Five Small Experiences - Stephen A. West
"One never knows what the ultimate impact of his or her efforts may be."
"One never knows what the ultimate impact of his or her efforts may be."
A
second small but profound experience took place when my wife and I
visited the Alaska Anchorage Mission in 2002. After a day of zone
conferences, President KearLee Wright, the president of the Soldotna
Alaska Stake, shared with me the following letter:
“Over 15 years ago, two young men came to my door and wanted to discuss the gospel of Jesus Christ
with me. Unfortunately, I was extremely rude to them, rejected their
offer out of hand, and closed the door in their face. I have no way of
contacting those specific two young men, but if I could, I would
apologize and thank them. I thought about their visit long after I so
rudely dismissed them from my doorstep. Their visit triggered a series
of events in my life that have brought me much closer to God and my family.
“They
have no way of knowing what an impact they had on me. I certainly gave
them no indication that I was at all receptive to God at that time; I
wasn’t. Perhaps they prayed for me as they left my driveway. If they
did, their prayers were answered. That night, I prayed for the first
time in years. Shortly after that, I quit drinking. I had battled
alcohol for many years previous. I have not had a drink for 14 years
now. I entered church for the first time in many years, and after a
great deal of searching, my family and I have found a place to worship
in an Episcopal church.
“The
point of my letter is that one never knows what the ultimate impact of
his or her efforts may be. The two young men who contacted me never got
any indication that they had made any impact on me, but their impact was
profound, and they played a critical role in my journey back to God.
Perhaps sharing this story with some of the young men and women who are
about to go out into missionary work
may help them deal with some of the inevitable rejection they are bound
to encounter. Even cases of apparent rejection may actually be
victories.
“Thank you for … the work you and your ministers do in spreading the word of God.”
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