Sunday, August 14, 2016

Dear Family

Went to dinner at the Ottesen’s with the other 11 volunteers who had been involved. It’s nice getting together with everyone. Saturday I ended up frying 4 pounds of hamburger and putting it in the freezer. Sister O is making spaghetti and I offered my ground beef and the veggie’s I just bought. Also, some sauce and canned corn and she needed some butter. Between the two of us, we ate pretty well. 

After dinner, we gathered around the living room. President O asked us to say what our favorite scripture was and why. It was a neat experience. I chose Mosiah 4:15   -    “But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.”

I told them that this reminded me of being a mother. About how important it was to teach our children about God’s plan for them. That they learned from their parents who learned from their parents, who learned from theirs. It’s their responsibility to be ready to teach their children. I told the volunteers how much I loved them. I was honored to know them and serve with them. There were a few other things. Dad told me he thought it was really profound but neither of us can remember exactly what I said. “If I only had a brain.”

I’ve asked Dad to write about what he said.

I talked about two things that meant a great deal to me.  The first was the third verse of “How Firm a Foundation”, hymn #85 in the U.S. hymnbook.  I related how we were on vacation in Oregon at a private lodge on September 11^th, 2001 when the World Trade Center was attacked by radical Muslims using airliners to crash into the building.  It was early in the morning and mom and I were in bed when one of our friends came in to us and said we needed to come to the TV room.  We spent the rest of the day watching the results of the airliners crashing into the buildings and their ultimate collapse.

It affected me greatly and I wondered if that was the beginning of the final days of the world and the start of major wars.  I was very worried about my family and if they were safe, especially if there were escalating attacks.  By the end of the week, we were able to return home as planned.  My concerns about safety followed me home.  I was a member of the Val Verda Stake High Council.  We started each meeting by singing the first two versus of a hymn.  Not long after returning home, we opened our meeting with “How Firm a Foundation” and stopped, as usual, after the second verse.  I felt prompted to read the first verse while the rest of the council began the meeting as usual.  This verse begins with “Fear Not I Am With Thee”.  As I read the verse, I felt comforted and knew my family and I would be OK, regardless of what went on in the world.  It was a moment of tender mercy from the Lord to me.

The second thing I talked about was an article in the August 2016 Liahona titled “Being a Woman:  An Eternal Perspective”.  This article has multiple great messages in it for both women and men.  It reinforces the teaching of the Prophet and Apostles about the equality of men and women and how we share in the power of the priesthood.  Men are not meant to be the lord and master of their homes.  They are to be leaders in righteous in their homes.  They should lead in going to church, in having family prayer, in family home evening, etc.  I told the group how I started our marriage as a typical self-focused young man and through time was able to form a real partnership with my sweetheart.  By both of us focusing on taking care of the other, our individual needs are realized.

The Ottesen’s went to church with us to NovoK today. Sister Vera’s husband, who is less active, came today. He has really bonded with President. It was a great meeting. President and Sister O bore their testimony in Sacrament meeting and then taught the third hour.  President O talked about his ancestor in Denmark who was the first member of the church in his family. He said his, however many great grandfather, smoked 9 cigars a day and drank. Something resonated with him and he joined the church. They asked the church members to immigrate to America and go to Utah. He really wasn’t sure he should. He sold everything he had and took his family on the boat to America. When the captain saw the bag of money he had he offered to keep it safe for him until they landed. When they landed, the Captain and the money were gone. He was left with nothing. His wife sold her wedding ring and they made it to Utah. One of their children died on the way. He clung to his faith and kept moving forward. Life will always offer up trials, it doesn’t matter how righteous you are. Trails make us stronger. Trials help us to learn and grow.

He talked about how hard it was when his son died. Not long, after returning from a mission their son had a reaction to some medication, and had a heart attack and died. They would go to the temple. Sometimes they just sat on a gold couch in the celestial room. They would leave a space between them in case their son decided to join them in the temple. The church will help these members get to the temple financially for the first time. It takes so much money that many of them don’t get there more than once. Anatolli from our branch is leaving for the temple on Monday. President Krievov and his whole family are going so President Krievov can be an escort for Anatolli.

Most of the members have a strong desire to visit the temple. Dad and I just looked at each other and vowed to go more often when we get home. There our temple is 5 to 10 minutes away and we don’t get there that often.

We love our Russian brothers and sisters. We want to help this become strong. We want them to be like the tree that sends its root deep in the ground so it can withstand the winds and storms that try to up-root it. Pray for all of us.

Love,

Mom

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