as we go forward in faith during this virus. More people are recognizing us as His servants and messengers than ever before. I want to challenge you all to take a look at your trials and evaluate how you can better react to them to be recognized as His servant. Alma 17:11 "And the Lord said unto them, Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls." - Sister Hardy