Elder Luke Batten: Week Sixty Nine

So I didn't have time to film the video that I said I would do so I guess I'll just write out what I wanted to say:

So we are teaching this women named Edinade. She has two sons who were baptized a few years ago but now are less actives and don't want to return. She was invited to a ward activity by a member and we grabbed her address and started visiting her. On the first visit she told us that she had this dream/vision. Basically she dreamed/visioned that she was in the place where everything was white and she was able to see her family. (Mom, sister, brothers and others who have already passed on.) They were all dressed in white and all happy and talking. She wanted to talk with them but wasn't able. She felt as if there was a glass wall or a veil (exact words) between her and her family. She said that she wasn't able to feel the presence of her children. She wanted to go talk with her family but wasn't able to, and then it ended. We explained to her about the spirit world and about the plan of salvation. She told us that she wanted to go to the temple, and explained that her friend (sister Dorinha who is a member) had taken the names of her family and done the baptisms and endowments for them. We explained to her that her family had accepted the gospel and the only way to take down the veil/ glass wall was to be baptized. And through her example one day she would be able to bring her sons back to activity in the church. She has a date set for the 12th but we will she if she is able to stop drinking coffee before then.

We have another investigator named Antonio. He went to church the other week. He knows the Book of Mormon is true, knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet. He has been ripping through the Book of Mormon. In less than 24 hours of recieving the Book of Mormon he read 15 chapters of 1 Nephi and was able to recount everything that happend and through his own knowledge he identified the Catholic church as the prostitute of the world. That was pretty funny. He found the 1 hour film of the restoration on youtube and watched the entire film. He was able to recount that Joseph went to jail, recieved two seperate visits from angels to receive the entire priesthood, also from Moroni to receive the plates, that he built a temple and that Joseph was murdered in 1844 sealing the testimony of the Book of Mormon with his own blood. He spoke of these things so profoundly that he didn't have the appearance of an investigator. In Principles of the Gospel two weeks ago the teacher was explaining about the spirit world. A member was explaining about how salvation being a personal thing is a lie that other churches teach. Because if Salvation was personal therefore we would not need Christ as our Savior. Antonio started to talk saying that he agreed, that in his church (quadrangular which is the Pentecostal foursquare church) they teach that salvation is personal and he doesn't agree because that isn't taught in the scriptures. The only thing impeding him from being baptized still is that he is heavily involved in his church and involved in an upcoming activity there and isn't able to leave completely his obligations just yet. He is a deacon in the church there, which is basically president of the quorum. But he will be baptized.

Also Clebson was baptized on Saturday. It was great. He is the 21 year old who moved from Sao Paulo recently to come live with his dad. He told us this week he had thought a little bit about serving a mission one day. That would be so sick. I'll send the picture.

Also on Sunday we had Stake Conference. Elder Perroti of the area seventy was there. He gave a good talk.

Have a good week, love you

Elder Batten