Stake Conference Addresses November 2019

Saturday Evening Session:
 Sister Janae Fredericks
Sister Mary Dyer - song Weepin' Mary
President Marble 
Sister Deborah D. LeDuc
Elder Bill Jones

Sunday Session:
President Sabey
Testimony Pam Murray Bowles grove ward
Testimony Joseph Morris orchard ward
President Blaylock
Sister Janet Rees Denver south mission
President John H Rees Denver south mission
Sister Jones
Elder Jones

Song by Mary Dyer:

President Sabey:

Revelation and Wrestling with God

Some years ago, in a trial held at the Adams County Courthouse, I represented a Catholic faith-based assisted living facility for seniors called The Villas at Sunny Acres. The City of Thornton had denied to the facility the tax exempt license that is available for religious activities of religious organizations, asserting that the operation of an assisted living facility was just a business activity, not a religious activity.  Government authorities sometimes tend to think that the practice of religion is limited to obviously religious activities like formal worship services, religious instruction, and proselyting. So, through my trial brief and testimony of witnesses, my job was to convince the judge that the practice of religion encompasses much more than the obviously religious aspects of faith. In the trial brief we quoted scripture to the judge:

James 1:27

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. . . .

From the Gospel of Matthew:  34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”     Matthew 25:34-36

We explained to the judge that, in the Christian faith, one’s standing before God is based less on our formal social religious practices and more on the way we serve and love others, especially those on the fringes of society, including the elderly. 

Sister Nancy Hoffman, a Catholic Nun was sworn in to testify, and she was our star witness. She did a beautiful job of explaining to the judge how providing housing and care for the elderly is connected to and motivated by Christian religious beliefs. After a break in the trial, she was re-taking the stand, and the judge said:  Sister Hoffman, I remind you that you are still under oath. She looked at him with a big smile and said, Your Honor, my life is under oath.  

After I finished presenting our evidence, the City called witnesses who emphasized the business aspects of the facility, including that fees were charged and that not all the residents were Christians or Catholics. 

    At the conclusion of the trial, the judge ruled as follows:

“The Court finds by the totality of the evidence that has been presented that this is a religious activity of a religious organization.  It is motivated by [a] sincerely held religious belief [related to] the care of the elderly.” Then the judge had some fun. His decision continued:  “If the Plaintiff had a bowling alley they called the Holy Rollers, the Court would not find that to be a religious activity, regardless of how much they prayed for a strike. The Court recently had a case involving a saloon call What the Hell Saloon.  If the Plaintiff had a saloon called the What the Heaven Saloon, that wouldn’t be a religious activity, but that is not what this is. This is the care of the elderly, which is a precept of the Catholic and Christian religion. The Court finds that the denial of the license was not in compliance with the Thornton City Code, and, therefore, was wrongful.” 

Our argument in that case was based on a concept--that we worship God not just by participating in worship services, but also through our service and ministering to others.  The importance of that concept has been impressed powerfully upon me at times as I am preparing for the sacrament. I am a bit of an armchair philosopher and I love thinking about principles of justice, mercy and grace and also about the historical stories of Christ found in the scriptures.  But sometimes I feel a spiritual correction from the Savior:   

Don’t worship ideas about me. Don’t worship my history. Worship the real me, the living Christ, the One who is alive and active here and now, doing the work of salvation and gathering Israel.  Engage with me in binding up the broken-hearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, opening prison doors, succoring the weak, lifting up hands which hang down, and strengthening feeble knees. If you really want to worship me, do my work. Go out, love the least of these, and lift, bless, strengthen and serve your neighbors. 

When I feel this spiritual impression, I am reminded that actual ministering to those who are struggling or suffering (which is all of us in one way or another, at one time or another) is far better than thinking great thoughts and attending meetings. “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” Mosiah 5:13  If we are not truly ministering, then doing that which is socially expected in the Church means little to the living Christ who knows by personal experience in the garden of Gethsemane the anguish of those who are suffering and to whom we could be ministering. 

Given the crucial importance of our being engaged in ministering and gathering Israel, I want to extend an invitation to all leaders in our stake and wards, including myself. My invitation is based upon the invitation the President Nelson gave to us when he said:  “I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy....””

I invite us all to make ourselves available for divine guidance and inspiration in two specific ways.

1. The first way is in our ministering assignments. Since God will not take over our agency and since faith is a principle of action, He will not usually inspire us until we engage in ministering and provide a foundation of initial effort needed to prepare our hearts and minds to receive revelation. I say that because I am still coming across the occasional member who has still not received any contact from a ministering brother or sister. If we have not been in contact with someone for a while, we are probably not in a position to receive revelation about them. We have not done our homework, and being in their homes is the best homework.  So the first step is an ongoing and active connection with your assigned people. Then, about once a week, maybe on Sunday, take time to think and pray about them, trusting that the Lord knows them and how to bless them better than you do. As you study it out in your mind, thinking about ways that you could lift and bless them, ask the Lord for His help, listen and write down what you feel, then act upon those promptings. You will find that God is very intelligent when it comes to knowing how to help others.

2. The second way to receive divine guidance and inspiration has to do with gathering Israel. I invite us to pray each morning and each night asking God to put someone in our path or otherwise help us to connect with someone who we can minister to, bless, or invite. Listen with willingness to do the Lord’s bidding, write down and act on any promptings you receive, and then be continually on the lookout for those God will put into your path. It does not have to be an invitation to take the missionary discussions. It will usually start with just connecting and listening.  Then finding some way to show love or provide service or extend an invitation to come and see, or come and serve with us. As you trust God, you will feel what to do in the moment. I have been keeping a journal of those God has helped to cross my path and the beautiful experiences I am having with them. And I am not that great at this kind of thing, definitely not a natural, but when we make ourselves available to help others, God helps us.

So what will happen if we pray and listen and serve based on God’s help and revelation, rather than on our own power alone?  The work we do will be more effective. We will accomplish much more good and will be enabled to bless others more fully. We will make stronger connections and form better relationships.  In addition, we will feel a much stronger connection with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as we see that they will use us and inspire us in doing Their work. As we have experiences with revelation in our ministering and gathering, our hearts will have greater faith and joyful enthusiasm for the work, and we as leaders will be in a better position to strengthen and help those we are called to lead.  Ministering interviews are a perfect time to teach and inspire about revelation in the work of the kingdom. These interviews are absolutely crucial. They are the very key to bringing about the changes that are needed to prepare for the Savior’s return by serving in a higher and holier way. Please commit to doing them with all diligence and determination, and then love and inspire those you interview. 

Since you will be teaching others about revelation, I want to conclude by share three principles that will help anyone to better receive revelation, and it always starts with trust in God. 

1. Trust that God wants to and will provide revelation to you, despite your imperfections, if you ask in humility.

The very foundation of the Restoration is the belief that anyone, even a boy, can ask of God, and that God will give liberally to provide the needed wisdom (James 1:5).  President Nelson taught: “One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as President of the Church is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will. The privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to His children. . . .  Through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, the Lord will assist us in all our righteous pursuits.” Satan the Accuser will always tell us that we are not good enough, not worthy enough, not righteous enough, or not spiritual enough to receive revelation. But, all we really need to do is ask in humility as we try to do His work.  “God giveth grace to the humble.”   

2. Do not look beyond the mark, or you will miss the still small voice of revelation in your mind and heart.  

Usually revelation is not dramatic or blatantly obvious. God works through our natural thought processes and feelings, and tells us in our minds and hearts what is right. Satan will always deny revelation and encourage doubt.  Humbly ask for help from God, study it out and then listen, pay attention to your feelings, and once you feel that a course of action is right, move forward in faith, not requiring a sign before you will act. Over time and experience, you will come to recognize the gentle promptings of the Spirit more readily. 

3. In overcoming our greatest challenges in life, sometimes we will need to wrestle with God in mighty prayer before revelation or blessings will come.  

God willingly provides help and revelation when we are focused outward on ministering to the needs of others, if we ask in faith and humility.  But sometimes we are not in that place of faith and humility. Sometimes we have a hard time turning outward because of our own difficulties or needs in our personal lives or relationships. Sometimes those who we seek to bless are not willing to receive.  In facing these and other challenges, we may have to wrestle. Enos told of wrestling all day and night in prayer before he received a remission of his sins.  As a missionary-prophet, Alma “labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer,” asking God to pour out his Spirit upon the people. In the latter days, the Lord has promised that he will gather unto himself all those who hearken to His voice, humble themselves before him, and call upon Him in mighty prayer (D&C 29:1-2).  Mighty prayer is energetic, trusting, and determined, not wimpy, or passive or timid. 

At a children’s wrestling match my brother Mel attended, he saw two five year olds wrestling. One was on top and almost had the other one pinned.  The boy underneath complained, “You’re hurting me.” The boy on top said, “It’s wrestling! It’s supposed to hurt!” And sometimes wrestling with God hurts or is exhausting, testing the level of our desire for God’s blessings or our submission to God’s will. God may not answer during a half-hearted wrestling match because we need to discover by experience whether we have real faith and intent. At a very vulnerable time in his life, Jacob of the Old Testament wrestled with God all night long.  As morning approached, Jacob had to be completely exhausted; his hip was out of joint, and he must have been in great pain. But Jacob persisted and refused to stop wrestling. He said to God, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." But Jacob did not dictate what that blessing from God would be. A father wrestling with a toddler allows himself to be wrestled with in hopes of connecting with and strengthening his child, and of increasing the child’s determination. Finally, after Jacob and proved the depth of his desire and was broken enough to receive a blessing, God stopped the wrestling match and blessed Jacob. He blessed Jacob with a continuation of the blessings of his grandfather Abraham, including a vast posterity that would be a blessing to all peoples and nations of the earth.  At that time, God gave a new name to Jacob--Isreal, which means “wrestles with God.” God could have picked any name, but he picked “wrestles with God” knowing that it would be passed down upon millions who would be called the Children of Israel, including you and me. Each one of us, by blood or adoption in our patriarchal blessings, is brought under the name of Israel. Essentially, we are called those who wrestle with God for His blessings. God invites us to wrestle with humility and determination for the blessing we seek, trusting that God will bless us in the ways that are best. People who wrestle with the issues of our day or of our history, but fail to wrestle with our God, miss out on crucial learning from above. There is a humility that comes from wrestling with a Supreme being and there is learning that can be had no other way. The crucial things that need to happen in our hearts, in our relationships, and in our ministering can only be done with God’s help.  Please don’t let go and give up. Let’s persist until the blessings come. 

I pray that we will be true to our namesake. I pray we will wrestle with God in our efforts to embrace and be changed by the truths and doctrines of the kingdom and in our efforts to minister and bless others. 

I conclude with President Nelson’s words:  “Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly…. “[G]row into the principle of revelation.” . . . Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! “As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course … as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.”  D&C 221:33 ​I testify of our Savior Jesus Christ and of His great desire to lift and bless us as we lift and bless others.

 President Sabey:

Making Unity our Quest

For joy and happiness, there is nothing that compares with living the law of consecration, consecrating all that we have and all that we are to building up God’s kingdom and establishing Zion.  This talk is a result of pondering, praying and seeking greater clarity over the past months about how to better establish Zion. But, I want to start by telling you about the small mining town of Roseto, Italy.  

When the nearby mining operations shut down, which had employed most of the men in the village, some of the residents emigrated and began working in a stone quarry in Pennsylvania.  Based on letters home reporting availability of good jobs and a good life, most of the families in that small town emigrated en masse and established the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania in the late 1800’s.  These humble peasants, somewhat isolated in their own “Little Italy,” built a Catholic church named Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and a vigorous young priest, Father Pasquale DeNisco, became a dynamic force for good in their community. In addition to standard worship services, he organized religious societies and festivals that created a sense of community. He encouraged education, hard work and the clearing of land for bounteous gardens. He organized a labor union and directed a quarry strike that resulted in a pay raise from $.85 to $1.50 per day. The town came to life as gardens, schools, bakeries, restaurants, shops, factories and a park sprang up.  

In the late 1950’s, Dr. Stewart Wolf,  a population health expert from a nearby university heard from a nearby physician that the residents of Roseto had miraculously low incidence of heart disease and no untimely deaths from heart attacks. Analyzing death records, Dr. Wolf confirmed that the over age 65 death rate from heart disease in Roseto was about half that of the rest of the nation. The death rate from all causes in Roseto was around thirty-five percent lower than expected.  Fascinated, Dr. Wolf conducted an all-out study to determine why. With the mayor’s cooperation, every one of the nearly 2000 residents of Roseto was medically tested and interviewed. Every home was visited. Community interactions and public life were analyzed.  

Looking for what made the difference, the extensive study results ruled out all of the usual factors that contribute to improved heart health—diet, exercise, genetics, physical environment. Rosetans were no better off than other Americans in these areas. The study also focused on the social aspects of the community and noted the following factors, among others:

• regular attendance at church services
• regular community celebrations
• joyful team spirit as they celebrated religious festivals and family events
• display of wealth in clothing, housing, and cars was taboo
• Extended families with three generations lived in most homes
• Grandparents were respected and honored
• Rosetans were willing to actively serve in various social and civic organizations, with twenty-two such organizations in the small village
• There was a high level of neighborliness, including evening walks where residents visited in the street or on porches, and cooking for each other in their backyards
• All townspeople, even those with significant disabilities or limitations, were included and allowed to contribute in some meaningful way.

Eventually, the study concluded that heart health and longevity in Roseto were due to a sense of belonging to a tight-knit community.  This phenomenon was named the Roseto Effect. Since then, numerous studies have demonstrated that social interaction and community support are key factors in physical health.  Healthy relationships contribute to healthy bodies and healthy minds. Simply mixing with others provides as great a health benefit as regular exercise.  

So Roseto sounds like it was a beautiful place to live, doesn’t it.  Now let’s hear the rest of the story.  

The blue-collar Rosetans worked hard to send their children to college, which they did at a rate far above the national average. By the mid-1900’s, Roseto was growing and prospering, and had developed a small white-collar class.  By the '70s, tracts of land were developed on the outskirts of town for neighborhoods of large single-family homes, including swimming pools, fenced yards, and country clubs. Some started attending churches outside the community or stopped attending church.  With material success and other social changes came lack of cohesiveness. Community life became less vibrant and active. In 1985, the town's coronet band demanded, for the first time in the nearly 100 years since it was first formed, to be paid for playing at the church's big festival.

As the monitoring of residents’ health continued, it was noted that social change in the town was accompanied by increasing health problems, especially among the younger generation. The first heart attack death of a person less than age 45 happened in 1971.  Gradually, Roseto’s heart attack rates rose to the national average. The Roseto effect was gone!

This is the same sad story we see again and again in the Book of Mormon: as prosperity and pride creep in, unity is destroyed, and it is pride that makes life so much harder, less healthy and less abundant.  

President Benson taught: “It was essentially the sin of pride that kept us from establishing Zion in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was the same sin of pride that brought consecration to an end among the Nephites. (See 4 Ne. 1:24–25.)”  “Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion.” President Benson taught us that the core, the central feature of pride is enmity, and that enmity “is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.”  Enmity means all things divisive. It includes the five C’s of pride--contention, comparing, competing, controlling, and criticising. At the end of his remarks on pride, President Benson taught that “the antidote for pride is humility,” and he forcefully called upon us to become a humble people and to establish Zion in our day.       

At some point after this talk, I decided that I needed to increase my understanding of this crucial issue of pride vs. humility, so I decided to write a detailed brief on that topic, like the kind I write professionally to file in court, including formal section headings and citations. I began the brief by analyzing the first instances of pride in the war in heaven and in Genesis.  I defined the nature of pride and humility in their various aspects and manifestations. After forty pages of writing, I was at the point where I tried to outline a section on overcoming pride and becoming humble. But I realized that I had no idea how to go about changing my heart to become a humble person. And in my limited understanding, the scriptures about humility seemed to say, just do it.  Just be humble. Humble yourselves before God. I did not feel that it would work for me to sit there concentrating, focusing inward, and telling my heart to become humble. I realized that I was stumped. So I set the project aside, knowing I was not ready to write the most important part. I was hoping to revisit it once I had greater understanding.    

As we prepared for the 2013 pioneer trek which I was called to coordinate, we wanted all participants to have a beautiful, unified Zion experience.  So we gave the leaders a handbook with sections such as “A Zion Attitude and How to Enforce It” and “Making Sure Your Zion is Better than Anyone Else’s Zion.”  Seriously though, in order to become Zion, in order to be fully unified, we knew that we all needed greater humility. So that familiar question haunted me again: How does one go about becoming humble?  In response to the united prayers of those beloved members of the steering committee, and by the grace of God, inspiration was given that was beautiful, bright, and intelligent. Through that inspiration we learned a simple formula for becoming humble enough to experience and build Zion.  We told everybody who was called to serve in any capacity on trek that our most important responsibility was, first, to study and gain a deeper understanding of the atonement and grace of Christ, second, to embark on a quest for unity in our core relationships, and, third, turn to Christ for help with that quest.

The genius of that formula is that, rather than turning inward to work on humility, the quest for unity in our core relationships provides an experiential learning process in which Christ himself is able to help us learn humility. As the one best equipped to teach us humility, He invites us who are heavy laden with pride: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart ...” Matthew 11:28-29. We take His yoke upon us when we make unity our quest, and as we come unto him for help in that quest, He will teach us meekness and lowliness of heart. Once we are humble, the yoke of unity becomes light and easy. Life is so much better, and we are so much happier.

Mark Jorgenson of the Littleton Ward teaches primary to Kaia Sabey my grand niece. He was asking the children when they had felt Jesus’s love for them. Kaia said, “On Sunday, we go over to grandma and grandpa’s house for dinner.  When we are all together, I feel Jesus’s love for me.” Little children sense that Jesus Christ is aware and is pleased when people are gathered together in unity and love.  

I used to think that the purpose of Christ’s atoning sacrifice was to enable us to repent and overcome our sins and weaknesses, to help us grow in righteousness and become individual paragons of virtue. That was a self-centered perspective. Over time I have come to realize that virtues are all about relationships and that Christ’s purpose is to help us find the joy of keeping the two great commandments, to love God and to love our neighbors.  Christ’s atonement or at-one-ment is meant to make us at-one, to create unity, to build Zion. Christ is the master builder of Zion and its King and Lord.  

A couple came to meet with me to talk about their marriage.  There was a cloud of darkness over their marriage that had continued for many years. I listened to their concerns. Both of them had a strong mental narrative that their partner did not love them enough.  Instead of trying to work through all of their concerns, I read with them Helaman 5:40-41, which is not about marriage, but the principle applies to any situation involving a cloud of darkness and fear. The Lamanites who had come to kill God’s prophets in prison, were afraid and trapped in a cloud of darkness after hearing the mild but powerful voice of God shaking the earth and calling on them to repent.  They asked Aminadab, and Nephite dissenter, “What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us? And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ….; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.” I asked the couple: Do you believe that your marriage is overshadowed by a cloud of darkness?  They both said, Yes. Do you want that cloud to disappear? They both said, Yes. Do you believe that scripture? They both said, Yes. I said, “There, we have three things on which you both agree, and on on those three points of agreement, you can build a loving marriage. I asked one of them to go into one room and the other in another room, and I said to both of them: Repent, and cry unto God in prayer, until you have faith in Christ who is the builder of unity.  I will check on you in a while to see how things are going. They did not have an instantaneous, dramatic change, but they had learned a true principle, and over time their hearts changed and their marriage became better than ever before. Where there is a spirit of ongoing repentance, people tend to focus on what they need to change, not on what somebody else needs to change. Faith in Christ makes all the difference. He wants us to be unified. He said: “If ye are not one, ye are not mine.”  He is our advocate, and he can teach us to be advocates for each other. Maybe my favorite marriage scripture is a symbol of the spirit of advocacy. Lamoni’s wife said: “Some say he stinketh, but to me he doth not stink.” And she was right. I’m so glad that Lisa feels this way about me. 

With that background, I would like to invite each member of this stake to increase our discipleship and our humility, to become Zion people, by following this simple, inspired formula:  Better Understand Christ’s Atonement, Make Unity Our Quest, and Turn to the Living Christ for Help. A brief comment on each part of the formula, which we address in more detail at Ward Conferences.

First, Better Understand Christ’s Atonement.  We can study and gain a deeper understanding of the atonement and grace of Christ and how he can bless and help our relationships.  Prior to ward conferences, I will send out some materials for this purpose, so we can discuss and deepen our understanding. The purpose of this increased understanding is to provide a mindset that will help us be more willing to actually turn to Christ for help.

Second, Make Unity Our Quest. We can make it our quest to have strong unity in our homes and core relationships. We can get rid of those clouds of darkness.  But pride is tenacious, and it is hard to achieve unity. That is why we call it a quest, rather than a stroll in the park. As we strive for greater unity, for oneness, our pride will be revealed and we will discover that we need Christ to help us learn humility, advocacy and charity. 

Third, Turn to the Living Christ for Help.  The key is ongoing repentance and turning to the Savior. The Savior’s arms of mercy are extended toward us. He invites us to come unto Him as a little child so that He can wash us, heal us and bless us.  Christ is able to help us to see ourselves and others in the light of His love. He wants to be involved in our lives and to help our relationships. Each time we receive the grace needed to make a breakthrough, a change of heart, our relationships will improve and we will become more humble and much happier. I have personally experienced this again and again, and I am so grateful to my Savior for making my relationships more unified and my life so much richer and happier.

Dear brothers and sisters, I love you. This quest for unity, peace and love in our relationships and our homes is the gospel of joy in action . . . in the ways that really count. We have a joyous Zion to look forward to as we Better Understand Christ’s Atonement, Make Unity Our Quest, and Turn to the Living Christ for Help.  I pray and believe that it will be so and that a joyful Zion awaits.

Sister Fredericks:

How grateful I am to Elder Jones for this opportunity to share some thoughts with you about what the Lord has taught me about the sacred ordinance of the sacrament. I love that title...what the Lord has taught me. Because in that very title, it confirms the fact that the Lord can and will speak individually to each of us.  What you have learned and will continue to learn may be different than what I have learned. if you've learned it form the Lord, that is not only ok but purposeful the sacrament is as personal as was the day that he stood befpre the apostles of Jerusalem and the people of the Americas and allowed them to personally see and touch his wounds, knowing for themselves that he truly had died for them.  He does it one by one. 

So let me tell you what I have learned, especially over the last year.  Before then, I came.to the sacrament table and remembered all the pain and suffering the Lord did for me. Then I reviewed in my mind my list of sins for the week, when I lost my temper, when I hurt someones feelings, when I slipped up on a goal, when I didn't do a b or c...and so forth. Those thoughts led to a feeling of guilt and remorse and I would take the sacrament, committing again to always remember him, keep his commandments and take his name upon him. I was determined, yet it seemed that week after week I reviewed the same sins or mistakes.

But over the past year I have wanted desperately to know how to have joy in Christ. To understand that, I have felt a yearning to first know him better. And so I've searched the scriptures to better know him and prayed to experience him more in my life. And you know what I found? I found a loving Savior who wants to walk with me, to guide me, to succor me, to help me, to pray for me, to advocate for me.  He isn't just there waiting for me to feel the guilt, recommit and then go work at it on my own, coming back to him only for weekly checkups. He wants to walk by my side, and mentor me to godhood.

Now with that understanding in mind, the words of the sacrament prayer stood out to me and took on new meaning .  

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify the souls of all those who partake of it"- The prayer itself is a request to the Father for a blessing of his divine help to lift us and help us accomplish the task of becoming like him, sanctified and prepared for godbood. 

 “That they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son”-What do I remember now when I consider his body?  I remember that he was willing to give that body to the will of the Father, that he was willing to overcome his own temptation when it was almost more than he could bear, to suffer mine. But most important to me is that I remember that he did that nearly 2000 years before I suffered any of my temptations.  That’s vital to me because I recognize that he did it, knowing I would make mistakes, knowing I would fall, knowing I would desperately need him to help me up. That tells me 1. Mistakes and missteps and learning by my own experience is part of the plan and 2. He loved me and was willing to pay that price before he ever saw my loyalty, my level of perfection, how far from the goal I was.  That was a price he was willing to pay because he loved me WHEREVER I was and knew how to SUCCOR me through any part of my journey. For he had been there and he had overcome.

Witness that I take upon me the name of His Son-With confidence now, I take upon me his name.  Team name. We’re on the same team. Why? Because we have the same goal. My immortality and eternal life and even more than that, my godhood.  I can trust him. And best of all, I know he can mentor me. Because he has been where I am and he knows just how to become a god.

Always remember him.  How vital. This isn’t just when we fall, like I used to think.  It’s always. I need to play on his team and have him on mine always.  Throughout the week. This used to feel like a tall order, like I had to figure out how to always remember him and check it off my checklist.  Now, knowing that his strength and his power and his love is something that I want and need daily, it’s second nature to turn to him for council, to rely on him for strength, to ask him for wisdom, to thank him for being there and guiding me. 

Keep his Commandments-Bit by bit, that becomes second nature as our team is solidifying.  Because I spend more time with him, his thoughts become my thoughts, his will becomes my will.  Not always for sure, but it rings the bell of his relationship with the Father and I’m reminded that as he spends more time with the Father as a team (as one), he becomes more as one and seeks to do his will.and so I am trying to spend as much time with him as possible 

Then here’s the power of it all--the blessing is that we may always have his Spirit to be with us.  He will show up. He will be a part of that team. He will guide, love, support, succor, lift, forgive, strengthen and even chasten to help get us back on track.  We can count on him.  

To me the sacrament is not a weekly checkup where I leave and tackle life on my own, but rather a team huddle, a chance to regroup if I've forgotten who's doing what in this game we call life or if I've forgotten whose on my team and what he can do, what we can do together. It's   a weekly reminder that I am not alone. That he died that we may live, not just after the resurrection, but today, joyfully, strengthened by his power and his love.

Of that I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

President Blaylock:

Jesus Christ is My Savior

TEMPLE RECOMMEND QUESTIONS
In his closing remarks at last month’s session of General Conference,
President Russell M. Nelson taught that “the blessings of the temple are
available to any and all people who will prepare themselves” 1 and that the
“Lord wants all of His children to partake of the eternal blessings available
in His temple.” He also said that “the Lord has directed what each person
must do to qualify to enter His holy house.” To assess our readiness to
attend the temple each of us certain standard questions. President Nelson
explained that some of the questions asked in those interviews had
recently been edited for clarity and he then read the revised temple
recommend questions. 2
As I listened to President Nelson read the revised questions and as I
have since reviewed them, the addition of one word to the second question
resonated with me. Previously, the question read “Do you have a testimony
of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer?” Now
the question reads, “Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ and of His role as your Savior and Redeemer?” Do we have a
testimony not just that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer, but that
he is our Savior and Redeemer?
ONE BY ONE
President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke once of Wilford Woodruff’s
mission to England in the early days of the church when many were
baptized and said “This work is concerned with people, each a son or
daughter of God. ... We speak frequently of Wilford Woodruff’s conversion
of the United Brethren in England when some eighteen hundred were
baptized into the Church. But let us not forget that each of them had to walk
the lonely road of repentance, of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ …” 3 [close
quote].
So it is today. Each of us has to walk the lonely road of faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ and of repentance. When we attend the temple and
participate in ordinances for ourselves or for our ancestors and others by
proxy, we do it one-by-one. Wouldn’t it be much faster and more efficient if


we could be baptized by proxy for hundreds or even thousands of
individuals at once? Yet, that is not our Heavenly Father’s plan. Each of us
is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents. His plan is for each
of us individually. Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice is for all of us and is
individual to each of us. Nephi taught that the Savior “inviteth them all to
come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that
come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he
remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and
Gentile” (2 Nephi 26:33).
INDIVIDUAL TO EACH OF US
What does it mean that Jesus Christ is our personal savior and that
His atonement is individual to each of us?
PAINS, SICKNESSES, AFFLICTIONS, TEMPTATIONS, AND INFIRMITIES
First, it means that Jesus knows and understands each of our individual
pains, sicknesses, afflictions, temptations and infirmities.
From the Bible, we learn that Jesus was sent “to heal the broken hearted”
(Luke 4:18). We read specific instances of Jesus healing people “of their
infirmities” (Luke 5:15, 7:21). Isaiah taught that the Messiah would bear our
“griefs” and our “sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).
We regularly hear quoted in Church meetings the words of Alma’s teaching
to the people of Gideon in the Book of Mormon that are found in Alma 7:11-12.
Alma taught:
“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of
every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take
upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death
which bind his people, and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his
bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know
according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their
infirmities.” (Alma 7:11-12)
The Book of Mormon is described on its cover as another testament of
Jesus Christ because it clarifies and expands on the Bible’s teachings of Jesus
Christ and of His atonement. In the most recent general conference, Elder Jeffrey


R. Holland described the role of Jesus in the Book of Mormon as “the
omnipresent central figure in this marvelous chronicle, standing like a colossus
over virtually every page …” 4 [close quote]
Alma taught that the Savior, our Savior, took upon himself the pains, the
sicknesses and the infirmities of His people. President Dallin H. Oaks taught that
the meaning of “his people” in these verses “is the meaning that Ammon
employed when he taught that ‘God is mindful of every people,
whatsoever land they may be in’ (Alma 26:37)” 5
What does our pains, sicknesses, afflictions, temptations and infirmities
emcompass? President Boyd K. Packer explained that “… an accumulation of all
of the guilt, the grief and sorrow, the pain and humiliation, all of the mental,
emotional, and physical torments known to man – He experienced them all.” 6
[close quote]
WE ARE NOT ALONE
Second, we are not alone. In the final moments of Jesus Christ’s
suffering in Gethsemane, the Father withdrew the comfort of His Spirit and
the support of His personal presence. 7 Speaking of that moment, Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland taught:

“It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the
Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done
wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of
humankind-us, all of us-would feel when we did commit such sins.
For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it
was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was
like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally,
abjectly, hopelessly alone. … because Jesus walked such a long,
lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.” 8 [close quote]
Like the good Samaritan, when He finds us wounded on the side of
the road in our life’s journey, He will bind up our wounds and care for us
(see Luke 10:34) 9
STRENGTHENED BY THE ATONEMENT
Third, we are strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ in
accordance with our own individual needs. The Bible Dictionary explains


that, with faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance, grace is
an enabling power that provides us the strength and assistance to do good
works that we cannot do if left to our own means. 10 Elder David A. Bednar
taught:

“Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for
sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that
the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are
obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become
better and serve more faithfully. We may mistakenly believe we must
make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by
ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our
obviously limited capacities.” 11 [close quote]
As we exercise our own agency to act, strength in Jesus Christ’s
Atonement can increase our own ability to change our circumstances. In
other instances, the strength might include an increased dose of patience
and cheerfulness to bear our particular burden or even an easing of the
burden as the Lord did for Alma and his people in their persecution by
Amulon. 12
Conclusion
The Savior said. “I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you”
(John 14:18). Sometimes, when we hear that His Atonement is for all, we
think “all” means everyone except for me. Speaking to the youth in June
2018 about receiving personal revelation, President Russell M. Nelson
said,

“I promise you—not the person sitting next to you,
but you—that, wherever you are in the world, wherever you are on
the covenant path—even if, at this moment, you are not
centered on the path—I promise you that if you will sincerely and
persistently do the spiritual work needed to develop the crucial,
spiritual skill of learning how to hear the whisperings of the Holy
Ghost, you will have all the direction you will ever need in your life.” 13
[close quote]
Similarly, the promised blessings of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice
are for each of us individually, not just the person sitting next to us, but us,


wherever we are on the covenant path-even if, at this moment, we are not
centered on the path-if we will make the concerted and consistent effort to
repent regularly and, as President Nelson taught recently, “to do better and
be better.” 14
I have a testimony that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and our Savior.
He is my Redeemer and My Savior. He is our Advocate with the Father. 15
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the Good Shepherd and the
Light of the World. It is only through Jesus Christ and His Atonement that
our Heavenly Father’s work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and
eternal life of men [and women] (Moses 1:39) is fulfilled. I say this in His
Holy name, the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

1 Russell M. Nelson, “Closing Remarks,” Ensign, November 2019.
2 Ibid.
3 Gordon B. Hinckley, “This Work is Concerned with People, Ensign, May 1995.
4 Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Message, the Meaning, and the Multitude,” Ensign, November 2019.
5 Dallin H. Oaks, “Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, November 2015.
6 Boyd K. Packer, The Savior’s Selfless and Sacred Sacrifice,” Ensign, April 2015, 40.
7 D&C: 19:16-20 (see also Isaiah 63:4, D&C 76:107, 88:106, 133:50 (treaden the winepress alone) and Jeffrey R.
Holland, “None Were With Him,” Ensign, May 2009).
8 Jeffrey R. Holland, “None Were With Him,” Ensign, May 2009).
9 See Dallin H. Oaks, “Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, November 2015.
10 Bible Dictionary, “Grace.”
11 David A. Bednar, “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Ensign, April 2012.
12 See Mosiah 24:14-15.
13 Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,” June 3, 2018 Youth Devotional.