Indonesian at restaurant. Thu, Jul 2, 2009.

07/02/2009. 1161. I went to lunch at an Asian restaurant that I discovered on a previous errand. I thought that the staff was from the same country as the cuisine, but I wasn't sure. Anyway, I took in my Asian book bag with me. They were busy to start out, but after I was served there was a lull, and the cashier came out to clean off a table. As she was heading back to the counter, I asked where she was from, and she said Indonesia. I didn't have that one already out, but I reached in my bag and got one and presented it to her.

Her English wasn't very good outside of restaurant vocabulary, but I think she understood it to be free, and she accepted both the Indonesian and an English copy. Just then another customer went up to the counter, so she had to get back to work, and I didn't have opportunity to further explain.

I've encountered Indonesians at Asian restaurants before, but not many.

Got missionaries in trouble. Vietnamese. Wed, Jul 1, 2009.

07/01/2009. 1160. I picked up the ward's full-time missionaries and took them to an investigator's apartment for a short lesson. This was the neighborhood where I met a Vietnamese man June 4th, and told the missionaries about it, and gave them a Vietnamese Book of Mormon for him. They hadn't been able to find or contact the man. They had gone there, but no one answered the door.

Since they didn't have another appointment immediately after this one today, we walked over to the Vietnamese man's building, and walked past some people who looked like they might be employees of the apartment complex. The Vietnamese man was outside his building, so it was easy to strike up a conversation with him. He accepted the Vietnamese and English Book of Mormon. The missionaries offered to come visit and offer service, and he invited them over in a few days, and they actually made an appointment.

As we walked back to my car, one of the people we had passed, and who had witnessed our interaction with the man, said there was "no soliciting allowed" on the property and asked us to leave. We were leaving anyway. I mentioned that we had a book in the man's language for him. And we left.

Missed opportunity at restaurant. Mon, Jun 29, 2009.

06/29/2009. Journal entry. While doing an errand, I went to a Chinese restaurant that I had never been to before. It was between the lunch hour and dinner hour, so I was hoping to catch the hostess/cashier/owner at a non-busy time. But she was the only one there besides a bus-boy and perhaps someone else in the kitchen, and there were phone-in orders and carry-out customers, so she was pretty busy. There may have been a few seconds to start a conversation, but I missed them. And I wasn't quick enough to start up a conversation with the bus-boy. So I'll have to go back and try again.

More quotes on the Book of Mormon

Quotes by Richard E. Bennett, professor of Church history and doctrine, in a guest post on Richard Holzapfel's blog:

As John Taylor stated, it was the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants that “cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world” (D&C 135:6).

The published herald and evidence of the truthfulness of the Restoration was ever the Book of Mormon. More than any other factor, it was the Book of Mormon which distinguished the rise of the early Church of Jesus Christ and converted a foundation of loyal and devoted membership upon which the Church was built―and later thrived.

President Gordon B. Hinckley commented in much more recent times. “As the volumes of the first edition were circulated and read, strong men and women by the hundreds were so deeply touched that they gave up everything they owned, and in the years that followed not a few even gave their lives for the witness they carried in their hearts of the truth of this remarkable volume” (”A Testimony Vibrant and True,” Ensign, August 2005, 3).

Thank you Meridian Magazine, for the link.

Lots of traffic was generated by a link from Meridian Magazine.

Here's the post they referred to.

Spanish to missionaries. Wed, Jun 17, 2009.

06/17/2009. Journal Entry. I offered to take the Spanish-speaking missionaries in the adjacent ward, the one we share a building with, to supper at a Mexican restaurant. Then something came up, and I had to back out. But I was still able to stop by their place and give them some Spanish copies of the Book of Mormon, a couple of paperback Spanish Bibles, and a hand-ful of church videos that have Spanish audio tracks. I also gave them some money so they buy their own supper at a restaurant, and use the opportunity for contacting or prospecting.

Thoughts vs. deeds ~~ Belief vs. faith.

I think it important to remember that faith is in the doing, not in the thinking.

Whether you do something because you are absolutely sure of it, or merely with the least degree of confidence, the exercise of faith is having done it.

Granted, an internal attitude may be reflected in the vigor of the action. The liveliness of the physical motions, and the individual’s bearing, countenance and tone of voice may all betray the individual’s degree of confidence. And those tell-tale signs may then have a bearing on the efficaciousness of the action. So there is a marriage between thought/attitude and deed.

But regardless of the thoughts and attitudes, there is no faith until there is a deed. And if there is a deed, that is faith. James 2:17-20.

Here is a suggested exercise to develop faith in using the Book of Mormon to share the gospel. Use a blue missionary edition Book of Mormon. If you don't have one, use the church pass-along card. If you don't have a church pass-along card, make one up with a 3x5 index card, or use any piece of paper:


Just offer someone a free Book of Mormon. Don't just give the book to them. Don't just give them a pass-along card if you're using that. Make the verbal offer first: "Would you like a free Book of Mormon?" And then, if they accept the offer, then you can give them the book or the card.

And if they decline your offer, you have not failed. You succeeded in making an offer. You did your part, and you respected their agency by not forcing anything on them.

If you make an offer with the attitude that you don't mind if they turn you down, your confidence will increase. And if nothing else, even if you are turned down, you will have proven to yourself that you can offer the Book of Mormon.

That action, making the offer, is an act of faith. Exercising faith grows faith, and it brings spiritual growth and blessings. Once you cross that threshhold, knowing that you can make such offers, the Lord will likely reward that, as in the parable of the talents, and provide you with more opportunities.

Sac. speakers should invite their non-member friends to hear them speak.

J. Max Wilson suggested this over at his blog, Sixteen Small Stones.

Invite your Evangelical, Pentecostal, and A.M.E friends and have your own "amen chorus".

Quotes on goals.

From The Game of Work — How to Enjoy Work As Much As Play by Charles A. Coonradt:

“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we are forced to concentrate on activity and ultimately become enslaved by it."

It goes on to say: "Most businesses pay for attendance when they need to be paying for performance and productivity … Most business people don’t keep score; they don’t measure performance as effectively as they do in recreation.”

My goal is to offer people a free copy of the Book of Mormon. And I enjoy it. It doesn't seem like "missionary work."

---

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.”   Paul J. Meyer.

Chinese, Japanese, Korean. Sun, Jun 14, 2009.

06/14/2009. 1159. I was at the home of some ward members. They were having an open house for their high-school graduate, and the ward was invited. One of the ward members, a 20-something young lady, had brought a friend who wasn't a member. The friend was from China and multi-lingual. I asked the member if she had offered her friend a free Book of Mormon in her native language. She hadn't. So I asked the friend if she'd like some free books from the church in the languages that she spoke. She agreed to receive them, so I went out to the car and brought back in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I handed them to the member, and she handed them to her friend. They were well-received.

Woo-hoo! Another investigator! Sun, Jun 14, 2009.

06/14/2009. Journal entry. Our ward's full-time missionaries told me that one of the people to whom we gave a Book of Mormon at the restuarant on June 3rd, was able to finally make contact with the sister missionary who spoke the same language in a nearby ward. The person was actually very enthusiastic about it, and started taking the missionary discussions in the other ward.

The sister missionary who spoke the investigator's language has gone back to Salt Lake City, but still may be able to contact the investigator. I don't think she went home, but was transfered (back to?) the Temple Square mission.

If this investigator gets baptized, I'm afraid I might be insufferable... "I gave her her first Book of Mormon." Oh Lord, please don't let my lack of humility be a stumbling block for her or others.

Missionaries pray for an Indian blog.

06/12/2009. Journal entry. Two missionaries were out knocking on doors and encountered a blogger from India. They were invited in, and as missionaries are trained to do, they offered to say a prayer on behalf of the family or invidividuals. One of the things the residents wanted was more visitors to their blog, so the elders prayed for the blog.

In order to help answer the elders' prayer, please consider visiting this blog entry, and maybe leave a comment.