The Power of the Spirit

Sent on 1/12/15

Last Friday, we had the wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime (practically) opportunity to have a mission-wide discussion with an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Elder David A. Bednar visited us here in the Colorado Denver North Mission. We all expected to hear him speak for 3 hours straight, but what he ended up doing was quite the turn of events. One of the very first things he said was to not write down anything he says. He said, instead, to listen to his words but write down only what we learn from the Spirit. He was only there to facilitate the discussion. He asked us questions and we asked him questions in return. We discussed gospel topics. We heard him speak but, ultimately, learned from the Holy Spirit. I left the meeting feeling edified and understanding more of how to learn by the Spirit and, in turn, how to teach by the Spirit.

What a privilege!

What happened later that night was another miracle. After we had dinner with a member family, we headed out to the families we planned to visit. But, as we walked out, a part-member couple that lived in the same neighborhood came to my mind. I suggested we visit this couple since they live in the same neighborhood. Sister Tu'i agreed. We drove up to their door really not thinking anything of it and walked up. We knocked. After a little while, a woman opened the door as if she didn't expect to see us. She said she just put the kids to sleep. Oh, that's alright, we can visit another time. Then I asked her how many kids she has. She said, "Oh, I don't have any kids."

Awkward.

She said, "I'm not a Mormon. I'm just not a Mormon." We were standing on her doorstep freezing so she invited us in. As the night went on, she eventually opened up about how she doesn't understand repentance. She doesn't understand how easy it is to be forgiven of your sins. We explained to her about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We shared our own personal experiences with forgiveness. The Spirit was so strong. Everyone, I mean everyone was crying. Even her less-active husband was crying. They both thanked us for coming and for bringing the Spirit into their home. I expressed to her how we didn't even plan to visit them that night. It was just a simple thought, oh, let's go visit this couple in the neighborhood, and it brought us there at the perfect time.

I love being guided by the Spirit. The discussion with Elder Bednar about always having the Spirit there to learn and to teach prepared us for that night. The Spirit is Heavenly Father's most personal way of helping us. I know it's real!

Sister Wen