Comments on: Missionary work

By: Bookslinger [Visitor]

Bookslinger [Visitor] — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:19:30 +0000

We had a baptism. He already had some friends who were members of the church, but I think I was his first LDS contact in Indianapolis when I gave him a pair of Books of Mormon in his native language and in English.

http://indybooks.blogspot.com/2006/11/contact-to-investigator-to-convert.html

By: Bookslinger [Visitor]

Bookslinger [Visitor] — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 03:28:53 +0000

Someone else is talking to strangers and giving out copies of the Book of Mormon in Ohio. And someone to whom she gave a Book of Mormon got baptized last month. Read her story here.

She also comments: "The interesting thing is that he frequents the local Bob Evans restaurant in his home town, where several other priesthood holders go on Saturday morning. They'd sit at the counter and chat with him about this and that; but in the 10 plus years that this had been going on, not one of them ever opened up their mouths to talk to him about the church. He had to inherit a larger territory and wander into a restaurant in Ohio to find a feisty redhead that opened up her mouth."

By: beepbeepitsme [Visitor]

beepbeepitsme [Visitor] — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:56:34 +0000

“When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.” Desmond Tutu

By: Bookslinger [Visitor]

Bookslinger [Visitor] — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 02:58:02 +0000

Manaen, are you referring to my ex-member status? I tried telling the Lord “Can I do that? I’m technically not a member!” in response to a few promptings early on, and His response was something along the line of “I’m telling you to, aren’t I?” And it was the same “voice” that kept telling me to repent, so I figured I better follow it.

So technically, I’m not a “member missionary,” I’m an “ex-member missionary.”

Hey, the Distribution Center at http://www.ldscatalog.com only asks for member number when you buy garments, not books. Once the books are in my possession, I can dispose of them as I please, right?

This week I’m on the road between Indianapolis and South Carolina. Wow! So many restaurants. So many gas stations. Last night I met a guy who spoke Kurdish. No Kurdish Book of Mormon, so I gave him a Kurdish New Testament. He said he spoke Turkish and Arabic, so I gave him Turkish, Arabic and English Books of Mormon.

Today’s lunch was cool. I went to a Chinese restaurant in Georgia. The waitress turned down the Chinese Book of Mormon, but the cashier accepted a pair in Indonesian and English. Just outside the door, when I left, a guy was speaking Portuguese on his Cell phone, so when he got off the phone, I gave him Portuguese/English copies of the Book of Mormon. I walked around, and found a Vietnamese man and woman sitting outside their nail salon, and gave them a Vietnamese Liahona and Vietnamese Book of Mormon.

I got “tugged” into the gas station across the street, and the cashier spoke Hausa (Nigeria) so I gave him Hausa/English Gospel Fundamentals, Hausa/English JS Testimony pamphlet, English BofM, and Heavenly Father’s Plan DVD. I drove down the street looking for cheaper gasoline, and got “tugged” into a Walgreen’s. The cashier spoke Hindi and Punjabi. I was out of Hindi BoM’s, so I gave her Punjabi/English Gospel Fundamentals.

By: manaen [Visitor]

manaen [Visitor] — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:52:34 +0000

Maybe Bookslinger would like to share the full answer to Geoff B’s comment “He’s simply a member trying to do his best.” I won’t go further if Bookslinger doesn’t care to share now what he’s revealed in the past but his story is much more inspiring when you know the rest of it.

By: Larry Beck [Visitor]

Larry Beck [Visitor] — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:28:50 +0000

I wish that I had the courage Bookslinger has to open my mouth. He’s doing what I will be asking my ward members to do, constantly be thinking about opportunities to share the Gospel. To “be not still”. If sharing the Gospel is always on our minds, then we will be more inclined to do so.

By: Larry Beck [Visitor]

Larry Beck [Visitor] — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:39:34 +0000

I’m a brand new Ward Mission leader (well, it’s the 2nd time I’ve been called to be a WML, the last time was 15 years ago). Given what Elder Ballard said in General Conference about sharing the Gospel, is giving a Book Mormon the most effective way to share the Gospel? In some cases, yes it is. However, I subscribe to the “preach the gospel, use words if necessary approach”. I used to believe that giving out a Book of Mormon is a tangible way for me to know that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, but now I belive there are other just as effective ways of sharing the Gospel, like being a good example, or performing quiet acts of Christian service, or just talking about the life we live as members of this Church. I’m not against giving out a Book of Mormon if that is what the Lord wants, and I believe Bookslinger definitely can teach us a lot about following the promptings of the Spirit.

By: Tony [Visitor]

Tony [Visitor] — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 04:52:28 +0000

Wow… and I have yet to muster up the courage to pass out a pass-along card!

By: danithew [Visitor]

danithew [Visitor] — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 02:28:04 +0000

Bookslinger is one of my bloggernacle heroes. Definitely a blog with a concrete focus and purpose.

By: jjohnsen [Visitor]

jjohnsen [Visitor] — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:43:15 +0000

Not knowing English does not equal uneducated.