John, You could never offend me. It takes someone like Stephen Beecroft to do that! ;-)
Anyway, I think the problem lies in something that the sons of Mosiah teach us. We see Ammon and Aaron in Alma 17 set off to different parts amongst the Lamanites. Ammon finds Lamoni and offers to be a servant, makes friends, and converts thousands. Aaron and the others immediately go into telling the Lamanites what they are doing wrong, offend them, and are cast into prison. All were teaching the same truths, but the manner in which they were doing it made all the difference in their success level. Aaron obviously figured this one out, because when he went to the father of Lamoni, the first thing he did was offer himself up as a servant to the king. Only then was he also successful in bringing thousands into the Church. There is a time for bearing down in strong testimony. But Alma's counsel was to be bold but NOT overbearing. Being overbearing can be as much a fatal flaw in missionary work as being too timid. It is usually when we become overbearing, that we begin to offend people (like Aaron did), even though our intentions are good. The Spirit often will guide us to a softer approach, one that the person we are speaking to will listen to. K'aya K'ama, Gerald/gary Smith gszion1 @juno.com http://www .geocities.com/rameumptom/index.html "No one is as hopelessly enslaved as the person who thinks he's free." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe JWR: I can see where you are coming from, Elmer. And you are probably right that I need to be more humble. But after a while a guy gets tired of being misunderstood even though he is speaking the truth. Speaking the truth should never prompt an argument and bad feelings. When I mean to point a finger, and make things personal, then I'll let everyone know. Until then I recommend that those who might be offended read a little more carefully and see if I have singled them out in mere paraphrasing the scriptures and the writings of the prophets. Usually they will find that I have not. John W. Redelfs ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
