Hi there...family and friends!
This week has been wonderful!! I love it here in the Indy 1st ward! I am learning so much from each of the people that I meet! I can't believe that I am already nearing the end of this transfer, it has just flown by! I love all of the people who we are meeting and talking with! Yesterday we were knocking on doors on Miracle Rd (cool name,huh?) and we met the nicest Catholic lady ever! -- Not saying Catholics aren't nice! They just don't usually talk to us. -- She opened the door, and we talked to her for quite a while. She told us about her family and we read a little bit out of the Family Proclamation to her. Then she talked to us about how she believed she was part of the one true church. Then we told her about Joseph Smith's first vision and the Book of Mormon all on her door step. You could tell that she felt the spirit. She said that she felt good as we talked to her, and I invited her to pray and ask God if what we shared could bless her family. She told us that she would. When we left she prayed for us and called us "Soldiers of Christ" and asked Christ to help us as we "taught the truths of Jesus Christ." It was just great! I love the people who we have met recently! The work here in Indiana is really so amazing!!
Wanda and Andrew are still progressing so quickly towards their baptismal date on June 8th! Last week we taught them about Tithing and did a fun object lesson for Andrew and Carter. We gave them 10 jelly beans in a cup and asked them to give us their "tithing" on the jelly beans. So they gave us one back. Then we read with them the scripture in Malachi where the verse talks about how there will be so many blessings that "there won't be room enough to receive it," and then we poured a bunch of jelly beans in their cup. They got really excited! haha, it was adorable. Then when we asked Wanda if she would pay her tithing, she said "Of course!" She is just too amazing! She pretty much teaches us and her children. I am so excited for her to be a member!! They are a wonderful family. We have another lesson with them tonight!
We had another cool experience following up with a guy who we met a couple of weeks ago. We went back to his house and asked him if he was able to talk with his girlfriend about having us over. He told us that he had decided that at this time, it wasn't right for him (the girlfriend had an ex-husband who was a mormon...so it was a touchy subject). So, instead of just saying "Oh...okay! Well, bye!" I decided to give him the Restoration pamphlet. So I gave him the pamphlet and told him briefly about what was inside. I told him about Joseph Smith and about the Priesthood authority of God, and as I talked about it he started to flip through the pages of the pamphlet. Then I bore strong testimony about the truth of our message and he was just silent. The spirit was sooooo strong. He was just looking down at the pamphlet, and you could see that the spirit was speaking to him. We invited him to pray and to look at mormon.org and we said a prayer with him, and left. It was amazing!!! When someone feels the spirit after the testimony at the end, you have to pray and get out so the spirit can continue to teach them. Oh man! It was just soo cool! It was really bold...and scary....but with Heavenly Father and the spirit guiding me, I was able to plant a seed in his heart. Ah! I just love this work!!
I gained a strong testimony about how Heavenly Father answers prayers!! Out here in Indiana, you get A LOT of anti-mormon stuff thrown at you. There are specials on TV, and series about things we do that are just not true! So the other day, someone told me that the things that they do in the Masonic temples are similar to what happens in our temple....and that Joseph Smith was a free mason. At first, that really weirded me out. I was confused and doubted a lot. I kept going back to how I knew that the Book of Mormon was true, but I just kept wondering. The way it was said made it sound like Joseph Smith just copied the Masons and started his own religion. I prayed a lot. I searched the scriptures a lot. I asked a lot of questions. And then the next day on our exchange in North Vernon, I was talking to one of the Sisters and we had both been wondering about the same thing! We had a big discussion, but couldn't figure it out. That night, I really prayed hard. I wanted to have a reconfirmation that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. That he really did restore the true church of Christ to the earth. And I didn't feel anything...I didn't have a voice come into my head..I didn't become overwhelmed with the spirit...I just kind of felt a "wait." So I tried to be patient and continue to look for his answer. Then the next day we had a correlation meeting with the ward mission leader. He is a convert of about 4 years and so before joining, he did a lot of research. Somehow the topic of free masons came up. I asked him if he knew about who they were and how they started, etc. And then he answered my prayer! The free masons started back in the time of Christ. When the priests in the temple were starting to become corrupt, the free masons climbed up the temple and would look in the windows and write down everything that they saw. Then they went and started their own practice of the things. When he explained that, it was just so much MORE of a testimony to me that Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet. The things we do in the temple have been done since the beginning of time. God IS the same yesterday, today, and forever. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that he restored the truth to the earth. I know that he brought to pass the dispensation of the fullness of times in these the last days. I know that we have a living prophet today who does talk to God and Jesus Christ and receives revelation for our day and time. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to share this gospel with so many people! Even though the majority of them reject it, I am still grateful to be a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ who died for me.
I attached a picture of the Book of Mormon that belongs to Sister Pfieffer. I told you about her story a while back, but I actually got a picture of it!
She had a house fire and everything around the Book was burnt to a crisp, but her Book of Mormon was barely touched. This church is just SO true!! I can't even handle it. haha.
Anyways, this week has been great as always! I am loving the work! It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I know that it will be worth it. I am grateful for the experiences I will be able to share with my future children and family.
Thank you for all of your love and support! I can feel the strength of heaven all around me. Keep on reading your scriptures, having family prayer and scripture study, and going to the temple regularly! I know that as we are obedient to ALL of God's commandments, we will be blessed. God can't bless us unless we are obedient..D&C 58:21. We have to have faith to allow God to work in our life...just as it says in Ether 12: 12. God loves us and cares about each of us. I know that this gospel is true. If you aren't sure, ask God yourself! As a representative of Jesus Christ, I can promise you that He will ALWAYS answer you. But you must ask with faith and real intent (meaning you will act on your answer). Thank you all again!! I love you!
Sister Emilee Farr
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