his week was really great. All the missionaries were getting sooo hyped for what changes that would happen in general conference, especially about elders only serving for 18 months instead of 2 years.
One of the biggest highlights of the week was that we finally put someone on date for baptism. On Tuesday we had exchanges so Elder Lancaster (our District Leader) came up to the BLT to work with Elder Larsen and I for the day. We went over to a man's house named Jose to do service. Jose has had a rough life, and right now he's trying to find a place to live, so he's currently living in his cousin's garage. As we were working for Jose and his cousin Joshua, we had a chance to talk about church a little and some of the things we believed in. Joshua's mom was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, so he supposedly had a lot of experience with the church, but it really sounded like he had just read a lot of anti. And because of this, he kept interjecting little anti tidbits into our conversation that made it hard to teach. Fortunately for us, Jose wasn't understanding anything that his cousin was really talking about, so when Joshua finally went inside we were able to teach Jose without bias or interruption. We were able to teach him about the Book of Mormon, and we invited him to watch general conference with us on Sunday. He was really excited to watch it with us, and he said that he wanted to be baptized right then and there, but we had to tell him we couldn't do it right away. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten in contact with him since that Tuesday. So we also didn't get to watch conference with him.
On Wednesday, Elder Mendenhall and I met with Gatlin who we haven't been able to talk to for over a month. This meeting with him went over really well. He only had 30 minutes to talk with us, so we were able to address some concerns that he had and get out before it went too deep into stuff that we wouldn't be able to teach right then. When we went in, he said he had questions about original sin, so we talked a little about that and we'll finish that up this Wednesday. We also started talking about modern revelation and prophets. Gatlin had used the analogy of how there can't be any more prophets, because Christ and previous prophets already laid down the foundation; they already told us everything God has to tell us. Before we finished up, I asked him why God, who is an unchanging God, would stop calling modern prophets to lead and guide His children like He had always done? This question stumped him, and he said that he would have to look that one up before next time. It felt really good to actually feel like we were making a little progress in resolving all of his many concerns.
I think the big highlight of the week was on Saturday. Between sessions of conference we went to visit people, and we stopped by a man named Tony. We've been going by his house ever since the beginning of last transfer, and we've never been able to teach him. This time, however, he answered the door and said, "Come in, sit down." We were kind of shocked because that nearly never happens. He told us that he had talked with his wife and they decided to honor our time of having come by so many times by listening to what we had to say. We began to tell him that we do what we do to show God's love for him and how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ blesses our lives and our families. It was really amazing, because the Spirit put the right words into our hearts to flow right into the first lesson and teach him. The Spirit was so strong in that room, and Tony was actively involved in what we had to say. It seems like it was such a small little thing, but it rarely happens and I could tell that Tony would remember that moment with us and how he felt as we taught him. We weren't able to get a return appointment, but it was a true tender mercy.
And then general conference happened this weekend. It was the best general conference I've ever had. I was so focused during every session, and I actually didn't fall asleep this time! There were a lot of talks that really hit me personally, but I forgot to bring my notes with me, so I don't have anything to share about it. However, there was an urgency that I've never seen before that was present this conference. It's an urgency in hastening the work of the Lord. One thing that I remembered from conference was that the gospel needs to become a regular topic of conversation with everyone we speak with. One of the speakers talked about how as we continually improve in becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, we will eventually come to the point where the gospel is a natural part of conversation and that it would feel strange if we didn't talk about it. I invite each of you to "open your mouth" and simply share your feelings and opinions of the gospel as Elder Villar did. The Lord has promised that as we open our mouths, he will give us the things we need to say in the very moment we need to say them. My dad taught me to remember a scripture in D&C 82:10 that says, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." We need to remember that the Lord requires us to act first.
Anyways, those are the highlights for this week. I love you all, have a great week!
-Elder Smith
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