Missionary encounters with people who had divine interactions

On my mission in El Salvador East (’00-02) I once taught a woman the first discussion, and after teaching about the First Vision she said “YES! I’ve seen the same thing!”

Bryce Haymond

On my LDS mission in El Salvador East (’00-02, the mission and country name translation meaning “The Savior”), I once taught a woman the first discussion, and after teaching about Joseph Smith’s First Vision she said “YES! I’ve seen the same thing!” And she proceeded to tell us her own experience of seeing the divine light. My companion and I rolled our eyes at each other and told her, “No, no… you see, Joseph was a prophet of God who saw God and Jesus Christ,” etc. She was insistent that she too had seen God in the light. We left, chuckling under our breath at her obvious delusion.

On another occasion my companion and I taught a single man all the missionary discussions over several weeks and months. He was a little over middle age, a very soft-spoken, kind, humble, gentle man. He was golden. He read the entire Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. At the end of our teaching him the discussions he told us that he thought he was a prophet too, and that he thought he had received sacred revelations from God also. We got angry at him and told him it was NOT POSSIBLE that he was a prophet! That he was deluding himself, that he simply didn’t understand the way God works today. And we left him.

It grieves me deeply how we treated these people who shared with us their sacred interactions and communion with the divine… I weep tears even now… May God forgive us.

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3 thoughts on “Missionary encounters with people who had divine interactions”

  1. Don’t be too hard on yourself. This is part of learning as we progress through our life. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  2. There are those who will mock such, tell them something, they’ll claim the very same, where it’s a sort of passive aggressive act!
    However, there are people who have had divine interactions, where as a fellow I personally know asked if G-d was, using similiar methodology in Genesis 20. Same person also witnessed what would be called I think an orb a rather large orb in the very dark of his closet in that same time era, as the orb put off a light translucent light! Then has had different experiences over time!
    The mockers and scoffers, there’s plenty! Others have actually had divine interaction!

    Reply

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