This is me trying to "push" through the wind!
My companion and I had an, well um, an experience this week. My companion and I went to visit an elderly lady (84) who has known about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years now. So we finished talking with her and singing for her. Well, I played the piano, while my companion sang. Thanks for forcing me to take piano lessons, mom :) We left her house and started walking down the street. We passed by a Christian church and there was a lady outside weeding a planter box. We said hello and she started talking to us. I was getting so excited, here was this wonderfully sweet lady so prepared to hear the message we had to share! She has a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and the ability to be forgiven. She prays, and she prays to God in the name of Jesus Christ, like us! We asked her if we could come back the next day and help her weed (this time in jeans and t-shirts). She said yes! I was so excited to have a return appointment, and to be able to do service! I just love service!! I haven't done yard work in a while so I was excited to do some small weeding, too!
Next day: My companion and I walked to the church, rounded the corner, and there she was, already weeding! I was so excited; she actually came, and didn't stand us up! We start weeding and talking, and boy this conversation went differently than expected. She asked us questions, and was not afraid to tell us what she believed. Actually she told us a lot about what she believes. She ended up talking more than we did. She was Bible bashing us, but not in a loud, mean way. It was interesting. (The day before our district role-played missionary skills and we focused on testifying in Bible bashing situations.) She talked about how Joseph Smith was a false prophet, and that we were polytheistic. Do you remember how I said I wanted to testify every time I had a lesson or taught someone? Ok, so I wanted to testify to her so badly that I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that through him the Church of Jesus Christ had been restored! She said so many things that I just wanted to stand up and be like, "I KNOW THIS IS TRUE!!" But I couldn't. I just kept weeding and smiling, giving input when I could. The scripture about being constrained by the Spirit IS TRUE! I made that promise to myself, so at the end I was like "I know this is true, and you can too, by reading and praying." It was empty, though. I was just saying words. I realized that the promise is good, but can't be a promise anymore. I only said I knew it was true to fulfill that promise. If we had given her our testimonies, she would probably have bashed those. She was basing her faith off of archeological evidence, which was interesting, and a video that she had seen. A testimony and conversion to the gospel will not come based off of evidence. You have to read, pray, and seek the Holy Ghost to give you the answer that it is true! I love the story of Joseph Smith! I love how he read the scriptures, took them to heart, and prayed! He prayed with such sincere faith that God would answer him. That's what we need to do. We need to go to the basics because they are foundational. We need to read the scriptures, act on what they say, and PRAY! Prayer is huge! I need to rely more on prayer and the power it has. Joseph Smith prayed, not just any prayer, but he PRAYED! He prayed to truly know what to do! We need to do that as well. I know I need to not take prayer as lightly! It can be a huge blessing and comfort in our lives. I love prayer, and need to make it so much more! We get to talk to God when we pray! How amazing is that?! Heavenly Father cares so much about us that He hears and answers our prayers! We just need to act, and pray to Him.
Love,
Sister Kelly Smith
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