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.