Mormons and Baptists

Howdy everybody, this week has been a tough one but also been pretty rewarding.  We've gained a few good stories to tell for sure, and here are a couple of them....

This week we were riding our bikes around visiting some people and knocking some doors, and it started raining just a tiny bit but looked like it was about to dump.  We were sort of close to home and so we just said we would go in until it passed by (the rain usually lasts like 30 minutes).  Well, it was a Wednesday night and Siberton Baptist church is right by our house, so we decided to go to a bible study instead of going in our house.  It was pretty interesting.  We spent the rest of the night talking about everything that was discussed that night and talking about all of the "watered-down doctrine" as Bruce R. McConkie (I think) put it.  It's just different to me that almost every single person believes that we just need to "accept Jesus as our Savior" and then you're good.  You're saved.  It was said that night that "We don't do good works so that we can be saved.  We do good works because we are saved."  How bizarre.  Several times, the Deacon who was doing the preaching mentioned things that were directed completely towards us, like, "You have to read the Bible, and absolutely nothing else," and "Every single religion outside of Biblical Christianity is works-based, not grace-based."  There were many things that were taught that were just out-of-context or just plain incorrect.  I could rant about it for a while, but here's one thing that I want to mention.  After it was over, almost every single person came up to us, shook our hand, told us how glad they were that we were there, and to join them again any time.  (They might have just said that because they think we are "lost" or just misguided or whatever, but that's beside the point.)  Here's the point: people don't often seem to care for what doctrine is being taught, as long as Jesus is mentioned.  However, they do care about being in a place where the people are kind and they feel accepted.  Church is such a social thing, and people just go to wherever they feel they belong.  Remember that for later in this letter....

We have had a little bit of success in finding this week.  There are a couple of people who we met that we were able to teach a little bit and set some return appointments.  Mostly what we have been doing this week is visiting all of our potentials so that we can either teach them or move on.  

One of those potentials is named William.  He is an older guy, and he was found a couple months ago.  We visited him twice this week and talked about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon.  He made a comment that he really likes the Bible, and one of the things he likes about it is that you can interpret it in different ways to cater to your needs.  I can understand why he says that, but I felt the need to clarify something to him.  I very lovingly but bluntly explained something to this effect:  Yes, certain scriptures can mean different things to different people at certain times depending on their situation.  However, the scriptures aren't really up for interpretation by every single individual.  That's one of the reasons the Apostasy started.  Doctrine does not change, and when people "interpret" the scriptures, that's when doctrines are changed.  That right there is why we need the Book of Mormon.  It clarifies doctrine that would otherwise be "interpreted" differently.  There are many things that maybe aren't so clear with just the Bible that are very clear with both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  I did my best to help him understand that.  We also talked quite a bit with William about attending church, and he seemed semi-confident that he would be there, but no promises were made.  However, William did show up to church on Sunday, which was a pleasant surprise.

There is also a guy named Dan who we have been trying to get in contact with for a while.  He was progressing a while ago, but he drives a truck and is pretty busy, so we haven't been able to seen him.  Then on Saturday night he calls us out of the blue and is like, "Hey I'm going to come to church tomorrow," and we were just like, "Awesome!"  So Dan and William both came to church, which was pretty awesome because we weren't really expecting either of them until Saturday evening.  Now, let me go back to our experience at Siberton Baptist.  Remember how like every single person came up and talked to us and told us they were glad that we were there?  Well, both Dan and William were each greeted by a total of 3 people: Myself, Elder Vanderhoff, and a member of the Branch Presidency.  Not a single other person talked to them.  I felt really bad about that.  There were also several children who were just screaming the entire time during Sacrament Meeting, and it just wasn't the best.  I hope so much that they didn't have a bad enough experience to cause them to not return, but I know that their first visit to our church was far from ideal.  But hey, at least they came.  That in and of itself was a big miracle.

We visited Damion again this week and he is about the same.  He started a job driving dump trucks and is pretty busy.  So since he hasn't been reading during his not-so-busy life, it's going to be tough now that he is busy.  We are still praying for him though. 

We visited Robert once this week.  We only had like 20 minutes to talk, and he just kind of ranted about how expensive doctors and dentists are for the whole time.  It wasn't a super productive visit, but at least we were there to just give him some company and let him know we care about him.  Like they say, "Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care."

Haha, kind of a funny/sad/weird story:  There is a potential named Sonya that we stopped by on Saturday and made an appointment on Sunday for 3 PM.  At about 2:30 she calls us and says, "Hey, I'm dropping off my grandkids somewhere, can we make it 3:30?"  We said sure, but when we got there at about 3:35, she wasn't home.  We called, and this is basically what she said: "Well, I was driving home just a minute ago, and I saw some rocks on the side of the road. I thought to myself, 'I want those in my garden.'  So I pulled over, put it in park, left the car running, and went to grab these rocks.  While I was doing so, my dog bumped my car into drive, and it started rolling away going uphill and then turned off and crashed into a ravine.  The car is totaled, but my dog is fine."  It was an interesting phone call.  Needless to say, she cancelled our appointment.  That's a pretty talented dog to be able to put his foot on the brake and shift into gear.  I'm not sure how that happened, but somehow it did.  (Or she probably just left her car in drive when she got out, I dunno...)  We have likened this story unto the story of the demons being sent into the herd of swine, who then jumped off the cliff and drowned.  It's pretty much the same, right?  The dog drives a car off a cliff because it was possessed, and he knew that if he didn't, then his owner would have met with the missionaries and been taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Dumb dog, haha.  Satan will do whatever he can to stop this work.

Well, this week was full of some fun stuff.  We have met lots of people, sweat lots of liquids, and have some fun stories to tell because of it.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that it is the book that will prepare the earth for the second coming of the Savior.  In it is found the fullness of the everlasting gospel.  Anyone who reads and sincerely prays about it will know that it is true as well.

Alright, love y'all.  Hope you have a great week.  Thanks everyone for the notes and gifts that y'all sent for my year mark.  I loved them!  

Love, 

Elder Beach

#RollTide

#DevilDog

My new area - Attalla!

Got to see lots of fun friends at Zone Conference.

We stopped by a pretty cool high school football stadium.

I sweated a lot this week!

We left this note in this mailbox.  I'm sure they will call us, ask us to baptize them, and that will be awesome!

Week 1 in Attalla

Hey everybody, hope y'all have had a good week. Everything is going well here and I have been having fun and sweating lots. Obviously as I told y'all, last week was transfers. I was moved to Attalla, Alabama, which is about an hour northeast of Birmingham, and about an hour south of Scottsboro. New comp is Elder Vanderhoff. He's from Oregon originally but lives in American Fork now. Has been out for about 9 months. We are in a biking area which is neat because it's usually about 90+ degrees and super humid. I've done my share of sweating in the last week haha. 

Transfers were cool because I got to see lots of awesome dudes that I love to see. Even Mama Reyes was there! It was awesome. I think we had about 30 people go home this transfer, and President did some crazy stuff like switching lots of Elders areas to Sisters and vice versa, several areas were closed, and several cars were taken away from the mission. Things are definitely different here than they were last summer.

Things are pretty good in Attalla so far. On Thursday last week we went out to go visit this guy named Robert. He has a friend named Michael and they previously had taught them together, but Michael couldn't meet that night. Anyway, Robert is awesome. He has been reading as much as he can in the Book of Mormon (it's kind of slow going because he's blind in one eye). He told us that Michael has gone to his pastor and obviously was told to stop meeting with us, so I guess that's why we didn't see him. But Robert was just like, "I'm gonna have a talk with Michael and tell him to shape it up. I like reading this book, and I'm not going to listen to anyone who tells me otherwise. It's up to me to decide if it's true, not some pastor." So yeah, Robert hasn't come to church yet (prayers for him this week) but he is at least reading and seeking answers from God instead of someone else. 

There is another guy named Damion that we visited the other day. He has been taught for the past little bit, and was actually on date for baptism a couple weeks from now. Based on our lesson yesterday, he is far from ready to be baptized haha. We basically started over with him, and just shared a very basic Restoration outline and then read the intro to the Book of Mormon. I was very clear with Damion (as I am with everyone) that "If the Book of Mormon is true, then the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's true church on the earth." That's basically what the introduction says, but for whatever reason, a lot of people don't seem to pick up on that unless we reiterate it to them very clearly. Anyway, he claims to have read all the way to Alma 50 something, but he doesn't remember anything, so we know he hasn't read. I think after the lesson yesterday he should start actually reading and do it for a purpose - to find out if it's true, and therefore, if the Church is true. 

Yesterday we were also out biking and we could tell it was going to rain and so we started to head home. We were a few miles away, and it was about 7 PM. About halfway home we were completely drenched, and while we were riding some guy pulled over and offered us a ride. His name is Keith and he works at the rec center that we play basketball at on pdays. We ended stuffing both of our bikes in the back in his tiny Nissan Altima and then he drove us 2-3 miles home. The whole time he was saying stuff like, "I'm just a crazy Baptist, but I like you Mormons," and "Tell a Baptist that there will be fried chicken and you know they'll be there." Haha he's pretty funny. Best quote of the night though was this - So there are these storage sheds right next to our complex and I guess Keith used to live in our apartments a few years ago. Well he says, "Man, the worst thing they ever did was put all this storage right here..." and then this huge bolt of lightning strikes pretty close by and Keith says, "Forgive me Lord, it was just my opinion!" Haha he's definitely a crazy Baptist, and a funny dude. 

Well everything is going pretty well here. Bikes are okay, Elder Vanderhoff is fun, we have several people to teach, and the branch is small but helpful and supportive. Thanks for all of your prayers, I love y'all! Have a great week. 

Love,

Elder Beach

#RollTide

#CrazyBaptists

PS - Scripture of the week - Alma 36:3 "I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

We were able to share that with someone who was struggling with stuff and it really helped out. It's a great verse.

My "Dad" went home this week!

It was fun to see lots of friends from the mission at transfers.

Saying good-bye to lots of friends and my apartment in Greenville.

I hit my one year mark this week!  

Transfers

Howdy everyone back home.  The Wi-Fi just went out at the church so I have to type this email on my phone. Sorry if there are typos and if it's not as lengthy as usual. 

Transfer news came last night, and Elder Kapcsos and I will both be leaving Greenville this transfer. And we are being replaced with Sisters haha. First time Sisters have been in the Montgomery district for about 2 years! President Sainsbury came to our branch on Sunday and made no mention of anything about transfers except "make sure your apartment is clean." Other than that we didn't really know anything for sure until last night and today. 

We met a lady named Bobbie this week while tracting. She invited us right in and we just sat down and started teaching her. It was great. As we decided how to begin teaching, we mentioned that we were there to teach her and then invite her to act. One of those invitations that we would extend would be to come to church with us. She quickly responded, "In Highland Home? Y'all are crazy, plus I don't even have a car." (Keep in mind, she lives in Greenville 25 miles away). I almost just said to myself, "Dang it, another one of these people who have almost no chance of progressing just because of logistics." Anyway, we kept teaching her about the Restoration. She had better comprehension skills than most people we run into, and was really into the lesson. After we finished sharing the first vision with her she just said, "Wow, I just feel something, like I just feel that that's right. Y'all don't even know I feel so good, mhmm, yeah, that's nice, I like it, I feel good." (Typical Southern, elderly, black woman talk haha). Well, we took the chance to explain to her that what she was feeling was the spirit, and the spirit's role is to testify of truth. When she feels that way, she can know that whatever she is hearing or reading or learning about is true. It was a great lesson, and we (or I guess the Sisters) have a return appointment on Friday. Bobbie was really excited to read the Book of Mormon and meet with us again. 

I've said it before but I'll say it again - sharing the first vision account in Joseph' s own words and then bearing testimony of it invites the spirit in a way that not a lot if things can do. It's one of my favorite things. Not sure what will come of Bobbie in the future, but I know that she felt the spirit that day. 

New subject - President Sainsbury came to the branch on Sunday to speak. I guess he was here like 18 months ago, and I guess the branch had a tiny little linger longer afterward and he was so impressed by the food that apparently he has talked up Highland Home for the last year and a half. Well, word got back here about that, and so on Sunday the branch went all out for a pot luck after church, just to impress President once again. There was so much food, and all of it was awesome. President and Sister Sainsbury both spoke about member missionary work, and invited each member to do something to be a missionary. I would have followed up with people in the next weeks about accepting and acting on that invitation, but I'm leaving, so oh well. We'll leave a note for the Sisters. I do want to share with y'all some advice about member missionary work however. It is similar to what Sister Sainsbury said on Sunday, but it's a little different. This comes from Elder Oaks in the October 2016 conference titled "Sharing the Restored Gospel." Elder Oaks gives three tips that everyone can, and everyone should, do to be member missionaries. Here are his words:

"There are three things all members can do to help share the gospel, regardless of the circumstances in which they live and work. All of us should do all of these.

First, we can all pray for desire to help with this vital part of the work of salvation. All efforts begin with desire.

Second, we can keep the commandments ourselves. Faithful, obedient members are the most persuasive witnesses of the truth and value of the restored gospel. Even more important, faithful members will always have the Savior’s Spirit to be with them to guide them as they seek to participate in the great work of sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Third, we can pray for inspiration on what we can do in our individual circumstances to share the gospel with others. This is different than praying for the missionaries or praying for what others can do. We should pray for what we can do personally. When we pray, we should remember that prayers for this kind of inspiration will be answered if accompanied by a commitment—something the scriptures call “real intent” or “full purpose of heart.” Pray with a commitment to act upon the inspiration you receive, promising the Lord that if He will inspire you to speak to someone about the gospel, you will do it."

I thought that was such great advice, and such simple advice, too. We all can do all of these things. I ask that y'all go find this talk, read it, and follow the advice given by an Apostle of the Lord. 

Alright, well this was a good week. I have had lots of fun in the Highland Home Branch, and I look forward to where the Lord has assigned me to go next. I look forward to it. Love y'all. Have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Beach

#RollTide

Helping to build a home in Greenville!  Learning lots of new skills and getting to do lots of service!

Member Missionary Work

Hey everybody,

Unfortunately, as I look back on the week, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to report on.  I'll just start writing about stuff and see where it goes...

Just so y'all have an idea of how our week went, last night (Sunday) we went out and knocked doors for an hour or so from about 7:15 until 8:15.  Now, it is common knowledge that "prime proselyting time" is from 6-9 PM, because that is when people are supposed to be home and together with their families.  Add that to the fact that it is Sunday, a day in which most people would be home anyway, and you would think that everything would be shaping up for us to have a good tracting session.  Well, during that hour of knocking, there was a total of one, 1, yes one single door that was opened.  And that one man that we met at that one door that was opened told us he "knew all about Joseph Smith" and seemed like he definitely would have bashed pretty hard with us had he not been busy at the time.  Haha it would have been a treat.  So anyway, that's how our week has been as far as finding and teaching goes.  Kind of a bummer, but we also have some things in the works.  Let's jump to that for a minute.

We had our first branch council since I have been here in the Highland Home branch.  We have been talking a lot with President NeSmith (our Branch President) and with President Sainsbury about member missionary work.  We have been visiting with some of the active members and inviting them, encouraging them, and helping them to fulfill their missionary responsibilities.  President NeSmith has also been pushing the members a lot in that direction.  In Branch Council we were able to talk to some of the branch leadership about what we can do to strengthen the struggling branch and get things picked up in this area.  As we talked about it during the weeks leading up to branch council, we decided that working with less-actives is the way to go.  So during branch council we identified a few families and individuals that 1) have some potential as far as reactivation goes, and 2) are "active" members but aren't deeply converted or who need better gospel knowledge. We have also found some members who are willing to meet with them with us. We'll see where that takes us, but it should be good. 

Another good thing is that President and Sister Sainsbury are coming to the branch to speak next week, so hopefully their comments and invitations give us and the members another little push to get out there and be better missionaries. We have given members suggestions on how they can do that, but maybe President will give them some others. It also provides an opportunity for us and President NeSmith to talk to President Sainsbury about the whole miles vs working with members vs working in Highland Home vs living in Greenville situation and all that. It's just tough, so maybe we can get something figured out together. 

Ray has still been coming to church (that's about 7 weeks now). He made a comment in Elders Quorum about how he was grateful for our visit last week and how we left him with a great prayer that he needed to hear. He still is taking things slow, but is reading the Book of Mormon on his own, and he knows that he can turn to us if he has any questions. He shows lots of potential, he just needs some time. It will be interesting to see where he ends up in a few months or a year or two. I know he enjoys coming to church, and the members love him and are friends with him. 

Well, it's been an interesting week. I'm looking forward to doing more member work to hopefully get things going in our little branch. We very much appreciate your prayers every day. Love y'all. 

Elder Beach

#RollTide

Helping to build a house!