This transfer, I have a goal to focus on following Christ to victory. I guess what I have realized is that we aren't doing any of this for ourselves, and it's not about us. It's about our personal commitment to the Lord, his relationships with our investigators, their relationships with Him, and how we can help them to develop those relationships through personal revelation..prayer, church attendance, and scripture study. Those three things are the full picture. One is incomplete without the other. Without prayer, how effective would scripture study be? I have times where I just open my scriptures for 5 minutes of my spare time, and then I realize that I didn't pray! I then immediately have a short prayer, and I'm more confident that I will receive that revelation through what I will be reading. It's all about assurance. There is a certain assurance that comes from knowledge. I think that faith is something that a lot of people have. They believe in Christ and they believe that things are going to work out because God is their Heavenly Father, but there is something about other Christian churches or other faiths in general that is missing, and it's not just the Book of Mormon. Thanks to the Restoration of the gospel, we can follow Christ with confidence, because we have an assurance that our sacrifice will always bring forth blessings.
Doctrine and Covenants 123:
16 You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.
17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
I heard something beautiful from an investigator this week. She was talking about the flowers called "forget me nots." They are very tiny, grow up almost overnight, and then disappear within a couple of days. We might think, why would the seed go through all that trouble to germinate and grow and stand through tough times or weather to bud a very small flower, and then die? But, think about the joy that seeing something of such beauty could bring to just one person who was struggling in their day? I love the lyrics from "Scatter Sunshine"
Slightest actions often
Meet the sorest needs,
For the world wants daily
Little kindly deeds.
Oh, what care and sorrow
You may help remove,
With your songs and courage,
Sympathy and love.
Most people who are truly searching for something aren't looking for something big. They have a desire to see whatever God is going to show them. One verse from the Book of Mormon that I studied during personal study this morning might be exactly what that person's heart is yearning for. Luckily, God knows the thoughts of their hearts, I am a missionary who is directed by the spirit, and so all that I have to do is have confidence and an assurance in God that I will be inspired to act and follow that prompting to share with a desirous person. Nevertheless, it won't help if that person doesn't first have that desire. We can't meet someone's needs if they don't have any."
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