Willyne and I spoke in our ward's Sacrament Meeting today to report on our church service missions, working in addiction recovery, that we have just been released from. These are my notes if you're interested ... I actually said about half of this as I felt prompted when I was actually at the podium: (and yes, some of this seemed applicable from what I said two weeks ago in La Verkin 3rd Ward and is written again here)
1. Thank each of the previous speakers and musical numbers, say something that touched me about each.
1. Thank each of the previous speakers and musical numbers, say something that touched me about each.
2.
Bear testimony.
Smile.
3. As you
heard Willyne say, Bishop Hogan asked us to report on our experience serving as
church service missionaries working with the 12 step addiction recovery program
these past 19 months.
4. Being
asked to do this takes my mind back to the thoughts I had the last time I
reported on a mission, which was in 1974 when I was released from a proselyting
service in the England East Mission, headquartered in the Hyde Park chapel in
the heart of London. Missionary service
was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life up to that point, but I felt
so blessed to have done it. (pause) I sat on the stand waiting my turn to speak
that hot August day in the Hurricane 4th Ward, where my parents and
siblings had moved while I was in England.
My thoughts raced back to such things as …
4.1. From my
first recollections as a young boy, I looked forward to being baptized,
receiving the Priesthood and administering the Sacrament, and some day in the
seemingly far distant future, serving a mission.
4.2. I
watched others bigger and older than me, both elders and sisters, leave and
return for many years, never thinking my turn would come. A great lesson in patience. Our turn will come. The thing to remember is to cheerfully
prepare for however long it takes so we will be ready when it does come.
4.3. I
thought I was ready. I had read my
scriptures, even memorized a few. I prayed, although I had so much to learn
about prayer. And still do. I had a testimony of Jesus Christ and His
Gospel. Those were turbulent times, that
remind me of today in many ways, and I was very
thankful for my testimony and how it had blessed my life.
4.4. I
realized immediately on arrival in England how much I had to learn. I was absolutely terrified when my companion
and I went to the first door tracting the first morning in my first area. It was in a high rise, concrete, community
housing building on a cool, damp, cloudy morning. He spoke at the first door, and less than a
minute after it opened, it closed rather abruptly. The second door was just a few feet from the
first. He told me it would be my turn to
speak at this door. I suddenly didn’t
feel nearly prepared enough.
4.5. I
learned over time an important lesson.
An important part of preparing is to do.
Preparing is actually a cycle.
Study, pray, do, observe mistakes, learn from them. This helps us be
more focused as we continue to study, pray, and do. President Kimball was truly inspired when as
an apostle he asked Sister Naomi Randall if she would be willing to change one
important word in her beloved Primary song “I Am A Child Of God”. At that moment, far away in England, I
learned first hand how important it is to pray to God to “teach me all that I
must do (not simply know) to live with Him someday”.
4.6. Somewhere
around the 18 month mark, I realized stronger than ever how much I had come to
love the English people by giving everything I had in service to them. I was
praying to the Lord fervently for His help because I knew everything I had to
give wasn’t nearly enough, but with His help all things were, and are,
possible. Days started flying by, and I
couldn’t believe how quickly I was at that Hurricane chapel bearing testimony
of the Lord and how much He had blessed me as a missionary. Smile!
5. Willyne and I had a very similar experience on
this addiction recovery mission. It is
an honor to serve the Lord in any mission He calls us to. The deep love that comes from patient
charitable service is abundant! We have
made many dear friendships that mean so much to us.
6. Note:
I added at the pulpit the unwritten thought that Willyne and I have
served 3 missions together and hoped to serve more one day. The opportunity to serve a mission, either
full-time wherever we are sent, or as church service missionaries working from
our homes is wonderful. I reviewed several
of the different missions our ward members have served, and acknowledged even
that was not all of them. I encouraged
people to serve these missions.
7. Often
in missionary report talks, special experiences with individual people are
shared. Because of the need for
anonymity, much of that needs to remain unspoken. What
touched us most was seeing the glow return to faces that had lost hope. Alma expressed it well in Mosiah
27:29: “My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss but now I behold
the marvelous light of God. My soul was
racked with eternal torment, but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.”
That also was similar to the proselyting mission – I was first introduced to
that verse by a person I taught there.
It was wonderful to share in this joy in both missions. Today I’d like to focus on what I have
learned by participating in this program.
7.1. The 12 steps themselves are inspired and
worth repeating often. Let me
share them with you again,
7.1.1. Admit that you, of yourself, are powerless
to overcome your addictions [and I would add sins and bad habits] and that your
life has become unmanageable.
7.1.2. Come to believe that the power of God can
restore you to complete spiritual health.
7.1.3. Decide to turn your will and your life over
to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
7.1.4. Make a searching and fearless written
inventory of yourself.
7.1.5. Admit to yourself, to your Heavenly Father
in the name of Jesus Christ, to proper priesthood authority, and to another
person the exact nature of your wrongs.
7.1.6. Become entirely ready to have God remove
all your character weaknesses. [Willyne just
did a wonderful job of sharing with us why this step is her favorite]
7.1.7. Humbly ask Heavenly Father to remove your
shortcomings.
7.1.8. Make a written list of all persons you have
harmed and become willing to make restitution to them.
7.1.9. Wherever possible, make direct restitution
to all persons you have harmed.
7.1.10. Continue to take personal inventory, and
when you are wrong promptly admit it.
7.1.11. Seek through prayer and meditation to know
the Lord’s will and to have the power to carry it out.
7.1.12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a
result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, share this message with others and
practice these principles in all you do.
7.2. In this
week’s 12 step meeting we were on Step 8, making a written list of all persons
we have harmed and being willing to make restitution to them. We agreed as a group that this is a hard
step. One suggestion the Church’s 12
Step Manual gives to help us do this is to
seek the gift of charity; pray for
others. It says,
7.2.1. “For thousands of years, people have read
Paul’s great discourse on charity and tried to model their lives after it. Many have struggled to have charity and have often
fallen woefully short of doing so.
7.2.2. The writings of the prophet Mormon clarify
what charity is and how to obtain it. He
defined charity as ‘the pure love of Christ’ and taught that the Father gives
it to those who ‘pray unto the Father will all the energy of heart’ and to ‘all
who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ’ (Moroni 7:47,48)
7.2.3. Charity is a gift we receive as we learn to
follow Jesus Christ and as we love Him with all our hearts, minds, and
souls. Filled with this pure love from
Him and for Him, we find ourselves able to love others as He has loved us. We become able to forgive the faults of
others and to make amends for our mistakes.
7.2.4. In preparation for making amends, many of
us have found the following exercise helpful.
Think of someone for whom you have had hard feelings. For two weeks, deliberately kneel and pray
for him or her each day. Keep a record
of changes in your thoughts and feelings about that person. (See Matthew 22:37-38, 1 Corinthians 13, 1
John 4:19, Moroni 7:44-48)
7.2.5. I
testify that praying for a specific person we have hard feelings with daily for
two weeks, and keeping a record of our thoughts and feelings about that person does
produce a remarkable change of heart!
7.2.6. It
might be too difficult to do this at first.
I have found that if I focus on what I am thankful for in my daily
prayers consistently for a period of time, it becomes easier to then focus our
prayers on a specific person we have hard feelings with. This in turn helps us in our own repentance
process.
7.3. Step 8
also noted that “Charity is a gift we
receive as we learn to follow Jesus Christ and as we love Him with all our hearts,
minds, and souls.”
7.3.1. In the
Worldwide Church Leadership Training in June, which is available online at
lds.org, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of The Twelve Apostles
illustrates how our Heavenly Father expects us to love one another by sharing a
parable entitled “A Father at Bedtime”:
7.3.2. A
caring father is seated at home one evening after his wife and children have
gone to bed. He feels an impulse—a prompting—to check on the children. He takes
off his shoes and walks quietly to the door of a bedroom. In the dim light from
an open doorway, he sees two little heads on pillows and blankets covering
these snuggling children, soundly sleeping.
7.3.3. As
he listens to their quiet breathing, his mind rehearses scenes from earlier in
the day. He hears their laughter as they played together. He sees their smiles
as they shared a picnic and their giggles when they were caught feeding ice
cream to the dog. (Patience with children comes more easily when they are
asleep.) As they slumber, he ponders what they need and how he can help them.
He feels a surge of love and a strong duty to protect them.
7.3.4. He
then tiptoes to a second bedroom where two older children should be. He sees
two beds, but his heart skips a beat when he finds that one of those beds is
empty.
7.3.5. He
spins around and walks to the study, where he has on occasion found that
missing daughter. There he finds her in a chair, quietly reading a book.
7.3.6. “I
couldn’t sleep,” she said.
7.3.7. He
pulls up a chair next to her. They talk about her day, about her friends, about
her goals and dreams. Later she returns to bed, and the father makes one final
round before turning out the lights and retiring to his bed.
7.3.8. In
the morning, the father assists his dear wife as she prepares breakfast. He
sets a place for each of their children, even the youngest, who likes to sleep
longer. Aromas from the kitchen arouse the children, and they come running in a
blur of motion and chatter.
7.3.9. But
one of the chairs is empty. The father asks them to wait while he goes to
awaken that missing child. Soon, the entire family is together enjoying their
breakfast.
7.3.10. What
can we learn from this simple parable? The father followed his impulse to check
on his children. He evaluated his relationship with them. He searched for a
missing child. His actions were all motivated purely by love. He didn’t do what
he did because he had read a handbook. No one gave him a checklist. He followed
the feelings of his heart.
7.3.11. So
it is with missionary work. The most effective missionaries always act out of
love. Love is the lubricant and life of good missionary work.
7.3.12. Here’s the sweet secret of giving charitable
love … It is exactly like that great
example of love, King Benjamin, describes in Mosiah 2. The love we give is returned to us in even
greater abundance than we gave. I bear
testimony that this is true and that we experienced it especially on this
addiction recovery mission. Smile!
7.4. Alma
7:23, which is part of our stake theme, includes another lesson we have learned
more deeply on this mission: To “be humble, and be submissive and gentle,
easy to be entreated; full of patience and long suffering;
7.4.1.
I have learned much from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf while
serving this mission. His talk, “Continue in Patience” given in the April
2010 General Conference, teaches us that “The lessons we learn from patience
will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness.” … (He
says) I learned that patience was far more than simplywaiting for something to happen—patience required actively workingtoward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear instantly or without effort. …
7.4.2.
President Uchtdorf goes on
to say: “There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!
7.4.3. President Uchtdorf then teaches that
Patience, (is)
a Principle of the Priesthood
As priesthood bearers and representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, we
must serve others in a manner consistent with His example. There is a
reason that almost every lesson on priesthood leadership at some point
arrives at the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants.
7.4.4.
In a few
verses, the Lord provides a master course in priesthood leadership. “No
power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the
priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and
meekness, and by love unfeigned.” 2
7.4.5.
The character traits and practices described in these verses are the
foundation of godly patience and are inseparably connected to effective priesthood and patriarchal service. These attributes will give you strength
and wisdom in magnifying your callings, in preaching the gospel, in
fellowshipping quorum members, and in giving the most important priesthood service—which is indeed the loving service within the walls of
your own homes.
7.4.6. Let us always remember that one of the reasons God has entrusted the
priesthood to us is to help prepare us for eternal blessings by refining
our natures through the patience which priesthood service requires.
7.4.7. As the Lord is patient with us, let us be patient with those we serve.
Understand that they, like us, are imperfect. They, like us, make
mistakes. They, like us, want others to give them the benefit of the
doubt.
7.4.8. Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself.
I believe that every one of us, at one time or another, can identify with
the servant in Christ’s parable who owed money to the king and who
pled with the king, saying, “Lord, have patience with me.”
7.5. This
brings to mind Alma 43:48-50, which describes how the men of Moroni were
fearful of the Lamanites who greatly outnumbered them. I found it helpful in the addiction recovery
mission to substitute the word “Lamanites” with “Adversary” in these verses, as
follows:
7.5.1. “… when
they saw the fierceness and the anger of the Adversary, they were about to
shrink and flee from them. And Moroni,
perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their thoughts – yea, the
thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.
7.5.2. “And it
came to pass that they turned upon the Adversary, and they cried with one voice
unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage.
7.5.3. “And
they began to stand against the Adversary with power; and in that selfsame hour
that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Adversary began to flee
before them …”
7.6. The 12 Step program gives
hope to all of us that through personally accepting the atonement of Jesus
Christ, He will give us the power to repent and be cleansed from whatever sin
or weakness we have. His love for us is truly unconditional, it
is up to us to exercise hope and faith that we can be clean again through
Him. This is a continual process
throughout life, we would do well to follow these 12 steps in our lives and
when we reach step 12, return to step 1, which is: “Admit that you, of yourself, are powerless to overcome your addictions
(or: sins and weaknesses) and that your life has become unmanageable.” Admit that you need the love and support of
our Savior, ask in hope and faith to receive it.”
7.6.1. Bear
testimony of the power of faith and the power of believing in Christ’s
Atonement. Smile!
7.6.2. In his
October 2012 General Conference Talk, “By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled” Elder
Marcus B. Nash Of the Seventy states: “sin diminishes the presence of the Spirit in our lives, and without the Holy Ghost, we will lack the spiritual stamina to hold onto and exercise faith. It is best to exercise our faith to“touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing” and to “be diligent in keeping all [the] commandments, lest … your faith fail you, and your enemies triumph over you.”31
7.6.3.
If sin has stained your life, I invite you to exercise “faith unto repentance,”32 and the Savior, through the Atonement, will purify and heal your life.
7.6.4.
Faith is both a principle of action and of power.6 It “is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if [we] have faith [we]hope for things which are not seen, which are true.”
7.6.5.
It is an assurance of the Spirit gained through our
learning that moves us to act to follow the example of the Savior and prayerfully keep His commandments, even through times of sacrifice and trial.10 Faith brings us the power of the Lord, which—among other things—is manifested by a hope of good things to come,11miracles that confirm our faith,12 and divine protection in spiritual and temporal matters.
7.6.6.
Elder Nash
shared the story of SisterAnn Rowley, a member of the Willie Handcart
Company, when completely out of food, in faith and hope applied the example of
the Lord feeding 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fishes. She found 2 hard sea biscuits that were not
large and were so hard they couldn’t be broken.
She had faith and hope that with God’s help, nothing is impossible. She relates:
I found the biscuits and put them in a dutch oven andcovered them with water and asked for God’s blessing. Then Iput the lid on the pan and set it on the coals. When I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food. I kneeled with my family and thanked God for his goodness. That night my family had sufficient food.
7.6.7.
(Did this
only apply a century or two ago?
No. It is equally applicable to
our need to apply faith today. For
example, consider our recent Priesthood Encampment. Sister Beecher and I were asked to plan a
menu, staffing, and equipment to feed 450 people and given 18 months to figure
it out. We prayed, worked, prayed,
worked, and prayed some more. We did not
have enough people. More than once we
looked around at all the food that had to be cut, assembled, cooked, and
delivered and there was no way to do it in the few hours we had, even after
working late and getting up very early.
We saw miracles happen daily, with helpers appearing just when they were
needed and in some cases we know there were unseen helpers. After which, much humble thanks was given to
the Lord! I offer this example from the
Encampment as simply that, an example.
7.6.8.
It has been
equally applicable in our 12 step church service mission. Every one of us have impossible things to
face throughout our lives. We need
miracles. We need ministering
angels. We need to rescue each other as
President Monson has asked us. We need
to be consistently diligent in keeping the commandments, in praying in faith
and hope for everything we need both spiritual and temporal, and then humbly
thanking the Lord for the blessings and miracles he sends to us.
7.6.9.
We are entitled to this when we don’t know
where our next meal is coming from, or with any other need we have, just as
Sister Rowley was.
7.6.10. And when doubt comes, Elder
Nash in his Conference talk reminds us of King Benjamin’s words given in Mosiah
4:9: “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.”
You might want to consider memorizing that verse so you can run it
through your mind every time doubt passes through … faith and hope is the
opposite of doubt – there is only room for one in your heart and mind at a
time, so choose faith and hope.
8.
In conclusion, I’d like to recap these lessons
we learned on this mission:
8.1.
The 12 steps themselves are inspired and worth
repeating often.
8.2.
One suggestion the Church’s 12 Step Manual gives
to help us is to seek the gift of
charity; pray for others. We learn in Step 8 that charity is a gift
we receive as we learn to follow Jesus Christ and as we love Him with all our
hearts, minds, and souls.
8.3. As the Lord is patient with us, let us be patient with those we serve.
Understand that they, like us, are imperfect. They, like us, make
mistakes. They, like us, want others to give them the benefit of the
doubt.
Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself.
8.4.
The 12 Step program gives
hope to all of us that through personally accepting the atonement of Jesus
Christ, He will give us the power to repent and be cleansed from whatever sin
or weakness we have. His love for us is truly unconditional, it
is up to us to exercise hope and faith that we can be clean again through
Him. This is a continual process
throughout life,
8.5.
Faith and hope is the opposite
of doubt – there is only room for one in your heart and mind at a time, so
choose faith and hope.
9.
Smile! President Thomas S. Monson has stated, “The future is as bright as your faith. “ Do we know a greater optimist
than our ever cheerful Prophet who just celebrated his 86th
birthday?
10. I bear testimony that God is real. He lives.
He cares about us individually.
Each of us, as his unique son or daughter, is truly His greatest
creation. He sacrificed His Only
Begotten Son for Us. Jesus Christ is
real. He lives. He willingly and painfully paid for our
sins. The Holy Ghost is real. He lives.
His gift to us is a true Pearl of Great Price. The restoration of the Gospel and Church of
Jesus Christ to the earth in our day is real.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His Church. He leads it and has called a prophet as He
promised He would in Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He
revealeth His secret unto his servants the prophets”. I bear testimony that the Lord’s Prophet for
us today is Thomas S. Monson, a wonderful, cheerful, hopeful, faithful,
patient, and loving man who has given his life in service to the Lord and to
us.
11. When President Monson says “The future is as
bright as your faith.” Believe him
completely! In The Name Of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
If you are still reading and would like to know about walking and eating today, click here for that: http://terreeeblay.blogspot.com/2013/09/13-251.html
Cheerio!
If you are still reading and would like to know about walking and eating today, click here for that: http://terreeeblay.blogspot.com/2013/09/13-251.html
Cheerio!
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