*Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap!*
Elder Thompson's 3000 words-a-minute rattled throughout the office. Elder Anderson suspected that, in a face off, his red-headed companion would ream him in a typing contest, but he never said anything about it. He was glad to be serving with him and thought he was the best companion anyone could have, especially at this time of the year.
With Christmas fast approaching, the weather also moved into position and proceeded to dump a foot of snow on the whole Czech republic, rendering everything white, fluffy, and surprisingly dry since it was so cold - nothing could melt and get wet! The Elders were grateful that the weather was just right for the winter, since nothing is worse than cold and wet and windy. Cold, dry, and windy is at least a workable environment, and everything looked so good covered in snow and ice.
They'd had some misadventures that week getting stuck in the snow and having to shovel continually in order to keep the mission home from getting buried, planning conferences for the up and coming week on the road (Sidenote: P-Day next week won't be happening for us due to conferences and travel, so the next installment in the Adventures of Elder Anderson will be a day or two late), and teaching some really powerful lessons with some of their investigators and recent converts. Two particular experiences were gems for the Elders that they were sure to remember and keep a hold of, as they demonstrated the care Heavenly Father has for His children and how each of us can pass that love on to others.
The first happened last weekend. The Elders had returned from finding efforts around Prague and crashed in the office, with a few minutes before they had to be home. They decided to take a look at ways they could inspire and bless Jirka, ways they could help him see that by choosing to act the Lord would bless him with answers.
In the midst of studying and looking up scriptures, talks, and quotes, a phone rang. Surprised, the Elders wondered "What Czech makes phone calls after the deathly late hour of 8 PM?" The caller ID read "Dan", a young single adult member they knew very well. They answered the phone, and the conversation sounded something like this.
Missionaries: "Hello?"
Jirka: "Hello, it's me, Jirka."
M: "Hi Jirka! How are things?"
J: "Dobře. So, Dan and I have been talking...and....well, you see...It's like this..."
The missionaries were uneasy - they knew this kind of conversation. It either meant that things were going to turn out incredibly well or really, really bad....
J: "We've been talking about the whole baptism thing, and I told Dan that I just don't know if I can do it...it's just...I don't know..."
The missionaries were on edge...they hung on every syllable of his clean sounding czech accent, anxious to find out what this was all about!
J: "After talking it over, everything...I told Dan a lot of my doubts and fears about this whole thing, and...well...."
It seemed like an eternity for the Elders. While a clean accent, Jirka tended to speak with a lot of pauses...
J: "...I've decided it's time to go ahead with things. Is the 11th of December okay?"
M: "...."
J: "Hello? Are you there?"
M: "Yes! Yes we're still here Jirka! We're just speechless, is all. The eleventh sounds great!!! How about we meet tomorrow after Church to hammer out some details, eh?"
J: "Okay....I don't know what to say about all this now, so....here's Dan, talk to him."
After a bit of arrangement and some scheduling, Jirka, the branch, and the missionaries settled on the 18th of December. After two long years of struggling with testimony and indecision, despite being highly active in the branch and coming on time to every activity because he loved the people and the atmosphere, Jirka decided to get baptized.
But the story doesn't end there: This is the good part.
The next day, they met with Jirka after church. Jirka was bolder and more self-assured than ever, and he began to tell of his experience the night before riding the train home after his late-night conversation with Daniel.
He said that while in the train, he was pondering on the things they'd talked about and on the restoration. And, all at once, he felt something, a warmth and a peaceful, joyful feeling rest upon him. He was surprised, and didn't know quite what it meant. Then it became clear to him and a thought materialized in his head: "The Book of Mormon is True"
Pleasantly surprised, he related how that feeling lingered with him for several hours that night, and he felt as well as knew the things he'd been learning were true. The feeling left him quickly, however, when he started entertaining doubts he'd had before, and he lost the feeling. He felt alright at that sunday meeting with the missionaries, but he had only one desire: "How can I maintain that feeling?"
The missionaries established a plan with him, they helped him develop strategies to combat the adversary's doubts and lies, and they gave him the assignment to read the first part of the Joseph Smith History.
The next evening they had another meeting with him, and he came with a smile on his face. It was just after a powerful family home evening lesson on the history of the church in the czech republic, a discussion led by two older members who had participated in organizing the church under communism and in bringing materials across the border, including dark crimson copies of the Book of Mormon with the letters KM on the front, which stand for "Karl Marx", "Communist Manifesto" (In czech "Komunistický manifest"), and "The Book of Mormon" ("Kniha Mormonova"), and which enabled them to get the books into the country disguised as party materials.
Jirka enjoyed the review of his country's history relative to the Church, and he recognized that there was too much on the line for these people to not know that the book of mormon was true. He then related how, the night before after our lesson, he had had a similar experience to the one he'd had on Saturday, but this time the thought was "Joseph Smith was a Prophet". The agreement between his mind and his heart was seen, and he knew that it was true.
The missionaries then took the time to teach him a profound doctrine, one that was vital for everyone to understand. In fact, President Irwin had outlined this idea in a recent letter to the missionaries as follows:
Sometimes we (mankind) want results without work. That's backward. As Robert Anthony once observed, you can't stand in front of your fireplace and demand, "Give me heat, then I'll give you wood." Many want to wait for a revelation before they go anywhere, but perhaps revelation requires a little action first. Sometimes you have to get going before you get guidance.
John Bytheway has said "I've always loved the story of the healing of the ten lepers recorded in Luke. When they asked the Saviour for mercy, he told them to "Go" and shew (themselves) unto the priests" (Luke 17:14). Jesus' instructions are interesting because visiting the priests is what lepers would be required to do after they were healed in order to be readmitted to society. But Jesus asked them to find the priests before they were healed. The lepers might have responded. "We can't show ourselves to the priests, we're not healed yet ! " Instead they decided to "go and do" what Jesus suggested. Luke records, "And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14). The scripture doesn't say "And it came to pass, that as they just stood there, they were cleansed." It says, "As they went they were cleansed." As someone once said, "God cannot steer a parked car."
With Jirka, he received the evidence of things unseen after he had chosen to act. The truthfulness of his act was made manifest in his choice to go ahead and act on what he had, and the Lord richly blessed him for it.
The Elders were pleased, and were excited for the next week. They took time to make some goals to apply this themselves, to "make the first move" and reap the blessings for it.
As the tired Elders laid down that night, they felt good about what they'd done. And they were happy.
Love,
Elder Brent Anderson
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