Yesterday in our Sacrament meeting 6 missionaries shared a message on What Faith Means to Me. We heard some inspiring expressions of faith.....
One of our elders is 24 years old. He will be 26 when he returns. The fact that he is on a mission is a miracle. He was raised in an inactive family -- in fact they were not just inactive, but had become anti Mormon, taking every opportunity to lash out and bash the church. He joined with the other family members as they made fun of church members and particularly missionaires. At some point his sister turned around and went on a mission -- much to the disgust of the other family members. He joined with the others in rebuking her. He was about as far away from the church as one can get.
Sometime later he began to ask himself questions.....questions about his life like "who am I" and "why am I here?" A flicker of humility ignited in him and his heart began to change. Long story short.....he sought out the missionaries and began to change his life. And the changes were BIG. Like, everything changed. He underwent true conversion and has an undeniable testimony that will penitrate those he teaches.
Next.......a sister mission who was baptized 13 months ago. She went 25 years with no faith. And then she met the missionaries. They had her read Alma 32 and the rest is history. She is the guardian of her younger sister and worries constantly about her. Her family is very disfunctional and she prays for them and weeps over them. But she really believes that her mission will bless their lives.
Another........Was to take a very big test in school. He studied and prayed and prayed and studied and when the day came he took the test and did not do well. He was so upset and blamed God. He felt God had deserted him and did not love him. For a week he lashed out at God and then got the results of his test -- only to find he was #1 in his class. He did some serious repenting and then promised God that he would always trust him and serve him. He had made some big mistakes in his life that he thot would prevent him from going on a mission but he determined to go forward and work thru things. Today he is a wonderful young man and has made a commitment to the Lord that he will never disappoint him again.
And......One elder said that 2 days before he had felt very down. He prayed for peace and for understanding. He prayed to know how to handle hard days. He had decided before he left home that he would do all he could to be a good missionary, but the reality was suddenly feeling too hard. And then this thot came to him..."I can change generations by one baptism!". He concluded by saying, "It is not easy to be here, but it is right!"
So cute.....A wonderful, very confident elder stood and said, "When I'm nervous my legs shake really bad. The top part of me looks OK, but don't look at my legs!"
Sacrament Meeting is ALWAYS inspiring.
Very inspiring!
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