September 2016, Week 4

*Today, before church at Stake Council, I had an answer to a thought that had been rolling around in my mind.  Our Stake President was sharing some insight he had gotten at a Coordinating Council meeting he attended, which had the focus of missionary work.  He shared how in 3 Nephi 11, after the Savior invited all people to come to Him to feel the wounds in his hands, the first thing he taught them was about baptism.  That is really the goal of all the outreach and missionary work we as a church do.  He quoted Elder Oakes when he said that baptism is so important because it is the first ordinance for exaltation.  Living a good, Christian life is not enough.  Being kind is not enough.  You need the ordinances for progression.  (I forgot to write that the thought rolling around was how yes, this is the true church, but people who never learn of it, or for whatever reason don't accept it, can still have good, fulfilling, uplifting lives--and was that their plan?  Was it okay for them?  But the problem is that they don't get the ordinances necessary for exaltation, and THAT is why missionary work is so important.  And we are all missionaries, all the time.)

*Today, on my way to church from Stake Council, I was listening to the radio to a sermon being broadcast from a church in Dallas.  A couple things stood out to me from this discussion.  One was: "Pray until you pray."  I knew exactly what the man meant by this.  Sometimes I pray without praying.  Sometimes I have to pray for a bit before my prayer really begins.  Sometimes I get it right and can pray for the whole time I pray.  I like that phrase, and I think it will help me in my prayers going forward.  The second thing he said that stood out was: "Growth comes from obedience, not from knowledge." I thought that was insightful because we can study all day every day, but until we start living the things we learn, we won't progress.  Obedience is an exercise of faith.  We give up the power of our mind in favor of the direction the Lord gives us in our heart.

*Today at church, a man who is a recent convert bore his testimony.  He is a sweet, older single man who lives in my neighborhood.  I learned that after the hail storm, he called a number the city provided to get a ride to a doctor appointment, because his car was destroyed.  Our church had provided numbers to the city of members willing to volunteer to do those kinds of things, and the man who gave him the ride was a member in another ward.  He got talking with our neighbor, introduced him to the Book of Mormon, and things progressed from there.  What got me about this testimony is that this man joined the church because of the hail storm.  I am looking for ways that this hail storm has brought blessings, because it is hard to see sometimes, and here was a vibrant example, standing and testifying in front of me of his love of the Savior and of those who act in His name.  I concede that there is a plan in all things, and that the Lord has a hand in all things.

It was a delight.