Forward, Struggling Servants, A New Ebenezer, Golden Plates Made of Brass, Chocolate Milk, Marked

Moving Forward with Faith

This last week we taught our last Emotional Resilience lesson entitled, Moving Forward with Faith.  As we started our preparation for this lesson we were delighted with the foundational principle: Receive Temple Ordinances.   The presence of this principle in this lesson hit us like a ton of bricks, it filled our hearts with love and gratitude for the Savior and the blessings that flow from the ordinances of the temple.  There is nothing more powerful to help us get through the struggles of this life and to move forward with faith than receiving the ordinances of the temple.  A struggling group pictured here in front of the Preston Temple.   

Our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson said:

“The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with power in a house of the Lord, sealed as families, faithful to covenants made in a temple that qualify us for the greatest gift of God—that of eternal life. The ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there are key to strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the adversary. Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path” (Russell M. Nelson, Ensign,Apr. 2018, 7).

In our lesson we talked about the great blessings of receiving these ordinances and worshipping in the temple.  Here are a few of our favorite quotes that enumerate these blessings (these excerpts are from the dedicatory prayer of the Kirkland Temple).

“And [bless those who worship here] that they may grow up in thee, and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost, … And when thy people transgress, any of them, they may speedily repent and return unto thee, and find favor in thy sight, and be restored to the blessings which thou hast ordained to be poured out upon those who shall reverence thee in thy house … And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them … We ask thee, Holy Father, … that no weapon formed against them shall prosper” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:15, 21-22, 24–25).

Our Ebenezer

On our mission midpoint day of September 5th, we planted an Ebenezer in the Paddy Freeman Park, where we frequently walk / jog.  An Ebenezer is a  “stone of help.” The reference comes from I Samuel 7. After defeating the Philistines, Samuel raises his Ebenezer, declaring that on this spot God defeated the enemy.  Ebenezer moments are times when you know without a doubt that God has intervened in your life. You realize that only God could have allowed the outcomes you have experienced. His help has brought you through. So we reverence this experience we are going through and express deep gratitude to our Heavenly Father for this opportunity to grow closer to Him. 

 

The dropped pin marks the spot, near the waterfall overlook

Sunderland Stake Women's Conference

We taught a workshop on preparing for a mission to the sisters in the Sunderland Stake (not that we are experts, but it was fun to assemble our thoughts and comments from our fellow servants).  We displayed the scale model of the Book of Mormon plates made by Robin Hancock's father.  (Robin is Heather's sister Cheri's husband; don't worry if you didn't follow that -- they are amazing and beloved family members).  

The Senior Missionaries Gather at the Mission Home

We introduced the senior missionaries to the world's best chocolate milk, the Belgian Chocolate Milk from M&S.  They all loved it!  It seems the older you get the more important chocolate milk becomes.  We found the best here in England! 

Pictured above right to left going around circle: Elder and Sister Bradley, Elder and Sister Conway, President Clare (Sister Clare taking pictures), Sister Hughes, Elder and Sister Betteridge, Sister Frost, Elder and Sister Prigmore, Elder and Sister Wilding, Sister Barker (not pictured Elder and Sister Krzyminski)

 Love of Family Carries Us Through Our Challenges

This last week we were so surprised to receive a memorial gift from our family.  Each year we have "Ridge Week"  where our family goes to our mountain property near Park City in Utah.  There we camp for a week and enjoy each other.  Of course we were unable to go this year, but we received a beautiful array of book marks with pressed mountain flowers and quotes from our dear children and grandchildren (if you don't see the one you made here, we gave one to the Clares, our mission president and his wife).  We love this beautiful artwork from our family - an Ebenezer for sure.

  

  

As we close this blog post, we express our deep love and gratitude for the Savior, His teachings, His love and ultimate sacrifice for us.

“In the Savior’s final week of mortality, He said, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world’ [John 16:33]. Because the Savior performed His Atonement, there is no external force or event or person—no sin or death or divorce—that can prevent us from achieving exaltation [to live with Him again], provided we keep God’s commandments. With that knowledge, we can press forward with good cheer and absolute assurance that God is with us in this heavenly quest” (Tad R. Callister,  Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 87).