Book of Mormon (SP)

Family!  

Long time no talk to.  Man, I love you guys.  That was so good for me!  Last time, it was hard.  But now I'm just pumped knowing that what I have is what I want others to have.  We're SO blessed.  I'm so grateful.  

I wanted to share this story on skype, but ran out of time.  But this way you get more details!

We've been reading with an old man who lives in an old folks' home across the street from us.  Both of his legs have been amputated from blood clotting, so he rolls around all day in his wheelchair.  We wave to him every day when we go out.  He always waved back.  The sister I replaced gave him a Book of Mormon the night before leaving the area as a going away present.  He took it but, I think, never read.  We continued to wave and be friendly until one day we walked over there, met him, and began to form our wonderful friendship. He's seriously the bomb.  His name is Harald.  We started reading with him in the Book of Mormon.  The first time we asked him, he said, ''Uh, uh, I don't want to.''  ''Hey, we know that if you read that book, things will go better for you!''  He's just so funny and we just cock our heads, give him a crooked smile and say, ''Come on, just one chapter.''  We got him the second time :).  He finally let us read with him.  At this point we hadn't even explained our purpose as missionaries.  We were just friends and told him that if he read in the book, he'd feel better.  So we finally cornered him in his room.  He didn't object, just moaned.  And so we began 1 Nephi 1:1.  We sat there.  FOR....Eh....veeerr.... His eye sight is going, but he can still read some.  We read 15 verses.  It took like an hour.  But it was the funnest time I've ever had reading with someone in the Book of Mormon.  We'd ask a simple question like, ''How would you feel if you were told to leave aaaallll your riches behind like Lehi?''  Silence.  Foreehhhhhhhh....veeeerr.....  Seriously.  It was SO hard for him to put together that bad things could maybe even POSSIBLY be a GOOD thing.  But I felt something so deep and enduring for him that I wouldn't let him say no and with all my love had to check myself and my companion to make sure we didn't interrupt.  This was HIS time to get those wheels turning.  HIS time to learn to get out of the rut.  I don't know where this courage came from, but he kept reading with us.  Then he started reading by himself.  THEN he came to our church open house.  THEN he accepted the challenge to drink no alcohol before we met the next time.  He's still reading.  He's got a light in his eye.  His wheels are breaking the cob webs and he's looking alive.  He's an angel.  Seriously.  We haven't even explained like ANYthing we do as missionaries.  He just meets with us.  Do I know that establishing our purpose as missionaries is important?  Um, DUH it is.  That's ALL we say with people 24/7.  I couldn't tell you why Harald was found this way, but the second time we read in the Book of Mormon with him, he told us he thought it was true.  I double asked him to make sure we knew what he meant.  And then asked him the next time again.  It's the craziest miracle ever.  Moral of the story.

Read the Book of Mormon.

It's the truest of all books.  If you haven't tasted cheesecake, you can't tell me that you don't like it.  Become an agent not an object and ACT for yourself and read that book!  I don't care if you were a member your whole life or yesterday.  READ THE BOOK.  Every day and don't stop.  It's changing lives.  And I love it.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Sister Packer