June 1, 1988
We got right to work on Thursday and did some tracting; then we checked on some referrals. We were able to set up a teaching appointment with one referral for Friday night. Interesting fact, the contact lives in the same apartment complex that we do.
Friday was an eventful day. We went tracting in the morning; our ward mission leader treated us to lunch at Wendy's; we delivered a copy of the Book of Mormon to a ward member who has a friend they want to give it to. At one point today we had the chance to drive by the beach and we saw a U.S. Navy destroyer and nuclear attack submarine in Monterey Bay -- too cool for words!
At 6:30 we went to our teaching appointment; his name is Charles and he had a friend of his join us. The both of them were prepared for our visit with a few concerns, and we ended up talking for two and a half hours! Here is a list of their questions:
1. In the book Doctrines and Salvations, it says that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel, yet there is no mention of Baptism for the dead or celestial marriage -- no mention in the Bible, either, of course. I was able to point out that baptism for the dead is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:29. Also, celestial marriage could be inferred by 1 Corinthians 11:11, but Charles said that would be taking the verse out of context and, in any case, there is Matthew 22:30.
2. Moroni 8:18 says that God is not partial, neither changeable, being an unchangeable being from all eternity to all eternity; yet Joseph Smith in the King Follett discourse stated that God is an exalted man. Charles stumped both of us with that one, so we promised that we would study up on it.
3. Certain prophesies of Joseph Smith have not come to pass in the time frame prophesied. Specifically, Joseph prophesied that he would dedicate the temple in Independence or Far West "with his own hands." Additionally, they claimed, Joseph made some false statements refuting (contradicting) the "Word" (Bible). Deuteronomy states that false prophets will come and if they say something that is not "in the Word" they must needs be destroyed and, Joseph was, of course, assassinated.
We did our best to answer their concerns, and promised to do some research on their concerns. I bore my testimony and read Moroni's promise and said that everything depended on whether the Book of Mormon was true or not. We then closed with a prayer, which was another interesting thing as Charles asked if all four of us could pray at the same time. Elder Spandau's and mine were rather short compared to theirs -- I thought they were repetitious at times. Also, I thought I heard Tim, Charles' friend, pray in a second language here and there. Both Charles and Tim are in the Air Force and are currently students at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey.
Alas, our day was not yet done. Later, as we were preparing for bed, we got a phone call from a ward member; someone at their home was in need of a priesthood blessing. We quickly got dressed and headed over. There we met a fellow who had been driving from San Diego to San Fransisco, he was on his way to the VA hospital in the City by the Bay. He started to experience a pinched nerve in his back and he had almost no strength in in right arm. He could travel no further, but fortunately he had some friends here in Seaside, so he got off Highway One to get some help.
After talking for a minute or two, the gentleman asked me to give him the blessing, which would be a first for me. I just blessed him that he would be able to continue his travels in the morning and that he would arrive safely in San Fransisco. I didn't know what to expect as I tried to listen for the guidance of the Spirit, and nothing really popped into my head; I just figured that blessing him with the health to continue his drive was reasonable and so I went with it.
On Saturday morning, we went to the library at the stake center to do some research on the concerns raised the night before by Charles and Tim. I read the King Follett discourse and, I have to say, was rather impressed by it. Here are the answers we came up with:
1. Mormon Doctrine states that what is meant by the fullness of the gospel is what the Nephites had and needed.
2. In the footnotes to Moroni 8:18, we see that God is unchangeable in his perfectness. John 5:19 states that the Son can do nothing but what he seeth the Father do. In his discourse, an address given at the funeral of King Follett, Joseph Smith states that the Father is an exalted man, that he did what Jesus did, suggesting that He was the savior of a world or worlds before the creation of our universe.
3. Elder B. H. Roberts stated that Joseph Smith reached his height as a teacher in the King Follett discourse, which was given in April 1844. The work given by God to Joseph Smith was largely complete, and there was only one thing left for him to do: seal his testimony with his blood, and he did so three months later at Carthage. Such is not the life of a fallen prophet. It might also be pointed out that, throughout the Bible, prophets are rejected and killed by the people, and their deaths did not make them false prophets.
4. Regarding unfulfilled prophesies, Elder Tango, our district leader, pointed out that Joseph Smith could still dedicate a temple with resurrected hands.
It is a good thing we spent the day doing research, because that night, Charles stopped by our apartment. We invited him in and had another long chat. We presented the four answers listed above, then I kind of took over -- I had a lot to say. Charles tried to interject, but I asked him to allow me continue without interruption. I taught him the Joseph Smith story and talked about the apostasy and restoration. I even talked about the Plan of Salvation as found in the fourth discussion. I then bore my testimony, expressing my gratitude for the plan and for my Savior. I also explained some of the sacrifices involved in serving a full time mission.
I then challenged Charles to read Alma 32 in the copy of the Book of Mormon that we had given him, and to pray about the book and the things we had discussed. Then we closed with a prayer, and this time only I said it. As I said, I just took over, and at one point my companion decided he could leave the room! -- yeah, I don't recommend that.
We went to our meetings in the Carmel Ward on Sunday morning. In the afternoon, at Charles' invitation, we attended services at the church he regularly attends. For the first hour or so I thought I was at a concert rather than at church as the congregation stood and sang along with some Christian music on the audio system.
We had another teaching appointment on Monday night, this time with Trudy, who is already committed to baptism. She is praying on a date, and we only taught her the first discussion that night. We might end up with a baptism this month. How could would that be?!
Love
Douglas
June 2, 1988
The May 28 issue of the Church News arrived today in the mail run. I opened it up and on the front page found a story which reported that a sight has been acquired for the building of a temple in . . . . wait for it . . . Bountiful! Can you imagine, a temple in Beautiful Bountiful?!
I'm also writing this short note to ask you to pray for Trudy who had another stroke this week -- she has had four in the past few months. She is currently in the hospital up in Salinas. She might need someone to fast and pray for her health.
Gotta run
Douglas
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