30 January 2012

Kjære familie og venner,

Most of my mission so far has been spent in areas that don't have a whole lot going on in terms of progressing investigators. Apparently the Lord feels like I can handle that particular challenge, cause he keeps putting me in those situations haha. The streak continued this week.

We're just having trouble getting any real traction with the people we're teaching. Hungdai hasn't met with us since the first time we taught him and gave him a Book of Mormon and we haven't had an investigator in church since I came to Trondheim. It's frustrating, but there are flashes of potential as well. A Filipino girl named Jemai was supposed to come to church Sunday, but wasn't able to due to an angry aunt. Not really sure what happened there, but apparently she really wants to come. So we'll see how that goes.

A man on the street the other day objected when I told him that I knew Christ's church was back on the earth again. He said, "You can never KNOW anything about religion." The funny thing was, this man believed in God and described himself as a Christian.

At first glance, I simply rejected what that man said. He just didn't know what he was talking about. I felt I had thoroughly defeated him when he dispensed all of his arguments and finally just had to walk away when he ran out of things to say. Because of that, I decided he just couldn't be right in saying that I didn't really know, I just believed. But it kept bugging me.

Luckily, God knows what we're thinking about and he knows what's bugging us. So over the last couple of days, I've felt like my faith has become strengthened in several aspects of the gospel to the point where I really do know. Through teaches with investigators, a temple preparation class on Sunday, and in watching the Joseph Smith movie with someone yesterday, the thought entered into my mind that I really did know AND believe all of those things. The Plan of Salvation, temples, and Joseph Smith. It's hard to describe, because I don't think I even realized that we could reach that point in our faith. But I honestly feel like, at this point, I could never deny the things I know to be true.

It's not that easy though. We can't ever get away from the things we're supposed to do, no matter how sure we are that we know. That man had one thing right. I may not know to the point where I could ever become complacent in my knowledge. But I can believe enough to use the word "know" =)

I'm just glad I belong to a church where it's ok to say I know it's true. How much security and comfort comes from having a true faith in what you believe? In saying that you know that what you believe is true?

Even if I'm wrong, at least I'll die secure in my beliefs. At least I'll die happy.

but don't hold your breath, nay-sayers