Upon arriving for an exchange in Nitra, which is about an hour away from Bystrica by car, I realized that I had left my nametag at home. Thank goodness Elder Clayton had brought two. We both got to be Elder Clayton for a day.
***
Have you ever been teaching English to a Slovak, then suddenly he corrects your English? Our good friend (you know, the one whose favorite song is 7-Nation Army) met up with us, and instead of starting off with a card game, we started by talking about the chapter we gave him from the Book of Mormon. After finishing that discussion, he still wanted help with an English assignment, but time had gotten away from us and it was already time for our English class to start. Elder Clayton and I made a quick decision and decided that he would teach our English students while I would help our friend with his assignment in the other room.
Helping my friend included my reading aloud scripts for him so he could answer questions based on the text. I read them in the most manly, actor-like fashion I could muster, except when a woman was supposed to be speaking, then I raised my voice a little. His English must be so advanced, because I myself could hardly understand some of the words in the scripts, yet I somehow knew how to pronounce them, at least as an American would. I was able to pull off an actor's voice quite nicely, nicely enough to convince my friend that my English is well above average, I think.
"Hey!" called Elder Clayton from the other room. "How do you spell the country that borders England just to the left?"
I shouted: "W-H-A-L-E-S"
My friend looked at me in shocked dismay. "No," he shook his head. "That's a big fish!" He proceeded to spell it the correct way to Elder Clayton. My credibility has taken a hit. Oof.
Testimony and Conversion
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we strive to learn the truth of things for ourselves while relying on faith to help us make it through until we get there. For now, none of us knows everything, so faith is important for each of us. A testimony is how you know something is true. I, for example, know that flossing your teeth helps keep them straight. A testimony of a principle becomes personal for you when you have experiences with it. Have you seen the effects of the principle? What do others testify about it? Have you tried applying the principle to a life situation?
Gaining a testimony of truth is definitely important. Alma taught that "even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it... and its motion... and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator" (Alma 30:44, The Book of Mormon). But even more important is conversion or loyalty to what you know is true. If one isn't willing to be loyal to the truth he learns, it's pretty hard for him to come to the right conclusion and he will likely let himself be dissuaded. There's a lot for me to learn about the conversion process, but from what I know now, it starts with a desire to do and become better by strengthening one's testimony of true principles and faithfully striving to live them, even in the face of adversity. Whether your conversion is like a new tree or a great oak, there's still work to be done and it will take time. Don't give up! You'll thank me later.
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