6-14-19

Well today has been another, quite a day!

We started out discussing how to improve our missionary work. We decided to leave each home if possible with a spiritual thought and a prayer. Mom had a scripture she read this morning that we thought we would use, it was so good; Jacob 3:1-2 :

1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction.

2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever

We went to the person who we decided to go to first and set down had had a chat with her. (everyone here has a problem) She told us her daughters husband started beating her and she started drinking. She drank herself to death. Her daughter who is 10 years old felt like it was her fault and decided to kill herself. Her grand mother (who we were visiting with) took her to the hospital last night, where she is now. Not a bad scripture!

Then I have been visiting with another native from Rosebud another reservation about 3 hrs away. I became his friend on facebook and we have been talking. He is wonderful!! He sent me this today:

The moment I finished the BofM for the first time... I knew it happened here & still I receive opposition to what I come to know within... When I'm right with the Lord... He gives me dreams. Very interesting... and I sit & wonder about all the possible meanings but the best so far is when I questioned if my mom & dad excepted the work we did for them... Still figuring it out... but amazing none the less. There was a time when I thought God had forgotten about the Lakota... And I am forever thankful you all have chosen to serve. Thank you... Peace! Elder & enjoy this beautiful day.

I asked him if he would share his testimony with me so that I could share it with the people of Eagle Butte and this is what he sent me:

I would rather be in person but... The greatest gift that I received from my alcoholic mother was the gift of spirit... she always told me to pray & my first religion is the Lakota belief of spirits... visions seeking and such. I had the most amazing opportunity to learn the way through a good man, he was old... Around here they call him "O'l man... or O'l man Robert" very powerful man in deed, when he died... I never seen nothing like it since and so... O'l man taught me from the beginning that whether the "white man" religion or ours the worry is God for his children & are meant to bring a man to his center... He told US little ones at the time, that hard times were coming in our time and just like false prophets... false medicine men. He recalled a time when, he said, that the spirit would come for the man because he knows the heart of a man but there were times coming that a man would call himself... and told us young ones what the spirit of our grandfather's wanted us to know... signs. Today... those signs are coming to pass. So... what does this have to do with my testimony? My mom... She brought me up to know God and question everything and so... the gospel of the Lord can be questioned and one true answer that I know is "why did the god of heaven allow the white man to do what they did", the gospel answers this for me because I know what it reads about WHAT the gospel can do for US... My mom was poor and a hand out and so she sent me to other churches because I was the oldest I had to go and at the time... I didn't see or understand the wisdom of it but now.... I look back with a thankful heart. It caused me to question because I heard for my self.... pastors or natives bad mouthing one another's belief. Which ain't cool at all... There is truth everywhere and the Lord will judge the heart of a man and if his heart is teachable then he's golden... My sister's joined the church before I did and at the time I was an young ignorant kid (15) my dad was in & out of my life, so I was the dad & learned form my good step dads and bad too. At that age I was fighting full grown men... I loved the fact that I came from warrior grandfather's but was IGNORANT because a true warrior is aligned spiritually as well as physically. So I was invited to church from my belated sis... and slowly began to question... & question all the unanswered thoughts & scriptures I heard, I blew the missionaries minds... and later they became my mom & dad and gave birth to a new soul, in the struggle. So I questioned and one day, they presented me with "Moroni's promise" and I knew exactly in my minds eye where I would ask... I was raised out in "the country".... by a woman who ain't my blood but was my mother's friend. She raised me to respect and respect fire arms... Old school knowledge. So when I heard this new news that I could ask God the Father of my own self, I was thrilled because the heart of a Lakota is prayer and knowing prayer(s)… I thought awesome, I will take up this challenge... It just blew me away that out of the different religions that my mother had me experience, this one said to me, "You go find that answer & if your intent is true, I would know..." Hoka... I was baptized... November 2nd 1991 and it has been the best struggle since, full of failures and questions but triumphs none the less! This is the Lord's church and when I heard that a 15 yr old boy had a vision.... It wasn't hard for me to believe at all and I know Joseph jr... is a man of god... then & now. Our grandfather's... Sitting Bull had a vision at 13... Crazy Horse 16... and I do come from a long line of medicine men & so, I believe... these are God's lands. Like our grandfather's told us that "life sprang out from here..." that is true. And upon mountain tops were once temples... the law of Moses is fulfilled... bring your broken heart & contrite spirit to the Lord and he'll teach us to gain peace and be the spirits our grandfather's knew... The Book of Mormon is a blessing & a warning to all who should possess these lands... About 80 percent of these blessings have to do with the land... These are God's lands and we should really consider ourselves blessed. Hoka...

Now late this evening Lisa Norris messages me and says she has decided to start coming back to church!

What a day!