Arturo got baptized! I think only the words of Alma can do justice to the feelings I had during that sacred ordinance:
16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
Arturo is a changed man and he knows it. He bore a powerful testimony at the end of his baptism (the first one he had ever given) and he got emotional as he expressed his gratitude for the relationship he has been able to develop with his Heavenly Father in the past 2 months. He kept talking about how going to church. praying and reading the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon saved him from his bad habits that were keeping him from knowing god in the way he wanted to. He also said that the things he has been able to change in such a short amount of time are things he has been wanting to change for the past 5 years. He knew God loved him before, but now he knows what God wants him to do. As touching as it is when those that we teach go on about how much help we as missionaries have given them, what I loved about Arturo's testimony is that he barely mentioned us and focused on what God has done for him. We are simply the messengers. After it was over I asked him how he felt. After thinking for a moment, he said "You know that good feeling you get when you reunite with an old friend? Today I feel like I was reunited with God."
Arturo is a changed man and he knows it. He bore a powerful testimony at the end of his baptism (the first one he had ever given) and he got emotional as he expressed his gratitude for the relationship he has been able to develop with his Heavenly Father in the past 2 months. He kept talking about how going to church. praying and reading the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon saved him from his bad habits that were keeping him from knowing god in the way he wanted to. He also said that the things he has been able to change in such a short amount of time are things he has been wanting to change for the past 5 years. He knew God loved him before, but now he knows what God wants him to do. As touching as it is when those that we teach go on about how much help we as missionaries have given them, what I loved about Arturo's testimony is that he barely mentioned us and focused on what God has done for him. We are simply the messengers. After it was over I asked him how he felt. After thinking for a moment, he said "You know that good feeling you get when you reunite with an old friend? Today I feel like I was reunited with God."
I can't wait to see the great things that God has in store for Arturo. I know this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ with all the ordinances and covenants in it we need to be bound with our heavenly Father. Without His guiding hand in our lives, leading us to people and places and experiences we need, we would be so helpless.
I'll try to include a picture of Arturo's whole family; not everyone came but his sweet little mexican grandpa, 19 yr old sister, 2 and 4 year old sisters and aunt came to support him. He is the oldest in the family and I know his example is opening their eyes to the truthfulness of this gospel. Arturo is already being a missionary, too. He is fellowshipping a less active member that is transitioning from the spanish to the ysa ward and gives rides to spencer, another one of the recent converts in th rose park ward (the one sister Tranchina and I taught!) Sunday night he calls to make sure they're coming so he can pick them up. Everybody has their own spiritual gifts, and living the restored gospel simply magnifies them. I think it was Gordon B. Hinckley that said we need to tell people to bring all the good they have and see if we can add to it. Becoming a member of the church doesn't change your personality, the process is more of a refiners fire to get rid of the bad and amplify the good:)
We started teaching the friend of one of the returned missionaries from Uncle ray's mission! It's amazing how we find these people sometimes- we were having a lesson at the members' house with Ever, one of the girls we're teaching and at the end of the prayer even though we were running late we felt prompted to ask Vic if he knew anyone else we could teach. He started off with the typical response members give us here that they only hang out with mormons and don't know any nonmembers but then he remembered his friend Tyler from work who had recently been talking about how he was looking for a church. And now we're teaching him! When some people at work found out about that they started to try to tear our church down and tyler even stood up for us strongly enough that the girl felt embarrassed and stopped talking. He is a truth-seeker. Something I loved that he said is that his christian family members
always say "Just accept Christ, look to Christ and everything will be good" tyler said he hardly thinks Christ is so egotistical that all he thinks we need to do is think of him and we're saved. And it's so true! Of course we need to love Christ and accept him in our hearts but because of that acceptance we follow the commandments he has given us. Grace is what we are saved by after we do all we can. And though what we give will never ever be enough, we grow through exercising that faith. It was just refreshing to hear someone who just naturally felt like the gospel should be more concrete than vague.
always say "Just accept Christ, look to Christ and everything will be good" tyler said he hardly thinks Christ is so egotistical that all he thinks we need to do is think of him and we're saved. And it's so true! Of course we need to love Christ and accept him in our hearts but because of that acceptance we follow the commandments he has given us. Grace is what we are saved by after we do all we can. And though what we give will never ever be enough, we grow through exercising that faith. It was just refreshing to hear someone who just naturally felt like the gospel should be more concrete than vague.
Things are going splendid here in the city of Salt and I'm excited for what is to come this week:)
Lunch with Sister Masoe and Nyundo at Thai Siam. Happy Birthday sister Masoe!
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