Week 17


We got dumped on this last couple days. It snowed nonstop for about 2 days straight. And Ohio sucks at plowing the roads. It's sunny outside today but still freezing cold. It got down to 19 degrees yesterday which feels about like 9 degrees with the wind chill. So. Cold. And it's not even Thanksgiving yet...So pray I don't turn into a popsicle out here.

So we are going to Sister Busath's for Thanksgiving, which we are excited for. They said no tracting, but we can hop around to different members' homes and stay as long as we want, so long as we don't overstay our welcome. So we are probably going to eat at the Busaths and hang out for awhile and then go dessert hopping. And then we have another member feeding us Wednesday - they are doing Thanksgiving a day early. So we will have two Thanksgivings basically. And then stop in at several members' homes who invited us over on Thursday. So it should be fun :)

We took the Stamms to the Johnson Home this week. It went SO WELL! Brother and Sister Hale came with us and they were perfect. We touched a little on the three degrees of glory in the Revelation Room, and that really interested Katherine. She wanted to know more about where it is mentioned in the Bible (1 Corinthians 15 if you're wondering too). So they said we could come over and teach them more, and that they were willing to listen and learn. So we are pretty dang excited about that, especially because of the complete turn-around we've seen in them with how open they are to our beliefs. They are just really good people.

Last night was the most intense lesson I've ever had, and probably one of the most intense I will ever have. Michael has been asking SO many questions about the Book of Mormon and about the little things he doesn't quite understand about our church. He sent us a 21-page text message with all his questions. Needless to say we couldn't answer all of them over text so he agreed to meet with us last night, and we invited Brother Hale. He teaches seminary and has a really in-depth knowledge of the scriptures. Earlier this week Brother Sears stopped by and said that he stayed for 3 hours trying to answer his questions, but Michael wasn't satisfied. Of course we had to explain to Michael that sometimes we have to accept God's will and we aren't going to have all the answers he is seeking. But we told him we'd do our best to answer them. His primary question was why God took up the plates so soon after they were translated, and why would he have people write on gold plates rather than papyrus or something less precious. He thought it was out of character for God to do that. And it got pretty heated when he asked all his questions, mainly because he was frustrated that he couldn't get a straight answer. Now just so you all know, we HAVE had the conversation about the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion, and that he has to rely on his feelings more than evidence. We have also had the conversation about how God gives us line upon line, precept upon precept, not all at once. But he really is seeking. Otherwise he wouldn't be so diligent about it and wouldn't have so many questions. There are probably a lot of opinions to be had about the answer to Michael's question, but Brother Hale explained to him that it really was something he would have to ask God himself. And then he told the story of Martin Harris taking the characters to Charles Anthon to be authenticated. (JSH 1: 62-65) He told him also that that was prophesied in Isaiah 29:11-12 (this blew my mind by the way...you should look it up and then read JSH). And then he said, "unfortunately that is all I can give you. The rest is between you and God. Because we don't know." So basically that's just something to think about, not an answer to his question. Think about what Charles Anthon did, and he only had copied characters, not the actual plates. Can you imagine what would have happened had the plates stayed on the earth? What would wicked and "learned" men have done with them? Anyways, Sister Johnson and I said probably a total of 20 words each. Brother Hale and Michael said the rest. It was super intense. We had to leave to make curfew, but Brother Hale told us he stayed till 11:00. We got there at 7:30. Srsly Michael...

So that's the big stuff that happened this week. Sister Johnson tore something in her shoulder so she has to wear a sling. And I got eaten alive by fleas when we stayed the night in Kirtland. So we're both falling apart.

But this week I wanted to share some things I learned from Relief Society yesterday that seemed appropriate, since I think we all need some reassurance now and then. The sister teaching shared a story (which I am paraphrasing) about a boy whose mother was very good at embroidering. He would sit on the floor and watch her as she stitched in the little hoop, and from his point of view it looked messy and terrible. He asked, "mother, what are you doing? Why are you making such a mess of that?" She would reply, "continue playing and go about your business. In a little while I'll show you why." He continued playing on the floor until his mother told him to come and sit in her lap. When he climbed onto her lap he could see the finished project - a beautiful flawless flower. She said, "you see, I was just following a pattern. I had a plan, and I could see that the end result was going to be beautiful." Sometimes during hard times and difficult trials we are tempted to ask Heavenly Father, "what are you doing? This is such a mess!" From our view it may seem so abstract and without direction that it seems hopeless. But Heavenly Father sees what we can become. He has a pattern for our lives, and He knows that the end result will be beautiful. President Monson gave a really good talk on this concept in this last October conference. He said, "I cannot begin to measure all of the heartache and sorrow I have witnessed as I have visited with those who are dealing with grief, experiencing illness, facing divorce, struggling with a wayward son or daughter, or suffering the consequences of sin...Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were--better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before." He then quotes a poem, which says,

Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger the wind, the stronger trees.

The further sky, the greater length.

The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.

He says it so much better than I could have :) I know that Heavenly Father has saved us to be on this earth at this time. He knows we are strong enough to handle the difficult things that come our way in this lifetime, especially in our day when sin is so acceptable. And I promise that as we persevere through trials, the end result WILL be beautiful. I'm still working on it myself, and I have a heck of a long way to go. But I know it will be worth it in the end!

Hope you are all doing well. I miss and love you!

Love

Tayler

PS - This one-way communication thing is no fun. Some of you need to write me more. You know who you are!