"My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep the more I give to thee
The more I have, for both are infinite"
--- William Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet)
Fair warning: This blog post might be too nerdy for you to understand. But then again, perhaps the Atonement of Jesus Christ in it's infinite power is no more comprehensive than infinity itself. Three main types of infinity may be distinguished: the mathematical, the physical, and the metaphysical. Mathematical infinities occur, for instance, as the number of points on a continuous line or as the size of the endless sequence of counting numbers: 1, 2, 3,…. Spatial and temporal concepts of infinity occur in physics when one asks if there are infinitely many stars or if the universe will last forever. In a metaphysical discussion of God or the Absolute, there are questions of whether an ultimate entity must be infinite and whether lesser things could be infinite as well. If you were to ask me, I for one am a believer in infinity by all accounts.
**NOTE: If you wish to get in contact with missionaries of the Church to learn more, you can do so at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/missionary-visit
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TEACHING THE PROFESSOR
Just behind and down the dirt street from J. and T.'s place, exceptionally close, was the Muñoz family (Moo-nyoh-z; See "Hermanas de las Chamoyadas"). The lovely mother often accompanied us to our lessons with J and T and further fellowshipped them. It was actually quite fortuitous that they already knew each other long before they even met us, the missionaries. Such is the case for many when they learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the first time; they likely already know somebody who's a member of the Church with or without realizing it. Even though the mother was often sleep-deprived from working the night shift, that didn't deter her eagerness to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Her family of six had been baptized about a year before with the exception of their oldest daughter Tania.
Tania was a math professor, about twenty years old at the time, who, like her mother, also had a heavy workload. She hadn’t been baptized at the time of her family because she had some uncertainties about Joseph Smith (See "Joseph Smith -- A Name Had For Good and Evil"). Having built rapport with us from accompanying us to lessons with J and T, Tania’s mom asked that we start teaching Tania again. It was only fair that we return the favor and visit Tania to see if she wanted to learn more (I say "return the favor" humorously as every missionary is always overjoyed for any referral; see "Member Missionary Work"). It wasn’t every day that we got a referral so we were happy to see what we could do. Nonetheless, the decision would ultimately be Tania's.
God’s hand was in Tania’s life. She'd come to church one Sunday that she was off work (which rarely happened) before we started meeting with her; that alone seemed to indicate some change of heart because who else would come to church on her rare day off when she didn’t have to? With a brief background introduction of her from her mom, we started with the Restoration and Jesus Christ since we knew that was where most of her impasses lay (See "Apostasy and Restoration"). We knew that her whole family were members so she already had a good idea of anything we had to teach. So Elder Scott and I simply shared our testimonies of Joseph Smith as a prophet (See "Prophets and Callings" and "Joseph Smith: A Name Had For Good and Evil") and invited her to read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ and the pamphlet about Joseph Smith which you can read here. She had many questions as to how she could know or even accept Joseph Smith as a prophet but we insisted with love that if she would read the Book of Mormon and pray that her doubts would be answered. It was another bold lesson where answers were promised if she did her part, as it was with J and T. In the end, all we can do as missionaries is trust in the still, small voice to touch the hearts of those with faith and real intent. (See "A Still, Small Voice")
She did do her part and started to read the Book of Mormon and pray. She didn’t read a lot but she read what she could when she had time. We answered her questions as best as we could but always followed up with our heartfelt testimonies. I don't think I'd testified to somebody before as much as I did with Tania. In a short time, her attitude completely changed for the better. In a week or two, she told us that was ready to be baptized. We hadn’t even taught her a lot (she already knew everything from her family and so forth) but the spirit touched her heart and testified that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was true. And as I've said many times before, knowledge isn't nearly as important as a willingness to follow Christ. What helped a lot was seeing the blessings in her own family when they became members of the Church and her desire to be with them forever, as only the restored gospel allows (See "Eternal Family"). Her family was just through the roof happy! Especially her mom. How grateful I am for a righteous mother who had the faith to share the gospel with those she cared most about! Mothers are incredible!
THE PROBLEM OF INFINITY
I recall a profound lesson we had about the Atonement of Jesus Christ with Tania. Elder Scott and I were expressing our appreciation for a Savior who makes repentance possible but also helps us to overcome discouragement. Again, the spirit brought to my memory something pertinent I could share in a way that she could understand and appreciate the Atonement as a math teacher. I’d taken an AP Calculus class my Junior year in High School (I've always been really good at math) and although I didn’t remember much Calculus itself, the spirit brought to my memory something relevant. I told her that I wasn’t sure I had the Spanish words to explain Calculus but I drew a picture of an integral with the volume function you see above. To define an integral simply for you, integrals are used to find the area under a curve. If a two-dimensional area was rotated around an axis, like a revolving door, it would become a three-dimensional volume, like how a revolving rectangle door takes up a cylindrical space. But this particular kind of integral shown above is interesting because if you think of this three-dimensional volume as a conical container, it is bottomless (the two curves have a “limit” and never quite touch) and infinite surface area (meaning if you tried to paint it, you'd never have enough paint) and yet mathematically it has an exact volume that can fill it. So you have an infinitely deep pit with no bottom but you can still calculate how much liquid you need to fill it, go buy that much liquid, and successfully fill it up all the way. It’s sort of a paradox but it’s real. You do the math and this infinitely large object is finite.
This mathematical paradox is called "Gabriel's Horn". The name refers to the Abrahamic tradition identifying the archangel Gabriel as the angel who blows the horn to announce Judgment Day, associating the divine, or infinite, with the finite. You might wish to reread the post, "Temples -- Holy Houses of the Lord", about another angel who is represented as sounding another symbolic trumpet of good news to the world. Even though the trumpet is more of a symbol than anything in scripture, it makes for a good object lesson.
Tania was pretty excited when she heard I had a Calculus problem to explain a gospel principle. It was the first time the analogy even came to me. In fact, it came to me as I spoke it. The words came to both Elder Scott and I to explain the analogy, “Even though at times it seems like our problems are infinitely large, Christ can fill it with a finite solution”. All three of our minds were blown by the spirit taking us to school (so to speak). I don’t know that any other missionary has ever used Calculus in a religious discussion but now it can be said that at least one has, me. God uses our talents to help others and “…the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” (1 Cor. 12:7)
I testify that the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is infinite. It has the power to heal, to bring peace, and to give strength. It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the ultimate act of selfless love that redeems mankind. That is why we need a Savior, and that is what the Savior freely offers us if we choose to keep his commandments and repent. When all is said and done, everything testifies of Christ. (See "Great Sacrifice")
THE BAPTISM
Her work schedule made it hard to meet too often but in order to meet the baptismal date goal, we reviewed and taught her the remaining few lessons in a single sitting in less than an hour. It helped that she already knew everything thanks to her family. She was baptized shortly after on August 28, 2015. Tania asked that Elder Muhlestein come and baptize her because he was the missionary that baptized her family the year before. At that point, Elder Muhlestein was nearing the end of his two-year mission. We thought it was a great idea so that’s what happened. It doesn’t matter so much who baptizes as does the baptism itself matter. Not all missionaries I knew would agree, but I know this to be true. Additionally, Elder Muhlestein was about to finish his mission in a few weeks and this was a good way to end it.
At her baptismal service, our Ward mission leader, Hermano Carillo, suggested that Elder Scott and I sing something in English (See "Sing!"). So as part of the service, we sang, “Be Still, My Soul” whose counterpart is not included in the Spanish hymnbook although it’s called “Calma mi alma, conmigo está el Señor”. The French version is called, “Va, ne crains pas” which means “Go, do not be afraid”. The music for the hymn is traced to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius who wrote the musical score for a pageant whose tune is called Finlandia in 1899 (which had great success) and who later published a stand-alone version of it. The original lyrics are attributed to Katharina Von Schlegel sometime in the 1700s (although little is known about her), and the translation to Jane Borthwick in 1855 of Scottish heritage. Nevertheless, almost nobody at the baptismal service knew what we were singing since they didn’t know English but the Spirit carried the message to their hearts that they knew. It’s a beautiful hymn that in part reads:
"Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last."
When the time came later for me to leave the Riveras areas, on November 1, 2015 which was my last Sunday, Tania got up and shared her testimony for the first time and testified of missionary work. Hermana Flores gave a shout-out too to encourage the Ward to give us more referrals. Never underestimate the power one person has to touch another's life.
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