Elder Jackson Beach: 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