Atheists & Enos

So not too much has happened since the last time I emailed. I guess the first thing I'll talk about is the interesting experience I had while door knocking. After many "not interested" doors, we knocked on one and this slightly larger, older man, without a shirt, walks down the hall, stops, and says, "MOOORMOONS", then invites us in. Turns out he was an atheist, and thought it was crazy to believe the things that we believe, and has been "studying religion for his entire life". He asked us many questions in his Scottish accent, like why do we wear "magic underwear" and a lot of other random things. Sometimes, because of the way he looked and talked, I felt like I was talking to an atheist Santa Claus and had to try not to laugh. We were finally relieved to get out of that house, and even though my companion left his hat in there, we don't plan on going back there.

We also got to hang out in the Priests class this past Sunday, and we learned about Enos. It wasn't just about prayer, but it went really in depth about who he was. The topic of the lesson was about the difference between "belief" and "conversion", and Enos' conversion process. From the first few verses, it seems like Enos is an obedient son, who was taught by his father, but maybe doesn't have his own testimony yet. He talks about the "wrestle" he had before God, and how he prayed all the day long. First he prayed for himself, then, after his prayer was answered, he began to pray for others. After receiving answers to his prayers, he proceeded to teach and prophesy to others. That's when he was truly converted. My companion gave an analogy that kind of goes along with that. It's about a famous tightrope walker, who has done many tightrope stunts and has many fans. His next tightrope stunt is the hardest, and he's going to be taking a wheelbarrow across the tightrope between a canyon. All his fans are cheering him on, and he asks, "do you believe that I can do this?" and they all cry out "yes!". Then he says, "who wants to get in the wheelbarrow", and then it's silent.

I guess to tie everything together, are we converted or working on our conversion to the gospel? Are we like Enos, who's willing to pray all day to gain an answer, and then act upon the answer and preach to others? If we are converted, we are willing to act upon our belief. Or do we just have beliefs, yet are too afraid to hop in the wheelbarrow. It really made me think about if I was truly converted and willing to act. It also made me think about how much time and effort I'm willing to put into the simple things, such as prayer. I guess if we are truly converted, nothing can shake those beliefs we have, that faith we have, even weird atheists like Richard, and his questions about magic underwear.

Anyways, thanks for all your love and support!

Sincerely,

Elder Ho