E-mail Jan. 25, 2016: "Finally"

My whole life whenever I've heard stories from or about missionaries there's always been the classic tale of "The Golden Investigator." I came on my mission thinking that I'd meet plenty of those and that my journal would fill up with golden people.

Guess what? It didn't work like that.

Week after week, month after month, area after area I diligently searched for an investigator who was perfectly prepared and ready to be baptized. I hoped that sooner than later I'd be able to teach someone who would accept what we taught with perfect humility and then follow through on all of our commitments until baptism. Although I taught many wonderful people and there were many who were very prepared they usually made it into the silver or bronze category of investigators.

Then we met Arun.

Arun is an amazing young adult we met a few weeks ago while visiting a recent convert. He came here to Coimbatore looking for work and is staying with one of our members. When we began teaching I didn't know what to think because he didn't speak English and Elder Samson had to translate everything, but as we taught him the lessons we watched his entire being come alive with the light of the gospel. After the first lesson we assigned him to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon before our next visit. When we showed up again we asked him if he had completed it and surprisingly he said yes (most people it takes two or three visits before they remember and find time to read it). When we asked him to explain what he understood we sat there in quiet awe as he spent the next 10 minutes perfectly relating every detail of the introduction. At the end of the lesson when we asked him to pray he again blew us away with the pure faith that underlined his humble conversation with someone whom he already recognized as his Father. Every lesson has been the same. We give and assignment, he reads it and remembers everything. We invite him to church and he comes. he even understood the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith so well that we asked him to teach that part of the lesson to another investigator, and it worked perfectly. His baptism is scheduled for this Sunday, and I'm so grateful that God led Arun to us. I'm grateful for the way that his faith has strengthened mine, for the humility that he has taught me, and for the chance I've had to witness someone who was perfectly prepared. He truly is a 24-karat Golden Investigator. :)

Oh and thanks so much for the temple pics you've all sent to me, it was the best birthday gift I could have asked for. :)

Until next time everyone, stay strong and rock on. :)

-Elder Clouds