11/10/14 Highlights of 2nd lesson with investigator

On Friday, Elder Awerkamp and I had a second lesson with an investigator (Elder Awerkamp's first although they'd talked before). We talked and taught about the Sabbath day since, William is his name, William said he'd like to come to church on Sunday. After talking about the Sabbath, we talked and taught about Church and the Sacrament and the Atonement. I felt inspired to pause where we were in the lesson and read out of the Book of Mormon, so we opened up to Mosiah 16:9 and then 1 Nephi 19:9. Normally when talking about the atonement of Jesus Christ I like to read Alma 7:11, but William had just mentioned something relating to the Mosiah scripture, and I felt like we should read the Nephi scripture first or instead of the Alma one. So William read the two out loud in his french Book of Mormon... He paused a bit and asked if he could read the second scripture once more. He read it, paused again, and said it really touched him. It talks about how much love the Savior has for us including those who crucified him and that's why he endured those terrible things, for us. It was then that we brought up the baptismal date again and asked if he would get baptised on a certain date if God told him it was the right thing to do. He said of course.

Well we were pretty excited and we called President Stoddard and the zone leaders when we got home. Sunday came round and we went to pick him up, but when he stuck his head out of his window, it was obvious he'd overslept and he said he come at 10 for the last two meetings. I suppose we could've said we'd wait for him to get ready, but we went to church anyway and waited. He didn't come over or answer his phone, so we'll get in contact with him again and see if we can't help him to make it next week.

I know that Jesus Christ does love us and that's why he did and does so much for us like it talks about in the passage in 1 Nephi 19:9. I feel his love, and I want everyone to be able to feel that same love more strongly, more personally, and more constantly. That's what we're about.

~Elder Mark Standring