Bloomington 3rd Ward,
Bloomington, UT
Theme:
Order
= Thanks – Testimony – Songs + Scripture
Thanks To:
Bishop
Mullins – Br. Platt – Br. Ellis – Br. Parker – Br. Pearson – Br. Marshall – All
the Asst. Clerks and the organizational leaders past and present, for putting
up with my need to be needed.
At
the time I was called to serve in this ward my feelings of self-worth were
headed downhill, I had seen this happen to other Bishops, Stake Presidents,
Mission Presidents, and even Temple Presidents and was fighting to stay engaged
and active. When called I just naturally threw myself back into service. Since
that time we have served at the Home Storage Center and the Temple and I have
been built back up by all of you. I am sorry if I offended anyone in my efforts
to follow the handbooks and procedures of the gospel. My spirit was in the
right place while my actions may have been too direct at times!
Thanks
to the ward members who have accepted us in this ward and allowed us to be part
of your families.
My
thanks to the youth of this ward for being the true sons and daughters of
Christ that will lead and honor the Church with your actions and beliefs. I
have shared some of my observations with parents and leaders of the goodness
and kindness that the youth take part in when they are unaware of being watched.
One example is of a young woman that has great respect from a peer group
outside of the church as well as the leaders of that group. I watched as she
coached, encouraged, strengthened and uplifted an individual trying his best to
reach a goal far beyond his normal reach. She stayed right with this person for
the whole time making sure first of all he was safe and then bringing out every
bit of strength he had to reach the finish line. That day she truly followed
Christ’s teaching of looking after the one. Her individual strengths she keeps
hidden behind a beautiful shy smile. She is a future leader within God’s
kingdom. I encourage all of us to watch these young members and be their
friends and NOT just old folks that give advice.
We love thy house, O God,
Wherein thine honor dwells.
The joy of thine abode
All earthly joy excels.
It is the house of prayer,
Wherein thy servants meet,
And thou, O Lord, art there,
Thy chosen flock to greet.
We love the word of life,
The word that tells of peace,
Of comfort in the strife,
Of joys that never cease.
This
temple mission is most likely the best place for me as it is where the gospel
is in its purest form and very structured. I know what is expected of me and
feel comfortable accomplishing my duties. Believe it or not, I find it harder
and harder to step into new situations, callings, or places. The older I get
the more reclus[ive] I want to be. If it were not for Mary pulling me out into
the open I could easily become a hermit. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ
is the cornerstone of my life as a son, brother, individual, husband, father,
and grandfather. I know the importance of family both here on earth and in the
heavens for eternity. I truly am thankful for the daily blessing I receive and
acknowledge that they come from my Father in Heaven. I understand the
Atonement, the Plan of Salvation, and the sacrifice of my Savior - Jesus Christ
to allow me to repent and live a life that can allow me to take part in the
eternities. I testify that I have taken part in blessings that have changed
lives through the power of the Priesthood as well as changing my prospective of
how the Lord works through man. I testify that we have a living Prophet here on
the earth that leads and guides us through the spoken word and preaching and
teaching us through the media, handbooks, and local leaders such as Bishops and
Stake Presidents. I testify that as we seek to serve others the blessings of
heaven will pour down upon us and the feelings of despair will be replaced with
joy and peace. I know without reservation that God loves me and hears my
prayers whether they are given kneeling or unspoken. I understand that all that
I desire will not be given me but that what I receive is best for me. I know
without any doubt Heavenly Father has guided my life. I know that through the
blessings of a temple marriage to a woman that follows God’s plan I have been
blessed beyond measure.
In preparing
for today’s talk I have been reading and rereading D&C Section 112. First
one of the statements struck me -- as what we see as many speakers talk to us.
D&C 112:5 Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning; and day
after day let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh let not
the inhabitants of the earth slumber, because of thy speech.
I
always worried when speaking if those in the chapel were resting on the words
of God or just resting! So being me I read this scripture as: BECAUSE OF THY
SPEECH, LET NOT THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH SLUMBER.
Another
part of D&C 112 hit me hard because I remember a couple of General Conference speakers telling us it was alright to put your names in place of
some of those receiving council from the Lord.
So when
reading:
D&C 112: 2 Verily I say unto you, there have been some few
things in thine heart and with thee with which I, the Lord, was not well pleased.
I was
reminded that I needed to do better. Then the next verse helped me feel blessed
and forgiven again.
D&C 112:3 Nevertheless,
inasmuch as thou hast abased thyself thou shalt be exalted; therefore, all thy
sins are forgiven thee.
There
is hope for all of us!
If we
follow the words of the song we just sang.
Be thou humble in thy weakness, and the Lord thy God shall lead
thee,
Shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.
Be thou humble in thy pleading, and the Lord thy God shall bless
thee,
Shall bless thee with a sweet and calm assurance that he cares.
Be thou humble in thy calling, and the Lord thy God shall teach
thee
To serve his children gladly with a pure and gentle love.
Be thou humble in thy longing, and the Lord thy God shall take
thee,
Shall take thee home at last to ever dwell with him above.
D&C 112:10 Be
thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give
thee answer to thy prayers.
Remember
again to place your name or your family in these scriptures!
D&C 112:11 I
know thy heart, and have heard thy prayers concerning thy brethren. Be not
partial towards them in love above many others, but let thy love be for them as
for thyself; and let thy love abound unto all men, and unto all who love my
name.
12 And pray
for thy brethren of the Twelve. Admonish them sharply for my name’s sake, and
let them be admonished for all their sins, and be ye faithful before me unto my
name.
There
are verses in D&C 112 that help us understand why the word to our opening
song are so important. Take the time to review what the Lord is counseling the
First Presidency and Twelve to do: [11–15, They are
to take up their cross, follow Jesus, and feed His sheep;
16–20, Those who receive the First Presidency receive the Lord;
21–29, Darkness covers the earth, and only those who believe and
are baptized will be saved;
30–34, The First Presidency and the Twelve hold the keys of the
dispensation of the fulness of times.]
Lyrics
We listen to a prophet's voice and hear the Savior too.
With love he bids us do the work the Lord would have us do.
The Savior calls his chosen seer to preach the word of God,
That men might learn to find the path marked by the iron rod.
In ev'ry land, in ev'ry tongue, our prophet will be heard;
How swiftly round the world his voice reveals the gospel word!
The sacred message that he brings will witness and agree
With ev'ry prophet called of God throughout earth's history
Hosanna! Let our praise ascend unto the Savior's throne;
Rejoice! The prophet has confirmed that by Him we are known.
Attend, ye earth! The prophet speaks; come listen and obey.
He is the man who holds the keys of priesthood pow'r today.
D&C 112:30 For unto you,
the Twelve, and those, the First Presidency, who are appointed with you to be
your counselors and your leaders, is the power of this priesthood given, for
the last days and for the last time, in the which is the dispensation of the fullness
of times,
Book
of Ether —Christ commands men to believe His words and those of His
disciples—Men are commanded to repent, believe the gospel, and be saved.
Book Ether Chapter 4:18 Therefore,
repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel,
and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them
that believe in my name.
19 And blessed is he
that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up
to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And
behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.
[Editor’s note: Probable additional
extemporaneous wrap-up/personal comments/etc. Not out-lined in this talk
outline. Actual remarks may have been condensed, shuffled, incorporating Mary’s
comments, or ad hoc depending on timing, personal feelings, etc.]
1–10, The Twelve are to send the gospel and raise the warning
voice to all nations and people;
11–15,
They are to take up their cross, follow Jesus, and feed His sheep;
16–20,
Those who receive the First Presidency receive the Lord;
21–29,
Darkness covers the earth, and only those who believe and are baptized will be
saved;
30–34,
The First Presidency and the Twelve hold the keys of the dispensation of the
fulness of times.
1 Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Thomas: I
have heard thy prayers; and thine alms have come up as a memorial before me, in
behalf of those, thy brethren, who were chosen to bear testimony of my name and
to send it abroad among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, and
ordained through the instrumentality of my servants.
2 Verily
I say unto you, there have been some few things in thine heart and with thee
with which I, the Lord, was not well pleased.
3 Nevertheless,
inasmuch as thou hast abased thyself thou shalt be exalted; therefore, all thy
sins are forgiven thee.
4 Let thy heart be of good cheer before my face; and thou
shalt bear record of my name, not only unto the Gentiles, but also unto the
Jews; and thou shalt send forth my word unto the ends of the earth.
5 Contend thou,
therefore, morning by morning; and day after day let thy warning voice go
forth; and when the night cometh let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber,
because of thy speech.
6 Let thy habitation be known in Zion, and remove not thy
house; for I, the Lord, have a great work for thee to do, in publishing my name
among the children of men.
7 Therefore, gird up thy loins for the work. Let thy feet
be shod also, for thou art chosen, and thy path lieth among the mountains, and
among many nations.
8 And by thy word many high ones shall be brought low, and
by thy word many low ones shall be exalted.
9 Thy voice shall be a rebuke unto the transgressor; and at
thy rebuke let the tongue of the slanderer cease its perverseness.
10 Be
thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee
answer to thy prayers.
11 I know thy heart,
and have heard thy prayers concerning thy brethren. Be not partial towards them
in love above many others, but let thy love be for them as for thyself; and let
thy love abound unto all men, and unto all who love my name.
12 And pray for thy
brethren of the Twelve. Admonish them sharply for my name’s sake, and let them
be admonished for all their sins, and be ye faithful before me unto my name.
13 And after their temptations, and much tribulation,
behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts,
and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will
heal them.
14 Now, I say unto you, and what I say unto you, I say unto
all the Twelve: Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, follow me,
and feed my sheep.
15 Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant
Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over
him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not
be taken from him till I come.
16 Verily I say unto you, my servant Thomas, thou art the
man whom I have chosen to hold the keys of my kingdom, as pertaining to the
Twelve, abroad among all nations—
17 That thou mayest be my servant to unlock the door of the
kingdom in all places where my servant Joseph, and my servant Sidney, and my
servant Hyrum, cannot come;
18 For on them have I laid the burden of all the churches
for a little season.
19 Wherefore, whithersoever they shall send you, go ye, and
I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name an
effectual door shall be opened unto you, that they may receive my word.
20 Whosoever receiveth my word receiveth me, and whosoever
receiveth me, receiveth those, the First Presidency, whom I have sent, whom I
have made counselors for my name’s sake unto you.
21 And again, I say unto you, that whosoever ye shall send
in my name, by the voice of your brethren, the Twelve, duly recommended and authorized
by you, shall have power to open the door of my kingdom unto any nation
whithersoever ye shall send them—
22 Inasmuch as they shall humble themselves before me, and
abide in my word, and hearken to the voice of my Spirit.
23 Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the
earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become
corrupt before my face.
24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants
of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of
weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon
all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house
shall it go forth, saith the Lord;
26 First among
those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have
not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith
the Lord.
27 Therefore, see to it that ye trouble not yourselves
concerning the affairs of my church in this place, saith the Lord.
28 But purify your hearts before me; and then go ye into
all the world, and preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received
it;
29 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,
and he that believeth not, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
30 For
unto you, the Twelve, and those, the First Presidency, who are appointed with
you to be your counselors and your leaders, is the power of this priesthood
given, for the last days and for the last time, in the which is the dispensation
of the fulness of times,
31 Which power you hold, in connection with all those who
have received a dispensation at any time from the beginning of the creation;
32 For verily I say unto you, the keys of the dispensation,
which ye have received, have come down from the fathers, and last of all, being
sent down from heaven unto you.
33 Verily I say unto you, behold how great is your calling.
Cleanse your hearts and your garments, lest the blood of this generation be
required at your hands.
34 Be faithful until I come, for I come quickly; and my
reward is with me to recompense every man according as his work shall be. I am
Alpha and Omega. Amen.
December 2015 finds us back in Utah after a very rich and fulfilling time in the Washington D.C. area as missionaries at the Washington, D.C. temple. Our service in the temple was very spiritual. The people we met there will be eternal friends whom we miss daily. The "hundred-things-to-see-and-do-in-the-D.C.-are" list that we received when we arrived was not completed, but we did explore some places we had not seen in our thirty plus years on the East Coast--the Baltimore Inner Harbor and Ft. McHenry; Gettysburg; Hershey, PA; Ocean City, MD; Assateague Island and the wild ponies *, to name a few. In July we got permission to go up to Palmyra, NY to see the Pageant and then to Niagara Falls, which was on my "Bucket List." I was not disappointed. [So, you can now assume that Mary is writing this.]
