Sister Anna Lyn Bryce: Do Your Missionary Work!

Dear Family,

So yesterday was an AMAZING day. I have come to have so much appreciation for the Sabbath and the Sacrament since coming on my mission. And for fasting, as well! We saw so many miracles yesterday as a result of fasting. There is an investigator that we are teaching who's partner is the less active son of a family in our ward. The less-active son has been causing his sweet girlfriend and his family a lot of heartache as a result of the choices he is making. We prayed for them ALL week and fasted for them on Sunday; for the whole family but particularly for the son, that his heart might be softened. That prayer was answered SO incredibly. When the family walked up to church on Sunday, Ayla (his partner who we are teaching) told us that Bronson had started to change and had - for the first time in literally years and years - promised to come to church next week with his family. We were just AMAZED. It's such a simple thing; but you have no idea the change that would have had to take place in his heart for him to agree to that. It was so humbling to see how the Lord had answered our prayers and the prayers of his family. This is truly His work, and he knows His children.

We also fasted for our ward and our area, that we might be instruments in the Lord's hands to help inspire the members to do missionary work. We have this new message that we came up with to share with the active members; it's LEGIT!! Let me tell you about it because I am really proud of it!

Okay. So what we do is we sit down with the member family, and we start with a song to invite the Spirit, and then invite the head of the household to offer a prayer. Then we share a story from the Book of Mormon, and we ask them to listen and find what their role is in the story. So we begin in Alma chapter 8. Of course, Alma is us - the missionaries. He goes to the city of Ammonihah and works SO hard. Alma 8:10 - he labors much in the Spirit. He prays and he pleads with the Lord to soften the hearts of the people. He gives it his very best effort, but they don't listen to him. They reject him.

So he leaves! He heads to another city, to continue his mission. But an angel of the Lord stops him in his tracks, and tells him to return and give the people of Ammonihah another shot. God leads Alma to Amulek. Amulek is a believer; he already has a testimony of the things that Alma is to teach. Alma and Amulek team up, and go out and begin to preach the gospel to the people of the city. Alma starts preaching to the people. And they reject him! Alma 9:2."Who art thou?" "Who are you, Alma, to come in to our city and tell us that what we are doing is wrong? We don't even know you. You aren't even from here. And you expect us to believe everything you say, just because you say that YOU know it's true?" In short, they reject him again. And then AMULEK gets up to speak! Alma 10:4. Amulek is a well respected citizen of Ammonihah. He has friends and family there; people know him. He stands up and he says "Look, guys. I know that Alma is a prophet of God. I've seen an ANGEL, that TOLD me he was a prophet of God. I know that the things that he is telling you are true. You can trust him. The things he has shared with me have blessed me, my wife, my children, and all of my family." Amulek testifies of the truth of Alma's words and his calling as a servant of the Lord. And what happens? Alma 10:12. "And now, when Amulek had spoken these words, the people began to be astonished." The following chapters are some of the most beautiful doctrinal teachings contained in holy scripture, because the people of Ammonihah - the same people that rejected Alma - allowed themselves to be taught by both Alma and Amulek. And in the beginning of Alma chapter 14, " And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the scriptures." They listened! The same people that kicked Alma out of their city and didn't want anything to do with him believed on the words that Alma and Amulek spoke together. Together, they were a powerful witness of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, at this point, we ask the members what role they play. And of course, they know! "Amulek!" And we tell them, "We need you. We need Amulek. We CANNOT labor here in Ammonihah without you. We can work and pray and plead and labor in the Spirit as Alma did - and we do! - but without Amulek we will never be as powerful as we can when we have YOUR testimony and YOUR witness."

We did this with a family last night, who had 4 RM sons there as well. It was AMAZING. They loved it. As soon as we finished, they started committing themselves to do missionary work! Right there we set up a cottage evening at their home in two weeks, and they are going to invite their friends and family, and we will share a message with them. It was seriously so cool! The Spirit was so strong. Missionary Work is SO much more powerful and effective when missionaries and members are united in their efforts to bring others unto Christ.