Elder Russell M. Nelson

Today I started reading the biography of Elder Russell M Nelson. I am only a few pages into it but I can tell it is going to be so good! Right now I am reading about his ancestry and how his family came to join the Church in the 1800s and came to America. His grandpa was even born and raised in Ephraim, Utah-near my home! Anyway, I just wanted to share a story from the life of one of his great-grandfathers named Johan Andreas Jensen. Johan was was living in Norway when he first learned about Christianity and he believed the teachings so much that he spent many years distributing his wealth to the poor. Even before he learned about the LDS church he would preach repentance in the streets of Norway and he even published an article calling the King of Norway to repentance. Of course, for this, he was thrown into jail. Six weeks later, he recieved roommates there-two Mormon misisonaries who were also jailed because they were caught teaching repentance! These two missionaries spent their time singing hymns, praying, and reading the scriptures. In the end, their actions served as the foundation of Johan's testimony and it was during his time in prison that he felt that the Church was true.

To me, that is a perfect example of how the Lord works in mysterious ways. Many times, when things do not happen according to our plans we seem them as negative events, but maybe they truly are blessings in disguise-things that the Lord will use to further His purposes later on down the road!