So, we had a baptism this week! Gina was finally baptized. We've been teaching her since, like, day 1 in Kaneshie here, but she finally was able to be baptized! It's great; she was really happy. She felt wonderful after the baptism Saturday night, and was excited for her confirmation.
On Sunday, however, we got a call at 0800 from her, saying she was having 'family problems' and wouldn't be able to come to Church that day. We asked if we should come and see her, and she said yes. We had been at the chapel for a meeting at 0830, but left to go see what was up. When we arrived there, Sis. Gina told us that some of her family wasn't too happy about her being baptized into the Church (the family had their own church) and didn't want her to go be confirmed. We asked her what she told them when they asked her why she would leave their church, and she said she didn't tell them anything. We asked her why she left her old church, and she said because she knew this was the true Church. Her testimony was strong, she just needed some help.
This is why I love the Book of Mormon so much. It has everything we need to deal with the problems of life. I remembered the story of Amulek, and we shared that with her.
On Sunday, however, we got a call at 0800 from her, saying she was having 'family problems' and wouldn't be able to come to Church that day. We asked if we should come and see her, and she said yes. We had been at the chapel for a meeting at 0830, but left to go see what was up. When we arrived there, Sis. Gina told us that some of her family wasn't too happy about her being baptized into the Church (the family had their own church) and didn't want her to go be confirmed. We asked her what she told them when they asked her why she would leave their church, and she said she didn't tell them anything. We asked her why she left her old church, and she said because she knew this was the true Church. Her testimony was strong, she just needed some help.
This is why I love the Book of Mormon so much. It has everything we need to deal with the problems of life. I remembered the story of Amulek, and we shared that with her.
Amulek was a man in Ammonihah, a very wicked city that the prophet Alma was called to cry repentance unto, or they would be destroyed (see Alma 8:29). Amulek was, at that time, a bit of a less-active member, you might say (see Alma 10:5-6). Amulek was visited by an angel and told that Alma was a man of God, and that he should provide food for him, etc, which he did (see v. 7-9). Amulek went with Alma and preached the word of God, and for doing so, Amulek testified that the Lord "hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which [Alma] spake" (Alma 10:11).
Amulek testified many times that he knew "that the things whereof [Alma] hath testified are true| (v. 10). He later bore a powerful testimony of Christ and His Atonement (see Alma 34:8-10). For being such a steadfast servant of the Lord, and for obeying His commandments, Amulek was blessed in many ways, and enjoyed the blessings of the Gospel in its fulness. However, this did not mean he was not without his afflictions. Along with being beaten, imprisoned, and many other terrible things (see Alma 14), his family turned on him. Amulek forsook "all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred" (Alma 15:16).
We related this story to Sis. Gina, and showed how blessed Amulek was, despite all that happened to him, even by his own family. We then shared why Amulek would do that. It's because of what Christ would later come to say:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:34-37, emphasis added).
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is given to tell men "what they must do to gain peace in this life, and eternal salvation in the life to come" (Introduction, Book of Mormon). However, that doesn't mean there won't be problems in life. It doesn't mean there won't be sacrifice. The Lord requires that we put Him above all others, even family. Sometimes, that means forsaking our family for the Lord. Sometimes we must declare, as did the Lord, "whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother" (Mark 3:35; see also Matt. 12:50; Luke 8:21).
Sis. Gina took comfort in this. We taught a little bit more about how the Lord will help her get through the "mist of darkness" (see 1 Nephi 8:23; 1 Nephi 12:17) and encouraged her to "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" (2 Nephi 31:20). She took courage from that, was comforted, and then prepared for Church. She got there about 10 minutes before Sacrament (we biked, so we got there a wee bit before her) and I was then given the honor of confirming her a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was awesome.
The rest of the day was very, very busy. We had lots of members needing to talk to us, some for referrals (which is always nice; haha) and others for other things. Finally, we went at about 1400 and taught Thomas' mother. Thomas is one of the young men (he's 14) who came the first Sunday we were in Kaneshie. He's been coming since, and has been asking when he can be baptized. We went to meet his mother to discuss it. She said she has no problem, and then asked some questions about how the Church is run, and what will be expected of him. She was surprised how much responsibility he'll be given as a 14-yr-old, which is always awesome. We then introduced her to the Book of Mormon, that often being not only a major tool for rumor and problems from gossipers, but also a major tool for conversion by the Spirit of the Lord. She asked some questions about it and then committed to read the Introduction. She can even read Twi, so we're getting her a Twi version. We're praying that she'll be converted with her son, and we can baptize the both of them! That;d be great.
After that, we went clear out to Official Town, a 20-min. bike ride when you know where you're going. We didn't; haha. Never been there before. But we met Br. Ghandie and he took us to some people Bishop wanted us to teach. One was Br. Steven, the husband of a member. We taught the family, and he's really awesome and very open. We can only meet on Sundays, so we'll be coming out to Official Town every Sunday until he's baptized, it seems! Haha; which is great. We then taught the Boye family. The youngest son, Godson (13 yrs), has been coming to Church with Bishop for a few weeks now, and Bishop feels his family is ready to be taught. We taught him, his father, and two of his older sisters. What's more is that one of the sisters, Grace, has been to the Church before with a friend from Kasoa, last November or so. They all committed to be baptized if they come to know these things are true. We're working towards a date, and they seem wonderful! I'm very excited about the future of Kaneshie.
What's more is that the Ward is finally getting their goals set with the Ward Mission Plan. We made a Reporting tool where they can set monthly and quarterly goals and then work towards them, kinda like how we missionaries do things. They're finally doing it, and it's finally in place. That means now they just have to grow and adjust to it, which is easier for the Spirit to help them do. If the Ward is diligent in this - and I think it will be, as we have great leaders here - then they should be doing wonders by the end of this year. I'm really excited for everything going on here.
That;s about it for the week. E. Bies is doing very well; he's gotten a good foothold and a strong determination to be humble and follow the standards with exactness, so all that's left for him is to remain steadfast and keep learning and polishing his teaching skills. We're working on that; introducing scriptures is a bit difficult, but then it always is. All-in-all, things are going well. Not much else to say there, and I think I've already given the spiritual thought for the week; haha. I'll end with Pres.'s letter, as, again, I really like them.
"Dear Elders and Sisters:
When I conduct interviews for those who are preparing to be baptized I will sometimes ask the question, 'when did you first learn of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?' Often the person will answer by sharing with me a story, dream, or some other miraculous experience that has prepared them to meet the missionaries and to hear the message of the Restoration. I don't know if we really appreciate the fact that we are living among people described in both the New and Old Testaments as follows: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams' (Acts 2:17, see also Joel 2:28). The people we are blessed to meet and to teach also have much in common with those described by the Book of Mormon prophet Alma in the following: 'For behold, angels are declaring [the gospel] unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word . . .'(Alma 13:24).
During my duties as a general officer of the Church I traveled throughout the world and visited and taught people of many different cultures and beliefs, but never have I been in such a land as Ghana where most everyone is open to learn more of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While each of us can be justly proud of the country from which we have come, we are very blessed to be living and serving in Ghana where many people "dream dreams" and who are being prepared by angels. In some cases the angels are from beyond the veil. In other cases the angels spoken of are the missionaries---- you.
I do not believe this openness to the gospel message will last for a long period of time. As the influence of the western world comes to Ghana and as prosperity increases, the people will be less receptive to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As it is sometimes said, 'the window is closing.' This is a part of why the Ghana Kumasi Mission is being opened in July and why we will continue to expand into the Volta Region. Elders and Sisters, we must act quickly to find as many of the 'elect' (D&C 29:7) as quickly as possible before this window of opportunity closes. In addition to asking you to work hard, work smart, and to be more pure, I am asking that each of us increase the number of people we contact each day as we go about our day-to-day duties. If the person you contact is not in your area, simply call (flash), or text Sister Barney and give her the name and the number of the person you have contacted. She will be happy to make sure the person is contacted by the missionaries in their area. I would like to have so many names and numbers coming into the mission office that we will need to call a referral secretary to handle all of the referrals that come to us. As I have asked before, I am asking that each of us not give into the "fear of man" (D&C 60:2) and be especially aware of 'the rich, and the learned, the wise and the noble' (D&C 58:10). A person does not need to be wealthy or educated to be one of the "elect" but we need the leadership and strength they can bring to the church soon after their conversion.
One of the ways we can contact more people is to spend more time working in the evening and not to be too quick to go back to the apartment. I know that in some areas of the mission this is more difficult than others, but I hope each of you will give serious consideration to spending more time working in the evening hours. As enjoyable as it is being back at the apartment relaxing, there is much more joy in finding the elect. The following story is from one of our faithful missionaries who followed my counsel about doing more finding in the evening hours:
'We applied what you suggested in your email last week about doing finding in the evening time. Honestly, over the course of my mission I've come to dislike doing finding in the evening because most people just tell us that they're cooking or busy with their children. But on Tuesday evening we tried it again. We had been knocking doors for a while with no luck and then we passed by a compound where i knew a member named [Charity--- not her real name] lives. We went and greeted her at her door and explained that we were going around trying to find people to teach. Without us even asking, she came outside and took us to her neighbor . . . and introduced us to her. We were able to sit down with her and introduce our message. To shorten the story, we're now teaching her and she is really really cool. She's one of the elect that are prepared to receive us. She's smart, has a family, has a good job, is understanding our message and has accepted to be baptized. Thank you for that suggestion! If it wasn't for that we definitely wouldn't have done finding that night. That experience has helped me to understand that it's true that the elect will be home at nightwith their families.
I continue to strengthen my testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon. Once again this week I've seen its power in the conversion of a man named [Edward] who is making serious study of it. And on another occasion, in the strengthening of a recent convert's testimony about temple work while reading from it with him. I am grateful for this service. I find true joy in it . . . .'
This story also highlights the power of the Book of Mormon that is beginning to take hold in the mission. One thing that has surprised me a little is that not only is the Book of Mormon helping our investigators, it is also having a powerful effect upon the missionaries and upon the mission. The Book of Mormon is helping the Ghana Accra Mission to 'cleanse the inner vessel.' President Ezra Taft Benson taught:
'We have made some wonderful strides in the past. We will be lengthening our stride in the future. To do so, we must first cleanse the inner vessel by awaking and arising, being morally clean, using the Book of Mormon in a manner so that God will lift the condemnation, and finally conquering pride by humbling ourselves.' (President Ezra Taft Benson, Cleansing the Inner Vessel, Ensign, May 1986, p. 4).
Please continue with the great work you are doing. We have a goal of 205 baptisms for the month of April. Achieving this goal will require each of us to work a little harder, smarter, and to live closer to the Holy Ghost. Also, I hope you will continue to share your stories. I will be using them in these letters, zone conferences, and sending them on to Elder Holland as we continue in our quest to become 'a Book of Mormon Mission.'
Thanks to each of your for your diligent service.
Much Love,
President Judd" ("The Window is Still Open," Apr. 2, 2012, Mission Weekly Letter).
Next week is transfers, so we find out this week if anyone is training. I finish training E. Bies this week, so I'm eligable; haha. I'll let you know next week if there's any news. Again, 22 new missionaries this transfer, and 7 new areas. Should be exciting!
I love you all! Have a great week, and read the Book of Mormon every day this week!
--Elder Collings
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