Monday, August 4th, 2014

We have been out trying to find people to teach still. Our investigator preparing for baptism came back from vacation this week and is doing well. He is Norwegian and really loves the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for my testimony of the Book of Mormon and that God can reveal truth to us through the power of the Holy Ghost. That is the only way true knowledge can be attained.

We taught a very kind man last night who was Christian and a scientist. He said that he believed in God but had a very different concept of God than most people. I told him that I believed that science and faith go hand in hand. God works through natural laws. If there is something that does not fit, then there is somewhere a lack of understanding because truth is truth. We taught him about the restoration, and he told us he needed us to prove it to him with facts. I told him that that is not how it works. We wander by faith and not by sight as Paul says. That which is spiritual can only be discerned spiritually. It caused me really to reflect upon how I know the gospel is true and that a loving Heavenly Father through a living prophet has restored it to the earth. A testimony of that, if it will lead to true conversion, must be based upon a spiritual confirmation, not merely a logical proof. It is important for us to reason things out, to rationalize, to ponder and to meditate, but imperfect minds logically do not produce perfect logic. Just because something makes sense does not mean it is true. Just because something does not make sense to us does not mean it is not true. God sees all. He knows all. He is the source of truth. We do indeed receive a witness as we act in faith.

It has been really quite hot and humid here the past couple of weeks, I believe hotter than ever recorded before in Norway, but it has cooled down in the past couple of days, and we had a little rain. Elder Cheney and my cousin Lindsey, who is in the Missionary Training Center preparing to serve a mission in Japan, sat next to each other in seminary class while they were in high school, which is a cool connection. I know that Heavenly Father is with us and is helping each of us along our way. We are never alone. None of us is destined to fail. Christ does indeed stand at the door and knock, quite often through a couple nineteen year old boys in suits. I know we all need Him and His Atonement more than we can comprehend, but we can at least understand that we need it and that it can empower and strengthen us to accomplish all that we need to. There is power in humility, which is not weakness but knowing where your strength comes from. The Norwegian word of the week is Tro er svaret, which means faith is the answer.

Love,
Elder Ankenman