I felt desperate to teach! I said we came from America to teach him and he needed to listen. We walked around the house in time to see the back door shut, so we ran back to the front door and knocked two times. We passed a house and then went back and turned in. We walked up this one street we’d never been on. We were a little downcast but only for a second! We prayed and went tracting. I didn’t record his complaint, but I did record that I told him his complaint was “a load of rubbish and God would remind him one day that Sister Bonham and Sister Bushman taught him and he knew the truth and rejected it” (not my typical MO). We’d taught James and he’d received a witness that he should be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Anderson, and saw another entry about teaching James that day.
I searched my journal for reflections on teaching Mr. His rejection of hope devastated me enough that I still remember everything about teaching him-the pain in his eyes, where Sister Bonham and I sat, and especially the sadness I felt as he verbalized his hopeless sorrow. He had no hope and couldn’t believe that the hope we talked about applied to him. But he did not believe that He would be accepted by God. He loved the truths that we taught him and he quickly grasped the doctrines. We knew he could find hope in and through Christ. The Holy Ghost filled our hearts with compassion for him. He didn’t feel confident to stand in the presence of God. Anderson told us that he’d been terminally diagnosed with AIDS. We sat and, after introductions, began teaching him about Jesus Christ and His glorious plan of salvation. The sky suddenly didn’t seem so dark as the afternoon light filled his flat. He led us into a tidy, well-kept living room flanked by windows. He invited us into his home after we explained that we wanted to share a message about Jesus Christ’s gospel. The stairwells and hallways relied on sunlight during the day, but clouds obscured the sun. We knocked the door at a semi-darkened doorway. We stretched out our hands as missionaries of the Lord.įriday, 2 April 1993 found me and Sister Marcy Bonham tracting a modern apartment building in Dundee, Scotland. Sister Bonham and I crossed their paths in specific ways. Each of these people impacted me that day in 1993 and also really brought this story to life for me.
I pulled out my mission journal to read the account and found other stories during that timeframe also recorded.
Do I reach for the outstretched hand? Do I reach out to others?Ī distinct memory of someone my companion and I stretched to lift came to mind.
Jesus told His disciples to preach to every person! I feel like the Holy Ghost directed this encounter.Īnd he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.Īnd they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.Īs I pondered about the lame man being offered a miracle and accepting it, I considered my own faith in accepting Christ’s grace and miracles. But Peter and John fastened their eyes on that man that day and performed a miracle. Jesus generally waited for people to approach or call on Him before performing these types of miracles. This healing at the temple gate caused quite a stir. Peter and John offered the lame man something amazing-he just had to reach out in faith and take Peter’s hand. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.Īnd he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.Īnd he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
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