By: Elder Bradshaw
On April 13, 2024, Stanly and his son Jared were taking out their trash to the dumpster in front of their apartment when two missionaries stopped them and asked to share a message about the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Jesus Christ. They agreed and said that we were able to come back.
At first Stanly wasn’t super interested. He avoided us when we came by and wasn’t home when we scheduled appointments. We then decided to randomly stop by one night and he and his family let us in and we were able to share a little bit more about how the Book of Mormon could bless their life. The spirit touched Stanly that night and he decided to read it.
The next time we came over only Stanly was home. The rest of his family had left to visit nearby relatives but Stanly later told us that he had chosen to stay behind because he knew that we were coming over. We knew at that moment that he had in fact read the Book of Mormon and he committed to come to church the next day. He began to develop a change of heart and his soon-to-be wife noticed it as well. She later commented to us that right when we had started coming over and sharing our message he had stopped drinking.
As soon as Stanly accepted the Book of Mormon, everything else that we taught him fell into place. He kept every committment we gave him with unmatched zeal. Whenever we extended a commitment to him he would always reply, “Well, if the Lord commands it, I will do it.”
With the help of the amazing members in Cookeville, Stanly and his wife Nolvia were married on July 27, 2024. Right after the wedding, on that same day, Stanly was baptized and confirmed. The next day at church he was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.
Stanly later told us that he was so grateful to have the gospel in his life. He said that before we came, he was losing the trust of his family due to his past drinking habits. But thanks to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ he was able to strengthen his relationship with his family and now his whole family has the desire to be baptized because of the change they have seen in him. As we had promised him, this eternal truth blessed his life: every relationship centered on Jesus Christ grows stronger.
This is a testimony to me that the gospel of Jesus Christ really does bless individuals and families.
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