Spirit Truth

Hello, Menschen!

It has been a good seven days since I last wrote you all.  We have been pretty busy with splits and visiting district meetings throughout the zone.  We went on a split with the Ramstein American Elders and I got to go on a split with our district leader, Elder Rogers.  It went well, and we worked pretty hard to find some people.  In addition, I got to go on a split with one of the Elders in Idar-Oberstein, also an American area, and I went with a missionary named Elder Cameron.  We also were able to work hard and have a few lessons, although many appointments fell out.  The Ramstein Elders might be bringing us American food at the end of this week, so we will see if that works out!

I gave a talk in my branch about the ward mission plan.  That was fun.  We also had two cool investigators at church that day.  Church went pretty well that day and our investigator, Tensor, met lots of great friends and they invited him to all sorts of activities and so forth.  It was awesome and I was happy to see it.  It seems that the branch was pretty excited about it.

We also visited a less-active family to teach them how to host a family home evening.  I think it wasn't especially effective, but it still brought the spirit in strongly and reminded me of all the family home evenings I had back home.  I am grateful to my parents for doing that so often back home.  THANKS, MOM AND DAD!

We had a lesson with a man at the university in Kaiserslautern yesterday which was interesting.  He told us, about the restoration, that he felt there was no way he could believe in the authenticity of the message and of God without physical proof.  Being an engineering student, he said that he was very mathematically and scientifically centered and that believing from an internal piece of evidence would be impossible for him.  Maybe, he claimed, if there was physical proof, he would believe, but because he had previously tried to find it without success he said that was no longer an option.  This is something I have heard from many, many people, both on and off the mission, and I can understand the concern, especially when we live in a more competitive and proof-centered society than possibly any other time in human history.  As I thought about a possible solution for this issue, I thought of the words of Alma in Alma 5:

45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

In case any of you aren't quite familiar with Alma as a person in the Book of Mormon, I will point out that one of the most interesting parts about his life is that he, earlier as a non-believer who fought against those who believed in the existence of God and Jesus Christ, witnessed an angelic manifestation which quite literally knocked him out and off his feet.  Why is it, now, that he didn't bring this up as a source of his knowledge of the truth which he taught?  Many would think that he would have no other option, but to accept the existence of a higher power after that.  Yet, according to him, that was not necessarily the case.  The manifestation in and of itself was what perhaps caused him to acknowledge his failures and have a sore repentance, and begin a search for a knowledge, but it was not the source of his knowledge.  The fact of the matter, which is repeatedly illustrated through the Bible, Book of Mormon, and other standard works, is that spiritual witnesses and testimonies do not, and cannot, stem from physical proof alone.  The primary and only source of enduring spiritual conversion comes from that which Alma stated: Fasting and praying for many days, earnestly and sincerely wanting the truth, and a humbling before God to prepare oneself for a spiritual manifestation from the carrier of truth--The Holy Ghost.  If spiritual knowledge was dependent on proof, then perhaps the children of Israel would have been more diligent in keeping the commandments of God after seeing the waters of the Red Sea part or Moses striking the water out of the rock.  Perhaps Laman and Lemuel would have not made Nephi's life so miserable after having witnessed so many great this, from the Liahona to the loosening of fast arm-bands.  Jesus Christ himself perhaps would not have been rejected by His own people, at least as rapidly and violently as reality showed, had they been able to use His wonders as reason to believe and follow.  

To truly discover the truthfulness of the message that I am currently giving another year of my life to, you must have a desire to believe, or a desire to desire to believe.  You must seek it out, and pray to God, and fast even from time to time, and ponder the words of God's servants in your hearts.  Then, if you pray to God, having faith in Christ, I can promise you from the bottom and the sincerity of my heart that you will receive an answer.  It might take time, it might not.  Nobody ever said that it would be as easy as a Google Search, because spiritual knowledge must be carefully searched for and truly, willingly found, and a reason why it is so enduring is because of the dedication it takes to acquire it.  But if you have the desire, and if you look in the right places, your doubts will be answered, and you will receive an answer.

Thanks for all you do!  I love you all!

Elder Wallentine