I remember the first missionary lesson. I said, “Go ahead, boys, but I can tell you right now, I can never be good enough to be a Mormon!” I told them about my former experiences.
They put these little paper cups upside down on the postum table and they said these represent the other churches; they all have some of the truth. The Baptists believe in baptism by immersion (we believe that too); the Pentecostals believe in speaking in tongues (we believe that too so long as there’s an interpreter); the Catholics believe in the Priesthood coming from the original Apostles (we believe that too); some churches believe in evangelical outreach (we believe that too); some churches believe that Jesus Christ is divine (we believe that too); some churches believe the Holy Ghost was sent by Jesus as He promised (we believe that too); other churches believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy (we believe that too); some believe in paying a full tithe (we believe that too).
Anyway, next thing I noticed is that members of the Church have this certain look about them that’s different. There’s a shining light in the eyes. I noticed it the first time I attended Sacrament meeting.
Then I remembered something my Mom told me when she was with pro-lifers in Anchorage Alaska. There were lots of Mormons in the pro-life group and my Mom had a lot of affection and admiration and appreciation for them and she told me that she felt the Holy Ghost when a pro-life Mormon friend prayed with her.
After I was baptized, I suddenly had to have emergency surgery; there I was on a gourney in a hallway at Kaiser Hospital and my home teacher and a Missionary showed up and gave me a Blessing. I never knew about the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood. I get all emotional about this and the naysayers jump on that to accuse us of emotionalism. Suffice it to say, I came through the surgery and am grateful to Heavenly Father for having mercy on me in my time of need (not that I deserve it, mind you).
I feel sad because I saw LDS Missionaries in Belize; I had seen LDS Missionaries here and there but I never knew what they were doing and I had been told to avoid them because they were full of the devil. My heart now is full of love and respect for those guys. My heros! I love our Church so much.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your testimony, it was interesting to read!
You said that when the LDS missionaries visited you, you said you “can never be good enough to be a Mormon!” I find that really interesting. Did you feel that your salvation was dependent on being “good enough”? And why did you think that?
You also wrote:
“They put these little paper cups upside down on the postum table and they said these represent the other churches; they all have some of the truth. The Baptists believe in baptism by immersion (we believe that too); the Pentecostals believe in speaking in tongues (we believe that too so long as there’s an interpreter); the Catholics believe in the Priesthood coming from the original Apostles (we believe that too); some churches believe in evangelical outreach (we believe that too); some churches believe that Jesus Christ is divine (we believe that too); some churches believe the Holy Ghost was sent by Jesus as He promised (we believe that too); other churches believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy (we believe that too); some believe in paying a full tithe (we believe that too).”
Orthodox Christians also believe in evangelical outreach, that Jesus is divine, that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, and that the Sabbath Day is holy. Views on the priesthood, tongues, baptism, and tithing do differ among denominations and churches. Personally, as an evangelical Protestant, I agree with all the views you agree with above.
I think it’s interesting that the main focus of the missionaries, according to your testimony, was the differences in churches. I have been out “evangelizing” with Christians of different denominations and churches, and I have to say that our message never focused on churches. Although we came from different backgrounds, our message about forgiveness, eternal life, and a personal relationship with God was the same.
I’m glad to hear that you made it through your surgery, and that you were comforted in your time of need.