We called up an inactive member on Wednesday to visit him. We had heard of the man from many ward members. Seemed like a nice guy and no one knew why he was not coming to church. We went over and planned to be very bold with him as directed by the Holy Ghost. The lesson never goes as planned! He began by expressing that he doesn't believe in God or the bible because of all the error that is in it. It was a perfect transition into the apostasy and restoration. The spirit was so strong! It seemed to be tangible. He was a different person from the beginning of the lesson to the end. By the end we didn't even have to invite him back to church. He committed to us that he would read the pamphlet, Book of Mormon, pray, AND come to church!!
The next day he did not answer our phone call so we stopped in to check on him. After some small talk we asked about his prayer. He told us there was no way he could come back. He knew he felt the spirit but after we left he didn't read and didn't pray and very quickly felt fearful and backed out!! AH! We identified the difference between FAITH and FEAR. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Fear is the number one tool the adversary uses to tempt us! It is also the number one killer of missionaries. When he feels the feelings of fear we counseled him to do 3 things. 1. Self diagnose the feeling 2. Pray in faith to overcome it and read a scripture 3. Act on what you should. These 3 things also work for missionary work! The scripture I often quote to myself is 3 Nephi 5:13 "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." The final thing is to say out loud to yourself or your companion, "I FEAR NO MAN." As Nephi of old went to get the gold plates his brothers were afraid of Laban. Nephi bore testimony that God is more powerful than every man. I know this to be true!
The spirit was tangible again! He said it himself he could not deny these feelings. Recommitted himself to read, pray, and come to church. Sadly the next day he called us saying he could not do this and to never contact him again. I have never seen so obvious the influence of the other side. Just as Christ is working to bring us all back to Him, there is an adversary. I testify as we hold strong and faithful we will overcome all fear we feel. Be not weary in well-doing for you are laying a foundation of a great work. Behold, the Lord requires the heart and a willing mind.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love, Elder Coon.
work is going strong! look up the Ricciardi Letter online. this guy is sick!! he is a legend :) i havent been looking too hard for pastors. they all turn me down when i ask for a chance to teach haha! usually they are too prideful! but i will keep looking :)
that was a fun trip!i have been sharing the word remember 497 with all the people we teach! it has made a great impact on them, thank you!we have had some spiritual lesson lately. man the ward counsel has really been useless if i can say so. it really doesnt get anything done! i had my last stake missionary correlation meeting with the stake prez yesterday. we talked about how to reset the tone of mcm's. make sure to focus on FINDING and TEACHING. Fellowship and action plans! constantly be evaluating your effectiveness. change when needed. It is so crutial to be effective. i just dont know how to get it across to the ward counsel. i will be talking with the high counselor about it this week, we are really tight. our ward is struggling with retention rn.the investigators seem to be motivated to live the gospel when they are actively learning the gospel. we begin with testifying and having the hg enter their heart. promising blessings is huge. then committing them to study when we arent there so they become familiar with the spirit. if they do not read then the next lesson we will read with them. every day it is important to stay in contact and remind them!love you father!
funny thing happened early this morning that reminded me of when you were at girls camp! at 3 am this morning i woke up screaming in pain! CHARLIE! my calf seized up and it killed hahaha! my comp jumped out of bed. it was a complete shock lol. my calf is pretty sore this morning. good times!!
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