Well, another week has passed an all remains to be well. No package has come in the mail yet, but I will still wait. I had a little bit of a crash on my bike this week, although nothing is broken and all is good. I was totally excited about dinner last night because we ate with a recent convert. We'll call him Fred. He's a firefighter who started dating a member, then got into the Church. The member and him are now married and I think I'll share a little of his story.
After dating his wife for a few months he wanted to check out what Mormonism was all about, so he asked her if he could go with her one Sunday. After going, he felt that it was something he liked and continued to go. For six months Fred continued to go to church. No one ever asked if he wanted the missionaries to teach him or anything to help him truly progress. He just sat and soaked up all he could. He would be titled an "Eternal Visitor". Then one Sunday out of the blue, a member came up to him and said "Fred, When do you want to stop being a visitor?" This really effected him. He did feel as if he was a member. He felt safe and secure, but deep down he knew he was missing something. The something he was missing was not Baptism it was Conversion. If you would ask Fred why he wasn't baptised yet, it's because there was no conversion.
Baptism is great, don't get me wrong, but the thing that truly makes BAPTISM so beautiful, is that it takes CONVERSION to make it all click. When we are baptized, it's like signing a contract. If we are not fully willing to fulfill all obligations we shouldn't sign the paper. If we are not converted we should not be baptized. Fred was baptized after he was converted and now holds the Aaronic Priesthood. The gift given to all worthy male members of the Church. He will progress. He will be sealed for all time and eternity in the Temple.
So, my question is "When do we stop being visitors?" We are a visitor if we go with the flow and just do it and when there is no feeling behind it. We must Convert we must "Lengthen Our Stride" for those of us who have signed the contract, we must be enduring, finish the race, and continue to build our faith, and for those who have not I ask; "When do you stop being a Visitor?"
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Elder Zachary David Daniel
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Elder Zachary David Daniel
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