In our Sacrament Meeting this morning, two young men - brothers - gave the messages. One had just returned a few weeks ago from serving a two-year mission in Mississippi. His younger brother will be leaving in three weeks for his two-year mission in Paris, France. It was so beautiful to see and hear from an eager and exited 18-year old exercising his faith and ready to go out and serve the Lord, and then hear from his 21-year-old brother who was still so full of the Spirit and missing the work of the Lord that he has devoted his life to for the past two years. Realizing that we leave tomorrow to begin our own service left us filled with emotion. In our Relief Society (women's organization) and Priesthood (for the men) meetings, we had a lesson based on the teachings of the fourth president of the Church, President Lorenzo Snow. The specific topic today was "Moving the Work Forward." Again, we were taught about sacrificing to serve the Lord. Some favorite quotes from today's lesson are:
“We are engaged in the work of God. The prospects before us are glorious, but let us be impressed, in every work of our hands, that we are the servants of God and doing His will. Let not our integrity be impaired, but our faith be continually increased as we proceed through life. I would be satisfied to act where Providence has placed me, and ask the Lord what I can do to aid in building up the kingdom of God in that place.
“This is the work of God, and He is directing its course and progress in the earth, and this work should ever be uppermost in our mind; and so long as we are found in the path of duty we can surely remain fixed and unmoved and determined in our purpose, and thus exhibit to the world our faith and devotion to the principles of truth which God has revealed.
“The Lord very possibly may cause a heavy pressure to bear upon us, such as will require great sacrifice at the hands of his people. The question with us is, will we make that sacrifice? This work is the work of the Almighty and the blessings we look for which have been promised, will come after we have proven ourselves and passed through the ordeal. The question with me is, am I prepared to receive and put to a right and proper use any blessing the Lord has in store for me in common with His people; or, on the other hand, am I prepared to make any sacrifice that He may require at my hands? I would not give much for the man that was not willing to sacrifice his all for the sake of his religion.”
This evening our sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren who live nearby came to our house for one last family dinner, and were here when our Stake President came by to set us apart as official missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We received beautiful blessings and promises of health and wisdom for ourselves and protection for our families as we serve God far from our home. Tomorrow morning our son Jeremy will pick us up and drive us to the Missionary Training Center in Provo where we will begin our two years of active service in the name of the Lord. We are so grateful for the love and support that has been and continues to be shown to us by our family and friends. Please think of us from time to time, and pray for us. We love you all very much.
