Gratitude in All Things

(Talk given at Woodinville Ward in the Bothell Stake, Nov 24, 2014)

I was very pleased with the topic I was assigned this time. Brother Oler got a hold of me about a month ago and told me the topic was "Gratitude in all things". Very exciting topic!

I come from Guatemala and we don't celebrate Thanksgiving Day there. To me this is a new holiday, but I really enjoy it. I enjoy it because it is a chance we have to remember to be grateful without all the commercial aspect of Christmas presents.

My in-laws arrived yesterday and will be spending thanksgiving with us. My mother in law has been fighting with cancer, and after some surgeries and chemotherapy treatments, she seems to have everything under control. That said, one of the side effects of the treatment is that now she lost some sensitivity on her feet, and she feels like she has numb feet all the time.  When I had a chance to talk to her one on one, I asked how her feet were doing, and she explained to me that she may have to endure the numbness and some pain on her feet for the rest of her life. The she mentioned to me that she was grateful for everything she had learned during the last two years. That through this trial she learned to listen more closely to the prompting of the spirit, that she learned to listen to that still, small voice. She also mentioned she learned a lot about her husband's unconditional love for her -- as he has had to help her throughout this period of time.

I was impacted by her comment -- usually I think of the gratitude we should have for our blessings. But in this case, she was also grateful for her trials. I am sure she will do great the rest of her life, as she continues to have this attitude and does the best with the blessings and trials she encounters.  There are others like her that I have met that always have a positive attitude towards life -- no matter what situation they are in.

As I was preparing this talk I figured there are a few ways in which we can show Gratitude in all things. We can be thankful to God, we can be thankful to our neighbors -- including those that are close to us.

Thankful to God

There are many ways in which we can show gratitude to our Heavenly Father. First of all, we need to truly understand and acknowledge that all blessings we have com from Him. Sometimes we forget this very important principle, that we came to this life with nothing. Maybe we start to think that some of the gifts we receive are not gifts, but a natural right. We may even start to start confusing our wants with our needs -- and then instead of being grateful and happy for the blessings we have -- we will be unhappy because of what we want and feel like we are entitled to.

King Benjamin taught his people to remember their "nothingness" -- and that by doing that their humility would allow them to receive forgiveness and come to a knowledge of God.

 

“And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

“And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.” (Mosiah 4:11–12.)

The decision to have an "attitude of gratitude" is ours.

In Luke 17:11-19, we hear the store of a few lepers that were healed by Jesus Christ:

 

11 ¶And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were ^alepers, which stood afar off:

 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the ^apriests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 

 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him ^athanks: and he was a Samaritan.

 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten ^acleansed? but where are the ^bnine? 

 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 

 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

I think that in the last verse, when Christ says that his "faith hath made him whole" -- Christ is not referring just to physical miracle that happened there, but that he was actually made whole spiritually.

So how can we increase our gratitude?President Uchtdorf in a recent address mentioned that gratitude can be learned and increased. We can actually exercise our "gratitude muscle", here are a few ways:

1. Expressing it in our prayers

We should remember to show gratitude in our prayers. This means we have to really work on making our prayers more significant. We really have to take the time to think of what we are grateful for and really mean it.  Let's remember that we should pray in humility, not to be heard of men -- but in our quiet places -- where we can commune with our Father.

In Doctrine and Covenants 59:21 it says:

21 And in nothing doth man ^aoffend God, or against none is his ^bwrath ^ckindled, save those who ^dconfess not his hand in all things, and ^eobey not his commandments.

As this scripture mentions, another way in which we can show gratitude is by being obedient children.We can show gratitude both in our words to our Heavenly Father as well as our actions.

2. Counting our blessings

I like the hymn called "Count your blessings". The second verse says:

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will keep singing as the days go by.

A great way to reflect upon our blessings is to write them down in our journal. We all of a sudden realize that we have plenty to be grateful for.

3. Forgetting about ourselves
When I was a young missionary in Houston, I had the chance to meet a family that is still in my memory, the Sandovals. They were a humble family originally from El Salvador. They lived a simple life, but there is one thing that made them special. They were always happy. And they were happy because they remembered their blessings. If it was a sunny hot day in Houston, brother Sandoval was happy because of the nice warm weather. If it was rainy, brother Sandoval was happy because the water would be good for his plants.

The Sandovals were a family that was always concerned about other people and how to serve them. They shared the gospel with others and looked for ways to serve them. They were always considering other people's needs and not their wants. This allowed them to have an attitude of gratitude, and live happy productive lives. Brother Sandoval was a great example of self-denial service for me and those around him.

When we serve others we come to a realization that:

1. Others may be going through trials we are not going through, and most importantly, that:
2. We have the ability to impact their life for the best -- which is a blessing. That helps us move our focus from "what I want for myself" to "what I can provide for others".

I should point out that we should be comfortable not only providing service to others, but also receiving service from others. Sometimes the best way we can serve others, is by allowing them to serve us, and showing gratitude for the service.

In Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-27, the Lord says:

26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is ^acompelled in all things, the same is a ^bslothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

 27 Verily I say, men should be ^aanxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

If you feel sad or feel like you are not happy, the best cure is to get off the couch, and get engaged in a good cause. There is much need in the world, and there is always something we can do to help.

4. Constrain our desires, and let us be content with what we've got.
When I was a kid my dad used to say that you knew that a person was rich not by how much money they made, but because they spent less than what they made. Similarly, you can learn to be happy by moving your focus from what you do not have, and learning to be content with what you have got.

In my life I have had the opportunity to deal with people from all walks of life. I have seen people who have very little in terms of material possessions share the little they have with others and live happy lives. I have also had the opportunity to see plenty of wealth, and boasting -- but very little in terms of giving. Sometimes in our search for happiness our view can become blurry if we think that the things of this world are the sources of joy and happiness.

Instead of keeping up with the Joneses, we should look for ways to serve the Joneses, and the rest of our neighbors.

In the sermon of the mount, Christ said:

25 ^aTherefore I say unto you, Take no ^bthought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? ^aConsider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 

 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

5. Being more expressive in our love and gratitude to those around us
How do we show gratitude to our neighbors? There is a very easy way -- we can start by remembering our manners and saying "thanks" -- and meaning it. I think that comes naturally if we remember our nothingness.  Remember that there are many out there who have and will influence your life and will improve your quality of life.

I don't ever remember anyone being offended when genuine appreciation has been shared.

I take the bus often and get a chance to see all kinds of people. There are those that I notice always say thanks to our driver on the way in and on the way out. There are others that may not even consider the driver of the bus.
While I am grateful for the service other give us, I am a little distracted -- and may take it for granted. The other day my wife mentioned a way in which she could show the appreciation for the mailman. I am grateful to have a wife who thinks about those kinds of things.

One man was working on the yard when his wife came to him and said "Honey, you don't tell me that you love me anymore". The man looked into his wife's eyes and very seriously said "Honey, when we got married I told you that I love you. If I change my mind I will let you know".

As I have learned now that I have been married a few years, that doesn't cut it. Let us remember to be grateful with those closest to us. Sometimes, we are so used to being close to our family that it is easy to forget everything they do for us. Specially for the men, let us remember our wives and everything the do for us -- in my case my wife runs most of the day in and day out dealings with our home -- from making sure that we have nutritious meals to eat, to making sure our children are where they need to be throughout the day. After a long day at work, let us remember the full time service our wives provide to us. I would exhort wives to remember what their husbands do for them as well, although thanks to their loving nature generally they are better at doing this than we are.


I am very grateful for the chance I had to prepare this talk, and very grateful for those of you that are reading this talk right now as well as those that will listen to it tomorrow. I am grateful for the principles of the gospel, for the hope, joy and happiness that they can provide to us and to others around us. I am grateful for my family and relatives, they have blessed my life greatly. I have this and many other reasons to be grateful, and most of all I am grateful for the greatest gift of all, the atonement of our Savior and the opportunity it provides for us to have eternal life, and I say this in his Name. Amen.







 

Test

This is a test

Our golden years and the secret of happiness.

(Talk to be given on Sunday 9/18/2013 at the Hollywood Hill ward, Bothell Stake)

When I was a boy my dad used to tell me "El secreto de la felicidad es el servicio" -- The secret of happiness is service.

I truly believe this. Throughout my life as I have met different people, I have noticed that those that feel empty or lack drive are usually people that are only thinking about themselves. That's the person that says "I wish I had friends". 

On the other hand, I have met people that are always happy. They are those that devote their lives to the service of others. They are focused on ways to make other people better. Their life is meaningful. They are happy when they work because they are contributing to the welfare of others. These are the people that say "I need to befriend my neighbor".

 After all, what are we here on Earth for?

Yesterday was a great and busy day for the members of the Bothell Stake as they celebrated the "Day of Service". I had the opportunity to see many of you serve in different ways. I truly saw a lot of happy people engaged in a good cause. I never saw anyone sad while they served. I did see a few tired people at the end of the day, but everyone was satisfied and happy with their efforts.

Now, I am not saying that serving is always easy. Sometimes it is challenging. I remember one story president Hinckley told us a few times (link):

As a new missionary serving in Preston, England, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley was facing a major trial in his life. He was sick when he arrived in the mission field, and he quickly became discouraged because of the opposition to the missionary work. At a time of deep frustration, Elder Hinckley wrote in a letter to his father that he felt he was wasting his time and his father’s money. A little while later, Elder Hinckley received a reply from his dad. It said, “Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.”

Earlier that morning during scripture study, Elder Hinckley had read in the Bible, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35).

“With my father’s letter in hand, I went into our bedroom in the house at 15 Wadham Road, where we lived, and got on my knees and made a pledge with the Lord. I covenanted that I would try to forget myself and lose myself in His service” (Ensign, July 1987, p. 7).

Today I want to talk about the "Full Time Senior Missionary" program. For those younger than forty years old.... please don't go to sleep. What I am about to share with you is very applicable to you as well. After all what better time to commit to serve a mission than now. Then you have more time to prepare yourself for it.

The way I see it, a senior mission is the Mormon version of retirement. ;-)  For those not familiar with it, it is a program whereby seniors (usually retired individuals) are called to serve a full time mission.

The missions can last 6, 12, 18 and 23 months.  For those married couples, they are both called to serve a mission together and are assigned as a companionship for the length of the mission.

To learn more about the program, I visited https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary/senior?lang=eng. I was planning to read a document quickly, but stuck around to watch the videos. I found them very inspiring and uplifting.

There are so many different types of missions all over the world, that it would not be fair to try to enumerate the different types of service here.  From serving as a health care professional in Denmark to serving in family history records preservation in Micronesia or serving at one of the many temples around the world. Looking at the list, I even found a mission for someone with background in petroleum reservoir engineering.  There are many missions, and I am sure there is one that matches your current talents or the talents you can develop. I think the only thing that is actually required to serve a mission is the desire to do so. In some situations, there are some missions that may not even require you to relocate.

Now, a bit of preparation is required. Note that the full time missionaries actually pay for their own expenses while they serve. It is truly a labor of love.  The cost ranges between about $1000 and $2500 for a couple leaving from the US. Coming to think of it, that is probably similar to the monthly expense for a senior couple living here in the US.

Brothers and sisters, I want you to consider a mission as one of the most important things you can do in your golden years.  Please realize that demands of senior missionaries are different from those of the young missionaries. Senior missionaries can keep in contact with their children and grandchildren through phone or Skype or any mode of communication they choose. Senior missionaries are not required to have the same schedule as the young missionaries either.

Let me give you an example close to home.

My in-laws live in Huntsville, Alabama.  My mother in law had spent the majority of her life taking care of her children and grandchildren. My father in law is a retired chemical engineer. They look like ordinary people, they are not wealthy but they enough for their needs. They were not in perfect health, but their health was good enough to serve -- my mother in law was struggling with diabetes at the time.

He and my mother decided to serve a mission. They were called to serve a full time mission in the Joseph Smith memorial building working in Temple Square -- they were going to serve a Family History mission, working as part of the indexing program. I was not there when they received their call, but my wife had the opportunity to be there and she remembers my father in law. She says that he looked like a 19 year old waiting to receive his call.

While they were on their mission we had an opportunity to drive to Salt Lake and spend a few days with them. I had never seen the version of my mother in law that I saw when we visited her at the time. I saw a woman who was 100% engaged in the service of her fellow beings. They lived in a tiny apartment close to temple square, but they loved their mission. They introduced us to many of their friends. We even had a chance to go to church with them on Sunday, where we had a chance to see so many senior missionaries. It was then that I realized that my in laws and all those other senior missionaries were no ordinary people, they were called to serve in the Lord's vineyard, They wore the name of Christ on their name tags, but also had the name of Christ written on their hearts. They were truly servants of the Lord.

Upon return from their mission, my mother in law has been struggling with cancer treatments. I truly believe that her health was prolonged so she could serve a mission. Also, they were a blessing not only to those on the other side of the veil and the people that they interacted with while on their mission, but to those of us who could see their service. They blessed their children and grandchildren. They set an example for their descendants.

Potential concerns related to serving a full time mission (link)

 (1) Finances: Any expenses over and beyond what would have been needed at home may be subsidized by children, friends, quorums, or by other members of the family.

(2) Fear: Mature missionaries need not fear tracting or learning a new language. Much can be contributed using talents already acquired. Missionaries can venture into another language situation knowing that they will learn what they need to know without demanding fluency of themselves. They will learn some of their mission language and find joy in using each new expression.

(3) Fitness: While a risk-free environment cannot be guaranteed either at home or in the mission field, appropriate provisions can be made for proper diet and exercise. Routine needs for physical care can generally be met in the mission field. In the event of an emergency, evacuation, if advisable, is possible.

(4) Families: Children and grandchildren of senior missionaries will be blessed because of their service. To a missionary the Lord provided this promise:

“Behold, you have had many afflictions because of your family; nevertheless, I will bless you and your family, yea, your little ones; and the day cometh that they will believe and know the truth and be one with you in my church” (D&C 31:2).

As those “little ones” pray for their missionary parents, they will be drawn toward the Lord as well as to parents or grandparents.

 From Doctrine and Covenants 4:

1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.

2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; 

4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;

5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.

Let us take this invitation personally
Brothers and sisters, if you have a desire to serve ye are called to the work.

Brother and sisters, in the last few general conferences, there has been a pleading to hasten the work of salvation. We just heard about the change in minimum age for young missionaries to enter the mission fields. We have also heard many pleads for more senior missionaries.

I want you to consider this a personal call. Think: What can I do to hasten the work of salvation? If you are of age to serve a senior mission, I want you to consider serving a mission and have a good discussion with your Bishop. To your Bishop, I also ask him to invite you in person to serve a full time mission.
It may be possible or not for you to serve a full time mission, but we know for sure that it is possible to participate in some way in the hastening of the work and to support this work no matter the circumstances.

Actually, even if you don't have the desire to serve you are called to the work. Well, first you are called to get a desire to serve. :-) When I was a young man, a good stake president called me boldly to serve a mission. I still remember him. And I am grateful for his call. He truly understood the importance of serving. I am so grateful for his boldness and direction. He was unapologetic.

Let us all forget about ourselves, and commit now to serve a full time senior mission or to at least start preparing for it.

May the Lord bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Home teaching and visiting teaching, ministering to the one.

(This talk will be given in the Bothell Ward on 8/18/2013.)

This is my first time talking in your ward. I recently became a member of the ward council, and during the last few months I have been able to see firsthand the love that the Stake Presidency has for each of you. They send their love to you, and they truly appreciate the your labor in the Lord's vineyard.

I have to admit that even though I was really excited to give a talk in your ward, when I heard that the topic of this Sunday was home-teaching / visiting-teaching, I had mixed feelings. I love the home teaching program, but that is one area where I always think I can improve. That said, I am grateful for the home-teaching and visiting-teaching program.

Even though I will refer to home teaching for most of this talk, as it is the program I am more familiar with, the same principles of love and service apply to visiting teachers.

For those of you reading this blog, who are not familiar with the concept of home teaching, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Bishop assigns home teachers to visit the members of the church every month. They go in pairs. Similarly, the visiting teachers is a Relief Society program where couples of sisters visit other sisters in the ward.

Home teaching is a blessing
Before I went on my mission, In the winter of 1997, I was a freshman at college in Minnesota. I was studying in my room, a bit worried about homework and tests I had in the next few days. I got a call. It was my home-teaching companion. He sounded pretty excited, he had set up some appointments for that evening and was checking if I could go home teaching with him. At first, I told him that I was really busy, that I had school work to attend to. "Ok"-- he said, "I may have to go by myself". "No, I will go with you" I told him, feeling a bit guilty -- I wasn't going to let him go by himself.

If I remember correctly, we visited two people. I don't remember what exactly we discussed with them. What I remember was the feeling I had while brother Johnson was driving me back to the college campus on that cold winter night in Minnesota. I felt that we were doing the right thing visiting those two individuals. Also, I remember thinking, that compared to my challenges, school work and all -- they were insignificant compared to the work we had just performed. The individuals we visited really needed the visit at the time.

When we home teach, we show our love for Heavenly Father
Later Day revelation describes some of the responsibilities of the priesthood:
" to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the church; [...] And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to ^apray ^bvocally and in secret and attend to all ^cfamily duties. [...]The ^ateacher’s duty is to ^bwatch over the ^cchurch always, and be with and strengthen them;

And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither ^ahardness with each other, neither lying, ^bbackbiting, nor ^cevil ^dspeaking; "
                                                            (D&C 20:42,47,53,54)

As you can see, home teaching is a direct application of this modern revelation. What I love about it, is that it is a way to minister to the individual, to put to practice the teachings of the Savior.

After his resurrection, the Lord appear to the disciples, and had this discussion with Peter:

15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, ^aFeed my sheep.

17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, ^aFeed my ^bsheep. 
                                                           (John 21: 15-17)

We express our love for Christ in the love and service we provide to our neighbor. The real quality home teacher is the one that becomes a friend to the family they are teaching. Home teaching is not a checkbox on our calendar, or an appointment. Home teaching is a relationship, it is friendship.

Great home teachers
As I was preparing this talk, I asked my wife whom she thought was the best home teacher we had had since we got married. She remembered one name in particular, and when I asked her why she thought this brother had been better than others, she said: "Because even after he was not our home teacher anymore, he always took the time to ask me how my family was and how I was doing".

That is the best home teacher, the friend that shows genuine love and cares about us.

Before the Bothell 3rd ward was divided, it was so large that it felt like someone was moving every weekend. I had the opportunity to see many committed home teachers go the extra mile to serve. There were times when those asking for help probably had not prepared as much as they should have before the day of the move. I remember two instances, one were the person moving had not really packed up as much as she should have. Another one were the person moving had not arranged the moving truck ahead of time and was several hours late. In such circumstances, it is easy to say "Well, I can only help for the next two or three hours, and then you are on your own". But in each of these situations I remember two home teachers being patient and loving to the person they were serving. They did not judge, they loved and served. I admire these two men who put others first, even though I am sure they had a lot of other obligations to worry about.

I know of many stories like this, and I myself have been the benefactor of friendship and service that home teachers can provide.  I moved myself about a year ago. And moving is something I don't want to do for the next 10 year or so. After all, if you have food storage, every time you move, you have to move all that food storage. Even though my family and I have been in the area for about 10 years, we are not from this area, and had little help in the terms of family help on the day of the move. I was a bit worried the day or two before the move. On the day of the move though, our home teachers and many other members of our ward family came to help. I remember brother Pope did not only come himself, but enlisted the help of many of the youth. I seldom ask for help, but I will be forever grateful for such manifestation of love.

But home teaching is more than coordinating a "moving crew". At times, home teachers bring the priesthood to many homes where it is not present. At other times, home teachers, help reinforce principles taught by parents. All the time, home teachers, invite the families to come to Christ.

Hastening the Work of Salvation
This year, we have seen a "hastening of the work". I am not a native English speaker, so I looked up "haste" in the dictionary.

Haste means "urgent need of quick action; a hurry or rush."

We have been reminded of the urgency to lengthen our stride in the work of the Lord. (link)

As part of this work, we need to share the gospel with our neighbors, open our mouths and share the gospel with everyone, be good examples. We need to work harder to nourish those new members, to make sure they have friends in our wards, to ensure that they are supported as they strive to live the commandments. We also need to minister to those that have fallen by the wayside. Home teaching plays an important role in each of these aspects, especially when home teaching less active or part member families.  Let us serve them and be patient.

Currently in the center of our dining table is a plant ("Marble Queen") that is growing happily there, and that looks like it is a bit too big for the size of the table. That was not always the case. You see, Amy, my wife, is a nurse by training. She also likes to garden. She is patient and likes to nurture to her plants. She is the person that goes to home depot and immediately goes to the clearance section where "half-dead" plants are sold at a discount. The "marble queen" on our dining room table, was one of those half dead plants.  Getting it to live required some water, a bit of nurturing (changing the pot, making sure it was not in direct sunlight, etc.), and quite a bit of patience. Most of all, it required a bit of faith and vision. What to me seemed like a "half dead" plant, to Amy was a beautiful plant that just requires some attention.

I think our Heavenly looks at us and sees many great souls that just require a bit of attention. He can see us for what we can become. He also knows that for us to grow, we need to learn to serve each other. Home teaching is a privilege, it is a blessing we have to be participants in the work of Salvation. I know that home teaching is an inspired program, and I say this in the name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.

---
Notes:

Other stories:
1. Even less actives members can help home teach.
2. Sister Madusca receive blessings of the temple thanks to home teachers.

The Sacred Nature of Parenthood and Priesthood

(I will be giving this talk in the North Creek Ward of the Bothell Stake on 6/16 -- Father's day)

In preparing for this talk I had the opportunity to watch two or three "Mormon messages" videos that the church has put out for people to see.

One caught my attention, is said that of "all titles of respect and honor, Deity has asked us to address him as Father". That is so overwhelming. By divine appointment, one day you finds yourself with a child (or many) on your arms. They are your responsibility. In great part, their future depends on you. They trust you, and expect you to just do your job and keep them safe and take care of. They grow, and even though they don't always understand why, you have to lead them on a safe path.

The catch is children are all different, and don't come with a  "User's manual". One of these days as I was coming home, I had a bit of an unusual situation. My children are generally good children. But this time one of them had a bit of a rough attitude. On the one hand I wanted to teach my child to be obedient -- on the other hand I did not want my child to suffer too much in the process of learning. Without giving too much detail, it suffices to say that this was a humbling experience that required me to find comfort in prayer.  I imagine there are many other fathers who have been in similar situations. I take some comfort in knowing that Heavenly Father has to deal with me, an imperfect child -- so He for sure knows how to help me out.

The first sentence in the Book of Mormon, where Nephi introduces himself says "I, Nephi, having been ^aborn of ^bgoodly ^cparents...". In the first few verses of the book of Mormon we learn about Lehi, who is struggling to:
1. Convince his wife and children that they have to leave their comfortable life in Jerusalem because he had a vision.
2. Physically move his family across the wilderness -- and he did not have a U-Haul. having had to move homes a little less than a year ago, let me tell you that  it is tough. At least I had help from other members, Lehi did not have such help.
3. Raise two stubborn children.
4. Having to comfort his wife who is concerned her children are lost, or that they will themselves perish in the wilderness.

Lehi is only one of those good parents that we learn about in the scriptures, but he was definitely a good man who was entrusted to lead his people to a safe place. And he is only one example of a great father in the scriptures. There are many more lessons on parenthood in the scriptures, to name a few:

1. The obedience of Abraham and the love he had for Isaac.
2. The love of Jacob for his children, especially Joseph.
3. The love Alma for his son, and the faith Alma had in his son.
4. We learn of Enos being influenced by the words of his father.
5. The love and mercy a father has for his children is shown in the parable of the prodigal son.
6. We learn of the love of Heavenly Father for His Son, and for each of us.

Today is father's day, and I find it a very humbling experience to talk about being a father, our roles and responsibilities -- because I am young and I still have a lot to learn.

Originally I thought I would provide fathers and future parents a list of responsibilities and go over each of them with perhaps a few scriptural references... but then I figured we would all get out of here realizing where we fall short and perhaps we would be a bit overwhelmed... and while that may be good for us, it is not kind thing to do to father's on Father's day.  :-)

Instead I figured I will be a bit more positive and give you the list of 5 things that I appreciate in my own earthly father or other fathers that I have seen. I, like Nephi was born with a good father. So, this talk is going to be a bit more personal than usual. I hope that's ok with you. My goal is not to boast, but those experiences are the closest ones to me.

So here we go, these are in no particular order.

1. A genuine desire in me and my interests.
When I was a teenager I liked to program computers. The task at time would be pretty technical and not too many people would understand it. While it would have been easy to dismiss my interest/talents as something too complicated to worry about it or not easily displayed (It is not a hobby like singing that is publicly displayed) -- my father always showed a genuine interest in what I was doing. He would find out what I was doing, and then he would ask additional questions so that he could have a general idea of the progress I was doing... and even if he did not understand every little detail, he would definitely try, and share my joys.

I recently saw this pattern when I was talking with my dad over Skype and Andres was building some Lego figures in front of the camera while I was talking with him. Andres left after a few minutes. When I was about to say "goodbye" to my dad -- he said "I noticed Andres built some thing, maybe he wanted to show it to me". I called my son and they had a good conversation on the different Lego spinjitzus...

My dad did not notice, but he re-taught me by example this very important lesson, to have a genuine desire in our children and their interests.

2. Time
One time for Christmas I got as a present a wooden tennis racket. Materially, it was not a very expensive gift, it was really the most basic racket -- That said, it has been one of the best presents I have ever received to date. The reason is that my dad then would take me to play Tennis on the weekends. The thing is neither of us knew how to play Tennis -- but we just kind of learned as we went a long. It was a great chance to spend time with my dad.

But time is not always just about recreational time.... my dad also took the time to check my homework every night. I know he was tired, and the process usually took between 30 minutes and an hour.

“Some of our most important choices concern family activities. Many breadwinners worry that their occupations leave too little time for their families. There is no easy formula for that contest of priorities. However, I have never known of a man who looked back on his working life and said, ‘I just didn’t spend enough time with my job’ ” (Dallin H. Oaks  “Good, Better, Best”).


3. An example of hard work and dedication.
My grandfather (my mom's dad) was a farmer. He would wake up some time around 4 o'clock in the morning to milk the cows. To be honest even though he invited me many times to join him, I never actually did wake up on time to take part of the experience. I regret that. I did, however, have the chance to join him in one of his tasks once. As part of the process of clearing some land, some of his workers had removed about a truckload of roots and bushes -- they looked mostly like roots to me and loaded a pick up truck with that. I thought it was all garbage that was to be disposed. That's not what my grandpa saw. He saw a business opportunity. We spent the next 3 hours or so finding a buyer for the wood. It turns out all that "garbage" could be used as fuel to make tortillas.

This is just an example... but I am grateful for the dedication of many parents, especially those that rise early so that they can work hard. For the youth, notice that I those extra sacrifices don't start once you join the labor force after your mission -- they start in your educational preparation today.

4. Love and respect for mom.
I never met paternal grandfather because he died before I was born. I do know that he used to call my grandma his princess. I know that because my father used to instruct us on the importance of showing love for your spouse. I am grateful for a father that treated his wife (my mother) with much love and respect.

In the proclamation to the world I says:
"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed."

5. A servant of the Lord, both inside the walls of our home as well as outside.
My dad is a convert to the church, and from the moment he got baptized he served in many callings. He took them seriously, and worked hard at them. He did not just got to meetings, he served people. I know that because whenever he could, he would take me along. I had the chance to see him minister to the poor, to the afflicted both spiritually as well as temporally. He did not do it for the praise of man, because there was no one else there looking at his work.... my dad would constantly remind us that happiness was to be found in the service of others, a lesson he learned from his father.

Most important than what he said, was what he did. I lived with my father so I knew his challenges, his strengths and weaknesses. I also knew he was a worthy priesthood holder, and that was a great blessing for our home. In Guatemala, there is quite a bit of poverty, some of it would be impactful to some of you. The thing is, I noticed how my father treated everyone with the same level of dignity. He could talk to both the "uneducated" poor laborer who lived in a shack, as well as the wealthy individual. My father was raised in very humble circumstances, so maybe that had something to do with it. Either way, I was able to see the "priesthood" in action.

Earlier, I read that parents are to preside over their families in love and righteousness, what does this mean?
This is the area where I think some of us struggle a bit more. It is our responsibility to preside in the home. It is not our wive's responsibility to get family home evening going in our homes, or to get the family together for prayer.. it is our responsibility. Sometimes our dear sisters take on some of these responsibilities because we are not rising to the bar that has been set for us.
Note that we don't preside because we are the strongest, or oldest... but in love and righteousness... how do we do this?

From Doctrine and Covenants 121:

41 No ^apower or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the ^bpriesthood, only by ^cpersuasion, by ^dlong-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

 42 By ^akindness, and pure ^bknowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the ^csoul without ^dhypocrisy, and without ^eguile—

 43 ^aReproving betimes with ^bsharpness, when ^cmoved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of ^dlove toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

 44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of ^adeath.

...

 46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant ^acompanion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of ^brighteousness and truth; and thy ^cdominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

 

 

I am grateful for having the privilege of being a father of two wonderful children and for the trust Heavenly Father has placed in me and my wife. I am also grateful for my dad, and his example. Ultimately I am grateful for the love Heavenly Father has for each of us individually. He knows us, loves us and has a genuine interest in our eternal progression. An while definitely overwhelming, what a privilege it is to share the title of Father with our God.

I say this in the name of Jesus-Christ, Amen.

Making good use of the gospel of good news

[April.21. 2013 -- Cottage Lake Ward, Bothell Stake - Washington]

So I recently got called to the high council in our Stake. That means that I will get the opportunity to give more talks. I figured I will write them down and post them to the blog. This will allow me to refer to them later on when I get older and who knows, maybe someone will benefit from the along the way.

I am deeply humbled to be speaking to you in this occasion.  This is a new experience for me. I just met with the high council for the first time a few weeks ago, and I am so new that I am barely learning the names of the members of the high council. I did notice though that there is a great deal of love and camaraderie between the members of the high council and the Stake presidency members. I am young, and I lack a lot of experience and wisdom. That said, I take comfort that the Lord will help me and fill the gaps needed for me to perform my duties.

I know many of the talks today have been about the great apostasy. A lot of the truths of the gospel were lost soon after Christ was crucified.  There was not prophet to lead Christ's Church, the priesthood was missing. There was no revelation of gospel truths.

I want you to think for a second what it would be like to live without the gospel?

These are a few things that I enumerated, and I want to point out that there are many around us who are still not reaping the benefits from the restoration.

1. No prophet receiving revelation at the head of the Church.
2. No revelation for the church.
3. No priesthood.

Paul explained to the Ephesians why we needed leaders called of God.

 11 And he ^agave some, ^bapostles; and some, ^cprophets; and some, ^devangelists; and some, ^epastors and ^fteachers;

 12 For the ^aperfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the ^bedifying of the body of Christ:

 13 Till we all come in the ^aunity of the faith, and of the ^bknowledge of the Son of God, unto a ^cperfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

 14 That we henceforth be no more ^achildren, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of ^bdoctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

 15 But speaking the ^atruth in love, may grow up into him in all things, ...

 

(http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/eph/4.14-15?lang=eng)

We can see the world around us looking for happiness, but not finding it. We see men being carried about with every wind of doctrine. Some looking for happiness in wealth alone, some others looking for happiness in entertainment, some others looking for happiness in addictive substances, some others in immorality.... and the problem is that there is no lasting happiness to be found in any of these.

I generally think people have good desires. I think most people want to be happy. Who wouldn't want to be happy? The problem is that sometimes we either don't know where to find happiness (being carried by every wind of doctrine) - or - we just forget were to find happiness.

The restoration bring us the blessings of the gospel

When I was a missionary we used to recite the standard of truth:

“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” (History of the Church 4:540)

I loved reciting this, because it promised that nothing could stop the work of the Lord! It is our job to make sure the truth of God has sounded in every ear. It is also our job to heed to the truth of God.

We are very blessed with beautiful buildings and programs that make it easy for us to practice our beliefs. Most of us can just get in our cars and be in the church building in less than 30 minutes, or visit the Seattle Washington Temple in less than an hour drive. We even have parks were our youth can practice scouting and that serve as recreational activities, world-class welfare and humanitarian programs. We have a magnificent Seminary and Institute programs, and a very well developed family history program with comparison to none in the world. We even have a University!

I wonder what that would be like if you had been a pioneer crossing the plains, and had a vision of the growth of the Church in the latter days.

“The Prophet called on all who held the Priesthood to gather into the little log school house they had there. It was a small house, perhaps 14 feet square. But it held the whole of the Priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were then in the town of Kirtland. … When we got together the Prophet called upon the Elders of Israel with him to bear testimony of this work. … When they got through the Prophet said, ‘Brethren, I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I want to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap. You don’t comprehend it.’ I was rather surprised. He said, ‘It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.’”⁵
(Wilford Woodruff, in Conference Report, Apr. 1898, p. 57;)

It is interesting, that few people really understood what the restoration of the gospel would really mean. We are surely blessed in our day!

Are we taking the gospel for granted?

Have you ever been on a long hike just to get to a point where you can finally drink some water? I tell you that water never tastes better.

We should always be thirsty for the blessings of the gospel. In my ward, there is a principles of the gospel class that is attended by those investigating the church and by new members. I love being there! The main reason is that I see the real desire of those new members and investigators to learn! The new members have just been through a lot of trials of their faith. Some of them have had to make huge changes in their lives, and their testimony has been growing tremendously. They are the best missionaries... not because they know all the doctrine, but because they have this fire within them! They have seen their lives transformed, and want to share the good news with their neighbors.

We should really learn from our new members. Sometimes, it is easy for us to get into the routine, and just take things for granted.

When I was 16 I had the opportunity to study in a new school in Norway. This school was located in a beautiful location in the middle of the Norwegian Fjords. The only problem is that the school was in the middle of the Norwegian Fjords. That meant that the closest church building was about 3 or 4 hours away one way by bus in Bergen; the trip was too expensive for me to make the trip to Church. Even though I had permission to bless my own sacrament, I still missed going to Church and being strengthened by other's testimonies.

For winter I had the chance to go to Oslo, and I made plans to visit the church building there. Since I was not very familiar with the area and wanted to make sure I did not get lost on Sunday, I made the trip to look for the church building the Thursday before. I still remember looking for the building and finally finding it. I was so excited! I remember the snow outside the building, and I got to the door just to find out it was closed. It did not matter, I knew I was standing on a sacred house. I remember looking inside the door, and seeing some family history announcements. I was so happy to know the work of the Lord was moving forward. :-) That was a simple, but very special experience for me. Not that the building itself was that different from any other building in the city, but it represented something that was hard to find in that area of the world.

A lot of sacrifice has gone for us to benefit from the blessings of the gospel
That period of time taught me to appreciate the blessings of the gospel. I am a convert to the Church so I don't have any stories about my great-great grandparents who crossed the plains. because they did not. :-)

My wife and I had a chance to visit some historic church sites right after we got married. She was living in Alabama, so we had to drive to BYU right after getting married. That was our short honey-moon. We got to stop in Nauvoo. Nauvoo, the beautiful, is indeed a beautiful place. I can imagine that the industrious saints were just getting comfortable there. They had just drained the swamps so that they could build and work the land, and had been building the gorgeous Nauvoo temple, when they persecution made them start their trek to the Rocky Mountains. This must have been hard for them. Even harder was the trek that was waiting for them.

Many died in the exodus to the Rockies. Many, including Joseph Smith, died before that, sealing with their blood their testimony of the divinity of this work.

The church today stands thanks to the selfless work of many generation of Latter Day Saints.

Living witnesses of the gospel.

Many, also have lived and live for the gospel. I am myself the beneficiary of many acts of charity. 
I am originally from Guatemala City. When I was a boy, my family listened to countless missionaries (we were active in the church for about 3yrs.) before we were baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When I was a boy, our ward spanned some pretty poor areas of the city, that said members were loyal and willing. I often thought of the many missionaries that probably came from wealthy families in this country and had come to my country to walk among the Lamanites, and eat black beans. I was always grateful to the Elders and Sisters that taught us. Most of them never got to see the fruits of their labors, so they served selflessly to share the gospel with us.

There are many who give of themselves everyday, as living witnesses of the gospel. I am forever grateful for our bishops and their councilors. In Guatemala, when I was seminary age, our branch was not that large geographically or in the number of people in it. That meant that a few members had to serve in several capacities. Our branch president's wife was the seminary teacher. It was not very safe for the youth to be walking around the city around 5 o'clock in the morning so our young bishop would drive around picking up every one of the young men and young women that attended seminary. He was a humble servant of the Lord. I will forever be grateful to Presidente Alvarez for his humble service. He was already pretty busy with his calling, work, and raising a few children. Yet, he served us.

The gospel of good news is only good news if we do something about it
So we see the blessings of the gospel thanks to old generations, and the members of the church today.
But just like a good book, that is only good if we open it and read it -- we cannot make good use of the blessings of the gospel unless we do our part.

The words of our prophet and leaders can take a much higher level of meaning, if we prepare to listen to them. (Story about Elder Miller inviting me to listen to general conference messages)

The temple building is a beautiful monument, but it can be much more than a monument if we prepare to enter it's doors and then visit it regularly.

This church building is a comfortable building, but it can also be a place for us to learn, to share our testimonies and to strengthen Zion. It can be a place where we organize our service, it can be a place where we have spiritual experiences with our neighbors.

The scriptures when they are closed are a beautifully bound book. But when they are open, and when the pages get worn from study -- they become a channel for divine revelation and bring salvation unto our souls.

As it says in the introduction of the Book of Mormon:
"It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel,
     outlines the plan of salvation, and
     tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come."

 Brothers and Sisters, this is the Church of Jesus-Christ. He leads it. We have a living prophet today. The priesthood has been restored and is at hand to serve us and others around us. I know this is true. I also know that we will only benefit from these blessings in direct relationship to how seriously we take our relationship with Heavenly Father. It is my prayer that we will be thirsty to know His Will, and follow it. It is then that we will be told how we can contribute to build up the kingdom of God on Earth, and bring light into our souls, and into those of our neighbors.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.