Understanding Jesus Through His Many Names

(by Marilynne Todd Linford latterdaysaintmag.com 12-9-24)

As Christmas was approaching this year, I wanted to learn more about Jesus by studying His names and titles in scripture. Specifically, I searched for names He called Himself. As I got into it, I discovered this was more complex than I thought. To say that Jesus is a Man with many names is understatement. In the Book of Mormon, for example, a name for Jesus is found every 1.7 verses, and there are 6,607 verses—3, 025 refer to Him. Figuring out which ones Jesus said about Himself would require reading over 3,000 verses without considering those in the Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price.

Many people have studied Jesus’ names and His roles. I read in Wikipedia: “Although the precise difference between a name [such as Jesus] and a title [such as Christ] may be open to interpretation, 198 different names and titles of Jesus in the Bible are listed in Cruden’s Concordance, first published in 1737, and continuously in print ever since.” One of my husband’s hobbies is finding descriptions of Jesus. He has found about nine hundred.

When I typed the Book of Mormon, I counted the names of Jesus that are capitalized. I found eighty-four. Twelve of them are found only in the Book of Mormon: Being (5); Beloved (2); Eternal Head (1); Eternal Judge (1); Holy God (2); Holy Messiah (2); Lord Omnipotent (4); Man (1); One (1); Savior Jesus Christ (2); Son of Righteousness (3); Well Beloved (1).

Here is a sampling of words and phrases Jesus used to describe Himself and how many times the phrase is repeated in scripture:

“I am your God” 1

“I am gracious” 1

“I am merciful” 1

“I am your Lord” 1

“I am your Lord and your Redeemer” 1

“I am the bread of life” 1

“I am the Almighty God” 1

“I am your lawgiver” 1

“I am their Redeemer” 1

“I am the same that leadeth men to all good” 1

“I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world” 1

“I am the true vine”

“I am he who spake in righteousness, mighty to save” 1

“I am the door” 2

“I am no respecter of persons” 2

“I am the light of the world” 2

“I am the God of Abraham” 3

“I am holy” 3

“I am the good shepherd” 3

“I am the Son of God” 3

“I am with thee” 12

“I am Jesus Christ” 15

“I am the first and the last” 19

“I am God” 26

“I am the Lord” 189.

He calls Himself or is referred to by others as:

“Holy Messiah” 2 times

“Redeemer of Israel” 2

“Light of the world” 6

“Good shepherd” 12

“God of Abraham” 26

“Bridegroom” 29

“Lamb of God” 38

“Holy One of Israel” 71

“Savior (Saviour)” 72

“Redeemer” 82

“Son of Man” 230

“Lord of Hosts” 309.

All this finding, reading, and listing were inspiring, but what I found most satisfying was to read the words that Jesus Christ spoke to individuals about who He is.

(To Abraham (Abram): “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.” “Abraham, Abraham, behold my name is Jehovah” (Genesis 15:1). Abraham 1:16).

To Issac, son of Abraham: “I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed” (Genesis 26:24).

To Jacob, son of Issac: “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac.… and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee…. Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name…. I am God Almighty…. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land” (Genesis 28:13-15; 35:10-12; 46:2).

To Moses: “Moses, Moses…. Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground…. I am the Lord… I will hear [you]; for I am gracious…. I am the Lord God that doth sanctify you” (Exodus 3:4-5; 22:27; 31:13).

To the Nation of Israel: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness…. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee…. I am God…. the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King…. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions… and will not remember thy sins…. I am he; I am the first, I also am the last…. and say unto Zion, thou art my people” (Isaiah 41:10-13, 43:15-16, 25; 48:12; 51:16).

To Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations…. I am with thee… to deliver thee…. I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight…. Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 1:5,19, 9:24; 32:27).

To Ezekiel: “I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:19-20).

To Daniel: “O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding… for thou art greatly beloved” (Daniel 9:22-23).

To Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, for the people: “Be strong, all ye people of the land, and work: for I am with you…. My spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not…. Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory” (Haggai 2:4-7).

To Zechariah: “I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof…. If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? …. Behold, I will save my people…. I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” (Zechariah 8:3-8).

To Malachi: “I am a great King, and my name is dreadful among the heathen” (Malachi 1:14).

To the People in and around Jerusalem: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil…. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance…. I am meek and lowly in heart…. I am the Son of God…. I am the resurrection, and the life …. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Matthew 5:17; Luke 5:32; Matthew 11:29; John 10:36; John 11:25).

To John the Revelator: “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last…. I am alive for evermore; and have the keys of hell and of death…. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things…. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Revelation 1:11, 17-18).

Here is a sampling of the “I am” descriptions Jesus gave of himself. Interestingly, I found that many of these statements have eight syllables, so I limited this list to phrases with eight syllables with a few ellipses.

“I am with thee and will bless thee” (Genesis 26:24).

“I am the God of thy father…

Abraham… Isaac… and Jacob” (Exodus 3:6).

“I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26)

“I will hear for I am gracious” (Exodus 22:27

“I am the Lord that hallow you” (Leviticus 22:32).

“I am the Lord…. Keep my sabbaths” (Leviticus 26:1).

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).

“I am the Holy One, your King” (Isaiah 43:15).

“The Lord the King of Israel…

[Your] Redeemer the Lord of hosts

I am the first… I am the last;

And beside me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6).

“I am the Lord that maketh all” (Isaiah 44:24).

“I am the Lord… there is none else” (Isaiah 45:5).

“I am he that comforteth you” (Isaiah 51:12).

“Ye shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 6:14).

“I am… displeased with the heathen” (Zechariah 1:15).

“I am the Lord [and] I change not” (Malachi 3:6).

“I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

“And… whom do ye say that I am” (Mark 8:27)?

“I am come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43).

“Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

“Little children, I am with you” (John 13:33).

“I am Alpha and Omega

the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8).

“I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18).

“I am… the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16).

“I am a God of miracles” (2 Nephi 27:23).

“I am Jesus Christ… Son of God” (3 Nephi 9:15).

“I am the God… of the whole earth” (3 Nephi 11:14).

“Ye have seen… and know that I am” (3 Nephi 12:2).

“I am God; give heed… to my word” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:2).

“I am with you until I come” (Doctrine and Covenants 34:11).

“I am God and I… show wonders” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:8).

I Come

I am He, your Lord Jesus Christ,

Exemplar, the Way, Truth, and Life,

Endless, All-Knowing, Almighty,

True Lord of the Vineyard, I AM.

Mighty One, Savior, Redeemer.

The Light of the World, Lord of Hosts.

Advocate, Peace and Law Giver,

The Great King of Israel, I AM.

Wonderful, Counselor, Holy,

Creator of worlds without end,

Alpha, Omega, Good Shepherd,

Life’s Bread, Living Water, I AM.

Master and Only Begotten,

The High Priest of Good Things to Come,

The Lamb of God, the Messiah,

Jehovah, the Chosen, I AM.

Spread the good news I come quickly

To cleanse a dark world of its sin.

As King and your Lord, I will reign

In beauty build Zion again.

“He which testifieth… saith,

Surely I come quickly. Amen.

Even so, come, [come], Lord Jesus.

(Revelation 22:20).

Seek this Jesus.

https://latterdaysaintmag.com/understanding-jesus-through-his-many-names/

The Hebrew word that will change how your family reads Luke 2

(ldsliving.com 12-16-24)

When reading about the Nativity this holiday season, understanding the Hebrew word hineni helps us better appreciate Mary’s example of discipleship. And shows us how to become better disciples ourselves.

The Meaning of "Hineni"

In the Hebrew Bible, hineni is translated as “Here I am.” The word appears in many places in the Bible and conveys the idea of being ready to say yes to whatever the Lord asks of us.

Gaye Strathearn, Brigham Young University professor of ancient scripture, shared on the Magnify podcast that Mary is an example of what it means to live the definition of hineni. Though Mary would have known about the prophecy of the coming Messiah, as a young woman from the small village of Nazareth, she would not have expected this call to come to her.

“Mary says, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord,’” Gaye explains. “This is saying Mary is giving up her will to the will of God.”

Mary’s willingness to do God’s will, even without knowing how it can happen, shows us that when we don’t feel prepared for what we learn God has in store for us, we can confidently say, “Here I am.”

Gaye further explains, “That is what disciples do. This is how they act. This is how they respond to the invitations from the Lord. ... ‘Here I stand, God, if you need someone, choose me.’”

Other Example of "Hineni" in the Nativity Story

-Joseph-

Joseph had decided to “put [Mary] away privily” but was quick to change course and “do as the angel had bidden him.” When we’re certain one path is the right way, but the Lord steers us in a direction we wouldn’t have chosen, answering with hineni takes courage and faith. Even when we are striving to follow the Lord and do His will, we may be asked to put our trust in Him in ways that stretch us.

Joseph’s example of discipleship shows us that everything will work for our good when we choose to follow Him, even though we may not understand how.

-Shepherds-

Immediately upon receiving the good news of Christ’s birth, “which the Lord hath made known unto [them],” the shepherds responded with, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem.” Their desire to put aside what they were doing to act on what they were called to witness is an example of discipleship.

Answering the Lord’s call with hineni isn’t always convenient. Like the shepherds, it may require us to set aside what we thought was most important and change our plans to better align with what God has in store.

The shepherds’ example of discipleship shows us that when we willingly respond to the Lord, we can witness spiritual growth and beauty beyond our comprehension. “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). Responding with hineni changes us for the better.

-Wise Men-

When the star appeared, the wise men were ready to follow it to the Christ child. Their preparations are an example of discipleship. The Spirit often prepares us in ways we don’t realize until the time comes to act and move forward. This example of discipleship from the wise men shows us that when we answer with hineni in our spiritual preparations to hear the Lord personally, we can be given direction and purpose, leading us to rich spiritual blessings.

The continued pursuit of spiritual direction helps us be instruments in the hands of the Lord. When the wise men “departed into their own country another way” after “being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod” (Matthew 2:12), they show us that continued willingness to seek spiritual direction is a marker of discipleship.

The Magnifying Quality of Responding, "Hineni"

When asked to accept and follow the Lord’s calling of us, like Mary, we may question, “How shall this be?” After responding willingly to the Lord, we can find confidence He will be with us. Why? Gaye reminds us that like Mary, we can trust that the Holy Ghost will magnify our efforts in ways that we “can’t even imagine” when we are “willing to have faith and trust in God to say ‘yes.’"

https://www.ldsliving.com/the-hebrew-word-that-will-change-how-your-family-reads-luke-2/s/12582

Painting the Christ child: Believing artists talk about what it teaches them

(deseret.com 12-24-24)

If you trust ChatGPT, the most commonly painted historical scenes throughout the history of the human family come from the life of Jesus Christ — with the Lord’s earliest moments in the arms of Mary among the most popular.

Approximately 200 years after his death, the first images of Christ showed up in Roman catacombs (235 A.D.) — with the first known image of his birth, “The Adoration of the Magi,” appearing on an arch in the Greek Chapel in Rome’s catacombs of Priscilla sometime over the next 100 years (late third or early fourth century). Portrayals of the wise men appearing before Mary and Jesus, according to one historical source, became “the most common scene of Jesus’ birth and childhood in early Christian art.”

According to one tradition, some early images of Mary with the baby were attempts to mimic a portrait originally drawn during her life by Luke. By the fifth century, Christian art had spread from catacombs to many public spaces, with Mary and baby Jesus continuing as a central theme of Christian art, especially during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. A dizzying array of Nativity scenes have since been painted by countless other artists across centuries and countries — with sculptures, stained glass windows and ceremonial objects also displaying the iconic scene from Christ’s birth.

Latter-day Saint painter Greg Olsen acknowledges that the nativity had been portrayed so many “countless times throughout history,” that virtually “every Christian man, woman and child has already developed a very personal and treasured image in their minds of what that special night might have been like.”

That fact alone made him reluctant to move into such “sacred emotional territory” by trying his own version of these events. Yet as a subject so “quintessential” to Christianity, he says it’s one of those pieces, as a believing artist, that eventually “you just gotta do!”

Rather than trying to be different and unique, Olsen “wanted the image to feel familiar,” including the presence of three wise men. Despite not being “chronologically accurate,” he says they are part of the “magical imagery” surrounding that first Christmas night. “Who wants a Nativity set without any Wise Men?” Olsen added another kneeling woman with a small lamp, leaving her identity up to viewers.

A river of witnesses

Recalling how deeply he felt the birth of his own children was “attended to” by otherworldly beings, artist Brian Kershisnik admits getting so ”carried away” by his “river of witnesses” (which he prefers to “angels”), that there was no room in the stable for farm animals, except for one dog and her pups as sole representatives of animal-kind (the only mortal in the painting who can see the angels).

The title of Brian Kershisnik’s piece, “Nativity,” draws attention to that word’s actual meaning (the process or circumstances of being born). “Notwithstanding the overwhelming significance of Jesus coming, He came very much like you and I came,” he says. “He came into our dirt and sweat and blood and milk. He arrived into our hunger and discomfort, just as everyone else on the planet ever has … It hurt his mother and Him.”

More than the historical reality alone, Kershisnkik says his originally 17-foot long painting was trying to “fathom an emotional reality to the experience,” pointing out that “virtually all of the visual memory we have of Jesus’ birth has come from centuries of this kind of imagining — the event being so very important, the historical details so very scant.” (No animals are mentioned in the text, he points out, with the only reason we think of a stable being the single phrase, “laid in a manger”).

Kershisnik includes midwives despite no scriptural mention, saying, “The chance of a young woman having her first child away from her usual residence and not being attended by women (even strangers) seems to me very unlikely. Women would come. They would hear; they would help. I feel sure of it.”

O Holy Night

Few modern artists have captured the majesty of this night more than Rose Datoc Dall’s Nativity Quadriptych — four pieces that are originally 7 feet by 7 feet all together.

Alanna Naylor remarks on how much highlighting the heavenly hosts add to the image. And Holly Abbe notes that the artist’s use of light “draws my attention to different areas in the picture.”

Dall admits, “I have a thing for moonlight,” in response to Shannon Sidwell Knight’s observations that she had “mastered the subtleties of moonlight” in the painting, in a way that brought tears to her eyes.

Mary and Joseph together

While attempting to facilitate viewers’ own witnessing of the Savior’s birth, these artists naturally feature prominently the original witnesses in the flesh - starting with Mary and Joseph.

About her depiction of the nativity, “Love’s Pure Light,” Lee recounts to LDS Living feeling guided to colors and lighting that “draws the eye straight to baby Jesus.” In the painting itself, she highlights how each person’s hands, including Mary’s and Joseph’s, are pointing to the Savior.

Lee describes wanting viewers to “feel the beauty” in this pivotal moment — “Can you imagine being there, witnessing this beautiful moment? What did they feel? What did they say to each other?”

As part of this, she tries to capture the “love expressed between Mary and Joseph” as their momentous calling continues — looking at one another, as if to say, “Together we can do this.”

“I love how Mary is looking up at Joseph, full of love and trust for her husband,” the artist adds, pointing to how he holds the baby so his wife can rest, while she also places her hands gently under his, “helping him as he holds not only his new baby son, but his Savior.”

In all the colorful paintings Yongsung Kim creates, he says, “not only is everyone in the presence of Jesus Christ smiling, but Jesus is always smiling back at them.” Even the animals are “glad to be in His presence.” That includes his painting, “Immanuel.”

Reflecting on his painting, Kim wrote to the Deseret News that so many people can relate to the “special joy of having a child,” suggesting, “there is nothing else like it” as we are “filled with such love and great hope for who our children will become.” Kim sought to capture in this image of Mary and Joseph being “aware of the vast impact that this child, the Baby Jesus, will have on the world ”

Mary and Jesus

While Jesus is rightfully central to most depictions, some artists have sought to draw more attention to what Mary’s experience would have been in that moment. Few have done so more effectively than Liz Lemon Swindle in her paintings, “She Shall Bring Forth a Son” and “Be It Unto Me.”

“I could probably paint a hundred painting of Mary and her baby,” Swindle writes about the pieces. “The relationship of a mother and a child is not easily explained in hundreds of words, but it comes immediately to our understanding with a picture.

“How great is God’s plan that allows mere mortals to bring His children into the world, care for them, and help them make their way back to Him. How amazing that he trusts us when so much is at stake.

“I remember a moment after the birth of my first child when everyone had left and I was alone with my son for the first time” Swindle says about “Be It Unto Me.” “I looked at him lying on the bed and realized I was responsible for this new life. How could I teach him everything he needed? I was terrified.

“I held him close and the two of us cried. Those were tears of fear and tears of joy, but most of all they were tears of love.” Then she asks, “Was it different for Mary on that night in Bethlehem? Like any first-time mother she must have felt all the fear, all the joy, and all of the love that comes with a child.”

Tender shepherds

About her 2010 Nativity, Annie Henrie Nader writes of this “incredible moment for those who attended to have been able to see the Savior in those first early moments,” with the shepherds reflecting “our awe at the condescension of the Son of God.”

Eva Timothy, whose painting, “Unto Us A Son is Given,” is featured at the top of the article, created another image of a diminutive shepherd peaking over the edge of the manger, “Tender Shepherd” (a sweet theme continued in Annie Henrie Nader’s “Approaching the Manger” and “Little Shepherd Boy”).

In reflecting on the image, Eva Timothy writes about trying to capture the “wonder and joy” we can approach God with — inspired by a 7-year-old in sacrament meeting drawing pictures. Her first reaction was to dismiss the girl’s distractions with an absentminded, “That’s nice,” until she saw what the girl was writing, “Jesus is gentle. I love Jesus. I love you.”

“There was more of wisdom and love — more of Jesus — on those sheets of paper in childlike scrawl than in most sermons I can recall,” she reflects. “Little children seem to have a direct line to heaven.

“Is it any wonder that the heart of the Good Shepherd is so tightly knit with those of our tender little shepherds?”

A first temple visit

One of the most iconic images of the young child presented in the temple to Simeon is Greg Olsen’s “A Light to the Gentiles.” The artist described how painting the scene “forever changed” the way he thought about Jesus and other scriptural characters. “It brought an endearment and connection with those individuals that I had not experienced before.”

While taking photos of models for the painting, Olsen described how the poor little baby had “had enough” and started crying vigorously for his real mother a few yards away. “I watched as she held him close, rocked him gently and whispered into his ear, calming his little cries for rescue.”

That prompted Olsen to reflect, “I wonder if the baby Jesus ever acted like this?”

“It sounds rather trite and silly but I had never before imagined the baby Jesus crying,” he says — recalling how he had grown up with images of a smiling baby in a manger “looking heavenward in a sort of detached bliss.”

It was touching to Olsen that the “Christ child may have come into this world exhibiting some of the same ‘humanness’ as children.” Not diminishing his divinity in any way, he says that this did “make him more real to me.”

As Olsen was able to relate to scriptural characters as “real, living, breathing (and sometimes crying) people — people who perhaps had more in common with me and my family and friends than the romanticized versions I had previously imagined,” he experienced a “subtle yet profound shift” in how he relates to them.

Growing up

There is much less known about what happens between Jesus’ birth and the family’s flight to Egypt, and the ministry he began 30 years later. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man,” Luke writes.

That’s all we know. So, perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s much less painting about the same interim period. Rose Datoc Dall’s 33 other images focus on the early years of the Savior try to explore those momentous years.

Along with other glimpses of Mary carrying baby Jesus and images soon after his birth, Dall has created less common scenes from when he was a young child, such as “Hope of Israel” below.

As a young mother painting about the Savior, Dall writes that her “driving thought” behind all these images involving the young boy Savior was the thought, “what would it have been like to have the sacred responsibility of raising the Messiah” — including for Joseph (see “Joseph and Boy Jesus” below). Greg Olsen has also created glimpses of Mary and the young boy, including “Consider the Lilies” and “Just For a Moment.”

Much can be said about the larger take-aways from these iconic early events in Christ’s life. For one, “our chances for reconciliation were all but lost when … this happened,” Brian Kershisnik says. “He said He would come. Then impossibly and improbably, He did, but not as we would have expected.”

Although the “epic drama of redemption is far from over,” Kershisnik added, that message remains sure: “He came. He came. Thank God, He came.”

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2024/12/24/painting-the-christ-child-believing-artists-talk-about-what-it-teaches-them/

Responding to the call of a Prophet: More missionaries serving, more people joining the Church

(thechurchnews.com 12-7-24 

The number of missionaries serving right now in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reached a high mark of around 80,000.

Why a missionary serves is contained in the missionary purpose: to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost.

“When it gets into a person’s heart, it changes what they do and how they look at other people, that every individual out there in the world is a child of God, and we can bring them back home through making covenants,” said Elder W. Mark Bassett, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Missionary Department.

And people are responding to that invitation, said David N. Weidman, managing director of the Missionary Department.

“Every region of the world is seeing an acceleration in the growth of convert baptisms,” Weidman said.

Not only are people accepting the invitation to enter into the covenant of baptism, they are also continuing to progress along the covenant path, Elder Bassett said.

This good news comes at a time when people may feel like they only see bad news — particularly on social media.

“But the reality is more people are coming to the Church of Jesus Christ than we’ve seen in decades,” Elder Bassett said.

New missionary preparation course

Elder Bassett and Weidman joined the Church News podcast on Dec. 3 to talk about missionary work — including announcing new resources.

A new Churchwide missionary preparation course, based on “Preach My Gospel,” is coming in January 2025 for parents, wards, stakes, seminaries, institutes and others to help young men and young women prepare to serve missions.

“This course helps teachers teach in a way that will be engaging and will allow the young people to participate. And we really feel great about it and think it’ll be a great resource for our teachers that are in these classes,” Elder Bassett said.

The course can be done as a self-study program as well, with modules, visual content, go-and-do activities and more.

“The better prepared a missionary is, the faster they can jump in and feel like they’re really being a blessing to others,” Elder Bassett said. “And it helps them to understand, when they go to the missionary training center, what the experience will be like and what they’ll be focusing on.”

Changes to missionary work

Recently, the First Presidency announced that single senior men can now serve full-time missions. And last year, service missionaries were integrated into teaching missions.

This has changed the service missionaries, the teaching missionaries and the culture of the mission overall, Weidman said.

Missionaries used to knock on doors and be invited into homes to teach. Now missionaries are finding much more success inviting people to church on Sunday.

Elder Bassett said the quicker individuals go to a sacrament meeting, the more engaged they will be in learning. Members are there to welcome them, and they find friends who are their neighbors.

Weidman said when people come to sacrament meeting, the Spirit can convert them and change their hearts.

“We found tremendous, tremendous change in people’s lives just by attending one meeting in the church,” Weidman said.

Activity sharing

Church members are a key part of the work of love, share, invite, Weidman said, and it doesn’t have to be complicated; it is about sharing beliefs and faith in normal and natural ways.

A new tool announced in the leadership meeting of October 2024 general conference is called “activity sharing.” When a ward council has an activity or sacrament meeting or anything that is already happening, they can put that into their Church calendar, and then it will be populated on a website. It makes inviting simple, Elder Bassett said.

For example, a ward in Texas posted a Halloween trunk-or-treat activity that was then shared on social media. Neighbors found the activity and attended. The response was so great, the ward ran out of food. Then several of those families came to church on Sunday.

Weidman said in North America in particular, well over 50% of those who are baptized into the Church come through use of technology of one type or another, such as social media posts or digital ads in their feeds.

A remarkable season

Elder Bassett said Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are fully engaged in the work.

“Recent converts are staying. More people are being baptized, more missionaries are serving, and that’s why we had to create 36 new missions. And now we have more missionaries than we had estimated, and it’s likely that will continue as more people respond to the call of a Prophet. It’s just a blessing to witness.”

Weidman said it is a remarkable season in the history of the Church. ”I think all of us feel, in many ways, that we’re witnessing miracles on a day-in-and-day-out basis.”

https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2024/12/07/missionary-work-changes-prep-course-sacrament-meeting-invitations/

Why Protestants Are Wrong About The Bible - Sola Scriptura Debunked

A Puzzling Mystery in the Last Chapters of Mark

(by Daniel C. Peterson latterdaysaintmag.com 5-1-24)

The two oldest reasonably complete ancient manuscripts of the Bible are Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus.  Both of them date to the fourth century after Christ.  Curiously, though (and, these days, rather scandalously), neither of them includes the familiar ending for the gospel of Mark.  In fact, both Vaticanus and Sinaiticus conclude Mark’s gospel at 16:8—which leaves the women at the tomb fearful and confused:  “And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”

This seems—to put it mildly—an extraordinarily strange ending for a book that announces itself as the “euangelion,” the “Gospel” or “good news,” of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1).  After all, Mark 16:8 is simply not very good news.  And it’s difficult to imagine that a writer who began on such a positive note would conclude so negatively, not only failing to include an appearance of the risen Christ but leaving the women at the tomb terrified and perplexed.  Some writers have even gone so far as to claim that the possible absence of verses 16:9-20 from the genuine text of Mark demonstrates that the very first Christians didn’t even teach that Jesus rose from the dead.

Be that as it may, most contemporary academic biblical scholars have come to believe that verses 16:9-20 were not originally part of Mark’s gospel.  One scholar, in fact, says that he doesn’t own a single commentary published within the past century that treats 16:9-20 as actually belonging to Mark.

They cite many reasons for their opinion beyond the mere fact that Vaticanus and Sinaiticus omit the traditional conclusion.  For one reason, the Greek style and vocabulary of 16:9-20 seem to be different from the rest of Mark.  And several early Christian authors appear to have been aware of manuscripts that lacked those verses.  Moreover, the transition between 16:8 and 16:9 is notably awkward.  It’s odd.  The women who are so prominent in 16:1-8 appear to have been forgotten.  Although she had been mentioned just a few verses before, Mary Magdalene is reintroduced to readers as if she is unknown.

Additionally, while the accounts given in Matthew and Luke seem to track with and to follow Mark up through 16:8—Mark is widely assumed to be the earliest of the four canonical gospels, and perhaps a basis for the later Matthew and Luke—they diverge thereafter.

However, a small minority of scholars continues to argue for the authenticity of Mark 16:9-20.  They point out, for instance, that approximately 1653 ancient manuscripts of the gospel of Mark contain 16:9-20.  That’s 99.8% of all surviving ancient manuscripts of Mark.  Furthermore, three second-century authors—Irenaeus, Tatian, and St. Justin Martyr—appear to quote from Mark 16:9-20, and many more authors from the third-fifth centuries do the same.  Which means, clearly, that they must have been familiar with at least some version of the gospel’s “long ending.”  The dissenting scholars also note that there are only three manuscripts that actually end at 16:8—the two already mentioned from the AD 300s, and a third that dates from the twelfth century.

Let’s assume, though, just for a moment and for purposes of argument, that Mark 16:9-20 actually is an independent document that was grafted onto Mark’s original gospel at some later date.  Clearly, that hypothetical free-floating document must have been written very anciently since, as we’ve just observed, it was known to writers as early as the second century AD—that is, in the 100s.  There is, thus, a bright side to the idea that it might not be original:  In that case, we might view it as something of a fifth New Testament gospel, a distinct and independent witness to the resurrection of Christ.

But, a critic might object, it wouldn’t be a fifth witness to the resurrection of Christ if the shorter version of Mark contains no reference to Christ’s resurrection!  And that, of course, is true.  However, it simply is not true that Mark never refers to Christ’s emergence from the tomb.  Here are six examples from the universally accepted text of the second gospel:

“And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (8:31)

“And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.”  (9:9-10)

“And after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.”  (9:31)

“And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.”  (10:34)

“But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.” (14:28)

“And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.  But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.” (16:6-7)

With such prophecies in mind, it’s important to observe that Mark characteristically likes to illustrate the fulfillment of Jesus’ predictions.  New Testament scholar Robert Gundry cites numerous examples of such fulfilled prophecies in the gospel: “They include the seeing of God’s kingdom as having come with power at the Transfiguration, the finding of a colt, some disciples’ being met by a man carrying a jar of water, the showing of the Upper Room, the betrayal of Jesus by one of the Twelve, the scattering of the rest of the Twelve, the denials of Jesus by Peter, and of course the Passion.”

Having created so strong an expectation in the minds of the readers and hearers of his gospel that Jesus would rise from the dead, it seems improbable that Mark essentially dropped the subject. Why would he close his account without sharing an actual sighting of the resurrected Christ?

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John parallel each other in their accounts of Jesus’ death, his burial, and the empty tomb.  But, while the resurrected Jesus appears in Matthew, Luke, and John, he does not appear in Mark if its final verses are jettisoned.  That seems a glaring omission.

Some scholars who believe 16:9-20 to be a later addition to Mark argue nonetheless that 16:8 isn’t really the gospel’s last verse.  And they remark that it’s easy to imagine reasons why the last verses of Mark might have been lost.  For example, the eminent British New Testament scholar N. T. Wright suggests that the original ending (and perhaps the original beginning) of the gospel might have been destroyed in a manuscript that was an ancestor to both Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.  How?  Simply through the ordinary wear and tear to which ancient manuscripts would have been subjected.  The outer portion of a scroll would be particularly exposed to constant handling and to the environment around it.  Moreover, several endings exist among the ancient manuscripts of Mark’s gospel, which suggests that other ancient readers too might have found 16:8 an odd ending.

One very short supplemental conclusion to the gospel, found in eight ancient manuscripts right after Mark 16:8, reads as follows:  “But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus himself (appeared to them and) sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.”

And, after all, Matthew and Luke completed the story by recounting appearances of the risen Lord.  So why would Mark have considered 16:8 an adequate ending?

Whether or not we choose to believe that Mark 16:9-20 belongs to the original gospel text, there is one conclusion that definitely cannot be justified by the available historical and textual facts:  Some critics of Christianity, combining the facts (a) that Mark’s gospel is commonly reckoned the earliest of the four New Testament gospels with the possible fact (b) that the traditional closing of Mark may have been added later, make the leap that, therefore, the first Christian preaching did not include the resurrection of Jesus.  Therefore, they insinuate or even triumphantly declare, Christ’s resurrection was a later invention.

But this claim cannot be sustained.

One of the arguments advanced by those who affirm the authenticity of 16:9-20 as the conclusion of Mark’s gospel points out that, as far as we can tell, no ancient critic of Christianity seems to have noticed Mark’s failure to describe the resurrection of Jesus.  Some of those critics, though, were quite familiar with the texts of the New Testament.  Why didn’t they make a fuss about Mark’s omission?  Many modern opponents of Christianity certainly do!

An obvious explanation for their silence might be that the copies of Mark’s gospel that were available to them didn’t lack 16:9-20—or that, at the least, those manuscripts contained some sort of text that did indeed describe the experiences of the earliest disciples with the risen Christ.

For such experiences were already well-known.  Many New Testament specialists now recognize that the New Testament contains seemingly “creedal” or “creed-like” texts—formulaic passages, that is, that seem to preserve prior statements of basic, essential, and absolutely early Christian teaching.  I give you one example:

Discussing 1 Corinthians 1, Gordon Fee wrote that “it is generally agreed that in vv. 3–5 Paul is repeating a very early creedal formulation that was common to the entire church”:

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

When did Paul write 1 Corinthians?  The letter is variously dated to AD 53, AD 54, or AD 57.  Clearly, though, he had been in Corinth prior to his writing of that letter.  When?  Paul’s first visit to Corinth, which lasted about eighteen months, is commonly placed at AD 49-51.

And he says in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that he delivered to the Corinthians what he himself had already “received,” presumably before his visit there.  So it must have been prior to AD 51 or perhaps even prior to AD 49.  (Which is to say, well under two decades after the crucifixion of Christ, and well within the range of living memory.)  And that puts the teaching well before the likely composition of the gospel of Mark, which is generally placed at about AD 70:

Commenting on 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the late Father Joseph Fitzmyer, an eminent New Testament scholar, observed that “Paul repeats the basic Christian kērygma, ‘proclamation,’ which eventually developed into the gospel tradition and gave us the four canonical Gospels”

I have certainly not covered all of the relevant data or arguments in this brief article.  For further reading, see Julie M. Smith, “The Ending of Mark’s Gospel,” Brigham Young University New Testament Commentary (https://www.byunewtestamentcommentary.com/the-ending-of-marks-gospel/).  N. T. Wright comments briefly on the subject in a YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZW9g-kmg5c.  Nicholas P. Lunn makes a strong argument in his 2014 book, “The Original Ending of Mark: A New Case for the Authenticity of Mark 16:9-20.”

https://latterdaysaintmag.com/a-puzzling-mystery-in-the-last-chapter-of-mark/

The Second Coming of the Lord by Gerald N. Lund

Do we recognize the signs of the Savior’s Second Coming that are happening today? Originally published in 1971, The Coming of the Lord, by Gerald N. Lund, became an instant bestseller and has remained continuously in print for nearly fifty years. Now this trusted resource has been fully updated and rewritten to reflect the latest prophetic teachings and a grow­ing sense of urgency as the Lord hastens His work. As Elder Lund explains, “God has spoken, is speaking, and will continue to speak to us through the Spirit and through His servants the prophets. This is a gift of inestimable worth to those who live in the last days. Though the title this book carries is The Second Coming of the Lord, it is much more than a book that focuses only on the actual return of Jesus Christ. It is an examination of the prophecies about the Second Coming and the events leading up to it.” This new edition includes: Hundreds of the most recent statements from prophets, seers, and revelators on the signs of the times and the Second Coming, not available in the original publication. Extensive new commentary and scriptural insights gleaned from decades of the author’s gospel teaching and study. An in-depth examination of prophecies that have already been fulfilled, including those that have occurred since the original publication. An uplifting view on why we should look forward to the Lord’s return with anticipation rather than anxiety. A discussion on how to prepare ourselves and our families for what will be the greatest event still to come in this world. As we study and come to understand the words of ancient and modern prophets, we can learn how to “abide the day of his coming” (D&C 61:39). More than simply “surviving” or “enduring” the day of His coming and the events leading up to it, we will be able to look forward to the Savior’s return with peace, calm, rest, and safety.

https://www.deseretbook.com/product/5244177.html?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=blog&utm_id=bl240828-12411

Exhibition traces history of Mormon village in northeastern Poland

This article really caught my eye since the original name of this blog was Mormon Village.

-----

A new exhibition in northeastern Poland explores the history of a unique local village that was once home to Mormons.

(from polskieradio.pl 10-17-24)

The exhibition in Zełwągi, a village near the popular tourist resort of Mikołajki in Poland's northeastern Mazuria region, aims to keep the memory of its former Mormon community alive.

"We’re the generation that’s ready to explore this history," said Joanna Pruszyńska, one of the organizers and a member of the Zełwągi Rural Women's Association.

"Earlier generations were too scarred by the past, but now people are genuinely interested in who lived here before us," she added. "Local history is much more popular now than it was 20-30 years ago."

The story of Zełwągi’s Mormon community dates back to 1920 when a 23-year-old resident, Friedrich Fischer, traveled to Berlin, where he encountered members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons.

Upon his return to Mazuria in 1923, Fischer and six other villagers were baptized in Lake Inulec, marking the beginning of the Mormon presence in the village.

By 1926, the number of Mormons in the area had grown to 40, attracting missionaries from the United States and Germany.

At the time, Mazuria was part of East Prussia, making Zełwągi the only Mormon community in Germany.

The exhibition highlights the simple, close-knit lifestyle of the Mormons.

According to a letter from a former resident displayed in the exhibition, the Mormons were known for their modesty and community spirit: "They didn’t proselytize or try to convert their neighbors. Their religiosity was private, seen only in their chapel, but their kindness and integrity were apparent in their daily interactions."

The Mormon community in Zełwągi dwindled by the late 1970s when most of the congregation left for Germany.

Their chapel, which had various uses over the years, including as a wedding hall and storage space, became a Roman Catholic church in 1982. To this day, services are held in the chapel, where a painting of Christ, left by the Mormons, still hangs.

Marcin Kulinicz, a representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, attended the exhibition's opening.

"This place is important to us as a symbol of our long-standing presence in Poland," he said. "Our church members often visit Zełwągi, enjoying both beautiful nature and the connection to the local community." 

In addition to the history of the Mormon village, the exhibition features a prewar map of Zełwągi with a list of residents and the story of a roadside cross erected in secret during the communist era, in 1961.

Dozens of photographs from the village’s past are also on display.

The exhibition is part of a broader project called "Weaving Stories," organized by the Zełwągi Rural Women’s Association and the Hydro-polis Foundation, with support from the National Centre for Culture's "Etnopolska" initiative.

It will be open to the public on the next four Sundays, from October 20 to November 10, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the village's former school.

https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7789/Artykul/3436601,exhibition%C2%A0traces%C2%A0history-of-mormon-village-in-northeastern-poland

Historic Site is Dedicated in Iowa

Changes In The Interior Of The Salt Lake Temple

(sic et non blog)

Many people care deeply about the Salt Lake Temple.  My wife and I are among them.  Although neither of us grew up in Utah, that is the temple in which we chose to be married.  As I write, looking up, I see a very large framed photograph of the Salt Lake Temple hanging on the wall opposite me, showing it on a winter night with snow.  The temple in Salt Lake has long been an iconic image of the overall Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it has richly merited that status: When my wife and I lived in Egypt shortly after our marriage, we had a beautiful photograph on our living room wall of the Salt Lake Temple.  It was a view from the south southwest, showing the temple all aglow in the rays of the setting sun.  One day, a little boy whom we knew and who had been born and raised there in Cairo came to visit us.  Wordlessly, he stood and looked up at that photograph.  We hadn’t told him what it was.  Allahu akbar, he said.  “God is most great!”

We mourn some of the aspects of the Salt Lake Temple that are now irretrievably lost.  But we felt the same way about the Logan Utah Temple when it was renovated quite a number of years ago.  Once, during that renovation, my wife and I stood by it and realized, to our shock, that it was literally hollow.  There was, so far as we could see, nothing whatever within its walls.  Looking through the window nearest us, we could see up through a window at a higher level on the opposite side of the building and toward its further end.  And, when the temple was re-opened, we were disappointed to see that its interior looked much the way other temples of the 1970s and 1980s looked; very little was left of its 1880s flavor.

Later, though, I happened to be speaking with a member of the Logan temple presidency.  In the course of our conversation, I lamented the gutting of the building.  But he told me something then that really helped me:  When they began their renovations, he said, they discovered that the floors of the temple were literally dangerous.  It was something of a miracle that they had not collapsed.  They had to be replaced.  It had to be hollowed out and re-reengineered.

The unavoidable fact is that the Salt Lake Temple is going to be very different inside (and outside, and in important ways that won’t be visible) from what it was.  In some respects, people who knew it before and who remember it may find it unrecognizable.  And that is indisputably a loss.  Many will no doubt regret that more could not be preserved or, at least, restored to what they recall, and that so much history will have vanished.  A renovation on this scale does damage.  There’s no question about that.

But a few key points should be kept in mind by faithful Latter-day Saints.

-First of all, temples are not museums.  They are very often beautiful, and many of them are historic.  But historic preservation is far from their primary purpose.

-This renovation will make the Salt Lake Temple significantly more accessible to people with physical and other limitations.   It will, for example, not require standing up and moving from room to room.  It will feature an improved design for elevators.  It will offer state-of-the-art accommodations for the hearing- and visually-impaired.  It will be equipped to offer ordinances in scores of languages.  Imagine what this will mean for non-English-speaking Saints who visit the headquarters of their church!

-The renovated temple will allow more work to be done — with, for instance, two baptistries (not just one), and significantly more rooms for ordinances.  And this, of course, is the real purpose of the building.

-While it will be new, the interior of the temple has been designed to honor the original Victorian style.  Not all of the previous renovations — and there have been previous renovations; this is not the first — have maintained the temple’s stylistic consistency.  This renovation has an eye to the future, yes, seeking to ensure that (as Brigham Young hoped) the Salt Lake Temple will last a thousand years.  But it also seeks very much to honor the past.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2024/09/changes-in-the-interior-of-the-salt-lake-temple.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawFdtKxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXdgj14w7lGhpoeZOVZKYJzCR0Z_3JP8QXVl9tzgK8dyDizNfajy5fIkYw_aem_XRAbH_kXgsS4cTXiGllqWQ

Harmonizing Sacred Past and Future: A Look at the Salt Lake Temple’s Interior Renovation

(newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org)

When visitors enter the newly renovated Salt Lake Temple, they will step into a holy space that honors the pioneer past and better accommodates the worship of God for more people for generations to come.

Church Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson has promised that all upgrades to the temple “will emphasize and highlight the life, ministry and mission of Jesus Christ in His desire to bless every nation, kindred, tongue and people.”

Honoring History and Moving into the Future

Preserving as much of the interior as possible while protecting the temple against earthquakes meant that substantial changes were needed. Even so, the completed temple will feel more consistent and more like the original Victorian-era temple completed in 1893.

Some portions removed in the current renovation were not original to the temple. This house of the Lord has been renovated several times since its original dedication — including in the 1930s, the 1960s, and the 1980s. The most extensive renovation took place from 1962 to 1966. At that time, many historic elements were painted over or removed.

Fortunately, many portions of the temple with particular historical and spiritual significance are being preserved and restored. These include the celestial room, two original sealing rooms, the large assembly room on the fifth floor, the four stone spiral staircases in each corner tower and most of the terrestrial room.

Additionally, exhaustive historic research was done to discover historic patterns and designs original to the temple. As part of the current renovation, these designs have been incorporated in carpets, draperies, fabric, paint, rugs and trims.

“The renovated temple will feel more consistent and more like the original Salt Lake Temple from beginning to end,” Bill Williams, the Church’s director of architecture said. “As soon as you walk through the doors of the north entry pavilion, it will look like a Victorian-era temple, which was never the case after previous renovations. I think for most people it will feel like, ‘Wow. Now it feels like the Salt Lake Temple from stem to stern.’”

Interior Changes and Expansion

Some elements could not be restored. The process of strengthening the temple and making it easier and safer for everyone to use required reinforcement throughout the building, changes to the floorplan and the removal of many portions of the historic interior.

For example, the complexity of the seismic upgrade required the removal of the staircase connecting the temple’s first and second floors. Many interior walls were made from unreinforced masonry which meant that those walls also had to be removed. The murals in the endowment, or instruction rooms, were hand-painted on plaster and were not saved.

Historians, preservationists, and conservators led efforts to document and preserve sections of the murals and other historic components. These artifacts were then photographed, and portions will be preserved in the Church History Library.

“While we were not able to keep all elements of the original temple, it’s also true that the Salt Lake Temple is a living building — with a past and a future,” said Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé. “We have done everything possible to preserve this holy edifice. I rejoice that this significant renovation is creating spaces for future generations to have their own sacred experiences.”

Improving Capacity and Accessibility

Besides seismic safety, another primary purpose of the renovation was improving capacity and accessibility. These efforts to allow the temple to serve more people necessitated more changes to the interior.

The underground addition to the temple has an additional 100,000 square feet. The temple will have two baptistries instead of one. The original cast-iron oxen are being restored and placed in one of the new baptistries. It will have 22 sealing rooms (where marriages occur), up from 13. It will have five instruction rooms with increased seating space and one veil room.

The renovated temple will be like many other temples with single-room video presentations, available in more than 90 languages.

Improvements are also being made to enhance accessibility. New elevators (some with higher capacity) have been added throughout the building. Stairs and ramps have been eliminated between instruction rooms. The instruction rooms will have high-quality audio/visual systems for support of different languages and patrons with hearing impairment. As is the case in other temples, the endowment ordinance now has subtitles.

Lighting and mechanical systems are being upgraded to improve patron comfort and eliminate distractions. More efficient utilities, such as new heating, air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems are also being added.

The current renovation remedies navigational issues created in the 1960s. The new design introduces a central corridor system in the north addition that will help patrons more easily move throughout the temple.

“We want to create a positive, seamless experience for everyone who visits the temple,” said Andy Kirby, director of the Church’s historic temple renovations. “We removed all 1960s infrastructure, with its low ceilings and confusing corridors. The new central corridor, with its skylight view of the temple, makes it easier to find your way.”

The increased capacity and improved accessibility allow more sessions to occur each day — and people from around the world to participate. The prophet Isaiah foretold that many will come to this house of the Lord from all nations (see Isaiah 2:2–3).

The Purpose of Temples

A temple is a place where loving family relationships can be connected by covenant for eternity. Latter-day Saints worship in temples to find greater peace and understanding of God’s plan of eternal happiness. Each of these holy houses reflects God’s great concern for all His children.

“As you are true to your covenants made in the temple, you will be strengthened by [Christ’s] power,” said President Nelson, who has announced 168 new temples in his time as Church president. “Then, when spiritual earthquakes occur, you will be able to stand strong because your spiritual foundation is solid and immovable.”

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/salt-lake-temple-interior-renovation-harmonizing-sacred-past-future

Refugee walks 728 miles to be baptized after reading Book of Mormon

(thechurchnews.com 8-28-24)

In his vision of the tree of life in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi started out “in a dark and dreary waste” (1 Nephi 8:7). Praying for mercy from God, Lehi came across a tree “whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (verse 10). After Lehi tasted of the fruit, he began searching for his family, desiring them to “partake of it also” (verse 12).

Lehi’s vision of the tree of life is one of many different witnesses of Christ found in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This vision also tracks onto the life of Amos Makulu, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Makulu fled from his home in 2006, finding safety in a refugee camp in Lugufu, Tanzania. While there, he met a man named Mchumbe, who also fled to safety from Nairobi, Kenya. Makulu became friends with Mchumbe and asked him if he had anything that Makulu could read while they were in the refugee camp. Mchumbe gave Makulu a copy of the Book of Mormon.

Mchumbe had been given the Book of Mormon by missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nairobi, Kenya, and took it with him when he fled his home. However, Mchumbe had lost interest in the Book of Mormon and was looking for someone else to give it to.

According to Elder David Olson, a missionary who worked with Makulu, Makulu knew that the Book of Mormon was true the moment he first read it. He had been a preacher for Jehovah’s Witnesses before fleeing his home, but upon reading the Book of Mormon with another friend from the refugee camp, Denis Akulu, they both “started to learn, and we were very happy,” Makulu said.

Like Lehi before him, Makulu started to share what brought him so much happiness with others in the refugee camp, building a “family” of interested learners. While the Book of Mormon was an excellent teaching tool, he and “his family of 11 people” had many questions. “We had to find out the answers to those questions with the missionaries and Church leaders,” Makulu said.

Through the use of letters, Makulu and his family got in touch with the Kenya Nairobi Mission and spoke with missionaries. According to Makulu, they learned “many things about the gospel” over the next six years and wanted to be baptized and join the Church. However, the closest congregation to their location was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, roughly 1,171 kilometers or about 728 miles away.

Makulu was undaunted by the distance. After he was unable to secure plane tickets, Makulu and two of his family members decided to walk across the country from Lugufu to Dar es Salaam. Makulu and his friends were baptized in 2014; shortly afterward, Makulu immigrated to the United States, settling in Buffalo, New York. He became one of the first Church members in the area who speaks Swahili, though he also knows French and Kibembe, a language spoken commonly in the DRC.

Elder Olson and Elder Abocha Ebakyelo, two Swahili-speaking missionaries serving in the New York Buffalo Mission, have worked extensively with Makulu as he has shared his testimony with those around him.

“From what I see in Amos, he just has such a passion,” Elder Olson said. “We’ve been working with him towards creating a branch with our Swahili group.”

Elder Ebakyelo agreed: “He is a good man, and he’s very comfortable with the gospel. We as missionaries have worked with him a couple times as he joins in on our lessons.”

There are currently 46 Swahili-speaking members of the Church who meet together, with 43 more people who are interested in attending. Makulu knows almost all of them and regularly attends missionary lessons with people, sometimes surprising the missionaries themselves when he shows up.

“He knows the gospel really well,” Elder Ebakyelo said.

“He knows that through the Lord anything is possible and that the group will be able to grow into a strong branch,” Elder Olson added.

Makulu has remained in touch with his friends in Africa, who have spread across Tanzania, Kenya and the DRC. “It has become a large group,” he said. He also said that “more than 30 families” living in Africa have been baptized and joined the Church.

“After knowing the truth of the restored gospel, I have changed, and my testimony has changed,” Makulu said. He said he plans to study “until I know this gospel fully,” and he encourages everyone to learn and “know the truth about our faith.”

“Our faith is good, and we have love for you and everyone,” Makulu said.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2024/08/28/refugee-walks-728-miles-to-be-baptized-after-reading-book-of-mormon/

Who was Joseph Smith's sister?

The Last Duel’ Review: A Medieval Epic in the Age of #MeToo

At this point everyone knows I am a sucker for anything having to do with the Templar Knights, or even anything from that time period. 

So I have to put up a quick post about the 2021 film "The Last Duel." 

For one reason or another I was never able to get to the theater to see it when it was out and I wish I had, it would have been cool to see on the big screen. Let this be a lesson, if you ever think something might look cool on the big screen do what you have to do to get there and see it, otherwise you will be kicking yourself in the fanny for missing it like I am now. 

But, I have now watched it a few times on BluRay and I love it. I've begged my wife a few times to watch it with me but she hasn't, probably for two reasons. First, she can't stand Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, lol. Why, I don't know but she has never liked those two. And secondly, probably because the film is rated R. 

And I know, I really shouldn't be watching rated R movies either, but I guess it is just one of my weaknesses. (Also, how can I pass up a movie about knights fighting it out, I used to dress up and pretend I was a knight when I was a kid. And my paternal grandmother's maiden name was Knight, so I am decended from knights.)

Plus, there is a little Templar twist at the end that I wasn't expecting so it just put a cherry on top of a film I already really enjoyed. 

-‘The Last Duel’ Review: A Medieval Epic in the Age of #MeToo -

Ridley Scott and his all-star cast rip the moldy fig leaf off chivalric romance in a he-said, he-said, she-said spectacle.

(nytimes.com October 13, 2021)

It’s no surprise that Ridley Scott, who’s made his share of swaggering manly epics, has directed what may be the big screen’s first medieval feminist revenge saga. In addition to his love for men with mighty swords, Scott has an affinity for tough women, women who are prickly and difficult and thinking, not bodacious cartoons. They’re invariably lovely, of course, but then everything in Ridley Scott’s dream world has an exalted shimmer.

Even the mud and blood gleam in “The Last Duel,” an old-style spectacle with a #MeToo twist. Based on the fascinating true story of a lady, a knight and a squire in 14th-century France, the story was big news back in the day and has been retrofitted to contemporary sensibilities by Scott and an unusual troika of screenwriters: Nicole Holofcener and two of the movie’s stars, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Together, they tear the moldy fig leaf off a Hollywood staple, the Arthurian-style romance — with its chivalric code, knightly virtues and courtly manners — to reveal a mercenary, transactional world of men, women and power. The result is righteously anti-romantic.

Damon, uglied up with slashing facial scars and a comically abject mullet, plays Jean de Carrouges, a nobleman down on his luck who makes ends meet by fighting on behalf of the king. The machinations start early and soon go into overdrive after he marries a younger woman, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), who brightens his life but doesn’t do much for his sour disposition or unfortunate grooming. Vainglorious and petty, his lips screwed into a pucker, Jean settles down with Marguerite but seethes over his friend turned antagonist, Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver, a juiced-up Basil Rathbone), a social climber aligned with Count Pierre, a licentious power player (Affleck, in debauched glory).

It’s a juicy lineup of familiar characters who are greedier and pettier than those that usually populate historical epics. But there is no noblesse oblige or courtly love, no dragons, witchy women or aggrandizing British accents. Instead, there are debts, grudges, fights, liaisons, an occasional naked nymph and men endlessly jockeying for position. Jean marries Marguerite to boost his prestige and wealth; Jacques enriches himself by currying favor with Pierre. For her part, Marguerite is passed from father to husband, who later, in a startling moment, commands her to kiss Jacques in public as evidence of Jean’s resumed good will toward his frenemy. It’s a catastrophic gesture.

The story’s action is visceral and relentless; the atmosphere gray and thick with intrigue. Scott likes to throw a lot on the screen — the movie churns with roaring men, galloping horses, shrieking minions — which can clutter up a story but here creates insistent momentum. This churn throws the quieter bits into relief, giving you room to breathe and the characters time to scheme. These lulls also allow the filmmakers to lay out some of the brute details of everyday life in the Middle Ages, even for a noble like Jean who slogs off to war for money. In this world of homosocial relations, men continually and often violently negotiate their place among other men, and always for gain.

The script is solid, shrewd and fairly faithful to its source material, Eric Jager’s nonfiction page-turner “The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal and Trial by Combat.” The crime in question was the alleged rape in 1386 of the wife of one noble by another of lesser rank. Her husband presented the case to Charles VI, demanding the right to a judicial duel, or trial by combat. If the husband wins it ostensibly proves the truth of his claim, a.k.a. God’s will. Die or yield, he is guilty; if he survives, he will be hanged, and his wife burned alive. As Jager emphasizes, rape was a crime in medieval Europe, even punishable by death, but it wasn’t a crime against the woman but her male guardian.

Jager gives the three figures at the center of this drama their due, although, like the medieval text that inspired him, his account is weighted toward the dueling noblemen. The movie tries to more emphatically foreground Marguerite by making her a relatively equal participant in her own tragedy. It does this on a structural level by dividing the story into chapters and placing her version of events alongside those of the two men: he said, he said, she said. This splitting evokes “Rashomon,” in which various characters narrate the same crime — also a rape — from conflicting points of view, creating a sense of relative truth. But there’s no such ambiguity in “The Last Duel.”

Rape as a plot device has a long, grotesque history; it’s useful for metaphors and shocks but rarely has anything to do with women, their bodies or pain. In presenting Marguerite’s point of view — everything shifts meaningfully in her version, including how she sees her husband and the assault — “The Last Duel” seeks to upend that tradition. It doesn’t fully succeed and the movie still leans toward the men, their actions and stratagems. Partly this is a problem of history. As a 14th-century woman, Marguerite is bred to acquiesce and, for the most part, is acted upon rather than acts. While the movie is feminist in intent and in meaning, and though she’s given narrative time, she remains frustratingly opaque, without the inner life to balance the busily thrashing men.

“The Last Duel” works best as an autopsy of corrosive male power, which creates a certain amount of unresolved tension given how much Scott enjoys putting that power on display, including during the duel. The movie is weirdly entertaining, but the world it presents, despite its flourishes of comedy, is cold, hard and unforgiving. Few come out looking good, not the antagonists or giggly king (Alex Lawther), the conniving clergyman or Jean’s unsympathetic mother (Harriet Walter), a proxy for every woman who’s ever told other women to shut up and take it. Marguerite didn’t, but however blurrily history remembers her, she made her mark with a vengeance.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/movies/the-last-duel-review.html

Joseph Smith and Our Preparation for the Lord’s Final Judgment - Essays by George L. Mitton

With a personal tribute by his son John and a foreword by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

Published by The Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books

Joseph Smith and Our Preparation for the Lord’s Final Judgment: Essays by George L. Mitton is a volume of tribute to an esteemed Latter-day Saint scholar which assembles four significant articles that offer much guidance for our preparation to meet the Lord at the veil, and at His Final Judgment:

The Crucifixion as a Mockery, Witness, and Warning of Judgment

The Book of Mormon as a Resurrected Book and a Type of Christ

Joseph Smith at the Veil: Significant Ritual, Symbolism, and Temple Influence at Latter-day Saint Beginnings

Joseph Smith and the Magical Contest

Adding to the interest is Mitton’s preface, which describes the way inspiration, writing, and life experiences came together to provide the genesis of these essays. In addition, a personal tribute is offered by Mitton’s son John as well as a foreword by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw.

https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/joseph-smith-and-our-preparation-for-the-lords-final-judgment/

Church continues to expand resources for those with gospel questions

The Church’s efforts to help individuals find answers to gospel questions continue to expand within the Gospel Library

(thechurchnews.com August 17, 2024)

 At the end of 2023, the Church renamed its Gospel Topics within the Gospel Library to be Gospel Topics and Questions. This section of Gospel Library — both on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and in the mobile app — has been updated regularly with new content for the better part of the last decade.

Since June, five new topics have been added to the site. And Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has shared ways the content found in the updated site can help build faith and testimonies, in a video published on the Church’s website and YouTube channel.

According to its landing page, Gospel Topics and Questions is meant to help individuals “find information on Church doctrine, policies, practices, history and more.”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn?lang=eng

Elder Renlund’s video message is now included as the introduction to this resource.

“The Church has compiled a wonderful, trustworthy resource for individuals seeking answers to their own questions and for others who are striving to help them,” Elder Renlund says in the video.

New to this resource in the past couple of months is a section called Church and Gospel Questions. This is now where the link to each topic within Topics and Questions is found.

The five new topics added to that list are:

Origins of the Book of Abraham.

Multiple Accounts of the First Vision.

The Only True and Living Church.

The Role of Prophets.

Transparency About Church History.

This list of topics now has 232 topics that can help answer individuals’ questions about matters ranging from the Aaronic Priesthood to Zion. These same topics are often referred to in the Church’s “Come, Follow Me” curriculum.

“Our goal is to help strengthen faith in Jesus Christ, even as we provide some suggestions for how to navigate complex and sometimes difficult topics,” Elder Renlund said.

Even as the list of topics covered continues to grow, Elder Renlund said it is important to know that not every question can be answered right now. Part of finding answers involves faith.

“For faith to grow, we have to have faith,” he said. “Then, we must act in faith and hold fast to what we know. As we do, we deepen our understanding of and faith in Jesus Christ.”

He added that Heavenly Father’s plan for His children can help them see what is most important.

“Some answers will have to wait for further revelation,” he said. “God’s plan of salvation provides perspective for our questions. That perspective helps us distinguish core gospel truths from things that are not as essential.”

A letter was sent out from the Church’s Priesthood and Family Department on Thursday, Aug. 15, to stake, mission and district presidencies; bishoprics and branch presidencies; and members of stake and ward councils.

This letter says the Topics and Questions can help individuals strengthen their faith because the collection:

Provides faithful responses to commonly asked questions.

Gives responses in a simple question-and-answer format and includes links to resources where readers can learn more.

Includes guiding principles to assist those who are seeking answers and those helping others who have questions.

The letter also says, “Members are encouraged to use these resources as part of their personal gospel study.”

Individuals can navigate to these resources from ChurchofJesusChrist.org by clicking on Libraries and then Topics and Questions. Those using the Gospel Library app can access them by clicking on Library and then Topics and Questions.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2024/08/17/church-expands-resources-gospel-questions-topics-answers/

Dr. Dan Peterson | The Greatest Witnesses for the Book of Mormon

I only had about 10 minutes this morning to watch. Can't wait to finish it up tonight.

‘We had to know more’: Family from Florida joins the Church after meeting members while camping in Utah

(ldsliving.com 8-8-24)

In 1974, Tom and Jackie Montoya, their four daughters—Pam, Cyndy, Terry, and Tricia—and Terry’s boyfriend, Ferrell, left on an extended camping vacation to Utah from their home in Florida. The family of avid campers looked forward to exploring new trails, but what they didn’t know is that one of those trails in the middle of the Utah desert would lead them to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

An Unspoken Desire

Before leaving for Utah, Tom recalls a passing thought he had: “It would be great if we could run into somebody that would take us in tow and show us the backcountry.”

Two weeks into their trip, that unspoken desire was fulfilled. Tom describes the moment: “As we traveled a jeep trail through Bears Ears and Natural Bridges National Monument, we pulled up behind a group of people waiting at an intersection. I walked up to the group and asked, ‘Is there someplace we can camp up here?’ One in the group said, ‘You can camp anywhere, but you need to know where the water is.’”

As Tom thanked them for the information and turned to leave, one of the men broke away from the group and generously invited the family with the modified Chevrolet Blazer and Florida license plate to join them, explaining that they were just a group of “Mormon” families from Provo enjoying the weekend. The Montoyas then followed their new friends to their campsite a few miles up the mountains.

The Montoya family remembers nothing but kindness from these Utah families. Tricia, the youngest Montoya daughter, recalls, “Even as a 12-year-old, I was intrigued that a group of people who had an established relationship would welcome total strangers to join them on their weekend camping trip.”

“We were just so impressed with the way they treated us and the way they treated each other that we had to know more,” Tom says. “The rest of the week and a half that we had before we had to get back to Florida, that’s all we could talk about. It was absolutely the highlight of the whole trip.”

No Accident

After a couple of days together, the Montoyas and the Provo group said their goodbyes and parted ways—but not for long. While Tom took the car in for some repairs before the family’s return trip to Florida, Jackie and their soon-to-be-high-school-graduate daughter, Cyndy, took a tour of Brigham Young University at the invitation of one of their new friends.

“As we were walking around campus, I knew, with complete certainty, that this is where I wanted to attend college,” Cyndy recalls.

For various reasons, Tom and Jackie were initially hesitant about their daughter applying to BYU. But Cyndy’s determination prevailed. Tom asked a Latter-day Saint coworker to write a letter of recommendation for his daughter, which ultimately led the Montoyas to begin lessons with the missionaries and Cyndy to be accepted to BYU.

Both then and now, everyone involved in that camping trip attests that the families’ meeting was no accident. Scot Johnson, the son of one of the Provo couples recalls: “This chance meeting at the intersection of two nondescript dirt roads at the foot of the Blue Mountains near Blanding, Utah, was anything but a chance meeting. Tom had chosen the right road.”

Tom agrees the meeting was divinely orchestrated. “I knew it then and I know it even more so now because of what has taken place since. Ten minutes one way there or the other, we would not have met. That was planned from the beginning. I know it for sure.”

“There is no doubt that our Heavenly Father knows us and that He is in the smallest details of our lives,” Tricia adds. “I know that it was not by chance that we met those families where we did and when we did.”

“I have a testimony of sharing the gospel by just living it,” the Montoya’s oldest daughter, Pam, says. “Don’t ever underestimate the power of being a good example! You never know when you might be the answer to someone’s silent prayer.”

Paths to Conversion

Seven months after their camping trip and meeting regularly with missionaries in Florida, Tom, Jackie, and Tricia were baptized and confirmed members of the Church.

Tricia remembers the good feeling in her home when the missionaries came to visit: “It was a feeling I did not want to be without. I was eager to follow my parent’s lead and was the first to shout, ‘YES!’ when the elders asked if we would be interested in being baptized.”

Religion had been an important part of Tom and Jackie’s life, and for Tom, the Church filled in some of the gaps in his Methodist beliefs.

“We’d been associated with good people before, but nothing like this,” Tom recalls. “I finally realized it was simply the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Tom and Jackie were sealed in the Washington D.C. Temple one year and 10 days after their baptisms during a stake temple trip.

Tricia likewise remembers something different about these Latter-day Saints from Provo. “Their friendship and sharing the gospel by living it impressed me, to the extent that living the gospel and sharing it by example has always been a core part of my testimony.”

Though she was accepted to BYU as a non-member, Cyndy was also baptized five months before attending college, where her testimony flourished.

For Pam and Terry, however, the decision to join the Church came more slowly. Pam decided to apply to BYU, in part to avoid the increasing feeling of pressure to get baptized like her parents and in part because she had a sister already there. But it wasn’t long after arriving that her heart changed, and she, too, decided to be baptized.

Pam is grateful for the support her Utah friends showed her on that special day. “The classroom on campus that had a baptismal font was filled to capacity with members of the branch and many of those families that we had met in southern Utah that summer of 1974,” she recalls. “I dare say that there was not a dry eye in the group!”

As for Terry, it wasn’t until she and Ferrell got married a few years after that camping trip that she began to feel something was missing. Noticing, in particular, the improved relationship she had with her father since his baptism and the happiness her parents seemed to have, she eventually decided to get baptized, as did Ferrell.

“Over the years, our family had our fair share of trials, and when I look back, I can see Heavenly Father’s hand in them,” she says. “The blessings we received help us through those trials. Divine intervention glowed, and I knew exactly where it came from each time.”

The Montoya family’s conversion has not only impacted them but also their Provo friends. Mark Johnson, who was serving a mission at the time, remembers reading about the story of his family meeting the Montoyas and the Montoya family’s conversion in his father’s letters.

And Mark’s younger sister, Joani, who was on the camping trip with all their family friends has shared the story many times along with her testimony that “you never know who is noticing you, and you can influence them for good or bad.”

50 Years Later

Over the years, the Montoya family has remained close. With the 50th anniversary of their camping trip approaching, now 90-year-old Tom wanted to hold an extra special family reunion to celebrate.

With help from his daughters and Mark and Joani’s brother, Scot, Tom planned a large celebration in June 2024. The gathering included not only members of his own family but also surviving members of the Provo families.

Tricia recalls how special it was to see the reunion come to fruition after watching her father plan and prepare for it for over a year. Pam says, “It was nothing short of a miracle that all 78 members of our family were able to attend this 50th anniversary gathering.”

It was a special time for family and friends alike. “When I saw Tom Montoya and introduced myself, we hugged and tears flowed,” Joani says. “Meeting Tom at 90 years old was so incredible.”

Relying on caterers and others to provide the food, tents, and even a toilet trailer, the family was able to spend more time together focusing on the most important things, such as holding a special meeting in the family’s “sacred grove”—the spot that they first met their Provo friends.

“It helped solidify our family even closer, even those that are not on the covenant path,” Tom says. “They were there and glad to be there.”

And though Tom’s intent was not to preach to family members who haven’t remained active in the Church he joined 50 years ago, he did want them to know how important the gospel and family are to him.

“It was important to Tom that his progeny see and experience the spot on this earth that changed the Montoya family’s future forever,” Scot shares.

Unfortunately, Scot was injured in a motorcycle accident on his way to join the special program. He received emergency first aid from medical professionals in the Montoya family and a priesthood blessing before going to the closest emergency room.

Cyndy says that being prepared to help with this medical emergency made the Montoyas grateful that “in a small way, our family was able to give something back to the families who introduced us to our everything.”

Joani remembers the powerful spirit she felt when the meeting continued:

“Tom Montoya bore his testimony to all of us from Utah and all his posterity. It was a special moment up there in the beautiful mountains. Rain clouds were gathering, and thunder was heard. Then we sang ‘I Am a Child of God’ as rain began to fall. But we all just stayed and sang as the Spirit testified.”

The entire week was a beautiful time of reminiscing and reacquainting, and Pam says a sort of “FOMO” settled in as the week drew to a close. “The last few nights of the reunion, more people were staying up later, enjoying each other’s company because it would soon be coming to an end.”

Though the loss of Jackie Montoya, who passed away a little over a year ago, was felt, Terry believes her mother was glad to see this reunion, too. “The fondest memory I have of the reunion was when my granddaughter came up to me and said, ‘You know, Nana, Mommer is here, I can feel her here,’” Terry shares. “For her to recognize that, at the age of 8 years old, made me realize what a blessing it is to have the Church in our lives.”

The Seed That Keeps Growing

Tom and Jackie Montoya’s decision to accept a stranger’s offer to camp with them, and their future decisions to join the Church, have had a lifelong impact on their family. It is something Cyndy has thought about for years:

“What was it about this particular group of people that inspired my parents to make a seismic life change when they were 40? How grateful I am that they had the courage to do that, and then be so completely dedicated to the gospel for the rest of their lives.

“I think it was because our new friends were genuine in their friendship. They didn’t have an agenda, or a plan for converting us. They were just extending real friendship to us, and that continued even after our initial camping trip.”

As for Tom, he is grateful to be enjoying the part of the gospel of Jesus Christ that caught his and his wife’s interest the most: family.

“Everything that we do in the Church leads to one word, and that is ‘family,’” he says. “I was re-reading the conference talks this past April, and the newest apostle, Elder [Patrick Kearon’s] address was that Heavenly Father’s intent was for everyone to return home. And I tell you, that hit me. That’s it—it’s the family. That’s what it’s all about.”

https://www.ldsliving.com/we-had-to-know-more-family-from-florida-joins-the-church-after-meeting-members-while-camping-in-utah/s/12379

Six Days in August Official Trailer

A member in Ivory Coast has become an unbelievably effective missionary—here’s how he does it

(ldsliving.com July 9, 2024)

To quote the poet Edgar Guest, “[Strangers] are friends that we some day may meet.” And one valiant Latter-day Saint convert exemplifies that in everything he does, including sharing the gospel.

“Bishop” Aime Miliaté no longer serves as a bishop in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, but the title has become a nickname.

He worked as a driver for a local cacao company in his hometown until civil war and unrest led him to move to the city of Abidjan in 2004. There, he encountered Latter-day Saint missionaries and learned about the restored gospel.

He was baptized on March 25th, 2005, and his testimony has only continued to grow from there.

“Six months after my baptism, President [Gordon B.] Hinckley invited all the members around the world to read the Book of Mormon. Following President Hinckley’s invitation, my mind began to open, and the message of the Restoration became clearer for me to understand,” Bishop says.

But it was those missionaries’ initial love and interest in him as a person that first piqued his interest.

“My conversion did not begin with the [gospel] teachings. … I was only impressed by the missionaries; I loved their mark of attention towards me.”

And those missionaries probably had no idea how much that “mark of attention” would mean to Bishop. It became a huge focal point in his life and how he now shares the gospel with others.

“I had the desire to one day become a missionary like them,” Bishop says. “Unfortunately, I was already too old to serve a full-time mission. So, I decided to use my gift as a communicator to spread the knowledge I acquired following my conversion.”

Bishop says he invited all his friends and acquaintances to meet with missionaries and come to church with him.

He was later hired as a mission driver for the Côte d’Ivoire Abidjan West Mission, where he became a beloved staff member and, as the mission leaders put it, a “great spirit to have in the office.”

“Bishop is completely friendly and engaging,” Sister London Litchfield, mission leader in the Côte d’Ivoire Abidjan West Mission, shares. “He doesn’t see any boundaries between friendships, which I think is part of what makes him such a great missionary. … Quite frankly, he is an inspiration to us. The missionaries just pray and hope that they get to be in his ward because he’s such an incredible member missionary.”

Since his baptism in 2005, Bishop hasn’t kept count of how many friends and acquaintances he has introduced to the gospel. But several years ago, he set a goal: to help bring three people into the Church every year. And he has done just that—every year, without fail.

This year, he helped teach five people in January alone, so he increased his yearly goal to 10. But it appears he could have aimed higher. As of June, he has helped 13 people join the Church.

He's spoken to many of his family and friends about the gospel already, but Abidjan is a very densely populated city, and his friendly, outgoing nature allows him to strike up a conversation with anyone and everyone—banana vendors, families walking along the streets, or other drivers stuck in traffic with him. And inevitably, his faith in the restored gospel becomes a topic of discussion.

And the one question everyone around him keeps asking: how does he do it?

“I first build a friendship with people I meet in my neighborhood, then as our relationship grows, I introduce them to the gospel.”

Sounds easy enough, right?

“We often think that they’re very difficult conversations to have,” President Wade Litchfield of the Côte d’Ivoire Abidjan West Mission shares. “But they’re not at all scary to him. They’re natural to him. He just personifies what Elder [Dieter F.] Uchtdorf has exhorted us to do in speaking about our religion in ‘natural and normal ways’.”

And Bishop’s advice to young missionaries or anyone for sharing the gospel?

“Don’t be afraid. Show a good example. Be patient and let your love for God and your fellow men be above everything else.”

Like Elder Uchtdorf has said, “If we interact with people with the sole expectation that they soon will don a white jumpsuit and ask for directions to the nearest baptismal font, we’re doing it wrong.

“Fill your heart with love for others. Try to truly see everyone around you as a child of God. … Laugh with them. Rejoice with them. Weep with them. Respect them. Heal, lift, and strengthen them.”

Bishop’s conversations about religion with friends and with strangers—the “friends he may some day meet”—stem from a place of caring. That genuine care for others is just part of his nature. And he may have perfected the most powerful, loving approach to missionary work in putting love, compassion, and a “mark of attention” above all else.

https://www.ldsliving.com/a-member-in-ivory-coast-has-become-an-unbelievably-effective-missionary-heres-how-he-does-it/s/12321