John Taylor was a religious leader with an idea I find most attractive: “the Gospel, it has been said, is the power of God unto salvation; its object is to elevate humanity.” He came from a Methodist background, at a time where theologians were open to the idea that if grace can transform individuals, it can also transform families, communities, and nations. Brother and Sister Day, a devout Latter-day Saint couple from Idaho in the United States of America, I find have embodied that ideal with zeal, diligence, eagerness and vocation.
I remember when I first met the Day marriage about two and a half years ago. Back then, the A.I. arms race had reached a point of friction with Mr. Altman being fired from OpenAI plus Alphabeth Inc’s Google launching Gemini. Gas in the U.S.A. was about a dollar cheaper per gallon. President Nelson was still leading the Church of Jesus Christ and Pope Francis, of blessed memory, still head of the Catholic Church.
A few weeks ago, I was walking at the park, just watching nature and saying hi to neighborhood friends for leisure while I get some exercise, as per usual, but I noticed that in the last two and a half years not only the world around me, but also I and the way I react to it, have changed in important ways. And I think that is my best testimony of such a devout marriage and their most successful mission here in the Dominican Republic: grace enables, order channels, virtue develops.
Whether it is Sister Day’s unconditional love and service for others, or Brother Day’s bona fide common sense and love of Christ-centered order as a second-nature modus vivendi, these are people who left Idaho for the Dominican Republic to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Along the way they became friends, mentors, and valued members of our community.
I will share one short story. Sister Day might not even remember it, but I’ve never been the same ever since. It so happened that a kid in the ward had one of his shoelaces untied. Sister Day and I were chit-chatting after the meeting and she asked him if he needed help with that. He said yes, and then she very gracefully gave him a helping hand. I left home profoundly inspired by that service-oriented ethos she embodied. A few weeks later, after the meeting, in the parking lot, he asked me if I could help him. I gave him a few tricks so he can learn how to do it himself which he seemed to like. Yesterday, after the meeting at the Piantini ward, I was pleasantly surprised when that kid came to say hi, and very proudly showed me his shoelaces. “Done learning!”, he said. If the fullness of the gospel can be summarized as loving God above everything and our brethren as ourselves, and if it is best preached by example, it is in the sum of these small, everyday “soul-Instagrammable” moments where I see that it is true that there are never two when in His name they meet!
In the name of Jesus Christ, I share these things! And I also, in the name of Jesus Christ, give God thanks for the Days in these latter days!
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