Unshakeable

Greetings to you, my friends!

Last week has been super exhausting. We almost only did finding. We weren't able to use our bikes (our helmets were borrowed by some other missionaries), so we went walking all over the place. We also tried visiting all of our potential investigators, but to no avail. That doesn't mean that we didn't see any success, though, as we did find a few more people who seemed to have interest in our message and managed to get a hold of our investigators who were unable to get in touch with us previously due to being sick. Speaking of being sick, almost all of the missionaries here in Tokushima were. The sister missionaries are bedridden, two of our yonnin got the flu and I'm still recovering from a cold. My companion, Powell chourou, is the only one who's genki. I applaud his immunesystem.

I have a spiritual experience I would like to share with you. It happened yesterday, actually. Lately, I'd been feeling a bit weak in faith. I felt like my testimony was wavering and I felt a great desire to become stronger spiritually. As I had been reading about the prophets of old everyday in the Book of Mormon, I grew a desire to be as strong and unshakeable in the Lord as they were. So yesterday, when I was alone in my studyroom, I decided to open up to chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel about Christlike Attributes, specifically looking at the "Faith in Jesus Christ" part. I glanced over the scriptures listed in the blue "Scripture Study" box and decided I should start with a prayer, so that God would guide me in order to find faith. I prayed sincerely and with honest intent, because I really wanted to find an answer. As I prayed, I started to feel calm and somehow confident that I was going to find something in the scriptures that would help me. After finishing my prayer, I started going down the list. Then I opened up to Ether 12:6.

 

And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith‍ is things which are hoped‍ for and not‍ seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness‍ until after the trial‍ of your faith.

 

Something that really caught my attention, was the final part of that scripture: "ye receive no witness‍ until after the trial‍ of your faith". There was a footnote about that "trial", referring to the Doctrine and Covenants. And so I opened up to D&C 121:7-8. 

 

My son, peace‍ be unto thy soul; thine adversity‍ and thine afflictions shall be but a small‍ moment; And then, if thou endure‍ it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

 

As soon as I read those words, I felt a really strong and powerful impression in my heart. It came in the blink of an eye, as if out of nothing, making me completely speechless after reading it. This impression... this feeling, it definitely wasn't anything normal. As soon as I could, I once again reached out to my Heavenly Father in prayer, confirming that what I felt was the Holy Spirit. I thanked Him with all my heart for answering my prayers and guiding me on that little quest to find out how to gain true faith.

 

I learned some really important things from that experience. I learned that as long as I have a desire to have faith and as long as I do my best to keep the Lord's commandments and endure in obedience, that I would receive an increasingly stronger testimony of Jesus Christ, becoming unshakeable in faith, just like the prophets in the scriptures. This is the answer I have found under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I testify that God lives and He truly loves us. He reaches out to us in mercy. He hears our prayers. We just have to be patient and endure in faith and obedience. I'm so grateful for our loving Heavenly Father!

 

Thank you so much for reading this. I hope all of you have been genki and I hope you have a wonderful week!

 

Love you all a lot!

~サントス長老