So a high councilor visited our ward today and told the following story. He served as a missionary in the Brooklyn area of New York. Like all good missionaries, he would fill his backpack with Books of Mormon before leaving the house. He would usually leave his phone number in the books so contacts could call him. One day he gets the following call:
“Hey, is this an Elder?”
“Yes.”
“You gotta help me. I stole one of your books out of your backpack in the subway. It is sitting there in my apartment. Every time I pick it up it starts burning. You gotta come here and take this book out. I can’t even think about it or touch it. It is driving me crazy.”
“Ok, we’ll be right over.”
So, the missionary went to the guy’s house with his companion. He knocked on the door, and the guy yelled “come in.” The guy was sitting in a chair, and the Book of Mormon was on a coffee table in front of him.
“OK, you got to get this book out of here. I can’t touch it.”
The elder picks up the book and gently tosses it to the guy. He falls out of his chair so as not to touch the book and then sits on the floor.
The missionary then explains to the investigator that it is his conscience that is bothering him because he stole the book. The man realizes this and eventually takes the discussions and is baptized.
When he gets up to give his testimony he starts out, without any irony, “I know that stealing is true.” Eventually he gets the whole testimony thing down and ends up serving in the branch presidency in that area.
Is Paul Dunn still alive?
Brooklyn is one of the five Boroughs in Greater New York City–has been since that black day in 1898 when the great city of Brooklyn gave up its independence and threw in its lot with the folks across the East River.
But there’s no such thing as “the Brooklyn area of New York City.” Them’s fightin’ words.
And, having lived in Brooklyn for 30 years, I want names, dates, branch name, etc. We can fact check the story.
Finally, scw, no cheap shots at Paul Dunn.
Mark B, sorry. Dumb mistake. I don’t get the Paul Dunn reference, probably not the only one.
Never mind, I googled Paul Dunn Mormon. Now I get it. I had never heard of him until now. The wikipedia entry tells the story.
I think Brooklyn gets a bad rap. Just think of the Brooklyn Bridge jokes. (I was born in Queens.)
Wait,
Is it possible for a high council member to share something that isn’t doctrine?
That’s just not believable.
Come on.
Next I’m sure you’ll be trying to tell me that some Mormons who represent themselves as faithful on the internet aren’t. Psh, By Common Consent warned me there’d be judgemental people out there.
Being a high councilor myself, I can say that anything that comes forth out of a high councilor’s mouth is doctrine.
Now, whether it is LDS doctrine is another thing….
As for Paul Dunn, at least his stories were very entertaining and had a good plot. I especially liked his WWII story about having a bullfrog plop into his foxhole with him. He picked it up, took aim, and threw it at the back of his sergeant’s head. That sergeant would later join the church. Of course, the historicity of all of this is dependent upon whether it occurred in this world or brother Dunn’s other reality…..