Hello!
It was a great week!
We were busy with appointments, service opportunities and a ward activity. We even got to paint tar on a driveway which was fun. Took before and after pictures of it for proof.
The most exciting thing from this week was a referral we received from out west. We'll call her Melanie. She is 25, has 2 kids and is pregnant and is living with her boyfriend. She is First Nations and her dad is a chief. Melanie's mom lives in B.C. and is going to be baptized this month, she has had quite the conversion journey. A couple of weeks ago, Melanie recently contacted her mom; she needed help finding more peace and direction in her life. Her mom said there are people she needs to talk to...so we got the call. It's known within my family that there is a good history between my family and the First Nations people. My grandpa was a prime example of that. The interesting thing is Melanie said that she recognized me, she felt she had seen me before. Either I have one of those faces or it's no coincidence that I'm here to help Melanie begin her journey back to her Savior.
She has no Christian background and has a long way to go before baptism but I am so excited for her. She feels that there are negative or "devilish" influences surrounding her and she wants to be freed from them. She has a desire to learn the gospel, read the scriptures (she's never read from the scriptures before) and pray. If she sticks with it, Jesus Christ will not only change her life but many more lives as well. And my life is no exception. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to kick start her journey, to help her start fresh and build a foundation in Christ. I don't take this responsibility lightly, I look forward to witnessing her progression.
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about why retention in the church is such a big problem. One word has come to the forefront of my mind over and over. And that word is understanding. To have understanding we first must acquire knowledge. The difference between these two things--knowledge and understanding--has helped me understand why retention in the church is lacking. Knowledge is "the practical/theoretical comprehension of a subject through education or experience". For example, a math teacher may give you a particular formula to use. You can gain the knowledge of the formula and how to plug numbers in it. That doesn't guarantee that you understand how to use the formula to figure out a math problem.
To understand is to "perceive the intended meaning of something". Another example to think of: most of us have realized that when people talk to each other, often they listen for accuracy instead of understanding, and this is a big problem. Even if all of the words were heard, or in other words, the knowledge was acquired, that doesn't guarantee that the people understand each other. If understanding is not present, neither is communication.
Comparing knowledge and understanding back to the gospel and the church: all members of the church to some extent have a knowledge of their Savior Jesus Christ and the God head, the Plan of Salvation, the restoration of the church etc. They have all at some moment in their life had a personal spiritual experience. To some extent they have seen that the gospel and the church has blessed their life in different ways. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, it is necessary, we cannot be saved in ignorance. That being said, just because someone has a knowledge of these things, that doesn't guarantee that they understand how to use it. In proverbs 4 we read: In all thy getting, get understanding. That's why it's essential that we teach for understanding and we live for understanding.
There's one statement that I believe is essential that we understand: "Wickedness never was happiness."
Have a great week everybody!
Elder Johnson
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