Missionary moments: Elders I never met
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So often I read in the Church News about the wonderful elders or friends who first introduced a member to the gospel. But neither my husband nor I ever personally knew the missionaries through whom we were first introduced to the Church.
My husband's best friend was entering the army and was being sent to Vietnam. We went to visit him and his wife in Athens, Ga., before he left. We went through the normal catching up and reminiscing about old times.But a part of our conversation drifted to the discussions they were taking from Mormon elders. We spent the better part of the night having them repeat the discussions. They summarized the Book of Mormon as it had been relayed to them.
We were fascinated. That night when we finally went to bed, I borrowed their copy of the Book of Mormon to read for awhile. But of course we would not take their only copy home with us. And we never met the two young men teaching the gospel to our friends.
When we returned home, I checked out a copy of the Book of Mormon at the library. I kept it the customary two weeks and returned it. I did not know where a Mormon Church was located to get another copy. I looked for a copy at a local bookstore, but they did not have any.
A few months later, we moved to Charlotte, N.C. During the next year, I "tried out" several local churches before "our elders" knocked on the front door. And when they knocked we were ready to welcome them into our home. It must have been destiny for them to come to our home exactly when they did because we lived in a gated community, and one needs permission to enter. As they left our home that evening, they were told by the community officials they could not tract there but only visit homes with appointments.
It has been 24 years. My oldest son, Matthew, is now serving in the California San Fernando (Spanish) Mission and second son, Andrew, will leave in July to serve in the Philippines Naga Mission. I have told both of them that you will never know the influence you have on people. I am forever grateful for those two missionaries who taught our friends - the elders I never met. They opened the door for the elders who did eventually knock on our door.
