Dear family and friends,
Hope all is well back at home! Sorry for not being able write the last few weeks have been crazy! We have definitely had some highs and lots of lows these past couple of weeks! To be fair a lot of crazy things have happened! About a month ago we met a man from Ireland by the name of Darrough! He was way prepared for the gospel! Darrough had a big belief in God, grew up with a strong Christian background, but never new what church he wanted to join?! His mom was Catholic and his dad was Methodist so growing up he was taught a lot of different things which kind of confused him! We started teaching him and he loved it, he started coming to church and began progressing really well! About a week before his baptism he called us over to his house. When we got to his house he had told us one of his really close friends from Ireland was over and he wanted to talk to us about something. I walk in and his close friend ended up being a catholic priest. My heart dropped! I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen next! We sat down and Darrough started giving us this long spill about how is friend had told him a bunch of things about Mormons which all of them were wrong like they always are. He than began to share with us how Mormons can't be right because everything we need to know is revealed to us in the bible, therefore there doesn't need to be any more revelation or prophecy. Long story short, he told us that he basically he just didn't think Mormons were for him and he was just going to stick to being Catholic! I didn't know what to say? My companion and I were stunned! The room was silent as I raced through my thoughts to try to come with a good response! My first thought was to try to answer all those things his friend had told him about Mormons, but something just held me back. It didn't feel right! Then a scripture that I had read earlier that week popped into my head:
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto
me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
I shared my testimony with him and probably bore the most heart felt testimony I ever have in my whole life!! I told him and bore witness that God still speaks to his children today and not only are the heavens open, that we can still receive prophecy and revelation today. I told him revelation is crucial in our lives, and it is something we must believe in to be able to have a testimony of Jesus Christ! I told him that I knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he in fact did indeed restore Christ's church and the fullness of the gospel back to the earth! I knew it! I could not deny it because I have felt it in my heart so strongly! I told him to follow his heart and that if he sincerely wanted to know the truth ask God and he will tell you and don't go to man to find your answers follow your heart Darrough and he will never lead you astray! Then we said a prayer and left! After that we never heard from him! I thought he had just forgotten about us! Three weeks had gone by and we were walking though town at night when we heard someone call out "Elders!". I turned around and it was Darroug! I didn't think anything of it and turned around and waved. He walked up to us and asked us how we were were doing? Then he told us he had been thinking a lot since we had last left his home. He started getting really emotional and he turned to me and said, "Elder Tuita, that night as you were talking I felt something I could not explain, and I've been thinking a lot and praying a lot, and well..." right then he started to stutter. Then he looked me in the eyes and said, "I know it's true! Elder Tuita, I want you to baptize me!". I was shocked! I didn't know what to say or what to do? Elder Mctavish and I were just quiet and stunned! Then he put his hand out and said, "Is that alright?". I grabbed his hand, and he brought me in for a hug (the Irish are big huggers) and I told him I would be honored! We went back to his house that night talked some more, I was still in shock over what had just happened!! Heavenly Father that night showed me just how powerful a testimony can be! It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes how Brigham Young’s search for the truth of God was finally resolved by the sincere and simple testimony of a “man without eloquence … who could only say, ‘I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord.’” Said President Young, “The Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me”
Hope you all have a great week!
Love elder tuita
Hope all is well back at home! Sorry for not being able write the last few weeks have been crazy! We have definitely had some highs and lots of lows these past couple of weeks! To be fair a lot of crazy things have happened! About a month ago we met a man from Ireland by the name of Darrough! He was way prepared for the gospel! Darrough had a big belief in God, grew up with a strong Christian background, but never new what church he wanted to join?! His mom was Catholic and his dad was Methodist so growing up he was taught a lot of different things which kind of confused him! We started teaching him and he loved it, he started coming to church and began progressing really well! About a week before his baptism he called us over to his house. When we got to his house he had told us one of his really close friends from Ireland was over and he wanted to talk to us about something. I walk in and his close friend ended up being a catholic priest. My heart dropped! I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen next! We sat down and Darrough started giving us this long spill about how is friend had told him a bunch of things about Mormons which all of them were wrong like they always are. He than began to share with us how Mormons can't be right because everything we need to know is revealed to us in the bible, therefore there doesn't need to be any more revelation or prophecy. Long story short, he told us that he basically he just didn't think Mormons were for him and he was just going to stick to being Catholic! I didn't know what to say? My companion and I were stunned! The room was silent as I raced through my thoughts to try to come with a good response! My first thought was to try to answer all those things his friend had told him about Mormons, but something just held me back. It didn't feel right! Then a scripture that I had read earlier that week popped into my head:
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto
me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
I shared my testimony with him and probably bore the most heart felt testimony I ever have in my whole life!! I told him and bore witness that God still speaks to his children today and not only are the heavens open, that we can still receive prophecy and revelation today. I told him revelation is crucial in our lives, and it is something we must believe in to be able to have a testimony of Jesus Christ! I told him that I knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he in fact did indeed restore Christ's church and the fullness of the gospel back to the earth! I knew it! I could not deny it because I have felt it in my heart so strongly! I told him to follow his heart and that if he sincerely wanted to know the truth ask God and he will tell you and don't go to man to find your answers follow your heart Darrough and he will never lead you astray! Then we said a prayer and left! After that we never heard from him! I thought he had just forgotten about us! Three weeks had gone by and we were walking though town at night when we heard someone call out "Elders!". I turned around and it was Darroug! I didn't think anything of it and turned around and waved. He walked up to us and asked us how we were were doing? Then he told us he had been thinking a lot since we had last left his home. He started getting really emotional and he turned to me and said, "Elder Tuita, that night as you were talking I felt something I could not explain, and I've been thinking a lot and praying a lot, and well..." right then he started to stutter. Then he looked me in the eyes and said, "I know it's true! Elder Tuita, I want you to baptize me!". I was shocked! I didn't know what to say or what to do? Elder Mctavish and I were just quiet and stunned! Then he put his hand out and said, "Is that alright?". I grabbed his hand, and he brought me in for a hug (the Irish are big huggers) and I told him I would be honored! We went back to his house that night talked some more, I was still in shock over what had just happened!! Heavenly Father that night showed me just how powerful a testimony can be! It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes how Brigham Young’s search for the truth of God was finally resolved by the sincere and simple testimony of a “man without eloquence … who could only say, ‘I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord.’” Said President Young, “The Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me”
Hope you all have a great week!
Love elder tuita
