Either way, I sat down with this being my first real true experience in a single's ward. I say this because single's wards in Utah don't count. There are so many students and LDS members there that it is no big deal and everyone kinda fits the build that I expect. The members here on the East Coast however were slightly more surprising. Honestly, the talks during sacrament meeting were good but really didn't catch my interest. I was looking around more for people I knew. Nope... Nobody. Well, somebody I guess. I didn't spy my friend at first but we aren't actually that close anyways. She broke my heart once and things never really were the same. Anyways, I met a couple of new people. Let me rephrase that... I introduced myself to people being the new guy because it seemed like they had all been there a while. And man, did I ever feel young. It was like being a 10-year old invited to a high school party but worse because I should have been able to relate a bit better than that. I was soooo young! And one of the more interesting introductions was with a transplant from Las Vegas here in Boston going to school. I asked how he liked living here and what did he think of his roommates. He said he enjoyed it quite a bit, fun city, it was nice rooming with a couple of people from the ward. I said then he liked the guys from the ward, they are pretty cool? Well apparently that wasn't what he meant. He did have two guys as roommates but those weren't the members. The two members in the ward were two sisters! I don't think I am in Utah any more Toto. I was going to make a crack about how home teaching must be pretty easy then but I figured it was best not to go too far into it.
The last two meetings however were rather uplifting and inspiring and I really enjoyed them. We talked about miracles wrought through faith in Jesus Christ. And as I really started to think and listen to the examples that were being given in class. One of the first examples was with the woman with the issue of blood who touched Christ's robes to be healed. They talked about how after the virtue had gone out of him, she was healed. Not only a physical healing but a spiritual one as well. Then there was the parable of the unjust judge. He granted the request of the woman because he knew that she would continue to badger him until he did. God listens to our prayers and grants us the righteous desires of our hearts, but it is only if it is his will and if we work for it. Prayer is not a wish list but sincerely conversing with Our Father, sometimes pleading over and over again for his guidance and blessing on the choices we make in our lives. The last example that really hit me was the account of the raising of Lazarus. We know Christ waited until he was totally dead before he came and raised Lazarus from the grave. In trying to apply these to me, it became a real message of hope.
God can heal us no matter whether our infirmities and trials are physical, mental, or spiritual. And as long as we keep praying, it may not happen the first time, the second time, or even the third time, but in time God will answer our prayers and he will not ask us to do anything that we cannot handle. We can overcome it with His help. And even more than that, the Atonement is infinite. If someone can be brought back from physical death because of their faith in Christ, the same is true of someone consumed in sin who is spiritually dead. If they have the faith, they can always return. This is one of the reasons why when we share the gospel, any one and everyone can be someone who is unknowingly
searching and is ready for the gospel. No one is too far gone. It gives me hope if nothing else. Sometimes I am really hard on myself and it was powerful to know and feel His love for me, almost a stranger in my own church. It has been an interesting summer so far to say the least. Meantime, I am home on our screened in back porch just listening to the rain as I lie here in my hammock. Life really isn't that bad. I'm not that bad. And apparently from my experience today at church, I still am pretty young. I am hopeful that everything will be better with time.
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