Monday, July 27, 2015

How long does it take to gain a testimony?


How long does it take to gain a testimony? My mission president posed this question this week. His answer has got me thinking a lot! He said it literally only takes a matter of seconds for someone to gain a testimony. If you think about it...he's right. Different people take different paths and the events that lead up to someone gaining a testimony take a variety of different time frames. But for every person, the tender moments when the spirit pierces their heart and lets them know that the church is true.....that only takes a matter of seconds. When that person is ready and their heart is open to recognize and receive that spiritual confirmation it only takes a matter of seconds. BOOM! That blew my mind!!!

I got to watch this happen right before my eyes this week....and this is why I LOVE being a missionary.....

So we started teaching the D couple a few weeks ago. They are friends with the members that we live with so we have a good relationship with them. This past week, they were coming to have the Plan of Salvation lesson with us, but Mr. D stayed home. Instead, Mrs. D came with their daughter M. And M is the miracle. As we taught the plan of Salvation, I could just see the spirit working on her. Her face lit up with every point we taught... then she would ask a question.... and many times she said "That's exactly what I believe." When we taught about the spirit world... she had lots of questions. And we had answers to all of them! After answering, it was so tender to see her get a little emotional and tell us...."you have all the answers that I have been looking for. 10 years ago I began asking these same questions, and no one has ever given me an answer....until today." The Lord has been preparing her for 10 years. And for 10 years she has been on the search for truth! M literally just walked into our house. We had no idea she was living with her parents or that she was even going to come to the lesson. But the Lord knew. And thank goodness she came! She felt the spirit that day. She got so excited when we told her we could meet with her again! So a few days later, we met with M again and shared the message of the Restoration with her. She was nervous coming into this lesson because she told us she has heard some wacky things about Joseph Smith. But like I said, it only takes a few seconds to gain a testimony. And this happened for M during our lesson. We were talking all about the Restoration and how it fit in perfectly with the Plan of Salvation...it's all part of God's plan! The church needed to be restored. She had a lot more questions and once again, the spirit was so strong. I was blessed to be able to share with her Joseph Smith's first vision in his own words... we asked her how she felt afterwards and she said she couldn't even keep eye contact with me because she could see and feel the spirit radiating as we shared the first vision. Amazing. So we finish the lesson and we say the closing prayer. As soon as we said "amen" M says...."Guess what came into my head as soon as she began praying?" We were all anxious to hear... so she continues and says "I heard in my head 'He was a prophet'...Joseph Smith was a prophet." That was amazing! We originally asked M to say the closing prayer and ask if Joseph Smith was a prophet..but she felt uncomfortable doing that. So my companion prayed... but even without M praying, God still sent her an answer. She wanted to know and it only took a couple seconds for her to know that Joseph Smith is a prophet. Earlier in the lesson, she was asking us about standards and what would have to change if she became a member. After this tender experience with the spirit testifying to her, she said "Looks like I better start learning about those standards.." God is so good. Heavenly Father loves every single one of us SO much!! It's amazing. I was overwhelmed just watching this happen right before my eyes. M is prepared. And I felt so strongly that Heavenly Father LOVES her and wants her to know the truth. Miracles happen!!!

We are continuing to meet with M this week and she is so excited. I am excited to see what more the Lord has in store for her! We've also continued teaching R. She is preparing for her baptism in a couple weeks! Our ward is so supportive. It's gonna be great! She is going to girls camp this week and I know she's gonna feel the spirit so strongly there! R is also prepared. She's been prepared for a while. And it's all because of members that we are even teaching R or M or any of the other people we teach! Members make all the difference in helping us find people to teach. 

Well, I have seen countless miracles on my mission. I could sit here all day and tell you all about them! But we've got limited time and work to do. So take care and don't forget...Heavenly Father loves you all DEARLY. 

xoxo

Sister Hoer

Last p-day we went golfing.

The sister we lived with in Fountain took us to this cute Diner.

Love this sweet family!

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