July 1, 2013
Hey Everyone!
So this has been
another awesome week! We had one of my favorite investigators to church, and
she is on date to be baptized on July 20th! Shauntae is a super analytical
person, but she's extremely entertaining to talk with. She's very down to
earth, and recognizes truth when she sees it! We first talked with her from a
referral from a family in the ward; she lives across the street from them.
We've been meeting her for a month and a half now. At first it was really
difficult to teach her, because she is so analytical. She takes everything and
breaks it down to tiny pieces, and doesn't try to get a FEELING about it. She
wouldn't pray, because "God knows all my thoughts, he knows what I need.
Why do I need to tell him if he already knows?" It took a long time to get
past that, and one week we simply asked her to give the opening prayer, closed
our eyes, bowed our heads, and waited. And waited. And waited. But then she
finally said a prayer, and the Spirit was there. Elder Cutler and I explained
to her that prayer isn't just something we do to ask for help. It is something
that should have real depth to it. It is personal, emotional, and powerful when
done with the Spirit. "Prayer is the heartthrobs of the soul." I
don't remember who said that though. haha
Her Book of
Mormon reading was analytical too. She would take notes for each verse, compare
with what she already knew and try to prove or disprove it with a previous
understanding of doctrine. For the first 3 Chapters, she had 7 legal pad pages
of notes. haha!
We then
explained to her that, like prayer, one should be open to their feelings when
they read the Book of Mormon. The ONLY way to prove the Book of Mormon is
though Heavenly Father. And that can only be done though the feelings of the Holy
Spirit. She began to read fore fervently, and opened herself to that Spirit.
Shauntae then
decided that it was time for her to come to church and see that for herself.
Unfortunately, since it was a 5th Sunday, half of the whole block was spent
talking about keeping the Church building clean. I was super nervous, because
it wasn't exactly a spiritual overload with powerful testimonies being borne.
"O ye of little faith." Shauntae had a wonderful experience. She says
she has never felt this way at a church before, and that she nearly cried a
couple times. (Shauntae is not the person to cry. haha).
I have a
testimony of the importance of the Holy Ghost in conversion. As I have seen
with Shauntae, one cannot think their way into the church. One cannot gain a
testimony simply through study. And one doesn't make their own testimony
either. A Testimony, like Faith, is a gift that is given through the Spirit.
You RECIEVE a testimony. I have learned from this, and I am making prayer a
more important thing in my life. I am making Book of Mormon reading more than
just finding the words to prove a point. And as I read, I pray that I will be
given more faith, that I will be given a stronger testimony. And I have seen
the answers to my prayers. I know that this gospel is true, and is the fulness
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of
God. I know that the priesthood authority of God, which is necessary to God's
Kingdom, is on the Earth today, and is held by a living prophet of our Savior
Jesus Christ. I know that He lives, and He know us, and loves us. And I am so
grateful for that knowledge, and want to help everyone to receive that for
themselves! :)
So yeah, my week
has been pretty good! It has literally rained every single day, and not just
sprinkles, but actually storms. Even the people here are saying its super
weird. I've been soaked more than once, due to the lack of bringing an umbrella
with us when we go tracting. Our Bishop, Bishop Trauntvein, took us to dinner
this week to a mexican restaurant, which was actually pretty decent. He then
took us to the Indian mounds here in Newark, and it's awesome! The biggest
mounds in the area are exactly as Captain Moroni built to fortify the cities
against the Lamanites. Large dirt mounds were built up on the outside of the
circle, where a wall would be, and then there is a large trench on the inside.
It's pretty awesome!
Also, a lady in
the ward who used to give church tours says that in a nearly by town, they have
a statue that was found of Moses holding the Tablets with the 10 commandments written
on them, in a "reformed Egyptian." So I thought that was pretty cool
haha.
Not a whole lot
else noteworthy has been going on, other than a couple really awkward stories
tracting. One door we walked up to we heard a toilet flush, and as we turned
the corner to the front door, it was wide open and a lady was there putting her
pants on. -_- Needless to say, she wasn't interested at that time.
I Love you all!
Hopefully I'll get some more letters sent out soon!:)
Elder Aaron Toombs
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