My companion and I where over teaching an investigator that we recently got in contact with, who I had previously taught over a year ago in Raleigh. We will call his name Mr. T. Although Mr. T is married, his wife was not feeling too well so we decided to have the lesson outside behind his apartment. In the back of his apartment their is a beautiful lake that has a trail laid out for people who live in the complex to walk around it. We set up some camping chairs that he had hidden behind the apartment's patio. Mr. T's wife and him always sit outside enjoying the beautiful scenery while eating something that Mr. T would cook on the grill. Right in front of their patio area is a beautiful garden that Mr. T had put a year's worth of work into clearing out leaves and other weeds to keep snakes and dangerous animals at bay. This is where we started our discussion.
We challenged Mr. T to read Alma 32 from the Book of Mormon last time we had been over. Mr. T had read all of what we assigned him and a little bit more. We were both so surprised and excited! Mr. T continued to point out to us his favorite scriptures in that chapter that we had given him. Explaining to us about how a seed of faith can grow inside of you if you exercise that faith and give it room to grow. We were both so shocked by how much Mr. T had soaked in knowing full well how intoxicated he had been the previous day when we assigned him that section. As we were talking about that chapter, a friend of Mr. T's came walking along the path that led around the lake. He waved to Mr. T and proceeded to come toward us to say "Hello." We asked the stranger what his name was and he told us it was Leo (name has been changed for privacy purposes). We invited Leo to sit in on our conversation as we continued to talk to Mr. T about the power of Christ's Atonement, and how it can help us overcome anything we are struggling with. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we believe in an event called the Atonement. The Atonement is three main events in Christ's life that he did for us that allows us to feel forgiven of our sins, made clean, and come closer to him. Through following the Gospel of Jesus Christ that he has taught us from the scriptures we have the ability to access this Atonement. The Atonement includes Christ's suffering at the Garden of Gethsemane, his crucifixion on the cross, and when he rose from the dead on the third day as a resurrected being. We believe that because of this wonderful gift God has given us, it allows us to become more like our Heavenly Father and develop attributes of His Son. Although we are far from becoming anything like Jesus Christ, our purpose in this life is to master our natural urges, and try to become better and do better each day.
Mosiah 3:19 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." The Book of Mormon, anouther Testmanet of Jesus Christ.
As we were sharing these things Leo kept making comments like, "I really feel like I needed this today." He continued to share with us that he walked outside and had not seen his friend Mr. T for a while, but that something was telling him that he needed to go and see how Mr. T was doing. He continued to tell us, "And maybe this is why. I show up and their are two strangers here with a message." Needless to say, we did not consider it a coincidence either that Leo decided to follow that prompting and come over. As we continued the discussion we read through Alma 24 where the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's in the Book of Mormon became converted to the Lord and made a promise to God to never shed blood with their weapons again. Not even to defend themselves. Mr. T began to be troubled and was worried that the story was telling him to not protect his own home when it is under attack. But before we could even respond to his concern Leo was their to silence his fears. Leo understood with clarity everything that the chapter had been saying. He was able to support what the scriptures where saying and share his personal testimony of why it made sense. It felt like their was a member present during the discussion. The whole time my companion and I just kept thinking, "wow, this person is super elect!" Before we ended the discussion we went over to Leo and offered to give him the Book of Mormon to keep if he wanted it. Leo got a big grin on his face almost instantaneously. He replied with a "wow, this is amazing. I have been praying that I would be able to get a hold of a bible. And now here I am with a bible in my hands." He was so excited to have a book of scripture. He followed his promptings and new with ought a doubt that God had led him to us to be able to obtain the Book of Mormon in his own hands.
And that my friends was a special moment. Even if Mr. T does not continue to progress or if he is always drunk and intoxicated when we go over, it did not matter. Sister Buhler and I in that moment could not deny that God had put us their for a reason. That we had to go to his house that day so that everything would align for us to be able to meet Leo. God works in mysterious ways and often uses us, his children as a way to answer others prayers. I am grateful for my mission, and I am grateful for this special moment as well as the thousands of others I have had on my mission. Knowing that this will not be the last, not as long as I live.
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