Do we have the kind of dedication to the Gospel that we need to have?

Dear Family.

It is a little scary, now that I can count the number of Sundays that I have left on my hands! With our investigator Pavel, we were unable to meet with him this week, but I ended up having a very long discussion with him over the phone. I checked the phone, and it was over 50 minutes. He had so many questions, and his main question was, “What was the foundation of our faith?”   He was trying to prove a point, that for doctrine to be true, then it should be written in the scriptures. Of course I agreed with him. I told him, it is through prayer, pondering, and study of the scriptures. I asked him if he read the Book of Mormon, and he answered that he had a little. I asked him if he prayed to know if it was true. He had not. I asked him if he believed that he would receive an answer to his prayers, and he did. I then told him if he truly wanted to know the truth, then he needed to pray to God. It doesn't matter how many times we read the scriptures, if we don't pray about it, then we will never know of their truth. I know that for myself. My testimony of the Book of Mormon didn't come from reading it 8 times. It came from every prayer that I gave, asking if the Book of Mormon was true. I committed him to pray to know if it was true, and he committed to it. That was Sunday night, so we shall see what happened because of it.

I think the highlight of this week was the meeting we had with a man by the name of Artyom. We just found him walking down the street, and he was very tired of life. He had many unfortunate events happen in his life, and it was difficult for him to trust in God, or rather a trust in himself. I shared with him from the Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 2, verses 2 and 11, sharing that trials are what help us in life. He felt unsure, but he agreed to meet later. A few days later, we set up a meeting. First of all, he couldn't find our branch building where we planned to meet, and his phone wasn't working due to the cold. We tried calling, but it didn't really work. In the end we got a hold of him, and he went home because he was cold, and he couldn't find the building, so we moved the meeting to later that day, in the evening. We planned to meet at a fountain in the center of the city, and then show him where our branch building was. Through broken calls, we finally got together, and walked to the branch.

 I looked into this man's eyes, and I saw someone who was worn down by trials, and by sin. His eyes were shadowed by lack of sleep and loss of hope. When he talked to us, he always looked down towards the floor. Throughout the lesson, we said so many times how much God loved him. I told him, through the Atonement of Christ, we can be cleansed from sin, that we had no need to suffer from the guilt of past mistakes. I told him if he wanted to be cleansed from sin, that it is through faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I asked him once he knew that this gospel is true, would he be baptized. He agreed, and he himself said. "I hope to be able to be clean from my mistakes." By this time, his head was raised a little higher, and I saw in his eyes that glimmer of hope.

Just in that lesson, I truly felt the love that God had for this son of His. It almost brought tears to my eyes, to see this man just burdened down. He was devoid of any hope for a happy life. I was so grateful that we met with him, that we can share this hope. The Gospel is hope. I know that with every fiber of my being. I don't know if this man will accept the gospel in the end, but it was at least worth it sharing my testimony of the truth, and making his life a little more hopeful.

It reminded me of a man we met on the street, named Denis. We were just contacting, and I stopped him to say hello, and hopefully share a message. What was a friendly hello turned into a great outpouring of the Spirit. I didn't know why at the time, but I began to be talking very slow, allowing the Spirit to emphasize every single word with power. I showed him a copy of the Book of Mormon, and he gently took it out of my hands. I testified of the truthfulness of that Book, and that I knew that God loved us, and had a plan for us. I testified that the church was restored, and the Gospel was again on the earth in its fullness. I looked into his eyes, and I thought I saw what looked like tears forming. We exchanged information, and at the end of our conversation, he confined to us that he was having a very difficult day, that he was having problems with his work and family, and that our message really helped to "lighten his soul". He was very grateful that we stopped to talk to him. Moments like that are precious to me. We had no idea that this man was having a bad day, but God sent us to help him, to give him words of comfort, and to prepare this man to accept the gospel. It strengthens my testimony that this gospel is true, and that it is a light, and an easement of burdens.

What was a huge surprise, not only to us missionaries, but to the members, was the guest this Sunday. Her name is Armina, from Armenia. She has been a member for ten years. She was visiting guests, and missing church, so she asked her friend from Moscow to find the branch closest to her. I believe that she took a bus from a different city even to go to church. It was such a surprise when she shook my hand, and then asked in English where I was from, and that she had friends from Utah. She told the story about her conversion, and how blessed her life is because of the Gospel. It was so wonderful to see how despite the fact that she was in an unfamiliar city, with unfamiliar people, everyone just embraced her. She was known as "missionary Mom" back in her home in Armenia. So this is an example for all of us. She had to take a bus, probably for an hour at the least, in order to get into the city where an available branch was. I remember that our ward building at home is five minutes away. Do we have that kind of dedication, to make sure that we attend actively all of our church meetings, and fulfill our church duties? I want to make sure that actively participating in church is a number one priority in my life.


Novokuznetsk Branch with Armena

I love you all, and I pray for your safety, your happiness, and your health. I know that this church is true, and I know that we can receive salvation only through our Savior Jesus Christ. I love my Savior, and what He did for me, and for all of God's children. I know that His church was restored. I know that our message is Hope for the entire world.

Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)