Week 32; Baptism

Photo Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QuW5JQQJL6emqhb68 Our friend Isabella got baptized on sunday!!! It was so awesome. The Pittsburgh ward had 2 baptisms on sunday: Isabella and Dalanea (Morningside's Friend). We also had another baptism in the young adult ward for the STL's. Pittsburgh ward on top. I had the opportunity to give Isabella the Holy Ghost, the spirit was so strong. Afterward her and her mom (Dashun) called and thanked us also asking what was our favorite candy for a gift. God is good. On Thursday we had another exchange with the AP's and I was with Elder Hadley again. We had such a blessed day. We knocked some project housing and found some ladies named Naomi and Bre. We had a funny experience knocking where we knocked into this guy named Mychal Daniel David Watson. He was most likely drunk, but we had an amazing conversation with him about the book of mormon and how it testifies of christ, and baptism. He wants himself and his teenage daughter to be baptized. We had the opportunity to teach Marlena. She had been taught pretty much everything in the past and had been to church over 10 times. We got to know her and she is married to another woman but they've been seperated for the past 2 years and are getting divorced. Unfortunately for her to be baptized the divorce has to be finalized even though she isn't cohabitating. If the finalized divorce wasn't required she could've been baptized within a short amount of time. We also taught Mia and Rashad, they are so awesome. We got to teach them about the Restoration and read Mosiah 3 with them. Elder Hadley gave me some advice on my teaching about asking better questions. He pointed out that I ask lots of questions and my teaching is great, but I need to avoid asking questions that have an obvious answer that they may not know. This may make them feel dumb which can cause some akwardness. On Friday we exchanged with SouthSide and I was with Elder Canfield. We talked about how I wanted to focus on asking better questions. When we planned our lessons we put in inspired quality questions to use and to have in our minds. We had a lesson with their friend Janaee, she is just so awesome. We got to know her and then talked about the Book of Mormon and Baptism. We opened up to 3 Nephi 11 with Christ ministry to the nephites. We talked about how baptism was the importance of authority/power was the first thing he taught to the nephites. He also emphasised how there shouldn't be any confusion on baptism and explained how it should be performed. During this whole lesson I noticed the questions I was asking actually helped and were a lot better. We then extended the date of May 3rd for baptism and she accepted! The rest of our day was great and Elder Canfield always gives me some good insight. He is an awesome Elder. God deliberately avoids overwhelming, objective proof, the kind that would compel belief the way gravity compels you to stay on the ground. If He showed up with undeniable physical evidence, like writing His name in the stars every night or having angels give daily news briefings, agency would collapse. Alma 32:21 defines faith as “not to have a perfect knowledge,” and Moroni 7:16–17 teaches we’re given the Light of Christ to discern, but we still must choose. The purpose of mortality isn’t to pass a trivia test about God’s existence; it’s to become like Him. That requires real choice, and real choice requires real alternatives. So instead of objective data that forces a conclusion, He gives subjective evidence: scripture, the witness of the Spirit, the testimonies of others, sacred experiences that are deeply personal but not transferable. Jeremiah 1:5 fits here, God knew us before, but we don’t remember. We’re meant to re-choose Him without the memory, to see if we will seek Him when He could be denied. That feels risky, but it’s rooted in love. Doctrine & Covenants 29:35–36 says men were “agents unto themselves” even in the pre-existence, where a third part used that agency to reject the Father’s plan. He didn’t revoke their choice then, and He won’t revoke ours now. If He loved us less, He’d control the outcome. If He wanted robots, He’d give irrefutable proof. Instead He gives us whispers, patterns, and invitations. What Elder Neal A. Maxwell called “evidence enough” for those willing to believe, yet unclear enough for those determined to doubt. The point isn’t to prove His existence; it’s to prove our willingness. We’re here to remember who we were when we shouted for joy at the plan, Job 38:7, and to decide, without compulsion, whether we still want what we once voted for. Agency is the only way love stays real. So He steps back, offers subjective evidence, and waits, not as a distant judge, but as a Father who already knows you, and hopes you’ll choose to know Him again. With Love, Elder Batman