"Following Promptings From God"

May 1, 2017

Dear Family,

The week was very full of miracles.

The C family is the Vietnamese family that wants their grandson to grow up to be a missionary. They are so amazing and so prepared by God. They talked to some of their kids about being baptized May 13 and they are very supportive. Some of their family actually have been investigating the church as well and love it. It’s becoming tradition for me to make a paper airplane for their grandson Justin after the lesson.

Jonathan is getting baptized this Saturday. Their lives are not calm and have not been steady, but Jonathan has really been learning and growing a ton spiritually. His wife Laura has already taught him so much about the church and he has now been applying more and more things into his life. He has made it to church quite a bit and these last two weeks he has been coming for all three hours.

We had an awesome opportunity to teach him and his brother Jason last week at Temple Square. We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ and used the interactive Book of Mormon presentation downtown at Temple Square to help us teach. It was super cool because they had just made amends after a big falling out that they had, and the presentation used an example of two people making amends and compared it to repentance. We were able to testify that making amends by talking it out and trying to change and be better, was just like repenting for breaking Gods commandments.

We had a super spiritual lesson with the G family (the Family from Bangladesh). We brought along this awesome family in the ward that was perfect for them. They are a young couple in the ward (they actually got married in the first few weeks I got here) and Linda has developed a really good connection and respect for her. Linda says she gives great answers and insights in class.

There have been things that we have tried to tell Linda that weren't really making sense or sinking in with her, but when Sister N says THE SAME THINGS, Linda is like "Yes, that’s true!" I was like Holy Cow Brother and Sister N are like miracle workers...

We fasted for their family and have been praying that Linda’s husband softens his heart and opens it to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that Linda will not have fear in being baptized with her children before her husband decides to, so she can be an example.

Nurra is someone we talked to when walking around the apartments one day and we just started teaching her a few weeks ago. She has been taught many times in the past, but it seems like things are aligning in her life and that God has been helping her see this is the time for her. Her mom, Angel, started coming to church. She said that in her first time back to church this month, she really felt like she was at peace and at home.

Last night Nurra said the closing prayer and her mom said that was the first time she had ever said a prayer out loud, even when they were very involved in other faiths.

We spoke in the second ward and it was a super cool experience. I will send you my outline.

The morning of the talk, I bumped my head as I was getting ready. I wanted to hit something, but I prayed instead. The spirit told me that Jesus Christ felt the pain of me hitting my head so that he could judge me perfectly on how I responded. For someone to make a perfect judgment, the judge has to have walked every step in the shoes of he who is being judged so he can know how heavy those shoes have been.

Today we were walking out of the store and I saw this young guy posted up right outside with his longboard. As we walked away and got in the car, I had this recurring experience happen again.  I feel like for most of by teenage life I have been on a journey trying to receive and understand promptings. I remember my Sunday School teacher, Brother Case, telling about a prompting that he received when walking out of Walmart, to share the gospel with a family he saw. He justified thinking that there was no way that God wanted him to share the gospel. The prompting came to him, "If not you than who?" The stories of the Prophet Thomas S. Monson responding to spiritual promptings and his call to "never ignore a prompting" have really made an impression on me as well.

As we were pulling away, just like hundreds of times before, he was in my mind and I couldn't honestly push it aside. We turned around, went back, pulled up, and rolled down our window. In talking to him, he said he was "maybe" getting baptized on Saturday. I told him our experience, and that God sent us back to tell him that he needed to get baptized.

We can come up with so many excuses about following promptings from God. We could be on our way to an important appointment, it could be an "awkward situation," it might not make sense. Although I may not be perfect at responding to every prompting, I testify that if the God of Heaven and Earth, The Creator of the Universe and everything in it calls us to be on his errand and to reach out to one of his sons and daughters and our brother and sisters, HE WILL NOT FAIL TO AMAZE US. His plan for us is perfect, and we may play a part in his plan for others, if we are willing, humble, fearless and ready to listen to the still small voice that our perfect Father speaks to us by.

I know my Savior lives. He loves us. He died for us. He is the only one that will forever know how hard this life can be for you and me. Don't ever give up. He finished so that we could find the strength to finish, especially when the world seems like it is about to swallow us up.

Love,

Elder Moe

 

Picture 1)  Becca I promise that is an Alaska license plate... I just couldn't get my iPad out fast enough and they were speeding. (Don’t worry mom, I wasn't driving)

Picture 2)  The Restoration cup lesson. This came up twice last Sunday and it wasn't something in the prepared lesson. Sister Wallace (young women's teacher and ward mission leader's wife gave us the set!) Brother Wallace said cup sets were a big deal in his mission in Hawaii and they would be passed on.  Brother and Sister Lawrence used a similar lesson in their class too.

Oh yeah my favorite quote this week in Tupu and Nia Lawrence's Sunday school class:

In talking about sharing the gospel when your friends ask questions, Anthony, a member of the class, is by far the most involved.

Us: How many of you have had opportunities to share the gospel with friends who aren't members of the church?

Anthony: I have, but I am not actually a part of any church, I haven't been baptized yet.

Us: Oh cool!

Us inside: whaaaaaaatttt? NOOOO WAYYYY! (Party music)