Mission Miracles

Our official full time mission is drawing to a close, just one more week. I suppose it's not been nearly as great an adventure as those of some of our friends, who are serving in Vladivostok Russia, Accra Ghana, Sydney Australia, Stockholm Sweden, London England, or even Rochester, New York. We haven't been to real exotic, far away places, with strange sounding names, but we have met many from some of those spots on the globe , who, through the tender mercies of the Lord, have come to us here in Logan. It is the same work, everywhere though. We have seen some miracles and God's hand at work here in our area too.

One of the biggest miracles took place over a long period of time, but after many very low spots and difficult times resulted in a one-of-a-kind baptism last Sunday evening. Shortly after we first moved to Logan and I had been called to serve as the High Priests Group Leader in our ward a gentleman showed up at church one day with his young son. Following my missionary instincts, I went over an introduced myself. He told me that he had been raised LDS and had married in the temple. He was the father of five children, but was now divorced and had been excommunicated. He still believed in the gospel and in the Church, but had made some terrible mistakes which led to a lot of rationalizing, suffering, and eventually to his excommunication. He was a truck driver and often did long hauls, where he might be gone for several days at a time. Over time he kind of warmed up to me as I made a point to visit with him on Sundays when he was in town. His youngest son often came to church with him, though his mother actually had custody of him. I could tell this man truly loved his son. Once, he told me of his wife. He said he still loved her and that she was the best woman he had ever known. Then he said, that he had hurt her very badly along with his family and most of them wanted nothing more to do with him. He felt rotten inside. His problem had begun while he was far from home on a trucking run. He picked up a magazine which was inappropriate. Porn can be so addictive and he was hooked almost from the first time. He couldn't seem to let it go. Then as time went by he would pull into a truck stop and would be solicited by a hooker. He was weak and alone, and this became a pattern for him. Not surprisingly, his faith waned along with his strength to resist and he went into a terrible, ugly, downward spiral which ultimately led to thoughts of hopelessness, and even suicide. Occasionally, he would think of what he had been taught about the Savior's love and the infinite nature of His atonement, but in his mind he found it difficult to believe that he could ever be forgiven. Even after his excommunication though, he felt drawn to the Church. He would attend whenever he could, though he said he felt very uncomfortable being there. He had a desire to participate, but his participation had been restricted because of his excommunication. The next ten years were a roller coaster ride with many more lows than highs. He counseled with his priesthood leaders and others who cared, and as a result he retained a glimmer of hope, though sometimes it seemed to be very faint indeed. Eventually, through his prayers and the prayers of others, and because of the strength and enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, he was able to put away the magazines and the activities which were tearing his life apart and allow the balm of Gilliad, to begin the process of refining and cleansing his sin sick soul. After a lengthy period of testing and proving his resolve to overcome this addiction he was finally given clearance by his priesthood leaders to be re-baptized. We were privileged to be at his baptism, which was performed by his sixteen year old son, a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. All of his family were there. Each of them bore testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and its power to cleanse and to save, no doubt because of a stalwart mother. Their actions and words bore powerful testimony to us of the need for forgiveness and to forgive. Now comes the challenge, which we all face, enduring to the end. I thought of the Savior's parables, especially of the woman at the well, the woman taken in adultery, the lost sheep, and the prodigal son. Who are we to cast the first stone? We can get there from where we are now. We are all sinners and need to repent and allow the power of Christ's infinite atonement to cleanse our souls. Most of us have never committed adultery or murdered anyone, but we have all been taught that no unclean thing can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Perhaps, the small, silent, secret sins, are the ones that will keep us out of the Kingdom of Heaven and from a fullness of the promised joy. May we all look upward to the saving grace of the Lord, and may we all look inward and realize that that saving grace will make up the difference, "after all we can do." I'm feeling grateful, to God, to His Son, for the gospel of repentance, and especially for the unspeakable sacrifice.
wrought by His great LOVE and His infinite ATONEMENT.