The Church is True & The Book is Blue
Hey friends! :)
I hope all is well with you guys! Things here in SLC are great! I love being a missionary and I love temple square. We've had so many great experiences this week. Whether that was feeling the spirit so insanely strong as we shared Joseph Smith's experience with this sweet muslim couple or people thanking us for the gift as we handed them their own copy of the Book of Mormon. They were all so special.
Another one of those moments happened just a few nights ago as we walked around temple square. It was dark and pretty empty as we stood near the gates and watched as a group started to round the tabernacle. Without thinking I just yelled "Hi, how are you guys!". They responded with a surprised and simple "good" and I followed with "do you guys have any questions?!". Then to my surprise they did! As we approached them though, right off the bat it was very intense and aggressive. They started asking all the typical "hard" questions. They had a lot of views on what they thought the church believed and it was a great opportunity for us to clarify as well as testify. One of the guys that was there was particularly not a fan of the church. He said "there is one thing that I just cannot respect about your church. With you guys you're either in or out and if you've been out for too long then you're not welcomed back. I just can't respect that." Well how wrong was that!?! I explained to him that the reason we try our best to attend church each week is because we have the opportunity to partake of the sacrament. Taking the bread and water that symbolizes Christ sacrifice. With this we're more prepared for our week and have a renewed peace brought to our lives. It doesn't matter if you haven't been in a week, a month, years, or even a decade - Christ's sacrifice is still offered to everyone. Everyone is welcomed. To this he struggled and said something along the lines of "well you guys are too young to know what you believe in and to choose something like this." To which I said "you're right, but so are you, and so is that 90 year old man over there. Every day we have to recommit to what we believe and to Jesus Christ. It's not a one time decision to follow Him."
As the conversation continued we saw as the lady who was with them started to change and soften. Her jabbing questions began to turn to genuine and sincere ones. To the point that she became emotional. She thanked us for our words and then asked if we could all pray together. We agreed and as we all held hands she began to say the sweetest prayer. As she spoke I said a silent prayer myself that they would be able to feel the spirit. Little did I know at the same time Sister Morgan was offering the same prayer. As the woman finished we looked up to see that our prayers had been answered. With tears coming down her face she thanked us again and we parted ways. Her heart had been softened and we were all united for a time as true believers in Christ. We knew that if no one else had felt the spirit she did.
It was just so special and such a testament to me of the truthfulness of this gospel. I love this church so much and even more I love Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith really was a prophet and the Book of Mormon truly is the word of God. As I have testified of each of these things on square this week I have felt the undeniable spirit that they are true. I am so happy!
God is good!
Sister Mac 🤟
I hope all is well with you guys! Things here in SLC are great! I love being a missionary and I love temple square. We've had so many great experiences this week. Whether that was feeling the spirit so insanely strong as we shared Joseph Smith's experience with this sweet muslim couple or people thanking us for the gift as we handed them their own copy of the Book of Mormon. They were all so special.
Another one of those moments happened just a few nights ago as we walked around temple square. It was dark and pretty empty as we stood near the gates and watched as a group started to round the tabernacle. Without thinking I just yelled "Hi, how are you guys!". They responded with a surprised and simple "good" and I followed with "do you guys have any questions?!". Then to my surprise they did! As we approached them though, right off the bat it was very intense and aggressive. They started asking all the typical "hard" questions. They had a lot of views on what they thought the church believed and it was a great opportunity for us to clarify as well as testify. One of the guys that was there was particularly not a fan of the church. He said "there is one thing that I just cannot respect about your church. With you guys you're either in or out and if you've been out for too long then you're not welcomed back. I just can't respect that." Well how wrong was that!?! I explained to him that the reason we try our best to attend church each week is because we have the opportunity to partake of the sacrament. Taking the bread and water that symbolizes Christ sacrifice. With this we're more prepared for our week and have a renewed peace brought to our lives. It doesn't matter if you haven't been in a week, a month, years, or even a decade - Christ's sacrifice is still offered to everyone. Everyone is welcomed. To this he struggled and said something along the lines of "well you guys are too young to know what you believe in and to choose something like this." To which I said "you're right, but so are you, and so is that 90 year old man over there. Every day we have to recommit to what we believe and to Jesus Christ. It's not a one time decision to follow Him."
As the conversation continued we saw as the lady who was with them started to change and soften. Her jabbing questions began to turn to genuine and sincere ones. To the point that she became emotional. She thanked us for our words and then asked if we could all pray together. We agreed and as we all held hands she began to say the sweetest prayer. As she spoke I said a silent prayer myself that they would be able to feel the spirit. Little did I know at the same time Sister Morgan was offering the same prayer. As the woman finished we looked up to see that our prayers had been answered. With tears coming down her face she thanked us again and we parted ways. Her heart had been softened and we were all united for a time as true believers in Christ. We knew that if no one else had felt the spirit she did.
It was just so special and such a testament to me of the truthfulness of this gospel. I love this church so much and even more I love Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith really was a prophet and the Book of Mormon truly is the word of God. As I have testified of each of these things on square this week I have felt the undeniable spirit that they are true. I am so happy!
God is good!
Sister Mac 🤟
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| Exchanges w/ Sister Stevenson |
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| Exchanges w/ Sister Gutierrez |
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| Exchanges w/ Sister Cooper |
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| Sister Morgan & I at zone conference today. |
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