Week 27: "My Weakness was Made Strong"

July 20, 1988

On Thursday we tracted a street named Olympia.  We placed a few more copies of the Book of Mormon and got a few call backs.

In the evening we went to our teaching appointment with Robert and Regina.  As I sat down on their couch, I saw a stack of books next to Robert's chair, and I knew that we were in trouble.  We were going to show them a video, but first we asked if they had any questions or concerns.  That launched us into two and a half hours of mild bashing.  Robert raised issue after issue and we tried to respond with a credible answer.

Robert said that King Benjamin could not have known the name of the Messiah more than 100 years before his coming. He also took issue with the Lord asking the brother of Jared what he thought He should do to provide light in the barges. The subject of the pre-existence came up and we turned to Jeremiah 1:5. Robert called it a leap in logic to presume that the verse referred to a pre-mortal life. At this point we said that we were not accomplishing anything, we were just going back and forth.

I then took the floor and began to bear my testimony.  I started with an overview of the apostasy and then told the Joseph Smith story.  I recounted the experience I had a few weeks ago when I prayed for and received a witness from the spirit.  Then I bore the sweetest, most powerful and spiritual testimony that I could.  The spirit was so strong that I was burning up.  But Robert was unimpressed, and he said that I had merely convinced myself.

I testified how wrong he was, and again retold my experience, emphasizing certain aspects.  Robert asked how I could trust those feelings when “it wasn’t pulled by faith and the word of God.” He had earlier used the analogy of a train, with the engine being the word of God, pulling first faith and then feeling.  I answered that it was pulled by the word of God and by faith.  In James 1:5 we are counseled to ask God and promised that he would give wisdom liberally, and then, of course, there is Moroni's promise that if we ask in faith, with a sincere heart and real intent, believing that we would receive, then we could know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I testified that I knew that The Book of Mormon is true, that I could not deny the spirit I felt that night when I asked for a witness or the spirit that I felt Thursday morning or the spirit I felt a half hour earlier in our meeting with Robert and Regina, or the spirit I felt right then.  I said that unless they had read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover and prayed about it, hoping with all their heart that it is true, and received an answer that it wasn't, then they could not tell me that it was not true. That got Regina a little upset and she almost threw her copy of the Book of Mormon at me.

Robert continued to challenge my testimony and I continued to testify with power. The spirit grew so strong that it well nigh consumed me.  I had the impression a few times that Robert was struck by how strong the spirit was, but that he rejected it.

"You have taken away all the scriptures I ever relied upon," I said, "but you have not stolen my testimony."

As we left I felt sorrow for them, but joy swelled in my heart and I felt great satisfaction because I had boldly testified and stood strong. We parted as friends and they said we could come back and visit with them.

When we got back into our car, Elder Friend paused a moment before starting the engine. He looked at me and said “You are amazing.” But it wasn’t me, it was the spirit. I was given the things that I should say and the spirit bore witness that it was true. What was amazing, perhaps, was that the instrument this night was a young man who just a few months ago was considered to be too quiet by his companion. I think that just goes to show the truth of Ether 12:27. Because I have tried to humble myself and have faith, my weakness was made strong unto me.

The night, before bed, I prayed mightily that Robert and Regina would be the Lord’s sheep that they might recognize and listen to his voice. But my prayer was without faith, as I do not think they will listen to our message. I think they are more interested in trying to "save" us.

We went by Trudy’s on Friday morning to help her with a service project. Then we came back and cleaned our apartment top to bottom. In the evening we went on team-ups with Brother Crowley.

On Saturday morning, we spent some time in the library at the stake center.  Elder Friend copied a few things out of Doctrines and Salvation, then we wrote a short note in which we used Matthew 7:20-26 (by their fruits ye shall know them), to put it all on whether the Book of Mormon is true or not.  We then stopped by to give the note to Robert and Regina, plus the photocopies and a few pamphlets.

In the afternoon and evening we went tracting and got in a few doors.  First we met Reuben and Robin who said they have been thinking about looking into religion.  We told them about the Book of Mormon and gave them a copy.  Then we met Pete, and gave him a copy of the Book or Mormon.

After we finished tracting, we hopped over to see Elizabeth and invite her to church.  She said that she would try to make it, but I guess we were a little skeptical.  The next morning we were surprised to see Elizabeth at church, and it really made our day.

We tracted a street Sunday afternoon and then went to two appointments we had scheduled.  But we got dogged by both.  On Monday, we got dogged again by another appointment.  Elder Friend came to the conclusion that tracting four hours a day is what has us so discouraged.  It's not the tracting, though, it's the getting dogged by the appointments we set up when tracting.  Getting dogged is definitely discouraging, but I think it is also Robert and Regina that has us discouraged.  We were so excited about teaching them, but, as I said, they seem more interested in trying to "save" us.

We finished tracting Laguna Avenue on Tuesday.  Then, at 2:00, we had a teaching appointment with Joanne, and she didn't dog us!  We taught her the first discussion and it was awesome.  Joanne is real cool.

We had another appointment at 4:00 with Elizabeth, but we showed up ten minutes early and she didn't answer when we knocked on her door.  We hopped over to see Trudy, who lives a block or two away.  We intended our visit with Trudy to be quick, but by the time we got back to Elizabeth's place, we were twenty minutes late.  Again, she did not answer when we knocked on her door. 

Today, Brother Bartlett took the four of us, Tango, Victor, Friend and I, on an excursion down to Big Sur.  With a few modifications to his truck, Brother Bartlett is still able to drive.  We had a fun drive down the coast, even though three of us were piled in the the back of the truck.  Then we went off the main highway onto a dirt back road that wound its way through the coastal mountains, which got pretty wild.  It was a blast though.

Well, that's the week in review.  Hope all is well at home.

Love

Douglas

Contrary to the sentiment then, I look back at my mission now and get nostalgic for those days in Seaside with Elder Friend. We were working hard and having some success, even as we were getting stood up by appointments left and right. We experienced trials and came out the better for them.

Regarding Robert's concerns, certainly the people who lived before the coming of Christ had as much value to God as those who were born after, and if the name of Christ is the only name given whereby man can be saved, then it was just as important for those who lived before to know that name as it is for those who live now.  Also, God obviously knew the name and could certainly tell it to King Benjamin. As for the Brother of Jared, God was clearly testing him, and did not need ideas from a mere mortal.

On that drive down to Big Sur, we turned off Highway One just north of the bridge you see in the photo above, and ended up south of the bridge when we got back to the highway.  It really was a wild ride.