"WHO HAS NEED OF THE PHYSICIAN?"
One weekend when I had no Church assignments, I decided to
attend a sacrament service in
a local ward. I took my seat in front on
the stand and watched the people
gather. A few of the people who came
in I knew; most I did not.
Just moments before the meeting started, I saw two missionaries
come in through a side door with
a woman--a very worldly-looking woman.
It was obvious that she was new
to the group because she looked
apprehensively from side to side
and had to be guided to her seat. She
was dressed in faded jeans and
a tight sweater, and her face was heavily
made up. Her dark and hardened
countenance seemed to reflect a life of
sin that was frightening to contemplate.
I couldn't help but wonder who would be successful in influencing
the other--she the missionaries,
or the missionaries her. Immediately
following the service, I sought
out one of the missionaries and spoke
with him privately about the
woman he and his companion had brought
to church. My initial question
was: "Elder, where did you meet that
worldly woman?" My tone
of voice was Pharisaic, inferring that he had
brought to church someone who
was unworthy of the privilege of
worshiping with our group.
The missionary bristled a little bit, stood his
ground, and replied, "Elder
Asay, who has need of the physician, the
sick or the whole?" (see
Matthew 9:9-13.)
Well, he had backed me into a corner. How could
I question or refute
what he and his good companion
were attempting to do for someone who
was spiritually sick and in desperate
need of help from Christ, the Great
Physician?
All I could say in return was: "Be careful! Make certain that
she
doesn't tempt or contaminate
you."
Time passed, and I almost completely forgot the incident. But some
months later I attended a fast
and testimony meeting in the same chapel.
The crowd was much the same as
before; some I recognized, some I
didn't. One woman entered
alone, walked down the aisle, and seated
herself near the front of the
chapel. She sat quietly, meditated, and
waited for the start of the meeting.
She was dressed tastefully and her
face reflected a special saintliness.
In fact, she was beautiful. There was
something familiar about her,
but I couldn't be sure whether I had ever
seen her before. No one
in the congregation seemed to worship as
intently as she did during the
service. She seemed to sing and pray with
all her heart.
It was a fast Sunday. The bishop bore his testimony and then invited
others to bear theirs.
The beautiful young woman was the first to respond.
She stepped to the pulpit and
began to speak. Among other things she
tearfully told of how the missionaries
had literally fished her out of the
gutter, encouraged her to repent,
and introduced her to members of the
Church and to the fullness of
the gospel. It was then I realized she was
the woman dressed in jeans that
I had seen in church with the missionaries
only a few weeks before.
A miraculous transformation had taken place
through the efforts of two dedicated
missionaries who looked upon the
woman not as she was but as she
could become.
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