My conversion has been a lot more like studying a language than being granted the gift of tongues. <\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m in the throes of studying a new language again- Russian this time. I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve finally learned a thing or two about learning a language. It simply takes hard work and patience. It rarely comes quickly. I have to keep at it…and at it…and at it. And more often than not, I feel like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not getting anywhere- I spend too much time looking ahead to what I still have to learn. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not till I stop and look back that I realize how far I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come. <\/p>\n
Learning the genitive plural in Russian, or how to pronounce Kyrgyz words, or working my way through Arabic vocabulary lists are all vital to learning those languages. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as important to use what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m learning- knowing something on paper doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily translate to a productive conversation. I need helpful people who encourage me and gently correct me. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe anyone can be fluent in a language or in the gospel without both study and application.<\/p>\n
Remembering vocabulary in another language is very difficult for me. I usually have to sit down and memorize it over and over. But every so often a word comes with a specific experience that cements it in my mind. For example, I learned the Russian word for rain when a couple stopped in the rain to pick up our family while we were waiting for a bus on the side of a road far from Bishkek.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never had one single experience that I can look back on as something that convinced me that the gospel is true. I just have to keep studying the scriptures again and again, keep praying, keep having faith. But every so often little things- like the Russian word for rain- happen to me. I can look back on one particular prompting to not do something- something good- that would have completely changed the course of my life, or on a memorable night on the Mount of Olives, or an answered prayer at Bethel.<\/p>\n
The language\/tongues comparison obviously isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t perfect- certainly those who have a significant conversion experience have to study and work to keep their faith. I also have no desire to reach near-native ability in any language. I would like to get to that point with my conversion though. I know it will take a lifetime (or more), and that it will only work if I stick with it. But just as I see the benefits of learning a foreign language, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the benefits- partly because of the Russian word for rain- of becoming converted to the gospel. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My conversion has been a lot more like studying a language than being granted the gift of tongues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corn"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}