Book of Mormon prophecy fulfilled

This week we had a regional broadcast from Salt Lake. It was awesome. The speakers were, Elder Grow of the 70, Sister Osarson the YW General President, Elder Hamula of the 70, and Elder Renlund of the 12. Each talk was powerful! Not one of them was boring...haha. Those type of conferences are like the super bowl to missionaries. Normal people cheer when they see a big hit or when a touchdown is scored. We cheer when we hear General Authorities throw down clear sound doctrine. It gets my adrenaline going when I hear the "philosophies of men" deconstructed by the simple powerful teaching of those called by God to teach the truth.

Cindy and her son Jason showed up for the broadcast. I don't know what they thought of it yet but we'll find out on Thursday. 

Book of Mormon prophecy fulfilled:

This week we talked to another pastor. We had a great time talking about similarities and differences in belief. He of course was very big on "Sticking with the Bible". Though we tried to explain the concept of Revelation to him it was difficult for him to see how we could be so trusting of feelings. So we asked him a question, "How do you convince an atheist who doesn't believe in the Bible to believe in God?" He said, "Well you could show him many of the prophecies in Daniel that have been fulfilled." History does clearly show that they have been fulfilled. He gave several other suggestions which prove the validity of the Bible through intellectual/scientific/archaeological evidence. After he said that it became much more clear to me where he was coming from. If I grew up in the same situation as he, surrounded by confusion and deceit, I would probably have the same zeal for sticking only with the Bible and nothing else. I would probably also try to penetrate the thick blanket of corruption and lies the world creates by studying history and archaeology until I came down to the base of what "must be true." However, the search would be endless. And it would also be fruitless. We come to know God by exercising faith in him unto repentance. He in turn reveals the truth to us by the power of the Holy Ghost. This is how we have a personal relationship with him. How do you convince an atheist or anyone to believe in God? You invite them to have faith and repent. And then they will be changed by the Holy Ghost which is God speaking directly to their heart. They will not only believe in God but they will love him. There is no more powerful evidence of truth than this. The common religions of the world today don't have a very deep understanding of this. Nephi prophecies of this time, "And their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance." -2 Nephi 28:4

Love you!

-Elder (Andre) Johnson