Prophets of Old in Our Day

Mid-way through my mission I was assigned as a Zone Leader to a zone that had the least amount of converts in the mission. The zone had been that way for some time. To make things even more difficult I was assigned to an area that hadn’t had a baptism in over a year and a half! How was I supposed to set an example to these Elders if my area was worse off than theirs? Why would any mission area be so dead? Well, the entire area consisted of about 6 square blocks. After just a few weeks I think I knew every resident in my area by name, at least it felt that way. I wasn’t about to spend the next six to eight months of my mission doing nothing productive. My companion and I started thinking of ways to change our attitudes, our area, the zone, and the conception of the Church to the residents who thought they already knew everything there was to know of the Church.

                I started to think of the missionaries in the scriptures as we read of their stories. They baptized thousands of people, huge gatherings of people would come to hear them preach of Jesus Christ, and here I was just talking to one person at a time. We would just knock on one door with the hope of finding one person to teach. If I continued to teach just a few people at a time I would continue to see the same results of just a few converts. If we amped up that number and started to teach lessons just as the prophets of old did to large groups of people, our odds of baptizing and converting more people would have to increase too! That is exactly what were started to do.

                Anytime we got on the bus to go to another city we would get up in front of everyone and bear our testimonies, sing hymns, or teach of the restoration of the gospel. We stopped waiting for the people to come to us; we found large groups and found ways for them to hear our voices. On one particular Sunday afternoon in the town square there was a swap meet and concert. Thousands of people were there from all over, many from different cities. It was there when we saw OUR multitude of people. We knew we had to get up there, so we did what anyone would do. We found the man in charge of the stage and bore our testimonies to him, and kindly asked if we could have 5 minutes on stage to address the audience. To our surprise the Holy Ghost touched his heart and he let us on as soon as the song was finished! The announcer saw my companion and I walk up on stage. He had the microphone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Once he realized who we were the jokes immediately started to fly out, but alas he handed me the microphone. As I stared out over the crowd I knew everyone was thinking, what is this White American kid going to say, and can he even speak Spanish? I opened my mouth just as the scriptures tell us to. What came out was definitely not along the lines of what I had planned. My first words were for everyone to repent!! It was Sunday, and they were not worshiping the Lord, their families were at home without them. Again, to my surprise the boos didn’t come. The crowd got eerily silent and started to listen. I bore my testimony and handed the microphone to my companion who then proceeded to reprimand the crowd again on the word of wisdom. Not a second after, the announcer threw his cigarette on the ground, people started putting their beer away, and one by one the crowd started to disperse. We closed and left the stage, the entire town square slowly vacated. Some people came up to us afterword and thanked us for out boldness, and some asked how they could learn more about what they just felt inside.
                 We couldn’t get time to meet with each person individually after the concert so we scheduled a large conference at the chapel the following week for everyone who was interested could come and hear about the gospel. People came, and baptisms in that area were no longer a problem. Like a snow ball we grew to the second largest zone in the mission! I know that there are people out there ready to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ just like they did in the scriptures. It takes willing hearts, and a mindset just like the prophets of old to reap the same rewards, but I know it is possible even in our day to see the miracles we read about.