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July 17 - No movement, 1 Joke, 1 gun, 3 Lessons, and a seed!

Bonjour! It is transfers week, I will be staying another transfer in beautiful Sault Ste. Marie! It is going to be a good 6 weeks!

Let's start off with a Mormon joke I came across recently:

Q: What do John the Baptist and Winnie the Pooh have in common?
A: Their middle names

Feel free to wipe your eyes and regain your composure after that one before you continue reading.

So a sketchy guy pulled a gun on me this week, it was pretty intense. Haha I'm just kidding, that didn't happen. What did happen is we had 3 investigator lessons this week! Just as exciting!

2 of those lessons were with former investigators and they were both very interesting experiences. One lesson was with a man who suffers from some mental issues which is unfortunate. Some of the stuff he was talking about were pretty way out there and he was cursing every sentence. He's a nice guy, but we won't be seeing him again. 

The other lesson was an eye-opening experience for me. It was with a faithful christian mom (former investigator) who brought her 19 year old daughter to meet us. Her daughter we'll call Emma, doesn't believe in God. The mom is a very devout Christian who believes that God is everything. She desperately wants her daughter Emma to believe in God too. Emma is quite an intelligent and science minded individual who observes the world logically and intellectually. Emma doesn't believe in something she can't see, but she thinks there is something God-like/very powerful out there. If I wasn't raised in a true church I would imagine my beliefs would be similar to Emma's.

The lesson wasn't much of a lesson, it turned into discussion about faith which was directed at helping Emma. Elder Fabiano and I asked Emma many questions about what she believed in and why and so on. Then Emma's mom would jump in and basically tell her how silly she is for not believing in God. The mom would explain her belief in God passionately and also say in a way, that because Emma is her daughter, she should believe in God (she didn't say those words exactly but I'm pretty sure that's what she was implying). It was frustrating because Elder Fabiano and I would start to help Emma open up (let the spirit touch her) and then her mom would start talking; although her intentions were good, Emma would close up immediately. The mom kept saying how much she loves her and is worried for her because she doesn't believe in God and is about to leave for college. This is an understandable concern, however; she doesn't understand that you can't convince someone to believe in God just because you do! I really want to meet with Emma and her mom separately and teach them about the spirit! By the end of the meeting the best we could do was invite Emma to read from the Book of Mormon a bit, and then pray--really pray--and try to picture a God and feel something as she prays to him. We also told Emma that there's nothing that we could say to get her to believe in God, it all starts with her desire. I was trying to teach Emma and also indirectly reprove her mom "betimes with sharpness" (D+C 121:43).

This experience brought to life Alma's explanation that faith in Jesus Christ/God can be compared to a seed growing in our hearts. Please read the following scripture carefully, Alma 32:28: "Now, if ye will give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, behold, it will begin to swell within your breast...and when you feel these swelling motions--it must need be that it is a good seed, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul...enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me."

These feelings and changes come from the spirit of God alone. In Emma's case, her seed of faith has not been planted in good ground; therefore, her faith can't grow. Her mom's seed of faith has been growing for many years and she believes if she throws some "water and soil" on Emma's seed then it will grow. She's unaware that Emma's seed needs to be planted in fertile ground first...it's just sitting on the concrete.

Alma 32:38-39: "But if ye will neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root...and it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out. Now this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree."

Emma just needs to plant her seed and let the Holy Ghost work his magic. Once she lets the spirit into her heart, then her faith will grow and she can move on from there. We should keep in mind, that on occasion, people need a little push. :)

I am very grateful that my seed was planted in fertile soil at a young age and it has been growing ever since! I am very blessed.

Verse 41 "But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life."

I wish these scripture would have come to me during the lesson! What a beautiful scripture about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and enduring to the end: the Book of Mormon is just great! I could go on and on about other insights from Alma 32 but I will save those for another time, and you have probably discovered some yourself! If not, I invite you to discover them.

I hope you have a wonderful week at home or on vacation or in your proselyting area or whatever you're doing!

Elder Johnson

1. and 2. Random pics of some of God's creations (namely: shrubbery, sky, and water).

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