Baptismal Challenge

When I had been in my fourth area for a few months we started teaching a part member family.  Each week we would meet in the home of the bishop of the ward to which we were assigned.  After teaching the fourth discussion about the Plan of Salvation I made a baptismal challenge to the wife, Sharon.  I tied a challenge idea that I had heard about from our zone leaders a few weeks previously.

“Before we go on," I said, "I want to stop and let you know that the feelings you are having right now is the spirit telling you that these things are true.”  Any time the missionaries are feeling the spirit, they can be confident that their investigators are also feeling it.  The spirit was very strong this night and Sharon agreed. I then started the baptismal challenge by asking her three questions based on the seed analogy in Alma 32 (read it now if you have not done so before):

1. Do you feel that your soul has been enlarged? She said yes.
2. Has your understanding been enlightened? Yes.
3. Have these things been delicious to you? She said yes, but that she wanted to learn more before she was baptized.

Then I talked about Alma comparing the word to a seed before turning to Acts chapter 2 to set up the Day of Pentacost. The people were touched by the spirit and asked the Apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter commanded them to be baptized and immediately 3,000 were. They didn’t wait for understanding; they had received a witness of the spirit and were baptized.

Then I asked, “Do you believe that the spirit has been testifying to you that these things are true?” She said yes. “If Peter were here tonight, what do you think he would ask you?” “To be baptized,” she answered. Now for the big one: “As servants of Jesus Christ we also would like to extend that invitation. Will you be baptized?” She said yes! I cannot put into words how excited I was.

We set a goal date for two to three weeks out. Sharon still needed to attend church twice and have the last two discussions, but I was so excited because Sharon was going to be baptized!

However, there were still some challenges ahead.  When we taught the fifth discussions, Sharon would not commit to date for baptism.  She said she wanted more understanding before being baptized.  When we taught the sixth discussion she said that she believed the spirit is testifying to her that the things we were teaching her were true but expressed her fear that if she was baptized she might not be able to stay on the pathway.

The bishop and I bore our testimonies and committed her to pray about being baptized. I told her the long version of how I received my testimony. The spirit was strong and sweet. We committed Sharon to fast and pray to know that these things are true by the next week.

The next time we met we were started by setting a tentative baptismal date.  Sharon said that she had not had any earth shaking answers to her prays, but that she also did not have any negative feelings. She said that she did feel good when she prayed. Then we showed her and her husband the video How Rare a Possession and again the spirit was strong and sweet.

Then the bishop bore his testimony and I followed with mine. I talked a little about fear and how I could understand because I was afraid of going home and even more so of marriage. I came to that realization during priesthood meeting on Sunday as we had one of those lessons on fatherhood where missionaries take mental notes for the future. I also shared with her that famous quote by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Fear was the actual roadblock and it is one of the devil’s best tools. If he can make us too afraid to press forward with faith, then he has won.  Sharon agreed to take the leap and be baptized and the ceremony finally took place a week and a half later.

Baptism is a big step, and even the most golden investigator may need a little help in making the decision to take the leap of faith.  Another investigator we taught in that same area was so golden we called him a "dry Mormon" -- just add water.  But when it came to making the decision to be baptized John started to struggle.  After teaching him the fifth and sixth discussion we had still not set a date, so all of us -- John, his friend and my companion and I -- fasted and prayed that he would know that baptism was right and that this is the true church.  The next time we met we set the date and he was baptized.

A Day or Two in the Life

May 27, 1988, Friday – This was quite an eventful day. It was my turn to drive today and our first destination was the home of one of our investigators. Our plan was to show him the video Restoration of the Priesthood; apparently he has been struggling lately. Alas, he was not home, so we went and tracted four streets, after which we went back to the flat to pick up Elders Tippets and Vaughan to go to lunch at Wendy’s. When we got there we just happened to run into the Carmel Ward’s mission leader, Brother King, who picked up the tab for lunch.

We had occasion to drive by the beach and we saw a destroyer and a submarine out in the bay. That was totally awesome. Later in the evening, when the sun had gone down, we were up in the hills and I could see the lights of the ship and sub.

At 6:30 p.m. we had our teaching appointment with Charles, who lives in our apartment complex. We talked for two and a half hours; Charles and his friend Tim had come prepared with a few so-called contradictions between Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. We spent the time answering questions, bearing testimony, and promising to study up on the subjects we did not have answers for. I am afraid that we got into a little bashing. I was trying to keep control of the situation but they were anything but cooperative. But I still tried to keep the spirit there.

Among their concerns were the following:

1. The book Doctrines and Salvations states that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel, yet it has no mention of baptism for the dead or celestial marriage, and neither does the Bible. I was able to point out baptism for the dead is mentioned in First Corinthians 15:29, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?” For celestial marriage I mentioned First Corinthians 11:11, “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” Charles said this was taken out context. Besides, there is Matthew 22:30 said Charles, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”
2. Moroni 8:18 says that God is not partial, neither changeable, being an unchangeable being from all eternity to all eternity. Numerous scriptures in the Bible and Book of Mormon point out the same. Yet Joseph Smith in the King Follet Discourse stated that God is an exalted man. Joseph said that we have believed for a long time that God was always God and then said, “I will refute that idea.” Okay, he stumped us on this one, but then Charles did not say that Joseph had said God was an exalted man. Anyway, we admitted our confusion and promised to study up on it.
3. Certain prophecies of Joseph Smith have not come to pass in the time frame prophesied. Joseph apparently made some false statements, refuting or contradicting the Bible or the “Word” as they said. Deuteronomy says that false prophets will come and if they say something that is not in the “Word” the must needs be destroyed. Of course, Joseph Smith was killed.

We did our best in answering their questions. I told them of how I got my testimony and threw in Moroni’s Promise. We tried to tell them it all depended on whether the Book of Mormon was true or not. We had a prayer at the end, and the way we did it was unusual; they wanted all four of us to pray aloud at the same time. The prayers of me and my companion were relatively short, but they used a lot of repetition.

I could have sworn that I heard Tim pray in a different language. Charles and Tim are in the Air Force and are here students at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. That might be why.

We returned to the flat thinking our day was done, but at 10:10 p.m. we got a call from a member. They had a friend at their house who really needed a priesthood blessing. We quickly got dressed and headed over. At the members’ home was Rowan Adams McClure, who had been driving from San Diego to the VA hospital in San Francisco; his records are being sent there from Salt Lake City. While driving he began to experience a pinched nerve, he had almost no strength in his right arm, so he got off the Pacific Coast Highway at Seaside to visit his friends.

Elder Spaugh did the anointing and I did my first sealing and blessing. The man specifically asked me to give the blessing. The spirit only impressed me with what to say, which wasn’t much, he didn’t tell me directly. It was a challenge to figure out how to phrase what I was impressed to say. I blessed him with peace and that he would be well enough to travel in the morning.

With that done we came back to the flat and finally went to bed. Wow, what a day. These days are filled with so many experiences, but they go by so quickly. 

May 28, 1988, Saturday – We went to the library at the stake center to do some research. I read Joseph Smith’s King Follet Discourse and also photocopied it. Here is what we came up with as answers to each of Charles’ and Tim’s concerns:

1. Mormon Doctrine says that what is meant by the fullness of the gospel is what the Nephites had and needed.
2. In the footnotes of Moroni 8:18 we see that God is unchangeable in his perfectness. John 5:19 states that Son can do nothing but what he seeth the Father do. As we read in the King Follet Discourse, Joseph Smith says that the Father is an exalted man. The Father did what Jesus did; He was the Savior of a world or worlds before he became the Eternal Father and created this world.
3. Elder B. H. Roberts said that Joseph Smith reached his height as a teacher in the King Follet Discourse given at the funeral of Brother Follet in April 1844. There was only one thing left for him to do, seal his testimony with his blood, which he did three months later. Such is not the life of a fallen prophet. As for unfulfilled prophecies, Charles mentioned a statement of Joseph Smith that he will dedicate the temple in Independence, Missouri, and said that it cannot be fulfilled because Joseph is dead. Elder Tippets pointed out “He can do it with resurrected hands.”

 

Charles stopped by our apartment tonight and we had another long chat. We presented to him the answers we had come up with in our research. After a little back and forth, thrust and parry, I taught him parts of the first, third and fourth discussions -- I kind of just took over. He interjected once but I then asked if I could continue without interruption. 

I proceeded to teach him the Joseph Smith story, the restoration and apostasy, and the plan of salvation complete with the pre-mortal sphere, the mortal sphere, sin and death, the Atonement of Christ, the spirit world with paradise and prison, baptism for the dead, judgement and the three degrees of glory. I then bore my testimony and expressed my gratitude for the plan of salvation and for my Savior. I explained the sacrifices involved in serving a mission. Throughout it all, Charles was completely silent.

I tried to teach with the spirit and with love and sincerity. The spirit was present and it was strong. I challenged him to read Alma 32 and to pray about the Book of Mormon and about the things we discussed this evening. Then we closed with a prayer; this time only I said it. I didn’t need the distraction of another person praying and I wanted him to see an example of an LDS prayer.

If you don't know the answer to a question or concern, it is perfectly acceptable to tell your investigators that you will do some research.

"God is a Spirit" and Other Objections

On my second night in the Missionary Training Center we had a branch meeting.  At one point during the meeting the branch president turned to John 4:24, which says that God is a spirit.  This is a common scripture raised by contacts and investigators and the branch president was about to teach us something.  He called on us to answer and one of the sisters in the branch turned to Genesis 1:26-27, which says we were created in God’s image.  The branch president replied that he believed we were in God’s image but that God did not have a body.

I then raised my hand and turned to Genesis 5:3, which has the same wording as Genesis 1:26-27 in describing when Adam begat Seth.  I, of course, had been taught in eight months of missionary prep to answer this challenge with Genisis 5:3.  The branch president was not expecting my response and was not able to refute it – score one for the missionary prep program of the Bountiful Central Stake.

The branch president recovered and shifted gears by suggesting that we should read more into John 4:24: “They that worship him must worship him in spirit.”  Then the branch president asked, “Must we step out of our bodies to worship?”

I think what I learned from this is to think about these kinds of challenges and concerns logically.  Consider also John 17 where Jesus offers the intercessory prayer for the 12 Apostles as well as those would accept their teachings.  The Savior prayed that the twelve would become one, even as He and the Father are one. "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." How can 12 individuals become one?  How can men become one with God?

Often when answering the concerns of those we teach what we are really seeking to do is open their minds.  When I used John 17 one day to answer the concern of a gentleman we had tracted into he responded by saying that he would look more into it.  While he did not become one of our investigators that day, it is entirely possible that a seed was planted that would someday bear fruit.

Probably the challenge raised most often to LDS missionaries is a verse in Revelations which says that man cannot add to the revelations given to John.  This passage is used to argue that the Book of Mormon cannot be true because "man cannot add to the Bible."  I had been out on my mission for about a year, and had heard this challenge many times, when it suddenly hit me that if the Book or Mormon is what it claims to be, then it was God who gave it to us, not man.  Surely God can do whatever he wishes to, and if he chooses to give us more of his word, then certainly he can do so.  The passage in Revelations does not say that God cannot or will not give us more of his word..

Still, I found that I had to be very clear and make sure that the contact or investigator understood that it was God doing the adding, and not man, in this scenario.  Of course most people who raised the issue of that verse in Revelations were not persuaded by my response.  They had the Bible and, as far as they were concerned, they did not need more of God's word.  I confess that I don't really understand the complacency demonstrated here.  If you love something, wouldn't you want more of it?  If you love the word of God, would you not want more of His word?

Presidents of the LDS Church, particularly President Ezra Taft Benson, have taught that we will not get more of God's word (for example, the sealed portion of the Gold Plates) until we make proper use of the word we have already received.  Therefore we need to study the scripture, with emphasis on the Book of Mormon, as well as teach out of the Book of Mormon and to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon.  If a prospective missionary has not yet read the Book of Mormon they should start doing so immediately.  Those who have read the Book of Mormon should consider reading it again before they enter the MTC.

Replace Bashing with Charity

King David once compared the tongue with a sharp sword (Ps 57:4). Much later someone said that the pen was mightier than the sword. Many in the world today may yet identify with David, feeling themselves to be the victims of those who use their tongues (or their keyboards) as sharp swords. The misuse of our tongues seems to add intrigue and destruction as the media and private persons indulge in this pastime. In today's vernacular this activity is called bashing.

Bashing - to strike with a heavy crushing blow.

"This popular behavior is indulged in by far too many who bash a neighbor, a family member, a public servant, a community, a country, a church," said Elder Marvin J. Ashton during the April 1992 General Conference the of LDS Church.  "Some think the only way to get even, to get advantage, or to win is to bash people. Often times character and reputation and almost always self-esteem are destroyed under the hammer of this vicious practice. How far adrift we have allowed ourselves to go from the simple proverb 'If you can't say something good about someone or something, don't say anything' to where we now are often involved in the bash business.

You don't have to be religious or a Christian to believe that kindness is better than meanness. Nonetheless, it is particularly striking to me when I see self proclaimed Christians participate in bashing. For "even though," said Elder Aston, "reports and rumors pertaining to misconduct and misbehavior are readily available and can make good ammunition for those who would injure, bash or damage, Jesus Christ reportedly declared that he who is without sin may cast the first stone. Ugly reports and conversations are always available to those who would promote the sordid and sensational. But none of us are yet perfect. We each have failings that aren't terribly difficult to detect -- especially if that is the aim. Through microscopic examination one can find in almost every life incidents or traits that can be destructive when they are magnified."

Christians are to be reminded that their Savior, reportedly the only perfect person ever to walk the earth, taught us through quiet example to say nothing or to be silent in stressful times in our lives rather than to spend time and energy bashing for whatever purpose.

"So what is the antidote," asked Elder Ashton, "for this bashing that hurts feelings, demeans others, destroys relationships, and harms self esteem?  Bashing should be replaced with charity."
The Prophet Joseph Smith said that "If we would secure and cultivate the love of others, we must love others, even our enemies as well as our friends. We should cease wrangling and contending with each other, and cultivate the principles of union and friendship. We need to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We need to be slower to anger and quicker to help. We need to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. In short, we need to love one another with a pure love, with genuine charity and compassion and, if necessary, shared suffering."

While the word charity is often equated with visiting the sick or giving to those in need, it is much, much more than that.  "Real charity is something you acquire and make part of yourself," said Elder Ashton. "When this virtue is implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. It makes the thought of bashing repulsive.

"The greatest charity," Elder Ashton continued, "comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other, but being understanding and patient when it doesn't happen."

We all of weaknesses and challenges, and we don't need someone to point our failings out to us as we are probably already fully cognizant of where we are falling short.  What we really need is family, friends, employers, associates, etc., "who support us, who have patience with us, who believe in us, and who believe we are trying to do the best we can, in spite of our weaknesses. What ever happened to giving each other the benefit of the doubt? What ever happened to hoping that another person would succeed or achieve? What ever happened to rooting for each other?"

Much of what Jesus Christ taught seems to center around the virtues of love, compassion, forgiveness, and long-suffering -- in other words, those qualities that enable us to deal with our fellow human beings more compassionately. Much of what Jesus taught centered around the way we treat each other. Yet many who profess to believe in Him are willing participants in the bashing so common today.

Instead of being bashers, we should be nurturers; people who build rather than destroy. We should have understanding and forgiving hearts, and look for the best in people. We should leave people better than we found them. We should be fair with our competitors, whether in business, athletics, politics, on the Internet, the mission field, or elsewhere. We should not try to "win" by intimidation or by undermining someone's character. We should lend a hand to those who are frightened, lonely, or burdened.

"If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces," Elder Ashton concluded, "I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care. . . .  Let us open our arms to each other, accept each other for who we are, assume everyone is doing the best he or she can, and look for ways to help leave quiet messages of love and encouragement instead of being destructive with bashing."

“The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (James 3:18.)


Source: Ashton, M. J. (1992). "The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword." Accessed January 23, 2013 at https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/04/the-tongue-can-be-a-sharp-sword?lang=eng