Hey! So things here are going well. :) Sister Forbush and I had to write up a miracle we had the other day to put in the jail's miracle journal. So I'm just going to send you a copy of that for the day.
This morning Sister Forbush and I studied family history in the 12 week training program. We were inspired by what we learned and determined to use family history in our proselyting efforts that day. We packed family history cards in our bags and told the Brenchley’s as we walked out the door that when we came back in 2 hours we’d have a family history miracle to tell them about! Then we left on our adventure. We felt impressed to tract down Liberty Landing Street. The first door we tried was a lone, large yellow house nestled into the trees at the top of a steep hill. We parked at the bottom and hiked up to the top, huffing and puffing the whole way. We arrived only to find a creepy abandoned house, with a car parked in front. Off to the side of the house there was a motor home, resting under an overhang of green plastic paneling. We crossed the obstacle course of bikes, dirt and logs, also known as the front lawn, to the motor home- hoping we would find the family there. As we walked under the green overhang the paneling creaked and whistled with the wind. A loose piece swung back and forth like a pendulum ready to collapse on us at any moment. With one eye on the paneling and another on the door, we knocked and waited anxiously for the trailer to open. We waited for several moments when to our surprise… nothing happened. The door stayed shut, the paneling continued to creak in the wind, and Sister Forbush and I stood alone at the top of the hill. No miracle at this house.
We turned around and trudged down the hill.We tried several more doors but with no more luck than the first. About the 4th door we knocked on a friendly older woman answered, swinging the door wide and allowing 4 little dogs to come bursting out of the house. We immediately used them to our advantage and oohed and awed over how cute they were. Noticing a fish tank inside the front door we suddenly developed a deep interest in aquatic life… we asked her if we could take a closer look at the tank. She cheerfully let us in. Step one, check. As we surveyed the myriad of fish we noticed several old pictures hanging on the wall behind the tank. We mentioned them to her and asked who they were of. She told us they were her great grandparents. We began asking her about her life and family. She told us wonderful adventures from the exciting life she’d lived. She was kind and caring, and easy to talk to. We loved her instantly.
Focusing on her family we asked if she’d ever done any family history research. She mentioned that she’d always wanted to but wasn’t sure how to start. Our smiles stretched bright as we pulled out our handy family history cards. We told her we’d love to show her how to begin her family history research. She agreed but in the end wasn’t ready to have us come back and teach her how to begin. She said she’d look up the website on her own in her spare time. We could see our conversation beginning to close and her curiosity waning. Unwilling to give up on this wonderful woman, we silently prayed for another way to spark her interest in our message. Desperate to know what to say I plead with my Father in Heaven and then listened. Quietly and gently a question began to from in my mind, “Have you ever wondered what happens after this life?” A stream of light began to form in my thoughts and I could see where to guide our conversation. Knowing she was a widow I posed the question and then asked her if she believed she’d see her husband again. She of course answered, “yes.”
A second question crisply made its way into my thoughts, “Do you believe you will still be married to him in Heaven, as husband and wife?” I tenderly spoke the words and she responded with… “Well, I’m not sure. I suppose I’ve never thought about that.” I began to testify to her that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and he intends for those marriages to last into the eternities. She began to get teary eyed and said with a glimmer of hope, “You’re going to make me cry.”
We let this hope sink into her heart for a moment and then continued on.
We asked what was necessary for a marriage to be considered valid in the U.S. She mentioned you needed to be married by someone holding a license. “Exactly,” came our reply, “you must be married by someone with authority. The government of Heaven is no different. For a marriage to last into the eternities you must be married by someone holding God’s authority.” We then knelt by her side and turned to Matthew 16:19. We read with her the account of Christ giving Peter power to bind things into the Heavens, which says,
"And I will agive unto thee the bkeys of the ckingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt dbind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
We testified that this binding power was how God bound marriages into the Eternities. Then we asked her what the pastor had said at the end of her vows. “Till, what, do we part?” She spoke almost in a whisper, “till death do we part.”
“Right” came our soft reply. “What did that man tell you that day? He told you his power was to marry you for this life only. With that very phrase he testified to you that he did not hold the same binding power Peter was given by Christ. We know, however, that this power has been restored to the Earth again today, and that your marriage can be made Eternal through this power in a holy temple of God.”
While showing her a picture of the temple, Sister Forbush testified of the comfort that comes through the knowledge of eternally bound families. She shared how she had felt of that peace after the loss of her own mother. She testified that through the priesthood power, she knew her parents had been bound together in the temple and they would be married in the Eternities. She testified that she was sealed to her mother and family in God’s kingdom. She knew they were not permanently separated at death, but would remain a bound family for time and all eternity. The spirit was strong, and our friend wept. We asked if we could come back and teach her more, to which she readily agreed.
We knelt on the ground and said a closing prayer to our Father in Heaven thanking him for the spirit He had given us that afternoon, and for the blessing of Eternal families.
15 minutes later we were back at the Liberty Jail. Bounding up the stairs we called out to the Brenchley’s “Ask us about our family history miracle…”
Sister Forbush and Lewis.
Love you all!! This work is true :)
Sister Lewis
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