Hello,
everyone!!
This past week, the
much anticipated time has come as Parker has began the best two year journey of
his life. How grateful I am for him as he begins his service and what a great
and marvelous work he will contribute to. I encourage everyone to read his blog elderparkerwilde.blogspot.com
and to encourage him!!
Over the weekend, we were blessed to have Stake
Conference. Yesterday we were able to sustain five men to receive the
Melchizedek Priesthood. One of the men that was sustained was Junning
(Charles) that I was blessed to teach and baptize while I was serving in the
Greenwich Ward.
I was so grateful for the missionaries and ward members that
have continued to teach him and help him to progress in the Gospel. I think
that is how it should be. We will not always be around, but when others lend a
hand and continue in the work, greater things are brought to pass. It was a
special moment for me to look out and to sustain him but also look at the
members of the ward that I know have been working with him. The church is for
everyone and is a place where we can build one another. I am so grateful that
our progression in the gospel can be done by working with each other and not going
alone.
Elder Orr and I were able to meet with an
investigator named Kayley yesterday. We have been meeting with her for a while
and she has always tried to argue with us on whether or not God is real. I have
come to see that many of the people that try to do this have a lack of
understanding in terms of the nature of God. It was sad as we sat there talking
with her as she repeatedly protested that God only loves us conditionally and
that He forces us to do what He wants. Towards the end of the lesson, all Elder
Orr and I did was testify in the most fervent and confident way we knew how. We
knew that she could disagree with doctrine we shared, but she could not question
our testimony and personal experiences. As we came to a close, I felt a strong
impression to promise her that if she lived the commandments with exactness and
with complete obedience for one month, she would come to know of her Heavenly
Father's love for her and that she would come to see that the purpose of
commandments is to make blessings available that our Father in Heaven wants to
shower down upon us. I invited her in the name of the Savior multiple times and
Elder Orr testified. The Spirit was so strong and then she said,
"No." She would not accept the invitation. With little more we could
do, we closed and went our separate ways. Elder Orr and I walked a little slower
and our shoulders a little lower as we were so saddened that she rejected the
invitation to come unto Christ. Elder Orr and I knew we had fulfilled our
purpose, but we felt sad that she would not exercise a particle of faith. We
cannot force others to come unto Christ, but we can invite them. We will feel
sorrow when they may not fully accept the invitation but we can rest assured
that we have done all the Lord has asked.
(If you had faith as small as a mustard seed . . . Matthew 17:20)
To conclude, there was an interesting point made at Stake Conference from Elder Leota of the Seventy. In his remarks, he shared that if there is anyone that is new in the church or is returning from less activity, the fastest way to help them gain faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is to get them to the Temple. What an interesting point that was made! As I reflected on that comment shared, I thought back to a lesson we had with a recent convert earlier this week whom we are preparing to go to the Temple to do Baptisms for the Dead. In the lesson, we talked about the holiness of the temple and how important a temple recommend is. I was able to take out my recommend and show it to this individual. As I sat there with this tiny piece of paper in my hand, I started to talk about the magnitude of what it meant to me. As I sat there and held my recommend in my hands, for some reason I had tears run down my face (yes, I know I am a baby). I bore a testimony that took new meaning to me. As I sat there crying, I said in many different ways that this recommend meant more to me than anything else that I had. It meant more to me than anything I could have. I apologize but I cannot articulately explain my feelings towards my temple recommend in my e-mail. My prayer is that we may each gain a divine witness and testimony of how sacred our recommend is in our lives. I pray that we may gain a fervent and everlasting love for the temple and its intricate role in our lives. I pray that we may remain true and faithful to all that is found within the sacred walls of the temples spread across this world.
(Click on the link above to see why temples are so important and what takes place therein.)
Thank you for all that you do on my behalf. May
the Lord bless each of you in what you stand in need of is my prayer.
Elder Wilde
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