Sunday Will Come

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday afternoon session of the October 2006 conference.

The thing that gave me the most comfort when our son took his own life and was gone, was my belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the promise of the resurrection. I do not know how others get through life without it.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "The Resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it our faith is meaningless."

Not only our faith, but our very lives. What meaning is there in life if this is all there is? There would be no rhyme or reason for the vicissitudes that afflict us. We would go from struggle to struggle without any hope of relief or recompense. Thankfully, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which includes His resurrection, all things can be made right, and we will see and be with our loved ones again.

". . . when Christ rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived--the just and the unjust. 

"When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime ast, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones."

Amen!

"No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come. . . . The Resurrection transformed the lives of those who witnessed it. Should it not transform ours? . . . Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished."

Elder Wirthlin's testimony is so similar to mine, "I am grateful beyond measure for the sublime true doctrines of the gospel and for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has whispered comforting and peaceful words . . . From the depths of my sorrow I have rejoiced in the glory of the gospel. I rejoice that the Prophet Joseph Smith was chosen to restore the gospel to the earth in this last dispensation. I rejoice that we have a prophet, . . . , who directs the Lord's Church in our day. . . . That we may know that no matter how dark our Friday, Sunday will come, is my prayer, . . . ." 

The First Generation

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the October 2006 conference.

Once when my companion and I invited a person we were teaching to be baptized the person said, "Oh, I can't join the church. I don't have any pioneer ancestors." To which I answered, "I don't either. My Grandpa Hansen joined in 1905 in Norway, and immigrated to Utah the next year. He crossed the plains on the train! And I'm so grateful that he did. Your grandchildren will be grateful to you and honor you for being the first in your family to join the Lord's church, just as I am so thankful for my Grandpa."

Elder Paul B. Pieper spoke of and to those who are the first in their family to join the church. "You add great strength to the Church when you use your testimony, talents, abilities, and energy to build the kingdom in your wards and branches. . . . You are an example to your family of a true disciple of Jesus Christ."

My husband is the first in his family to join the church. He has struggled at times to stay active and faithful. Elder Pieper's advice is helpful, "Do not be discouraged if you make a mistake. Repenting and continuing to press forward are perhaps the most important patterns to develop in the first generation. Be patient and move forward in obedience." That counsel is pertinent to all of us. Further, he says, "Be faithful, serve your fellowman, bless your family, and make proper choices."

The earliest member of the church that I can find in my family tree is a great-great grandmother named Charlotte Haynes who joined the church in 1865 in England. I'm eternally grateful for her, for my great-great grandfather James Campbell who joined in 1875 in Scotland, for great grandma Anne Marie Mathiasen, baptized in 1879 in Denmark, and Grandpa Conrad Hansen baptized 10 February 1905 in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Norway. They were all the first generations of my ancestors, I am the fifth generation.

Zion in the Midst of Babylon

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday afternoon session of the April 2006 conference.

Today we had a severe storm pass through including a tornado. My first clue was the sound of the sirens blasting away, and then an emergency notice on my phone to take cover now! I quickly gathered a few things and descended to the basement, set up my camp chair, sat down and cried. Severe weather is the only thing that really scares me. Cell service ceased for a time and I felt rather alone. Fortunately, the storm passed and we were spared any damage.

Spiritual storms swirl around us without much physical warning. Wickedness increases as does the darkness. It reminds me of what Gandalf said in Lord of the Rings about a darkness descending over the lands. It's very real!

I was impressed with Elder David R. Stone's talk about building Zion in the midst of Babylon. I didn't remember him and couldn't place his accent so I looked up information. He was born in Argentina, moving to Utah sometime in his teens. He lived and worked all over the world, and died in 2014. 

He could have been describing today's social media when he said, "People in every culture move within a cocoon of self-satisfied self-deception, fully convinced that the way they see things is the way things really are." This is probably nowhere more true than in our politically polarized time. Elder Stone said, "There is, of course, a zeitgeist to which we should pay attention, and that is the ethos of the Lord, the culture of the people of God." When the prophet talks to us of being peacemakers, and thinking Celestial, we should give heed and do what he asks of us. We are supposed to be preparing for the Savior's Second Coming, not building bridges to Babylon. "We can create the real Zion among us by limiting the extent to which Babylon will influence our lives. . . . Seduced by our culture, we often hardly recognize our idolatry, as our strings are pulled by that which is popular in the Babylonian world." 

Doesn't this sound like good advice: "We do not need to adopt the standards, the mores, and the morals of Babylon. We can create Zion in the midst of Babylon. We can have our own standards for music and literature and dance and film and language. We can have our own standards for dress and deportment, for politeness and respect. We can live in accordance with the Lord's moral laws. We can limit how much of Babylon we allow into our homes by the media of communication."

I have long admired the Amish and Mennonite peoples for their courage to live differently and follow their consciences without regard to fitting in with the rest of the world. They are recognizable and so inspiring because of their modestly and virtue. Their courage to be different is admirable. "If we are to have Zion in the midst of Babylon, we will need courage." 

Elder Stone finishes, "We do not need to become puppets in the hands of the culture of the place and time. We can be courageous and can walk in the Lord's paths and follow His footsteps. And if we do, we will be called Zion, and we will be the people of the Lord. . . . We seek Zion because it is the habitation of our Lord, who is Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. In Zion, and from Zion, His luminous and incandescent light will shine forth, and He will rule forever." Yes! I'm looking forward to that day.

Elizabeth aka Noble