Jenny and Chevez: Can the Book of Mormon really do all of that?

Pics at the bottom
A bit more lengthy text this week

Chevez—We had Chevez over for dinner this week to review and provide an overview of the Book of Mormon. Prior to dinner, he came an hour earlier than the Missionaries who would join us for dinner. In that hour, we taught him how to navigate through Gospel Library, the phone App. And LIBRARY is the appropriate word. It seems you could spend a lifetime reading everything in there….after all, it’s a home library that would take up several shelves on a large book case, and then some. We remain amazed at the volume of books, manuals, full set of scriptures, pictures and videos housed in one click of a button.

The KJV Bible is not translated yet into French with the cross-references so we have a separate phone app for the Bible in French; members who use a hard copy use a similar KJV. We showed Chevez the Bible Dictionary so he can look up names he’s unfamiliar with and learn about them in a quick summation. That’s another treasure trove of untapped information available at our fingertips.....literally. And learning where each book of scripture is—whether it’s in the New Testament, Old Testament or Book of Mormon—can be a learning curve when you don’t grow up with all that practice in Primary. We reminded him to ask anyone he is sitting near at Church when he is not sure.

We showed Chevez where to find the Sunday School lessons in the App and how the hyper-links get him right over to the scriptures. And we went through the locations of the maps and photos within the App. It was all in good timing, as he accepted a calling today to co-teach with the Missionaries in Young Men’s, a class of one. Imagine that—three teachers, one student! Chevez is well under way in navigating the scriptures and the Gospel Library App!

Chevez is still reading the Book of Mormon the first time through and we shared an overview of it with him. Since Mormon is abridging the Book of Mormon as well as occasionally commenting, it can be a bit confusing sometimes who is relating the chain of events. And with so many new and unusual names, places and details it can take a few readings to get it all sorted out. Further into the Book of Mormon, two other groups, the Mulekites and Jaredites are introduced even though chronologically one group came about the same time and the latter group came well before Lehi and his family which is found in the beginning chapters—flashbacks in time rather than events.

We briefly shared some favorite stories, many of which he’s becoming familiar with at Church. Like many of us, he wants to know where Zarahemla is.

But figuring out who’s who in the Book of Mormon is really only the beginning of why we read it. We read it for many reasons. We read the beloved stories in the Book of Mormon just as we do in the Bible: stories like Noah’s Ark, Moses crossing the Red Sea and Daniel in the Lion’s Den. Book of Mormon favorites tell of Alma, Abinadi and Ammon, to name a few (…..but they don’t all begin with “A”). The children of Israel had their ups and downs as did their counterparts, the Nephites and Lamanites, in the Book of Mormon lands in the ancient Americas. Universal themes like obedience, righteousness, humility and pride weave themselves through Biblical and Book of Mormon stories alike. Our obedience is rewarded and we prosper as a result; and our disobedience finds us in an unhappy state and often in a state of bondage sooner or later—collectively as a nation or individually and personally. Same problem = same result. Human nature has not changed all that much no matter when or where we live/d.

We read scriptures to understand God better and to understand how we can more closely align ourselves with Him through the choices we make. As we understand the stories, we begin to see patterns develop. Story after story reveals how God really just wants us to be righteous and obedient so He can bless us. Quite the recipe for love.

Through reading the Book of Mormon, we gain clarification to the Bible since much was lost in the Bible during its many translations through the Ages. We can definitely relate on a first-hand basis as we continue learning French how difficult it is to translate as we try to make ourselves understood with just the right word. Sometimes it just doesn't convey what we want to say.

In the Book of Mormon as we read, we learn from other’s mistakes. Of course, that is the preferred route. The harder road is not learning from other’s mistakes. History really does repeat itself. We see what forms of government work, what pitfalls to avoid as nations and as individuals. We watch families go through ups and downs and learn about true and correct principles that will help us be more successful with our own families.

Also with Chevez this week at our place, we shared an article on the Holy Ghost with Chevez by apostle David A Bednar. Learning how to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost is an invaluable tool and takes some practice. Not growing up with that concept ourselves—of the Holy Ghost as one’s constant companion, friend and guide—we found that was quite a new concept for us as converts. Now, we can’t imagine living without that constant companionship and influence.

After all that discourse, the Missionaries come over and joined us for dinner and a friendly game of ping-pong. We have a half-sized ping pong table (our dining room table plus a net that we bought) in our living room and believe it or not, room for another half-sized table. Europe is not well known for large spacious living quarters…and hotels for that matter. But the Elders found a great location and the perfect apartment for us for our Branch gatherings.

In his testimony today at Church, Chevez commented that on his 2 ½ year-long search that he didn’t really fully understand the role of the Holy Ghost in testifying of truth when it is heard. But today he spoke of his growing understanding of the Holy Ghost in his personal life. That was the difference he said, “Now I KNOW it’s true. I know for myself. I felt it and I know it now.”

It was a day of firsts for Chevez: First time to pass the Sacrament. First time to bear his testimony. First time to co-teach a class. First time to offer the prayer in Priesthood.

Jenny—What a gem! What a student! What a baptism!

Jenny has been a prize pupil all along and latched onto the Missionary lessons with gusto right from the start. She read ahead of the Missionaries; she came prepared to the lessons with 8-10 questions. She was so ready and prepared on her own well prior to hearing the lessons. She was searching and as soon as she heard the first lesson, she was in. As soon as one lesson was finishing, she was asking when we would be meeting again. She loved the answers to her questions; she stopped smoking instantly and she begged to be baptized sooner. That baptismal date just couldn’t come soon enough for her.

We’re all on a different time tables in our spiritual journeys. And we can’t compare ourselves. Sometimes we get one concept really quickly and at other times we have to wait long decades for understanding on another concept. The race is against sin, not each other. It’s about being a better us. And for most of us, that’ll likely take our full lifetimes.

Jenny requested to baptized in Italian. Her mother is Italian and she grew up with Italian and French. And as “luck” would have it, our gifted and multi-lingual Missionary didn’t skip a beat learning the Baptismal Prayer in Italian. It’s not a hard jump within the Romance languages, though it takes some work. Before Jenny knew of Elder Vera’s language abilities, she had requested that he baptize her. And Marc, who was a witness for the Baptism and also “by chance” happens to speak some Italian was able to hear and understand the Baptismal prayer….all needing to be word perfect. So he would witness that the prayer and ordinance were properly performed. And well, there’s no doubt about it: this was one highly orchestrated event by a Heavenly Hand. We just sit back and marvel how effortlessly it all lined up and without a hic-cup.

Jenny received the Gift of the Holy Ghost today during our Sacrament hour. She was just beaming. Now the Holy Ghost can remain with her throughout her life as long as she (and we) keep ourselves clean, pure and worthy. She's in for a real treat as she makes room for the Holy Ghost in her life. It's like having your own personal life coach. But this life coach is Divine, leading us, guiding us, walking beside us and making us into a better person little by little. Like author CS Lewis states in Mere Christianity:

"Imagine yourself as a living house, God comes to rebuild this house,

maybe you understand what he's doing, he's doing the drains

and stopping the leaks on the roof, etc. He needs to do some work

and you are not surprised, but he starts to hit the house in a way

that is horribly painful and does not seem to make sense.

The explanation is that he is building a house

different from the one you were thinking of -

by launching a new wing here, installing an extra floor,

erecting towers, doing courses ...

You thought that you were going to be transformed

into a decent little house: but he built a palace."

Jenny, too, bore her testimony today. She spoke about the Book of Mormon and knows the Book of Mormon is true. She’s beyond her years in understanding in her one month of lessons with the Missionaries. She shared a verse from the Book of Mormon which she took up to the pulpit with her. But then she gives herself away like in her testimony today when she asked, “Which do I say first…the chapter or the verse when I’m referencing something?” Then we are suddenly pulled back to just how young she is in the Church, technically less than a day on Sunday. We remain speechless as she captures the profound essence of the Gospel but is still just learning the ABCs of “Mormon lingo.”

Jenny also accepted a calling today to co-teach and work with the Youth. We have four youth total thus far. Her co-teacher is Siobhan, our recently returned missionary. And Jenny is an already seasoned teacher with an Army Reservist background. If you’ve conjured up some boot-camp sergeant barking orders at the troops, think again. Jenny is gentle, loving, tender….and very disciplined.

We had such a nice turnout of 26 people at Jenny’s baptism. Some drove great distances of over an hour to attend. They have all been touched by Jenny’s insatiable desire to learn and the way she drank so quickly and deeply from this well. We’re going to have to peddle pretty hard and fast to keep up with Jenny. It’ll keep us all on our toes.

And the extra good news is that now we have the seeds of a Young Adult group in our Branch. They bring energy and a vibrancy all their own. And we are thrilled.

We also welcomed Elder Wolfgramm to our Branch this week. He is Tongan though born in the States; he is not a native French-speaker. Elder Wolfgramm is one of 10 children and is the second to youngest. He’s energetic, on-fire and insists in speaking French whenever he can. He’s got a great attitude and learned everyone’s names before he got to Church today. Hats off to him!

A la prochaine.

Around the corner from us

Jenny's baptism

Elder Vera our multi-linguist and Jenny. Happy, happy day

Jenny and Chevez

Elder Vera, Jenny, Siobhan, Elder Wolfgramm our new Elder

Jenny is fun and fun-loving

Branch Mission Leader, Frere Moulis and Jenny

Pink bottle-brush...not to be confused with the red one below

Amelie (Frere Moulis' daughter) and Elder Vera

A restaurant we have our eye on, a few blocks over from us

At Place Verdun, main plaza in Tarbes

Next street over

Peacock eating right out of your hand

Local summer concert

Nice to have sunflowers, but wish we had more sun in the sky! The rain keeps on coming.

Jardin Massey

Sunset and a break in the rain

The roses are out

Jardin Massey

Facing Jardin Massey

There's a house under all that vine

New growth on a blue spruce....pine cones forming now for fall

Jardin Massey, our very nearby retreat

This peacock had his feathers fanned out for about 1/2 hour

Here is his competition

Unfortunately she wasn't impressed; but we were

Red bottle-brush

Insect hotel, very common and built so you can watch the insects at work

Sister Barbaroux who just returned from Montreal Mission;

She came up to Marc seeing his name tag and said that she knew a missionary serving in Montreal that told her that if she ever saw another Poussard that she is probably related to them and to say hello for her. Sister Barbaroux was surprised to find that we were not only related to her, but her parents!

Constanza from Romania and Marc

Temenava just turned one. Juliet is taking the discussions and would like to be baptized.

When they return to Tahiti (where they are from) to visit, they will get married so Juliet can be baptized. Dad owns and operates a tattoo parlor with his brother.
He commutes to work...right next door. He is not interested; but will support Juliet's decision.