(1) Our sisters teach in person. They are always happy to greet and teach anyone who comes into our Visitors' Centre and wants to know more about the Church, about our Savior, or about his gospel. Recently, we've had several people who have seen the Book of Mormon Musical - which just opened in London - travel to the Visitors' Centre asking for a Book of Mormon or answers to their questions.
(2) Our sisters teach online on "Chat," which is the live instant-messaging program that you access if you click on the tab labeled "Chat" at the top of the page on Mormon.org. Hundreds of sister missionaries at Visitors' Centres around the world, as well as a group of missionaries at the Provo MTC, spend a few hours each day receiving those requests for information about the Church. Usually they teach in English, but often they teach in their native language as well. Requests for information and questions about the Church and it's teachings come from people in every part of the world. Indeed, the gospel of Jesus Christ is being taught this way to nearly every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
(3) Our sisters teach by email. When people who contact the missionaries want more information than they can get in a simple Chat session, our sister missionaries are encouraged to begin teaching them by email, where they can have longer conversations and teach principles in more detail. Many people feel more comfortable, at first, exploring the Church's teachings online at their own convenience and in a less structured setting. Email teaching is a great advantage to those who travel or have demanding schedules.
(4) Our sisters have a local area of their village or city of residence where they proselyte - either before or after their Visitors' Centre shifts.
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| Sister Cardona (on the right) with Sister Berati |
Following is an excerpt of a letter Sister Cardona received from one of her contacts a few weeks ago. The young woman had written this description of her feelings and experiences to share at her baptismal service and wanted Sister Cardona to know how she felt. It is such a perfect example of the experiences that we are having that I want to share it.
"I became interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in a somewhat unconventional way. My journey began when
everyone seemed to be worried and anxious about the Mayan
prediction of the end of the world in December of 2012 and were
looking for ways to survive the things they feared would come to pass.
Having grown up knowing Matthew 25:13 'watch therefore for ye
know neither the day or the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh,' I
wasn't thinking in terms of the end of the world happening in
December 2012, but I did become concerned that with all the media
attention, that people would panic and start doing things out of fear
that they normally would not do. So, I started looking for websites
that would give me ideas on how to plan for times of shortage and
unrest.
"I found the LDS website and I began to read. I read and I
watched the videos that were available. I went to the 'Meet the
Mormons' link and read people's stories of how they knew the Book
of Mormon and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was
true. The more I read, the more interested I became and the more
interested I became, the more I wanted to learn. I went to the website
daily and the Holy Ghost put upon my heart that I needed to find out
more. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind thinking that
I was just getting caught up in what I was reading and that it was my
own thoughts and emotions and not the voice of the Lord that I was
hearing. Still, I could not resist going to the website and soaking in
everything I could find to read.
"One day, I was on the web and stumbled across the missionary
chat line. There was the little button that had the words 'Chat with a
missionary' and 'Start Chat.' I wasn't going to push that button. What
would I say? I didn't push that button, either. Next day, same button,
the Holy Ghost sitting on my shoulder whispering 'push it, push the
button.' Finally, I pushed the button and the Chat screen came up
prompting 'type your question here.' I froze. I had no idea what to
write. Then a message from a missionary came up saying, 'Hello, my
name is Virginie [Sister Cardona]. How can I help you?' The Holy
Ghost must have taken over because I cannot tell you what I wrote.
I honestly have no idea but I did write and it may have been
incoherent babble but the Holy Ghost was translating so Virginie
knew exactly what I was saying and she knew exactly what to say
to me. I made a friend and we talk weekly still. She asked me if she
could contact the missionaries in my area and have them call me.
I told her yes.
"Shortly after, Sister Brown and Sister Jensen contacted me and I
made more friends. I was amazed at how inviting and friendly everyone
was the day Sister Brown, Sister Jensen and Sister Ponder came to my
home for the first time. They shared scripture and testimony with me
and invited me to come to church the following day and I gladly
accepted. Then came Saturday night and the dreams. In the dreams I
was in turmoil and struggling against someone unseen. I was being
told that I was making a huge mistake. In my dream but I didn't know
why. Sunday morning, I woke up with the worst headache and
thought, 'Okay, I am not going feeling like this. Who is going to miss
me anyway? They don't know me.' I tried to go back to sleep but I
could not sleep. I finally got up and prepared myself to go to church.
I almost turned the car around and went back home. My head was
pounding, but I didn't. I parked my car and went inside where I was
met by a crowd of smiling faces and led to where Sister Brown and
Sister Jensen were. They then introduced to the dearest lady, Sister
Smith. Sister Smith invited me to sit with her and her family during
Sacrament Meeting where she explained what was going on and
shared the scripture readings with me, showing me where to find
them and explaining what they meant when I looked confused. I
then followed her to Sunday School and Relief Society and enjoyed
everything about the services.
"I felt in my heart that I was in the right place; that this is where I
needed to be. This was where Heavenly Father wants me. Still, I was
haunted by those horrible dreams for the next several nights, waking
me up in the middle of the night questioning my feelings, questioning
whether this step was right. Finally, I turned to the scriptures and
prayed. I asked the Lord to show me. I asked the Lord to bind Satan.
I asked the Lord to give me peace and faith and trust. I prayed for
peace and that Satan's lies be removed from my mind. That night,
there was sleep.No bad dreams, no questions, and yes, there was a
peace: a peace that comes when you are in the presence of the Holy
Ghost. I knew that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
was true.
"I know that the gospel that the Church teaches is true and
complete, and most of all, I know that I do belong here. I am at
peace here. I feel Heavenly Father's love here and it is radiated
through every member of the Church. I stand before you today
declaring that I am happy to be a member of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. I vow to keep the commandments of our
Heavenly Father. I vow to keep the covenants and ordinances so
that I may return to live with my Heavenly Father forever."
It is a wonderful feeling to know that this young woman and many others like her are finding peace and strength in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though the world can be a confusing, dark and painful place, there is still great peace and happiness to be found in the truths of the gospel. ~Pat~
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