Gathering Spiritual Light--my talk

Given on February 26, 2023 in the Barber Acres Ward after completing our mission to the Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission--

GATHERING SPIRITUAL LIGHT

What a historical time for us to be serving in the Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission—not only due to Covid and things related to that but to the ongoing refitting and restoration project of the Salt Lake City Temple.  It has been amazing to watch the scaffolding go up and encase the entire building, to watch stones from the spires to be taken down and stored for later use and to watch the work on the foundation of the temple is even more incredible—Digging up to 20 feet below the massive foundational stones of the building to prepare the needed stabilization of the entire building allows a hint of the massive work being done.  We have had firesides where we were able to learn even more about this complicated and yet delicate task of making the temple earthquake proof.

So, I loved it when President Nelson in the October 2021 General Conference shared some of what we had observed firsthand with the members of the Church worldwide. Through a video, he expressed his amazement at the work and said that when it was completed, the temple would stand into the Millennium. Another time, President Nelson said that the temple will become the “safest place in the valley during an earthquake.”  As much as President Nelson loves the Salt Lake Temple, he is much more concerned about us and our own spiritual foundations. He said: ”In like manner, it is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures—perhaps measures we have never taken before—to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.”  He asked us to review our own personal spiritual foundations and to determine what measures are needed to make our testimony and knowledge of the gospel stronger so we can withstand the gathering evil of our day.

I thought about his remarks frequently on days I would look out at the temple from the 2^nd floor of the Church History Library. At first I thought-” I am a set apart missionary, serving away from my home, family and friends—not far away, of course, but enough that I missed sharing my life with yours.... obviously, my testimony is strong, or I wouldn’t be here.”  But then I thought about President Nelson’s description of the great granite stones which form the foundation of the temple. He said that once uncovered, workers could see places of decay and cracking, gaps in the stonework and other signs of erosion. I decided that it made sense for me to consider my testimony and look for ways to strengthen and repair it. I have lived mortal life long enough to understand that we do not know what is ahead for us as individuals, as families, as a ward or community or a nation. If the prophet tells us to strengthen our testimonies, it seems wise to follow the course to do that.

First, what is a testimony? In the Gospel Topics app, testimony is defined as “a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost...It continues by saying “  the foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives and about all that He has done for us; that Joseph Smith is the prophet who led the restoration of the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior’s Church on the earth today and that it is led by His living prophet.”

I testify that these things are true. From my first remembered spiritual experience when I was five years old until today, I have had many witnesses of the truths of these foundational doctrines. However, it is important for me to remember these events, write them down, and share them with others. By doing those actions, I am fortifying my testimony—preparing for the unprecedented times we are all involved in. I encourage you to do the same. Even the simple act of recording your testimony—verbally or in writing—can help your testimony get stronger.

Because we are just returning from our mission, it makes sense that I would share some stories and experiences which have added strength to my testimony—not because they are big earthshattering experiences, but because they are simple, ordinary ones—I hope that they remind you of your own “everyday experiences” which have caused your testimonies to grow.

A bit of background: We started on our mission from home in October of 2020, doing all our MTC and training for our mission online. We were assigned to serve in the Church History Library as part of the US/Canada team. We were given the task of interviewing and recording oral histories from mission leaders who have served in missions in the US or Canada. Shortly after starting, we were called down to Salt Lake to meet our mission president, President Steve Randall, in person and were given the assignment to serve as zone leaders over the Collections Zone. This meant that we oversaw the “health, happiness, and service” of 60-90 missionaries, some full-time like us but most were service missionaries working 16 hours a week. All of them were between 60 to 90 years old—except for Jena. In April of 2021 before the buildings around Temple Square were opened, we moved down to Salt Lake, ending up in the Brigham Apartments a block east of Temple Square in a nice apartment with a great view of the Capital Building. Gary’s first comment--” This is way too nice for a missionary apartment.” remembering his days as a missionary in Hong Kong.

Serving as a senior missionary on Temple Square with 800 other amazing senior missionaries was life changing and so fulfilling.  Unfortunately, I can’t even begin to share all of the great experiences we had.—let me share a few which increased my testimony of our Heavenly Father, His Son, and their work among us:

First- the story of Joseph Millet. This was recorded in his journal which can be found in the Archives of the Church History Library and was retold in the video about the Church History Library called “The Story Lives Here.” He was an early pioneer member of the Church. One day, his children told him that the Hall children (no relationship to us) were out of bread and had no flour. Joseph and his wife took some of their own dwindling flour supply and put it in a bag for the family. Before they could take it, a knock came at their door and there stood Brother Hall. Joseph offered him the bag of flour. Brother Hall then said, “I had gone to others but didn’t get any, so I went out to the forest and prayed, and God told me to go to Joseph Millet.” After Brother Hall left, his daughter, Mary Jane, noticed that her dad was quite emotional. Asking him what the matter was, he replied, “It is good to know that God knows Joseph Millet.”  I saw this video about twice a month for almost two years as part of an orientation meeting for new missionaries. I still cried every time. Have you had those moments when you know that God knows you? Let me share one of mine.  Last February one Monday I had a long conversation with one of our daughters who was having a hard time and also difficult news regarding Ben’s health.  I was discouraged and had one of those prayers with Heavenly Father during the middle of the day where I was complaining “like where are the blessings for our families which are promised for serving a mission”—not really the kind of prayer that I am proud of. Fortunately, Heavenly Father seems to be patient with those types of prayers. I did not feel anything after those complaining prayers—no surprise. However, that night, we had an evening fireside and a couple spoke who had served in the area presidency in Africa. The wife spoke and shared an identical experience and prayer with mine. Her husband shared a different but similar tough time. Five times within their remarks, they commented about Heavenly Father’s care of us as his children, as missionaries, and our families. Each time those remarks were made, I had a strong overwhelming confirmation of the truth of those basic statements and that they applied to me specifically and personally. My heart was opened, and it was filled with the great love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior and their awareness and care for our children and for us. In a receptive place, the Holy Ghost could reconfirm that important principle.

Next story: Interviewing mission leaders was a treasured and holy experience for us. In our opinion, we had the best assignment in the mission—and considering there are over 800 missionaries in our mission that is a bold statement. Whether on Zoom or in person, we were able to listen as these dedicated servants of God shared amazing experiences and miracles related to their service. Many times, as they shared stories, I would think to myself, “That is how God deals with me” or “I have had that experience with the Holy Ghost.”  Each time, our testimonies were strengthened by these mission leaders. Let me tell you a story shared by President Ackerman and his wife who served over the New Mexico Farmington Mission. As you know usually about every six weeks, missions received new missionaries. President Ackerman stated that he knew he was getting an elder from Pennsylvania who was assigned to speak Spanish. He had not read anything else about him before the elder had arrived. President Ackerman said that in their mission, they did not make the assignments until the day after their arrival in the mission. He said that the whole night he could not sleep and “wrestled” with the planned assignment for this elder. Finally, early in the morning, he got up and changed the elder to Lupe, Arizona, right in the middle of the reservation. He assured the elder when he made the assignment that they would move him to a Spanish-speaking area within a transfer or two. The next week, he opened his email to see an email from this elder’s mother. He thought—Oh, no, I bet she is mad that he is not speaking Spanish here. The letter started: President Ackerman. I am Dene’...or I am Navajo. She goes on to tell him that when her son was two years old, they left the reservation and moved back east and never returned. They were from Lupe, AZ. In his first area, this elder met his grandmother, aunts and uncles, and cousins many he had never met and was able to teach. Love, and nurture them. President Ackerman did not know this...but a loving Heavenly Father did, and a miracle happened. Aren’t you glad that you belong to a Church of miracles, where the gift of the Holy Ghost can guide our actions and decisions?

The bulk of our time was spent serving our missionaries and the staff as zone leaders. That meant that we lead zone devotionals during the week, planned temple trips and social gatherings, did lots of paperwork, and served on leadership counsels in the mission. When we were first called, President Randall asked us if we had any questions and we said we have not been here long enough to even know what zone leaders do. He laughed and then told us that we were to serve somewhat as the Bishop and Relief Society president over the missionaries in our zone. Immediately, I flashed back to the day that Gary and I had been set apart as full-time missionaries. I was so excited to be a full-time missionary. Gary and I had set a goal to serve in October of 2020 back when we were engaged. There were many times we did not think it would ever work because of our complicated responsibilities in our family and extended family—that is a story for another day—but it made being set apart even more exciting for me! It was really happening. I am not sure what I expected—it was a beautiful blessing for sure—but when I got in the car, I turned to Gary and said, “I feel like I was just set apart as the Relief Society president.”--the blessings, counsel, warnings, and promises were so similar to blessings I had had in the past.  That is what it felt like. But there in President Randall’s office, I understood once again that I was under Heavenly Father’s care and direction—that he blessed me with the skills and insights that He knew I would need as I served Him and His Son as a missionary. How blessed we are to serve under leaders with the priesthood who can give us inspired and heavenly messages and blessings from our loving Father in Heaven?

Elder Dieter Uchtdorf reminded us in the October 2014 Conference: “gaining a testimony is not a task of a minute, an hour, or a day. It is not once and done. The process of gathering spiritual light is the quest of a lifetime.”  Serving a mission has led to an increase in the speed of gathering this light. Serving a mission with Gary and Jena has been a wonderful experience—apparently since we are entering the MTC at the end of March to serve in the Arkansas Bentonville Mission.  How I love being a missionary and being an agent of Jesus Christ.  All of you should plan to serve a mission—both as a youth if you are a young man or a young sister who feels so called—but all of you should also set a goal to serve as senior missionaries.  Plan financially, spiritually, and emotionally to leave your home and families again when you retire—the sooner after you retire the better—and serve the Lord.  It will be amazing!!

I testify that our Savior and our Heavenly Father are in the details of our lives if we will allow them. I testify through the Atonement of Christ and His resurrection that we will be able to manage the turmoil of mortal life and live again in the presence of our Heavenly Parents, that through the Holy Ghost we can truly Hear Them and be strengthened during hard times; and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is lead by the Savior through his living prophet, President Nelson.  I testify of these things. May you seek and strengthen your own testimony of these doctrines is my prayer......