The Human Experience

Today I got to sit in a missionary teaching appointment. The investigator is a 19/20 year old young man who is married and works at the local feed store. He does not like the word "investigator", he doesnt like sitting in the middle, he doesnt like reading out loud, and he doesnt like praying in front of people. However, he is an amazing young man. He really wants to know the fullness of the Gospel. Though he is goofy you could feel the spirit. It seemed like I was just there to sit (when Sisters are teaching a male there has to be 3 people present for that one investigator, but it was such a humbling experience. We watched "The Restoration" movie and though I have seen that movie a million times something always sticks out to me. This time, it was the preacher that Joseph Smith would talk to. It was interesting because this Preacher is challenging the people to find the truth for themselves and that is what Joseph did! When Joseph had his first vision the Preacher told him that revelation did not happen anymore, that God didnt talk to us. These were a few thoughts:

"Was the Preacher jealous that Joseph had a vision and not him?"
"Did the Preacher ever give the Book of Mormon a chance?"
"Did he have the faith that he preached about?"
"Did he ever join the church?"

I would like to know who the Preacher was and see if he ever did join the Church. It would be interesting. After the movie the Sisters talked to the investigator about Joseph and asked him if he had any questions. He didnt. They asked if he wanted to get baptized. He said he wanted to know more first, that he wanted a full understanding before joining. I shared my testimony with him and said he wont be able to have a full understanding, we always learn. I told him I joined at 13 but didnt really accept it until I was 17, almost 18. It was so amazing to him he say he reads 1 page from the Book of Mormon a night, that he feels at peace on Sundays because he is going to church, and even though his wife doesnt agree he thinks more clearly about everything and it gives him patience. I love this gospel! What joy it brings!! It was also a nice sneak peak into what I will be up against. (:

Later at home I watched the last 45 minutes of the documentary with my mom called, "The Human Experience". It is about a group of young men going through different phases and getting to know people. I am going to watch it sometime so I can get the beginning. I loved at the end that it said when it comes down to our experiences its about the family. There were so many different types of religious and other people adding that testimony of the family. That IS what it is about.
The most important thing that stuck out to me though was from a man with aids in Africa. One of the young men asked him how he is able get through his life and he replied, "By giving thanks to God. If He lets me wake up the next day, he has something for me to do." What an amazing statement! The Lord has something for me to do! He needs me and my hands to do His work. From this day forward I will remember this statement!