October 19-25, 2010: "Seeing the life of someone change"

Hey there!

What a phenomenal letter. Your words are always so inspirational and motivate me to be a better instrument. Yes about my bike, a member of the church had lent us one of theirs that we have used whenever one of our bikes has had a flat and that has been what I've used this past week. I called and talked to the guy at CTR bikes and he said he would send me a replacement bike.

This week seems like it has been filled with meetings and conferences. Tuesday we had a Zone Conference from 10:00-3:00. Wednesday I had district leader training from 10:00-11:30. Thursday was weekly planning from 10:00-12:00 and then District Meeting was from 1:00-2:30. Despite having a good chunk of our time overtaken with meetings, we were still able to get some good work done. Zone Conference was focused on Receiving Revelation Through Prayer which I will expound on later. At district meeting I decided to focus on the importance of members in missionary work and receiving referrals from them. President Monson said that, "There is … no substitute for a member-oriented proselyting program. Tracting will not substitute for it. Golden questions will not substitute for it. A member-oriented program is the key to success, and it works wherever we try it.” The average in this mission is around 1 in every 39 investigators found by missionaries street contacting or tracting gets baptized, and 1 in every 2.6 member referred. Obviously, a member referral has an immediate support group, someone there to answer their questions when the missionaries aren't present. Whenever we ask people if they have anybody that we can teach the answer is almost always, "no I can't think of anyone at this time." People are generally very nervous to talk to their peers about the gospel. So, as missionaries asking for referrals we now take this route: Has anybody asked you a question tha has to do with the church within the past few months? It makes them think harder and very often they have been asked a question. We then ask, What was the question? What was your response? How did they respond to your response? Why do you think that question was asked by them (why is it important to them)? How are you going to follow-up with this person? How can we as the missionaries help you to follow-up with them? People are able to zero in on times when they have talked to people about the gospel without even knowing it and it helps to receive more referrals.

I will say that the most fulfilling feeling I've felt in my life up to this point is the feeling of being a part of the change in someone's life for the better. We had two lessons on Friday night that were superb. First was with Howard Emery. He's the 82 year old guy who has been taking the lessons and hopes to be baptized before the end of the year. He just doesn't like being pressured and will tell everyone on his own time when he wants to be baptized. He is severely dislexic and nearly illiterate because of it. He lives with his niece and her husband who are members of the church and they bought him the childrens versions of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the old and new testaments. He is floored by how much he has been able to read in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. He says that he has never before been able to read so much and one night he read for like 13 hours straight because he is so happy. He is able to comprehend what he reads as well which he and the family considers a miracle. At the lesson we asked him questions about Joseph Smith, Nephi and others and he was able to describe to us what happened. There is nothing better than to see his face beam from ear to ear as he recalls what he reads. He also describes the feeling of the spirit as a warm sensation he doesn't want to go without. I can't wait to get a picture with him in white, you are going to think we are teaching Dick Van Dyke because he looks so much like him! After teaching Howard, we had a lesson with Chris Jordan. Chris is a man who NEVER would have been caught dead with a Book of Mormon, in a Mormon church, and especially with a desire to be baptized. He grew up Protestant and has a Catholic background and was severely anti-mormon during those days. He married a member of the church who is Less Active but one day she came and Chris was brought along with her. When we went up to meet him he was sitting at the back of the chapel with his arms folded, a massive frown, and looking as if he would rather be in prison than an LDS church. Well his ENTIRE countenance has changed in just a few weeks. He read a few chapters we gave him from the Book of Mormon and says he nearly had a "baseball bat to the head experience." Meaning, an immediate conviction that he needed to join the church. Since the first time we met, he has begun to take things on faith, to pray, and yesterday was the first time that he actually came to church by himself. The mean, old grump, who doesn't want anything to do with the missionaries, has become a smile from ear to ear, happy, best friend that everybody loves. He has a drinking and smoking problem and hopes to quit by the middle of December and he has already reduced his intake by half. He is the one I'm talking about when I say there is no better feeling than seeing the life of someone change because of the introduction of the restored gospel into their life. Howard as well.

So Zone Conference was focused on Receiving Revelation Through Prayer. I know that prayers are answered. People cannot and will not gain a testimony of what we teach untill they exercise their faith by praying and receiving the "evidence of things not seen" as I talked about last week. As a missionary it's so funny to see even the littlest prayers be answered. Last Monday we went to develop pictures and I had both of my SD cards, one in the camera and the other in my pocket in the case. Well I had no idea where the one in my pocket went and I couldn't remember if it was back home on the shelf or what! I didn't think much of it cause I thought it would just turn up sometime. Despite that, I prayed that I would find it so that I would have the peace of mind. Well the next day, I got a call from the lady in the ward who takes us to the chiropractor. She said that they had found my SD card in the creases of the chair where the chiropractor aligns your back. It had fallen out of my pocket while laying down on it! Haha and for some reason they were looking down in the crease and found it sitting there. Prayer answered. There have been many other times that are just small, simple things like that but it is just a testimony to me to know that Heavenly Father even cares about the small things in our lives. Even things that are non-important in the eternal perspective of things. If it's important to us, it's important to Him.

I read an awesome passage of scripture recently. It's the Abinadi and King Noah showdown consisting of Mosiah 11-20. What stuck out to me was pretty funny! After Abinadi had given his whole sermon, Alma baptized hundreds at the Waters of Mormon, there was a lot of turmoil going on back with King Noah and his people. Not many people were happy with him and a man by the name of Gideon went to kill King Noah and he ran to the top of the tower which was near the temple (the same tower King Benjamin spoke from I assume). Gideon persued the cowardly king and was about to kill him and then King Noah pleaded with him that he wouldn't because as he looked out over the land from the top of the tower he could see the Lamanites coming to take over the city. Gideon didn't kill him and the King ran down and started telling all the people to flee for their lives. Coward. He then noticed that the Lamanites were about to catch them, so King Noah commanded that all the men should leave their wives and children so they can run faster. SERIOUSLY? Coward. That made me laugh... Some men left their wives and daughters, but some stayed back with them. The ones who stayed back said that all the cutest daughters should go before the Lamanites and woo them into not killing them. It worked but I thought it was so funny, the opposite correlation between Abinadi and these people, especially King Noah. They definitely feared death and would have done anything, probably including denying their testimonies if they had one. Abinadi would "not recall the words which [he had] spoken unto...this people, for they are true." And he was killed for it but did not fear death. That is one thing I've noticed from teaching the Plan of Salvation, there is no need to fear as long as we are doing the things we have been asked to do and promised to do. President Boyd K. Packer recently said that from all his years as an apostle, he has witnessed every single emotion whether it was from himself or the other apostles. All, except for one. That one emotion is fear. We really have no need to fear when we have that peace of mind that we are doing the right things. I've noticed in my own life that you can truly tell when the spirit is with you always and that is how you can know that you need not fear. If you are worthy of the spirit, then you are probably doing the right things. :) I hope that I can keep myself in such a way so that I never have to question my worthiness of the spirit.

Anyways, I hope all is well back in K-Town! This email is super long I think and probably tough to understand because I'm typing like a mad man. Say hi to the ward for me and especially all the extended family! Let me know what everyone does for Halloween!

Love you eternally.

Love,

Elder Colton Matthew Mouritsen