27. Sí, Dios Quiere!
- L Rshaw
- Sep 5, 2019
- 10 min read
Updated: Nov 13, 2022
"Just Do It!"
--- Shia LaBeouf (Actor, performance artist, filmmaker)
How do you feel when someone doesn't do what they say they will? You feel terrible! And maybe they lose a bit of your trust. On the other hand, how do you feel when someone does something fantastic that you weren't sure would happen? You feel so proud of them! Your respect for them goes up. I think that's true for everyone. We're all human. We want to know that people will keep their word. At the very least, we want to believe that people care enough to make an honest effort. That's how I felt when I was a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Mexico. I believe that even if people don't have faith in themselves, people's faith in them can sometimes be that extra boost to get them going. But then again, it's not nearly as effective as a person who puts their mind to something. A person who knows what they want and then goes and gets it is a person who can do wonders.
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HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
Isn't that a tricky question? At least for me, getting started can be the hardest part of doing something. Starting with a blank canvas without an idea of what you want to paint first can be hard when there is so much left to be done. I've had school assignments where we're free to do any kind of project that we want on virtually any subject matter of our choosing. And sometimes that's really the hardest part. Having a sense of where you want something to end up. I've had projects where I rushed and chose a subject that I ended up not liking and wasted a whole semester on something that my heart wasn't in. I always do best when I know where I want something to end up. When I have a vision of an end in mind. But getting others to see what you see is easier said than done. Some people just want a thing to be over without being willing to put in the time and effort. I think that's why people dislike group projects so much.
Before teaching people, you must meet people. Not everybody was receptive or interested in listening to the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and some were. You couldn’t tell which was which just by looking at them at a distance. You had to approach them, open your mouth and talk to them!
First impressions are very important, especially if time is of the essence. There is no “one-size-fits-all” way to act, and nor is there a script in life. I tried different things to get a feel for people. I mean, to be honest, don't we all do that in some way or another when we're looking for common ground, a reason to strike up a conversation? A lot of people like to talk about themselves anyway. It just so happens that I prefer to listen. I guess you could say that I'd pull a “Sherlock” or “Shawn Spencer” by identifying with something I saw whether it was toys on the ground to indicate children so we could talk about family, crosses to signify they were Catholic, beer bottles or cigarettes, photos of family, etc. We’d briefly introduce ourselves and ask to come in and sit down. Once it seemed fairly sure that they weren’t going to walk away, we’d be better able to get to know them better. But to be sure, I was always genuine in getting to know them better. I despised the notion of being salesman-like.
Nevertheless, as missionaries-in-training, we had suggestions of “How to Begin Teaching” or “Como comenzar y enseñar” (Koh-moh Koh-mehn-sahr Ee Ehn-seh-nyahr). I abbreviated it in my pocket planner as “CCYE”. It was included in chapter 10 of a missionary manual called, "Preach My Gospel", which suggested ways to break the ice and be effective teachers (Which is good advice for young missionaries who've never had to live on their own in an adult world). It wasn't scripted dialogue but CCYE suggested things to help us be as clear and forward as possible. Among them, we’d explain we wanted to make return visits, that we’d invite them to act not just listen, that we’d help them find or answer questions, and bore testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
PUTTING IN THE WORK
It was so important that they understood that our purpose was to help them change their lives through the gospel and that we weren’t just there to talk or fill some quota—that there was an end goal that required willing cooperation. It was always good to get a feel of how committed they were before talking their ears off so we could kind of sift through the polite ones and focus on the interested ones. We had to use time wisely to help as many people as possible and that meant tending to those who would accept a missionary’s help.
Whatever the case, it's so important to take a sincere interest in people --- in human beings --- and not just see them as the means to your own ends. Everything always goes better and is most fulfilling when a genuine mutual relationship is formed instead of standing on a high pedestal with your nose down (Alma 31:21-22). People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Missionaries don't teach lessons, they teach people.
I had much to learn. Still do. There are times in life when we all feel more superior than we are and those first months were no exception. I felt confident we could progress with everyone if given the chance. Even though I was never the best at teaching (I'm sure), I preferred being with people and teaching them rather than walking in the baking sun eating dust and being eating alive myself by mosquitoes. In the beginning, I didn’t understand that the message we shared wouldn’t be enough to change people’s hearts if they didn’t want it so we'd sometimes continue visiting the kind but uninterested people.
Two years seemed like an eternity away because each day felt endless when we were constantly walking or talking. The number of things we accomplished couldn't possibly be completed in a day 24-hours-long so it would seem in the moment. During the lengthy walks between appointments, I’d find myself daydreaming of my return home and the simple pleasures I would enjoy on my own time. Elder Howard kept the conversation flowing to distract me from homesick thoughts. “If you aren’t talking, it means you’re thinking about home”, he told me. And he was right. The secret is to lose yourself in the service of others (Mark 8:35; Mosiah 2:17). Life becomes much more enjoyable when our focus is on helping others as Christ did. If we do, everything else will take care of itself.
As you could imagine, the greatest arrow to the heart was when despite our best efforts, a person wouldn't do anything with it. Forget us, I wish they'd do it for their own sake. We called them “charlas francas” (Chahr-lahs Frahng--kahs). They weren't so much lessons as they were concise no-nonsense “get-it-into-gear or we’re not coming back” interventions. If nothing changed after the charla franca, we were true to our word, no matter how disappointing it was for us. I truly loved everybody. I’d dreamed my whole life of helping people in tough places turn their lives around and find joy in the gospel. But of the many thousands of people we met, the odds were that most would be kind individuals, but not ready to change. It wasn’t so much that they weren’t progressing so much as they didn’t make the effort to progress. If our presence did nothing for them, then we had to use our time in better ways. That simple.
The true gospel of Jesus Christ is rooted as much in action as it is in faith. Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-18). Those who become converted are those who act on their faith. That is why teaching people what to do is as equally important as believing. To be a painter, you have to paint. To be a teacher, you have to teach. You can’t say you are something if you don’t do what you profess. That's like lying on a résumé. Those who keep the commitments that the missionaries extend are the people whom the missionaries can help and will keep coming back to teach.
Remember, the goal of a missionary is more than regurgitating scripture; it's to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them build faith in Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end on the covenant path. Conversion is a process, not an event.
CONVERSION
Conversion includes a change in behavior, but it goes beyond behavior; it's a change in our very nature. It's such a significant change that the Lord and His prophets refer to it as a rebirth, a change of heart, and a baptism of fire. The Lord said:
“Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters… And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.” (Mosiah 27:25–26)
Although conversion is miraculous and life-changing, it is a quiet miracle. Angelic visitations and other spectacular occurrences do not bring conversion. Even Alma, who saw an angel, became converted only after he “fasted and prayed many days” for a witness of the truth (Alma 5:46). And Paul, who saw the resurrected Savior, taught that “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” (1 Corinthians 12:3). And some who see angels still continue in their wickedness like Laman and Lemuel. (1 Nephi 3:30-31)
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ provides descriptions of people who are converted to the Lord: They desire to do good. King Benjamin's people declared, “The Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2). Alma spoke of people who “could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence.” (Alma 13:12)
They share the gospel. Enos, Alma the Elder, Alma the Younger, the sons of Mosiah, Amulek, and Zeezrom dedicated themselves to preaching the gospel after they became converted to the Lord (Enos 1:26; Mosiah 18:1; 27:32-37; Alma 10:1–12; 15:12).
They're filled with love. After the resurrected Savior visited the people in the Americas, “the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.” (4 Nephi 1:2,15-17)
YES OR NO?
Committing people to action wasn't always an easy task. Mexican culture has a few phrases that I heard so many times per day that they became painful after the first few weeks and exponentially more as the months went on. Among those phrases was, “Si Dios Quiere” (See Dyohs Kye-ehr-eh) which literally means, “If God Wants”, or translates as, “God Willing” which really was their way of saying “no” without being forward about it. I didn’t understand the idiom at first and with child-like optimism took it literally, to which I comforted myself, “Well I guess that’s a yes because God does want it to happen”.
That phrase was like a thorn in my heart that only got hammered deeper every time its vibrations pierced the air. Not only were they being deceptive and indecisive about committing, but that phrase was literally a vain repetition. Sacrilege to my ears. Of course, God wanted them to come to church, read the scriptures, and be baptized! No “Si Dios Quiere” about it. We were His representatives --- representatives of Jesus Christ --- extending warm invitations to keep the commandments God had given! But about 99% of the time, if we invited someone to act and the response was “Si Dios Quiere”, they were really rejecting the invitation.
In Spanish “si” has two definitions. When spoken, they sound identical. The only difference would be when written, one has an acute accent over the “I” (sí). Even the most unlearned Spanish speaker knows that “si” means “yes” and the other writing means “if” which is a little less known. When people said, “Si Dios Quiere”, I only wished they would have meant “Yes, God wants it” instead of “If God wants it”. That was never the case but what a difference that would have made!
I understand that it's only an idiom not intended literally but at the same time, that phrase offended me a lot. I wanted to punch a wall whenever I heard it. It was like using God’s name in vain, saying that if God wanted something done that it would be done with no effort on their part. How many people in the world have that same attitude, to accept everything as God’s will but lack the drive to do what God wills us to do? There are many who choose to disobey God’s will but those who care about God’s will are those who align their own will with His. That is what it means to be a “Disciple”, not by the words that slip past our lips but by how we live; to be a learner, to be teachable, and then come to know the Father and whom the Father has sent.
WEEDS
Laziness can be a spiritual poison. Not only does slothfulness prevent us from getting anything good done, but it also lets our guard down. A man who wants a beautiful garden must plant good seeds and saplings. He must tend the plants if they are to be fruitful. If the man does nothing or neglects his garden, the invasive leech-like herbs will find their way into the garden naturally. Weeds require no effort on our part. They come up anywhere and everywhere. They suck the life sustenance from the good plants until the good shrivels and dies. It's been said that all that's needed for evil to endure is for good men to do nothing.
Sin, temptation, and distractions are like weeds. Some sins are sins of omission, letting our spiritual guard down because we don't take the time to do the things we should to keep the spirit with us. It's only by being doers that we pluck the weeds in our lives and keep the good plants alive. Weeds are persistent, always to return unless countermeasures are taken. We must be prudent and prepared and attack life’s weeds from the roots. If we are faithful laborers in our vineyard, we will reap the sweet fruits of our labors.
God has entrusted us with the ability to act for ourselves and not to be things to be acted upon (2 Nephi 2:13-14, 26). Let us multiply the talents that he's lent us instead of burying them. Let us use the breath that he's lent us to good use.
Ponder Question: Where do you stand in your commitments with God? Do you strive to do what you say you will? How can we better remove the excuses from our lives and be more honest and reliable?
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