That They Might Be An Instrument In The Hands Of God (Forgot To Hit Send) Sorry For The Apostasy

We met in the street named Louis. He was from Vegas, visiting family for the holidays. We talked to him, and he was just sitting there. He's been through a lot, like a lot; he was in prison for 14 years. So, we invited him to church, and he came! It was amazing to see how we were in the right place at the right time to bless God's children. Then, in church, he was sharing in Sunday school about how his wallet got stolen in the airport, and he has had no money this whole family vacation. And he's been the happiest ever. Then, out of nowhere, we showed up at his door, and now he's in God's Church. He hasn't ever been to church before in his life, so it was a miracle. It got me pondering a lot about being in the right place at the right time.

In sacrament, I gave a talk about this as well. And I have been thinking about it a lot.

I learned a valuable lesson about seven months ago. My companion at the time and I were serving in the ward of Toa Baja in the Toa Baja Stake in Puerto Rico, and our area covered a small town called Dorado. It's a little beach town on the north coast, about 30-40 minutes west of San Juan! We were walking one day in a neighborhood called Mameyal, with the objective in mind to find a less active member named Jonas (who we ended up finding, and he gave me a guitar). However, we got lost, so we said, "Well, there are no coincidences in God," and we walked down that street.

We ended up seeing a couple named Marie and Jose outside, cleaning their small red Kia Soul. We started talking to them. Marie really liked talking to us because she was outgoing and also wanted to practice her English. Jose was not interested at all in the beginning. But after some small talk and getting to know them, we taught them a small message and asked for a time that we could come back. Marie agreed, and Jose smirked, then laughed, and said, "Okay" (he claimed to be an atheist, though I think he was more agnostic, but it was one or the other).

Jose then told us he had lots of questions he wanted answered. We promised him that there wasn't a question he could ask that we couldn't get him a satisfying answer to. If I'm not mistaken, the first time we tried to go back, they canceled, but then they called us (which never happens, they never call us). So we thought, "Okay, they are different than most." And not only did they call us, but they asked for a different day. They were super interested in learning more; their hearts had been touched by the Spirit of the Lord. So we set up a time and a day to be able to go by and share with them, and they accepted the next time, and they were home.

We taught them the Restoration, and it was a normal, calm, and peaceful lesson. At the moment, I didn't realize how strong the Spirit was testifying to them, but Jose was silent. He said he was going to ask a lot of questions, yet he was just silent. Then we invited them to read the Book of Mormon and come to church, and they said yes to the Book of Mormon but were hesitant about the Church. So we came back later in the week with the Menas (a couple from the Toa Baja Ward), and we had them FaceTime us to share with Jose and Marie. I think we taught the Restoration again, and the Menas invited them to sacrament meeting. They showed up that Sunday (they have not missed a Sunday since, as far as I know).

So we ended up teaching them quite a bit, and we invited them to be baptized. We invited them over ten times. Every time we prayed, we just felt that we needed to keep inviting them to be baptized. Before they accepted a baptismal date, Marie and Jose, during May and the beginning of June, got really close to us. Marie and Jose were having some problems, and we taught lots of lessons about marriage and the gospel healing marriages and all that jazz. We had no idea what we were doing. I remember one lesson where I was caught off guard and didn't know what to say, and I just saw the light in my companion's eyes as, out of nowhere, he started teaching and testifying of the truth of everything and helping them. He was overcome with the Spirit.

June 26th, 2022, was transfer calls (the photo of all of us in their kitchen is from that night). It was also my companion's birthday. So we had hamburgers and cake. Then we got really excited and talked about baptism, and we decided to pray about it together for July 6th, 2022. And they decided, "Okay." So we all knelt down, and every single one of us offered a prayer out loud, taking turns asking if it was right, and Jose and Marie just knew it was their time because Elder Donaldson and I trusted our calling and promised they'd get answered as we all kneeled down and prayed together. I know that the spirit that was there changed all of us. And then Elder Donaldson got transferred the next day to St. Kitts, and I stayed and ended up baptizing both of them—Marie at the beach and Jose in the chapel of the Toa Baja Ward. They truly changed my life. "We have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work" (Alma 26:3).

I've always pondered these words in the scriptures: "Instruments in the hands of God."

When I think of instruments, the first one that comes to mind is always the guitar. I love the guitar; I think it sounds heavenly. But the guitar becoming a heavenly instrument has to go through some things (be tuned), and it also needs to have a guitarist (God). It's this journey that doesn't make sense to us in the time given or the place. Because we see ourselves as a guitar that is always out of tune. A guitar doesn't make music without the guitarist, and neither can we work or be instruments without God. The guitar also needs to obey the notes given for it to sound good and work out the way it needs to. Just as God is and works, He always has a perfect plan. God is always for us and never against us.

One of the main reasons this story is so impactful to me is that they are an older couple, probably in their 50s or 60s, and Jose had grown up in Mameyal. And they always said they had never seen missionaries before. How could that be? Over 50 years in that neighborhood, and they hadn't ever seen missionaries? We have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work. What are the chances that missionaries have been in that area for over 40 years, and my companion and I were the ones prepared to be there to teach them? Because of our talents, we truthfully were instruments in the hands of the Lord, and we had been prepared to find our friends, to help those we promised in the premortality that we would find them.

The following events took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It happened during the sacrament meeting and was told by a representative of the Twelve Apostles who was in the meeting. A young man, who was just about to depart for his mission, stood up in sacrament and shared, in essence, the following testimony:

"Brothers and Sisters, as you know, during the last few weeks, I have been waiting for my mission call. During the time in which I was waiting, I had a dream. I know that it wasn't an ordinary dream. I dreamt that I was in the preexistence and was waiting for my calling to go to Earth. The same emotion and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call filled me."

"In my dream, I was speaking with my friend; he was a very beloved friend, and I felt a special closeness about him, even more than I had known in this life. While we were speaking, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew that it was my calling to go to Earth."

"With great emotion, my friend and I opened the letter. I gave it to him and asked him to read it out loud. The letter said, 'You have been called to go to the Earth in a special time and a special country. You will be born in the true Church and have the Priesthood of God in your home. You will grow with many blessings and advantages. You will be born in an abundant land, a land of liberty. You will go to the Earth, to the United States of America.'"

"My friend and I rejoiced while we read my call, and while we were rejoicing, the messenger returned. On this occasion, he brought a letter for my friend. We knew that it was his calling to go to the Earth. My friend gave me the letter to read out loud. The letter said, 'You have been called to go to Earth in circumstances of poverty and conflicts. You won't be born in the true Church. A lot of suffering will come to pass in your life. Your country will be involved in political and social difficulties, which will hinder the work of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica.'"

"We cried, my friend and I, while we read the call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, 'When we are down there on Earth, you in your chosen land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, please come and find me.'"

Then this young missionary, with tears in his eyes, said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I'm going to Costa Rica."

One year after this Sacramental Service, the Bishop of that ward received a letter from the missionary in Costa Rica. The letter had only one piece of paper, and written in big letters were the following words: "I FOUND MY FRIEND!" And so it was that this young missionary had been made an instrument in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

You and I are God's instruments. Every day He's trying to reach out to use us as His instruments. We have been sent here in this time and at this place to bless our brothers and sisters. So how do we become those instruments? To bless the lives of God's children and have that joy that comes from sharing the gospel? While pondering this question, a scripture verse came to my mind: Alma 17:9. In this story, the sons of Mosiah reunite with Alma, and it goes on to give an account of their mission. It shows the start of their mission and their desire to be good missionaries and save the Lamanites. It says that the sons of Mosiah fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of His Spirit to go with them and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

The reason I love this verse is that the way to become an instrument in the hands of the Lord is to do the things that would invite the Spirit of the Lord, so we can be in the right place at the right time to bless those people that we have promised we would find, teach, and bless through making covenants with the Lord. The Book of Mormon contains many other examples of what Alma and the sons of Mosiah did to become effective instruments in the hands of God.

Mosiah 28:3 (Desired to declare salvation so that no soul should perish.)

Alma 17:6 (Were willing to give up worldly recognition in order to preach the gospel.)

Alma 17:11–12 (Were patient, courageous, and good examples.)

Alma 17:16 (Desired to help others repent and learn of the plan of redemption.)

Alma 17:25; 18:10 (Desired to be a servant.)

Alma 21:16; 22:1 (Were led by the Spirit.)

Alma 22:12–14 (Taught from the scriptures about Christ and the plan of redemption.)

Alma 26:11–12 (Were humble, recognizing God as the source of their strength.)

Alma 26:26–29 (Did not give up when they were discouraged. Were willing to patiently suffer for the cause of Christ. Taught the gospel in various settings.)

Alma 31:30–34 (Prayed for assistance in bringing others to Christ.)

I find it interesting that in a lot of the examples given, it starts with the word "desire." All it takes is to have a desire to be an instrument in the hands of God and then live worthy to be an instrument, live righteous lives, and act on what we know God would have us do. Trust Him. He will put us in the right place at the right time to find the right people for us. But we have to commit to ourselves and God today that we are willing to be His instruments.

Besides teaching us that we can become instruments in the hands of God, the Book of Mormon also teaches about the effect we can have on others as these instruments (Alma 26).

"I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

Behold, thousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God.

Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.

Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work."

I have been thinking about these principles a lot lately and how we always are throughout my whole mission. I have always been in the right place at the right time to find the right person who needed to hear exactly from us. It's very interesting how it works like that, all the times I have been a missionary and have found the people that have gotten baptized. I was in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

And so it is. Trust in the Lord and do the right things, and then just watch Him do His great work.