Today is Kim's birthday. We had a nice day at church and then invited a few of the senior missionary couples over for cake and ice cream. We were sad we couldn't invite them all for lack of space. But it was a nice group and made the day a little more special.
I was suppose to speak in Sacrament meeting. There were 2 other sisters who spoke before me. When it was my turn, I had 5 minutes to give a 13 minute talk. I thought at first I wouldn't give it and just bear my testimony. I did bear my testimony on marriage as one of the sisters had spoken on marriage and part of it was in English so I added to that little bit. But then I gave just a couple of paragraphs from my talk. I really was okay with not giving the talk even though I had felt really good about the message. It had all come together so easily and I felt really directed in my preparation. But I also felt very directed in just the little bit that I gave today in Sacrament meeting.
But guess what? I'm going to share my whole talk with anyone out there that would like to read. It's truly my testimony.
I think my most favorite word in the English language is BELIEVE. That seems weird to have a favorite word…. but I really like that word BELIEVE. It has so many connotations to it.
At Christmas time especially in the States, people use the word Believe everywhere or they say, “We Believe” and they’re referring to Santa Claus. Believe in Santa…. Christmas is my favorite time of year and the idea of believing in Santa Claus and the good he can do has always made Christmas a magical time of year for me.
When Elder Roper was a principal one year his school sang a song titled: Believe in Yourself. The words to that song say:
Believe in yourself, there’s power in you.
Have faith in your dreams and they will come true.
There’s much you can give if you do your part.
The choices you make should come from your heart.
So believe in yourself, cause there’s nothing you cannot do.
If you believe in yourself dreams can come true.
Believing in yourself is a powerful tool. And when you believe you can accomplish something, it’s a great way to achieve that goal.
I love that thought and that principal But Believing in Jesus Christ will give us even more power.
At the end of the Book of Mormon, Mormon has very little time and not much space to write one last message. His last message is important. He says, (Mormon 7: 5) Know ye that ye must . . . bbelieve in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, ….
8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the agospel of Christ,… which shall be set before you,
9 For behold, athis is bwritten for the intent that ye may cbelieve…
Nephi is speaking of the things which have been written in the Book of Mormon when he said, (2 Nephi 33:4) “for it apersuadeth them to do good; . . . and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life beternal….10 hearken unto these words and bbelieve in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ.”
No matter what you do, BELIEVE in JESUS CHRIST.
January is winter in the United States. In January 2015, a young girl named Sailor was flying in a small aircraft with her family. Her father was the pilot. They had been visiting the warm state of Florida and were flying home across the country when their aircraft had mechanical problems and crashed into the open hills in Kentucky. It was raining and dark and cold, only about 3 degrees Celsius. Everyone in the aircraft was killed except 7-year-old Sailor. Sailor knew she was alone, and no one knew where she was. She had a broken wrist, and some minor cuts and scrapes. Regardless of the fact that she had on no shoes and was only wearing a light t-shirt and some shorts, she went out into the dark to seek for help. She had no idea where she was or where to go. She started out into the brush and through the prickly bushes and hilly terrain. It was pitch dark. She waded through streams, crossed many ditches, and plowed through the briars. There was no sign of life anywhere, but she continued forward. After walking for some time, from the top of a hill, she saw a light in the distance. She knew she must continue towards that light. There were times when she was at the bottom of a hill and could not see the light, but she pressed forward. Eventually, Sailor reached a single home in the cold hills of Kentucky and found a kind man who rescued her.
What does this story have to
do with believing? Sailor believed. She believed that there was life in the darkness-someone
that could rescue her. She believed there
was hope for her to find help. In our
own lives, we hopefully will never have to endure what Sailor did, but we ALL
need to have the same type of hope and Belief that she had. We need to BELIEVE there is hope in our
spiritual darknesses. That when life is hard and we don’t know which way to go
or what to do, Jesus Christ brings us hope.
Just as Sailor saw a light in the distance, we can see the light that shines from our belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Jesus Christ himself said, “ behold, I am the light and the life of the world."
Elder Whitney Clayton of the Seventy said, “all of us will, at some time or another, have to traverse our own spiritual wilderness and undertake our own rugged emotional journeys. In those moments, however dark or seemingly hopeless they may be, if we search for it, there will always be a spiritual light that beckons to us, giving us the hope of rescue and relief. That light shines from the Savior of all mankind, who is the Light of the World.”
Being able to see the spiritual light of Jesus Christ, starts with our willingness and desire to believe. Alma said, “If ye will awake and arouse your faculties … and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of [the Savior’s] words.”
I’m sure there were times When Sailor stopped and cried and thought she would never find her way through the wilderness. She didn’t give up. She kept pushing on.
This week we have helped several return missionaries and students make application to attend BYU-H. It has been a long and hard road where obstacles have gotten in the way, one after the other. Peter Sanele, who served here a couple of months ago, was one of those young people. He was discouraged but finally he and Elder Roper were able to get the proper forms submitted. He said to Elder Roper, I was about ready to give up. In life, we can’t give up. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can’t give up. We must believe and continue onward.
There surely were times when Sailor couldn’t see the light, but she always had the memory and remembrance of its presence. There may be times when we can’t see the light of the Savior. There are bushes and briars and hills and trees, streams and ditches and all kinds of debris in our way. But we will always have the memory of the times when we have seen his light. The remembrance of the times when the Spirit has touched our hearts and we have believed. Elder Clayton said, “There may be times when we have been hurt, when we are tired, and when our lives seem dark and cold. There may be times when we cannot see any light on the horizon, and we may feel like giving up. If we are willing to believe, if we desire to believe, if we choose to believe, then the Savior’s teachings and example will show us the pathway forward.”
This thought of remembering upon our past experiences reminds me of the words of Helaman when he said to his sons, “12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
This scripture gives me great hope. If I have done all I can, if I am building my faith on Jesus Christ, then I can endure anything that comes at me. It may be hard. It may not be what I would choose. But because I choose to believe and my faith is in Jesus Christ, then He will give me the strength I need to push through the briars.
How do we build upon that rock? The Rock of Christ? One way is by following our Prophet. We are so blessed with the technology to read and listen to the words of President Nelson and other apostles. When I was a teenager, we lived far away from the church. We were able to listen to one session of general conference each year. I don’t remember receiving a magazine in our home—but we might have. We definitely didn’t have the internet. To hear the words of the prophets was difficult. They were not easily assessable. Even here in Fiji, far, far away from church headquarters, we can receive the words of every talk given in general conference. What a blessing that can be in our lives if we will take the time to listen or read these words from our leaders.
Elder Clayton, “Prophets across the ages have encouraged us and even implored us to believe in Christ. Their exhortations reflect a fundamental fact: God does not force us to believe. Instead, He invites us to believe by sending living prophets and apostles to teach us, by providing scriptures, and by beckoning to us through His Spirit. We are the ones who must choose to embrace those spiritual invitations, electing to see with inward eyes the spiritual light with which He calls us. The decision to believe is the most important choice we ever make. It shapes all our other decisions.”
As I look at my life, most if not all my decisions are based upon my belief in Jesus Christ. I obeyed my parents growing up as a child. I attended church throughout my youth. Even though none of my friends were members of the church, I chose good friends that would help me to stay on the path. I went to BYU because of Jesus Christ. I was married in the Salt Lake temple and had a family because of Jesus Christ. I have served in many callings in the church because of my belief. I am here in Fiji for the same reason. These are major decisions, but even small decisions are made because of my belief. My language, my clothing, the foods I eat, the way I treat others. Because of one word…. BELIEVE. It is a choice I have made. It hasn’t happened by accident. Elder Clayton: “We will not accidentally come to believe in the Savior and His gospel any more than we will accidentally pray or pay tithing. We actively choose to believe.”
I hope you see why I LOVE the word BELIEVE. this one word, has a huge influence on my life. I am who I am because of this word…Believe. I Believe. I pray that you too will choose to believe. In this past conference, Pres. Nelson left a blessing upon the members of the church. WHY? To help them that they may choose to believe.
This is what he said:
I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too.”
May I close with the testimony of our prophet Russell M Nelson:
“We worship God the Eternal Father in the name of His Son by the power of the Holy Ghost. We know the premortal Jesus to be Jehovah, God of the Old Testament. We know Him to be ‘the chief corner stone’ upon which the organization of His Church is based (Eph. 2:20). We know Him to be the Rock from whom revelation comes … to all who worthily seek Him (see D&C 88:63).
“We know that He came into the world to do the will of His Father, who sent Him. (See 3 Ne. 27:13.) His divine mission was to effect the Atonement, which was to break the bands of death and enable us to receive immortality and eternal life.
“The living Lord’s divine mission still continues. One day we will stand before Him in judgment. …
“We revere the name of Jesus Christ. He is our risen Redeemer.” Ensign, May 1990
I add my testimony that these things are true. I Believe!
Happy 67 years of life!
We were at the grocery store Saturday and these 3 kids who attend the LDS Primary School saw us. Put on these masks that were for sale and came up and said HI! Loved it! I don't know if anyone buys these masks, though, because they really don't celebrate Halloween! Happy Halloween in any case.
Last week, Tuesday, was Diwali. Suva was crazy with fireworks going off everywhere. I kept waking up every little while to the sounds of more fireworks. Finally at 1:00 I woke up and it was silent. The next night was not quite as bad. We went to the dorms to help with homework. Afterwards we shot have 3 boxes of fireworks. I love doing fireworks with these kids. They have so much fun!
Maikep is from Paupa New Guinea. She received a mission call to the Phillipines to begin in February. She will go to the MTC in Provo. Ashton in also from PNG. He received a mission call to a different Philiipine mission and will also go to the MTC in Provo. We plan to help transport them from the airport to the MTC. Can't wait! Mazina, also PNG, has a mission call to Ghana. She is nervous but she'll be amazing. Her MTC will be in New Zealand. Many of the students have papers in and expect mission calls, some as early as this week.
