Open your mouth

The phone rang and the caller id displayed Breast Cancer Of or BCOF. Kiersten chuckled and asked if we should answer the phone to try out our missionary efforts. During our recent general conference, Elder Mervyn Arnold had relayed a story of Sister Reeves sharing the gospel with each telemarketer who called. Maybe we should try it once to see if they'll let us be.

The Lord wants and expects us to open our mouth and speak. To stand and declare. To bear witness. This is no easy task. For many years I was terrified to open up and say what was in my heart. I've gotten a little bolder each time I've stood and testified. It is no longer as great a weakness as it once was.

Today I was put in a missionary situation where I wasn't asked to defend my beliefs but to answer questions put before me. I was subbing a ROTC class where the students really take over and are in charge of the entire class leaving me free to read or fill out my grocery list or talk to the French teacher whose classroom we were in.

The students were outside and Mr. C. and I were inside chatting when the conversation took a turn toward religion. We had been discussing how knowing languages is an important skill for the job market. I mentioned to him how Tyler had taken three years of German and ended up in Korea on an LDS mission.

Immediately he wanted to ask a question about missionaries and the church.

I said a silent prayer that I would be able to answer whatever came my way.

"Why aren't missionaries allowed to pick where they want to go? They pay for it. And yes, I know about God sending them wherever they end up."

Not too hard. 

I explained that they can put down a preference whether they'd like to stay in the states or go foreign. Mental and physical factors also play into it. I also explained how this church is a large worldwide organization with somewhere around 80000 missionaries. They are sent where there is a need. If 1000 potential missionaries put down they'd like to go to Paris, France, chances are 1000 missionaries probably wouldn't be needed there.

This was an okay answer but didn't quite seem to satisfy him.

At this point I wasn't sure what exactly he believed. I think if you're going to do missionary work, a good place to begin is to find out what they do believe in. My next response couched a reference to God in there to see if he at least believed in a supreme being. That's kind of a basic doctrine to know if you're going to talk religion.

I went on to explain that I believe in a God who knows me way better than I know myself. He knows my strengths and weaknesses. He also sees things on a much larger scope and knows where to put missionaries to use their strengths to further the work.

He nodded at this and said it made sense.

Mr. C., apparently, was two classes away from becoming a youth minister but changed his major to finance. I asked him, "Why the switch?"

"Academically I knew everything there was to know. I had studied just about every doctrine -- even doctrine within your church. I felt like I would be able to tell the youth about who God was but I couldn't tell them about God. I didn't have the personal relationship with Christ."

What an interesting thought. Here was a man who had studied many years to learn about God and his ways but never came to a real understanding of who He really was.

I guessed that if he had studied so much he must have read the Book of Mormon at some point. So I got brave and opened my mouth and asked.

He had and didn't have anything ill to say about it. To him it was a good book with some good life teachings.

About this time we got interrupted with students coming back in the classroom. He did mention how he never turns the missionaries away who come to his home out of respect for what they are doing.

What an interesting day. This morning I had prayed for God to help me with whatever different circumstances might head my way.

The Lord is real. He is very aware of his children. I hope another opportunity comes my way to sub the ROTC class again that puts me in the classroom of a certain French teacher.