Hey, light off again,
so I really have no time. Sorry this keeps happening. That's Ghana for you.
We had a mission meeting on Monday, and Zone Conference on Friday. I'll have to
relate more on that next week, but they were great.
I'll have to leave here; time is so short. I'll just copy Pres.'s letter here.
I love you all! Sorry again!
Dear Elders and Sisters:
Elder Jacob de Jager, once a member of the Seventy (now deceased), shared the
following story in a talk he gave in General Conference many years ago:
On one occasion during a severe
storm, a ship was in distress, and a rowboat went out to rescue the crew of the
fishing boat. The waves were enormous, and each of the men at the oars had to
give all his strength and energy to reach the unfortunate sailors in the grim
darkness of the night and the heavy rainstorm.
The trip to the wrecked ship was
successful, but the rowboat was too small to take the whole crew in one rescue
operation. One man had to stay behind on board because there simply was no room
for him; the risk that the rescue boat would capsize was too great. When the
rescuers made it back to the beach, hundreds of people were waiting for them
with torches to guide them in the dreary night. But the same crew could not
make the second trip because they were exhausted from their fight with the
strong winds, the waves, and the sweeping rains. So the local captain of the
coast guard asked for volunteers to make a second trip. Among those who stepped
forward without hesitation was a nineteen-year-old youth by the name of Hans.
With his mother he had come to the beach in his oilskin clothes to watch the
rescue operation.
When Hans stepped forward his mother
panicked and said, "Hans, please don't go. Your father died at sea when you
were four years old and your older brother Pete has been reported missing at
sea for more than three months now. You are the only son left to me!" But
Hans said, "Mom, I feel I have to do it. It is my duty." And the
mother wept and restlessly started pacing the beach when Hans boarded the
rowing boat, took the oars, and disappeared into the night.
After a struggle with the high-going
seas that lasted for more than an hour (and to Hans's mother it seemed an
eternity), the rowboatcame into sight again. When the rescuers had approached
the beach close enough so that the captain of the coast guard could reach them
by shouting, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called vigorously against
the storm, "Did you save him?"
And then the people lighting the sea
with their torches saw Hans rise from his rowing bench, and he shouted with all
his might, "Yes! And tell Mother it is my brother Pete!" (Elder Jacob
de Jager, "You Never Know Who You May Save", Ensign, November 1976,
p. 56.)
Some times I wonder just who these wonderful people are we are teaching and
baptizing, and that we would work a little harder if we did know. Elder is
originally from Holland, but first heard of the Church while living in Canada.
After hearing about the Church he called the mission home and asked to have
missionaries visit him and his family. The name of the mission president was
Thomas S. Monson (before he was a general authority) and the person to whom Mr.
de Jager talked to when he called the mission home was Sister Monson. They
were, like so many of the "golden contacts" we teach and were
baptized shortly after the missionaries began teaching them. It isn't so
important whether or not the people we work with are future general
authorities, but each of them is important and are loved by the Lord and by
their families---- past, present, and future.
I often feel the influence of the ancestors of the people we teach. Think of
the millions of people who have lived in Africa for the past thousands of years
who are now dead and who never had the opportunity to hear the message of the
Restored gospel of Jesus Christ while they lived in mortality. I believe many
of these people have accepted the gospel in the spirit world and are now
waiting for one of their family members to join the Savior's Church and to
provide these ordinances for them as they participate in temple ordinances.
Perhaps these individuals are some of the "angels round about you"
(D&C 84:88) spoken of in scripture and are attempting to assist us in the
work. Please remember that "you never know who you may save" as you
work with your investigators. Their baptisms may lead to thousands and
thousands of others. Also, we also have a responsibility to assist with the
less-active. Don't ignore them. Not only do they need our help, they can be a
source of other wonderful people to teach. Our purpose isn't just to help
people have in faith in Christ and His Atonement, help them repent, to be
baptized, and to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost--- we also have the
responsibility to help them endure to the end.
Lastly, one of the most important people we save as we do our work as
missionaries is ourselves. If the only convert you were to have on your mission
was yourself, your mission would have been worth all of the effort. Dear
Friends, I pray that each of us will be faithful in our responsibilities as
missionaries. It isn't just about us--- millions of people in the past,
present, and in the future are relying on us to do our duty. Get out of bed a
little earlier, stay out and work a little longer. Wear your
priesthood/missionary attire whenever you leave your apartment, be bold in whom
you contact, plan effectively, and have meaningful companion study, etc.
Remember, "you never now who you will save."
The prophet Jacob taught:
And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us
the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we
did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring
with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their
blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the
last day. (Jacob 1:19)
Referring to these words, President John Taylor warned: “If you do not magnify
your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have
saved had you done your duty” (Deseret News Semi-weekly, 6 Aug. 1878, p. 1).
I believe that God will also bless us as we pray and prepare ourselves and are
led to those who are prepared to receive our message. I love them and I love
you. Continued blessings in the great work in which we are engaged.
President Judd"
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