Dear all,
What a wonderful week in the mission field! So full of change! I received a new companion. I love Sister Kirkman with all my heart, and she is missed greatly. My new companion's name is Sister Paul! She has been in the field for just over 3 weeks, but you wouldn't know it unless she told you! She is incredible! I can hardly wait to continue to learn from her!
We've seen many miracles this week! We were contacting a referral this week, and they said they weren't interested, but that we should knock on their neighbor's door! Of course we did! The woman answered hesitantly. We told her who we were, and before we could get much farther, she said "Mormons?" We nodded, and she swung the door open as far as she could, shouting at us to come in! She was so excited! Apparently she had been taking the lessons a few years ago and was on track for baptism, but then she moved and got lost. She was so excited! She asked us when she could be baptized! We are so excited for her!
We also had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday. For the first time in my life, I was the concluding speaker. The youth speaker and Sister Paul each took about 5 minutes. I looked at the clock and saw that there was still a good 25 minutes left in the meeting. As the choir sang a special musical number, I decided that I would only speak for the 10 minutes they had asked me to, but I looked over at the Bishopric (a mistake on my part, really) and the 2nd counselor managed to sign to me that he wanted me to speak longer. I was terrified, because I had only prepared 10 minutes, but it was interesting to speak the thoughts that the Lord put into my heart. I'd love to share them with you:
"Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. In Their infinite and eternal love, They called him to be the Prophet of the Restoration. Through him, They restored every truth, every principle, and every priesthood key necessary for our salvation. At some point, every single one of us in this room has felt the truth of this to some degree, or else we wouldn't be here.
When I was a junior in high school, I had the opportunity to visit the Sacred Grove. My seminary took a group of his students, and we visited church history sites for two weeks. The way the trip lined up, we visited the Sacred Grove during the second week. I was so excited. I just knew that if I could visit that wonderful place, I would gain a powerful testimony. I was counting the days! When we finally made it to Palmyra, we were taken to the grove and Brother Greer turned us loose. I found myself a quiet place and opened my scriptures. I read in Joseph Smith-History and began to pray. Then I waited. And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I can still picture the place I was sitting. I can see the trees and feel the misty air. I can hear the birds and smell the fresh scent of nature. And I was sitting there; waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
I remember thinking, "Maybe I didn't ask hard enough." So I asked again.
And again.
And again.
And I waited.
And waited.
Pretty soon it was time to leave. I knew that I would probably never be able to visit that sacred place again, and I didn't want to leave... I hadn't received the witness I so desired yet! I was one of the last stragglers onto the bus. I sat in my seat and listened to my peers tell of their incredible experiences in the grove. I sat in silence.
That night I prayed and asked why. Why didn't I get an answer in the grove? It just wasn't fair. I listened to all of my friends tell the story of their spiritual experiences, didn't I deserve one, too? What had I done wrong?
I will never forget the answer I received that night. It was as if my Heavenly Father were right next to me, lovingly saying: "Sister Waite, you already know. You have read, pondered, and prayed about the Book of Mormon. You have prayed about Joseph Smith. You received the answers you were seeking. Was that not enough?"
I think that too often we make our testimonies conditional, saying things like: "If I can visit the Sacred Grove, I'll know that the gospel was restored through Joseph Smith," or "I won't know that President Monson is the Prophet of the Lord today until I shake his hand and look into his eyes," or "Until I kneel at Christ's feet, I won't really know that He is my Savior." This should never, ever be the case. We can know it now.
Brothers and Sisters, I love you. God loves you. And because He loves you, He has restored His gospel to this earth! Because of this Restoration, we have a knowledge of the covenants that the Lord has made with our fathers and are able to partake of those blessings. We have the opportunity to make covenants ourselves! What a wondrous blessing!
There is a verse of scripture that has absolutely changed the way I see the word of the Lord. Jeremiah 20:9 reads:
"... his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay."
Brothers and Sisters, the fire of the Restoration is shut up deep within my bones and I cannot put it out. I cannot stay any longer. Because of my knowledge and testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have been converted and cannot stay the same any longer. I cannot stay my tongue in declaring this glorious message!"
I love this work with all of my heart! I can hardly believe it has been nearly 14 months!
I love you all!
Love,
Sister Waite
