The gospel has given me the perspective to attain and retain desires for things that are lasting, such as knowledge. I think it is a necessary perspective to have for everyone. At the end of the day, genuine love and sincerity are the best thing you can do for others. And also, ensuring that you hold up on your personal spiritual roles. We need to understand that the Gospel brings out good actions, not just desires.
There's a family in the ward who openly tells the story of their son leaving the church because of the parents actions.(the parents were acting pretty poorly) Later the son rejoined the church because he saw how much it made them change. Obviously I wouldn't compare you to those parents, but I do want you to hear this... For me at the very least, I never saw who you used to be. I only ever saw you as a lovely mom, who had the gospel wrapped around her life. I never saw the change. If I had a mom and Dad who were such great people and yet all they ever did (that I could see) was go to church, and occasionally read the scriptures with the family... Then surely the same would happen to me. I'm not at all implying that's all you personally do to have your faith, I know how much you do now. But as a child you don't see it. Same as all these people out here who have never even thought about a God or an afterlife. We reflect what we see around us. Our notions of normality come typically from those we observe.
In my opinion, here's how you can help anyone, the important thing is that they see you doing what is right. They need to understand by watching you, that having the gospel isn't enough. That we have to dig to digest it, and that the more you dig the more you get. That's a really long way to put it, but I really do think it's important to help them see that you're not willing to skip out on things like reading scriptures. That's a great starting point, and I'm sure just being 100% will be a huge blessing. Once there, you can take it a step farther. Like a 5 minute gospel discussion. The basic things carry so much weight. It's not about them getting it, that will come with time. It's about them seeing it. It's the difference between knowing it in your mind, and knowing it in your heart. That's why I prayed to God every day for 16 years and never felt he was there. I didn't search Him out like I needed to, I didn't understand that I needed to. It made no sense to me that I would need to search him out. Why would I? Isn't He loving and doesn't He care? Our notions of what is required and what should be desired are the things that will makes us get it in life or not.
One of our investigators thinks he needs to be converted in a matter of 3 weeks or it's not right. We have no idea where he got that Idea, but we know that if we don't help him out of this line of thinking, things won't get better. But the important thing is that, he believes something that isn't true, there for it's not allowing him to see what is. I cannot convert somebody through my logic, no matter how much sense I make the gospel seem. I have already learned that. The true necessity is a personal desire.
There's a family in the ward who openly tells the story of their son leaving the church because of the parents actions.(the parents were acting pretty poorly) Later the son rejoined the church because he saw how much it made them change. Obviously I wouldn't compare you to those parents, but I do want you to hear this... For me at the very least, I never saw who you used to be. I only ever saw you as a lovely mom, who had the gospel wrapped around her life. I never saw the change. If I had a mom and Dad who were such great people and yet all they ever did (that I could see) was go to church, and occasionally read the scriptures with the family... Then surely the same would happen to me. I'm not at all implying that's all you personally do to have your faith, I know how much you do now. But as a child you don't see it. Same as all these people out here who have never even thought about a God or an afterlife. We reflect what we see around us. Our notions of normality come typically from those we observe.
In my opinion, here's how you can help anyone, the important thing is that they see you doing what is right. They need to understand by watching you, that having the gospel isn't enough. That we have to dig to digest it, and that the more you dig the more you get. That's a really long way to put it, but I really do think it's important to help them see that you're not willing to skip out on things like reading scriptures. That's a great starting point, and I'm sure just being 100% will be a huge blessing. Once there, you can take it a step farther. Like a 5 minute gospel discussion. The basic things carry so much weight. It's not about them getting it, that will come with time. It's about them seeing it. It's the difference between knowing it in your mind, and knowing it in your heart. That's why I prayed to God every day for 16 years and never felt he was there. I didn't search Him out like I needed to, I didn't understand that I needed to. It made no sense to me that I would need to search him out. Why would I? Isn't He loving and doesn't He care? Our notions of what is required and what should be desired are the things that will makes us get it in life or not.
One of our investigators thinks he needs to be converted in a matter of 3 weeks or it's not right. We have no idea where he got that Idea, but we know that if we don't help him out of this line of thinking, things won't get better. But the important thing is that, he believes something that isn't true, there for it's not allowing him to see what is. I cannot convert somebody through my logic, no matter how much sense I make the gospel seem. I have already learned that. The true necessity is a personal desire.
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