This past Friday, my class took the first half of our Language Arts CAASPP Performance Task (some kind of twisted version of the STAR test). For some reason, I didn't hear my teacher's instructions, so I moved on to the second half of the test, which took an extra hour out of my next class to complete. Upon my arrival at school the next day, my friends informed me that I had gone just a bit too far, meaning that everyone now had one more day to finish the test, whereas I had cramped it all into one day. I have to admit I was quite embarrassed and regretful that I had overlooked that small instruction.
However, Heavenly Father is definitely into details. Late last night, I made the somewhat stupid/naive decision that I was going to wake up at 5 in the morning the next day (today) even though I went to bed at 10:30. Not my best choice. However, it was for a very good reason. In preparation for seminary next year, I chose to pretend I was already living the high school Mormon life. I spent about 45 minutes getting ready (showering, brushing teeth, eating breakfast), then I took a short run through the neighborhood until about 6:00. After getting dressed, I spent an hour studying scriptures and praying (minus the 10 minutes I accidentally slept). So, typical schedule of a seminary student, except I was at my own house. I then proceeded to spend the next half hour reading scriptures with my family, preparing my backpack, working on Personal Progress, typing up a few paragraphs for a school project, and then leaving for the bus stop at 7:30. So, I actually ended up feeling very accomplished at the end of my morning.
Maybe it was because I had been so in touch with the spirit this morning through my scripture study, but as I was walking to the bus stop, I turned around halfway, realizing that I needed a book to read for SSR today. (Sustained Silent Reading). I scoured my bookshelves for about 1.27 seconds and then just decided I should bring my Book of Mormon. No idea why that occurred to me, as the last time I brought my scriptures to school was probably a year ago (although in light of recent events, I will probably always keep it with me every day from now on). Anyways, I decided to bring my Book of Mormon, and I read about four verses while waiting at the bus stop. I received quite a few comments, including: "Are you a Mormon?", "Cool book", "What's it about?", and I even shared a few short conversations with people who were mildly interested. By then, I had not yet realized how important it was that I had brought my Book of Mormon to school.
Once I arrived at school, my heart was still quite light. I was overjoyed that I had experienced a few small missionary moments with my peers. I spent a few minutes conversing with my friends and classmates, then sat down in class as the bell rang for school to start. Soon after, I was sent alone to the lunch tables, where everyone else who had already finished their tests were gathering. I soon discovered that I was the only 8th grader who had finished their test, so I sat at 7th grade table, so as not to be entirely isolated. One detail I would like to share is that: if I had finished my test just two minutes after class started today, I would have been told to stay in class for the rest of the period. Only students who complete their tests within the first day of that specific test are sent to the lunch tables. You will see how remarkable that detail is in just a moment.
According to my teacher's instruction, I meandered over to the lunch tables and sat by myself at a table full of 7th graders, none of which knew very well at all. Reaching into my bulging backpack, I pulled out my brand-new Book of Mormon the missionaries had given to me a few weeks ago. My job was to deliver it to one of my friends. However, I had not been inspired to give the Book of Mormon to any of my friends in particular, so I was just waiting for the opportunity to hand it out to a friend. (Now, recall that I am surrounded by people I have never met before.) Turning through the fresh pages, I began to read the 5th chapter of Helaman, where I had left off that morning.
Not five minutes after I had begun to read, a 7th grade girl who I had seen occasionally in the hallways at school turned around from her seat at a different table, and asked, "Are you Mormon?" Hardly surprised by her question which I had already received quite a few times today, I replied firmly, "Yes, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." The young woman smiled. "So, you're LDS?" Grinning, I responded, "Yeah, Mormon and LDS are the same thing."
"Cool!" She came over to the empty seat beside me, and we proceeded to have a quick conversation about the church and the Book of Mormon. It went something like this:
"So, what is the Book of Mormon about?
"Well, it is one of God's holy books, like the Bible, except it involves the people who immigrated from Jerusalem to the America's, or the Promised Land, to escape persecution for their beliefs, much like the pioneers who came from Europe about two thousand years later."
"Interesting. So, what do Mormons believe?"
"Well, we believe that there is a true prophet upon the earth today, and that this is the true church which was restored to the Earth a few hundred years ago by a young man named Joseph Smith."
"Cool. What kind of rules do you have?"
I could tell she was very eager to learn. This made me extremely happy. I told her about the Ten Commandments, Word of Wisdom, modesty, etc. After a few more questions, she returned back to her table, next to her friends. I couldn't help but notice how remarkably quiet she was in comparison to how she had been with her friends several minutes ago.
I felt a prompting to reach out to this amazing young woman. So I pulled my highlighters out of my backpack and started to mark a few of my favorite scriptures, including the Introduction of the Book of Mormon. I wrote my testimony on the front page, scribbled in my phone number as well as the ward missionaries', and waited for a chance to deliver the Book of Mormon to the 7th grader I now felt such tremendous love for. I knew Heavenly Father wanted me to share His gospel with her. I took a few minutes to recover from the overpowering love I knew God had for this girl. I want to mention that I hardly ever cry from being touched by the spirit. The only time that usually occurs is at Girls' Camp during the testimony meeting. Today, I wept (silently). Wiping away the tears, I looked up as the young woman came back over to my table.
A bit shy, she asked, "Could I have your phone number? I think you're a great person." Wow.
"As a matter of fact," I smiled, "I actually wrote it down on the first page. Here," I handed the Book of Mormon to her, "I want you to have this."
"Really?"
I nodded, hoping she would appreciate it and not think I was being to overbearing. "Yeah, I have like five more copies at home."
"AWESOME!" Wow, I was not expecting this reaction.
"It is pretty awesome." I smiled and gave her a high five.
She admitted that she had wanted to know more about this religion for a while, but was nervous to ask. I then explained to her how many Mormons there were at our school. She ended up knowing a lot of them, but was shocked to find out they were members of our Church. This showed me that we should express our religion more often. I am deeply proud to be a Mormon, and want everyone to know. After inviting her to Sacrament Meeting and Mutual, we both went our separate ways and she continued to tell her friends what she had learned. Even though she knew we were both in different grades, she said she would keep an eye out for me at school.
This whole day, I have been SO joyful for the new friend I made today and for the AMAZING missionary opportunity I experienced. I bear witness that Heavenly Father is into details. He loves us, and I love Him SO much! I will proclaim his true gospel as long as I live, and after that. I am extremely grateful for the influence the Spirit has on my life and the things the church has blessed me and my family with every day. I testify that with our Savior's love, we can endure to the end. Invite others to come unto Christ, to be saved. Just a simple invitation is all it takes. If an especially shy 13 year-old can do it, I'm sure you can, too. Sometimes the ones who need our help are the ones we don't even know, but Heavenly Father knows everything about each and every one of us. He knows what we are going through. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
