followHIM - Hard Times On Hard Floors • followHIM Favorites • July 8 - 14 • Come Follow Me

Episode Date: July 4, 2024

SHOW NOTES/TRANSCRIPTSEnglish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM28ENFrench: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM28FRPortuguese: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM28PTSpanish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM28ES YOUTUBEhttps://youtu.be/FJQ9BSJkoBoALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTESfollowHIM website: https://www.followHIMpodcast.comFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookWEEKLY NEWSLETTERhttps://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletterSOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another Follow Him Favorites. John and I are sharing a single story to go with each week's lesson. John, we are in Alma 23-29 today, Anti-Nephi-Lehi's, Ammon, Aaron, kind of the end of their mission. And I have a story I thought fit really well with Alma 26, when Ammon is looking back over his mission. He says, when our hearts were depressed, we are about to turn back. The Lord comforted us. He says, we have traveled house to house, replying on the mercies of God. We've entered their houses and their synagogues. We've been cast out, mocked, spit on, hit, stoned, cast into prison.

I wonder if Aaron thought at that point, I was cast into prison, not we. So I thought of a story. This comes from Elder H. Ross Workman. This is from a 2003 new era. And he talks about his mission. He was a member of the 70 when he told this story. This was a long time ago.

He was in college. He had a good part-time job. He was engaged and was going to be married in just a couple of months. Life was good. The future looked bright. He says, I was very surprised when my stake president pulled me aside on a Sunday morning and said, the Lord wants you to serve a mission. He said, I felt powerfully impressed that this call was from God. I acted upon that impression and committed to serve. I was called to serve in the Southern States mission. I quit my job. I left the university. I postponed my wedding for two years. I said goodbye to my loved ones. I was leaving everyone and everything that mattered to me. Here's his first few days. I traveled by train many hours to Atlanta, Alabama, where I would be given instructions about my area. The same elders who had picked me up, took me to the bus station, handed me a piece of paper with an address on it. They told me to meet the missionaries in Montgomery. They would tell me what to do. All right. So he walks tentatively

to the bus station, bought a ticket and got on the bus. It was getting dark and I was feeling very alone. I found an empty seat next to a window and tried to ignore the growing discouragement from not knowing where I was going or what I would do. When the bus driver took his seat, he stared at me in the rear view mirror. He walked to where I was sitting and shouted, what are you trying to do, boy? I was shocked that he would shout at me with all the people on the bus watching. I had no idea why he was angry. I barely whispered, I'm just trying to ride the bus. He yelled, are you trying to start something here? He then pointed to a white line on the floor of the bus that i hadn't noticed he told me to sit

in front of that line or he would put me off the bus i was terrified and i moved immediately i did not know until much later that in those days the white lines divided the areas where the white and black people could sit there was segregation in that area and the driver thought I was trying to start a protest. All right, so things are not starting off super well. He said, I rode for several hours, huddled in the bus, trying to fight off fear, loneliness, and now embarrassment. By the time I reached Montgomery, my trembling hands could barely lift my suitcases. The bus arrived late at night. The bus station was empty. There was no one there to meet me. The only information I had was an address that the missionaries had

given me back in Atlanta. I had no idea how to find the address. There's no GPS. There's no map. No Google. Yeah. What street are you on? I don't even know. He said, I awakened a taxi driver who was sleeping in his taxi and asked him if he could take me to the address on the paper. He was irritated. He told me how much it would cost. I promised to pay the fee, even though it seemed outrageously expensive. Right? I mean, what other options do you have?

I want $1,000. All right. Listen to this, John. He then drove me fewer than 100 yards and announced, you're here. Oh, man. No tip for you. He demanded his fee and left me and my suitcases in front of a small white house. The house was dark.

I carried my suitcases to the porch a small white house. The house was dark. I carried my suitcases to the porch, knocked on the door. Nobody came to the door. I knocked loudly. After a few minutes, a very sleepy-eyed missionary opened the door. Who are you? Yes. When I told him who I was and why I was there, he said he didn't know I was coming and he didn't invite me in. I apologized and told him I was just doing what I was asked to do. We don't have any room for you, he said. Me, still on the porch. What do you want me to do, elder?

I cried. Probably the middle of the night. I've been sent here. I have nowhere else to go. He finally invited me into the house and told me I'd have to sleep on the kitchen floor. Then he disappeared into his bedroom. Never had I felt so alone, unwanted, and discouraged. I put my suitcases on the filthy kitchen floor and turned off the light. I was too discouraged to sleep,

so I stood at the door and peered out the window. I could see the bus station that I had left only a few minutes before. I could just walk there and buy a ticket home. I had enough money left. All of my joys, hopes, and dreams were back at home. People there loved me. I could have my old job back. I could go back to my school. I could see my family and I could get married. Over and over again, I thought, go home. Nobody here cares about you. Nobody here wants you. Then I asked myself, why did I come here in the first place? My stake president's words came back to me. The Lord wants you to serve a mission. I had felt a powerful impression when he said that to me. I had had that feeling so strong. I postponed my wedding. I quit my job. I had left my school so I could serve a mission. I had known that the Lord wanted me to serve. Then he said,

being in the mission field was not at all like I thought it would be. Looked like nothing on the videos. I had been sure once, but now when I needed divine reassurance the most, those powerful feelings were just a memory. I was in the process of making a very important choice. It was a choice between what I wanted and what the Lord wanted. It was the first time in my memory that I had recognized so clear a choice. I spoke to myself. So picture him, John, looking at the bus station, middle of the night, nobody wants him there. No one seems to care. And he says, I will never, never quit the calling I have accepted. No matter what happens, I will stay on this mission. As I said those words, peace came to my heart for the first time since arriving in the mission field. I will always be grateful for the

blessings of that choice. It changed my life forever. And I think immediately of the Sons of Mosiah. We have suffered every privation. And in a hard moment, they made a great choice. That's what it sounds like. So I love that story. The hardest moment, a great choice brought him peace. I have basically burned the boats behind me. I am here. Now, John, it's very important that we say this was about him having a very difficult time, being treated poorly. This is not about his mental health. This wasn't about his sicknesses or anything like that, because we have many people listening who perhaps couldn't serve their full anticipated time because of some sickness or mental illness. And that's not what we're talking about.

Right. That's a decision they prayerfully make with their mission leaders. The fact that they were willing to serve, that's what's important. Yeah, that's what matters. I hope anybody listening doesn't feel some sort of negative feelings or bad feelings about this story because perhaps your mission didn't turn out the way you thought it would be. You served the mission the Lord wanted you to serve. What this is about is a commitment to something you know the Lord wants you to do. Remember how we talked about that, John? Never had it been so clear. I knew what the Lord wanted me to do, and he made that commitment. That's fantastic. Wherever you're serving, whatever you're doing, when you

know what the Lord wants you to do, commit yourself to doing it, just like the sons of Mosiah. We hope you'll join us on our full podcast. It's called Follow Him. You can get it wherever you get a podcast. We're with Professor Lori Denning this week. You're going to just love her. She loves to laugh. She loves to point out fun insights, really moving insights in these chapters. And then come back next week. We'll share another story for Follow Him Favorites.