Leading up to the Utah trip, I was worried. After all, I had only been a Fellow for five weeks, and now I was about to go head-to-head with people of the LDS Church. Even though we’d been equipped, I worried I would forget what we learned about apologetics, evangelism, and even my own Bible. This created a big fear in my heart. I worried I was not going to be able to communicate clearly, that I would slip up and say a wrong fact, or that I might forget all the teaching and strategies I was taught in class. Most of all, I was afraid that I would misrepresent Christianity as a whole. This was my big prayer throughout the whole trip, and I realized only afterward how God answered it.
I went into our first spiritual conversation with an anxious mind. I wasn’t afraid of talking to strangers, but that I could say something entirely wrong at any point. However, I quickly realized that I was not alone in this at all.
Of course I knew God was with me, but I didn’t realize truly just how much.
I saw him in the truth and wisdom my peers were displaying as they made amazing points and we supported each other. Then I started to realize the points I was making. The connections, analogies, and truth that were coming from me. It was hard, and I would still get stumped, but I always had someone to back me up. I started learning how I could engage in the conversations, often directing things back to the gospel and tying conversations into truth. The conversations were difficult and sometimes heartbreaking, but that grew in me a heart for the lost and the fact that the truth can be known.
On one of the last days of the trip, my friend gave our group a sweet shout-out and commented on how I had excellent theological wisdom. I could not believe I could be associated with those words. Then I finally realized that God had answered my prayers. Not by instantly gratifying me by knowing all the facts, but by facilitating little bits of truth through me. It was truly incredible, the things that the Lord did in the conversations I had. I can say with absolute certainty that the Lord grew me just as much as the members of the LDS Church did on this trip. I’m so thankful to Him for allowing me to be a vessel and giving me the wisdom for the truth I got to share.
Andi Partin, Class of 2027
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