Tonga!

POSTING FOR MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN!!    Tuesday, October 22nd

We had a devotional today with the South Pacific Area Presidency. It was broadcast to Tonga. Elder Pierson, who is a 70, gave the most amazing talk. I can’t stop thinking about it. Alan and I both think he could be an Apostle one day. He said that General Conference is not the church’s conference, it is the Savior’s Conference and it is true doctrine. Then he quoted scriptures from the D&C about ‘whether from my mouth or that of my servants, it is the same.” The Savior directs those who speak. He told us that Elder Scott has said the greatest blessings of conference come from studying the talks in depth after conference is over, and then integrating the concepts into your life. We should pray and ask that we might understand what the Lord is trying to tell us. Then we need to anchor the Key Principals we heard in conference in our minds. General Conference is direct revelation to the church and it is personal revelation to you. When you read the talks, stop and ponder them, look for the revelation.

Elder Pierson has started doing that already with this last conference. He saw it as a “VOICE OF WARNING”. He told us to focus on 5 priorities that will help us stay faithful through what is ahead. He had also been to special training for the General Authorities during conference time and I got the feeling that the brethren are talking about what is coming. At one point he said that there will be great trials and persecutions for the church, both from the outside and the inside. If we are not individually anchored in the gospel, even the “very elect will be deceived.”

1) Love the Lord with all your might, mind and soul. Develop a relationship with Him, come to know Him, strive to be like Him, keep His commandments.

2) Increase your personal strength in the gospel of Jesus Christ and your individual conversion to the Lord. That doesn’t mean strengthen your testimony, it means to be truly converted --- you as an individual. Don’t lean on your parents, your husband or wife or anyone else. You must know for yourself.

3) Share the Gospel through missionary work. Several of the Apostles spoke about this one. If members pray for people to teach and invite them to their homes, they will have a missionary experience but this process is not just about bringing someone into the church. It strengthens the individual and family that invited the investigator to their home. Parents and especially children, will see that prayers are heard and answered. They will come to know that God knows them individually and is always aware of them and what they are doing. They are never alone, He is always close by --- only a prayer away.

4) Really understand the Eternal Nature of families and the Devine Nature of individuals. The brethren kindly but firmly pointed out the importance of gender and the divine roll of women in the Lord’s plan. The Proclamation to the Family was issued several years ago and now it stands as a beacon to the world. It is the Lord’s plan and it is not debatable. It will not change.

(5 Study the Atonement! Come to understand the power of the Atonement to overcome all kinds of difficulties. It must be understood --- felt --- and personalized.

All of the talks that he sited were given by the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The other talks are great and we can receive personal revelation through those too, but we need to really understand what the Prophet and Apostles are saying to us. (Those that have eyes to see and ears to hear. We have to put forth some effort to understand what the Lord is saying)

In the end he counseled us to put forth the effort to do all 5 of these things, because in the days ahead we will need the strength derived from doing so. He ended with, “The Savior stands at the head of this church. We need not fear, He will guide us through the troubled times.”

Still, we have to do our part! Faith without works is DEAD! In the end, we know who will win the war. The question is, what side are we on????????