MOTHER'S DAY IN THE MISSION

Sister Lindsay, missionary "grandmother"

This past Sunday Sister Lindsay and I were reminded of the occasional telephone calls from far away places that we received in years past from each of our sons and daughters while they served as full time missionaries. Now as senior missionaries ourselves, we have been able to observe firsthand what it is like when the young adults with whom we serve are calling home to speak with their parents.  

Mother's Day and Christmas are the only two days during the year when young full time missionaries are collectively authorized to communicate by telephone with their families back home. For most of these young people being on an 18 month (sisters) or 24 month (elders) mission represents the longest continuous period of time in their young lives that they have ever been away from their parents and siblings.

To say the least, calling home on these special occasions is a big deal for everyone involved, and it requires some orchestration and planning to make it work well. First, the missionary needs to find a Church family that is willing to allow them the free use of their telephone for up to an hour; and since missionaries work together in pairs, that really means up to two hours of talking time. Since Mother's Day is always on a Sunday, the available time for making these calls is further compressed due to the hours spent involved with missionary responsibilities at Church.

Now add into this equation the probability that the families who invite the elders and sisters into their homes may also have telephone calls to either make themselves to a mother who lives far away or incoming calls to receive from their own adult children or grandchildren who are living or working somewhere else than here. And, of course, these missionaries have to match their available schedule to initiate the call home to their family with whatever might be going on at home revolving around other people's schedules. Just for good measure, throw in a time zone difference of a couple of hours or more (we actually have an elder whose family lives in Alaska, which is a time zone difference of  4 hours from Baltimore).

For us personally on this Mother's Day, we ended up feeding dinner to six missionaries; and then afterwards, providing telephone time for two of them to call home to Idaho and Utah. Our eight sons and daughters were greatly challenged in their efforts to speak with Sister Lindsay, because the phone was always busy. Seven of them were ultimately successful by the time we finally went to bed, and our eldest daughter (who told us that she gave up on Sunday night) called in early on Monday morning.

SOME THINGS MISSIONARIES CANNOT DO . . .

There are some things that full time missionaries cannot do. We are strongly counseled to make every effort to avoid becoming involved in domestic family disputes. That responsibility rightfully resides with locally sustained Church leaders led by the ward bishop who is a lay minister in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our primary role as missionaries is to bring souls to Christ by teaching the gospel to Church investigators and by strengthening the testimonies of less-active members. As a senior missionary couple, we are also tasked with providing member and leadership support at the direction of the bishop in the unit where we are assigned.

An example of what can happen occurred one evening this week when we received a frantic telephone call from a Church member who claimed that terrible violent things were happening in their household and asked for help. Knowing that there are several very young children in the family and not being able to discern the actual conditions without being there, we sensed that there was an urgent need to immediately respond to this request for assistance in order to protect the little ones in case they were in any real danger. So we promised the person on the phone that we would come right away and then left our apartment. Enroute, we called another mature member and his wife and asked them to join us there as soon as possible.

Upon arrival, we quickly recognized the need for the bishop to be the person in charge of helping this family resolve their difficulties, so I placed a second telephone call requesting the bishop to come immediately. Sister Lindsay and I stayed in the home with the other couple who had joined us while we encouraged the husband and wife to be calm until the bishop arrived about 15 minutes later. And then we quietly left as the bishop negotiated the details of a workable solution for this troubled family. It is essential that missionary couples like us not take sides in such issues.

Kindly Heaven smiles above when there's love at home

Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-1995), former President of the Church, wisely taught that we seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention. He also noted that men and women should enter into marriage with their eyes wide open and half-closed thereafter.

Harshness, physical and verbal abuse, uncontrolled anger, and disloyalty between a father and a mother within the walls of their home is a terrible teacher for the children of such a relationship. Little children soon grow into adults; and in large measure, their own lives will become an extension and a reflection of what they have observed and experienced through the example of their parents.

As missionaries, we do our best to help people understand that more than a religion, the principles associated with the fullness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ constitute the way that God wants his sons and daughter to live together in harmony and peace. It is only when there is love at home that children can learn firsthand the sweet and positive lessons of forgiveness, respect, consideration, kindness, mercy, and compassion. Without exception, the greatest thing that a father can ever do for his children is to love their mother! And keeping the Savior in the middle of a marriage relationship is key to family happiness in this life.

WE ARE ALL EQUAL IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have no paid clergy. Instead, we have a lay ministry wherein our Church members are expected to serve in various positions when called upon by those in authority to do so.  There is a unique equality among members. Because God is no respecter of persons, we are all equally loved by Him. No member of the Church is esteemed by the Lord as more or less than any other.

To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?

(Isaiah 46:5)

Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, tells us that everything that is done in the Church—the leading, the teaching, the calling, the ordaining, the praying, the singing, the preparation of the sacrament, the counseling, and everything else—is done by ordinary members, the “weak things of the world.”

"We see in the other Christian churches their struggle to fill the need for clergy," President Packer continues, "We do not have that problem. Once the gospel is preached and the Church is organized, there is an inexhaustible supply of faithful brothers and sisters who have that testimony and are willing to answer the call to serve. They commit themselves to the work of the Lord and live the standards required of them."

Sister Lindsay is equal to other missionaries

In the service of the Lord, it is not where we serve but how. As full time missionaries for the Church, we do not aspire to leadership positions. We have been assigned by President Belliston who presides over The Maryland Baltimore Mission to "bloom where we are planted." As you can see in the photograph above, Sister Lindsay is equal to the other missionaries, including these young elders with whom we serve in Baltimore.

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN

There's a story about a man and his wife who had been invited to have dinner with the man's boss. Walking from the parking lot to the front door of an exclusive restaurant, the boss stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd the wife thought! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She causally mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man’s face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

“Look at it,” he said. “Read what it says on the top of the coin.”

“In God we Trust?”

The boss then explained, "And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God’s way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!"

There are so many conflicting voices in the world attempting to persuade us to follow them in order to find, happiness, prosperity, power, and fame; however, we know from reading the holy scriptures that we must not place our trust in the arm of flesh, but we need instead to become totally dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord to guide and direct our lives.

O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm. (2 Nephi 4:34)

Angel's Pennies

Author:  Unknown

I found a penny today
Just laying on the ground.
But it's not just a penny
This little coin I've found.

Found pennies come from heaven
that's what my Grandpa told me.
He said Angels tossed them down
Oh, how I loved that story!

He said when an Angel misses you
They toss a penny down,
sometimes just to cheer you up
To make a smile out of your frown.

So don't pass by that penny
When you're feeling blue.
It may be a penny from heaven
That an Angel's tossed to you.

For all of our married life, Sister Lindsay has never failed to stop and pick up the pennies that she finds lying on the ground. In our missionary apartment we keep a small jar that is slowly being filled with found pennies. May I suggest when you next spot such a coin beneath your feet (and they do seem to be quite plentiful), that you stop, pick it up, smile, consider whether your total trust is in God, and think of this small token as a penny from heaven!

SAVING THE LAMB THAT IS LOST

What are we willing to do to save one that is lost?

Our Mission President, Brent Belliston, shared an experience that he had about three years ago while driving home to Meridian, Idaho from Salt Lake City. He and his wife were listening to a recorded talk by one of the Church leaders in their automobile as they drove along a sparsely populated section of the interstate highway.

"Suddenly, I spotted a baby lamb beside the fence adjacent to the highway. Having become separated from its mother who was nowhere to be seen, it had somehow found an opening in the enclosure and now stood in harm's way next to this busy thoroughfare with fast-moving trucks and other vehicles. I quickly stopped on the shoulder beside the road and backed up. The only thing on my mind at that moment was that I had to save that baby lamb!"

"Getting out of the car, I walked towards the fence as I recalled the Savior's parable about the ninety and nine sheep. And then just as I drew close to the frightened small animal, the little bugger took off. This is one of those lost ones, I thought. It was a powerful image in my mind as I took off praying and running down the interstate highway after that lamb. I should probably tell you that the reason I had been in Salt Lake City in the first place was to have a medical procedure, and the last thing the physician told me as I left his office was that I was to have no physical exercise for the next 3 to 4 days! So here I was running along that fence line as fast as I could, huffing and puffing as I chased that errant sheep."

"The lamb was finally exhausted (as was I) and stopped trying to escape. Picking up the lamb, I carried it back to the place where we had originally spotted it beside the highway. Placing it gently inside the fence, I did my best to imitate the sound of a bleating lamb as I stared across the empty landscape. In a few moments, a large ewe appeared at the top of the nearby ridge. I then returned to my car trusting that there would soon be a happy reunion."

President Belliston then concluded by telling the missionaries that we have to do our best to find every single person who has been prepared to receive the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that we can bring them safely into the fold.

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring,

and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

 (John 10:16)

I WILL SHOW THEE MY FAITH

Serving others can include moving a piano

The wonderful young men and women engaged as full time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints find many different ways to serve other people while they are on their 18-24 month errand for the Lord. Their many acts of kindness, which are freely given both to fellow Church members and total strangers alike, are sometimes well-coordinated and planned activities; but on other occasions, they are just spontaneous events based upon someone's immediate need.

Quentin L. Cook of The Quorum of The Twelve Apostles says that there are those who are in tune with the music of faith. These are the people who love the Lord and His gospel and continuously try to live and share His message.

I testify that the sweetness of His message goes far beyond the words that missionaries teach to Heavenly Father's children. True disciples of Christ must also share the good fruit of the gospel by living the doctrine exemplified by loving their neighbor as themselves. So if we give our lives in service one to another, how shall we be judged? According to the Apostle Matthew, A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (see Matthew 7:18)

Young missionaries have been known to mow lawns, change flat tires, carry groceries, and transport heavy boxes down from attic spaces or up from darkened basements . . . much of the time while dressed in their customary white shirts and ties that they wear when teaching gospel discussions.

In the New Testament of the Bible, James establishes the relationship between one's faith and how he or she demonstrates a full commitment to live the tenets of their expressed religion:

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. (James 2:17-18)

It has been noted that helping someone else isn't really service if it doesn't require some sacrifice. A faithful Church member shared this true story during our Sunday school class today: "I felt prompted to come to Church a different way from my normal route even though it would take a few minutes longer. I followed the direction of the Spirit and soon passed by a woman walking to Church (I could tell by the way that she was dressed). I passed her by but almost immediately turned my car around and returned to her."

"Do you need a ride to church," I asked?

"Yes," she replied somewhat out of breath. "I missed my bus this morning." Having been delivered to her place of worship, the lady thanked our Church member for the unexpected ride as she exited the automobile and then asked, "What church do you attend? Perhaps I could go to your church next Sunday."

Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33)

GOING HOME . . .

The elderly widow had a twinkle in her eye and a peaceful smile on her face when she beckoned me to come closer to her hospital bed. Through the oxygen mask, she quietly whispered, "I'm ready to go when Jesus comes to take me home." Firm in her faith and satisfied that she had done all that she could have done to serve the Lord during her 85 years of life, this diminutive woman told me that her only regret was that her children had not chosen to be active Church members during their adult lives.

And yet, her sons have been unmistakeably good and loyal to their mother, looking after her every need with the love and respect that Jehovah has specified in the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses, "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Exodus 20:12) Having been taught correct principles from the days of their youth, these men have tenderly ministered to their aged mother's physical and emotional care without embracing the spiritual truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that have always been the very core of their mother's life. 

For every soul who has ever lived on this earth, there is a day of reckoning when we will be required to stand before our Maker and account for what we have done or not done with our lives. There are those who profess that there is no God, that our existence begins with birth and ends when we die, and that we should get out of life what we can while we can.

I witness that there is much, much more to life than what you can see, or touch, or feel in this physical and materialistic world. We are literally the sons and daughters of God, and we were created spiritually before we were born here to earthly parents. We have been sent to this place to gain a body of flesh and bones, to learn obedience to the commandments of God, and to provide the means by which others of Heavenly Father's spirit children can be born into this mortal life.

God's Plan of Salvation, which is also known as the Plan of Happiness, recognizes that we are imperfect beings who are subject to making mistakes and committing sins while we journey through life. Because of our weaknesses and shortcomings, God has provided a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Through His atoning sacrifice in the garden at Gethsemene and again on the cross at Calvary, we can repent, be forgiven, and then go home to be with God.

When we leave life's visible shore, we are going home

Can there be a more beautiful thought than that of going home to a loving Father after we have lived out the span of years allotted to us in mortality? Certainly, this dear elderly Church member in the hospital was looking forward to that blessed event (she went home peacefully two days ago), and so should we if we have placed our trust in the Lord.

GOING HOME

William Arms Fisher & Ken Bible

Going home, going home, I'm just going home.

Quiet-like, slip away- I'll be going home.

It's not far, just close by; Jesus is the Door;

Work all done, laid aside, Fear and grief no more.

Friends are there, waiting now. He is waiting, too.

See His smile! See His hand! He will lead me through.

Morning Star lights the way; Restless dream all done;

Shadows gone, break of day, Life has just begun.

Every tear wiped away, Pain and sickness gone;

Wide awake there with Him! Peace goes on and on!

Going home, going home, I'll be going home.

See the Light! See the Sun! I'm just going home.