Any Day

Sheri and I moved into our new home August before last. The church that we go to I believe is the only ward in the city that has inmates (who are within a year of release) attending church. I never knew this until I was asked to teach them at the work center. The work center is where inmates (or offenders as we call them at the work center) who are close to their release dates have the opportunity to work, go to church and live a semi normal life before being released back into society as a free man again. There are four of us that rotate and go and teach these "offenders" at the work center. There is usually some 2-6 offenders that go to this class each week. We teach for an hour on something basically of our choosing that is church related. I have not always been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints so most of the offenders in the class probably know more about the church than I do. Not all of them know about the church but I am sure that each one of them understands my conviction and passion about the church by the time that I leave after that hour we have together. I have always been a very quiet person, especially if it is the first time meeting a person. The first 4 weeks of going to the work center I was required by the state to attend with someone else who normally taught the offenders. Then after that I would be allowed to teach these gentleman on my own. My first time to teach I was terrified. I prepared a lesson and walked in with knots in my stomach. I was not afraid of the offenders themselves but afraid that I would not be able to reach them, give a good lesson and for sure was afraid that I wasn't going to take up the full hour. Where the offenders and myself were basically strangers I wanted my first day to be an introduction. I remember there were probably 5 gentleman in my first class that night and I asked if we could go around the room and introduce ourselves and maybe tell a little bit about what we knew about the church. Most guys took maybe a minute at the most to tell me their name and where they were from and that they had known about the church most of their lives. 4 of the 5 knew of and probably believed in the church but had just had a few things go wrong with their lives when they weren't allowing the church and Heavenly Father to help them. One gentleman did take up maybe 5 minutes introducing himself which I was very grateful. This left me with some 45 minutes to myself now! I had taught one lesson to grown men some 11 years before in an Elders Quorum, and that was horrible! It was probably 3 years after I was baptized and still didn't know much of the church. I was baptized a month before my 17 birthday. Of course I knew more about the church now but my confidence was still (still is) low as far as how I might conduct myself in front of people I do not know. I began to tell them about myself. How I grew up. How I learned of the church and came to know that is it the one true church on this earth. I rambled on and on and remember that I didn't even have time to teach the lesson that I had prepared! I rambled on and on about myself and the church for 45 minutes! I felt so proud! It was the first time in my life that I felt that I did a good job speaking to someone that I did not know! Since then there have been about ten to twelve times that I have taught at the work center and I am no longer afraid of not being able to take up the whole hour. We have a small discussion about their lives, work and what not since our last meeting. Then we have an opening prayer and then I ramble on for the rest of the time! With my confidence growing I was asked this one Sunday by one of these offenders why I am the only member in my family? I have a grandmother whom I am sure has felt the Spirit and knows that the church is true but she never goes to church. I have a half brother who is 12 years younger who was baptized when he was the same age I was when I was baptized but he no longer goes to church. I was able to baptize him and it was one of the happiest days of my life and I will not forget. Knowing that he was doing the right thing and that if he lived with the church being a part of his life he would be blessed immensely. Anyway this offenders question puzzled me. Why was I able to tell these gentlemen that were in front of me about the church (an not shut up about it) but was unable to tell my family about it. I have come to the conclusion that these gentlemen choose to come to my class. It is easy to teach about something when someone wants to hear about it. I have not had the opportunity to give my testimony to any immediate family. My father and stepmother heard me speak at Zack's (half brother) baptism but they must not have been reachable at the time. Anyway I have a (very close to family) friend that has been having some relationship issues. Their significant other doesn't treat them the way that they feel they should be treated. I had mentioned in passing a few times throughout this past year that if it weren't for the church I wouldn't be who I am today. I remember having told this person here or there that I know the church is true but didn't ever get any more questions regarding my thoughts on the church. Anyway just this past week of hearing that he/she is only in this relationship for convenience now and not for love saddened me. Then come to find out that this person didn't believe in God saddened me even more. We are on this earth and we have the right (agency) to do whatever we want. We live in a country where we can believe in anything and any religion we choose. However no matter what country we live in on this earth we have been given the right to do whatever we want. If you or I are walking down the road we could at any moment take a left and see what path that would lead to or the opposite and simply take a right! I had no problem with this person not believing in God but again it did sadden me. I was texting back and forth to this person and let them know that I have no clue how people on this earth can go day to day without this church let alone a simple belief in God or Jesus Christ. This person (who again is basically family [AT THIS MOMENT]) asked me how I knew the church was true! Sure this person isn't family but he or she is in a relationship with someone in my family. I then informed this person that I would not be able to text such a response to that query. I informed he/she that I would have to tell them in person, on the phone or via email. This person of course chose email. I have no problem with email and anything before a year ago (since teaching the gentlemen at the work center) I myself would have preferred email! I wrote a simple email to this person explaining how I came to know that this church was true. It was about a page long and could have been a lot longer but I didn't not want to overwhelm! The next day I received a text from this person informing me that the email I sent them was the most powerful thing that they had ever read! This person said how they cried after reading it. Cried uncontrollably for some 10 minutes. This person then said it was so weird looking up into the world after wiping away those tears and seeing it (the world) in a different way! I have been told that I write well, but I am not taking any credit at all. In the email I explained how I felt the Spirit (Holy Ghost) when I had the missionary discussions and at that time I knew the church was true. Because the Holy Ghost himself visited little ole me to give me the knowledge/conviction that the things that the missionaries had taught me were in fact true. After getting this text about this person having such a reaction to my email I told him/her that he/she had in fact just felt the Holy Ghost! I cannot take any credit in the email for him/her feeling this way. It was the Holy Ghost who not only touched me but him/her as well. I have no doubt that this person when taught the Gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will know of it's truthfulness but will also have a blessed life because of it! Any Day is the title of this post because it is any day that we can pass from this earth. Anyone who has taken the time out of their day to read this I hope to one day to tell you about my knowledge of the truth. If you have heard things that have soured you toward the church but you know and love me then let me tell you with my perspective. This life is so short and any minute that we can have with this knowledge in our lives will benefit us beyond measure after we pass on.