The Iron Rod is the Word of God

Liebe Familie und Freunde,

 

This week has been so good. First of all, it has been FREEZING all week. That was actually not so good. That was actually bad and made me kind of sad because I do not like the cold at all, but we bundled up and it was bearable. 

 

The good parts from the week were that we had a split with the STLs, Zone Training, AND we found a new investigator all in the same week! Much goodness was had, and the Spirit was felt by many. :)

 

My split was with Sister Meure and we were in Nürnberg. Splits there are still incredibly weird. It's not my area, but I still know everything and everyone and it's just a weird mix of feelings and feeling the Spirit and not feeling Spirit. It's hard to explain. The best way to explain it is that I know that it is not my area anymore, because the Spirit doesn't feel the same as it did when I was serving there. I've gotten used to that feeling when we go for District Meeting and Zone Trainings and such, but splits are just weird because I just have to live through it for a whole day. It's weird. Moving on. 

 

Sister Meure is absolutely lovely and she's from Tasmania! We had so much fun on our split. She really helped me with my contacting by helping me to stop thinking about it so much and just start doing. When I think about talking to the next person, I psych myself out. So now I just smile, and then open my mouth and testify. It's been working pretty well because Sister Quain and I have found quite a few more potentials this week, and we even got a new investigator!

 

He is from Africa, and he is so cool. We met with him for the second time on Thursday evening, and he had already read a bit in the Book of Mormon! He has been through some really hard stuff and wants to try and understand why. We introduced the Plan of Salvation at the end of our last lesson and he said he was really interested to know more about it, so we're excited to meet again which should be on Tuesday. He is so humble! We're really excited to help him really understand the Spirit he's been feeling. Things are looking up in Erlangen. :)

 

Zone Training was great. This month we are studying the Book of Mormon as a mission and as such talked a lot about that at Zone Training. President Stoddard had a set of gold plates that he used for part of his talk. We talked about all the plates used in the Book of Mormon (small and large plates of Nephi, Plates of Mormon, Plates of Moroni, etc.) and in what order all of the books were translated. I didn't know that first and second Nephi were translated after the rest of the Book of Mormon was translated. That must have been a relief for Joseph Smith to see after the 116 pages of the Plates of Lehi were lost. 

 

As far as Thelma's go, I really liked an activity that we did with the Sister Training Leaders. We were divided into small groups and were each given a piece of paper. On the paper, we wrote down a question that we had (about doctrine, about a problem we'd been facing, etc.) and then we each took turns opening the Book of Mormon to a random page and then reading the two pages it was open to and looking for an answer in those two pages. It was really cool, and I can honestly say that I felt the Spirit super strong and received an answer to my question. 

 

The Book of Mormon is just so cool. One recurring theme from Zone Training was that the Book of Mormon was written for our day, and our time. It was written to help us overcome the problems and challenges that we face. It was written for our problems, and our concerns. It is for US. I don't know if I can adequately convey just how much that means to me, but I'll try. 

 

There is an article in the October Ensign/Liahona called 'Converted for Life.' In this article, the author relates an experience he had on his mission where he and his companion shared the Book of Mormon with a hostile man who promised to read it just to point out the errors so he could show the next missionaries who showed up at his house. The Elders left, and chalked it up to another seed planted that would probably sprout in several years. It actually only took five minutes. The next morning, the man was waiting on their doorstep, apologizing for his behavior and then asking to be baptized. That is INCREDIBLE. The author then says that he knows it wasn't him or his companion who converted that man. It was the Book of Mormon. 

 

In the Introduction to the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith is quoted, saying, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." 

 

I know that is true. Everything that the Book of Mormon does brings us closer to our Savior, and therefore, closer to our Father in Heaven. Whenever I read the Book of Mormon, I may not always find the perfect solution to my problem, but I do feel peace. I feel God's love. I feel the truthfulness of the Plan of Salvation and that I have a part to play in it. 

 

I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon and the restored Gospel. I love the Gospel with all my heart, and I am so grateful to be able to share it with others as much as I am able. It is a blessing to be a missionary, and I wouldn't trade my experiences here for the world. 

 

I love you all. Have an incredible day, and a fabulous week!

 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John

 

Sister Meure had to go to the dentist during our split. This was when the Novocain just started to take effect and paralyze half of her face.

 

And this is several hours later, and she could still smile only half way! It's okay, we had a spectacular split with lots of fun times anyways. :)

 

 

The sleepiest new missionary. :)