"I wish I could find a way to contact the first missionaries that came to our home some 18 years ago only to be politely asked not to come back again," said John Barclay during a missionary correlation meeting. At the time of this comment Brother Barclay was serving as the ward mission leader of the Doylestown Ward, Philadelphia Pennsylvania Stake.
Recently in the Doylestown Ward much of the missionary success has come from seeds that have been sown previously by other missionaries or by members. Discussion had centered on a recent convert who had been given a Book of Mormon by a friend in 1989. This woman and her family had also been close friends with another LDS family when they had lived in another town.
On another day, the full-time missionaries were excited that one of the doors they had recently knocked on was answered by a woman who had some knowledge of the Church. She had been given a Book of Mormon by one of her Latin class students. She was excited to learn from the missionaries that her former student was currently serving a mission.
Another recent convert learned of the Church when she went to a local park and ended up meeting a newly converted ward member who mentioned the Church. She had been told as a child that she needed to find the church that had temples.
The original contact of the Barclay family had come about because of a member referral. About a year after turning the first set of missionaries away, the Barclay family experienced some traumatic events. The same member family that referred them previously prayed about what to do. They decided to write testimonies in a copy of a Book of Mormon and present it to the Barclays. The family also asked if the missionaries could come and visit the Barclay family, and this time the Barclays agreed and listened to the gospel message.
As members, it is our responsibility to sow gospel seeds and nurture them. The time-line of the harvest is not the main concern.
Steps are being taken to try to locate that first set of missionaries who knocked on a door in Massachusetts all those years ago and were told, "No." The seeds that were planted have blossomed, and the gospel has brought joy to the Barclay family. The cycle has come full circle, as the Barclays have a son, Michael, now serving a mission, knocking on doors and following through on referrals. — Margaret Petersen, Doylestown Ward missionary, Philadelphia Pennsylvania Stake public affairs council