October 4, 2015
Dear Mom, Dad,
Amanda, Blake, Bennett, and Aaron,
General Conference is one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World in my
opinion, and I think my favorite part is that we can review it over
and over and over again whenever we feel so prompted! I think I can
patiently wait until next week. There's one thing in particular this
week that stuck out to me in a whirlwind of emotion and events. Last
night, we were invited over to dinner with the family we met whose
sister is a member and nephew is serving in Fukuoka. I really didn't
know what to expect and both Elder P and I were wondering if
they would give us any time to share a message. We felt the chances of
a nice, full "lesson" was not really something worth considering. More
than anything though, we felt their love. It's not often we get
invited to spend time with anyone. Rather than trying to plan how to
create a gospel discussion, I was reminded of a quote from Elder
Holland in Preach My Gospel: "These people are not lifeless objects
disguised as baptismal statistics. They are children of God, our
brothers and sisters, and they need what we have." As we ate over one
of the most delicious meals I've ever had, their hearts opened up. We
felt a connection with them, and they felt the same. As we shared our
testimonies of morality, faith, and prayer, we could see hope building
in their eyes. Even though one or two expressed several times that
they didn't have any inclination to believe or rely on any god, let
alone a Christian one. It seemed like they wanted to believe in
something good that could bring an end to the various problems in the
world. I felt somewhat like Paul when King Agrippa said that he almost
felt like becoming Christian, but we both felt a strong love for each
and every one of them. Each and every person has doubts and struggles
and reasons for their beliefs, but I truly believe that often they
want to believe in something more if only given the chance. The
restores gospel of Jesus Christ is that hope that never dies, it has
held up to thousands and thousands of years of pressure and still
brings hope and changes hearts. You have my promise it will not fail
you! Keep trusting! Keep believing! Share that hope with someone else!
We all need saving after all.
Love you all!
Elder Christensen
General Conference is one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World in my
opinion, and I think my favorite part is that we can review it over
and over and over again whenever we feel so prompted! I think I can
patiently wait until next week. There's one thing in particular this
week that stuck out to me in a whirlwind of emotion and events. Last
night, we were invited over to dinner with the family we met whose
sister is a member and nephew is serving in Fukuoka. I really didn't
know what to expect and both Elder P and I were wondering if
they would give us any time to share a message. We felt the chances of
a nice, full "lesson" was not really something worth considering. More
than anything though, we felt their love. It's not often we get
invited to spend time with anyone. Rather than trying to plan how to
create a gospel discussion, I was reminded of a quote from Elder
Holland in Preach My Gospel: "These people are not lifeless objects
disguised as baptismal statistics. They are children of God, our
brothers and sisters, and they need what we have." As we ate over one
of the most delicious meals I've ever had, their hearts opened up. We
felt a connection with them, and they felt the same. As we shared our
testimonies of morality, faith, and prayer, we could see hope building
in their eyes. Even though one or two expressed several times that
they didn't have any inclination to believe or rely on any god, let
alone a Christian one. It seemed like they wanted to believe in
something good that could bring an end to the various problems in the
world. I felt somewhat like Paul when King Agrippa said that he almost
felt like becoming Christian, but we both felt a strong love for each
and every one of them. Each and every person has doubts and struggles
and reasons for their beliefs, but I truly believe that often they
want to believe in something more if only given the chance. The
restores gospel of Jesus Christ is that hope that never dies, it has
held up to thousands and thousands of years of pressure and still
brings hope and changes hearts. You have my promise it will not fail
you! Keep trusting! Keep believing! Share that hope with someone else!
We all need saving after all.
Love you all!
Elder Christensen
No comments:
Post a Comment