Photo Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QuW5JQQJL6emqhb68
We had our zone conference on friday but since it was President Hoffmans last one before he leaves, he decided to do a Mission wide Zone Conference. The special thing about this was not just how it was a mission conference, it was pretty much a concert. President Hoffman is good friends with the Nashville Tribute Band and Jason Deere came out and performed a ton of his songs inside the stake center. Apparently a lot of his popular songs he wrote in his mission. It was an incredible experience.
On Saturday we had an exchange with Southside and I was with Elder Fackrell. Before we had our lunch at Grandma Grace's, we found this incredible lady named Parish. She had been distant in her relationship with God and wants her and her 10 year old daughter to get baptized. We were just able to have a wonderful conversation and ask a ton of inspired questions to her. We had a wonderful African stew for lunch and went to a baptismal interview for the STLs friend. It went amazing and Alaina was so ready for baptism the next day. Later that day we got a call from the them saying that Alaina called it quits on the baptism and wants to wait, super tragic. We then went to this street and just walked around talking to people outside. We found this cool guy Phil who gave us a fake address for the lesson but oh well. We also met this lady named Gina and set up a lesson for later that night. After dinner we had a awesome lesson with our friend Benjamin on a park bench. We taught him the restoration and set him up with a baptism calender. At the end of our night we knocked into this lady who wasn't that interested at first. I felt impressed to share with her the Book of Mormon and it really touched her. Sometimes we can't accept the first no, they are saying no to something they don't understand. We set up a time with her to give her a copy. Me and Elder Fackrell had an amazing day full of miracles. Me and him have been really good friends for a while on the mission and I always love learning from him.
On Tuesday we got a request from this guy named Benjamin. We called him and he remembered the request and is looking to get closer to God. He was doing some research and decided to fill out the request. Sounds like he just moved to Pittsburgh. Talked about how we believe we have prophets and the BoM. Talked about how scripture keeps us on the right path by sharing 1 Nephi 15:23-24 about the rod of iron, set up a time to meet. This crazy miracle happened where originally we had the lesson scheduled for 3pm and he never responded or showed up. We ended up at the park for calls 5 hours later at 8pm and he just walked by us and stopped us. We had never met the guy so we were confused but eventually pieced it together that he was Benjamin. We had a really good talk about where he's at in life wanting to grow closer to God. Talked about the Book of Mormon and he wants to read it. We focused a lot on the Atonement and repentance, he shared some experiences he's had that he wants to put away in his life. We called a member named Bonnie Morgan and she talked a little bit about baptism and she was a really good team up also told him to quit smoking and stuff and that she'll help them. We also kind of went over the Word of Wisdom and he's committed and he said he's going to come to the church and we set up reoccurring lessons with him and put him on date for baptism for June 28th.
The tree isn’t hidden. The fruit is “most precious.” But between you and it is a river, a mocking building, and “exceedingly great mist of darkness.” That mist is the point. The adversary aims for blindness, not just pain. If he can make the word of God feel distant, you’ll let go of the rod. Doubt, shame, busyness, comparison all work once you stop believing there’s fruit worth reaching. “Hearken” means hear with intent to obey. “Hold fast” means grip under pressure. The rod doesn’t remove the mist or stop the darts. Lehi’s family still walked through the dark. The difference is trajectory. Those who grip the word may stumble, but they don’t get turned around. The rod is a fixed line when everything else shifts. “Never perish” doesn’t mean never feel lost or burned. It means the end of your story isn’t destruction, even if the middle is messy. Holding fast makes you anchored, not invincible. Darts can hit, but they can’t blind you if your grip on the word is tighter than your grip on fear. The daily grip is the hard part. Five minutes in scripture when you’re exhausted. A prayer when you feel no answer comes. One verse you choose to believe when your thoughts scream the opposite. The rod works because God speaks. His word meets the exact lie you’re believing today. The tree is what God wants to give you. The rod is how He gets you there. The mist is every reason you think you can find your own way. You can’t navigate by feeling when darkness is designed to disorient. But the word doesn’t change with culture or mood. It just is. When the darts come: “you’re not enough,” “you missed it,” “God’s forgotten you,” tighten your grip. Not because you’re strong. Because the rod is. You’re holding on to a Person who spoke, and keeps speaking.
With Love,
Elder Batman
Comments
Post a Comment