Wednesday, September 24, 2014

July 28, 2014


Elder Low's report:

This week I've been reading in the first few chapters of third Nephi. These chapters record the period of time between the signs given in the American continent of the Lord's birth and death. In this period the Nephites go from states of general wickedness and states of general righteousness several times. The part that caught my particular attention this time though was in chapter 4. Faced by the possibility of utter destruction through war as a result of their wickedness, in this chapter the Nephites finally turn unto the Lord. They forsake their sins, and, understanding now their need for divine intervention begin to pray continually to be saved. As a result the entire story switches. They are given incredible strength and wisdom, and what seemed impossible, obtaining this salvation, is done in a very short period of time. In the end having finished the battle and won the war they cry in great gratitude unto the God which they know has saved them:
30 And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.
31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.
32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.
33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.
As we turn from our wickedness the Lord will help us, leading us by the hand even unto our salvation.
The week started really promising. Lots of people through door knocking were accepting our invitation to baptism and to be taught. This resulted in a lot of return appointments, which accumulated until we had filled much of an entire day with just these return appointments. The day came, and we started to go to the apartment building where they all lived. As we started I realized that many of them would be single women who we would only be able to teach at the door if we didn't bring a male member. In the past I didn't usually consider using members on the first lesson as it involved more finely tuned teaching skills, but I continued to feel that we should bring a particular member. I heeded the prompting and we went to his house. He answered the door (being 73) with "hey there elders! Come on in." We told him we'd love to but we actually needed his help in going to some lessons. He asked, "When are these lessons?" We looked at each other both knowing how crazy a request it was. "In five minutes," we answered. He smiled and got changed. For one and a half hours we taught three groups of people of differing backgrounds and ages, yet every single one was touched by the testimony and kindness of this seventy year old man. They felt comfortable and two of those groups accepted baptism. From now on, I will always remember that day. The power of members is incredible, and as we cease our idleness in using them, we will see many thousands of souls receive their salvation.
That day I repented of my laziness, and the Lord blessed us for it. As we cease our fight against God and cry unto him, he will help us. We too may be struck with such amazing joy, even as the Nephites.
Elder Low.


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