"They taught with power and authority of God"

Guess what! I'm on my last mission story of this group of blog posts. You made it! If you've ever served an LDS mission, you might also remember that sometimes there are lessons that are just incredible. This is one of those stories.

This has proved to me that through the power and gift of the Holy Ghost, lives can change to find Christ and His teachings. I also learned that God prepares people to hear His Gospel, especially through the help of members.

I probably taught the first lesson (Joseph Smith story) more often than any other lesson while in France. I loved teaching that lesson. I love quoting the story: "I saw a pillar of light, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other -- this is my Beloved Son, hear him!"

 One of my favorite paintings of the First Vision.

I once read or heard a talk by someone (that I can't find anywhere) that said something like, "When the Joseph Smith story is told, lives change. It doesn't matter what language it's in and whether or not you understand it." I agree with that statement 100 percent.

 In my last area, St. Brieuc, we had quite a few English members in the branch. One of the English members met another English couple and offered to help because they were struggling with money. Eventually, we were able to teach the guy, Jim. His wife was already a member, although not active. Jim is a gruff, brute of a man from Scotland. He is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen.

The moment we started teaching, I knew this was going to be good. He hung upon every word we said. He loved the scriptures that we shared, although he never said anything. I could tell he loved it by the twinkle in his eye. It seemed to grow.

We got to the First Vision part of the lesson and it was weird teaching it in English. My companion and I didn't have it memorized in English, so we read it. His eyes watered and then giant tears fell from his face. He got up and walked away. The Spirit was so strong. We didn't move. He came back a few minutes later and told us he wasn't expecting this.

We finished the lesson and he couldn't wait to start the next one. He was one of our best investigators. I wish I could tell you that this ended super well, but I can't. He moved back to England before we could finish teaching him.

Jim's story showed me that anyone can and will accept the Gospel, but no one will if the Lord hasn't prepared them to do so. A lot of the time, members, not missionaries, are the best at finding those who are prepared. Lives can and do change.

Found on quotesgram.com.