On Dying and Living

In the mission there are many sayings to parallel life. When a young missionary comes into the field, they are born and their first senior companion is their father or mother. When a missionary leaves for home, he is said to have died and his last companion is like an undertaker, preparing him for death.

Chrise and I have about 3 and half weeks in the mission. Suddenly, there is not enough time to get everything done that we want to get done. So many people we want to see and investigators that we want see baptized. Its eerie to realize that practically everyone left in the mission will outlive us in a mission sense (and probably in a secular sense too). This week we began training our replacements in the office.  We will be replaced by three elders since there are no missionary couples available.

Even in our last weeks the Lord continues to bless us. We have been working with a young woman for several weeks. Her husband is a member and she has come to Church for several years, but has resisted the teachings of many missionaries. I started our discussion today by asking her what doubts she might have to prevent her from being baptized. She talked about her traditions learned in the Catholic Church since she was child. I told her that I love the Catholic Church and that there is a difference between beliefs and traditions. We are not here to take away the truths that she has, but to build upon them. I asked her if she believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet and he restored the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. She said yes. I asked her if she believed there was a living prophet today upon the earth and to this she also said yes. She also affirmed that she was willing to obey all of the commandments. Finally, we read together the following verses from the Book of Mormon:

Mosiah 18

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

 9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

 10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

In response, tears wet her eyes and she said that is what she wanted. As we die in the mission field, someone will begin a new life.