Dear Missionaries,
A quick reminder of our
opportunity to go to the Temple on the ** of the month. The
following is the times for the sessions:
·
Fort Lauderdale & Miami Zones
· Coral Springs & Miami Beach Zones
· Hialeah & Palm Beach Zones
· Stuart & Homestead Zones
We will have Temple clothes at the Temple. Please come
40 minutes early to get the correct size and to prepare to start on time (don’t
come earlier). Elders, please wear your long sleeve white shirt and bring your
white pants, tie and socks. We will meet after and take a photo in front of the
Temple after each session. Because of time and efficiency, we need all
missionaries to speedily depart after the pictures.
I
love the Hymn, “High On The Mountain Top” because of many reasons. It was
written by my Great, Great Uncle, Joel Johnson, and I love the lyrics that
inspire us of “The Mountain of The Lord”, the Temple:
“High
on the mountain top
A
banner is unfurled.
Ye
nations, now look up;
It
waves to all the world.
In
Deseret's sweet, peaceful land,
On
Zion's mount behold it stand!”
That
banner on top of the mountain of course is the Temples of God. As I reflect on
the email of President Kimball’s, “Give me this mountain, give me these
challenges”, I am impressed with the imagery of “mountains”. There is something
sacred and symbolic when “Mountains” have been referred to in the scriptures.
Isaiah prophesied and saw the Temples in our day “in the top of the mountains”:
“And
it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it... And many people shall go and
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths;
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem.” (2 Nephi 12:2-3)(Isaiah 2:2-3)
Nephi
received sacred things as he was carried away to the mountain, according to his
faith:
“For
it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen,
and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat
pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into
an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I
never had before set my foot... And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit
cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he
is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi,
because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt
behold the things which thou hast desired.” (1 Nephi 11:1,6)
Christ
went to the mountain to converse with past prophets who held the keys of past
dispensations and sacred works:
“And
after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth
them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured
before them... And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking
with Jesus... And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came
out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved son: hear him.” (Mark 9:2,4,7)
Moses
received the “Law of God”, the Ten Commandments, along with other sacred
teachings at the top of a mountain (Moses 1:1-2)
Daniel
saw the restoration of the Gospel cut from the stone of a mountain and rolled
forth throughout the world. (Daniel 2:34-45)
President
Faust tells the story of “The Little Engine that Could” and how a train engine was
pulling cars full of all kinds of goodies for the children up a mountain. The
train broke down and tried to ask other engines to help. Some thought it was
beyond them; others said they were too tired and others said they could not
make it:
“Then
a little blue engine came down the track, and she was asked to pull the cars
over the mountain to the children on the other side. The little engine
responded, ‘I’m not very big. … They use me only for switching in the yard. I
have never been over the mountain.’ But she was concerned about disappointing
the children on the other side of the mountain if they didn’t get all of the
goodies in the cars. So she said, ‘I think I can. I think I can. I think I
can.’ And she hooked herself to the little train. ‘Puff, puff, chug, chug, went
the Little Blue Engine. ‘I think I can—I think I can—I think I can—I think I
can—I think I can—I think I can—I think I can.’ With this attitude, the little
engine reached the top of the mountain and went down the other side, saying, ‘I
thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I
thought I could. I thought I could.’” (President James E. Faust, General
Conference, October 2002)
I
believe we have many inspiring traits of the little engine but what I hear from
each of you is a surge of faith that say’s “I know I can, I knew I could, I
will”.
Telling
God what you are prepared to do for his blessing is evident of “I know I can, I
knew I could, I will”:
“We
took your invitation to create an if/then statement and take it to the Lord.
Our statement was if we get 15 people committed to church by Saturday
night, wilt thou bless us with 5 investigators at Sacrament! We went out this
week and worked super hard. We saw a lot of miracles and were very blessed and
by Saturday Night we had exactly 15 people committed to church. We
went out Sunday Morning before church and did our round up and no one
was answering! We continued to work hard. We went out with a member and went to
pick up an investigator and her granddaughter who had both committed to come to
church. When we knocked the door, the Grandma opened the door all dressed in
her Sunday best and said that they were still getting ready and that we should
wait for them. A minute later her Husband (who had never been interested in
meeting with us) came out of the bedroom dressed in his Sunday best and
following him were all their little grandchildren. All of them came to church
and had an amazing experience! The fellowship from the ward was amazing! They
felt the spirit and all of them are preparing to be baptized this weekend! What
an amazing blessing! God blessed us so much after we did everything in our
power that we could do!”
Opening
our mouths to everyone is evident of “I know I can, I knew I could, I will”:
“So
we went to our harvesting spot and said a prayer agreeing we would talk to the
first person we saw. We jump out of the car and head for a man walking along
the street and he oyms us before we could say a word! We get to know him a bit
and testify that Jesus Christ loved him. He got really surprised and said, ‘How
did you know I love God!?’ He then opens up about a few struggles and
challenges he had been facing in his life. We decided not to miss this amazing
miracle and share a scripture about how we all must follow Christ and be
baptized. He accepts and says, ‘I promise I'll be there!’ Then he goes and
grabs his beer and, while dumping it in the trash, says he will never drink
again! The next day after overcoming a bunch of doubts he told us those famous
words, ‘Tell me anything and I'll believe all your words. I know you were sent
from Jesus Christ.’”
Following
the promptings of God and answering prayers of others is evident of “I know I
can, I knew I could, I will”:
“...
we knew that we were supposed to be on that certain street. We heard a noise
come from a house and felt like we needed to be there. When we went to the
house the door was open and 2 boys were playing a video game in the front room.
We asked if they could get their mom or dad for us. In a couple of minutes a
man came out. We introduced ourselves as ‘Representatives of Jesus Christ’ and
stated that we were there to leave the Saviors peace and blessing with him and
his family. He stared at us like we were from another planet! He immediately
got his wife and asked if we knew each other and if we were playing a joke on
him. I was pretty confused until they explained the situation. He did not
believe there was a God. He actually told his wife (the day before) that when
God sends him a sign, then he will believe in Him. His wife started fasting
that day that God would give her husband a sign and we showed up the next day!
They actually came to church on Sunday! He has changed so much in the week that
we have known him. The gospel changes lives!”
Elder
Bruce R. McConkie shares a wonderful vision of our quest up the Mountain:
“We
stand today on a mountain peak, on a majestic, glorious peak in the midst of
the mountains of Israel. To gain this height, we have climbed over peaks of
peace and trudged through the valleys of despair... Below us lie the deserts of
sin and the forests of evil; below us stretch the swamps of carnality and the
plains of passion; below us rage the roaring rivers of war and hate and crime,
through all of which we have struggled to reach this summit... Above us,
stretching crest on crest, are yet greater and grander peaks. Each one is
rimmed with rivers and forests and cliffs and crags. There are deep canyons and
steep precipices.
Our
onward course will not be easy. The way ahead will be blocked by a landslide of
lasciviousness; an avalanche of evil will bury the trail... As we trudge
forward, sharp rocks will cut our feet; rivers of lava will melt the soles of
our sandals; and we shall be hungry and thirsty and faint. The way ahead will
be hard and the path rugged...Far in the distance stands Mount Zion, the
grandest peak of all... We see the elders of the kingdom going forth to many
nations, crying repentance, gathering Israel, and assembling the faithful in
the tops of the mountains where stands the house of the Lord.
We
see converts and stakes and temples. Gifts and signs and miracles abound. The
sick are healed and the dead are raised by the power of God, and the work of
the Lord goes forward.... we know that our work
is in the living present and our glorious destiny lies ahead.
From
the top of the peak where the soles of our feet now tread, we can look forward,
crest upon crest, to the Zion of God which one day will be ours if we walk in
the course charted by those who have gone before... But what we can see causes
us to rejoice ...We rejoice because of the glory and honor that awaits those
who come forth out of all this tribulation with clean hands and pure hearts
(see Psalms 24:4). (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, General Conference, April 1980)
Missionaries, “Prepare This Week for the Temple!”
Let
us be resolute to achieve 175 Baptisms
!!! June is now our Vision month! We need 200 dates and 200 I@S. All must
contribute! You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are
Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Legendary Mission”!!! Remember our
promise and that our names have been
sealed in the Temple!!!
We
Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and
Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! “I know I can, I knew I could, I will!!!”
President Don E. Anderson
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