The majority of my week was spent in and out of car dealerships, doctors appointments, and missionary correlation meetings, so in retrospect, not a lot happened out here in the mission field.
Friday (yes, skipping all the way to Friday), we had the chance to teach a lesson to Domonic. I mentioned him a few weeks ago - he's a fairly young man who mentioned that he'd been searching for a church when we tracted into him. Well, we had a return appointment set up with him so we headed out to his home once more. When we showed up, he couldn't welcome us into his house because everyone was asleep. After trying to figure out what to do, Domonic had the idea of meeting outside the nearby library in 10 minutes. Of course, Sister Jones and I agreed - determined to not let this appointment fall apart.
We drove over to the library and sat outside, waiting for him. After what seemed like ages, he finally appeared. Yet, the lesson wasn't at all what I had expected it to be. As we began teaching, he brought up the Book of Mormon and how it isn't needed in our lives. It got to the point where he kept saying, "The Bible is all I need! I just need the Bible! I challenge you to try not reading the Book of Mormon. Where in the Bible does it say that Christ went to the Americas? No where! Don't read the Book of Mormon! It doesn't even talk about Jesus Christ."
When he said that, all I could think of was 2 Nephi 29:3-13 (A Bible! A Bible! We've got a Bible!). Of course, that probably wouldn't be the best way to go about it. Finally, after pointing out countless scriptures in Ezekiel, Revelations, Isaiah, and John, I was ready to give up. Domonic wasn't listening to us. He refused to see the convincing evidence in front of his eyes. He even went as far as to say that he would pray for us to find the right path and that we needed to stop reading the Book of Mormon
In that moment, I was so overwhelmed with frustration that I stood up and said to him, "I would never ever give up reading the Book of Mormon. Why on earth would I forsake that happiness that I have found in this sacred book? I know with all I am, with all that I can muster, that this book is the most correct book to have ever been written. You may not believe it, but I know it. I know that Nephi, Alma, Lehi, Enos, and countless other brave men stood for Christ. They fought for Christ. They gave their whole lives to Christ. Many of them even forsook their lives for Him. And you say that the Book of Mormon doesn't bring us closer to Christ? That it doesn't speak of Christ? It mentions the Savior on almost every page. I will never stop reading it because I know that it's true. That it brings me unspeakable joy and happiness. I can't convince you of that. I know I can't. But I urge you to find out for yourself that it is true."
Heart thudding and ears ringing, I sat back down - shaking so very hard. I cannot even begin to describe the feeling of power I experienced when I bore this strong conviction of mine to Domonic. Sister Jones, too, bore testimony of that sacred book with tears in her eyes after I had stopped.
Sadly, Domonic still wouldn't listen to what we had to say. After a few minutes, he said that he would "pray to know what is the right path". Once he left, I realized that the lesson today wasn't for Domonic. It, in fact, was for me. It was to strengthen MY testimony and show me that it was stronger than I thought. It was so strong to the point where I was physically shaking. To the point where tears welled up in my eyes and shivers were sent down my spine. As I bore that deep testimony, I received an unshakable testimony of the Book of Mormon.
Little to our knowledge, someone else was listening to our witnesses. As we got up to leave, Will Davis approached us, saying, "I was listening to what you guys were saying, and I want to know more. Could you please teach me?" My heart soared. My soul rejoiced. This, this right here, was why we met Domonic. Not to bring him to the Gospel, but to find Will. Quickly, we exchanged contact information and agreed to meet a week later. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
The next day, we had an appointment with John and his wife. Yet, this appointment was different than any of the other lessons we taught up to that point. They had agreed to meet at the church and have a tour of it. As we showed them around, I could tell that they were very impressed with our programs for the youth. He even mentioned that the LDS faith would be the only ones who knew about Christ in a few generations because we concentrate so much on building up the youth and giving them a testimony.
It finally came to the point where we would have to explain what happened in the Priesthood meetings - something neither Sister Jones nor I knew about. Right as we were about to fumble through a quick explanation, Bishop Grover showed up! He was then able to join us for the rest of the tour and talk about things that we didn't have a full understanding of yet.
The best part of the tour was when we all convened around the baptismal font. John turned to us and asked, "So who baptized y'all?" Promptly, both Sister Jones and I answered, "Our fathers." His eyes began to swell. That had so much significance to him - I can't even imagine how important that must be to John, who loves his children so very much. When the church tour ended, I could tell that he was still ruminating on the fact that he could baptize his children if he joined the Church.
I know that the Lord knows what will happen. I know that He guides every step I take as a missionary. I know without a doubt in my heart that the Book of Mormon is true. Every day, I knock on countless doors and bare this simple, yet strong testimony. It is deeply rooted in my heart - no matter how many people tell me I am wrong or that they'll pray for me to find the right way, I will never doubt what the Holy Spirit has testified unto me. I invite everyone, everywhere, to convert themselves to the Lord. I may have joined the Church at the age of 8, but I was not a true convert until I was 18 years old. This is the Lord's kingdom here on Earth.
All my love,
Sister Sarah Michéle Durrant
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