But, right after, I went with them to teach a lesson in Van Nuys. One the way there, we were listening to this mix CD I made them which contains music that "strikes me spiritual." Most of the songs were very obviously so, because they used words having directly to do with the gospel. But there are a few songs that are in no direct way spiritual, but they bring out the Spirit for me. One of the songs on there is "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood. Sisters French and Forbush were both singing along, when the latter said "I want to go do karaoke." And Sister French responded with, "Ha. Carrie-okie!" It was so funny! :)
Anyway, the guy they were teaching was referred to them by some other Elders in the area. He didn't actually let us in his house, so we all just stood on his doorstep talking in the dark. It was really hard to see his face, making it hard to tell if he was actually understanding what the Sisters were saying or just saying he understood. Especially considering the fact that every time they asked him a question, he would only give one- or two-word answers. But after they would explain one thing about our Church, he would ask to hear more. It was pretty awesome.
At one point they asked him if he believed in the prophets in The Bible, and if he believed in the possibility of prophets on the earth today. And he said that there could be a possibility. And then the Sisters asked me to share my testimony of how I came to know if there was a prophet on the earth today, and how I came to know that President Thomas S. Monson is the true and living prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ. And I told him that I prayed about it, and I got this feeling in my heart that felt right. And by reading the scriptures in both the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, and then going and reading the words President Monson has given, and how, to me, they were the same words I've read in the scriptures, just in modern terms. He testified of the same things that prophets of old had testified about. But, here's the embarrassing part, when I was trying to say "Thomas S. Monson," I called him "Spencer." I know that Spencer is his middle name, but I felt like a total idiot for forgetting his name, his first name! I felt like I had screwed up so bad. In my head, I was thinking, "Yeah, I'm sure this sounds questionable now if I can't even get the prophet's name right!" But it didn't seem to affect him negatively, because he still seemed interested.
Then, baptism came up, and he said he might be interested in the idea of being baptized, of course, after he can know for himself if any of this is true. But he told us he had been baptized before. When he said that, I immediately thought of the scripture that talks about how without the proper priesthood authority, the ordinances performed are kind of all for naught. I felt like I should just let them do the talking at that point, and Sister Forbush handled it so well! She talked about priesthood power, but he didn't seem to comprehend her "missionary lingo," so I tried to break it down in simpler terms, and then (I think) he got it. And he kept asking them to share more with them. It was pretty great. He even asked them how long would he have wait before he could be a "sidewalk prophet" like they are. Haha, not quite, but pretty close! I think it was a really good lesson. It was hard to gauge his interest, or the sincerity of his interest, at first, but I really do believe he is genuinely interested. He even agreed to come to sacrament meeting on Sunday.
The Sisters are so inspiring. It's so great to see them at work. I know they believe with every fiber of their being that the things that they are "preaching" are true, as do I. Every time I read my scriptures, with real intent, with the desire to learn something from them, my testimony grows. Every time I feed the missionaries, and they share a spiritual thought with me, and it is exactly what I needed to hear without having them known prior to then, my testimony grows. Every time I get to share my beliefs with others, whether it is with the Sisters or on my own, my testimony grows. I am so, so grateful that I opened the door to the "sidewalk prophets" who were roaming through my neighborhood over a year ago. It's changed me for the better. And every time I help the Sisters teach a lesson, I hope that those people will see that, and want that for themselves. Recently, I started re-reading the Book of Mormon. It has been so great. The first time around I was really skeptical, but now, that I know it's the Word of God, I'm reading it with a much more open mind, and an open heart. Anyway, there's this chapter where the patriarch of the family, Lehi, has a vision of the tree of life, and its fruit basically represent God's love. And the following verse stuck out to me.
1 Nephi 8:12 - "And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."
If you experienced something as amazing as that, wouldn't you want to share it with your family? Lehi had the desire to share it his actual family; his wife. his sons, and their wives. When I read this, I thought about my immediate and extended family, but I also thought abut my Heavenly family. WE are children of a Heavenly Family, and I want us all to return to Him. I want everyone to be able to taste of the fruit. I want everyone to experience that wonderful and eternal love for themselves. To not share it would be selfish, and well, that wouldn't be very Christ-like, would it?
:)
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