"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." -- Matthew 7:21-23
My aunt and I would talk about various things when she was alive. Sometimes when we were talking about my grandpa, she would say that he used to tell her that a lot of people in our family were going to be surprised when they reached the other side (meaning after they die, of course). I always wondered what that meant. Until recently, I didn't quite get it. It makes me wonder if my grandpa figured out the truth about Mormonism before he died...
Another conversation my aunt and I had was regarding the Temple ceremonies. When she first went through the temple with my grandpa, there were additional ceremonies that were removed before the first time I went through the temple. We were talking a bit about the first experience of going through the temple. She said that while the ceremonies were taking place, she felt uncomfortable and thought that it wasn't right. However, she looked over at her father who had taken her there and thought that if it wasn't right he wouldn't be doing it. Oh, how right she was at being uncomfortable about the ceremonies.
One major regret that I have is this: I had the opportunity to share the truth with my aunt before she passed away and I did not do it, because I was afraid what my family members that were in the room with me would say. I also wasn't born again myself at this time, only thought I was (although this is not an excuse). However, all that aside, I will always regret not speaking up. The lesson learned is that every opportunity I have to speak to someone about Jesus Christ, I must speak and push past my fear of man.
"Fear not, for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them, and shall not find them, even them that contended with you: they that war against you shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord your God will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not; I will help you." Isaiah 41:10-13
2 comments:
Hi Teri,
I found your blog as someone linked to my blog from yours. I will add your blog to my blogroll. I am always so excited to meet former Mormons - I loved reading your testimony!
What you said about your grandpa made me think of a story my grandma told about my great-grandma (who was a Mormon). She remembers that before my great-grandma died she suddenly started reading her Bible all the time. It gives me hope that perhaps she came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before she died. Hopefully the same for your grandpa. It's hard to know. We won't know until we get to heaven, but I hope and pray that many Mormons will start reading their Bibles more and will find the true Jesus.
God bless you! Keep up the great posts!
Jessica
Thank you so much for your comment. God is so great! He may have reached your great-grandma before she died. The fact that she was reading the Bible adds to that hope.
It is sad that so many Mormons have the truth right in front of them. With the additions to the Bible by Joseph Smith and the belief that it is not 100% accurate, it makes it more difficult to reach them (but not impossible, for nothing is impossible with God!).
God Bless!
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