Recognizing answers to prayer

5/2  This week was a little crazy. Mostly just because it was my first week here in Valencia with Elder Lightfoot. I have a good idea of the area now, and I'm excited to get to work this week! We visited with an investigator named Sylvester who has been investigating for a while now. The hardest thing with him is that he is convinced that if God is going to answer him, he will do it through visions and dreams. We've had a hard time convincing him otherwise, but at the end of the visit, I challenged him to kneel down and ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet, if the Book of Mormon is true, and if he should get baptized in this church, then told him to stay on his knees and wait for a few minutes. When we talked to him on Sunday after church, he admitted that he did feel something. He described it as a peace in his heart. When we asked him if he thought that could have been his answer, he thought about it for a while, then said no. The important thing is that after we explained that that is the way we receive answers, he thought for a while and then told us he was going to try it again, and if he got the same answer, he would consider it. I think he will be baptized very shortly.

Elder Lightfoot and I get along great! We help each other out with our weaknesses, and work really well together. He is a really funny elder, and has a great relationship with the members of the ward, and people in our area. I can tell he has worked hard to get our area to where it is now, and there is a lot of potential here. I am sure we will see a ton of miracles.

The main thing I learned this week was that God answers our prayers. Although sometimes he answers them in ways we don't expect, he will always answer us. Sylvester was a perfect example of that this week. The feelings he described to us were very clearly an answer to his prayer. Sylvester is very sincere, and we can tell that he has true intent to know the truth. The only issue is helping him recognize his answer. I know that if we pray in faith, and do everything in our
power to obtain an answer to our prayers, God will give us that answer. One of my favorite quotes is by President Gordon B. Hickley: "Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work".

A visit to the aquarium in Valencia