The work in this area has really been picking up over the last few weeks. We are teaching a lot more lessons, and the members are getting more on-board with missionary work. There was only two sad parts about this week. One was the passing away of Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, though that was not too sad for me, because I know that he has served the Lord with his whole soul and that he gets to continue to serving Him on the other side of the veil. The other sad thing was that R and M, some potential investigators we've been trying to start teaching, slammed the door on us, well Mary did, who we hadn't really met before. I am considering going back and asking for just 5 minutes of their time.
I is the non-member of a part-member family. He is awesome. He has a calling in the Church and everything, but he hasn't been baptized yet. We weren't able to meet with him at all last transfer, but we had dinner with his family last week. We taught them the Restoration after, then we talked about how one of the commandments God asks us to follow is to be baptized. I then looked at I and said, "We know you haven't been baptized yet, but you are extremely active in the Church. If you don't mind me asking, what are your reasons for not being baptized yet?" He said that he doesn't think there is only one way to return to God, so he gets hung up on our claim to be the one true Church of Jesus Christ. We are starting the lessons again with them.
We had dinner at a member's home who are friends with B, one of our less-active members. We were planning on having a lesson with him at their home that weekend, so they just invited B to dinner with us. After having a sugar-loaded dinner, we naturally shifted into a spiritual conversation. B told us something that is probably one of the highlights of my mission so far. He said, "My reasons for coming back to church are really just selfish. I keep trying to come back to the Church because it makes me feel better." The members said, "Doesn't that tell you something about the Church?" He admitted that he knows what it means, but that he is stubborn and scared sometimes to actually say that. It made me feel wonderful to know that he knows that this is the true Church. He has been progressing so wonderfully. We ended up having a 2-hour-long discussion. I knew it was going on for a while, but the Spirit was so strong that I couldn't end it.
Elder L reached his half-way point, so he got to go on a Temple Jubilee with everybody at their half-way point, including the Sisters that came out with me. It was a full temple day, and I was rather jealous. I actually tried to get into the van, but the sisters knew I wasn't at my halfway point yet and told me to get out.
We had Ward Conference this Sunday. In the youth class, one of the stake leaders had the two laurels in our ward come up and look in a mirror and describe themselves. Then he had the rest of the class describe them. Then he pulled out two Sister missionary nametags, one from his mother, and the other from his daughter, and had them put them on, then had everybody describe them again. I had to remind myself to breath, because it was so powerful to see them put on those nametags. It felt to me like I was watching the mantle of a missionary being placed upon their shoulders.
To all of you who are reading this email, I proclaim that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He is the Savior of Mankind, the God of this Earth, and the Guardian of my soul. He is my perfect Exemplar, and my kindest Friend. He offers limitless mercy to those who will follow Him. He will lift you up and bear your burdens. He is the Light of the World, and He is the Way. I invite you to come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him. He will take away your sorrows, and He will save you, for He is mighty to save.
Until next week, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
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The Lord's Soldier,
Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts
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