Dear friends and family,
I had an interesting experience in learning about how the spirit works with people. We had a lesson with an investigator at the church, and were testifying and inviting for a good hour almost. We have been working with her for 3 months or so, and this was like our final last push. At the end we asked her to pray specifically to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet, and listen for an answer. As we sat in silence for almost 5 minutes I was praying hard that Heavenly Father would help her feel something, and give her that personal witness that i know i have recieved in my life. We sat. We waited. And nothing happened. She said she didn´t feel anything.
Well we ended the lesson with that prayer and reminded her that upon her request, we were saving march 3rd specifically for her baptism and nobody else. So if anything changed, that was her day.
After the lesson I just went into another room solo and cried. I had tried so hard to listen and discern and testify. But she didn´t feel anything. I care a lot about this investigator and her whole family, and it just broke my heart that she wouldn´t accept the most important and special gift I was trying to offer.
As I sat there alone my companion came back into the room and said... Hey Jamie just said she wants to be baptized now!
Apparently she was reading the bulletin board and there was a small checklist of commandments or something. At the end it said... When will you serve me? as in serving God. She said that those words hit her hard, and it was like God was speaking directly to her, and it changed her mind.
It´s been a great learning experience for me to be reminded that this isn´t my work, it´s the Lord´s. It´s also helped us explain better to other investigators on how to recognize a personal response from God, and recieve personal revelation.
Let´s serve God, and except his will over our own. He is a lot smarter than us.
Elder Nichols
