Best Week So Far, Plus a Baptism!

Hi Everyone!

First off, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, things are going great here in Grand Junction Colorado and the work is moving forward! The Lord truly blesses us when we put our trust in Him and do all we can, He'll make up for our weaknesses when we give everything we have to him.

This week has been one of the best of my mission so far, with the highlight being that we got a baptism! The girl's name is Marcela Soto, she's 9 and has wanted to get baptized for a while, but her family was inactive and so we've been working with them and now they're active and committed to the gospel. I got to perform the baptism, which was a really neat spiritual experience, and I got really lucky because usually the newer missionaries aren't the ones in the font. It's so cool to see the change in people's lives as they realize how important the Gospel truly is and exercise the faith to live it. It makes me so grateful that I've grown up knowing it and understanding how I need to live to be happy, it's something that a lot of people don't have, that certainty, and it's the best thing in the world to be taking that to whoever will listen.

I had an interesting experience while on teamups with an English elder, we were transferring an investigator to their companionship and so my companion and his companion went and taught her a lesson while us two tracted. We ran into a Baptist Sunday school teacher, who started using the bible to try to convince us of the error of our ways. I haven't studied the bible for a long time, so I was unable to defend my faith very well, although the logic and scriptures he was using were pretty weak. Apparently, he believed that all you have to do to be saved is accept Christ's gift, and works has nothing to do with it. Also, if you haven't accepted Christ, you're doomed to go to Hell for eternity, suffering endless torment, regardless of whether or not you've ever heard of Him. Also, it's our responsibility to tell everyone about Christ, because if we don't we're in essence damning them. But, there's no punishment if we accept Christ, live a terrible life of murder, adultery, stealing etc., and also don't fulfill our responsibility to tell people about Christ. That person will still enjoy eternal bliss and happiness while good people who never heard of Christ will be tormented forever. Personally, I don't think that fits with God being perfectly just, and I don't think that fits with Him being merciful or loving either. To me it sounds like Nehor, one of the most infamous characters in the Book of Mormon, who preached that all men were saved, and "eat drink and be merry". It's a nice thought, because it means that we don't have to do anything, it eliminates responsibility. So, I've decided that if I didn't know the truth, confirmed by the Holy Ghost, I probably wouldn't believe in the bible and maybe even God, because without the Book of Mormon and modern revelation it just doesn't make any logical sense.

I'm so grateful to be out here serving the Lord, and doing His work. We really do have the truth, and that's what people need to be happy and have security in this life. Thank you all again for your prayers, God is truely there and He truely does answer them.

Love,
Edler Damon Janis