We had been working a ton with a family in my area from Bogotá. They were really good, and the husband is a member since 8 yrs, but the wife met him after. They came here to Yopal to escape their old lives, and we had the baptismal interview for her baptism, but the interviewer decided it was best to postpone the baptism, because he found out that her husband is not cultivating the best environment for her to take the step, and so it will happen in a future time.
Right now, we are looking at Family Murillo, Alejandro Chavita, and Nohora Perilla as my last 5 baptisms, but that's with faith.
Fam. Murillo called us and asked us to come over, we went, and they told us they have been going to church for 5 years without being married or baptized, and so we put the goal right there for them to talk about marriage, and today we go by for a family home evening and we'll hit them where it hurts, and get her going this week to get her papers from el Tolima, and next week they should get married. That's the plan.
Alejandro Chavita, All of his siblings, and cousins are members, but he isn't. He came to church one day, we hit him up to go to his house, and then we called the day of and he told us to not call him again, and that he wasn't really interested. So then we found him again in the chapel 15 days later, and he told us that this time he wanted us to come over no matter what, and he gave us his sisters number also so we could stop by. So we went, he accepted a baptismal date for the 25th, and then they gave us hamburgers. Crazy change in him! He's 18.
Then Nohora is the mom of Diana Morales, the lady that was baptized the last week. We are working for her to get married also before I head out, she told her husband she wants to get baptized before I leave, so we are praying that they can settle things out, and she can take the step.
I'm just so happy to be here in the mission. I was thinking about the 2 years I've lived here in Colombia, and I was wondering what I could possibly say about my mission. I remembered one of the first letters I wrote home, talking about new beginnings, about Moses, and about Paul. I can personally classify myself with Paul now, who after being converted to the gospel, went away for years, and then came back and was recognized as a friend of The Church of Jesus Christ.
The message that I share, is called the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, When He came to earth, He restored His church, and censured the jews for teaching false doctrines, and for straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel! His Gospel is simple. It's having faith in Christ, following Him and changing our lives to be in accord with what He taught, and then being baptized by someone holding His authority, and receiving the holy ghost by the laying on of hands.
But this was lost, and in the world there was seen changes to these ordinances of the gospel (baptism and confirmation) and the doctrines became disorganized. It wasn't faith in Christ, but faith in the trinity, and that they were 3 in 1, and 1 in 3, and how God is a spirit, as the bible teaches in John 4:24 but that He has a body resurrected as the scriptures teach in Luke 24!
With all the confusion, there was a young man, named Joseph Smith born into the world, in the United States. When he was 14, he was searching for the truth, and found that there were many churches, with seemingly identical doctrines some, and radically different in others. In the midst of all of these churches professing to follow Christ, and to be the true church of Him, he found an answer to his doubts, in James 1:5:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
He decided to ask God, knowing that if he didn't, he would never come to a conclusion. When he asked, the following video is explanation of what occurred. I invite you all to see it, and to ponder on it. I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I don't doubt it, because God has also responded to my prayers, and I know by the power of God that he was a prophet.
Elder Tracy
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