First of all, what happened to Dad? This is a major surprise to me, but I know that you just didn't want me to worry. I will be sure to include him in my prayers. Also, I have been getting things for everyone. I have gotten gifts for every single person in this family, and I am also adding nesting dolls for each family. The things I got are pretty awesome. You will love them. It is a little daunting to buy gifts for 24 people! Did I leave two books at home about the Russian Language? A 555 verb book and one titled Modern Russian. I just want to make sure I do have those books, so I don't end up bringing extra copies.
It has been a very reflective week, looking at principles of the Gospel in different light, and different understanding. I have repeatedly thought about what it means to be converted to the gospel. Maybe it started with a few experiences.
First of all, we had a meeting with Maxim, and we decided to talk about following the prophet. I feel the greatest way to teach this is to share a talk given by the prophet from the most recent Liahona, preferably a conference edition, and leave them to read and pray to know if the prophet is called of God. When we talked to him, we realized that he never prayed about Joseph Smith, whether or not he is a prophet of God. At the end of the lesson, we committed him to pray to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and if Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today. His answer confused me. He said no. I was a little scared, because how can he progress in the Gospel without a knowledge of modern day prophets? What he said intrigued me. "I don't feel like I should pray to God, because I already know that this message is true, the Book of Mormon is true, and I feel so good when I talk to you, so it has to be true." This man, who had never heard of a modern day prophet, already had faith that he is in fact a prophet of God.
Second event, Vitali one day came to the branch building, and we happened to be close by, and went into a lesson about the Word of Wisdom. We even talked about the 10 commandments, which comes into play later in the story. Vitali has accepted the invitation to be baptized, and it was so sudden, I somewhat doubted of the surety of his decision. Baptism is such a big decision, I would think that someone would take some time to actually think about it. But when I gave the invitation, he said, "Yes." I asked some of the questions that someone would give at the interview before baptism to determine his readiness, and again I asked, "How do you know this is true?" I was probably playing the agnostic this entire time. He replied, "I feel good here, and you say you follow the 10 commandments. Thou shalt not lie...So what you are saying must be the truth. Are you lying?" Of course I replied that I was telling the truth. "Well, then it is true." Vitali trusts us to teach him the truth, and hopefully we can help him make the steps toward baptism.
A long time ago, I had an investigator Vacili. I never heard about him, but one day we saw him on the street, and we met the next day. He had many concerns in the past, such as coming to church on Sundays, (He had boxing training those days) and reading every day (He has poor eyesight without his glasses). He actually came to church this past week, and we met with him that evening. We committed him to read the Book of Mormon every day, but now a personal favorite of mine, one verse a day. He accepted, and even accepted to pray every day, to know if the Book of Mormon is true. I have realized that giving someone such a commitment (like reading a verse a day) is much more welcome than "Will you read the Book of Mormon?" It is like baby steps. If they are willing to read a verse a day, then maybe in time they can read more. I believe that one they start reading at least a verse, then it will become more interesting and they will read more on their own. It is a win-win situation.
I had read many times in the Book of Mormon, people such as Zeezrom, the Wife of King Lamoni and Helaman, son of Alma. What they said, dare I say it, concerned me. They said that they believed, according to the words which were spoken by the "missionaries". I thought that someone's testimony shouldn't be dependent on another, for that would be a weak testimony. Then I thought of my own conversion. I relied heavily on my parent's testimony of the gospel when I was young. I felt good when I read the scriptures and prayed, and I knew that I could trust my parents. That was the starting point of my conversion, and after I was baptized, received the gift of the Holy Ghost, I was on my way to my own personal conversion.
I gave the lesson in priesthood on chapter 3 of Teachings of Lorenzo Snow. This man, known as a prophet, wasn't converted before his baptism. He thought the church was good, logically, it made him feel good, so he decided to join the church. It wasn't until after he was baptized, received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, that he obtained the knowledge made perfect. Our conversion is a life-long process, and sometimes it relies on others to help us along the way. The testimonies of my parents, priesthood leaders, teachers, and the living prophets, helped me to obtain my own conversion. Baptism was my step of faith. I didn't know everything, but I knew enough to make that covenant with God. Our journey in life is to make our faith into knowledge. I imagined the allegory of the seed in Alma, but even more. We have a whole orchard of trees, and each tree is a principle of truth. We have to grow several trees, and we even use the seeds from the fruit of other trees to widen our knowledge, until it becomes perfect.
In a way, I guess I was expecting people to already be fully converted to the gospel, even before baptism. Conversion can't come, without first being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Without that constant companionship, it would be impossible to obtain the knowledge towards conversion. God loves us so much, and He will place us on the path, so that our faith can grow until the perfect day.
I hope that I can be a tool, even with the little time I have left, to help people enter onto the path towards conversion. It is a small path, a long process, but worth it. I am still not perfectly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I have made some major steps towards that goal.
May we all take the necessary steps towards conversion, that every day we are a little more converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ than we were before. I love you all, and I pray for your health and safety. Have a fantastic Valentine's Day! I LOVE YOU.
Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)
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