The Fire of the Restoration

Dear all, 

I don't really know how to describe this week. It was incredible, yes, but also crazy! But I guess those are both good things... 

This week was AMAZING! 

We had an incredible zone meeting and had the opportunity to learn at the feet of prophets, seers, and revelators on Wednesday during a world wide missionary broadcast. I have learned so much in so little time! 

Also on Wednesday, I had the opportunity to learn from Sister Reece. She is a powerful missionary with an incredible testimony of this gospel. I learned so much! 

Sister Kirkman and me! The only photo we took this week!

Early Thursday morning, though, we got a call from President Slaughter, informing us that Sister Johnson would be leaving the area immediately and I would be receiving a new companion. We were not expecting an emergency transfer, and after a whirlwind of packing, I found myself in the driver's seat of our Ford Fusion with a new companion, Sister Kirkman. She will be my companion for the rest of the transfer and I will be finishing her training. This was not something I expected to happen ever. It has taken a lot of prayer, but we're working together and the Lord is with us every step of the way! I am humbled by this sacred trust from the Lord, and I can feel His hand guiding me. 

Our first night together, we received a phone call from the man I talked about last week (the one who lived in the less active member's apartment and allowed us back to teach his family the Restoration). He asked us if we could come over that night, one night before our scheduled return appointment. We went by and taught them and they committed to be baptized on February 13! Sister Kirkman bore powerful testimony! It was great! We went by again on Saturday to teach them the Plan of Salvation and they loved it. They have wonderful questions and I can hardly wait for their baptism. At church yesterday, Sister Stephens (the mom of the family) told us that she has been looking for something all of her life and has finally found it. THEY LOVE THE GOSPEL AND IT'S ONLY BEEN ONE WEEK! The Lord is preparing the hearts of His people! 

We were part of a small gathering recently in which subjects for sacrament meeting talks were being discussed. Each member of the group gave suggestions, and eventually it was my turn. Without having to stop and consider my response, I answered: "The Restoration." Almost immediately the group was in a quiet uproar. "Do you think there's something we're not teaching our classes?" "Is someone struggling in their testimony?" "Why would you make that suggestion?" I waited for the group to get over their initial shock before I responded. As members of the church, especially if we grew up in member families, we are taught the Plan of Salvation so often that we can almost mouth the words our teacher is saying when we are taught about it yet again. We are taught that we must have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end almost before we can walk! But how many times do we just glaze over the Restoration, making it seem as though it is just another event in church history, instead of the reason FOR church history. How often do we forget that the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the second greatest thing to ever happen on the earth? If we can come to understand that, and help others understand, our testimonies will be built on the solid bedrock of truth!

The blood of the Restoration flows in my veins.

The fire of the Restoration burns deep within my bones.

As a missionary, I have come to know my loving Heavenly Father, who has taught His children His gospel since the very beginning. I have come to know my Father who chose Adam to teach his children the gospel. In like manner, He chose Noah, Abraham, and Moses to lead mankind and teach repentance.I know our loving Heavenly Father who sent His Only Begotten Son to not only lead us and teach us repentance, but to make repentance possible. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can be saved (see Mosiah 3:17). 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul talks of a 'falling away' that must happen before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This falling away happened, and we call it the Great Apostasy. 

I have come to know my Father who, after the foretold falling away, has called prophets today to lead us and teach us repentance.

President James E. Faust said: 

"What has happened to David’s living God? It is the greatest insult to reason to suggest that God, who spoke so freely to the prophets of the Old Testament including Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, and the other prophets, now stands mute, uncommunicative, and silent.

We may well ask, Does God love us less than those led by the ancient prophets? Do we need his guidance and instruction less? Reason suggests that this cannot be. Does he not care? Has he lost his voice? Has he gone on a permanent vacation? Does he sleep? The unreasonableness of each of these proposals is self-evident."

God does not sleep. 

He has not left us alone.

He will never leave us alone.

Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ when they appeared to him in a grove of trees near his home. They did indeed call him to be the Prophet of the Restoration. Through him, Christ restored His gospel. We can learn of it's fulness today. 

After enduring ridicule for his testimony, the Prophet Joseph said: 

"...I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it..."

Joseph knows it. God knows it. And I know it. And I will never deny it. 

Love, 

Sister Waite

I Testify

Dear all, 

What wonderful week it has been! We have seen many miracles and found so many who are so ready and prepared to receive the gospel. We have taught repentance and will baptize converts. We are fulfilling our missionary purpose! 

There are so many stories this week! I don't even know where to begin! I'll share two: 

• We were in search of a less-active member and got lost in her apartment complex. As we were searching, we passed a balcony with a small dog barking at us. Used to dogs, we continued onward, not noticing the much larger dog on the porch next to the balcony. A loud bark split the air and Sister Johnson and I turned to see this dog with it's teeth bared and quickly realized that nothing was restraining it from attacking us. Remembering someone once telling me that the best way to avoid a dog bite is to show the dog you aren't scared, I promptly turned and continued walking as if I didn't care about the dog, bracing myself for pain, Sister Johnson right by my side. We heard the dog run down the stairs, all the while snarling and barking- not something I ever want to hear again. Suddenly (out of literally nowhere), a woman appeared by our side and scolded the dog, who promptly slunk back up the stairs with it's tail between it's legs. Long story short, we didn't die and learned to avoid dogs that don't like us.

• We found this less-active member's apartment, and found out that she didn't live there anymore. But we didn't almost die for nothing! The man agreed to allow us to come back and teach his family. We taught them the Restoration last night and they are so prepared for the gospel! The First Vision left them speechless and they are excited to join us at church on Sunday! 

I learned much about testimony this week. 

When my family lived in Idaho Falls, I remember frequently standing at the pulpit and bearing my testimony on Fast Sunday. I testified of what my little 8 year old heart believed and quickly returned to sit with my family. I do not remember what I said (although I could probably guess), nor am I sure that it really was all that often, but I do remember the feeling of bearing testimony. 

After moving back to St. Johns the summer before fifth grade, the frequency of bearing my testimony diminished almost to nothing. At first it was because I was shy in front of new people, and then it was because I felt shy in front of everyone anyway. I did not feel like I had the words to express what I believed or that I could say anything particularly inspiring. So I sat in the pew and listened. For nearly 9 years. 

Preach My Gospel teaches that a powerful testimony is not dependent on eloquence (thank heavens!) or the volume of your voice but on the conviction of your heart. A testimony is a spiritual witness and assurance given by the Holy Ghost. We are taught that as we testify, we seal the truth of the principles or doctrine we are teaching. 

As a missionary, you have the opportunity to testify often. You do not have the time to shy away or think that you do not have anything to say. It is your privilege and duty to bear testimony to everyone you meet! I admit that the years of silence were difficult for me to shake. I would often find myself drawing back as we approached a door or someone on the street. I have worked hard to overcome that, and I still have work to do, but bearing testimony has become an experience I treasure. 

This week, I had many opportunities to testify. However, it seemed as though each time I opened my mouth, I would get cut off. 

"Joseph Smith was-" 

"The Book of Mormon is a powerful-" 

"Your family can receive-" 

"My family has been-" 

"Jesus Christ is our-" 

Sometimes it was the person we were talking to. 

Sometimes it was my companion. 

Sometimes it was a loud truck that just happened to drive by at that precise moment. 

As the week progressed, I began to wonder if perhaps I was not meant to testify of anything. I began to hold back. I allowed my companion to do the talking. I sat through moments of silence rather than be cut off just one more time. 

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to teach a couple who had visited the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights and wanted to learn more about our family-centered message. That morning in personal study I pored over the scriptures and practiced again and again what I would say. When we sat down to teach them, nothing went according to plan. The questions they asked were not the ones that we had prepared to answer and our train of thought was derailed several times by outside distractions. Finally, the thought came to me to pull out a picture of the Mesa temple. I showed it to the couple and they talked about how beautiful it was and how much they loved the lights. I do not remember the exact words that I said, but I do remember the strength of the Spirit that entered into the room as I testified of eternal families and the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ that makes that possible. I felt again that wonderful feeling of bearing testimony I was so familiar with as a young girl.  We were then able to successfully teach the message of the Restoration. They asked wonderful questions and committed to read from the Book of Mormon. 

As I have come to better understand my purpose as a missionary, I have concluded that in order to fulfill my purpose I must testify at every opportunity. This allows those we are talking to to feel the Spirit and desire it more in their lives. I will never allow myself to miss another opportunity to testify of truth. 

God is our loving Heavenly Father. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins. Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and the instrument used to restore the true gospel of Christ to the earth. The Book of Mormon is powerful evidence of this. Because of the priesthood power that has been restored to the earth, all mankind may take part in the ordinances of salvation, including baptism by proper authority. There are living prophets and apostles who have been chosen by God to lead His children. This gospel has blessed my life, and it can bless your's as well if you will let it. 

Love, 

Sister Waite

Invitations From The Savior

Dear all, 

What a wonderful week of teaching repentance! We did not have our car, and were able to pull our bikes out! (It was a great review of the importance of angular momentum. By the end of the night you really have to focus on keeping that up or you'll fall over. Did I mention that I still love physics? Haha!) Many miracles happened as we were out on our bikes with our lines constantly in the water. 

I made my own birthday cupcakes and I feel like they would have won Cupcake Wars! ha ha!

One stands out in my mind. We were without our car and rode our bikes to a referral's apartment complex in hopes that she would be home and we could deliver the item she requested and teach some repentance. When we got there, the gate was locked and we did not know the code. Never to be discouraged, we realized that the next complex over was the home of a part-member family. We walked over and as we were going up the stairs to their apartment, a man stopped us before we could stop him and told us that he has family in Mississippi who are members. He immediately turned around and called his wife, who came out of their apartment and said "You were supposed to come months ago!" Apparently they had met missionaries a few months back and scheduled an appointment, but they never followed through. They excitedly listened as we taught repentance and then eagerly scheduled a return appointment. We are excited to return and baptize a convert family! 

biking!

Incidentally, the part-member family was not home, and as we walked back to the other apartment complex to retrieve our bikes, a man walked out of the gate and, assuming we were headed inside, held it open for us. Of course we talked to him and he told us that he was lined up for baptism many years ago, but it never happened. We asked him why and he said that he didn't know! We told him that we could make it happen, and he was excited to have us teach him. Exito!

I love this area because I get to pretend that I am fluent in Spanish (just like Zilker Park!) Just yesterday, we were walking in a neighborhood and saw that a family was moving into a house down the block. We rushed over and offered our help... but they only spoke Spanish! We quickly slipped into what little Spanish we know. "Necesita ayudar?" "Aqui?" "Podemos compartir una tarjeta con usted?" "En este pagina de web, puede ver un video sobre Jesu Cristo. Ha nacido un Salvidor!" "Buenos noches!" 

Mi Espanol es muy malo y hablo muy poquito, pero es muy divertido para declarar la palabra de Dios en este idioma! 

These cats.. they were funny.

I promise there are five cats in the picture.

I was studying more about repentance this week, and I came across this verse in 3 Nephi 9: 

"O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?"

I love the Savior's three invitations to us.
1. RETURN UNTO ME

We were recently teaching a returning less active member who did not want to come to church. We could not get her to agree to attend. She told us that she was afraid to return to church after breaking a few commandments. She felt that she was not good enough to worship her Savior at church on Sundays. That just about broke my heart. Then, one miraculous Sunday, she walked into the chapel. She stayed all three hours and when we saw her later that week, she told us that she felt so wonderful and she was never going to miss a Sunday again. She has since attended every Sunday, and is making steps toward the temple. We love her so much. 
The Savior's first invitation in this verse is to return unto Him. He does not ask us to make ourselves perfect before taking steps toward Him. His arm of mercy is extended toward us now (see 3 Nephi 9:14)!

2. REPENT OF YOUR SINS
This is the step that we make seem the hardest of them all. We live in fear of the day that we will have to put forth the effort to change and repent of our sins. We feel as though we are not strong enough to do so or that we do not have enough time. We fear falling back into sin, and so we do not even try to repent in the first place. I think that we sometimes make repentance too complicated in our minds. 
Elder C. Scott Grow said: "When we repent, the Lord allows us to put the mistakes of the past behind us." Isn't this what we all yearn for? It is available through repentance! 
Elder D. Todd Christofferson reassured us all when he said: "Christ died not to save indiscriminately but to offer repentance... and we do not need to achieve some minimum level of capacity or goodness before God will help--divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland adds: "It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes you to say “I’ll change”--and mean it." 
It does not take a great effort or a great amount of time to repent, as long as we truly mean to change. Then repentance and all that comes with it will be sweet to us as we feel ourselves becoming better. 
"There is never a day in any man's life when repentance is not essential to his well-being and eternal progress." -President Spencer W. Kimball

3. BE CONVERTED
This one can also be a little discouraging if thought about in the wrong light. Too often we think of conversion as a single moment of time when we suddenly have an unwavering testimony of truth, but this is not the case. Conversion is a process. As we increase our faith in Jesus Christ and our faithfulness to His gospel, the depth of our conversion will also increase. In order to withstand the devils shafts in the whirlwind, we must build upon the rock of our Redeemer (see Helaman 5:12). As we do this, we are becoming converted. There will not be one single moment when we suddenly know, but rather one long journey of discipleship until we reach our final goal! 

As we accept these invitations, the Savior promises that He will heal us. He will heal us just as He healed those to whom these invitations were originally given (see 3 Nephi 17:6-10). 
May we all heed our Savior's invitation and come a little closer, change a little more, and be a little better! 
Love, 
Sister Waite

Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts

Dear all, 

What a wonderfully beautiful day! The sky is clear and the air is crisp! I can hardly believe that it is already January again! Time flies on wings of lightning! 

This house was insanely decorated! It rivaled Uncle Dana's house (No one tell him I said that! ha ha!)

It's come to my attention that I don't tell enough interesting stories about serving in the TSAM! My mom sent me some questions this week, and I decided to answer them where others can see! 

What do you normally do for breakfast and lunch? 

Well... I make food. Because missionaries like food. Scrambled eggs in the morning, and usually some chicken and veggies for lunch. Except for the last couple of weeks, because we got a lot of Christmas tamales. Those are my favorite things! 

What do you do when appointments cancel? 

We plan ahead and have back up plans. It's a weird balance to find, because you want to have the faith that appointments will happen and not fall through, but you also need to have plans for just in case. It's fun, though! Definitely something that I've learned over time, though. 

Do you knock on doors ever?  

We knock on doors daily. However, I haven't ever had to do any of the "traditional" missionary tracting while here in the TSAM. There are so many less-active members and part-member families to visit! We are also always finding by preaching by the way, so our schedule is always filled with people to visit. We get a lot of media referrals as well. For example, last week, we contacted (meaning we taught them a lesson and delivered the requested content) 10 referrals, and still had 10 who hadn't answered the door/phone. It's incredible! Choosing a street and knocking every door just isn't as effective as these other things we do. Don't get me wrong, though. We knock when we feel prompted to knock. We never pass by a door that the Spirit tells us is important. 

Do you have any favorite members? 

This isn't a fair question and you know that I can't answer it, Mom. Gosh. 

Any interesting stories? 

Last Saturday, our low tire pressure light came on. But... we didn't take care of it as quickly as we should have, and by the time we finally stopped somewhere to fill up our tires (about a week later), it was pouring rain and 40 degrees. But the car wouldn't stop beeping... so we had to do it. It was a lot of fun and everyone else at the gas station thought we were crazy. But all is well now. The crazy life of a missionary. 

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The history is so long! And this is before President Slaughter adds his things!

This week we had a wonderful Mission Leadership Council (where the leaders of the mission-zone leaders, sister training leaders, etc. gather to discuss the needs of the mission). One of the main topics was our missionary purpose. President Slaughter pointed out that the scriptures tell us of a strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life. In order to get onto that path, one must enter through the gate. The gate is repentance and baptism (see 2 Nephi 31:17). Thus, our "laser-focused objective", as he called it, is to teach repentance and baptize converts. 

Coming out of MLC I had two goals. Number one: Floss every day. (The goals you make when your mission president also happens to be a dentist. Don't worry! I'm doing a lot better! Someone tell Dr. Platt! Haha!) Number two, the most important: TEACH REPENTANCE AND BAPTIZE CONVERTS. 

That night we had a lesson with a woman named Patricia. As we taught her the wonderful message of the Restoration, all I could think the whole time was: "Am I teaching repentance so that we can baptize a convert?" As we taught, there were several moments of silence as we allowed Patricia to ponder. We asked her how she felt after hearing of Joseph Smith's experience in the Sacred Grove, and she took a long time to think about it. She finally answered that she could not imagine having that happen to her. It was then that we were able to testify to her that although Christ Himself was not visible in the room, we were His representatives. We invited her to be baptized and she said: "I cannot deny an invitation from my Savior." All was sailing smoothly, until we invited her to church. She told us that she worked only on Saturday andSunday in order to provide for her family and would not be able to worship with us. Immediately, my missionary purpose came to mind: "TEACH REPENTANCE AND BAPTIZE CONVERTS!!" Where in previous months I would have said something like: "Well, that's okay. We'll figure something out," I was able to boldly say: "Patricia, as we teach you, we will invite you to make and keep commitments that show your Father in Heaven that you are willing to accept and live His gospel. One of those commitments is to attend church every week and partake of the sacrament. We realize that it may not seem like that is possible now, but as you move forward with faith, we promise that the Lord will provide a way for you to worship with us each week." I was able to feel such power behind my words as I invited Patrica to repent. I recognize now that there is a better way to do missionary work. It is only as we teach repentance boldy that we will truly be able to baptize converts and build the Lord's kingdom. 

On another occasion, we were teaching a man who likes to teach us. We are usually hesitant to schedule appointments with him, but he usually has read in the Book of Mormon and asks us to teach him more. This time, he allowed us to start teaching him the doctrine of Christ. We were reading in 2 Nephi 31, and as we got to the part where the Nephi talks about the baptism of fire, he suddenly had many questions. We started answering them, but it soon became apparent that he was not interested in learning, but in teaching us how we are wrong. He asked question after question, opening up to Bible verse after Bible verse and would not allow us to continue teaching. I could not think of a way to connect anything he was saying back to the restored gospel. Suddenly, a question popped into my head. "Do you believe the Bible?" I asked. He looked at me, in some sort of shock. I was surpised at his answer: "Well... parts of it. I believe that some of it is the word of God." I almost could not believe it. Here was this man, who was so intent on teaching us about the Bible, and he did not even believe it! It was incredible to be that I was then able to testify that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are scripture-the word of God. I told him that we believe the Bible, and we know that the doctrines contained in it are true. We also believe the Book of Mormon, and believe that teh doctrines contained in it are true. We believe that as we follow the words of scripture, the mysteries of God will be unfolded to our eyes. The man seemed to not be able to speak, and we soon closed with a word of prayer. We aren't sure if we will ever go back there, but I hope that he begins to see the Bible and the Book of Mormon as they truly are. 

There are no neutrals. Once we accept our call to serve, we solidify the choice we made before this life to stay on the Lord's side. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. There is no gray area to step back to and there never was a gray area in the first place. We are on the Lord's side. There is no going back to where we were before, no stepping closer to the dividing line. We have been called to be disciples forever, to continually walk closer to the Lord, and that starts here and now. It starts in knowing who we are and who we can become. We have crossed the line. We are disciples, now and forever.  

I love what it says in Preach My Gospel: "Some chapters in Preach My Gospel focus on what you need to do as a missionary-- how to study, how to teach, how to manage time wisely. Just as vital as what you do, however, is who you are." 

We, as a mission, know what we are to do: TEACH REPENTANCE AND BAPTIZE CONVERTS. Now, as we continue to do so, we must discover who we are and who we can and need to become. We can say that we teach repentance and baptize converts, but until we get to the point that we are actually to believe and internalize that as our purpose, nothing will happen. We must catch the vision of what a disciple of Christ truly is. This is not a temporary calling; this is eternal. 

I can hardly wait to continue teaching repentance and baptizing converts.

Love, 

Sister Waite