28 Sep 2023, Thursday

 28 Sep 2023, Thursday

Prioritized Daily Task

Inez "Nezzy" Thrash Reynolds' 7th birthday (I sent her a text on her mother's phone)

10:00 am - Mount Timpanogos endowment, Arrive by 9:30 AM

I was up at 7 a.m., had prayer, showered, and shaved.  I checked my email;  Eric sent an email confirming a meeting tomorrow, Friday at 12 Noon  MST.  Debbie and I met Laura at the Mt. Timpanogas Temple.  We went on the 10:00 a.m. endowment session.  I took one of Ljubica Jelicic's male family names, Mahila Rodah.  After the session, Debbie and I came home.  I emailed Mirko, Ljubica, and Bojana.  Debbie met with Shelby for a milkshake and talked.  Cooper is getting the last of the draws on his home and will now start making payments to his grandmother.  Debbie plans to meet with Jared and Tylee to talk.  I read and had prayer with Debbie before going to bed.  Michael is not able to go to Peru between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

Note:  Reverend Amos Brown is a noted civil rights leader and a friend of President Russell M. Nelson. He recently wrote: “We can gripe about the way things were. We can refuse to acknowledge all the good going on now. … But these approaches will not heal our national divisions. … As Jesus taught, we don’t eradicate evil with more evil. We love generously and live mercifully, even toward those we think to be our enemies.” 

Again, Reverend Brown’s more recent remarks at the Washington, D.C. Temple open house:

“Mr. Joseph Smith the First Prophet also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1844. But the major plank in his platform was the abolition of slavery by 1850 thus preceding Mr. Abraham Lincoln-even before he exhibited the courage to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. . .. But fast forward to 2021, Thank God, that one President Nelson lived out the intent and the spirit of Joseph Smith when he reached out to the NAACP saying, ‘we want to talk, we want to have a conversation, we want to be enlightened about each other's experiences.’ And I assure you that if all of the so-called religious groups in this nation follow the example of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we shall save the soul of America.”

President Dalin H. Oaks and Elder Gilbert on Race:                                  Reverand Dr. Amos C. Brown, President of the NAAACP,  is a legend in his own time. Tutored by Medgar Evers, Benjamin Mays, Samuel Williams, J. Pious Barbour, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (as one of the eight students in the only class Dr. King taught in his lifetime at Morehouse College), Dr. Brown has never seen the issues of society as separate from the mission of the church, especially when the members of the church are directly affected by systems of evil.

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Dr. Brown has been Pastor of San Francisco's Third Baptist Church since 1976. I love Reverend Brown’s message of reconciliation and his hand of friendship to the Church. President Oaks, I also appreciate your call to help us eliminate attitudes of racism without falling into secular agendas that seek to divide and polarize.

Reverend Amos Brown is a noted civil rights leader and a friend of President Russell M. Nelson. He recently wrote: “We can gripe about the way things were. We can refuse to acknowledge all the good going on now. … But these approaches will not heal our national divisions. … As Jesus taught, we don’t eradicate evil with more evil. We love generously and live mercifully, even toward those we think to be our enemies.”

Reverand Brown said, “Mr. Joseph Smith the First Prophet also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1844. But the major plank in his platform was the abolition of slavery by 1850 thus preceding Mr. Abraham Lincoln-even before he exhibited the courage to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. . .. But fast forward to 2021, Thank God, that one President Nelson lived out the intent and the spirit of Joseph Smith when he reached out to the NAACP saying, ‘we want to talk, we want to have a conversation, we want to be enlightened about each other's experiences.’ And I assure you that if all of the so-called religious groups in this nation follow the example of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we shall save the soul of America.”

Elder Mark Palmer, the former Area President in South Africa, recently reminded us of Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Nelson Mandela, and said his efforts to bring an end to his country’s system of racial segregation took time.  Elder Palmer explained at a recent BYU graduation that despite being imprisoned for nearly thirty years, Nelson Mandela “chose to focus on reconciliation and truth rather than on bitterness or revenge. He is famously reported to have said, ‘Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.’” Nelson Mandela's life is an inspiring example of Christian leadership.

Elder Mark Palmer said I think of my experience observing the Church’s inner-city youth in Boston, Massachusetts has given me an insight on these young men who faced ignorant attitudes, sometimes even from members of the Church. But they also knew that it was the Church that gave them the confidence to overcome so many of their challenges. It was the Church that encouraged youth leaders to invest in their lives. These Boston youth were determined not to let polarizing agendas separate them from the very church that would present them with mentors, spiritual opportunities, and the education they needed to succeed.

Elder Palmer notes that at Ensign College, more than 50% of our students have a multicultural background.  At BYU–Hawaii, more than 60% of our students are from Asia and the Pacific. At BYU–Pathway Worldwide we have already served more than 10,000 students in Africa. We are well acquainted with students of diverse social and cultural backgrounds in the Church.

The Church Educational System is helping all of its students succeed in the Lord’s way, embracing students from different backgrounds, cultures, and races. If any have faced attitudes of prejudice, the Church is striving to root out attitudes of racism both within the Church and across society. The Church is providing opportunities to grow in the gospel of Jesus Christ and gain an education for future success.

Story by Nichole Elder

I drive a school bus and have a 6th grader who I would like to talk about.

Last week he was talking about an elderly neighbor not leaving her house for weeks.  I tried to explain how hard it would be for her to do things.  

On Tuesday I pulled up and he wasn’t at the stop waiting.  I looked over and saw him shoveling her porch.  I was early so I waited for him.  The other kids asked why I waited.  I said anyone helping someone deserves a few extra minutes.  All the kids started asking him questions about his neighbor.  The next day 7 children got on the bus with blankets, food, and cards for the elderly woman.  I delivered them after work.  

Now every day she stands on the porch and the whole bus waves good morning!.  I am so proud of him for stepping up and doing the right thing.  He taught all the children something important.  I smile with pride in my heart because of the extraordinary children I have on my bus.

BRING THEM TO CHURCH

Saturate their lives with the Word of God. 

Even if they need 437 goldfish and a sucker to be quiet.  

Even if you stand in the back swaying back and forth holding them.  

Even when it’s hard, 

Even when your row looks like a small hurricane just came through. 

Bring them to church.

Let them see you worship.  

Let them see you pray.

Let then see you running toward the Savior..

Because if they don’t see and learn these things from you, who are they going to learn them from?  The world will teach them it’s not a priority.  The world will teach them it’s okay to lay out, not to pick up their Bibles.  The world will direct them so far off course, confuse them, and misinform them that just being “good” is enough. The world won’t teach them about Jesus,  that’s our job.  Bring them to church.