Some Weird Diversion (11/26/2018)

Dear friends and family,

This week was the first time we've had someone at church for about two months (or more). He's a man we've been working with named Jon Figley. Our first teaching visit with him was very much not promising, but we have met every week since then and he's changed and grown in understanding. He was able to come to church for the first time yesterday, and he really enjoyed it which was a little surprising to me considering one of the talks a member gave in sacrament meeting had pretty much nothing to do with the gospel whatsoever 😒. He's also probably reading the Book of Mormon the most out of anybody I've taught, which is awesome. He's already on 2 Nephi! He told us over text yesterday evening that he could definitely see himself becoming a member of the church, that he learned more there than at any other church, and he plans to return next week. Definitely pray for him, and pray that this ward will be able to receive him well.

A few days before that we stopped by the home of a "person with interest" who some previous missionaries had met, near our apartment. We in fact did not meet the woman whose name we had but her friendly husband who talked to us for a bit in the front room, told us he's probably done the most research into our religion than anybody else we've talked to, and told us he doesn't accept our doctrine and sees it as a weird offshoot-diversion from Christianity. Which is funny because that's the opposite of what we teach. His main reason, according to him, was that we see God as someone who has to abide by some set of laws that are above Him, and he can't reconcile that with his Christian view of a god that is above all. I warned him that he had strayed somewhat into semi-speculative doctrine (my absolute least favorite kind of doctrine) and not to judge it off of that, but he wasn't convinced. Oh well. Nice guy, but he really did just think our doctrine that God is an exalted man was loony though, which is always a little challenging to react to. I thought about it later and wish I had had the chance to tell it to him, but I feel like I've concluded that God isn't either above OR below any set of laws--He is on equal grounds with them. Which makes sense to me. The laws that make a person a god are the same yesterday, today, and forever, even if the person who now is God isn't the same as he once was in yesteryears. At least that's my current thinking, and it's subject to change.

Lesson learned (yet again) though: don't debate deep doctrine with people, especially non-members.

Anyway, after that pointless rambling, I guess I should talk about Thanksgiving. I spent it sick with a cold in bed. Thankfully by the time dinner rolled around I was well enough to eat, but of course I was still contagious so the members who were going to feed us just brought some Thanksgiving dinner over and we ate in our apartment. Oh well. I'm just glad to be well again.

Love,

Elder Gallagher