Elder Preston Riley Jenkins: I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ

Well, my dear friends, this has been one week my current English vocabulary cannot even begin to find an adjective to describe. So rather than try to find an adjective, I will, in recounting an ongoing experience from this past week, bear my testimony of the Plan of Salvation.

This past Tuesday, as we were home for lunch, I noticed that Elder Bile was moving a bit slow. As the time to go back out approached, he sat on his bed holding his head in his hands. For those of who you don't know him, and I'm pretty sure that means every single one of you reading this, Elder Bile is a VERY loud and outgoing person. He makes me look VERY calm, that plus all my time here has calmed me. Anyways, I honestly have never seen Elder Bile like this. He is always the one to bring the noise and energy level up ten notches. He had told me earlier that morning that he was feeling really tired, so I was not terribly surprised that he was struggling to get going.

However, as I passed by his bed, I had the distinct feeling that I need to just sit down with him and put my arm around him. As I did that, I started to have the feeling that there was something more than fatigue going on. After a few seconds, he finally pulled his hands away from his face. I asked him if everything was okay. He replied, with tears in his eyes, "Yeah, everything will be fine." "What is it?" I asked. He didn't reply, so I asked again. After a few moments of silence, he stated, "Yesterday [last Monday, the 7th], one of my friends gave me some family news. Because I don't have any contact with my family, it was him that had to pass me the message. He told me that my sister died this past week." After that, both of us just cried together for a few minutes. Once we calmed a bit down, I explained that he needed to call President Weed and let him know, and that while he talked with President Weed, I would inform Elder Dih and Elder Donadier (the other other missionaries in our apartment). He agreed, and I dialed President Weed and explained briefly the situation and then passed the phone to Elder Bile.

After barely being able to choke out words to explain to Elder Dih and Elder Donadier, Elder Bile came back out to join us. We went into the great room and spent some time together as a District. After a few minutes of counsel and prayer, Elder Bile said that he was ready to go out, so we went and got ready.

We were able to get out the door and in the middle of our first appointment, President Dieudonné, President Weed's first counselor, called to say that he was on his way out to Baguida to meet with us. Just as we were finishing our first lesson, he called to say that he had arrived, so we went out to the main road to meet him and then head back to the apartment. We had a quick meeting of counsel and strength with him and one of the counselors of the Stake Presidency and then they took us to our next appointment. Overall, we finished the day fine and I was very pleased with Elder Bile's efforts to overcome the grief and sorrow and put himself to work. Yes, it was a bit slow, but he did a fantastic job.

Wednesday, I did a split with Elder Dih. It had been planned weeks before, but I thought it was best to keep it so that Elder Donadier and Elder Bile could have some time together. In the MTC, they had been companions and countless times, according to them, Elder Bile was there to put his arm around Elder Donadier's shoulder whenever he got homesick and thought that he couldn't go on. Then, this past Wednesday, the tables were turned, and Elder Donadier was 100% there for Elder Bile in his time of need. After we finished daily planning at the end of the day, Elder Bile shared a bit from their day, and I was so impressed. He really had put himself to work that day, and it showed.

The rest of this week has been filled with ups and downs. There have been some moments where I have been so proud of Elder Bile and his efforts to work through the sorrow. Other times, I struggled to known what to do or say to help comfort him.

However, one thing I do know, and I know that Elder Bile knows as well, is that death is not the end of his sister's story, nor any person that has ever lived on this earth. Thanks to the scriptures, we know about something that we call the Plan of Salvation. This plan is God's plan for each one of us, His children. Well, my dear friends, this has been one week my current English vocabulary cannot even begin to find an adjective to describe. So rather than try to find an adjective, I will, in recounting an ongoing experience from this past week, bear my testimony of the Plan of Salvation.

However, one thing I do know, and I know that Elder Bile knows as well, is that death is not the end of his sister's story, nor any person that has ever lived on this earth. Thanks to the scriptures, we know about something that we call the Plan of Salvation. This plan is God's plan for each one of us, His children. It responds to three essential questions: Where do we come from? Why are we here? And where are we going? These questions are posed in very general and VERY eternal terms. They can be rephrased as: Where were we before birth? What is our goal in life on this earth? And where will we go after death?

I know that this life is not the end. As I once heard a servant of the Lord state, think of this like as a piece of string. Then, think of a rope extending from both ends of the string,in both directions forever; this is Eternity. Our life, compared to eternity, is like that piece of string tied the middle of the rope. Once we zoom out far enough, it's like we can't even see it, but we know that it's there and there are many, many things that we learn from it.

I know that the gospel is being preached at this moment among those in the Spirit World who await the Resurrection and who never knew the fullness gospel of Jesus Christ (see 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 1 Peter 4:6, as well as Alma 40:11-14), including Elder Bile's sister. I know that, as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, for time and all eternity (see 1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

This is the season of Easter, the time where we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is risen. He has overcome death and, through His merits, we, too, can overcome physical death. His death and resurrection marked the end of blood sacrifice of the lamb. Now, all the He asks of us is a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" (see 3 Nephi 9:19-22). If we do what he asks us to do - including having faith, repenting of our sins, being baptized by one holding the authority of God, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end - we will inherit Eternal Life, the greatest of all the gifts of God (see 2 Nephi 31:19-20 as well as D&C 14:10 and Moses 1:39).

I know that my Redeemer lives. He lived, died, and lived again for all of us. The sacrifice that He offered for us in Gethsemane and later on Golgotha is beyond our comprehension. Yes, having nails tearing through His skin must have been excruciating beyond conscious belief, but something that we can never understand in this mortal existence is the pain that He felt as he prayed to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, pleading, "If it be Thy will, take this bitter cup from me" (see Matthew 26:36-46). Through this sacrifice, He overcame the fall of Adam, opening to us the heavens and the kingdom of God.

I know that this Church is the one true Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is at the head of this Church and leads it through a prophet, seer, and revelator named Thomas S. Monson. This truly is a Living Gospel. Through this Church, we have the fullness of the gospel, which is once more throughout the entire earth. I love this Church and I love this gospel, but much more so, I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

May we all take this next week to ponder upon the Lord's sacrifice in preparation for the celebration of His Resurrection next week. May we all be filled with joy and gratitude in His Spirit as we reflect upon all that he has so freely given us.

I love you all. Have a great week.

Elder Jenkins

Baby pigeons on Thursday, 10 April, one day after hatching. Elder Bile's expression after seeing the hatched babies, "The Lord takes and the Lord gives!"