Just how important is the family to God?

Hey folks!  It's been a great week out here.  Many, MANY lessons learned.  It's incredible how the Lord keeps them coming.  All we have to do is be humble enough to receive them and to submit ourselves to His timetable.

This week I feel impressed to share more about my thoughts from District Conference and the lessons that have followed since.

Like I said, many of the messages from District Conference were focused on blessings of the family and temple.  Like I said again, I have really felt the Lord preparing me to return home and receive these blessings for myself.  There are a couple of instances that really testify of this to me.

First, I had a bit of extra time one day this week, so I decided to listen to the April 2015 General Conference.  Again, I felt that every single message was directed towards me.  One that I loved was by Elder Andersen of the 70 talking about dancing without music versus dancing with music and how that applies in our daily lives. Many times, missionaries get so focused on the steps of the dance that they forget to listen to the music.  I've been really focusing on hearing the music (the Spirit) before even listening to this talk, but this was a great reinforcement.

Ok, back on subject.  There were many talks given on the family.  One that particularly struck me was Sister Burton's.  Yes, I'm not currently married, but I consider the mission a perfect time to prepare to work with someone in that setting.  During her talk, I reflected back on the lessons that the Lord has taught me over the past 23 months and how these lessons are preparing me for the future.  I still have much learning and much preparation before I get married, but the essential lessons I'm learning now will be priceless when the time comes.  Isn't it wonderful how Heavenly Father looks after us?  He's willing to do everything for us that we need and then some, and all we have to do is be patient and diligent and studious.

The second experience happened at Church on Sunday.  I taught the Gospel Principles class during the 2nd hour on the purpose of our life here on Earth.  Two weeks ago, we talked about the Fall of Adam and Eve and its necessity and its effects on us.  This week, coupled a bit with explaining the Atonement of Jesus Christ as an anitdote of the Fall, we talked a lot about why we're here and what we need to do.  Many answers were shared, including, to gain experience, to prepare for Eternal Life, to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, to gain knowledge, and finally, (shared by Bruno who is scheduled to be baptised on the 16th of May) to be married.  A few months ago I taught a class on marriage because we have several couples that need to be married before they can be baptised.

We spent several minutes talking about this (I bore my testimony on how the Lord has been preparing me to be married because I'm going home soon, which brought a few giggles) and testifying of its truthfulness.  Then, one of our investigators rases her hand.  She doesn't talk much at Church as it was her third week, including District Conference.  We have been teaching her for quite some time now, and were almost close to dropping her before she came to Church the first time.  We haven't seen her for almost a month because of some changes that she's had, but she stills comes to Church.  She has three kids (two in her native country with her parents) all with different men.  We've been hitting hard on the family from the beginning, but she seemed almost indifferent about it.  But I haven't given up hope on it, knowing the power of the family.

Finally, Sunday.  She raised her hand asking if she could testify.  A bit curious, I obliged.  She started by explaining that this was her third week at church.  She has noticed how much we talk about family and its eternal potential, especially at conference.  She said based on that and the Book of Mormon, she has really FELT that this is the truth.  She's visited many other churches, but she said that she's never felt about one like she has here.  She then asked how she could be baptized, and my jaw almost dropped from its hinges.  I explained that we have dates for the 16th and 23rd May, but that we'd talk with her during the week.

Oh how great is the Lord!  It is truly through that Holy Spirit that people are converted.  All reason and doubt fall in the face of faith and the power of the Holy Ghost.  I am confident that the Lord is preparing a way for this sister to stabilize her family life and prepare for eternity.

I add my own testimony of the family.  I know that the family is ordained of God.  Marriage is not merely a tradition of men but an ordinance sent from God, an eternal pact and blessing.  I know that the Lord has also restored the sealing keys to the Prophet Joseph Smith in order to bless His children from all eras.  I know that each one of us, if we are to receive a fulness of joy, must enter into this eternal covenant of marriage.

Just how important is the family to God?  So important that it is the central focus of His work and glory, and thus the focal point of all of Satan's vicious attacks.  I testify that as we seek to better understand and respect (or prepare to respect) our marital vows, we will be endowed with protection from on high.

I love you all, and I hope you all have an outstanding week.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

Oh, know you not that Angels are near you?

My power outage bed... On our balcony... There's lots of wind.

One more week by, and more lessons learned.  This past week was rather special due to District Conference on Saturday and Sunday.  The missionaries were not invited on Saturday, but as I play the piano for the District choir, I was invited to attend with my companion.  There were many members in attendance from Fidjrossè, and it was great to see them all again!

I considered it a great blessing to be able to attend both the Saturday and Sunday meetings as most of the messages (or at least most of what I took from the messages) were focused on the blessings of the temple and the family.  In these last few months, I have really felt the Lord preparing me to return home and continue to progress spiritually, the next step being a temple marriage and my own family.  Let me share a quick story to illustrate this, though it is a bit more on the temporal side rather than spiritual.

In June (or possibly July) 2013, I met a couple--Elder and Sister Findlay-- that were serving a service mission for the Church.  They had come to Togo with a couple a physical therapists and some others.  I had a great time chatting with them, and after I explained that I wanted to be a PA, they said that I could contact them if I ever needed an internship.  I had over 22 months left, so I kinda just put that in the back of my mind, but I still forgot to get their contact information.  That bugged me for a bit, but I knew that I shouldn't worry too much about it then.

Fast forward 22 months to the Cotonou, Benin District Conference, and there are the Findlays driving up!  I recognized them, but didn't have the chance to say hi as I had to go get the piano from Fidjrossè.  After I had gone to get the piano, I didn't have any time to say hi to anyone as I had to get prelude music going with the choir.

After the meeting was over, I was able to seek them out.  I asked Sister Findlay if she remembered me, and after explaining and a bit of reflection, she did vaguely.  She then realized that if we had met in June 2013 that I must be close to the end of my mission.  I responded and we got talking about things I want to do with the end of my mission, plans for my parents to come, etc.  I eventually had to explain to Soeur Morin what we were doing with the piano, and Sister Findlay got pulled aside, so we didn't get to continue on that subject.  I continued saying hi to people that I know that I haven't seen in a while.

After a few minutes, it hit me again why I was so excited to see the Findlays: they would have a way of contacting those physical therapists!  I made my way over to them and explained that I had just remember that.  They remembered those with whom they had come in 2013 and said that they could probably easily find their contact information.  Sister Findlay then asked for my contact and took a picture and said that she would do her best.  She then added, "Isn't it interesting that we end up meeting those who we need to meet?"  That's extremely accurate, and not by any chance or coincidence.

My testimony, yet again, is that we do have a loving Heavenly Father who carefully watches over us and our wellbeing.  He wants us to succeed in every righteous path we take, and He will always send us angels--both seen and unseen--to help us along our way.  My favorite line from one of my favorite hymns ("Come Unto Jesus", Hymns #116) goes, "Oh, know you not that Angels are near you?"  And where do you think these angels come from?  Whose errand are they on?

I promise that as you faithfully seek to press forward steadfastly in the gospel that Heavenly Father will grant you His holy servants to bear you up.  They may come in ways that you never expected or even asked for, but they will always be there.  As the scripture reads, "Draw near unto me, and I will draw near unto thee" (D&C 88:63).  I testify that this is true.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

THAT is a photogenic dog.

Yeah, it was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!  Elder Wittig's family sent him the brownies for his birthday.

My companion's party hat.  It's generally not worn this way, but I couldn't resist with it's color.

Yeah...

With Elder Mulumba, one of my favorite people here.

This pretty much describes our relationship.

Do I have any personal traditions or sins that lead me away from God?

This past week has been extremely busy, but very edifying.  We started with Zone Training Meeting on Tuesday where I gave a lesson on planning.  Then, Wednesday, I did a split with Elder Miller, who had gotten here about three weeks before.  Friday we had zone conference, which was fantastic!  Saturday and Sunday we had District Conference, where I had to play piano for EVERY session and the district choir (kinda stressful - especially playing with a speaker system on an electric piano on Sunday; there was no return speaker, so I had no idea what I was actually playing).  So yeah, busy week.

I decided this week for my blog post to share the messages from District conference.  It was a continent-wide conference, which was pretty special already.  The speakers were Elder Robert C. Gay, of the Seventy; Sister Jean A. Stevens; Elder David A. Bednar, of the Quorum of the Twelve; and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency.  Yeah, powerful speakers.  I will share with you some of my notes from this conference and my thoughts.

First, we must respect the commandments of God before the traditions of men.  We must always remember the order of the first and second great commandments.  So many times we can easily get caught in the ways of the world and in material things, which causes us to lose focus on the commandments of God.

Second, sacrifice is a necessary part of enduring to the end.  If we are not willing to sacrifice ourselves, we are not worthy before the eyes of God.  With an eternal view on life, the sacrifices that we offer up unto God are not really sacrifices.  In fact, distancing ourselves from God and His commandments is sacrificing our Eternal Life, contrary to the Will of God.  There is always a sacrifice that we must pay, but we must decide, if we hope to gain Eternal Life, to be agents to act for ourselves and pay that sacrifice now.  If not, we will have to submit ourselves, being acted upon, to an eternal sacrifice of suffering.

Third, more specifically than the traditions of men, we must avoid the traditions of our fathers that distance us from God. Africa is a continent of traditions.  Everywhere we go, we find traditions and customs.  Three of the four talks addressed this, two specifically towards the dowry, or the fact that the parents of a bride require certain "gifts" from the groom before they allow him to marry her.  This practice has led to marriage becoming a commerce, a way of income.  Parents almost lierally sell off their daughter, thus detracting from the sacredness of marriage.  The counsel that Africa as a continent received was to STOP participating in these traditions.

At first, I was a bit uncomfortable.  This would certainly cause some waves across the continent, but then I was reminded of several recent General Conference talks, most specifically, Elder Holland from April 2014, when he explained that people ask for gods that not only don't rock the boat, but don't even row it.  I was strengthed by this, and it became much easier to accept the boldness with which they spoke.

Elder Uchtdorf gave a powerful example.  Many years ago, in an African village, the Church installed a water pump.  In due time, this pump broke down, and the village returned to drinking and using the same dirty, infected water that they always had.  Some time later, repairmen returned with a new pump and some repair supplies, which would enable them to continually have this pure, clean water.  When met by a few villagers, these repairmen were astonished at the unwillingness of the people to have this new filter.  Their reasoning: "Our father drank this water, and his father, and his father, and his father, etc. So why should we not continue to drink it; it worked for them, and it works for us!"  With a bit of coaxing, the village accepted the new pump and training given to a few select men to be able to repair it themselves.  They were then blessed with pure, clean water.

This pure, clean water is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The dirty, infected water are the traditions of our fathers that are not in compliance with the commandments of God.  They invited the entire continent to STOP following the traditions of their fathers that lead them away from God, notably the need to pay the dowry.

This led me to think of how many traditions we have received in our modern, western culture that lead us away from God.  One of the first that came to my head (and I'm not sure why) was football on Sundays, and yes, that means the Super Bowl as well.  What is more important eternally, watch football or follow God's commandments with exactness.  Elder Gay also spoke very strongly about how we should not justify our sins or search for technicalities, saying, "oh, God will understand."  NO!  He has given us comandments for a reason!  It is up to us now to jump out of the current of tradition leading us away from God and follow in our Savior's footsteps.

Another thing that came to my mind was a question.  "Do I have any personal traditions or sins that lead me away from God?"  If so (and we all do), NOW is the time to STOP!

I was able to study the subject a bit, and here are a few scriptures that I like from my study: Helaman 5:50-51, Jacob 5:37, Alma 3:8, Matthew 15:3,13, D&C 93:39.

I know that these leaders that addressed us are inspired men that have paved the way now for us forward in Africa.  I testify that these counsels apply to all of us as well.  If you are reading this, I testify that you can find certain traditions in your life that are leading you awy from God and STOP them immediately.  It starts with a decision, which is followed by a goal and a plan.  I testify that the scriptures are true and contain many important truths and experiences that will strengthen us in our quest to be made perfect in Christ.

In invite all of us to search out the traditions of our fathers and our personal traditions that lead us away from God and to STOP them NOW.  I also invite us to search out the traditions that truly lead us TO God and to continue to implement them in our lives.  I promise that as we do, we will all fell of God's approval and acceptance through the power and influence of the Holy Ghost.

I love you all.  Have a great week.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins