I had a pretty good week this week.
On Wednesday I went on splits with Elder Cheadle. We still share a weird Vulcan mind meld where we can read each others' thoughts while teaching a lesson. It's nice. The last lesson of the night we taught a guy named Eddy. Eddy's girlfriend is an investigator up in Cottonwood and the rest of her family got baptized a year ago. Eddy's been going to Church up there and reading in the Book of Mormon for a while now, but he's been waiting for his "answer." Whenever I thought about Eddy, it seemed to me like he was waiting for an "answer" to something he already knew. Elder Cheadle got the same impression in our lesson even though he didn't know him.
I shared with him a talk I'd read by Elder Godoy in the Nov. 2008 Ensign about the process of obtaining a testimony. I really liked that talk because Elder Godoy talks about how he's never gotten a big "answer" but that the sum total of all his experiences adds up to the same thing. I also shared the scripture in 1 Cor. that says that no one can say Jesus is the Christ except by the Holy Ghost, which is interesting coming from a man who saw Christ in a vision. We also talked about how Alma saw a vision of God the Father and His Son and still says in Alma 5 that his testimony came by dilligent fasting and prayer.
I also felt prompted to tell Eddy that Heavenly Father loved him and would confirm his faith. But I felt that I needed to tell him that, just like it says in Ether 12, we receive no witness until after the trial of our faith. I promised him that if he made the decision to follow the Savior and be baptized, that because Heavenly Father loves him He would confirm that decision somewhere down the line. Eddy said he would be baptized and immediately after the Spirit filled the room. It was really strong. Eddy definitely felt it. I hadn't thought that he would receive that confirmation so quickly.
After that Eddy talked about how he just wants his girlfriend to get baptized too. Elder Cheadle was able to tell him how his girlfriend got baptized after a lot of work and patience on his end. It was cool that he was there on splits with me. I've seen how happy it's made him that his girlfriend is now a member of the Church and he was able to share that with Eddy. It was a really great lesson. The Spirit was really strong. Both Elder Cheadle and I felt like we knew what to say all during the lesson.
Eddy's going to get baptized up in Cottonwood because that's where he goes to Church and he's moving there in a month. But it was still cool to be there and teach him. He's one of the most solid investigators I've ever taught. You can tell how badly he wants the Gospel. That's something I've learned, that a person's desire has a great impact on my ability to teach them as a missionary. It's easier to have the Spirit guide me when the investigator really wants it. Desire has a big effect on our Gospel progress.
We went to the Mesa Temple last night with our recent convert and her husband. Her husband is a really cool guy and will definitely accept the Gospel soon. He's going at his own pace, but he'll make it there. Everyone in the ward loves them. We watched the Prophet of the Restoration movie, which is really well done. It doesn't have any cheesy parts like Legacy.
I love going to the Temple. It just feels good walking outside it. We're all going as a mission for our Christmas Zone Conference. That'll be special.
I'm excited for Thanksgiving. The ward here is having Thanksgiving dinner at the Church, so we'll be going there to eat. I can't wait for the Christmas season to officially start. Mexicans love Christmas tree lights. The only downside is that Christmas in Phoenix feels like spring in Oregon. Christmas misses some of its charm when it's not cold. It baffles me why people like to move here for the winter time. Why miss out on one of the best seasons?
Love,
Elder Grasley
P.S. Elder Zeledon is awesome. One night we spent almost our entire dinner hour talking about the Silmarillion. He's the first person I've met who can out-lore me in LotR.
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