Mortal Schooling
I don't know about you, but life has been full that last little while. I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who has taken the time to school me. There have been so many experiences, I don't know where to start. I am afraid I will forget some of them.
I guess we will go to Sunday.
It was High Council Sunday. I had been tasked with speaking on topics of Prayer and Testimony. Our Stake Presidency wanted us to speak about the importance and differences of both. Sometimes we see people stand up at the podium and go a little Rameumpton on the congregation. They either turn their prayers into talk/travelog or they turn their testimonies into a pray/lifeamony. Hence, I have been thinking a great deal about this.
Anyway, I am have been trying to figure out how to apply this topic to two completely different wards and demographics. I have shared a little of one experience, so I hope you won't mind if I share it with the group.
I arrived early and sat on that stand to observe the congregation as they walked in. I sit there quietly and eavesdrop on the members of the congregation in hopes of getting a better feel of what is happening in their lives right now. This is where I was schooled. My testimony and prayers have been strengthened by the experience.
I listened to a group of sisters in the back of the chapel talking about how wonderful it was that another young sister had taken the time to visit the day before. This is what I learned. One of the older sisters in the ward loves to garden. Unfortunately, her mortality is preventing her from keeping up with it like she did in her younger years. The young sister learned that her garden had gotten away from her and came to the rescue. There were so many zucchini that the two of them could not possibly use them all. The younger sister then took all the zucchini, processed them and made several loaves of zucchini bread, which she then placed in a basket and visited all of the widows in the ward. Each was able to receive one or two loaves of bread and be visited by a loving sister.
I then watched a sister enter the back of the chapel. I had spoken in the ward many times, so I knew right away she was the chorister. As she shuffled forward to the stand, I observed how fragile she looked. It was all she could do to make it to the stand. She had her Hymn book in one hand and a small bag in the other. She arrived some 30 minutes before the meeting started so she could set up. She positioned the music stand where she wanted, adjusted the height, dug through her bag to find her baton, marked each of the hymns for the meeting, and then went to the organist to make sure they were on the same page.
All this time she kept apologizing for not finding out what the topics were for the meeting. She worried that her choice of music would not lift the meeting. When asked how she was by the Bishop, she commented that she was still here and she would keep coming. She knows the doctors only gave her 6 months, but that is not going to stop her from being at church and fulfilling her calling. If she was not there next week, the Bishop would know why.
Wow!
As the meeting started, I had the opportunity to present a young man's advancement in the Melchizedek Priesthood. He would later be ordained a High Priest. When I asked him to stand, I noticed he was on the stand helping the young men prepare to pass the Sacrament. He looked like he had just come home from his missions.
As I stood to speak, I wondered what I could share that would inspire this ward. I imagined in my mind what their prayers were like. I witness the results of them bearing their testimonies. There really wasn't anything I could say that they did not already know. I commented on my observation, the powerful witness I had received from them, and encouraged them to continue doing what they were doing.
After the meeting I caught up with him to let him know I was the High Council Coordinator. I would love to meet with him for some training. He invited me to attend his ordination and setting apart later that day.
I wasn't planning on it, but felt that I should. I was instructed again. Later that day he introduced me to his wife and 6 month old son. They have only been living in the area for about 4 months. He just graduated from college and had started a new job. I was then introduced to his parents, older brother, his former neighbor and home teaching companion that lived in his parents ward, and his scout master/young men's leader. These were people that had influenced him greatly in his life. The spirit was so strong.
I was truly edified this day. I am grateful to be able to carry the impressions of the spirit with me all week. I re-commit myself to being better at visiting the widows, sick, and fatherless. I realize what a whiner I am about the frailties of my life and realized that I deserve no better then the next, I just need to keep on being and doing. I honor the privilege to witness and work with such valiant soldiers in the army of God.
I have been schooled.
I guess we will go to Sunday.
It was High Council Sunday. I had been tasked with speaking on topics of Prayer and Testimony. Our Stake Presidency wanted us to speak about the importance and differences of both. Sometimes we see people stand up at the podium and go a little Rameumpton on the congregation. They either turn their prayers into talk/travelog or they turn their testimonies into a pray/lifeamony. Hence, I have been thinking a great deal about this.
Anyway, I am have been trying to figure out how to apply this topic to two completely different wards and demographics. I have shared a little of one experience, so I hope you won't mind if I share it with the group.
I arrived early and sat on that stand to observe the congregation as they walked in. I sit there quietly and eavesdrop on the members of the congregation in hopes of getting a better feel of what is happening in their lives right now. This is where I was schooled. My testimony and prayers have been strengthened by the experience.
I listened to a group of sisters in the back of the chapel talking about how wonderful it was that another young sister had taken the time to visit the day before. This is what I learned. One of the older sisters in the ward loves to garden. Unfortunately, her mortality is preventing her from keeping up with it like she did in her younger years. The young sister learned that her garden had gotten away from her and came to the rescue. There were so many zucchini that the two of them could not possibly use them all. The younger sister then took all the zucchini, processed them and made several loaves of zucchini bread, which she then placed in a basket and visited all of the widows in the ward. Each was able to receive one or two loaves of bread and be visited by a loving sister.
I then watched a sister enter the back of the chapel. I had spoken in the ward many times, so I knew right away she was the chorister. As she shuffled forward to the stand, I observed how fragile she looked. It was all she could do to make it to the stand. She had her Hymn book in one hand and a small bag in the other. She arrived some 30 minutes before the meeting started so she could set up. She positioned the music stand where she wanted, adjusted the height, dug through her bag to find her baton, marked each of the hymns for the meeting, and then went to the organist to make sure they were on the same page.
All this time she kept apologizing for not finding out what the topics were for the meeting. She worried that her choice of music would not lift the meeting. When asked how she was by the Bishop, she commented that she was still here and she would keep coming. She knows the doctors only gave her 6 months, but that is not going to stop her from being at church and fulfilling her calling. If she was not there next week, the Bishop would know why.
Wow!
As the meeting started, I had the opportunity to present a young man's advancement in the Melchizedek Priesthood. He would later be ordained a High Priest. When I asked him to stand, I noticed he was on the stand helping the young men prepare to pass the Sacrament. He looked like he had just come home from his missions.
As I stood to speak, I wondered what I could share that would inspire this ward. I imagined in my mind what their prayers were like. I witness the results of them bearing their testimonies. There really wasn't anything I could say that they did not already know. I commented on my observation, the powerful witness I had received from them, and encouraged them to continue doing what they were doing.
After the meeting I caught up with him to let him know I was the High Council Coordinator. I would love to meet with him for some training. He invited me to attend his ordination and setting apart later that day.
I wasn't planning on it, but felt that I should. I was instructed again. Later that day he introduced me to his wife and 6 month old son. They have only been living in the area for about 4 months. He just graduated from college and had started a new job. I was then introduced to his parents, older brother, his former neighbor and home teaching companion that lived in his parents ward, and his scout master/young men's leader. These were people that had influenced him greatly in his life. The spirit was so strong.
I was truly edified this day. I am grateful to be able to carry the impressions of the spirit with me all week. I re-commit myself to being better at visiting the widows, sick, and fatherless. I realize what a whiner I am about the frailties of my life and realized that I deserve no better then the next, I just need to keep on being and doing. I honor the privilege to witness and work with such valiant soldiers in the army of God.
I have been schooled.
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