People, People, People!

Today is the Relief Society broadcast! In fact, it's only a few hours from now! I'm quite excited because I get to go to it.

 

We spoke with Duane this past Monday. He is still doing great. He didn't get to go to church, though, because he had some kind of Christian retreat he went to and he got back to late to go. Next time...The missionaries hadn't quite made it to meet with him yet because he was out of town, but I'm hoping that they got to meet with him this week.

 

We're calling Stephanie and Grant tomorrow, so I'm not sure how they're doing since the last time I emailed. I hope that Stephanie gets to watch the Relief Society broadcast!

 

We had a miracle this week at the Humanitarian Center. Mark is a trucker and he drives for a non-profit organization that gets some of its supplies from the Humanitarian Center. So Mark was waiting for his truck to be loaded and in the mean time he took a tour because he loves Humanitarian service. So we took him on the tour and we got a really positive reaction from him about the things that we do there. People might be impressed as we show them the things that the church does, but we don't usually know how impressed they are. Mark let us know. The best part came when we related the programs that the church has (donating wheel chairs, vision care, immunizations, clean water, etc.) to what Christ did as he visited the Americas as it says in 3 Nephi 17:7 -- "Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy." Mark didn't know that Jesus Christ came and visited the Americas so we told him a little about the Book of Mormon and especially that it teaches and testifies of Jesus Christ. When we told him that he said, "well if that's what it's all about, then why are other Christian faiths against you?" We told him that we didn't know and we both smiled inside. I love it when people have amazing realizations as we take them on tours. Mark referred for missionaries! It's the first referral we've gotten in the Humanitarian Center! He's going to be driving for a while, so I don't know how soon missionaries will be able to meet with him, but at least we get to teach him over the phone.

 

Yesterday we had another great tour at Temple Square. When we walked into the North Visitors' Center there was a family that had just asked for a tour: a dad with his two older daughters (they were probably in their late 20s). They were here in Utah on vacation from Toronto, Canada and so they stopped by to visit Temple Square. One of the daughters has a boyfriend that is a member of the church and so they had some exposure to the church previous to coming. We took them to the Christus, the Tabernacle, and the Assembly Hall, and finally to the Conference Center. Naturally the best part was in the Conference Center where we got to take them to the Book of Mormon gallery. They had heard of the Book of Mormon before but didn't really know what it was, so they got to see the pictures of the stories from the Book of Mormon and get to know what it is a little bit. The last picture we showed them was the picture of Mormon and Moroni towards the end of the writings of the Book of Mormon. We explained to them that Mormon (the prophet that compiled the Book of Mormon) saw our day and knew exactly what experiences and testimonies that he could use to help us. We shared with them Mormon 8:35 where Mormon is speaking to us -- "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." We explained the the Book of Mormon answers our questions that we have today: why are we here? what happens after we die? How can I keep my family strong? It was a wonderfully powerful moment. The family referred to have missionaries back home in Toronto, and probably the best part is that they already have member support through the daughter's boyfriend! We told them about General Conference too, so they'll probably watch that as well. I love missionary work!

 

Duane + Grant & Stephanie + large family = A really good week

We had another great week with teaching! On Monday we called Duane to see how church went for him. I've never had anyone go to church before they met with the missionaries, so I was half expecting that he would go (because he is pretty much amazing) and half expecting that he wouldn't go (because that is what usually happens). But he went! It was the best birthday present ever! He told us all about it too. We gave him the Bishop's phone number and I think that he called before he went on Sunday because someone sat with him the whole way through church, which is wonderful! The Sunday that he went to church was the primary program and he really liked that children get to participate in church. He also noticed that Sacrament meeting was much louder than he is used to. He also went to Sunday School and Priesthood meetings. He said that Sacrament meeting isn't too unlike any other Christian church service he has been to, but the other two meetings were a little different. The man that went with him through church gave him a triple combination (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) and he also got a Gospel Principles manual, plus a soft-cover copy of the Book of Mormon from the missionaries! He has a lot of reading material now. Duane and the missionaries swapped phone numbers so that they can set up a time and place to meet. We haven't called him since that Monday, so I'm hoping that him and the missionaries have been able to meet by now. I think we're going to call this coming Monday to see how things are going for him.

 

This past Sunday we also met Grant and Stephanie. There is a bit of a story about how we met them...One of the local stakes was having stake conference in the Assembly Hall and a dad was outside with his young son and we stopped to talk with him. We told him about the family presentation in the North Visitors' Center and he said that he would look for us after to go to the presentation. So we went to eat lunch really fast so that we could be out in time for the end of stake conference. We took a shorter lunch break so that we could be upstairs in time. As we were walking up the stairs to find the family that we had talked to, one of the sisters assigned to the desk told us to go talk to a couple that walked in that might have wanted a tour (we can't offer tours when we're at the desk). So we went and talked to them and right away I could feel that they were good people, they had a good spirit about them. Stephanie and Grant accepted the invitation to have a tour and so we showed them around. They had just recently moved here from Seattle and the wife is working here. It sounds like Stephanie has been asking her coworkers all kinds of questions about the church and they told her that they could come to Temple Square and have a free tour. Grant has another year of school to graduate, but his brother is a member of the church. The best part of the tour was taking them to the Conference Center and showing them the Book of Mormon gallery. Stephanie already had her own copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish, but Grant doesn't read Spanish very well so we got to tell them both about the stories in the Book of Mormon and they were completely immersed in the Spirit there. As we stood in front of the gigantic painting of Christ visiting the Americas we invited them to have missionaries come and share more with them. They happily accepted. We also took them to the hall of the prophets in the Conference Center so they could see the paintings of the current twelve apostles and prophet. It was no coincidence the way that we met them. Heavenly Father has a perfect plan layed out and I feel like I'm beginning to see just how perfect and detailed this plan is. Everything worked out perfectly so that we could meet this couple. It reminds me of 1 Nephi 9: 6 -- "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words."

 

So just before we came to email today, Sister Wilson and I talked with Grant and Stephanie over the phone. The missionaries haven't contacted them yet so we shared with them about how they can gain their own testimony of the Book of Mormon. We read the second to last paragraph in the Book of Mormon and shared with them about how we can find answers to our prayers. I have a feeling that they will progress as a couple towards baptism. Stephanie is already worried about breaking the Word of Wisdom...she asked what "hot drinks" means in Doctrine & Covenants 89 because she was worried that she was going to break that commandment. I guess her coworker introduced her to the Word of Wisdom but didn't quite explain what that meant.

 

Testimony of Christ

What an AMAZING week! We just got off the phone with Duane and he is still doing great.We left him 2 Nephi 31 to read, which he did, and so we got to discuss that for a little bit and he is very well versed in the Bible. He was pulling parallels from the Bible to 2 Nephi 31 all over the place. He says that the Bible is what he goes by and the Book of Mormon is lining up perfectly with it. God won't contradict himself. He knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true (he prayed about it and received an answer), and now all we need to do is to get him in contact with the missionaries over there in Texas. He is going to church tomorrow, so hopefully the missionaries will find him there and they can give him his own copy of the Book of Mormon and they can teach him (much better than over the phone).
 
We also took some wonderful tours this past week. Since Labor day, most of the people on the Square (during the day) are retired couples that are still on vacation and they are wonderful people to be around. Yesterday we showed around a couple from New Jersey but originally from Mainland China (they weren't retired). They didn't have a lot of time and they mostly wanted to take pictures--like Asians do--so we didn't get to teach them very much. Growing up they had a Buddhist background and it is something that they still practice so they don't know much about God or Jesus Christ, so we had to teach very simply. We took them to the Tabernacle (they took some pictures in there too) and as we were there the wife told us that she felt good when she was there and that before she came to Temple Square she felt tired and sleepy, but when she got here she felt more awake. I was jumping for joy when she told us that because I knew that it was the Spirit that she was feeling. People never tell us how they're feeling and we didn't even ask her how she felt in the Tabernacle. We told her about the Spirit and that it was God telling her that this is something good. Naturally she referred for missionaries. When China opens up for missionaries it will be incredible.
 
This morning we took another great tour with a couple from Florida. We walked into the South Visitors' Center and he walked up to us and asked where you sign up for tours. Those are the things that we like to hear here, so we told him that we could take them on a tour! It was wonderful. We went to the Assembly Hall and the Conference Center. They had already been to the Tabernacle because they saw the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse on Thursday and while they were there they talked with a Bishop. So when we got to talk with them they already had some background information. I love taking people to the Conference Center because it just blows people away. The auditorium is of Titanic proportions and it is so peaceful and spiritual there. They loved it too, but the best part for them was the Book of Mormon gallery with the original paintings by Arnold Friberg (they're the ones that are in the front of hard cover copies of the Book of Mormon). The whole concept of the Book of Mormon just made so much sense to them. God loves all of His children and so naturally he would provide a means for them to learn about Jesus Christ anciently in the Americas. AND while we were walking around in the gallery the wife had an "aha" moment (i.e. she received some personal revelation) that it makes sense that God calls prophets today because He did before, why not now? So she and her husband referred for missionaries as well. It was just such a fun tour. They were great people and their hearts and minds were open.
 
One of the things that Sister Wilson and I have been trying to focus on is having Christ-centered tours. That sounds like something I should have figured out a long time ago, but as a missionary sometimes I get too caught up in the idea of God calling prophets and the Book of Mormon that I think sometimes people walk out of Temple Square thinking that that is all that we are about...but it isn't! All of the restored truths that we have teach and testify of Jesus Christ! The Book of Mormon is all about Jesus Christ, the prophet is a witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ, the temple is centered around Jesus Christ and His atonement. It's all about Him and that through him we can prepare to return to live with God again! I love bearing my testimony of the Savior. He is my purpose for being a missionary.
 

Teaching!

Sister Smiley at the Humanitarian Center

Hi Everyone! Sister Wilson and I have had a great week here on Temple Square. The best part of my week was teaching Duane over the phone. Duane called in a few weeks ago to find out about church because his finace is a member of the church and he wanted to know where the church would be for her. So I spoke to him about church and asked him if he wanted to learn more about his fiance's beliefs and he said that would be great. He is very familiar with the Bible and a wonderful Christian that is truely seeking to follow the example of Jesus Christ. So last week Sister Wilson and I set up a time to call him and we taught him about the great apostasy. We found out that he already has a testimony of the great apostasy--he was in complete agreeance with what we were teaching that there were no prophets on the earth from the time of Christ. We were completely surprised; we didn't even have to teach him. So we left him with the introduction of the Book of Mormon to read. Next time we called he had read the Introdcution as well as the Testimony of the Three Witnesses and the Testimony of the Eight Witnesses as well as the Testimony of Joseph Smith--way more than we expected him to read. Not only did he read it, but he said that he believed that Joseph Smith had been called as a prophet! He said that it lines up what the Bible teaches and it follows the pattern of how God works. That was what we were planning on teaching him and it had turned out that he taught himself! So we read Moroni 10:3-5 with him and he said that he would take up the promise to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. We also gave him 2 Nephi 31 to read because it talks about following the example of Jesus Christ and that is really what he wants to do. He is amazing! Hopefully next week he can go to church and meet with the missionaries.

The weather here is finaly cooling down. The past few weeks have been quite warm and I'm glad for a break. The Square is also starting to die down as kids go back to school and people go back to work. The next big thing will be General Conference, which we are already counting down to and preparing for. Something that we're really going to try to improve on as a mission is the quality of our interactions with members. One of the things that I try to work on here is trying to make sure that members know that I'm not talking with them just because I want to call their friends, but because I want to have a good interaction with them too and try to uplift them in some way too. So I'm quite excited for this focus this coming conference.