Going Under (the water that is!)

Yuri, Sterling, and myself at the Yuri's baptism August 20, 2011

We met Yuri through the Mormon missionaries serving in the Arlington area.  After receiving the missionary lessons for less than two months, Yuri made the decision to get baptized.  I don't think that I have ever met anyone more sincere and humble in his desires to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Knowing Yuri has inspired me to be a better member of the Church.  I was blown away by his ability to feast on the scriptures.  If he has a question about something, you can be sure that he will go home and read everything he can find in the Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, Preach My Gospel (the manual for missionaries), and the Gospel Principles lesson manual.  He has downloaded every app the Church makes for his iPhone and uses them during the lessons.  He is making plans to watch the General Conference of the Church. He came to choir the other week.  He frequently requests scripture references from us and the missionaries about what was covered in church.  I know that Sterling and I have been blessed to feel the Spirit in the lessons with the missionaries when Yuri has born his testimony about God's love, and the truthfulness of the scriptures.  Yuri's mother was Christian, but he wasn't raised with the faith.  When he was taught the commandments, he committed to keeping them with full faith.  He has made difficult changes in his habits, but he has such faith that God would make it possible for him to accomplish the things that were asked of him.  It made me look at my own testimony and motivations for keeping commandments like the the Sabbath Day, the Word of Wisdom, and daily prayer/scripture study.  After the baptism, Yuri was invited to share his testimony with those in attendance.  He talked beautifully about how the scriptures resonate with him.  I feel that I have had similar experiences.  Sterling and I were asked to speak about baptism and the Holy Ghost at the service.  I know that Yuri's choice to be baptized will bring him unimaginable happiness.  Being a member has given me more peace and joy than any other thing.  I strongly believe that and am so grateful to Yuri for his example, testimony, and friendship.  We wish him the best as he begins his life as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We will miss him when moves back to Tokyo at the end of this month.