Dreams and Things That I’m Learning
Why do we complicate things?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about our lives a year ago when we were so busy with the preparations for this mission. We had a lot of training and advice from many well-meaning people and we were told to pack everything from brown sugar to toilet paper. It was exhausting, confusing, and I found myself overwhelmed because we had no idea as to what to expect because we had no experience to draw upon like we do today after serving for 10 months. It would be so much easier now!
Just before we left, Sister Camille Johnson, the Relief Society General President, invited us to her home for dinner in the Salt Lake City area. She was excited to share with us her love for the Peru Arequipa Mission because she and her husband, Doug Johnson served here four years ago as the mission leaders. She was very kind as she ministered to me and her advice was quite different from the others that I had received prior. She told me to keep things very simple.
Just a few days later, I had a strange dream during the night. In my dream, I was invited to meet with the church’s General Auxiliary Leaders in a home in Salt Lake City. As I arrived there was only a small group of women and I was delighted to have the opportunity to learn from them in such an intimate setting. The house was very pretty and beautifully decorated with simple flowers and we sat in a small living room. As we chatted, more and more people crowded into the home and they were all exclaiming about the beauty and colors throughout the rooms. Soon, it became too crowded and quite noisy with event planners, contractors & decorators and all were focused on making improvements. The atmosphere was hectic and my hosts were distracted by all the commotion. As I left, I was genuinely disappointed because we never got to have the gospel discussion for which I came.
I was alarmed when I woke up from the dream and I instantly thought, “ We have the true gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the path to eternal life.” Isn’t that enough? We certainly don’t need to decorate it! The whole world is looking for this truth and they can’t find it because they are so distracted and bombarded by cheap frills and ornaments. Our friends need truth and clarity, not just entertainment or things that sparkle and we should invite them to see what we see, feel what we feel, and partake of what is made available to all through our Savior Jesus Christ.
Brothers and Sisters, we have been asked by our Savior to share His gospel to everyone we know. It would be sad if we did not share it with those we love. I pray that we can have the courage to do this and to share it simply because it isn’t about a great lesson. The spirit is the true witness of Him and His gospel and we need to have the faith to step aside and allow the spirit to do the work to convert the hearts of those we love.
