Giving a friend a Book of Mormon

I have wanted to give one of my law-school friends a Book of Mormon for several years. I have always waited for the perfect moment, and I have always talked myself out of the "perfect moments" that have come along. A few weeks ago, I went to Barnes and Noble and I paid 22 dollars for one of the Doubleday versions of the Book of Mormon. I figured that if I would be more likely to follow through with my goal of giving away the Book of Mormon if I had actually spent some money on the gift. I was planning on giving my friend the Book of Mormon, on Monday April 3, 2006 (her Bday), so I was hoping to find some extra confidence by attending and listening to the sessions of General Conference.

On Sunday Morning, M. Russell Ballard spoke about "Creating a Gospel Centered Home". He encouraged us to forget our guilt for our failures in missionary work, and to instead focus on making our home a testimony of our faith. Then he encouraged us to welcome people into our homes, and to let them abound in the spirit that will be in our home. He also said that if we are truly converted to the gospel, we will not have issues with sharing the truth with our friends. This gave me strength--because I want to be truly converted to the gospel.

"Some of you may even feel guilty that you are not giving much help to the missionaries. Today I invite you to relax and set aside your concerns and focus instead on your love for the Lord, your testimony of His eternal reality, and your gratitude for all He has done for you. If you are truly motivated by love and testimony and gratitude, you will quite naturally do all that you can to assist the Lord in "[bringing] to pass the immortality and eternal life" (Moses 1:39) of our Father's children. In fact, it would be impossible to keep you from doing it."

So, after general conference, I started my first fast in a long time (Annastyn stopped nursing in March) so that I would have the courage to deliver the intended gift. I was nervous and I almost talked myself out of it--but I stayed the path! Nothing dramatic happened either for the good or the bad--she is still my friend and she was very gracious in her receipt of the gift. I felt very encouraged in my efforts to work on being a member missionary.

Elder Ballard said: ". . . [a successful missionary experience is] not defined by whether or not people join the Church as a result of our contact with them. Our opportunity and responsibility are to care, to share, to testify, to invite, and then to allow individuals to decide for themselves. We are blessed when we have invited them to consider the Restoration, regardless of the outcome. At the very least, we have a rewarding relationship with someone from another faith, and we can continue to enjoy their friendship."