Spiritually Uplifting Week

This has been a spiritually uplifting week.  It started with preparing for a seminary lesson. The chapter was Alma 7, verses 11-13. Here Alma the High Priest is talking to the citizens of the city of Gideon. He is bearing strong testimony of the Savior to them. In these verses it talks about all the things the Savior took upon Himself. Sin was not the only thing. He suffered six other things: pain, afflictions, temptations of every kind, sicknesses, death, and infirmities. It is because of this that we are told we can “apply His atonement in our lives” when we are struggling through any of these physical or emotional difficulties. 

I wasn’t exactly sure how to define or explain to the youth how we “apply” His atonement. Then I watched the film recommended for this lesson. It's called “Like a Broken Vessel” featuring Elder Jeffery R. Holland www.lds.org/youth/video/broken-vessel?lang=eng

I showed it to the kids and explained that to apply the atonement to your life means coming to an understanding that the Savior knows exactly how you feel. That He understands first-hand what you are dealing with. It is also knowing that you are not alone in your personal struggle. And finally, realizing His perfect love for you regardless of how inadequate you, yourself, may feel.

The New First Presidency

Dallin H. Oaks, 1st Counselor; Russell M. Nelson, President;

Henry B. Eyring, 2nd Counselor

Tuesday evening we watched the announcement of President Nelson becoming our next prophet. The best portion was the press conference. I’m not sure if the questions from the press were staged or prepared for, but the answers were not rehearsed. You could see how they thought about the answers before answering and many of the comments were spontaneous as President Nelson and his counselors interacted with each other's comments. Overall, we could sense how much love President Nelson has for all the people of the world and that as old as he is, 93, he is still very active, full of energy and that he is very optimistic and full of hope. 

That night we had two sister missionaries and four elders watch these broadcasts with us. One elder companionship brought along an investigator. He is from China and has almost no religious background. Everything is so new to him which made it difficult to talk about anything church doctrine related. I was stumbling terribly as I tried to explaining a minor doctrine, because it tied into other doctrine with which he was unfamiliar. Had we had time and different conditions, we could start from scratch and simply explain who God is.   

However, Sister van Hoff asked him a question, “In the Chinese culture, do they have a lot of respect for family and concern for ancestors?”  He said that they do and began to tell us how they even honor those family members who are dead. Then she pulled out Family History information with pictures going way back. He was absolutely astounded and fascinated. I then opened up familysearch.org and we looked for a family name. He was amazed that there were records of people with his grandfather's last name. He searched through the names, but there were too many and he didn't have enough information to know which names belonged to his family. He was so engrossed in his search that when the elders, who have been teaching him announced that they had to leave, this young man wanted to stay a little longer to search more records. Sister van Hoff was truly inspired by the Spirit where to lead the discussion.

Wednesday we had Zone Conference. Most of the talks came from the senior missionaries who will be leaving in the next month or so. What wonderful testimonies and stories from their missions they had. It made for an emotional meeting.  After they spoke, Sister Johnson got up to say a few words. She told us that she and Elder Paul V. Johnson (Europe Area President) have nine kids. They have made a great sacrifice to come to Germany to serve for who knows how long, yet she said that she looks up to us senior missionaries. In her opinion, we have made the greater sacrifice. Like she and Elder Johnson, we left family and friends to serve the Lord, but, unlike them, we were not called by the Lord, we willingly volunteered to serve.

Yesterday we met with our supervisors, Diego, Luis, and Ruben.  In our meeting, we were given two new assignments.  Unfortunately, we cannot reveal the details because they are confidential. However, the one thing we can share and the reason we are so excited about these new assignments is that both involve using technology to help “the one” come closer to the Lord.  Isn’t that what this mission is all about? If we are successful, many people who are isolated, due to circumstances beyond their control, will be blessed and spiritually fed.

How wonderful it is to be in the midst of the Lord's work. We are uplifted every day by missionaries, old and young, and by Church employees who could use their skills to work for a business or company and make much more money. All of these individuals have one thing in common. They want to help and serve the Lord. We feel humbled to be in their presence.

We love our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is our testimony which is written deep into our hearts, that this is Christ's Church, that He leads it. He loves us enough to provide us with a living prophet who can be His spokesperson. How wonderful that is! To have someone who can give us all the current and important information that Lord wants us to know. We don't have to wait for a churchwide consensus or rely on personal interpretation of the will of God. We have a prophet who has direct communication with the Almighty. We know these things to be true and can say it boldly in the name of Jesus Christ.