This is the first installment of our mission blog. We thought we would include the talks we gave at our farewell sacrament meeting for those of you unable to attend. We would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
“… of all your associations, it is
your relationship with God, your Heavenly Father… that you must always put
first in your life. Remember that Jesus’s power came through His single-minded
devotion to the will of the Father. He never varied from that which pleased His
Father. Strive to be that kind of disciple of the Father and the Son, and your
influence will never fade.” This was a statement by Elder D. Todd
Christofferson in the recent conference.
After listening to and studying
talks, from the past conference, I spent time in serious contemplation. I
determined that my greatest personal need is to more fully align my life with
the Lord and center my life around Him. I believe this is a critical decision
for each of us to make.
I’ve taken several quotes from our
recent conference to share with you.
Elder Terence M. Vinson said, “God
should be the center of our universe—our literal focal point. Is He? Or is He
as it says in Mosish 5:13 sometimes far from the thoughts and intents of our
hearts? Notice that it’s not just the thoughts of our hearts that are important
but the “intents.” Elder Vinson asks, How does our behavior and actions reflect
the integrity of our intents?
It states in D&C 88:67 “And if
your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light,
and there shall be no darkness in you...”
The next verse in D&C 88:68,
tell us how this is to be accomplished.
“Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single
to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his
face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and
according to his own will.”
This scripture speaks of
sanctifying ourselves. This is explained more fully in 3 Nephi 27:20 “Now this
is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be
baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy
Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.”
Repentance then is a step in the
process that our minds might become single to God.
In his conference message,
President Henry B. Eyring and Elder Russel M. Nelson – both quoted, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. “This
is the first and great commandment. Then President Eyring asked, speaking of
himself, “What choices have led me toward loving the Lord with all my heart and
soul and with all my mind?” For me it has been to choose to put myself where I
felt the joy of forgiveness through the Lord’s Atonement.
Helaman 3:35 “Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and
did wax stronger and stronger in their humility and firmer and firmer in the
faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea
even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which
sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.”
To me this means I need to be
obedient to all of God’s commandments, not just the ones that are easy for. Then
I need to live my life in such a way that I am receptive and obedient to the
promptings that come from the Holy Ghost.
Another important element comes in
setting our priorities.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of this, He quoted Exodus 20:4-5
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of any thing” in the heavens or the earth (Exodus
20:4). The commandment then adds, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them” (Exodus 20:5).
Elder Oaks went on to say, “More
than merely forbidding physical idols, this states a fundamental priority for
all time. Thus we offend God when we “serve” other gods—when we have other
first priorities
“The principle is not whether we
have other priorities. The question posed by the second commandment is “What is
our ultimate priority?” Are we serving priorities or gods ahead of the God we
profess to worship? Have we forgotten to follow the Savior who taught that if
we love Him, we will keep His commandments? (see John 14:15).
“We must never dilute our first priority—to
have no other gods and to serve no other priorities ahead of God the Father and
His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
I’ve learned if I’m going to put
the Lord first in my life, I need to set goals and make plans. I need to do
this weekly, monthly and yearly. These goals will help me stay focused on the
Lord’s work. I know myself well enough
to know that if I don’t set priorities and make plans I’m likely to find that
the business of the world will lure me away.
The prophet Joel says, 2:12
“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with morning: 13 And rend your heart,
and not your garments and turn unto the Lord your God.”
As I partake of the sacrament, the
words have taken on new meaning for me. I am reminded weekly to take his name
upon me, to always remember Him and to keep His commandments or to make Him my
center and the first priority of my life. I believe in doing this, I will learn
how to love Him with all my heart and develop an eye single to his glory.
I am eternally grateful for the
fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, its transcendent beauty and for the complete
purpose and meaning it gives to every facet of my life. I am grateful for its
restoration to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith.
I’m thankful for my valiant,
stalwart ancestors, the ten families, who received the gospel with rejoicing,
were rejected by family and friends, suffered persecutions, lost homes, buried
loved ones, experienced death, and deprivations, all while they struggled to
build the kingdom Of God. Why did they do it, because they knew it to be true.
I join with them in bearing my
testimony of the restoration of Christ’s gospel and kingdom upon the earth with
all of its attendant blessings, ordinances, and priesthood power. I testify
that we have prophets and apostles leading the church today; for the Holy Ghost
has born this testimony to my soul. I know that we have a Father in Heaven who
loves us and is involved in the details of our lives. I know because I have
experienced His hand in my life and felt His perfect love. I know that we have
a personal redeemer who knows us and loves us completely even Jesus Christ, our
Savior. Amen.
MISSIONARY FAREWELL – 20
OCTOBER 2013 - Gary Weber
Brothers and Sisters, It seems we have just moved here, and we so
love this ward. Each of you are very special people. I cannot tell
you how much you all mean to us. we Iove you all like a close family.
We hate to leave, but we think we have one more mission in us, and we
feel the need to go to Ireland. I pray that Heavenly Father will help us
find some individuals that need to hear us introduce them to Heavenly Father
and Jesus. We want to be of use to Him in His Kingdom. We
will miss you.
I believe in Christ. I believe that He lived and that He
lives. I believe that He loves us and that He gave His life for us.
I believe that His purpose was to introduce us to the Father … Our
Father. I want to say that I know these things are true, and
I feel the witness of the Spirit and know that it is stronger than the witness
of sight. And the Spirit tells me it is true.
We have come here to mortality for several reasons:
1. With the admonition to “Come unto Christ.” To find and to
cling to that which we so much loved before we came.
The number one concern of the Brethren is that too many Latter-day
Saints are content with a testimony when what they need is a deep CONVERSION.
Jesus said to Peter, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Now, Peter was with the Savior from nearly the beginning of his ministry,
Peter saw and believed and was faithful in his following. His denial of
the Savior, three times, indicated that he was not truly converted. But,
through his suffering he became converted. Conversion takes us from
SEEING and BELIEVING to DOING, KNOWING, and BECOMING. - from a
TESTIMONY to A MIGHTY CHANGE OF HEART. There is almost always SACRIFICE and
SUFFERING in obtaining that Conversion, because it requires true REPENTANCE.
The scriptures refer to this in many different, well known words and
phrases that include the following: “converted”, “born again”, “born of God”,
“born of the spirit”, “baptism of spirit”, “baptism of fire”, “sanctified”,
“having clean hands and a pure heart”, “remission of sins”, “becoming a son (or
daughter) of God”, “hope”, and even “come unto Christ.”
Whenever you come across these words in the scriptures, know that more
is implied than just baptism by immersion and the laying on of hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost.
Alma's interview 5:14
To gain salvation, men must repent and keep the commandments, be
born again, cleanse their garments through the blood of Christ, be humble and
strip themselves of pride and envy, and do the works of righteousness—
1. Have ye spiritually been born of God?
2. Have ye received his image in your countenance?
3. Have ye experienced this mighty change of heart?
4. Can ye feel so now?
5. Have you felt to sing the song of redeeming love? (Because I have
been given much”: “More Holiness Give Me”)
I’M TRYING TO BE LIKE JESUS
I’m trying to be like Jesus; I’m following in His ways.
I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,
I’m trying to love my neighbor,
I’m learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons he taught.
Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:
“Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do,
Be gentle an loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.”
“Can you feel so now” If so we need to remember that and do it
–every day
Years ago, a young returned missionary taught me that if you look,
you will see that there are miracles in your life everyday, and that if you
count them, or write them down, you will find more and more of them. It
is absolutely amazing how involved in the details of our Lives Heavenly Father
is. Much of the time we think of these things as just fortunate
happenings. There is no such thing. Everything that happens
to us happens for a reason.
The Calls we receive through our church leaders are designed (by
Heavenly Father) to build one upon the other. The Lord shapes and molds
our abilities and our character through our experiences so that we will be
ready for the next calling or service opportunity. If you look
back, you will see that due to these opportunities to serve that you have
willingly accepted, you are a much wiser and better person, and much more able
to serve than you would have been without them. In addition, each and every
calling brings with it, missionary opportunities.
For example (sac bread coordinator)
A sister moved into a large ward and felt unneeded, she then
received a calling as the sacrament bread coordinator, now she really felt
unneeded. She recalled hearing that every calling could be transformed
into a missionary opportunity...
Now, the Lord is very flexible. All he has to work with are
imperfect beings. Our Bishop was not called because he is the most
perfect man in the Ward, He may be, but he would not have to be because He is
the one Heavenly Father wants in that spot right now. The Lord loves his
Bishops, and blesses them and makes things work through them. Just as he
loves each of us and makes all things work for our good, if we will have faith
in him and strive to obey His will.
The UNFORTUNATE things that happen in your life are either the
result of 1. sin, 2. happenstance or 3. By design of your Heavenly Father for a
very good reason that will be revealed to you at a later date. If it is a
result of sin or rebellion on our part, we need to repent and correct it, if it
comes by happenstance, don’t worry about it, just do your best, and God will
make it work for your good. if it is designed by the Lord, we need to be
patient and accept it and find out what the Lord wants us to learn from it.
There is always a reason.
2. We were also commanded: “Therefore I would that ye should
be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect..”
I have searched my life, and can find nothing in it that is perfect.
I have searched my actions, and thoughts, and deeds, and once again,
I find no perfection in any of it. The solitary thing wherein I can
approach perfection is: My perfect hope for Exaltation. For I am
FAITHFULLY doing what I can to be a valiant servant. I fall very short in
all ways, but I have hope of attaining my goal, only because the ATONEMENT
makes up for what I am lacking. – gary weber
HOPE is Essential
Soft as the voice of an angel
Breathing a lesson unheard
Hope with the gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word
Wait till the darkness is over
Wait till the tempest is done
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow
After the darkness is gone.
If in the dusk of the twilight
Dim be the regions of heart
Will not the deepening darkness
Brighten the glimmering star
Then when the night is upon us
Why should the heart sink away
When the dark midnight is over
Watch for the breaking of day.
Whispering Hope, Oh how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.
Maxwell – Terrestrial individuals are honorable, but not valiant.
It is not what they have done but what they have left undone that is
amiss. If valiant they could touch others deeply instead of merely being
remembered pleasantly.
AS Joseph was praying in the Liberty Jail, the voice of the Lord
spoke to him:
7 " My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine
afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on
high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."
D&C 121:7-8
“And if thou endure it well”
I think that means that we do not start with the grumbling,
complaining, cursing, quitting, rejecting, railing, but we humbly, and meekly
and patiently submit to His will, and turn to Him for His help and comfort.
Perhaps we even thank Him for giving us another chance to learn and grow. then
… If we endure it we'll...
We shall receive Celestial Glory,
We will qualify to live with HIM,
We shall receive all the Father hath, and
We shall be Exalted. …..But not before He has proved us, each,
individually, in every way. There can remain in us no fault we are
unwilling to correct, no sin we are not trying to overcome, no secret evil that
we are not trying to root out.
For my part, inasmuch as I am woefully lacking, I have made it my
life's goal to strive toward perfection and my hope is to one day be worthy to
hear that most wonderful of phrase ever spoken, “WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND
FAITHFUL SERVANT, ENTER INTO THE REST OF THYLORD.”
3. We are here to take a test.
If we will allow Him, Heavenly Father will try us and test us, He
will provide opportunities for us to sacrifice and suffer until He is convinced
that we are determined and committed to do His will in all things and to keep
His commandments no matter what the difficulties and to serve Him without
hesitation and without regret. Because we are taking a test, we must take
care not to negatively influence theTest of another.
Oaks – The purpose of the personal suffering that must occur, as
part of the process of repentance, is not to punish the transgressor, but to change
him.
THE MESSAGE is SERVICE:
Service, is the action form of love. The command to “Love One
Another” could have easily been worded, “If you love one another, then serve
one another.” It is a principle of truth which has existed forever.
The biblical City of Enoch is an example of a city that became a
Zion, a city of absolute peace and liberty, where all citizens cared deeply
about one another and righteousness reigned. It was through Service to
others and a devotion to God that the hearts of the people had been turned to
one another and a “oneness” created.
When you truly love someone, you seek to serve them. You
thereby grow closer to them and to God.” If people would go out and begin
serving—FIRST the members of their families more fully, THEN their neighbors
and community, AND THEN their extended family,it would do more to change the
hearts of people than any other thing that could be done. That is how a
Zion Society grows, It took Enoch nearly 400 years, but we have to start
somewhere. That is how Hearts are changed.
Elder Scott said “Fill your life with service to Others.”
PLEASE, pray for us, for Sister Snarr, for Elder Lee, support the
Ward or the General Missionary fund. What seems to work the best is when
many people donate a modest amount, but do it consistently.
When some of his followers began leaving him, the Savior turned to
the apostles and asked, "will you leave me also."
Then Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou
hast the words of eternal life."
Brothers and Sisters, we are in this for the long haul, there is no
place for us to go except ahead, for there are the words of Eternal Life.
Have FAITH, have HOPE, Live like the Son, Help others on their way.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
