So, we baptized Philemon this week! It was nice. He was
somehow late to the baptism, and few people were there, but he still got
baptized! He then came 1 minute late for his
confirmation and thus missed it this week; we're trying to push to have it done
next week, even though it's Ward conference. We'll have to see how Bishop feels
about it - it's allowed, he just may not like it. We're working with several
people now, and hopefully they will begin to progress. Mercy Tetteh has come back!
She's wanting to learn again, and is coming to Church and everything! It's
wonderful. We also had Diana Solomon come. She's been coming with Alex Solomon
for some time now (about 6-8 weeks) but they aren't properly married, if I
haven't mentioned them before (quite certain I have, but oh well). She loves
the Church; she can't speak English very well, but she loves it anyway! She's
even spending time talking with Gina, our RC from two months ago; they discuss
Church stuff and everything. Gina's doing great as a fellowshipper; she's even
the one who invited Mercy to come back to Church!
Interesting thing happened this week. Last week, during Mother's Day, a member from Switzerland came to Church named Celina. She's about our age (20's, methinks) and is schooling or working or something in nursing here. We greeted her after Church and talked small, and then I asked her if she had anyone who might be interested in the Gospel. She said she had some roommates who would probably like to learn about it, so I invited her to invite them to Church next week. She said ok, she left, and we went to some meeting or something. I forgot completely about it.
Well, this Sunday, as we were waiting for Philemon to come and standing at the door, just as Sacrament was about to start (the meeting, not the ordinance) I see Sis. Celina walking across the parking lot to the chapel door. I noticed that, true to her word, she had a friend with her! I was quite surprised. Then, I saw two other obronis behind her; more of her friends. She invited her entire room to come to Church, and they came! It was very weird, greeting 3 obroni women at Church. They were Chenney (that's how she said it; probably wrong spelling - I'm not Swiss), Yasmin (also Swiss), and Eli (that's how she said it, but my English is terrible now. She's from London). The two Swiss sisters seemed to like it, but spoke little English it seems, and thus I'm not sure how interested they are - but they enjoyed it! Eli, however, seemed very interested. She's a journalist and thus very good at reading. We gave her a Book of Mormon in Gospel Principles class and she was very intrigued. Afterwards, she said she'd like to meet us to learn more, and would start investigating the Book of Mormon. We're working on setting an appointment for this week (their landlady doesn't like guests; no surprise there), but they may get baptized... In Ghana; haha. That'd be the weirdest thing I've ever done on mission. We shall see. But let's hope and pray!
Not much time, again. It rained decently hard so that messed stuff up a wee bit. I'll leave with this note: you have no idea what blessings you can bring into your friends' lives by sharing the Gospel with them until you do it! Celina's friends may have received the seed necessary to bring about their conversion and eternal exaltation, because she invited them to attend her Church with her, in Ghana. I don't know the experiences of many of you, but it's not easy walking into a place where everyone is eyeballing you like candy or something because you're from a foreign country and they have odd ideals about you. Yes, this is the Church, but members are still people, and they don't exactly have the same manners as Western Cultures do. We have different expectations and whatnot, so it wasn't easy for those sisters to come to Church. But Celina didn't worry about any of that, invited them, and we shall see what eternal consequences may come because of that.
In other words, share the Gospel with your friends - no excuses, no doubts!
I love you all! I have letters, but haven't been able to send them. It's been a while since we've been to a meeting or anything. Be patient, mepaakyo!
Here's Pres.'s letter. Enjoy it!
"Dear Elders and Sisters:
As we continue our quest to find the "elect" (see D&C 27:7) we
must remember that the honest in heart will not always be "the rich, and
the learned, the wise and the noble" (see D&C 58:10). Sometimes they
will be "the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf" (D&C
58:11). Some of the elect we seek are the "minors" and other
people that others may be critical of us for teaching and baptizing. We must be
very careful that we do not exclude teaching and baptizing people because of
their age, language, "the coarseness of their apparel" (Alma
32:2) or that they are "poor as to things of the world" (Alma 32:3).
Our message is for everyone. The Lord's instructions concerning who should be
baptized is clearly outlined in the following:
And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning
the manner of baptism--All those who humble themselves before God, and desire
to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and
witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and
are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination
to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have
received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be
received by baptism into his church. (D&C 20:37, emphasis added)
The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob taught that the Savior, "cometh into the
world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold,
he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature,
both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam" (2 Nephi
9:21).
The prophet Alma taught that the Lord, "imparteth his word by angels unto
men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do
have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the
learned" (Alma 32:23).
Many years ago President Charles A. Callis, then a member of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, told a story of one of the missionaries with whom he served
when he was a mission president. During his last interview with the missionary,
President Callis asked the young man if he had had successful mission. The
missionary responded by telling him that his mission had been a waste of time.
President Callis responded by asking, "Haven’t you baptized anyone?"
The young elder said, "I baptized only one person during the two years
that I have been here. That was a twelve-year-old boy up in the back [woods] of
Tennessee." The missionary went home with a sense of failure.
President Callis decided to do some research about what happened to the young
boy the missionary had baptized and gave the following report: "I followed
him through the years. He became the Sunday School [president in his ward], and
he eventually became the branch president. He married. He moved off the little
farm on which he and his parents before him had lived and got a piece of ground
of his own and made it fruitful. He became the district president. He sold that
piece of ground in Tennessee and moved to Idaho and bought a farmalong the
Snake River and prospered there. His children grew. They went on missions. They
came home. They had children of their own who went on missions." President
Callis continued, "I’ve just spent a week up in Idaho looking up every
member of that family that I could find and talking to them about their
missionary service. I discovered that, as the result of the baptism of that one
little boy in the back [woods] of Tennessee by a missionary who thought he had
failed, more than 1,100 people have come into the Church." (adapted from
the Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, pp. 360-61).
While it is true there are missionaries who teach and baptize children because
doing so is often easier than working with adults, we must never forget that
our purpose to "invite others to come unto Christ . . ." does not
specify that they should only be adults, or the rich or the learned or those
who drive cars. The "minor" you baptize may be the first of an
entire legacy of faithful Latter-day Saints that will embrace the restored
gospel for generations to come and on into eternity.
I find the story told by Elder Callis especially interesting because of the
story behind his own conversion. President James E. Faust told the following
story about Elder Callis:
Many years ago an elder who served a mission in the British
Isles said at the end of his labors, 'I think my mission has been a failure. I
have labored all my days as a missionary here and I have only baptized one
dirty little Irish kid. That is all I baptized.'
"Years later, after his return to his home in Montana,
he had a visitor come to his home who asked, 'Are you the elder who served a
mission in the British Isles in 1873?'
" 'Yes.'
"Then the man went on, 'And do you remember having said
that you thought your mission was a failure because you had only baptized one
dirty little Irish kid?'
"He said, 'Yes.'
"The visitor put out his hand and said, 'I would like
to shake hands with you. My name is Charles A. Callis, of the Council of the
Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am that dirty
little Irish kid that you baptized on your mission' (see The Teachings of
Harold B. Lee, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1996], 602–3).
"That little Irish boy came to a knowledge of his potential
as a son of God. Elder Callis left a lasting legacy for his large family.
Serving as a mission president for 25 years and in his apostolic ministry for
13 years, he blessed the lives of literally thousands. I feel privileged to
have known this great Apostle of the Lord when I was a young man." (James
E. Faust, "Them That Honour Me I Will Honour, Ensign," May 2001,
46–47)
As we continue in our labors to find the Lord's elect, please consider the
following recommendations:
1. Please review with your companion the directions we
have received from our prophet leaders in Preach My Gospel to "Talk With
Everyone" you meet (see Preach My Gospel, pp. 155-173). Continue to be
bold in seeking to contact the educated and the wealthy, but please do not
ignore the ignorant and the poor.
2. Do not be too quick to drop investigators who may
not appear to be progressing. We may have been holding on too long to some
investigators in the past, but we don't want to make the opposite mistake of
dropping people to quickly. Some of the elect will need your patience and
faith.
3. Continue to focus on "being pure." As we
keep the commandments and follow the directions given to us in the Missionary
Handbook we can trust the thoughts we have in our minds and the feelings that
come to our hearts. If we are pure, the Lord will be able to lead us to the
people He would have us teach and baptize. As you live worthy of the Spirit,
"you will find that God will place in your path His children who are being
prepared to receive the restored gospel" (Preach My Gospel, p. 156)
4. As we seek to become more pure, remember that,
"the most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you
are having the most difficulty keeping today" (The Teachings of Harold B.
Lee, p. 82). I was surprised yesterday to hear of missionaries who are shopping
on Sunday. Just as we are asked to invite all to come unto Christ, let us make
sure we are also striving to keep all of the commandments all of the time and
not deciding which ones we will obey and which ones we will not.
Sister Judd and I pray for your morning noon and night and in between. Please
know of our great love for you and the great work in which we are engaged.
Continued Blessings,
President Judd" (Minors and Miracles, May 21, 2012)
--Elder Collings
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