Do you have any families or sisters that you visit who have wandered off and are lost? Chances are you do. Most people are good and desire to know more and experience more of the gospel light. The majority of baptized members are able to get on the path that leads to the tree of life. But navigating takes care and caution. It’s easy for anyone of us to veer off course and find ourselves on a strange road.
“And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.
“And after they had tasted of the fruit…they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
“And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost…wandering in strange roads” (See 1 Nephi 8:23,28,32).
As home and visiting teachers we have a responsibility to watch over our sisters and families and ensure they do not wander off on strange roads. How do we do this? How will we know? Is it really possible for anyone of us to help steer the course of another? In the next several months I will explore this topic with you, and see if and what we can actually do to help those we watch over.
“For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him” (See Alma 5:59).
Of all the many principles the Savior taught, the most important one to us as shepherds is the principle of ministering. The Savior comforted, healed, blessed, and took a personal interest in the lives of those around him. How can we possibly know if a family or sister of ours is struggling unless we *know* them and have taken the time to show genuine compassion and love to them?
When I was an Elders Quorum president, the most effective thing I did to affect our retention and reactivation of the brethren was weekly ministry visits. Every Thursday my counselors and I visited three to four brethren and their families. Some were inactive, some were active, some were struggling, and some were in crisis. Most of the time we would of never known of the struggles or crises without the visits. We always prayed before the visit that we would have the spirit of discernment to discern the needs of the brethren and their families as we visited them.
On one Thursday evening in particular we visited the home of an inactive brother in the quorum to find a young mother of three alone and without food. This was a week before Thanksgiving. The husband had left the family and this mother was too embarrassed to ask the ward for help as they had not been to church for years. We left the home after a call to the Relief Society President, a blessing upon the mother and a promise that two dedicated home teachers would be there the next day.
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
“Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (See 2 Cor. 1:3-4).
One of the greatest examples of ministering is found in Chapter eleven of third Nephi where Christ visited the Nephites at the temple. In verse 14 it describes how Christ invited the multitude to, “Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel…”
Two things stand out to me. The first is that Christ didn’t raise his hands to the multitude and say *look* at my hands and my feet. He said come here and *touch* my hands and feet so that you may *know* that I am Christ. He personally ministered to each and every Nephite who witnessed this event.
The second thing that impressed me was that there were 2,500 people present (see 3 Nephi 17:25) and the scriptures say that “…the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had *all* gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.”
That had to of taken a long time and to think that the Savior thought it was important for *every* man, woman, and child to feel his wounds impresses upon me the importance of home and visiting teaching.
May we each ensure that our sisters and families know we care about them because we are personally involved in their lives. Ministering is much more than the half hour monthly visit and lesson. It is *practicing* Christlike love.
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Dear Sister Cahoon,
I was baptized July of this year. My husband has been Mormon his entire life. I am still receiving new member instruction. Have never seen a Home Teacher. One of the new member teacher’s mother came this past Tuesday and gave me a calling as a Visiting Teacher. I really want to serve. I don’t drive. I have a number of health concerns. I am still willing but don’t have a clue how to. Figured I would watch, listen and learn.
I am really afraid–especially if I get paired up with the sister who lives just 4 doors down. She puts me down in her own special way. I hurt so bad because of some of the things she has said and done. My friend told me to go to the bishop. But I feel like such a tattletale if I did. I am so afraid I’ll get paired with her. I need strong women of God to be paired with. Help!
Anonymous Sister
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1. Care more about the sister than a check mark by your name.
2. Find all the good qualities that you can in each sister you visit and compliment them often.
3. Sincerely get to know the sisters well enough to become their friend…
4. Learn her children’s names and say hello to them too.
5. Be more concerned about bringing a God’s spirit and message than about bringing something that only looks cute and clever.
6. When personal problems are shared be sure to try and understand how your sister is feeling and find ways to help — even just a sympathetic ear is a huge help and often all that is needed.
7. Remember that there are many things about each sister that you do not know so stay clear of judging and concentrate instead on lifting and helping.
8. Become friends with your companion.
9. Never forget that you are God’s representative and should be looking for ways to serve as He would if He were there — be sure to ask for His help! Pray with your companion and with the sister as part of your visit.
10. Always strive for unconditional love both for the sisters you visit and for your companion.
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The sun came out this morning. I had been inside for so long as the winter’s clouds and cold had driven me away from the cold Canadian winter.
I’d been pretty faithful in feeding the birds over the long dark months. Lately, I’d noticed the redwing blackbirds and the other blackbirds they flock with, returning. I’d seen a dark bird with very long legs fly over as I lay in bed looking up at the sky one morning. That meant the blue herons had returned. I’d seen a duck on part of the pond that was no longer covered with ice a few days earlier. But it wasn’t until I went for an early morning walk that I realized what had happened.
No sooner had I stepped outside, than a multitude of bird songs filled the air. The chickadees were singing their spring song. A dozen Koy-la-reee’s of redwing blackbirds came from scattered spots across the marshy valley. Songs that reminded me of summer dotted the trees. A bluebird’s song came from a distant tree.
I knew where they’d been. I’d seen them atop live oaks in Florida, on palms in the Yucatan, in mesquite bushes in Texas. They’d had a lovely sunny winter while I’d shrivelled beneath the oppressive clouds. As flock after flock of Canada geese flew overhead, honking and endlessly reforming their ‘V’, I thought of the masses of them that must have inhabited some marshland of the south.
They knew enough to return when the time was right. A few weeks ago a robin had sat on a post overlooking the deep snow. But it wasn’t until today that I’d realized how much migration had been happening right outside my window while I’d hidden inside.
As I sat and basked in the blessing of the song of spring, I wondered if I and others were changing in a very imperceptible rate; imperceptible to ourselves, anyway. How had our trials and adversities changed us? It is certain that the day will come when we emerge from life’s difficulties and realize we’d grown slowly like the one or two birds that trickled northward whilst winter was still on the ground. It’s so easy to be consumed by what our life contains that we forget the big picture. The winters of our lives overwhelm us, but they also change us. In tiny bits we grow in understanding and knowledge from pain, sorrow, disappointment, etc. Probably like I never noticed how many birds had returned, we haven’t a clue how massive the changes have been in our lives. As I saw one or two redwing blackbirds, I didn’t realize how my entire experience outside was going to be so different because of them. I’d only seen a few, but in reality they were nearly numberless. Perhaps it’s that way with the changes within us. We may notice that we don’t fall into the same bad pattern we tried for years to overcome, but while we were working on that one thing, trying not to drown in the cares of life, we probably underwent incredible transformation that we haven’t the sight to perceive, yet.
The day of sunlight will come and the characters that we have developed will be as the symphony of the spring song, seen for the first time. The growth will always be gradual, but the full flavour of it won’t be apparent until we emerge from darkness into glorious light.
As I stood by the stream pondering these things, a large red shouldered hawk sat atop a crag not 20 feet away. Its rusty breast was huge. It looked massive, powerful and the called ‘kee yurr’ as the king of the forest. It saw me move, spread its wings and took flight. I watched the striped tail, as it headed up over the forest, banking on the breeze. I wondered when it had arrived. It was a glorious bird. Perhaps some of the changes within me were as momentous as it was, and as hidden as the day of its arrival for spring.
Nancy Sont is the mother of five. She lives with her family on a hill in a boreal forest in eastern Ontario, Canada. She is a stay-at-home mum who freelances for newspapers and magazines writing travel articles and nature books. Outdoor Life Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens have both used her work. http://www.travelwriters.com/nancyvsont/
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I cut off the pointed top of a weathered beaver stump the other day. They felled the old tree alongside the stream, a place I loved to go. I cut it off level so that I could have a spot to sit and watch.
From where I stood, the alders on the other side looked bad. Many dead or broken branches leaned this way and that against the red ones that were still alive. It was easy to tell which were dead now that the leaves weren’t hiding anything.
The snow that had bordered the icy water had melted away, the odd chunk of ice floated past. Through the clear water, I could see a bit of the bottom: small stones and sand, sticks and logs that had moved downstream with the fluctuating level of runoff, the deeper channel where the current kept the bottom clean and the tapering, shallow edges where the silt had built up.
I’d been here a lot last summer, but finally the view of the dead alders along with the dead cedars behind me, all killed by the beavers over the last few years, was enough to drive me back up to the house and abandon our family campfires by the stream.
I sat down on the newly created chair, knee-high yellow grass rustling beneath my boots. A wave of peace flowed over me. I could hear the brook babble clearly, musically now. The sun shone on my face and I leaned my head back slightly. When I eventually opened my eyes and looked downstream, I realized the stream was reflecting the perfectly blue sky. It painted a curving line back and forth downstream as it passed the pond. It suddenly wasn’t a colourless winter day. All around the stream, I’d been seeing the branches and logs hiding in the yellow broken down grass. It had been a yellow and grey world with a bit of white ice still laying in puddles where I’d been working at cleaning up the beaver and ice storm damage. The view of the stream was summer, brimming with colour: the blue water, the brownish pebbles beneath it, the black dots of bugs firmly attached; the yellow grass leaning over, touching the water, the deep green of a spruce that I’d rescued from a cluster of dead cedars that had surrounded it; the red alders with blue sky peeping through the vertical branches. The view was so different than when I had stood alongside, glancing down at it, seeing the dead waterlogged branches it carried.
It occurred to me, how much like relationships this was, people we’re asked to home or visit teach. If I stand up and look from a distance, the people are spotted and speckled with faults and irritating annoyances, sins that are seemingly insurmountable, closer up they’re overshadowed by the good.
It was only when I sat at the level of the stream that I could see the beauty, that I could see what it was like to be the stream; where it flowed all day; what it was like to be living beside the yellow grass that tapped its surface continually; how many small animals were nourished by it; how incredible the music was. It was coming from an old waterlogged stick that bobbed up and down as the water rushed over and around it. I’d nearly taken that stick out till I realized that the music would have stopped.
I wondered if my helping to clean up their flaws had stopped people’s music. My, how invisible were the dead cedars that stood nearby, that had driven me out of this area. I never wanted to leave now. I wanted other stumps nearby for the kids to sit on. How much I’d missed by thinking it was an ugly spot. I’m sure it was the same for some people I had known.
I was glad I’d spent some time here and cleaned up the dead sticks that had been scattered on this side, trimmed off crooked dead alders, taken out the dead cedars that gave it such an unwelcoming look. But I hadn’t shared its life until I had sat alongside the stream. I felt differently now. It was a friendlier place, the kids could come and sit here on the log and stump and fish or catch frogs. I stood up to go. I’d learned something today, something I hoped I’d remember.
Nancy Sont is the mother of five. She lives with her family on a hill in a boreal forest in eastern Ontario, Canada. She is a stay-at-home mum who freelances for newspapers and magazines writing travel articles and nature books. Outdoor Life Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens have both used her work. http://www.travelwriters.com/nancyvsont/
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The first hurricane I was in made me think of that three little pigs story. It also made me think of the wolf, “I’ll huff, I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down.”
I was serving a mission in Mexico, near Puerta Vallarta in a small coastal town called San Blas. As missionaries, news was scarce, and we didn’t get word of the storm until it was almost too late. At the time the hurricane was moving into where we were on the coast. We listened to the local station go off the air because the water was coming into the station. We tried to sleep but the wind was howling and the rain was pummeling the house. The next morning we went out and we surveyed what had happened. The power was out. The trees and wires were down. There was some minor damage in the town plaza. We had to wash and flush using the water we had stored in the bathtub before the hurricane hit. We ate by candlelight and made our visits through knee high water and ankle high mud.
Though the storm had beaten up everything around us, the things that really mattered were safe. Psalm 91:1 tells us, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” It goes on then to say in verse four, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (Verses nine and ten), “Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”
In recent weeks, we have had the hurricane blowing against our lives - there’s the night terror and the flying arrows - stalking pestilence; but, the Lord says very clearly that it will not come near us. He says, “If we make the Most High your dwelling, it will not befall us. No disaster will come near our tent”. It sounds like our night in a hurricane - everything around us being blown around but the core is safe.
The Core – it’s our relationship with the Savior; our relationship with our family; our central mission. The wind outside may be doing a lot of damage. The adversary is nibbling around the core. It’s important during a hurricane to see the difference between the core and the non-core things. We pray for protection on the core of our lives. It will pass. We need to guard carefully the priorities that keep the core things healthy. Regardless of what may be happening in the present, we can’t let the hurricane blow us away from those priorities. We may live in troubled times, but the times will get better.
Nephi of old taught us that, “this land shall be a land of liberty…I will fortify this land against all other nations” (2 Nephi 10:11-12, read verses 10-16). Hurricanes may blow, rain on and flood our lives, but we can rest assured that we are under the watchful eye of a supreme protector.
Brent M. Williams is an Information Design Manager and Instructional Designer, for Indy Interactive in Orem, Utah. He lives in Payson, Utah, where he serves as Valiant 10 teacher in Primary. Home Teaching is a MUST!
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When I’m on the road and staying in a motel, I’m often leaving early for that day’s responsibilities. However, by the time I return late that night, something amazing has happened. The bed is made! I have new, clean towels! Everything is straightened and neat. I even have new little soaps in the bathroom! The Room Fairy has been there! I know that not because I’ve seen the maid (I haven’t), but because I can see the results of her work all over the place.
Much like the maid scenario, we may not see the one who made the difference, but we sure can see the difference they made…if we’re looking for it.
Most of us have been to a Sunday School class where members are asked to share their favorite verses, and we’ve probably heard somebody mention Proverbs 3:5-6, (It’s one of my favorites.) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Notice what’s the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all your own heart…trying to figure it out for ourselves, doing what we think is best…leaning on our own understanding.
Now comes a formula for finding out what our Heavenly Father wants us to do in any given situation. Verse 6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” God says, “If you want to know My heart for you, acknowledge Me in every situation you’re in.” We know what acknowledge means. Have you ever been in a new place or a roomful of people and you’ve gone totally ungreeted? Nobody noticed you? You were saying to yourself, “Hey, I wish someone would acknowledge me. I wish someone would notice me.” Heavenly Father knows that. He shows up all through our day, and we often never notice Him. We don’t acknowledge Him.
A few months ago I was really blessed in a place not normally associated with blessing–the dentist’s office. I was in the waiting room and I saw an old friend with his wife. He’s working hard to care for his wife because her health is really deteriorating. Because it had been raining when they came in, my friend asked the dentist if he could help him get his wife out to the car. My dentist came back.
I was touched by what had happened in those two minutes—so touched that he brought it up two more times. He said, “When I went out with George and his wife, it wasn’t raining. And George said, ‘Isn’t it great that the Lord stopped the rain long enough for us to get out to the car?’ Then he just looked heavenward and said, ‘Thanks.’”
Now that’s acknowledging Him; that’s noticing the Lord’s work in the details of our day; and that’s where praise comes from…where joy comes from…where a victorious attitude comes from in the toughest of times. But we have to go into our day looking for the Lord at work. If we don’t, we’ll miss Him and we’ll miss the joy. However, if we train our heart to go on a daily God-hunt, we’ll learn that “He who looks for providences will never lack a providence to observe.”
If we haven’t been seeing the works of the Lord a lot lately, it’s because we haven’t been looking. We may have been focused on our circumstances…other people…or ourselves–we’ve missed the fingerprints of God all over your day. The little mercies; the small miracles; the interventions; the encouraging surprises; the bad things that didn’t happen. I know there’s never a day where He doesn’t show up because His “mercies are new every morning!”
In those transformed motel rooms, I seldom see the maid, but I see the results of her work. In the little and big moments of our day that we may not see the small things…but we can see the results of His work on our behalf. We’ll see His fingerprints all over our day…if we’re looking for Him.
Brent M. Williams is an Information Design Manager and Instructional Designer, for Indy Interactive in Orem, Utah. He lives in Payson, Utah, where he serves as an assistant in the High Priest Group Leadership. Home Teaching is a MUST!
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Last month we sat together as a family and watched the Mollie Fire, just south of Payson, Utah, burn almost ten thousand acres of our beautiful mountain view. This past summer the lead story on America’s news was often about the fires raging in the West. Millions of acres have been destroyed by fires that raged for weeks on end. Those fires brought a lot of bad news. But fires like these aren’t all bad news. Now, there’s no doubt they cause tremendous damage…but they also, over the long haul, produce new life. Somehow, nature renews itself with fire…much of what is old and dead is burned away, new vegetation begins to grow, and new life begins to spring up…the fire that destroys also renews. If we’re going through the fire right now, that might be something very important for us to remember. If we don’t, all we’ll see is the damage and we’ll lose any sense of hope.
It may be that a fire has burned through our family recently…maybe our church calling…our career…maybe our relationships…and maybe even our health. And there is no doubt that the fire took away a lot. There’s no denying the damage and pain from the fire, but that is never the whole story.
In I Peter 1:6-7, we get a little of our Heavenly Father’s perspective on the fires of our lives. He says, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
Peter describes our trials as “fire”. And the fire is only applied here to something really valuable – gold. Also, the fire isn’t forever…it’s “for a season”, and notice what the purpose of the fire is – not to destroy the gold but to “refine” the gold…to get out the impurities…and to increase it’s value.
That’s a God’s-eye view of the fire we’re in right now. The Lord thinks we’re worth purifying, improving, and getting ready for greater things. But first…the fire. The fire that has taken away so much can also bring new life, if we’ll only stay close to Him in the fire and not wander away.
Although difficult at times, the cleansing fire helps us focus on the things that really matter. Everything in our lives goes in one of two columns – the stuff that matters and the stuff that doesn’t. And a lot of times we get those confused. The times of struggle and loss help us get everything in the right columns. So many people emerge from the fire more committed to what matters than ever before.
The fire often forces us to sort out where our identity is really anchored – not in our job, nor in our title, nor our performance, nor our appearance, but in our relationship with Jesus Christ. The flames often drive us to a new closeness with the people we love…sometimes they cleanse our schedule from years of accumulation…and they can draw us nearer to our Savior than we ever thought we could be.
Yes, the fire destroys. But…that’s not the end of the story. The fire also renews!
Brent M. Williams is an Information Design Manager and Instructional Designer, for Indy Interactive in Orem, Utah. He lives in Payson, Utah, where he serves as an assistant in the High Priest Group Leadership. Home Teaching is a MUST!
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I’m truly amazed every week at the number of members in my ward that do not bring their scriptures with them to meetings. Frankly speaking, I would feel embarrassed if a teacher called on me to read a passage from the holy writ and have to reply, “I don’t have my scriptures.” Not having our scriptures with us during our Sunday meetings is like going on a vacation without a road map - unless you already know the way - and in most cases we don’t!
Scripture study is a must for any true disciple Christ. Without the Scriptures, we have no firm foundation for our faith. One parable describes the words of the gospel as a rock, a firm foundation to be built upon. (Matt. 7:24-27) Without this firm foundation in the Word of God, we would be swept away by almost any trial or temptation.
In their book titled “Are My Children Going to Make It? Real Help for Teaching the Gospel in the Home,” R. Wayne Boss and Leslee S. Boss give sound advice.
Scripture study is an important key to understanding the principles and ordinances of the gospel, and it is absolutely essential to the process of gaining a testimony. The scriptures contain God’s teachings to mankind, and their importance cannot be overstated.
The Lord expects us to study the scriptures, even to feast upon his words. (2 Nephi 32:3) Jesus directed his disciples by way of commandment to “search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (”John 5:39) Christ further stated that those who do not know the scriptures do not know the power of God (Matt 22:29). President Ezra Taft Benson strongly counseled the Saints about the importance of scriptural study and encouraged Church members to immerse themselves in the scriptures, “when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow.” The words of a modern day prophet could never have been spoken so plainly and with so much promise.
The evidence is clear. The commandment has been given - the promise has been given - in every dispensation. We church must study and seek to understand the word of God written in the scriptures in order to gain a testimony of the gospel and establish a firm foundation in Christ as our Savior and Redeemer.
Here are some reasons why we need a firm foundation in scriptures:
The scriptures show us the way to live and give us direction. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6) “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it” (Matt. 7:14). “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalms 19:7) “I did liken all scriptures unto us.” (1 Nephi 19:23)
The scriptures are the basis of our faith and the power we need to defeat the enemy. We must be prepared to fight the enemy and resist temptation (D&C 27:15, Ephesians 6:10-17) The only way to fight the enemy is to be prepared. “Be diligent (prayer and study) to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the Word of Truth” (D&C 10:5, II Tim. 2:15). “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17) “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Ephesians 6:16)
The scriptures are our “spiritual food”. Just as our physical body needs physical food, so does our new spiritual body need spiritual food. Just as newborn babes, we should desire the sincere milk of the word, that we may grow. (I Peter 2:2,3) The term “milk” is used for the basics, the simple truths. We must first start with the basics. Read the Scriptures. Think about it. Pray about it. Live it. (Moroni 10:3-5)
The Scriptures are like a mirror. They show us our shortcomings and the areas in which we need to grow. The more time we spend studying, the more we can see the areas where we need to change. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) The scriptures can show us areas of change that we didn’t even notice before if we are willing to change.
We should set aside a time to study every day. Take our time and apply what we learn.
Brent M. Williams is an Information Design Manager and Instructional Designer, for Indy Interactive in Orem, Utah. He lives in Payson, Utah, where he serves as an assistant in the High Priest Group Leadership. Home Teaching is a MUST!
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While visiting an Air Force base in Florida, I was asked to visit the Pensacola Naval School and conduct a presentation to an Air Force detachment located at the school. I had no idea where I was going, so I followed an associate of mine behind his rental car. He knew the way there very well, and when it came time to leave he sped right off, and I played follow the leader. I stayed behind him as best I could, but it turned out to be a modern version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Skillfully maneuvering in and out of lanes, he really knew how to get around the swampy roads and highways of Florida. I had only one hope of getting to the Naval School; staying very close to the man who knew the way.
II Chronicles 23 tells the story of young King Joash coming to power in ancient Judah. His father the king had died, and the king’s mother made her move to get the throne. She destroyed all but one of the royal family of Judah. Another family member had rescued the baby of the family, Joash, and hid him away for years.
A godly high priest (whose name I can’t pronounce) organized a revolt against the queen because the wrong person was on the throne. He gathered together good men to make a covenant to protect Joash. They gathered a force of Levites to surround Joash until they could eliminate the queen and put the rightful ruler on the throne. Armed with the weapons of King David, one third of them stood guard at the temple where Joash worshiped, another third at the gate to his home, and the other third surrounded his home. The order was to “compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand- but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.” Paraphrased, the high priest ordered his men to “stay close to the king wherever he goes.” (II Chronicles 23:7). Our order is the same today as it was then for the Levites.
We live in a world where an evil pretender seems to be running things. For this reason it is even more important that we serve the rightful King. And what are our orders as His followers? To go wherever He goes. Not to go where we want to go or choose our own path, but to ask where He wants us to go and go in faith. The prophet Nephi put it very simply when he said that he would follow his King and Savior, “I will go and do as the Lord has commanded.” (1 Nephi 3:7)
It’s like that day when I was following my leader to an unknown destination across the city. I didn’t pick the route that looked best to me; in fact, I was totally open to whatever my leader wanted to do. To go wherever he went. My plans didn’t matter; my preferences didn’t matter; my choice of what road to take didn’t matter. I was totally neutral about what route we took. My command was to see where my leader was going, get behind him, and go there.
That is exactly what it means to be a follower of Christ. If we tend to be rigid, independent, a person with a mind of our own, or a control freak, we might tend to have a strong agenda of our own. And we may have a hard time following leadership.
We need to know where the King is leading us with our career; with our business; with a son or daughter; with our spouse; with our testimony; with our future; with each decision we make. This is the great adventure of being a follower of Christ. Of course, we make plans, always seeking where He is going.
We organize and schedule our lives on paper, but we stand ready to change direction at any time because our leader doesn’t stand still. His leadership is like that car I was following through the back roads of Florida - dynamic, not static, ever changing and always keeping me just behind him, never quite out of sight. Often not surprising, not predictable, but ever knowing the right path to lead me to my desired destination.
My only hope of reaching my destination that day was to stay close to the one who knew where I needed to go.
We cannot afford a day away from our leader, our King; a glance away from Him could stray us on our path. What matters most in our life is staying close to the Lord and becoming a true follower of the only one who will bring us closer to the Father.
Our mission is clear - serve the rightful King. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.
Brent M. Williams is an Information Design Manager and Instructional Designer, for Indy Interactive in Orem, Utah. He lives in Payson, Utah, where he serves as an assistant in the High Priest Group Leadership. Home Teaching is a MUST!
Posted by John in Miscellaneous Articles
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