It has been a great week here in Altus, Oklahoma. In the past couple of days, I have been pondering a particular question about the Savior and the importance of the Restoration of His Church in our lives. As I was studying this morning, I came across a passage of scripture in the 14th chapter of John that led me to a small but incredible insight. John 14:6 reads: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

One of the most common questions we are asked as missionaries here in Oklahoma is: “If Jesus is the way, then why is there a need for organized religion?” As I read the above scripture this morning, I had one of those “light bulb” moments and an answer to that question. We often see the bumper sticker, “What Would Jesus Do?" A question of similar importance is, "What DID Jesus Do?" What did Christ do while he was here on the earth? The answer that came to my mind was that He established a church - His Church. I’m not referring to real estate, but to the basic doctrines and principles that we need to follow and live by to find peace and joy in this life, and the sacred ordinances that lead to  exaltation, God''s greatest gift. 

The answer to the question, “If Jesus is the way, then why is there a need for organized religion?” is this: We believe, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that the doctrines and ordinances in Christ’s Restored Church are the “way.” The “way” that John was speaking of in the above scripture. After Christ’s death, and because of apostasy, the pure doctrines and ordinances of His Church were lost. Christ’s true Church and priesthood authority from God was taken from the earth. In 1820, however, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ restored His Church back to the earth with all the doctrines, ordinances, and priesthood that had existed in the ancient Church. Because of this restoration, mankind could have full access to Christ''s Atonement. What a wonderful message we bring to so many who are looking for “truth” and a renewed faith in Jesus Christ. 

While this week has been filled with many miracles, I would like to focus this week’s email on a particular person we are teaching. This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of “teaching the basics.” 

About 6 months ago, a man named “P” was found when the elders in Altus were knocking doors. I was serving in Burkburnett at the time, and so I have known about “P” for a long time. Since “P” first spoke with the missionaries, he has come to church every Sunday. He loves the gospel! In our meeting with him last Wednesday, I had a chance to really get to know “P” and ask him some questions about his progress. In that discussion, “P” expressed that he had hit what he called a “plateau” in his conversion. We asked him if he had been reading the scriptures and he admitted that he hadn''t been as diligent in reading them as he had been earlier. What followed was a truly spiritual lesson all about how the scriptures are one of the ways that we truly have a personal experience with the Savior, as the Nephites did in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi chapter 11). We left that night feeling pretty good about what had happened, and the direction “P” was going.  

The next time we saw “P” was at church, yesterday. During the third hour of our meetings, the lesson was on the importance of daily scripture study! It was one of the best Elders Quorum lessons I have heard on my mission. After the lesson, “P” approached me with a huge smile on his face. He told me that he hadn’t realized there were others, besides him, who were having difficulty reading their scriptures everyday. He said that the lesson had inspired him to approach the scriptures in the same way he approaches shooting guns. (“P” is a gun enthusiast and is a pretty good shot because of the many hours he spends practicing and evaluating his skills.) He expressed that it had never occurred to him to use those same principles in developing spiritually. “P” left that day with a determination to be better, and a vision of how to do it. I am confident that the plateau he has been on is about to change. 

The principles I wanted to highlight from this experience are really 2 fundamentals that we teach as missionaries; 1) Revelation through scripture study and 2) Revelation through church attendance. In order for anyone to progress in their conversion, they need to pray, read the scriptures daily, and attend church every week. Yesterday, I realized that there really is no difference between someone progressing towards baptism and someone progressing towards exaltation. Each of us needs to be consistently evaluating and re-evaluating where we are in our conversion, and doing all the little things that help us to progress. “P” had been consistent in one of the areas (church attendance) and so something he was taught at church helped him in an area where he was struggling (scripture study). That is how the gospel works. It is all interconnected, and its primary purpose is to help us progress and become better! What a simple but powerful lesson this was, this week.

I wanted to share one more story: We are really trying to get the member-missionary work rolling in this area. There have been a lot of miracles occurring lately, and one happened yesterday. We are teaching a 17 year old girl named "A.” She is the sister of a recent convert named “B.” We realized we needed to get her into a member’s home so she could experience the greatest fruit this gospel produces; Happy Families! Yesterday, we all had dinner with the Bunnell Family and then got to participate in their family home evening. It was all about “prayer” and its importance in our daily lives. “A” really enjoyed the evening. We all were truly taught by the “mouths of babes” as the Bunnell children answered questions about why prayer was important to them. I know that as we each live the gospel in our individual lives, it produces the fruits that we can then share with others. It’s kind of like what happens when we buy fruit at the store. If we buy a lot and just keep it all for ourselves, it will eventually spoil and go to waste. But if we share it with others, everyone benefits.  

I want to commit to sharing more of the fruit of the gospel this week with those I meet and I want to invite all of you to do the same. Life is hard for a lot of people, and we as disciples of Jesus Christ have the obligation and the responsibility to share the good news of the Restored Gospel with EVERYONE!!!  I love the gospel and the fruits that I have seen come from it in my own life. Like we experienced in the Bunnell’s home, the greatest fruits of the gospel are the love and support that comes from our own families. I know this gospel is true. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of their love for us, we have a way to live as families eternally in God’s kingdom. 

Have a great week! Please pray that the hearts of the people we have contacted will be softened, so they will listen to our message. We have a lot of people we need to make contact with this week!