"Happy Birthday to me, and happy 10 month mark to me! Yup, I have been on the mission for ten months, and I have been in the world for 22 years. Time flies! Things have been a little weird over here in Sunrise Manor, usually people just welcome us in with open arms and want to get baptized but lately everyone invites us to their house and then they aren't home. So we have just been praying and working hard. One morning this week we are just wrapping up studies and a member calls us. She says "There are some people at my house that want to talk to you. Will you please come over?" So we praised the heavens because it's a missionaries dream to have a member refer someone. We get there and meet this really nice couple. Then we sit down to talk to them. They tell us that their aunt is going to do baptism for the dead and they would really like to learn more about that. We explain that we would like to start with a prayer. The man quickly says that he would love to say the prayer. In the prayer he says "Please bless us Lord that this won't lead to confrontation and that we'll be able to get along." Massive red light right there. Then I turned to 1 Corinthians 15 and explain how one of Apostles duties is to keep the teachings of the church pure. In this chapter Paul is telling the people that they've changed the doctrine and we explain that he is clearly teaching the people that they've changed the doctrine of baptism for the dead. The man quickly dismissed that because he knew that we were right. He then turns to Titus. This is when things got heated for him. He starts reading all to us about false teachers and about how young women need to just listen and not speak. He has this new age bible that is all changed. It clearly has been changed. He has two different kinds of Bibles on the table. Then he made me read out of the Bible where it says that we can't change or add to the scriptures and then pointed to my scriptures and says "You added." Let me just say the Book of Mormon is not changing or adding to the Bible. They are two separate books of holy scripture. Then this man had the nerve to go off, and say that clearly my parents don't love me if they would let me come all the way to Vegas where anyone could just attack me. We just sat there without a expression on our faces. Then he went off trying to ask me the day that I was saved, what was the date? He was really nervous for me that I couldn't think of a single date that I was "saved." In closing we just bore our testimony with all the power and authority that we could muster and then I prayed. In the prayer it was so funny because words just came out. I was saying how thankful we are for the Book of Mormon and a living prophet; all the things that he just bashed.
So that was the craziest thing that happened this week. I wish I could have recorded it so I could tell you all in greater detail how insane it was but my testimony grew from that like none other. First I was so happy that he pointed out to me that my parents love the Lord more than they are worried about my safety. Also that my parents love our Savior and the sacrifice He made for us more than being so stressed about keeping their child home. That they have such a pure love of the gospel that they knew that it was more important for their daughter to share that with people. So thank you crazy man. Also thank you for reinforcing my testimony of the living prophet, and the need to follow he's guidance. Thank you for making me realize just how grateful I am for the Book of Mormon; that it hasn't been changed by people, that it's pure, and people can't change it how ever they want. Thank you for the Spirit that just takes over and lets me bear my testimony with every ounce of the gift of Holy Ghost that I have and for letting me realize just how powerful that gift is. So in closing: the church is so true! So, so, so, true!"
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