Good afternoon sisters, I hope you have a great Sabbath and rest of the week.
Elder Robert D. Hales
Our many thanks to all of you in helping with Sister Sharon Backman these last few weeks and for helping with the funeral. The family was so thankful and I'm sure that Sharon was too. She will be missed, but we learned much from her, especially her missionary spirit. Thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Relief Society committee meeting tonight at 7pm at Martha's home.
- RELIEF SOCIETY BIRTHDAY DINNER (“Circled in Something Extraordinary”) - All sisters are invited to come and enjoy a delicious dinner and listen to our guest speaker while we enjoy each other's company. It's this Thursday, March 29th at 6:30 pm at the Manila Chapel (by the blue silos and the pond). Please everyone come, you don't have to bring anything.
- Remember that next Sunday is General Conference and we will not be meeting. Also put on your calendar that due to Easter, our fast and testimony meeting will be on the 3rd Sunday, April 15th.
- Our Sewing activity has been changed to a later date in April
- STAKE WOMAN'S CONFERENCE – Saturday, April 21st from 10:00 am – 12 noon (including luncheon) at the Stake Center. “Look unto me in every thought: doubt not, fear not”. You can attend any 2 classes: “Maintaining Perspective and Focus in Today's World Through Small and Simple Things”; “Receiving Daily Revelation”; “It Costs How Much? Manage Your Money Before Your Money Manages You”; “Looking at Mortality Through Spiritual Eyes”. ( Our Pat Heaton will be teaching the class on revelation.)
- Tuesday, April 3rd at 12:30 pm we will be our Temple Initiatory Activity.
BIRTHDAYS: March 25th – Pat Jorgensen; April 3rd – Dia Buckner Happy Birthday to you both.
Our lesson today was given by Darla Cox “ A Witness” by President Henry B. Eyring.
I am so grateful for the spirit I feel in my meetings, the teachers that fill my cup. A Witness is the title of today message. I will start at the end before I go to the beginning. “The Book of Mormon is a precious witness. I now leave with you my witness in the sacred name of Jesus Christ.”
“I leave you my sure witness that God lives and will answer your prayers. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. The Book of Mormon is a true and sure witness that He lives, that He is our resurrected and living Savior.”
Is there any doubt that he knows his Savior? I wasn't able to attend the Young Women's Conference, but my daughter told me that President Monson that there were three things that we needed to work on: belief, obey, endure. President Eyring is this talk, uses pretty much the same words, the same method of teaching these three things: being charitable, a witness and enduring to the end.
We have here three witnesses of enduring: The Book of Mormon, President Monson and President Eyring. The living of the gospel is not a halfhearted thing. What is going on here?
Karen M: It's more of a warning for the righteous because of what is going on in the world.
Robby: Guy was saying something to me that enduring to the end is not a just hanging in there things. It means to be diligent in doing good.
While we have our discussion, let's think about these three topics, but especially the 3rd one on enduring.
A WITNESS – Things to think about
The Book of Mormon is the best guide to learn how well we are doing and how to do better.
- Who is President Eyring speaking to, member or non-member?
- What does he want us to get from his message?
- In the Book of Mormon we learn about charity, being a witness and enduring. How well are we doing?
Did you know that President Eyring is Camilla Kimball's nephew. Spencer was his uncle, so he was well associated with the Kimballs. I know we shouldn't have favorites, but I love his tenderness. I love his spirit. This leads into our subject.
“Every member of the Church has the same sacred charge. We accepted it and promised to rise to it as we were baptized. We learn from the words of Alma, the great Book of Mormon prophet, what we promised God that we would become: “Willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life.”
That is a lofty charge and a glorious promise from God. My message today is of encouragement. Just as the Book of Mormon makes the charge plain to us, it also directs us upward on the path to eternal life.
He is saying this not to give us guilt, but to give us encouragement. He is not tearing us down, but is building us up. Not to chastise, but to encourage us as the Book of Mormon does.
He talks about a charity experience. “ Let’s begin with becoming charitable. I will remind you of recent experiences. Many of you participated in a day of service. There were thousands of them organized across the world.
A council of your fellow Saints prayed to know what service to plan. They asked God to know whom we should serve, what service to give, and whom to invite to participate. They may even have prayed not to forget shovels or drinking water. Above all, they prayed that all who gave service and all who received it would feel the love of God.
I know those prayers were answered in at least one ward. More than 120 members volunteered to help. In three hours they transformed the grounds of a church in our community. It was hard and happy work. The ministers of the church expressed gratitude. All who worked together that day felt unity and greater love. Some even said that they felt joy as they pulled weeds and trimmed shrubbery”.
Words from the Book of Mormon helped them know why they felt that joy. It was King Benjamin whosaid to his people, “Learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are … in the service of your God.” And it was Mormon who taught in his words in the Book of Mormon, “Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”
The Lord is keeping His promise to you as you keep yours. As you serve others for Him, He lets you feel His love. And in time, feelings of charity become part of your very nature. And you will receive the assurance of Mormon in your heart as you persist in serving others in life that all will be well with you.
What a promise. As we serve, we are being charitable.
The following words act as a transition into our next topic.
Just as you promised God to become charitable, you promised to be His witness wherever you may be throughout your life. Again, the Book of Mormon is the best guide I know to help us keep that promise.
He tells the story of an invitation to speak at a University, in place of President Hinckley.
I was once invited to speak at graduation services at a university. The university president had wanted President Gordon B. Hinckley to be invited but found that he was unavailable. So by default I got the invitation. I was then a junior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The person who invited me to speak became anxious as she learned more about my obligations as an Apostle. She called me on the phone and said that she now understood that my duty was to be a witness of Jesus Christ.
In very firm tones she told me that I could not do that when I spoke there. She explained that the university respected people of all religious beliefs, including those who denied the existence of a God. She repeated, “You cannot fulfill your duty here.”
I hung up the phone with serious questions in my mind. Should I tell the university that I would not keep my agreement to speak? It was only two weeks before the event. My appearance there had been announced. What effect would my failing to keep my agreement have on the good name of the Church?
I prayed to know what God would have me do. The answer came in a surprising way to me. I realized that the examples of Nephi, Abinadi, Alma, Amulek, and the sons of Mosiah applied to what I was. They were bold witnesses of Jesus Christ in the face of deadly peril.
So the only choice to be made was how to prepare. I dug into everything I could learn about the university. As the day of the talk grew closer, my anxiety rose and my prayers intensified.
In a miracle like the Red Sea parting, I found a news article. That university had been honored for doing what the Church has learned to do in our humanitarian efforts across the world. And so in my talk I described what we and they had done to lift people in great need. I said that I knew that Jesus Christ was the source of the blessings that had come into the lives of those we and they had served.
After the meeting the audience rose to applaud, which seemed a little unusual to me. I was amazed but still a little anxious. I remembered what happened to Abinadi. Only Alma had accepted his witness. But that night, at a large formal dinner, I heard the university president say that in my talk he heard the words of God.”
I wonder how much study time he took in order to find the revelation piece. He makes promises to parents. “ Parents who struggle to get a witness of the Savior into the hart of a child will be helped as they seek for a way to bring the words and the spirit of the Book of Mormon into the home and all the lives in their family. That has proven true for us.”
I can see that miracle is happening in every sacrament meeting and every class I attend in the Church. Speakers and teachers show a love and mature understanding of the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. And personal testimonies clearly come from deep within their hearts. They teach with increased conviction and bear witness with power.
He tells us that enduring is more than just doing fine, going along.
I see evidence as well that we are doing better in the third part of the promise we all made at baptism. We covenanted to endure, to keep the commandments of God as long as we live.
Sarah H: Quote
I visited the hospital room of an old friend who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I took with me my two young daughters. I did not expect that she would even be able to recognize them. Her own family were gathered, standing around her bed as we entered.
She looked up and smiled. I will always remember her look as she saw that we had brought our daughters with us. She motioned them to come close to her on the bed. She sat up, held them, and introduced them to her family. She spoke of the greatness of those two little girls. It was as if she were presenting princesses to a royal court.
I expected our visit to end quickly. Surely, I thought, she is tired. But as I watched, it was as if the years melted away. She was radiant and obviously filled with love for all of us.
She seemed to savor the moment as if time had stopped. She had spent most of her life succoring children for the Lord. She knew from the account in the Book of Mormon that the resurrected Savior had taken little children one by one, blessed them, and then wept for joy. She had experienced that joy long enough herself to be able to endure in His loving service to the end.
I am reminded of Sister Percell from 7th ward. She was working in the nursery when I was also in there. She was always apologizing to me because she felt her English wasn't very good or at least that is what she felt. She loved my Levi and was always giving him treats. But when she taught the lesson to those little children, they would all sit still and listen to her. I think it was because of her love for them and they felt it. She taught them the gospel. Like President Eyring says:
I can see that miracle is happening in every sacrament meeting and every class I attend in the Church. Speakers and teachers show a love and mature understanding of the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. And personal testimonies clearly come from deep within their hearts. They teach with increased conviction and bear witness with power.
Trina S: Quote
I saw that same miracle in the bedroom of a man who had given sufficient faithful service to think that he had done enough to rest.
I knew that he had undergone lengthy and painful treatment for a disease and had been told by the doctors that it was terminal. They offered neither treatment nor hope.
His wife took me to his bedroom in their home. There he was, lying on his back on the top of the carefully made-up bed. He wore a freshly pressed white shirt, a tie, and new shoes.
He saw the look of surprise in my eyes, laughed quietly, and explained, “After you give me a blessing, I want to be ready to respond to the call to take up my bed and go to work.” As it turned out, he was ready for the interview he would soon have with the Master, for whom he had worked so faithfully.
He was an example of the fully converted Latter-day Saints I meet often after they have given a life of dedicated service. They press on.
Pat H: The shoes gave it away.
Elder McConkie had given his life in service to the Lord. I hear that he would take his scrptures to school with him when he was in elementary school and that his goal was to memorize Isaiah.
Quote from President Marion G,. Romney:
“In one who is wholly converted, desire for things [contrary] to the gospel of Jesus Christ has actually died, and substituted therefor is a love of God with a fixed and controlling determination to keep his commandments.”
It is that fixed determination I see more and more often in the seasoned disciples of Jesus Christ. Like the sister greeting my daughters and the man in the new shoes ready to get up and march, they follow the Savior’s command to the end. All of you have seen it.
President Eyring tells a story about a missionary companion of his:
. He had run away from home as a teenager, and someone had placed a Book of Mormon in a box he carried with him in his search for more happiness.
Years passed. He moved from place to place across the world. He was alone and unhappy one day when he saw the box. The box was filled with things he had carried with him. At the bottom of the box, he found the Book of Mormon. He read the promise in it and tested it. He knew it was true. That witness changed his life. He found happiness beyond his fondest dreams.
I was not able to be at Sharon's funeral, but would any of you share thoughts and feelings about what you learned.
Karen M: As I help put the tablecloths on the tables, I kept thinking of how natural it was for her to be there with me. She always had a willing heart to serve.
Sarah H: All of her children and grandchildren sang. It was her legacy to them that they were able to sing to her. How beautiful the gospel is. It was a beautiful moment for me.
Yes, 3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth”. I noticed that was printed on the program because that is how she felt.
Petra: One of her children told when they moved to this house and of course they had 9 children. The next door neighbor was so mean, they called her the wicked witch of the West. She would call the police if the car tire touched her grass, as Sharon would park on the driveway. Sharon wanted so much to break the ice and she prayed of a way she could do that. She found out that this woman's grandson had a blood disorder and needed blood transfusions so Sharon started to donate blood every week The neighbor found out and one day she stood at their door with a plate of cookies. They became great friends and Sharon even went to this woman's funeral.
Pat H: I will never forget Dave's talk. I learned how self reliant Sharon was. When the children ate their cereal and wouldn't drink all the milk at the end, they would recycle the milk. Since she had the 9 children and then 3 of her sister's children plus on and off a total of 35 other children who needed a place to stay, she did what she could.
Gayla M: I found out that she was very outspoken. And that she wanted to always look her best, so even though money was tight, she managed to have her weekly hair appointment.
Yes, she learned to keep her balance.
Christy S: I couldn't go to the funeral. I had sick kids. But because I was in charge of making the arrangements for visit and the food, I was able to watch Sharon's family. How she loved them without regret. Her passing was hard for me. I had 41 sisters who came to help with the funeral. I felt so humbled with the whole experience. I pray that I can live my life like hers.
A month ago as she testified how much she loved the Lord and prayed for strength to endure, I thought about my own mother who also bore testimony of the Savior and wanted to live that testimony. She left a testimony for us in person and it strengthened mine.
Robby: I remember that day because she was sitting next to me and said to me that she wished they would go back to bearing testimony because she wanted to tell the sister of her love of the Savior.
How did that happen?
Megan was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't speak so Amy explained what happened.
Amy S: As we plan that Visiting Teaching Conference meeting, we decided that all the three sisters of the presidency would speak. Since Martha would be out of town, we considered several options, like have someone else speak in her place. We knew that all of the sisters would be at the meeting so we all threw in ideas. But Megan, with the inspiration that she gets as our president felt that we needed time for testimonies. It was cleared to all of us that that was what we needed to do.
Robby: Well, that was an answer to Sharon's prayer.
Well, she is a great example of someone who endured to the end well.
President Eyring ends with these words.
Your copy of the Book of Mormon may be hidden from your view by cares and attention to all you have accumulated in your journey. I plead with you to drink deeply and often from its pages. It has in it the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only way home to God.
I leave you my sure witness that God lives and will answer your prayers. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. The Book of Mormon is a true and sure witness that He lives, that He is our resurrected and living Savior.
The Book of Mormon is a precious witness. I now leave with you my witness in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I too share that testimony. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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