Missionary Medical Trainees

I’m going to give a “travelogue” summary of what has happened the past week (4/16-22/17): On Monday, we started our training on how to be area medical advisers (AMAs). The Church’s program on how to document the care we provide to the missionaries is quite robust; it allows other providers of medical care to see what other providers have recommended to the same missionary…so there should be good continuity. It even allows non-medical people (like mission president’s wives, who oversee the health of the missionaries on a day-to-day basis) to document what is going on…and medical people can then read those notes.

We also learned how to find local doctors/clinics/hospitals that previous AMA’s have checked out. I was surfing on that site and even found some notes my brother, Ralph, entered in 2012 about a couple of clinics in Latvia! Cool!

We learned how to work with mission presidents to help them fulfill their responsibilities, recognizing that they have the priesthood keys and we act simply as advisers.

Elder and Sister Schwitzer (a retired ER physician and former colleague of Mike LeSueur when they both lived in Colorado Springs)[i] spoke briefly to us about the Brethren’s vision for of medical missionary work…very inspiring! It was a confirmation that the Church is led by prophesy and revelation.

Elder Weatherford T. Clayton[ii] also spoke to us. He is also a member of the Seventy and a retired physician.

At lunch on Monday, we at with our “First Contact,” a retired doctor from Utah who had previously served as AMA. If there’s a medical question I need some guidance on, I can call him. There is a cadre of medical specialists who are on call 24/7 whenever we have questions about medical conditions we are coordinating.

We also met our “In-Field Representative,” a non-medical, retired man who is a former mission president. He helps facilitate communication between the mission president, AMA, and the Brethren. Whenever a missionary comes home for medical or emotional reasons (about 6% of the missionaries who serve), a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles[iii] always has the final decision.

We had a presentation on how to teach the missionaries to be safe. It was very enlightening to hear some of the causes of missionary injuries. Elder Schwitzer reminded us that some of these missionaries are “only 6 years out of Primary[iv],” so we can’t be too surprised when they sometimes make impulsive and foolish decisions. We learned about disease prevention.

We learned about common orthopedic, dental, eye and mental health complaints.

We learned about how to coordinate payment of care the missionaries received.

They shared with us some of the ways other couples have magnified their callings as AMA’s throughout the world…in addition to their “official” responsibilities (helping orphanages, teaching English, etc). Some of those are very inspirational; I jotted down some ideas of what we might do while we’re in Peru.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we had dinner with some old and new friends; what a blessing so many people have been in our lives!

On Thursday evening, we ate dinner in the hotel and started preparing for our trip. We caught a shuttle to the SLC airport Friday morning; our driver was from Peru! We had two extra suitcases, which cost us $200 each! Each one weighed 50#, so that’s $4/pound. However, I think it was worth it, because if we pay someone else to bring things down, it will cost us $8/pound. Things went smoothly in the airport. We sat by a nice young lady from Atlanta who now lives in Reno, but is engaged to someone who lives in Atlanta, so will be moving home. She flies home every two weeks. Things went smoothly in Atlanta airport, also. We were on a 767, which has 2 seats on each side and 3 in the middle. They fed us a nice meal at the beginning of the 3.5-hour flight and a snack at the end. I watched Moana. I had watched it previously, but didn’t understand a lot of the dialog; I watched it with subtitles this time and got a lot more out of it. I think that’s going to be essential for me, given my hearing loss! I also watched a TV show about a lady who travels to exotic places. This time she traveled to Iquitos, Peru, the largest city not reachable by road; it’s only reached by plane or boat (up the Amazon River). It was started by European “rubber barons” when rubber trees first started being harvested in the late 1800’s/early 1900s for all the automobiles that needed tires. At that time, the Europeans didn’t want their laundry washed with the dirty Amazon water, so they sent their dirty laundry back to Europe! Wow! There are some very ornate buildings from that era built by those Europeans; there was A LOT of money from that industry at that time! Eventually, the rubber industry was moved to Malaysia, where it was more practical/accessible than having to travel up the Amazon; after that, Iquitos was no longer the “rubber capital” of the world.

I also read a booklet about Cuzco and Machu Picchu, part of a travel guide to Peru. I did some sudoku. We landed at about 11:30. We went through customs and immigration smoothly. The other AMA here (and his wife) picked us up at the airport. We returned in a van/taxi; we live on the other side of Lima, so it took about an hour to get home. There was bumper-to-bumper traffic over parts of our trip, even at midnight!

[i] https://www.lds.org/church/leader/gregory-a-schwitzer?lang=eng

[ii] https://www.lds.org/church/leader/weatherford-t-clayton?lang=eng

[iii] https://www.lds.org/church/leaders/quorum-of-the-twelve-apostles?lang=eng

[iv] https://www.lds.org/topics/primary?lang=eng&old=true

MTC District and teacher…it’s wonderful to have new friends!

In another class, we learned how to use our iPhones to share the gospel…by tagging scriptures, pictures, videos and sharing them with others.

On Wednesday, we taught the couple we had been assigned on Monday to get to know. We felt like we should talk to them about God’s love (and showed them a video about a woman who was guided to the missionaries and joined the Church) and about families (we invited them to read from the Family Proclamation[i] and acknowledge how the Lord had helped them to strengthen their family).

The other couple then taught us. They invited us to read and discuss a lesson from The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley: “Losing Ourselves in the Service of Others.”[ii] We did that and it was a powerful experience. I pray for the Lord’s help in doing that during my mission…and for the rest of my life. It’s not a coincidence that that is the same thing that another friend invited me to do several months ago.

The next day, we taught the other couple again. We followed up on our invitation from the day before and then felt impressed to invite them to continue to read in The Book of Mormon. Not coincidentally, they had already made a goal to invite their family to read The Book of Mormon with them while they were on their mission. Wow! How humbling to be an instrument in the Lord’s hand in being a second witness to the promptings He had already sent them!

On Friday, we practiced getting to know and teaching two volunteers who were local members of the Church and who were facing challenges in their lives. We felt like we should talk about God’s love for them and the peace that comes only from God. The Holy Spirit was present; it was a wonderful experience!

Friday afternoon, a couple in their 80’s talked about how they and their family have been blessed as they have served multiple senior missions. What an inspiration! I want to be like them!

Saturday, a childhood friend (and his wife) who live in Utah picked us up at the MTC and took us to breakfast at an amazing restaurant in Salt Lake City (SLC). Then we met up with another high school buddy (and wife). We had a nice visit. Our friends then dropped us off at our hotel in SLC. That evening, we attended part of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Easter Concert. We sat by the mother of one of the choir members; she had given us tickets when we came to the “stand-by” line. I had a nice visit with her before the concert. The choir and orchestra were amazing!

Today, another couple drove us back to the MTC for sacrament meeting. Then we attended an Easter Devotional where Dallin H. Oaks[iii] (another living apostle) and his wife, Kristin, spoke about Christ. They spoke about “The Living Christ,”[iv] a proclamation from the living apostles of what we believe about Jesus Christ. They also testified of Christ’s resurrection, which makes our resurrection possible. How foundational that doctrine is! What hope that gives me! I am grateful beyond expression for Christ, who gave us that great gift! I’m grateful for the certainty that I will see Ashton again and that he will not suffer from the mental illness which took his mortal life!

[i] https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&old=true

[ii] https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-gordon-b-hinckley/chapter-14-losing-ourselves-in-the-service-of-others?lang=eng

[iii] https://www.lds.org/church/leader/dallin-h-oaks?lang=eng

[iv] http://jesuschrist.lds.org/testimonies-of-him/articles/the-living-christ-the-testimony-of-the-apostles-of-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints?lang=eng&_r=1

This is a long post, so I’ll break it into two posts: one today and another tomorrow: This week in the Provo, Utah Mission Training Center (MTC) has been amazing! We learned a lot, felt the Spirit and made some very good friends.

We arrived in Salt Lake City Saturday afternoon, April 8. Faye’s uncle picked us up at the airport. We went to a local restaurant, where we had a nice visit with him and his wife; his brother and wife and Faye’s parents. Faye’s parents were possibly the oldest missionaries in the MTC last week; Faye and I were possibly the youngest senior missionaries this week. Faye’s parents left for their mission in San Diego Monday morning. We enjoyed telling others that Sylvia and Faye were in the MTC (for a day and a half) at the same time!

Sunday evening, we attended a devotional where Pres. & Sis. Martino (MTC president and wife)[i] spoke. They told about their conversions as teens, his mission as a young man to Italy, their children’s missions and their service as mission president and wife in the Philippines. One of their sons passed away from a brief illness shortly after he returned home from his mission. They spoke of the comfort they felt with this family tragedy. They showed a picture of a tree with many branches that represented all their family (present and future) who have/will benefit from the blessings of the gospel because of the efforts of the missionaries who taught them in their youth. They also had flowers under the tree that represented non-family members who have come into the Church because of their efforts.

Monday morning, we officially started our orientation to the MTC. We had a devotional in the afternoon where the MTC mission presidency and wives spoke to us. We all stood and introduced ourselves and told where we were from, where we would serve and our assignment. Tears were shed by many when it was mentioned what we all left behind to serve our missions.

We then had training with the whole group on our Purpose as missionaries: “Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them to receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.”[ii]

We were divided into districts of four couples, where we would have small-group instruction for the rest of the week. It was amazing to get to know them and feel like they are good friends already.

We were also assigned to get to know another couple. We were to look for how we could invite them to come unto Christ. We have A LOT in common! He likes to cycle. She likes to quilt (like Faye). They have four kids and 6 grandchildren. They will also be Area Medical Advisors, but in South Africa. We told them about Ashton’s suicide; they were very supportive.

MTC friends at our first devotional

For Family Home Evening, we watched a talk by Elder Bednar[iii] (a living apostle), who spoke on “The Character of Christ.” He pointed out that Christ consistently looked outward when the “natural man” tendency is to look inward. For example, when he was on the cross, he looked outward to the thieves and told one of them that he would be with Christ in paradise. He also looked outward and made sure John looked after His mother, Mary. Elder Bednar encouraged us to study the character of Christ and determine what we would individually do to become more like Him…with His help.

During one of the discussions, I was enlightened by the definition of “Repentance”[iv] in the Bible Dictionary: “The Greek word of which this is the translation denotes a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world.” That really gives me a different perspective on what it means to repent and to invite others to repent. Repentance suddenly becomes a positive, joyful experience!

In another discussion, we learned about “Christ in Our Teaching.” We initially took turns inviting our spouse to attend church with us. Then we watched a video about Christ’s Atonement and then invited again. What a difference that brought to the invitation! Christ should be the center of my life, my worship, my teachings and my invitations.

In another discussion, we assessed ourselves in various Christ-like attributes. I thought about areas where I have strengths and weaknesses. I made specific goals to improve and have felt the Lord’s hand guiding me in this process. I have faith that, through Christ’s grace and my humility, my weakness can become strong. Then the teacher gave us an assignment to tell our spouse what positive attribute/strength we noticed in them. Faye and I walked around our building as we shared our thoughts about each other’s strengths. Wow! This mission so far has been the best marriage enrichment activity I could have hoped for!

One of our teachers (they are all returned missionaries and students at Brigham Young University) encouraged us to realize what an influence we can have on the young missionaries, many of whom have come from broken or troubled homes. Many of them don’t know what a stable marriage looks like. That was thought-provoking; I pray that Faye and I can model a good marriage for these impressionable young missionaries. I appreciate the senior couples who served with and loved our sons…especially Ashton; several of those who served with Ashton have reached out to us since his death.

In another class, we discussed the “Role of The Book of Mormon.” I believe with all my heart the promise from Joseph Smith (from the Introduction to The Book of Mormon), when he says, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”[v] The Book of Mormon has brought me nearer to God than any other book…bar none. Being nearer to God (the happiest Being in the universe) has brought me immeasurable happiness and has provided protection against temptation and misery.

Written by Carter. I’ll post the rest of my thoughts tomorrow.

[i] https://www.lds.org/church/news/first-presidency-calls-7-new-mtc-presidents-for-2017?lang=eng

[ii] https://www.lds.org/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missionary-service/what-is-my-purpose-as-a-missionary?lang=eng

[iii] https://www.lds.org/church/leader/david-a-bednar?lang=eng

[iv] https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/repentance.html?lang=eng&letter=R

[v] https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/introduction?lang=eng

April 9, 2017

I wish I could tell you everything… Every sweet thought, every little blessing I’ve experienced in the short time I’ve been here. I will do my best.. We arrived on Saturday afternoon, April 8, 2017.

The Mission Training Center has been a place where others go. Our 3 boys came here. Many nieces and nephews have walked these halls. Other missionary couples that I know have trained here, but I am here now! Carter and I keep saying to each other, “We are at the MTC!” Crazy! What’s more… We are at the MTC with my parents! They left a week earlier than us and will leave on Monday. It is so sweet to be here with them for a day and half. We are taking pictures! They were there to meet us when we checked in and received our name tags. They have shown us where to go and what to do. My parents have always been the ones in my life to show me the way. Why not now? It is so very appropriate.

I am in my boot here. My foot is about 80 – 90% healed and I still need to wear it for 2 more weeks. I am very used to wearing it and it doesn’t slow me down much at all. We have become friends. It is now comfortable and a part of me. In our Sunday School lesson this morning, they talked about the Tender Mercies of the Lord. The healing of my foot is a great Tender Mercy for me. I call it one of my little miracles. I want to include it here because so many reading this letter home have prayed for my foot. I really needed a miracle for it to heal and I have received it. The doctor told me this Jones fracture does not heal well or sometimes not at all. Many have to have surgery. The blood supply is not good to that area. But, my fracture HAS been healing. I am so grateful….so very grateful. Again, thanks to everyone who prayed and fasted with our family for this Tender Mercy.

We begin our orientation and training on Monday. It’s nice to have this Sabbath to spend with my parents and rest up from all of our mission preparations and traveling.

We are in a district with young Elders and Sisters who are from many different countries and speak many different languages. We had a testimony meeting with them this morning. Mom and I sat together in the back, teary, with tissues in hand, as so many bore faith filled testimonies of struggles and blessings. One of the sisters quoted in Mormon 5: 23 from the Book of Mormon:

“Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?”

I thought of our children and grandchildren we left back home and the struggles they face that we can’t physically help them with while we are gone. It brought me great hope knowing that they too are in the hands of God and they will be blessed, strengthened and watched over.

Ashton walked these same halls we are walking. He sat in these same classrooms and ate in the very same cafeteria we will eat in this evening. He told me after his mission that he loved the MTC. He loved the training, singing in the choir and everything about the MTC. It was the favorite part of his mission. He was here for 12 weeks learning the Fijian language.

Ash! We’re here! I’m looking forward to experiencing a week of something you loved.

Written by Faye

Last night I cleaned out my purse.

It was time to retire a faithful friend. It’s getting ragged and I knew I needed to replace it. It won’t be going to Peru with me. I sure did some remembering….going through that thing….removing every trace of me.

This purse is something that brought me some happiness when I needed to look outside of myself for that happiness. It’s not the kind of purse I would usually choose, but I loved it’s colors and bright, bold flowers. It was perfect for me then. It clashed with lots of things I wore. I didn’t care. It made me happy to use it. It’s been my faithful friend for 2 years.

We are weeding out our stuff, getting ready to leave on our mission in 2 weeks. We are throwing away, giving away and putting away much.

I thought of throwing that purse away, but I can’t do that yet. I thought of giving it away, but I know it will not be a appreciated. The handles are ragged. Someone might throw it away if I give it to Goodwill. Not yet. I’m not ready for that yet. I think that I will put it away. I want it around still…..for just a little while longer….. to remind me. Someday it won’t be mine anymore, but right now….. I still need it.

Unlike my purse, we will be taking Ashton on our mission with us. He is the one child that can go.

He will be there, cheering on every struggling missionary we encounter.

He will be in the beautiful Peruvian coast, mountains, ruins and landscape we will get to experience.

He will share his strength when a struggle comes along and I will hear the familiar voice in my mind, “Mom, your going to be OK.”

He will be in the joy we hope to find as we experience a new culture and its beautiful people.

He will be our comfort….. when we will need a time out….. for his yearly birthday and angel day.

He can still be with us, no matter where we are and what we are doing. Still my son, but now my faithful friend and quiet, calming companion.

By the way ….. My foot is healing. I am walking with the boot now. I have no pain. Thanks loads for your prayers and helping our little miracle to progress. I get another x-ray on April 4th. Our God is so, so good! He is my supreme faithful friend.

Written by Faye

Faye and I gave talks in our church meetings yesterday. We have been asked to share the text of our talks. Faye shared hers on the blog yesterday.  Today’s post are my remarks.

I chose to give mine on “Humility.” I started by singing a song (with hand motions in parentheses) to my grandchildren:

Thanks to our Father

We will bring

For He gives us (put hands out in front of me, elbows bent at my side, palms up)

Everything. (rotate upper body from side to side, keeping hands in front of me)

Eyes (point to eyes) and ears (point to ears) and

Hands (wiggle fingers) and feet (point to feet)

Clothes to wear (touch clothing) and

Food to eat. (pretend to eat food)

I sang that song to capture the attention of my grandchildren…but also to introduce my topic for today: humility. Gratitude is an essential characteristic of humility.

When I was in high school, my Grandma Amy Mayberry would have the five or six boy cousins around my age stand up at family reunions and sing, “It’s Hard to Be Humble…when you’re perfect in every way…” Grandma had a great sense of humor and it was all done in fun…but I wonder if, at some level, she was trying to teach us something about humility.

I read a cartoon that said, “For me, humility is a matter of great pride.” “Consciously trying to acquire humility can be problematic. One person insightfully said, ‘If you think you have it, you don’t. We should try to develop humility and be sure we didn’t know when we’ve got it, and then we would have it. But if we ever thought we had it, we wouldn’t.’”[i] Yes, humility has been a difficult attribute for me to understand and to live.

One of our Articles of Faith states, “We believe in the same organization that existed in Christ’s primitive church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.” In Christ’s church today — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the office of “evangelist” is now called a “patriarch.” He serves about 3,000 church members in his geographical area. Under inspiration from God, he pronounces a “patriarchal blessing” upon members who are striving to live God’s commandments and who desire to know God’s specific blessings and cautions in their individual lives.

I received my patriarchal blessing when I was 17 years old, a senior in high school, and at the same time I sang in fun that “It’s hard to be humble.” One of the phrases in my patriarchal blessing says, “…even though reverses and obstacles and heartaches come to you, you should learn to accept them with all humility and acknowledge that the hand of the Lord is in all things.” I have read my patriarchal blessing many times in my life. I have sometimes wondered what the Lord meant when He told me of forthcoming “reverses and obstacles and heartaches.” What would some of those be? I’m certain that He knew that one of those would be Ashton’s death, which has been an indescribable reverse and obstacle and heartache for me.

For the past 3 months, I have been studying, pondering and praying to better understand this counsel from the Lord, which He gave me when I was 17. What does “in all humility” mean? The other word that stands out for me is “learn.” I have concluded that I CAN increase and improve my humility. I’m sure I still don’t understand humility completely, but I think I understand better now than I did 3 months ago.

One of Christ’s modern-day apostles, Boyd K. Packer, taught, “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.”[ii] As I’ve studied humility, that has been one of my goals: to have these studies of humility help improve my behavior. Yes, it IS hard for me to be humble…and no, I’m certainly NOT perfect!

A good friend taught me a way to look at life that has helped me: “Everything is an opportunity. Find the opportunity.” I watched a segment of a documentary about buffaloes: their instinct is to turn INTO and walk INTO a storm as it comes.[iii] This allows them to get through the storm more quickly than cows, who tend to move AWAY from the storm, causing them to experience the storm longer. I wonder if there is something for me to learn here: turn and face my challenges with submissiveness to God and His will in my life.

“Fortunately, the Savior has given me a model for developing humility. When His disciples asked Him, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He responded by placing a little child in their midst and stating, ‘Whosoever…shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’

“In this passage the Savior teaches me that to become humble is to become as a child. How do I become as a child, and what are the childlike qualities I should strive to develop? King Benjamin, in his profound Book of Mormon sermon, provides guidance:

“’For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.’”

“King Benjamin seems to teach that becoming like a child is a gradual process of spiritual development in which I am aided by the Holy Ghost and my reliance on Christ’s Atonement. Through this process, I will eventually acquire the childlike attributes of meekness, humility, patience, love, and spiritual submissiveness. True humility will inevitably lead me to say to God, ‘Thy will be done.’ And because what I AM does affect what I DO, my submissiveness will be reflected in my reverence, my gratitude, and my willingness to accept callings, counsel, and correction.”[iv]

This is one of the many counter-intuitive paradoxes of our mortal existence. The scriptures teach that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. One of these paradoxes is that, for me to move forward, I must look back…at children…and learn from them.

The song that I sang at the beginning of my talk is one that Faye found several weeks ago when we were having Family Home Evening with our granddaughter, Jordanna Faye (“Faye Faye”), who is two. She and her mother, Rubi, are living with us while our son, Jordan, is in Air Force Basic Training in San Antonio, Texas. We have been singing that song almost every night for the past several weeks. It is something that Faye Faye has very much enjoyed. It has had a profound impact upon me, as well, as I think of my Heavenly Father and all that He has blessed me with…even the very air that I breathe! Reminding myself of my dependence upon God and my gratitude for His innumerable blessings has helped me improve my humility.

It has been insightful for me to watch Faye Faye as she loves her mother and gets concerned if Rubi is out of her sight. Most of the time, she is very obedient to Rubi. She does not hold grudges. She is quick to show her love. Could I follow her example as I love and want to be close to my Heavenly Father? Could I be more obedient to God and to the leaders He has placed on the earth? Could I be quicker to forgive? Could I do better at showing my love to my fellowman…especially Faye and the rest of my family?

After prayers in the evening, Faye Faye often will give everyone a hug and say their name: “Gampa, Mima, Mommy”…and then she wraps her arms around herself and gives herself a hug and says “And Faye!” That is a girl who has a proper perspective of her own importance in God’s eyes. What a blessing! What an example!

I learned from our five-year-old granddaughter, Clara, to be teachable. We spent a Saturday morning together. She was eager to learn how to pump herself on the swing, to read the word “and” in The Book of Mormon and how to fly a kite. What an example to me of seeing the world for the first time and being willing to learn and grow!

When I was in my mid-twenties, I went on two horseback rides where I used poor judgment and tried to go too far with too little daylight; the end of the ride was in the dark. In each case, I had a different nephew with me; one nephew was 9 and the other was 13. I was becoming agitated and frustrated with how much farther we had to go to get back to our camp. I was not showing patience with my circumstances. Each time, the nephew set an example for me by asking if we should pray. I was embarrassed and humbled that I had not thought of that and that I had not set the example by being more patient…so I asked them if they would say the prayer. In each situation, our conditions immediately improved and we made it back to our camp safely. I’m grateful for those nephews’ examples and for their parents, who taught them to pray.

“Our Father in Heaven, in His great wisdom and love, sends His spirit sons and daughters to this earth as children. They come to families as precious gifts with a divine nature and destiny. Our Heavenly Father knows children are a key to helping me become like Him. There is so much I can learn from children.

“Children provide examples of some of the childlike qualities I need to develop or rediscover in myself to enter into the kingdom of heaven. They are bright spirits who are untarnished by the world — teachable and full of faith. It is no wonder the Savior has a special love and appreciation for little children.

“Among the transcendent events of the Savior’s visit to the Americas, His tender ministry to the children stands apart. In a poignant way, He reached out to each child.

“’And he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept…And he spake unto the multitude and said unto them: Behold your little ones.’

“Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to BEHOLD them. To me that means that I should embrace them with my eyes and with my heart; I should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father with divine attributes.”[v]

Finally, I’m grateful for the only perfectly humble Child, Jesus Christ, who expressed perfect gratitude to His Father and who submitted Himself perfectly to His Father’s will when He took upon Himself my sins, my mistakes and my sorrows. I pray that I will do better at utilizing his atonement and the Holy Ghost to become as a little child and thus follow His perfect example of humility.

Written by Carter

[i] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/to-walk-humbly-with-thy-god?lang=eng

[ii] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1986/10/little-children?lang=eng

[iii] http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/facing-the-storm/

[iv] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/to-walk-humbly-with-thy-god?lang=eng

[v] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/become-as-a-little-child?lang=eng

For those who are interested, Faye and I will be speaking in our congregation’s meeting on Sunday, March 12 at 1 pm. The building is at 640 W. Patton St. in St. David. The meeting will be over at 2:10. “Sunday best” is appropriate attire.

Also: for those who might not know, Faye broke a bone in her right foot in a “fluke” accident where she turned her ankle walking on an even surface. She has been on crutches and a knee scooter for the past two weeks. She will have an xray this week to see if it’s healed enough. If not, she may need to have a screw placed to help the healing. We would appreciate your faith and prayers in her behalf…that she will be healed in time for us to leave for our mission on April 8. Thanks so much!

Written by Carter