Last night I went with the missionaries to teach a young man named Amir. Amir was a great example of everything I love the most about the gospel.
He is very affected by all the evil in the world. He can’t understand why we have wars. Why would one nation attack another nation and what do they hope to gain by doing so? Why is there so much hunger and poverty in the world? He is grateful that he lives in what is possibly the safest and most affluent country in the world, but he is convinced that all the politicians are corrupt and stealing money from the masses to build up their own power and influence. He loves technology but he is convinced that great technology is being hidden from us. It was difficult to teach him anything because he would continually interrupt us to share one more fear he has. It was endless. The poor guy was tormented.
We agreed with him that there is great confusion and evil in the world and we agreed that without some outside help it would be impossible to know what to believe or to find any peace. We testified to him that there is only one source of truth and peace. He needed to pray to Heavenly Father to learn what he should believe and what not to believe.
He told us that there is a man who preaches that to pray is to give someone else control over your life. He said he believes him. We asked him why he would believe that man but not believe anyone else? We assured him that anyone who tells you that praying is evil, is wrong and we taught him how to pray and why it is important to pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
We challenged him to avoid the internet for a week to keep the confusing voices out of his life and to find a peaceful quiet place where he could go to pray vocally, privately and uninterrupted. We challenged him to give thanks for everything he loves about his life and to ask God for peace, ask if the book of Mormon is the word of God and if the missionaries are sent to him by God. He said he would do that for a month.
We promised him that if he would study and pray with an open mind and a sincere desire to know what is true, then God would answer his prayer, and the Holy Spirit would witness to him the truth of what he was asking. We promised him that he would feel the influence of the Holy Spirit in his heart, and he would have peace.
As we were teaching Amir, I couldn’t imagine living a life of fear and confusion like he is doing. I worry about everything Amir worries about but because of the gospel I can live a life of peace with confidence in the future. I am grateful for the peace that the gospel gives me. For the companionship of the Holy Ghost that helps us discern truth from error.
I testified to him that the gospel is a source of great joy to me and that he could have that same peace and joy in his life. It was obvious that he wants that so dearly, I only hope that he is able to block out the negative voices in his life long enough to find that peace.
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In prehistoric times 3 out of 4 people died from hunger
Today about 1 in 20 people die from hunger
In mideaval times 1 out of 4 people died at the hands of another human being
Today about 1 in 300 people die at the hands of another human being
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