Week 34: Perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven

This week was pretty busy as we prepared for the baptism of Valdirene! Not much else happened this week, so I'll just tell you her story with us.

Valdirene was incredibly elect from the start. We first heard of her when we got a message from a Sister in São Paulo who said she did a form online for a message from the missionaries. But before we got a chance to send her a message, she sent us a message! "Hi, I'm Valdirene and this woman I was talking to said you're the nearest missionaries to my area. I want a message." Then right after she blocked us on WhatsApp (apparently she thought to herself right then, "why am I texting these two random people?"). She told us later though that that night she had a dream that she was in the United States, trying to enter someone's house for some reason, but they wouldn't let her in. And when she woke up, she was reminded of us who she blocked.

But even being blocked, we didn't give up on her. Her address we received was incomplete and had her city block but not her house number, so we went there to knock some doors to see if anyone knew her. And after knocking three or so, our member friend, Renan, felt something and said, "let's knock this one," so we did. She opened the door and saw two Americans, two "angels" as her young daughter put it, at the door.

We gave her a solid lesson of the restoration, and later that day she told us that her friend that lives down the street is also a member and that she told her to watch "The Restoration," a church movie about the prophet Joseph Smith. She did, and by our next visit, a couple days later, she said she knew this church was true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that she wanted to be baptized.

But she still had challenges, namely her terrible smoking addiction, which she'd had for 5 years and which the doctor said was the most severe possible. She starting taking a medication to help, but it was really only with the power of the Lord that she was able to stop. We supported her however possible, bringing members to visits and reading the Book of Mormon every night with her over the phone, and with all of this she was able to quit within a week! The last time she smoked was Friday of the week before last!

I baptized her on Sunday, and despite the water being 0º and it having to be done twice because she didn't dip low enough, it was so good! Everyone in the ward loved to support her, and me and three other Elders sang Love is Spoken Here at the baptism while I played the ukelele!! It was so much fun! (And when we told our mission president about this, he asked for the video then sent it to the WhatsApp group of the entire mission. :))

Then, after the baptism, we had lunch with her and some of her family, and for our lunch message, I decided to share Matthew 5:48 and 3 Nephi 12:48. 

Favorite Hymn -- True to the Faith

In my message, I shared the two scriptures, and why they're the same but also a bit different. 

Matthew 5:48

3 Nephi 12:48

I already talked in another email about the significance of Matthew 5:48 and how it is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we are able to be made perfect, after all that we can do, and how this changing not only applies to later, but to right now as well. This is what I shared about in the brief message, but with Valdirene's sister there who had never heard of the Book of Mormon, I realized how great these scriptures are as an example of the power of the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon truly confirms the teachings of the Bible. Despite being written in different continents by different peoples, their teachings are completely intertwined. This scriptures are an example of when the Book of Mormon confirms a teaching of the Bible while adding even more depth and comprehension. Here, it adds the "how" and the "when" of being perfect, which is that it happens after we will one day be resurrected, while confirming the commandment to search for this perfection now and the truth that God the Father is perfect.

I love scriptures like these. I love having truth. The world is so confused so often at just about everything. A philosopher to find truth assumes that everything he's already learned is false, and then realizes there's no truth left to find. I have the faith, or at least have the desire to have the faith, that these things are true: that I am a son of God, that He has a plan for me, and that He can add the finisher's touch to my life and make me better now and perfect one day.

That's it for this week!

Till next time,

Elder Haroldsen

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