Marsha's Miracle

This has been one of the happiest weeks of my life! This week Sister Trawick and I have been blessed so much! So after the miracle of being led to happen upon Marsha at her apartment in the beginning of September, we continued meeting with her about once a week throughout the month. She started the Book of Mormon and fell in love with it! (After we helped her to see that the Book of Mormon does indeed contain the teachings of Jesus Christ- she loves 3 Nephi, especially). :) She expressed that she had always wondered about Jesus Christ ministering to other people besides in Jerusalem and surrounding areas, and she said she hoped so much that it's true! She read fourteen chapters of 3 Nephi in three days, then started from the beginning, studying carefully and praying every day to ask God if it's His word. She said she hadn't received a clear answer yet, but that God did tell her, keep reading. So that's what she plans to do! She trusts God and His timing so much, which I truly admire! At one point in a lesson, we invited her to be baptized. However, she did not understand why she would need to be baptized again, in this church, and we realized that she still did not understanding the need for the priesthood or a modern prophet. We tried to explain, but her confusion remained and our time was up, so we said we would address it the next time. During this past week, Sister Trawick and I prayed and studied diligently each day to know how to best help Marsha understand those vital doctrines and concepts. We prayed that she would receive answers to her prayers and have a desire to be baptized with the proper authority. When we finally met with her this week, I felt that although we had no idea what would happen, that we were spiritually prepared and the Spirit would guide us. We began discussing her concerns and reading some scriptures. Brooke Mcsheehy, a returned Sister missionary in our ward, was with us and asked, "Have the sisters talked with you about General Conference?" Marsha said yes, but that she didn't feel comfortable watching something like that when she didn't yet agree with the idea of modern prophets. A thought came to mind that we could show her just a clip right then and there. Marsha agreed, and Brooke pulled up the only video of a conference talk that was already downloaded on her phone, "Loving Others and Living With Differences," by Dallin H. Oaks. We listened for about seven minutes, and I told Marsha we could pause whenever she wanted. "Just a few more minutes," she said. When she finally paused it, she said she hadn't wanted to stop listening, that she had never heard anyone speak that way before, and that she believed everything he had said. She recognized that he was speaking God's words, with His power and authority! She was so excited!! We testified to her that Elder Oaks is truly called by God and that he was indeed speaking God's words. Then she agreed to have us over to watch the Saturday morning session of conference with her!

The next day she said she had been listening to old conference talks all evening, and that her questions were being answered! We watched a session of general conference with her and afterwards she expressed that she knew every man and woman who spoke had spoken God's words with His power, and that she was filled with the spirit and the love of God. She said she now completely understands the need for modern day prophets and leaders, as well as priesthood authority. She said she had given up looking for a church like this because she thought she had looked everywhere- now she feels like a hole has been filled in her heart! She said, "People have always known me to be a happy person, but now I really have something to be happy about!" I will always remember the image of her grinning with tears in her eyes as she recognized the witness that she had received that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's church on the earth, the same church established by Jesus Christ and restored through Joseph Smith. Now understanding the priesthood, she accepted the invitation to be baptized! She is so excited!!! I AM SO HAPPY FOR HER!!!! This morning we helped her officially move, and today when she unloads the truck in Georgia, the missionaries will be there to help- little do they know what's coming for them, the lucky ducks! I wish I could see her through her baptism, but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me to be part of this incredible experience! My faith in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, the Priesthood, and the restored truths of the gospel have been strengthened so much. It was absolutely no coincidence, but a miracle, that God led us to knock on Marsha's door and that in one short month she is ready to make eternal covenants with Heavenly Father. I now truly understand the powerful feelings described in Doctrine and Covenants 18:15: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" I know this God's work and that He lives!