With tomorrow
being Easter, I want to share my profound gratitude for our Savior, Jesus
Christ, and for His atoning sacrifice to redeem us all. There are not words
adequate to express the depth of my wonder and amazement that He endured all
that He did for the benefit and salvation of each of us.
I’m also grateful
for the precious gifts of repentance and forgiveness, and the joy we can have
as we apply those principles in our lives.
This week I was
blessed with the opportunity to attend a special one-hour “Lunch and Learn” with
Brother S. Michael Wilcox. I have read a couple of his books, and he was also
the guest lecturer for our trip when Bob and I went to China a few years ago. He
has wonderful insights!
His topic was
the temple, and how God teaches us through symbols and symbolism in the temple.
There is symbolism in all sacred ordinances, of course, not just those
performed in the temple, and we can find various meanings in each of them. For
instance, someone might say baptism is like a bath, because I am washed clean
from my sins. Another might say that baptism is like a birth, because when I am
baptized I am born again to a newness of life. And, another might say that
baptism is like a burial because the old me was buried under the water and the
new me arose. And, they would all be correct (and, in fact, each is based in
scripture.) By using symbolism, the Lord teaches us layer by layer and will
increase our understanding as we are prepared to learn.
Brother Wilcox cited
the first three verses in 3 Nephi 17 where the Savior gives instructions to the
Nephite people about what they should do in order to prepare themselves to
learn from Him the next day. Jesus told them to go home, ponder upon His words,
and pray unto the Father for understanding, then “prepare your minds for
tomorrow”, and return. This is the same pattern for learning in the temple, too.
We can go to the temple, then go home, study and ponder the scriptures, pray to
the Father for understanding, prepare ourselves, and then, return again to the
temple. As we do this, over time, more will be revealed to us.
Bro. Wilcox used
the example of Naaman, the Syrian captain, who visited Elisha and was healed of
leprosy by dipping in the River Jordan seven times. Then, he asked, “Which of
those seven times healed him?” The answer is all of them. It was the cumulative effect of repeatedly keeping a simple
commandment that healed him. We can be blessed and healed in the same way
as we keep the simple daily commandments the Lord has asked of us. (i.e.
prayer, scripture study, FHE, sacrament meeting and temple attendance)
Bro. Wilcox also
related how we learn in the temple to the miracle of Christ feeding the five
thousand with five barley loaves. After the Lord blessed those loaves, everyone
there took what he wanted and was filled, and afterward there were 12
basketsful left over – even more than they started with. . .
Each of us, as
we go to the temple, can be filled with what we want and are prepared to
receive, and we can also know that there will always be more.
He also talked
about what he called the “dangerous decade” – those years between the ages of
13 and 23 which are so pivotal in determining the course of our future lives.
He spoke of how fervently he prayed for his children to be protected from the
evils of the world, and how his regular and frequent temple attendance was
critical for his own insight for his children during those years. (We also pray fervently for our
grandchildren who are now experiencing those important years.)
There was much
more to Bro. Wilcox’s presentation, and I wish everyone could have heard it.
What a blessing it is to live in this day when temples dot the earth and we are
given the privilege of performing sacred ordinances on behalf of our ancestors!
God loves us, so
He sent His Son! Happy Easter!!
-----------------------
We learned this
week who our new mission president is going to be. President Tate will leave at
the end of June, and, on July 1, our mission president will be Elder Boyd Fenn.
We heard he has previously served as a mission president in the Chicago area,
and that his wife is one of Bruce R. McConkie’s daughters. Transitions are
sometimes challenging, and President Tate will be a hard man to follow, but, we
look forward to meeting and working with President Fenn.
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing what Brother Wilcox taught. It was great food for thought. I forget that you are a real mission. Changing presidents is sometimes a challenge. Hope that goes well.
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