Week 24: Baptism!

June 29, 1988

We taught Trudy the fifth and sixth discussions  on Thursday and set up a baptism interview for Saturday.  In the afternoon, we were at K-Mart for a few hours to get a new battery for the car.  We had to make a few calls to the mission office to get the purchase approved.

Friday morning, we tracted a few streets.  We had a half hour teach with a man we tracted into. He had some interesting ideas, but seemed teachable.  In the afternoon, I took Elder Friend around to meet some members.  In the evening we went on team-ups with a stake missionary and went on to Fort Ord.  We were going to teach an investigator the fifth discussion, but he was not at his barracks.  We ended up giving a short presentation on the Book of Mormon to the soldiers on CQ duty.

On Saturday morning, we started tracting Noche Buena Avenue. This street runs north and south, the length of Seaside, and it is also just a block east of our apartment complex. We can get a lot of tracting in without putting any miles on the car, brilliant! Anyway, we got a few call backs which look promising.  In the afternoon we did a service project, moving some stuff out of a member's home.  Trudy had her interview at 4:00, and it went well.  After that, Elder Friend and I cleaned the font at the stake center.

In the evening, we stopped by to see Trudy and go over the baptism program with her.  Trudy has asked me to do the honors, though I was her third choice.  The first two were the elders that found her before my arrival here in Seaside, but they could not get permission to come down for the baptism.

We attended our church meetings on Sunday morning, and then had our correlation meeting with the ward mission leader.  We started filling the font at 2:30.  We were filling buckets with hot water from the kitchen and dumping them in the font, because the water heater for the font has died, but we eventually ran out of hot water, so we had to finish filling the font with cold water.

The service started at 4:30, after we took pictures in front of the stake center of Trudy and I in our baptismal whites.  After the talk on baptism, I led Trudy into the water, which was ice cold!  Trudy let out a shriek, and everybody laughed.  Then I baptized her -- okay, I had to do it twice because her leg came up the first time.  Trudy was having some trouble catching her breath because she was very cold. We had to calm her down before we could continue.  After we changed clothes, Elder Friend did the confirmation.

This was supposed to be a happy occasion, but I was feeling a little ambivalent, because it appears that Trudy's conversion happened before I got here.  Also, because of my last companion watching TV at a members home, I didn't feel worthy of this blessing.  It did not help matters that I had to baptize her twice and, even worse, that I dropped her both times!

We continued tracting Noche Buena Ave. on Monday, and did most of the street in 4 1/2 hours.  We got some call backs and set up four appointments for Tuesday.  We also got in one door and taught a first discussion.  The lady we taught was sincere and open, and teachable.  She wanted to read the Book of Mormon and agreed with most of the things we talked about.  I think we can baptize her.

The thing is, we almost missed out on teaching her.  First, there was a no soliciting sign on her house, and we typically skip such homes.  Next, there was no answer when we knocked on the door, and after about a minute we started off toward the next house.  I lagged behind to close the gate to the yard, and that's when this lady answered the door.

I looked at Friend and saw that he was stepping onto the curb across the street. I signaled the person at the door to wait and then tried to get Friend’s attention. Friend was by now realizing that I was not catching up, he turned around, saw me and then saw the person at the door. He turned around and came back and we went up to the doorstep. I gave the approach and this lady let us in.

As we sat down in her living room, this lady mentioned that her back was giving her trouble. Friend talked to her about priesthood blessings and we ended up giving her one. Then we taught her the first discussion.  Her name is Elizabeth and, as I said, I think we can baptize her.

On Tuesday, we went to the four appointments we set up on Monday, and got dogged by all of them!  There is nothing like getting excited for a possible teaching appointment only to get stood up by the contact.

Today we went out to the tide pools in Pacific Grove with Elder Tango and his companion and the sister missionaries.  Later we drove down to the beach in Carmel by the Sea.  In the mail today I got a letter from Geoff, in which he basically ripped me a new one because of my negative attitude.  He specifically told me that I am not unique because of my challenges, but because of other reasons.

I think I can see what he means.  My companion has been having some money issues this week, Elder Tango is often frustrated by his companion, who himself has some health issues and other things he is dealing with.  I am determined to keep this new perspective. My faith will survive the challenges and trials ahead and I will put my past behind me. No longer will I be intimidated by others; no longer will I let my discouragements get the best of me.

I should be grateful to have been involved in the baptism of Trudy. It is the spirit that converts, not us, so what does it matter if her conversion happened before I got here? For whatever reason, it was decided that she should be taught the discussions a second time, and I was here for that. Heck, think of Friend who showed up in time for the last two discussions and the baptism itself. He does not appear to be bothered by the fact that he did not get here sooner.

Life is Good!

Love

Douglas 

On Faith, Hope and Charity

In Moroni chapter seven, Moroni records a sermon given by his father Mormon.  In this sermon, Mormon tells us that to have "every good thing" we must have faith, hope and charity; he further tells us that to have faith, hope and charity, that we must be meek and lowly of heart.

Concerning faith, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, "To gain unshakable faith in Jesus Christ is to flood your life with brilliant light.  You are no longer alone to struggle with challenges you know you cannot resolve or control yourself, for He said, 'If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me'" (Moroni 7:33).

Elder Scott went on to say, "If you are despondent, racked by transgression, are ill, alone, or desperately in need of comfort and support, I solemnly testify that the Lord will help you when you carefully obey the spiritual law upon which that help is predicated.  He is your Father.  You are His child.  He loves you.  He will never let you down.  I know he will bless you."

Regarding hope, President James E. Faust said, "There are tremendous sources of hope beyond our own ability, learning, strength, and capacity.  Among them is the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Through the marvelous blessing of this member of the Godhead, we can come to 'know the truth of all things' (Moroni 10:5).  Hope is the anchor of our souls.  I know of no one who is not in need of hope -- young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor.  In the Book of Mormon we are exhorted, 'Wherefore, whoso believeth in in God might with surety of hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God'" (Ether 12:4).

President Faust continued, "Everybody in this life has challenges and difficulties.  That is part of our mortal test.  The reason for some of these trials cannot be readily understood except on the basis of faith and hope because there is often a larger purpose which we do not always understand.  Peace comes through hope."

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin had this to say, "Even when the winds of adversity blow, our Father keeps us anchored to our hope.  The Lord has promised, 'I will no leave you comfortless' (John 14:18), and he will 'consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain' (2 Nephi 2:2).  Even when our trials seem overwhelming, we can draw strength and hope from the sure promise of the Lord: 'Be not afraid nor dismayed . . . for the battle is not yours, but God's'" (2 Chronicles 20:15).

But Mormon tells us that we "cannot have faith and hope, save [we] shall be meek and lowly of heart" (Moroni 7: 43).  Bishop H. David Burton discussed the process of becoming meek: "Meekness is vital to becoming more Christlike.  Without it one cannot develop other important virtues.  Mormon indicated, 'None is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart' (Moroni 7:44).  Acquiring meekness is a process.  We are asked to 'take up [the] cross daily' (Luke 9:23).  Our lifting should not be an occasional exercise.  More meekness does not translate to weakness, but 'it is the presentation of self in a posture of kindness and gentleness.  It reflects certitude, strength, serenity; it reflects a healthy self-esteem and a genuine self-control' (Neal A. Maxwell, "Meekly Drenched in Destiny," in Brigham Young University  1982-83 Fireside and Devotional Speeches [1983], 2).  More meekness will allow us to be tutored by the Spirit."

If we have faith and hope, and are meek and lowly of heart, then we must have charity (Moroni 7:44).  Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve has said: "The Apostle Paul taught that three divine principles for a foundation upon which we can build the structure of our lives.  They are faith, hope, and charity (1 Corinthians 13:13).  Together they give us a base of support like the legs of a three-legged stool.  Each principle is significant within itself, but each also plays an important supporting role.  Each is incomplete without the others.  Hope helps faith develop.  Likewise, true faith gives birth to hope.  When we lose hope, we are faltering also in our measure of faith.  The principles of faith and hope working together must be accompanied by charity, which is the greatest of all.  According to Mormon, 'charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever' (Moroni 7:47).  It is the perfect manifestation of our faith and hope."

Elder Ballard continued, "Working together, these three eternal principles will help give us the broad eternal perspective we need to face life's toughest challenges, including the prophesied ordeals of the last days.  Real faith fosters hope for the future; it allows us to look beyond ourselves and our present cares.  Fortified by hope, we are moved to demonstrate the pure love of Christ through daily acts of obedience and Christian service."

Elder Neal A Maxwell had this to say: Unsurprisingly the triad of faith, hope and charity, which brings us to Christ, has strong and converging linkage: faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, hope is in His atonement, and charity is the 'pure love of Christ' (Ether 12:28 and Moroni 7:47).  Each of these attributes qualifies us for the celestial kingdom (Moroni 10:20-21 and Ether 12:34).  Each, first of all, requires us to be meek and lowly" (Moroni 7:39 & 43).

Elder Maxwell continued, "Faith and hope are constantly interactive and may not always be precisely distinguished or sequenced.  Though not perfect knowledge either, hope's enlivened expectations are 'with surety' true (Ether 12:4, Romans 8:24, Hebrews 11:1 and Alma 32:21).  In the geometry of restored theology, hope as a greater circumference than faith.  If faith increases, the perimeter of hope stretches correspondingly."

Mormon exhorted us to pray to be filled with charity.  Charity is not something we can acquire on our own, we must receive it as a gift from God.  Elder Robert J. Whetten of the Seventy said, "Like faith, Christlike love is a gift of the Spirit, is granted upon the principles of personal righteousness and in accordance to our level of obedience to the laws upon which it is predicated.  And like faith, love must be exercised to grow."

Elder Dalin H. Oaks of the Twelve concurred: "Charity, 'the pure love of Christ' (Moroni 7:47), is not an act but a condition or state of being.  Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion.  Charity is something one becomes.  Thus, as Moroni declared, 'except men shall have charity they cannot inherit' the place prepared for them in the mansions of the Father" (Ether 12:34).

Finally, Elder Jeffrey R Holland had this to say regarding charity:

"The greater definition of 'the pure love of Christ,' however, is not what we as Christians try but largely fail to demonstrate toward others but rather what Christ totally succeeded in demonstrating toward us.  True charity has been known only once.  It is shown perfectly and purely in Christ's unfailing, ultimate, and atoning love for us.  It is Christ's love for us that 'suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not.'  It is His love for us that is no 'puffed up . . . , not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.'  It is Christ's love for us that 'beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.'  It is as demonstrated in Christ that 'charity never faileth.'  It is that charity -- His pure love for us -- without which we would be nothing, hopeless, of all men and women most miserable.  Truly, those found possessed of the blessings of His love at the last day -- the Atonement, the Resurrection, eternal life, eternal promise -- surely it shall be well with them.

"This does not in any way minimize the commandment that we are to try to acquire this kind of love for one another. . . .  We should try to be more constant and failing, more longsuffering and kind, less envious and puffed up in our relationships with others.  As Christ lived so should we live, and as Christ loved so should we love.  But the 'pure love of Christ' Mormon spoke of is precisely that -- Christ's love.  With that divine gift, that redeeming bestowal, we have everything; without it we have nothing and ultimately are nothing, except in the end 'devils [and] angels to a devil' (2 Nephi 9:9).

"Life has its share of fears and failures.  Sometimes things fall short.  Sometimes people fail us, or economies or businesses or governments fail us.  But one thing in time or eternity does not fail us -- the pure love of Christ. . . .

"Thus, the miracle of Christ's charity both saves and changes us.  His atoning love saves us from death and hell as well as from carnal, sensual, and devilish behavior.  That redeeming love also transforms the soul, lifting it above fallen standards to something far more noble, far more holy.  Wherefore, we must 'cleave unto charity' -- Christ's pure love of us and our determined effort toward pure love of Him and all others -- for without it we are nothing, and our plan for eternal happiness is utterly wasted.. Without the redeeming love of Christ in our lives, all other qualities -- even virtuous qualities and exemplary good works -- fall short of salvation and joy."

As Nephi said, "It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23).  We cannot save ourselves, no matter how many commandments we keep, how many ordinances we obtain, or how much service we give to others.  We do not do these things because we believe that we, of ourselves, can overcome sin and death.  We do these things that we might demonstrate our faith, that we might have hope, and that we might be filled with charity, that we may be saved by grace after doing all we can do.  It is only by the grace of Christ, by His pure love, that we can be saved.


Sources:

Scott, R. G. (1991). "Obtaining Help from the Lord." Ensign, Nov. 1991, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1991/10/obtaining-help-from-the-lord?lang=eng).

Faust, J. E. (1999). "Hope, an Anchor of the Soul." Ensign, Nov. 1999, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/10/hope-an-anchor-of-the-soul?lang=eng).

Wirthlin, J. B. (1998). "Cultivating Divine Attributes." Ensign, Nov. 1998, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/10/cultivating-divine-attributes?lang=eng)

Burton, H. D. (2004). "More Holiness Give Me." Ensign, Nov. 2004, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/more-holiness-give-me?lang=eng)

Ballard, M. R. (1992). "The Joy of Hope Fulfilled." Ensign, Nov. 1992, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/10/the-joy-of-hope-fulfilled?lang=eng)

Maxwell, N. A. (1994). "Brightness of Hope." Ensign, Nov. 1994, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/10/brightness-of-hope?lang=eng)

Whetten, R. J. (1999) "True Followers." Ensign, May 1999, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1999/04/true-followers?lang=eng)

Oaks, D. H. (2000). "The Challenge to Become." Ensign, Nov. 2000, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-challenge-to-become?lang=eng)

Holland, J. R. (1997). Christ and the New Covenant. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book. Pgs 336-337.

Week 23: All Systems Go

June 22, 1988

Trudy was released from the hospital on Wednesday, June 15.  We stopped by her place on Thursday and showed here video, Nephi and the Brass Plates.

In the afternoon I went on a bike ride with Tango up to Marina. Our purpose was to check on a contact but they were not at home. Suddenly I started to feel a little bit sick, I was looking it too, or so Tango said. We stopped by to see some members who live in the same trailer park as the contact we tried to visit. They gave me an apple and that really hit the spot.

We started back to Seaside and somewhere on the bike path between the two towns and west of Fort Ord and the freeway, my new bike, which I have hardly ridden, suffered a mechanical failure. One of the pedal struts came loose and I could no longer peddle. The trail we were on is full of little hills which complicated our return home. Tango towed me along the flats and down the hills, but I had to walk up the hills. Naturally, it took us quite some time to get home.

In the evening I went on team-ups with Tango and stake missionaries from the Marina ward – which, by the way, is called the Seaside Ward, while the Seaside ward which Spandau and I cover is called the Carmel Ward. First we had a scripture study class with a new member, then we went on to Fort Ord to give a member presentation. Fun day! 

We went on to Fort Ord twice on Friday.  First Spandau and I went to check on a referral, who was not at home.  In the evening we went on team ups with a stake missionary who is in the Army and assigned to Fort Ord -- which greatly simplified getting on the base.  We went to a barracks to see an investigator but he was off base as part of a funeral detail.

On Saturday, we drove over to Salinas for interview with President Douglas. I was up first and I talked about Trudy and the improvement here over Palo Alto.  On the way back to Seaside we hopped over to Carmel Valley and stopped at the Talbot tie factory outlet store. I bought two ties for about two bucks. They are what might be called “B-unit” ties. Originally worth as much as $80.00, a tiny flaw reduced them to a buck apiece.  In the evening we visited a member and then checked on a referral that was not at home. 

On Sunday, Elder Tango and I filled the font at the stake center for two different baptisms.  First the elders from Salinas, followed by the sister missionaries in our district.  During their ceremony, while the participants changed after the baptism itself, the sisters showed a new video called Together Forever.  Wow, what a great video!

On Monday, Spandau gave me the opportunity to plan our work for the day.  I picked out three streets to tract in the morning, and we got a call back.  In the evening we had a dinner appointment out in Carmel Valley. We showed our hosts the video Together Forever after dinner. 

We taught Trudy the third and fourth discussions on Tuesday morning. It went very well and all systems are go for her baptism on the twenty-six. This truly is a spectator sport. It is the spirit that converts and it is awesome to be here to see it happen. How did I get so lucky? We have another appointment scheduled for Thursday to teach Trudy the fifth and sixth discussions. Her interview is scheduled for Saturday.

The transfer calls went out while we were back at the flat having lunch.  Spandau is being transferred to Belmont-San Mateo up in the San Francisco zone. My new companion will be Elder Friend (I've already give his real name in other posts at this blog, so there is no need to change it now) who will be the senior companion. We took the rest of the day off so Spandau could pack and get ready.

Early this morning we drove up to Salinas to meet the transfer van.  The van's first stop in always in Salinas where it picks up a small U-Haul trailer for the luggage.  Late in the afternoon, the van returns to Salinas and drops of the trailer before making its last stop in Watsonville, if necessary.  So, we had to wait all day for the van to come back with Elder Friend.  We hung around with Elder Juliett, who has been called to be a trainer and a district leader.  Wow, from junior comp to DL in one transfer, that's impressive, but not really surprising.

Anyway, we played some basketball and did some other stuff while waiting for the transfer van's afternoon stop.  When Elder Friend finally arrived, we drove back down to Seaside to get him settled in.  He seems like a cool guy, and we have already found a common interest -- airplanes.

Tomorrow we will be teaching Trudy the fifth and sixth discussions and she will have her baptismal interview with Elder Tango on Saturday.

Well, that all folks.

Love

Douglas