Sunday, March 12, 2017
Heartbroken
This has been a week of such mixed emotions. For the past couple of months, we have anxiously counted the weeks and days, while trying to stay focused on our missionary duties, until we would be able to return home and be with our family. But now that that time has arrived, it has been painful to say good-bye to so many wonderful friends. On Thursday we went to lunch with the Legal Office at Boca del Rio, a seafood restaurant in Zone 10, la Zona Viva. It was a nice lunch, and knowing we had several days before we would say our final goodbyes, it was not too difficult that day. But later that evening, we sat in the Temple with President and Sister Norman and said a final goodbye to them and our fellow temple workers, and it was heartbreaking. Then on Saturday, we had a luncheon at the new PF Chang's Restaurant in the Zona Viva with some of our senior missionary friends, along with Mark and Paula Wood. It was a wonderful time, and we said goodbye to many of them. After we left, a great feeling of sadness and loss came over us. Today we attended our beloved Barrio Santa Luisa for the final time, and said goodbye to the wonderful Saints we have loved for 18 months. It was a tearful and heartbreaking farewell. We feel as though a hunk of our heart has been cut out, and while we are so excited about seeing our family again, the farewell to Guatemala has been a painful one. We never anticipated having to cut out a piece of our heart and leave it behind. We will always remember those we have served with and come to love here in the land of the Mayas, and part of our heart will always remain here.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Things I Will Miss in Guatemala
We were asked to speak this morning in our Zone Conference, because we won't be here the next time they meet. Hard to say good-bye when we will still be here a couple of months. Many have asked me what I will miss when I go home, so I answered their question this morning with this list:
Things in Guatemala I will miss:
1. The faithful and loving Saints in Barrio Santa Luisa.
2. The association with so many dedicated and inspiring senior missionaries, our trips and parties and adventures together.
3. Working with the wonderful Church employees in the area office, sharing in their weekly devotional, and seeing their dedication and faith.
3a. The team in the Legal Department and our close association.
4. The beautiful Mayan people in their colorful, traditional dress.
5. The nearly perfect weather.
6. The beautiful flowers and trees.
7. The manicured plots of ground tended by hand with crops planted, cultivated, and harvested year round in the highlands, corn stocks ten feet high, and endless fields of sugar cane, bananas, melons and other crops in the Tierra Caliente.
8. Never having to worry about falling asleep while driving.
9. Watching the ongoing competition to see who can load the most produce or the most people in the back of a Toyota pick-up.
10. The customs, including Semana Santa in Antigua with the incredible devotion demonstrated in the beautiful alfombras and processions, fireworks during the holidays, and the melodious music of the marimba.
11. Watching Volcan Fuego awake and emit clouds of ash nearly every morning, as if sending off smoke signals to Pacaya.
12. The hard working people and the myriad ways they devise to earn a meager living.
13. The natural beauty and wonders, from the black sand beaches of the Pacific to the steep mountains and volcanoes of the highlands, to Lago Isabal and Rio dulce, and the jungles of the Petén, to the ancient Mayan ruins all over this mysterious land.
14. Their amazing system of commerce and bustling markets, especially their produce piled high. In every Guatemalan their is a little salesman!
15. Their beautiful arts and handycrafts and their colorful hand-woven fabrics.
16. The wonderful Spanish language and the strange sounding Mayan tongues.
17. Serving in the Guatemala City temple, especially when groups come from remote villages to serve there, and feeling the spirit of peace and love that dwells there.
18. Traveling along their steep and winding roads, dodging pot holes and slowing for tumulos.
19. Visiting so many beautiful places in Central America, Panama and Belize.
20. Wearing the missionary badge, teaching the young men in our ward and the young adults at Funval, and sharing the Book of Mormon and my testimony with these great people. Feeling the overwhelming sense of peace, joy, and love that enfuses this work. Every day is a great day to be in the service of Our God.
Things in Guatemala I will miss:
1. The faithful and loving Saints in Barrio Santa Luisa.
2. The association with so many dedicated and inspiring senior missionaries, our trips and parties and adventures together.
3. Working with the wonderful Church employees in the area office, sharing in their weekly devotional, and seeing their dedication and faith.
3a. The team in the Legal Department and our close association.
4. The beautiful Mayan people in their colorful, traditional dress.
5. The nearly perfect weather.
6. The beautiful flowers and trees.
7. The manicured plots of ground tended by hand with crops planted, cultivated, and harvested year round in the highlands, corn stocks ten feet high, and endless fields of sugar cane, bananas, melons and other crops in the Tierra Caliente.
8. Never having to worry about falling asleep while driving.
9. Watching the ongoing competition to see who can load the most produce or the most people in the back of a Toyota pick-up.
10. The customs, including Semana Santa in Antigua with the incredible devotion demonstrated in the beautiful alfombras and processions, fireworks during the holidays, and the melodious music of the marimba.
11. Watching Volcan Fuego awake and emit clouds of ash nearly every morning, as if sending off smoke signals to Pacaya.
12. The hard working people and the myriad ways they devise to earn a meager living.
13. The natural beauty and wonders, from the black sand beaches of the Pacific to the steep mountains and volcanoes of the highlands, to Lago Isabal and Rio dulce, and the jungles of the Petén, to the ancient Mayan ruins all over this mysterious land.
14. Their amazing system of commerce and bustling markets, especially their produce piled high. In every Guatemalan their is a little salesman!
15. Their beautiful arts and handycrafts and their colorful hand-woven fabrics.
16. The wonderful Spanish language and the strange sounding Mayan tongues.
17. Serving in the Guatemala City temple, especially when groups come from remote villages to serve there, and feeling the spirit of peace and love that dwells there.
18. Traveling along their steep and winding roads, dodging pot holes and slowing for tumulos.
19. Visiting so many beautiful places in Central America, Panama and Belize.
20. Wearing the missionary badge, teaching the young men in our ward and the young adults at Funval, and sharing the Book of Mormon and my testimony with these great people. Feeling the overwhelming sense of peace, joy, and love that enfuses this work. Every day is a great day to be in the service of Our God.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Christmas in Guatemala
I am sure that every land has its special traditions for Christmas. Here in Guatemala as families gather on Christmas eve, they eat traditional tamales and drink a fruit punch, ponche. As the night of celebration progresses, you begin to hear and see fire works all around town. It grows in a crescendo until at midnight it breaks forth in the most spectacular display of fireworks imaginable, a 360 degree explosive show of lights. It seems strange to us missionaries from North America gathered on our rooftop to watch the spectacular display, but then this is the land where there was no darkness in the night of his birth, and somehow lighting the night sky with a multitude of fireworks seems an appropriate celebration of His birth. After another half hour or so of magnificent fireworks, families gather to open their gifts in the middle of the night, celebrating the giving of the greatest gift of all, the gift of the Son of God.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Kekchi at the Temple
During my Thursday shift at the temple this week a large group of the Kekchi (or Q'eqchi) Maya came in from Senahú. A dozen young men received their own endowment in preparation for a mission or wedding. I had the privilege of officiating in some of that. These beautiful people from the Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz departments in northern Guatemala speak their native language, although most of the men speak at least a little Spanish. They are able to receive their endowment in their native Mayan tongue. I was so impressed with the spirit of these young men. It is remarkable how many in their native communities have embraced the Restored Gospel. They are truly the Lord's people.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Our Christmas Devotional and Party
This morning I attended the annual Christmas Devotional, luncheon, and party for all the Church employees and Senior Missionaries in the Area Office. All three members of the Area Presidency and their wives spoke to us, the Senior Missionaries sang, and we watched the video associated with the Church's Christmas program, Light the World. We then had a wonderful Christmas dinner while listening to a local bells choir play Christmas music. The party was held in the huge recreation room at the Montúfar chapel not far from here. It is the first chapel built in Central America and a grand old building. It was a wonderful Christmas party in a beautifully decorated hall, and the Christmas Spirit was awesome. Even though we will be alone this Christmas, we will rejoice in the Gift of the Father's Only Begotten Son, and we will strive to be like Him to the best of our ability.
Monday, November 21, 2016
The Miracle of the Lord´s Latter-day Work
This morning in the devotional with which we begin a new week of work in the Area Offices, José Ruano shared a moving testimony. He told of gowing up in a Lutheran family and of attending the Lutheran church each week with his grandmother. One Sunday when he was 8 years old, the pastor recounted the story of Jesus' baptism in his sermon and of how Jesus said that he was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness." Brother Ruano recounted that after the meeting, he told his grandmother he wanted to be baptized like Jesus. She told him to go talk to the Pastor. He went to speak to the Pastor who was talking to a group of members. He approached the Pastor and tugged on his robe. The Pastor asked him what he wanted, and he told him that he wanted to be baptized. The Pastor told him he could be baptized when he was 30 years old. Brother Ruano said that he remembers crying all the way home from his disappointment that he would have to wait for what seemed like an eternity to an eight year old boy before he could be baptized. He then explained that two weeks after this incident, there was a knock at their door. When his grandmother answered the door, there were two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints standing there. She invited them in and sat his two older brothers and him down and told them to listen. She then left the room. The missionaries taught them of the apostasy and the restoration. When they were finished, his grandmother came in and told him to ask them his question. So he turned to the missionaries and asked them if he could be baptized. He said the missionaries looked quite surprised, but they told him yes he could. He was excited and told them there was a font nearby and asked them if they could go now. They explained that there was a process, that he would need to attend church and receive the missionary lessons first. He asked them how long that would take, and they said probably three weeks. He was so relieved and agreed to do what they asked. Three weeks later he and his brothers were baptized and became members of the Church.
Brother Ruano recounted how he then wanted to serve a mission and as an eight year old boy he would accompany the missionaries in their work. When he was of age, he served a mission, and as a missionary had a similar experience where he was invited into a home and left by the parents to teach a young boy. He recounted how the boy and his family were eventually baptized and how he received a message from the boy through Facebook thanking him for coming to their home to share the Restored Gospel with them. The boy expressed his desire to be a missionary. Brother Ruano responded to the boy that he his thanks belonged to the young men who had come to his home years earlier to share the Gospel with him and his family.
This moving testimony caused me to remember a similar experience I had as a young missionary in Armenia, Colombia, when after sincere fasting and prayer, we were led to a young boy of 8 or 9 years of age who became the means for his family and eventually several other families in his neighborhood receiving the ordinance of baptism at our hands and joining the Church.
This is the miracle of this work. The Lord prepares his children one by one to receive the message of the Restored Gospel, and He inspires his servants and leads them to those he has prepared, many times even through a child, and they receive his glorious message one by one.
Brother Ruano recounted how he then wanted to serve a mission and as an eight year old boy he would accompany the missionaries in their work. When he was of age, he served a mission, and as a missionary had a similar experience where he was invited into a home and left by the parents to teach a young boy. He recounted how the boy and his family were eventually baptized and how he received a message from the boy through Facebook thanking him for coming to their home to share the Restored Gospel with them. The boy expressed his desire to be a missionary. Brother Ruano responded to the boy that he his thanks belonged to the young men who had come to his home years earlier to share the Gospel with him and his family.
This moving testimony caused me to remember a similar experience I had as a young missionary in Armenia, Colombia, when after sincere fasting and prayer, we were led to a young boy of 8 or 9 years of age who became the means for his family and eventually several other families in his neighborhood receiving the ordinance of baptism at our hands and joining the Church.
This is the miracle of this work. The Lord prepares his children one by one to receive the message of the Restored Gospel, and He inspires his servants and leads them to those he has prepared, many times even through a child, and they receive his glorious message one by one.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Haz la Obra
I had the privilege of giving the devotional message this morning for the employees and missionaries here in the Area Office. I drew on the talk Elder Duncan gave at our Stake Conference about the third son. Here is the message in Spanish.
HAZ LA OBRA
Hermanos y Hermanas, me complace mucho estar aquí con ustedes y tener la oportunidad de compartir con ustedes este pequeño mensaje. Estamos enfocándonos en este mes en el tema de “Haz la Obra” y hablando de este tema, quiero empezar con la parábola del Salvador que compartió después de la entrada triunfal en Jerusalén que se encuentra en el libro de Mateo, capítulo 21, versículos 28-31, que dice:
28 Mas, ¿qué os parece? Un hombre tenía dos hijos, y acercándose al primero, le dijo: Hijo, ve hoy a trabajar en mi viña.
29 Y respondiendo él, dijo: No quiero; pero después, arrepentido, fue.
30 Y acercándose al otro, le dijo de la misma manera; y respondiendo él, dijo: Sí, señor, voy. Pero no fue.
31 ¿Cuál de los dos hizo la voluntad de su padre? Dijeron ellos: El primero.
Un punto de esta parábola es que lo que hacemos es más importante que los que decimos--es más importante hacer el trabajo que decir que lo haremos. Los otros pasos del modelo de liderazgo, el definir dirección, deliberar en consejo, desarrollar capacidades y organizar la labor no valen de nada si no hacemos la obra.
Recientemente Elder Duncan presidió la conferencia de estaca en la estaca Molino en la Zona 6 donde nosotros asistimos. Él contó esta parábola y entonces la cambió para que hubiera un tercer hijo. Y el hombre dijo al tercer hijo, ve hoy a trabajar en mi viña. Y el tercer hijo respondió, Sí, Señor, voy. Y fue y trabajó con toda su fuerza y con todo su corazón. Elder Duncan nos animó que seamos como el tercer hijo, pronto para aceptar una asignación y fiel para cumplirla.
Pensando en la parábola como revisada por el Elder Duncan, me di cuenta de que este tercer hijo realmente es Jesucristo. Fue él que dijo, “Heme aquí; envíame.” Y después vino e hizo siempre lo que a su Padre le agrada. Y cuando estuvo abrumado de la agonía de la expiación, dijo, “Padre mío, si es posible, pase de mí esta copa; pero no sea como yo quiero, sino como tú.” Realmente Elder Duncan estaba invitándonos a llegar a ser como Cristo.
Jesucristo dijo, “No todo el que me dice: Señor, Señor, entrará en el reino de los cielos, sino el que hace la voluntad de mi Padre que está en los cielos,” otra vez enseñándonos que lo que hacemos cuenta más que lo que decimos.
Para mí, un gran ejemple del valor de hacer la obra es el profeta Nefi. Cuando su padre le dio una tarea muy difícil, dijo “Iré y haré lo que el Señor ha mandado, porque sé que él nunca da mandamientos a los hijos de los hombres sin prepararles una vía para que cumplan lo que les ha mandado.” 1 Nefi 3:7
Cuando él y sus hermanos mayores llegaron a Jerusalén para obtener las planchas de bronce de Labán, él trató de matarlos y robó sus bienes. Sus hermanos desanimaron, lo maltrataron y quisieron volver a la tienda de su padre sin las planchas de bronce. Pero Nefi les dijo:
“Así como el Señor vive, y como nosotros vivimos, no descenderemos hasta nuestro padre en el desierto hasta que hayamos cumplido lo que el Señor nos ha mandado. … Subamos de nuevo a Jerusalén, y seamos fieles en guardar los mandamientos del Señor, pues he aquí, él es más poderoso que toda la tierra.” 1 Nefi 3:15; 4:1
Como sabemos volvieron a Jerusalén y dejando a sus hermanos fuera de la ciudad, Nefi entró de nuevo y volvió a la casa de Labán y fue “guiado por el Espíritu, sin saber de antemano lo que tendría que hacer.” Y cuando encontró a Labán ebrio de vino, el Espíritu le constriñó a que matara a Labán, cosa que era muy difícil para Nefi. Y sucedió que otra vez le dijo el Espíritu: Mátalo, porque el Señor lo ha puesto en tus manos. Entonces obedeciendo la voz del Espíritu y cogiendo a Labán por los cabellos, le cortó la cabeza con su propia espada. Después Nefi obtuvo las planchas de bronce y él, sus hermanos y siervo de Labán volvieron a la tienda de su padre.
Aun cuando encontramos desafíos y obstáculos en el camino de lograr nuestro trabajo, si oramos con fe como hizo El Salvador en Getsemaní y seguimos el Espíritu como lo hizo Nefi en Jerusalén, podremos sobrevenir todos estos desafíos y obstáculos y lograr un buen trabajo para El Señor.
Yo les invito que sean como el tercer hijo, siempre dispuestos a aceptar una asignación y leal y fiel en llevarla acabo.
Testimonio.
HAZ LA OBRA
Hermanos y Hermanas, me complace mucho estar aquí con ustedes y tener la oportunidad de compartir con ustedes este pequeño mensaje. Estamos enfocándonos en este mes en el tema de “Haz la Obra” y hablando de este tema, quiero empezar con la parábola del Salvador que compartió después de la entrada triunfal en Jerusalén que se encuentra en el libro de Mateo, capítulo 21, versículos 28-31, que dice:
28 Mas, ¿qué os parece? Un hombre tenía dos hijos, y acercándose al primero, le dijo: Hijo, ve hoy a trabajar en mi viña.
29 Y respondiendo él, dijo: No quiero; pero después, arrepentido, fue.
30 Y acercándose al otro, le dijo de la misma manera; y respondiendo él, dijo: Sí, señor, voy. Pero no fue.
31 ¿Cuál de los dos hizo la voluntad de su padre? Dijeron ellos: El primero.
Un punto de esta parábola es que lo que hacemos es más importante que los que decimos--es más importante hacer el trabajo que decir que lo haremos. Los otros pasos del modelo de liderazgo, el definir dirección, deliberar en consejo, desarrollar capacidades y organizar la labor no valen de nada si no hacemos la obra.
Recientemente Elder Duncan presidió la conferencia de estaca en la estaca Molino en la Zona 6 donde nosotros asistimos. Él contó esta parábola y entonces la cambió para que hubiera un tercer hijo. Y el hombre dijo al tercer hijo, ve hoy a trabajar en mi viña. Y el tercer hijo respondió, Sí, Señor, voy. Y fue y trabajó con toda su fuerza y con todo su corazón. Elder Duncan nos animó que seamos como el tercer hijo, pronto para aceptar una asignación y fiel para cumplirla.
Pensando en la parábola como revisada por el Elder Duncan, me di cuenta de que este tercer hijo realmente es Jesucristo. Fue él que dijo, “Heme aquí; envíame.” Y después vino e hizo siempre lo que a su Padre le agrada. Y cuando estuvo abrumado de la agonía de la expiación, dijo, “Padre mío, si es posible, pase de mí esta copa; pero no sea como yo quiero, sino como tú.” Realmente Elder Duncan estaba invitándonos a llegar a ser como Cristo.
Jesucristo dijo, “No todo el que me dice: Señor, Señor, entrará en el reino de los cielos, sino el que hace la voluntad de mi Padre que está en los cielos,” otra vez enseñándonos que lo que hacemos cuenta más que lo que decimos.
Para mí, un gran ejemple del valor de hacer la obra es el profeta Nefi. Cuando su padre le dio una tarea muy difícil, dijo “Iré y haré lo que el Señor ha mandado, porque sé que él nunca da mandamientos a los hijos de los hombres sin prepararles una vía para que cumplan lo que les ha mandado.” 1 Nefi 3:7
Cuando él y sus hermanos mayores llegaron a Jerusalén para obtener las planchas de bronce de Labán, él trató de matarlos y robó sus bienes. Sus hermanos desanimaron, lo maltrataron y quisieron volver a la tienda de su padre sin las planchas de bronce. Pero Nefi les dijo:
“Así como el Señor vive, y como nosotros vivimos, no descenderemos hasta nuestro padre en el desierto hasta que hayamos cumplido lo que el Señor nos ha mandado. … Subamos de nuevo a Jerusalén, y seamos fieles en guardar los mandamientos del Señor, pues he aquí, él es más poderoso que toda la tierra.” 1 Nefi 3:15; 4:1
Como sabemos volvieron a Jerusalén y dejando a sus hermanos fuera de la ciudad, Nefi entró de nuevo y volvió a la casa de Labán y fue “guiado por el Espíritu, sin saber de antemano lo que tendría que hacer.” Y cuando encontró a Labán ebrio de vino, el Espíritu le constriñó a que matara a Labán, cosa que era muy difícil para Nefi. Y sucedió que otra vez le dijo el Espíritu: Mátalo, porque el Señor lo ha puesto en tus manos. Entonces obedeciendo la voz del Espíritu y cogiendo a Labán por los cabellos, le cortó la cabeza con su propia espada. Después Nefi obtuvo las planchas de bronce y él, sus hermanos y siervo de Labán volvieron a la tienda de su padre.
Aun cuando encontramos desafíos y obstáculos en el camino de lograr nuestro trabajo, si oramos con fe como hizo El Salvador en Getsemaní y seguimos el Espíritu como lo hizo Nefi en Jerusalén, podremos sobrevenir todos estos desafíos y obstáculos y lograr un buen trabajo para El Señor.
Yo les invito que sean como el tercer hijo, siempre dispuestos a aceptar una asignación y leal y fiel en llevarla acabo.
Testimonio.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
The Third Son
Early this morning I received a message from Angie Morrill, a client of mine from years ago in Richfield. This is what she said:
"I just came home home from a wonderful adult session of adult stake conference about missionary work, and I had to write you a quick thank you note.... many years ago I tagged along with you and Karla to lunch at the Pastry Pub after a training and you shared a story about living in Germany and taking your young family a significant distance to attend stake conference and you spoke about the many blessings you received from doing that.....anyway I had grown up in a completely inactive somewhat anti Mormon home and my husband grew up with a very faithful mother and a father who is an ambvilant but supportive regarding church..Brandon served a mission and we were married in the temple, but stake conference Sunday was always a "day off" until that conversation many years ago with you in the Pastry Pub.....anyway you really made an impact on my life that day...and I haven't thought about for years until tonight....thanks...."
"I came home and Brandon and I talked about your story and the example we wanted to set for our kids and since that day 10 plus years ago I think we have missed 1 stake conference."
I was moved by her story, and this was my response:
"Thanks for sharing that, Angie. Just yesterday we also had stake conference here in the Molino Stake where we are assigned to attend. It is clear across the city in a very poor area, and the wards in that stake really struggle. Yesterday there were meetings scheduled for all adults beginning at 3:00 pm and continuing until 7:30 pm. The BYU football game began at 1:30 pm, and we had three other missionary couples, good friends of ours, gathered in our apartment to watch the game. They all planned to go out to dinner after the game as well. Mary Ann can't speak the language and doesn't understand anything in these meetings, so sitting through 4 and a half hours of unintelligible talking would be very difficult for her. I have to confess that I was sorely tempted to skip these Saturday meetings and enjoy the time with our missionary friends. Nonetheless, we decided to do our duty and attend the meetings to set a good example for the struggling members of our assigned ward. So we left our friends watching the game in our apartment and headed across town to our stake conference. It was hard for Mary Ann, but as always, we were spiritually blessed for our efforts. Elder Kevin Duncan, our area president presided, and he taught us for a good part of the meeting. He told us the parable of the two sons, the one who said he would go and did not and the other who said he would not go, but then went. He then changed the parable to add a third son who said he would go and went with full purpose of heart. He asked us all to raise our hands and commit to always be the third son or daughter. How grateful I was for having made the right choice to fulfill my duty yesterday. There were very few members of that struggling stake in attendance, and the streets around the chapel were filled with people and vendors as some big celebration and concert was going on "in the world." I know that when we do as we have covenanted to do, we are always blessed, even if in ways we don't recognize. May God bless you for your righteous desires and choices."
I concluded the convesation with this final thought:
"As I have thought about Elder Duncan's parable of the Third Son this morning, I have realized that the third son in the parable is Jesus Christ. He was the son who said, "Here am I, send me." An then He came and did always that which pleases His Father. And even when faced with the overwhelming agony of the suffering He was called to bear, which caused Him to cry out saying, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," He said, "Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done." Elder Duncan was really asking each of us to covenant to be like Him."
May we all be the Third Son--always willing to go and do the will of Our Father, and always keeping the covenants we make with Him.
"I just came home home from a wonderful adult session of adult stake conference about missionary work, and I had to write you a quick thank you note.... many years ago I tagged along with you and Karla to lunch at the Pastry Pub after a training and you shared a story about living in Germany and taking your young family a significant distance to attend stake conference and you spoke about the many blessings you received from doing that.....anyway I had grown up in a completely inactive somewhat anti Mormon home and my husband grew up with a very faithful mother and a father who is an ambvilant but supportive regarding church..Brandon served a mission and we were married in the temple, but stake conference Sunday was always a "day off" until that conversation many years ago with you in the Pastry Pub.....anyway you really made an impact on my life that day...and I haven't thought about for years until tonight....thanks...."
"I came home and Brandon and I talked about your story and the example we wanted to set for our kids and since that day 10 plus years ago I think we have missed 1 stake conference."
I was moved by her story, and this was my response:
"Thanks for sharing that, Angie. Just yesterday we also had stake conference here in the Molino Stake where we are assigned to attend. It is clear across the city in a very poor area, and the wards in that stake really struggle. Yesterday there were meetings scheduled for all adults beginning at 3:00 pm and continuing until 7:30 pm. The BYU football game began at 1:30 pm, and we had three other missionary couples, good friends of ours, gathered in our apartment to watch the game. They all planned to go out to dinner after the game as well. Mary Ann can't speak the language and doesn't understand anything in these meetings, so sitting through 4 and a half hours of unintelligible talking would be very difficult for her. I have to confess that I was sorely tempted to skip these Saturday meetings and enjoy the time with our missionary friends. Nonetheless, we decided to do our duty and attend the meetings to set a good example for the struggling members of our assigned ward. So we left our friends watching the game in our apartment and headed across town to our stake conference. It was hard for Mary Ann, but as always, we were spiritually blessed for our efforts. Elder Kevin Duncan, our area president presided, and he taught us for a good part of the meeting. He told us the parable of the two sons, the one who said he would go and did not and the other who said he would not go, but then went. He then changed the parable to add a third son who said he would go and went with full purpose of heart. He asked us all to raise our hands and commit to always be the third son or daughter. How grateful I was for having made the right choice to fulfill my duty yesterday. There were very few members of that struggling stake in attendance, and the streets around the chapel were filled with people and vendors as some big celebration and concert was going on "in the world." I know that when we do as we have covenanted to do, we are always blessed, even if in ways we don't recognize. May God bless you for your righteous desires and choices."
I concluded the convesation with this final thought:
"As I have thought about Elder Duncan's parable of the Third Son this morning, I have realized that the third son in the parable is Jesus Christ. He was the son who said, "Here am I, send me." An then He came and did always that which pleases His Father. And even when faced with the overwhelming agony of the suffering He was called to bear, which caused Him to cry out saying, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," He said, "Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done." Elder Duncan was really asking each of us to covenant to be like Him."
May we all be the Third Son--always willing to go and do the will of Our Father, and always keeping the covenants we make with Him.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
The House of the Lord
Tonight during my shift at the temple, I had the wonderful opportunity to officiate in an endowment session when a beautiful young woman received her own endowment in preparation for serving a mission in Nicaragua. The session was full of beautiful and humble Guatemalan Saints supporting this future missionary. I prayed the Lord would pour out his spirit upon those gathered in the session, and that prayer was answered in a powerful and moving way. I know this beautiful young woman received a witness of the temple ordinances, as I did the first time I attended the temple in preparation for my own mission. That was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life. I am a witness that the ordinances of the temple are true and that the power of God is present in the temple inder the direction of priesthood keys, and it can truly seal a family together for all eternity. Going to the temple is like going to the top of a mountain; it is a place of peace and a place where the veil seems thin and one may commune with God in a way he cannot in other places. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have here to serve in the temple each week. It is a place of holiness where we can learn to be holy.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
What Manner of Men?
Our Heavenly Father sent us to this beautiful earth so that we might become like Him by receiving and gaining dominion over a body and by learning from our own experience to choose good and reject evil. To make our perfection possible, He sent His Son to atone for our sins and Adam's transgression, teach us the truth, and show us by His perfect example the way back to Our Father. Jesus said to the Nephites and Lamanites gathered at the temple in Bountiful: "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." 3 Nehpi 12:48. He subsequently asked their leaders rhetorically, "what manner of men ought ye to be"? And then He answered, "Verily I say unto you, even as I am." Jesus is our perfect example, and He invites us to come and follow Him. "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23.
One day a rich young man came to Jesus seeking counsel. He was like many of us. He kept the commandments and did his best to please God. In our way of thinking, he attended church, said his prayers, paid his tithing and fast offerings, did his home teaching. He was faithful in holding family home evening, family prayer and scripture study. He attended the temple regularly and in short kept all the commandments. Mark tells us the story this way:
"And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, one thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." Mark 10:17-22
One day a rich young man came to Jesus seeking counsel. He was like many of us. He kept the commandments and did his best to please God. In our way of thinking, he attended church, said his prayers, paid his tithing and fast offerings, did his home teaching. He was faithful in holding family home evening, family prayer and scripture study. He attended the temple regularly and in short kept all the commandments. Mark tells us the story this way:
"And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, one thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." Mark 10:17-22
Like the rich young man, each of us needs to ask what we must do to inherit eternal life; what lack we yet? If we ask with a sincere heart and real intent (i.e. the intent to do what He tells us), He will show us what He would have us do. He may show us that we need to change certain desires or thoughts or that we must change the way we speak, the words we say. He may show us things we must stop doing or things we must begin to do or do better. He will help us follow Him and become like Him.
One of the great blessings of serving a mission is having the opportunity to turn our hearts more fully to Him and become more like Him. I pray that we will not be as the rich young man, but that we will be willing to do all that the Lord asks of us. May we strive each day to follow Him and become more like Him in the desires of our hearts, our thoughts, our words, and all that we do.
For those who want help in identifying areas to improve, I recommend the study of Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel and the completion of the Attribute Activity at the end of the chapter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)