Hello friends, neighbors, and fellow ward members. As many of you are aware, my family sent off a missionary – Lauren left for the Mexico City MTC on September 12, before heading to Boston. It was inspiring to hear from the many outgoing and returning missionaries this summer – we have an amazing ward and it is so fun to watch the youth, whether serving missions, going to college, or starting jobs; grow up, make good choices, and progress in their lives and the gospel. But it has been a great reminder of the importance of missionary work and service – we have many opportunities to serve others and it is inspiring watching the neighborhood serve others selflessly.
Elder Neil L. Andersen called a service mission “a sacred opportunity to bring others to Christ and help prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior.” This can obviously be applied more broadly. We are in an interesting time and it is imperative that we help others, our families, and ourselves prepare for the Second Coming. I truly believe service is a sacred opportunity. We all experience hard times and difficult things, but we have been given much – we are blessed to live in a time and place that is amazing. Giving some of those blessings back to others helps people in need and helps us become more like the Savior.
As our beloved prophet taught us, “we can ‘have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of [our] faith in him according to the promise’ (Moroni 7:41).” He further testifies that because of the miracle of the Savior’s Resurrection and Atonement, “every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.”
May we prepare for that glorious day, make the gospel and Christ the center of our homes, and look for opportunities to share our knowledge with others so that we may all live together again in His presence. I testify of these things, and express my gratitude for the friendships that I have in this ward. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. You are all amazing and hope that you feel of the Savior’s love, and the love that the bishopric has for each of you.
Hello friends, neighbors, and fellow ward members. As many of you are aware, my family sent off a missionary – Lauren left for the Mexico City MTC on September 12, before heading to Boston. It was inspiring to hear from the many outgoing and returning missionaries this summer – we have an amazing ward and it is so fun to watch the youth, whether serving missions, going to college, or starting jobs; grow up, make good choices, and progress in their lives and the gospel. But it has been a great reminder of the importance of missionary work and service – we have many opportunities to serve others and it is inspiring watching the neighborhood serve others selflessly.
Elder Neil L. Andersen called a service mission “a sacred opportunity to bring others to Christ and help prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior.” This can obviously be applied more broadly. We are in an interesting time and it is imperative that we help others, our families, and ourselves prepare for the Second Coming. I truly believe service is a sacred opportunity. We all experience hard times and difficult things, but we have been given much – we are blessed to live in a time and place that is amazing. Giving some of those blessings back to others helps people in need and helps us become more like the Savior.
As our beloved prophet taught us, “we can ‘have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of [our] faith in him according to the promise’ (Moroni 7:41).” He further testifies that because of the miracle of the Savior’s Resurrection and Atonement, “every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.”
May we prepare for that glorious day, make the gospel and Christ the center of our homes, and look for opportunities to share our knowledge with others so that we may all live together again in His presence. I testify of these things, and express my gratitude for the friendships that I have in this ward. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. You are all amazing and hope that you feel of the Savior’s love, and the love that the bishopric has for each of you.
In this week’s scriptures, we read about Jesus giving the parable of the good Samaritan. There are thousands of lessons to learn by studying this parable, but this time through, I was struck by the situation around how and why the parable was given, and Jesus’ comment / question afterwards.
It starts with a Lawyer asking the question (and not with real intent),
Lawyer: “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus: “What is written in the law?”
Lawyer: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”
Jesus affirms his answer, but the lawyer continues to say,
Who is my neighbour?
By asking this continued question, the lawyer seems to be asking:
· What are the checkboxes on the requirement list?
· What is the lowest bar I must hurdle?
· Define my minimum requirements.
The savior then goes on to give the parable of the good Samaritan as given in Luke 10:30-35, in which he describes the terrible plight of a man who is brutally handled and left for dead on the path from Jerusalem to Jericho and the three passerby’s who come upon him. As we all know, the two who were probably “neighbors” in the true sense (or the same nationality, and outwardly dedicated to following the commandments) walked out of their way to avoid the dying man. The Samaritan on the other hand - sworn enemy to the Jew, and mutually despised and haters of each other - is the one who dresses, assists, shelters and frankly saves the man at a great open-ended expense to himself.
The thing that stuck out to me was the question Jesus posed afterwards.
Which was neighbour unto him?
With this question, his answer did not consist of boundaries, geographical relationships, ethnic divisions or inclusions, setting the minimum requirement to enter the kingdom of heaven. He turned the meaning of the word neighbour from a responsibility in the letter of the law to a state of being that included love, compassion, and caring for others not necessarily bound to one at all.
Jesus expanded the paradigm of “What do I need to do” to “What should I become.”
This is a level of emotional maturation we all must progress to, and beyond, in our journey to becoming like Jesus and truly possessing Christ like love. Sometimes in my journey I find I have devolved into the “what do I need to do” attitude. I think it is natural. When it happens, I believe I can remember the true aim to become; “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” I know this is not attainable by me in this life, but I think the change from “what do I need to do” to “what am I trying to become” is a huge step in the right direction.
I am so grateful for this time of year when we have the blessing of having General Conference at the same time as Easter. This is when we can remember and focus on our Savior and what he did for each one of us and the blessings that the Gospel offers us through His servants’ spoken word here on earth. As I reflected back on conference there were many talks that focused on sharing the gospel and being a part of the gathering of Israel. What a perfect time to do just that. President Nelson started conference off talking specifically about sharing the gospel when he said: “Brothers and Sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ has never been needed more than it is today. Contention violates everything the Savior stood for and taught. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and testify that His gospel is the only enduring solution for peace. His gospel is a gospel of peace.” As we look at the turmoil that is going on around us and the struggles we see so many people having with the uncertainties that are out there, I’m so glad we had so many talks discussing the blessings of gospel and reminding us that we have something special in our lives that we can continue to grow and develop with to have a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. This blessing we have is also something that can help so many people out there that don’t have the comforts of the gospel. Elder Quentin Cook quoted: “…That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world. That includes full-time missionaries. That includes each of us. This should be a laser-like focus to everyone who has been blessed with a conversion to the will of God. The Savior graciously invites us to be His voice and His hands. The love of the Savior will be our guiding light…” Elder Stevenson continued on the missionary theme but reiterating the Love, Share, Invite principles. He stated: “The first thing we can do is love as Christ loved…Whenever we show Christlike love toward our neighbor, we preach the gospel-even if we do not voice a single word…The second thing we can do is share…We all share things with others. We do it often. We share what movies and food we like, funny things we see, places we visit, art we appreciate…Elder Uchtdorf explained: If someone asks about your weekend, don’t hesitate to talk about what you experienced at church…” “The third thing you can do is invite…There are hundreds of invitations we can extend to others. We can invite others to come and see a sacrament service, a ward activity, online video, etc. “ We appreciate each of you in our Ward family for all you do to bring the light of the gospel to those in need and for being such wonderful examples to help in the Gathering of Israel… Bishop Lewis
This week, reading in the Old Testament we learned the sad story of Cain and his brother able. One of the things that struck me in my studies was the interesting hidden commentary in their names and professions. Cain - “acquire or posses” - was a gardener, producer, worker, provider, like we all must do while on this earth to survive and provide for the ones we love. Able - “breath or vapor” - was a shepherd, watcher, or keeper of the flock, which we have all been asked to do spiritually for our brothers and sisters while passing through this mortal existence like the fleeting breath.
These two states and duties are dualities that we must all struggle within life. While we must be in the world and make a living by working, producing and possessing or providing for ourselves and the ones we love, we are also asked to keep sight of the fact that we are just passing through mortality as our only path back to our heavenly father’s presence, and we are asked to be Shepard or keeper to all those we can touch on our way through. We have often been told the dangers of focusing too much on the worldly, and Cain falls trap to Satan’s enticing by thinking he can posses more through the murder of his brother. Truly he sums it up when being confronted by his loving Father in Heaven about Abel, he responds, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” He had lost sight of the need to be Shepard to others.
The irony is that we are all asked to fill both rolls. To provide for and watch over - ourselves, our loved ones, and our brothers and sisters. Imbalance in either direction will keep us from growing opportunities. In our heavenly father’s presence before we entered this world of scarcity we had no want for provisions, we could focus on all things spiritual. We also could only grow so far until we couldn’t grow more without opposition, trials, adversity, and physical pain. And in this life, if we focus on physical needs and ignore our keeper duties, we will become rich with treasures that will not persist into our next state.
I think it is also difficult to recognize if you are “in balance” when at different times of your life emphasis necessarily must shift temporarily from one side to the other. As a missionary I clearly spent more of my time on shepherding flocks, and when I was a father with seven young children to feed providing became a necessary focus. When thinking about the services we want to give our heavenly father, sometimes we must just say “now is not my time, but when it is, I will to be ready.”
I am so grateful for the scriptures. The advice and direction we can receive through them make our journey more fruitful, and more pleasant. I hope to continue to learn how to best modify my adventure through mortality by holding to the rod.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are always a fun time to enjoy friends and family, presents, and activities. But it is also a great time to reflect on the reasons we celebrate these holidays: gratitude and the birth of our Savior.
As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminds us, “Christmas is about Christ. Of course, we do not need a Christmas holiday or Christmas traditions to remember Jesus Christ, our Savior. But the celebrations of Christmas can help remind us of Him. It is usually something small—we read a verse of scripture; we hear a sacred carol and really listen to its words; or we watch people doing sincere acts of love.” One of my favorite family traditions is reading from Luke 2 about the birth of Jesus as a family on Christmas eve. I hope we can all be grateful for the traditions we have surrounding the true meaning of Christmas.
President Russell M. Nelson also shared a message regarding our focus during the Christmas season: “There is nothing more important we can do this Christmas than to rivet our focus on the Savior and on the gift of what His life really means to each of us.” There is no better time than now, this Christmas season, to follow His example and rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is always the right time to love the Lord our God with all our heart—and our neighbors as ourselves. I am grateful for all the service and kind works that I observe being done by our ward family – from caroling, volunteering, to donating money and time, etc. You are all great examples to me.
May be always remember to be grateful for the sacrifice of our older brother and try to live like him. I wish you all a great Christmas!
Brother Jeff dunn
What a blessing it is to have General Conference twice a year that can help us get rejuvenated and ready for the months ahead. I know each of us have certain talks that we feel resonate with something we may need at the time, later on or maybe helps us to grow closer to our Heavenly Father.
One of the talks that I loved was from President Nelson in our General Conference in April that focuses on the importance of Faith. He stated that “to do anything well requires effort. Becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ is no exception.” He then talked about five suggestions to help develop that Faith and Trust. “First, study. Become an engaged learner. Immerse yourself in the scriptures to understand better Christ’s mission and ministry. Second, choose to believe in Jesus Christ. If you have doubts about God the Father and His Beloved Son or the validity of the Restoration…choose to believe and stay Faithful. Third, act in Faith. What would you do if you had more Faith? Think about it. Write about it. Then receive more Faith by doing something that requires more Faith. Fourth, partake of sacred ordinances worthily. Ordinances unlock the power of God for your life. And Fifth, ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for help.”
I am so grateful to have a living Prophet that can give us guidance and direction and in this instance the ways to increase our Faith. With all of the outer influences impacting us it is so important to follow these 5 steps and put forth the effort to grow deeper in our testimonies and Faith of our living Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ…
Best of wishes to each one of you as we begin this Holiday Season…
Bishop Lewis
Latter-day Saints build and value temples for many reasons. Among them would be:
• To partake of the saving ordinances
o To be washed and anointed in preparation for spiritual blessings and power
o To be endowed with power from on high
o To be sealed to a spouse and create a family unit
o To seal those family units together
• To participate in the saving ordinances in proxy for others who have not had the opportunity while alive on the earth (and thereby participate in the salvation of other’s)
• For the spiritual education and betterment of ourselves
• In preparation for meeting our savior after death
All of these have not been available to many souls who have passed through mortality, in fact they haven’t been available at large to even the members of the lord’s church throughout time. For the opportunities and blessings that have been made available to us in the last dispensation we should be dumbfoundedly grateful.
This week in our scripture study I was reminded of another reason that the temple is near and dear to us, and maybe one of the most important reasons. A benefit that has been shared among all the members of the church throughout the history of the world during times when temples have been on the earth.
In D&C 109:5 in the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland temple, the first reason that is given for the saint’s sacrifice to build the temple is stated:
“…that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people.”
In D&C 109:8 Joseph refers to the temple as “…a house of God.”
In this time of separation from our father and our savior, we cannot visit them in their house on high, so we make a house for them on this earth where they can dwell so that we can visit them.
As children, Mindy and I were very close. There was a significant age gap between us and our older brothers so sometimes it felt like we grew up with just the two of us. Being young for my grade, after I graduated high school, I attended Snow College for a full year before turning 19 and being eligible to go on a mission. I found myself caught up in the worries of scholastics and school activities and rarely came home during that year. I remember how good it felt to come home from college and spend time with my parents and sister. During Mindy’s talk at my farewell, in reference to how difficult it will be for me to be on a mission for two years, she talked about how painful it was and sad it made her feel that we rarely saw each other once I left for school. I never knew how much she missed me. I felt awful for not coming home to visit more often. Focused on myself I had not realized how much my family had missed me. As many times as I had tried to excuse myself by repeating in my head “Ephraim was 3 hours away” I never felt any better for ignoring my family.
In gospel doctrine recently, Brother Lavar and many others commented about going to the temple to commune with our father in heaven. We can visit with, talk to, and get help from a loving Heavenly Father and our Savior there. We can feel a magnified influence of the spirit, and the love of the Godhead. But like the painting of Christ standing at the door of the temple, they are always there waiting to protect, strengthen, and comfort us, but we need to make the effort to visit them. I know in this life I get tied up in the day to day of work, life, and raising a family. I also know it would be a shame to look into the eyes of my elder brother after a long absence of not seeing him and try to utter the excuse “but your home was 10 minutes away!”
Have you visited lately?
Summertime, and July in particular, is always a time to recharge and refresh, take family vacations, travel, and spend time with friends and family. But is also a great time to reflect on our blessings as we celebrate our nation’s birthday and Pioneer Day. I am grateful for the country in which we live and the freedoms we enjoy, and all the sacrifices made by our forefathers. They were truly inspired and the principals they fought for are still relevant today. D&C 101: 80 tells us The Lord “established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.”
To quote a talk by Paul H. Dunn (no relation:): “That’s the way it was, from Boston to Lexington to Concord, as the war for independence and liberty began. Most of all, it was for people, men and women of courage and vision and faith, strengthened by God as a part of his plan, who struggled, froze, starved, and when necessary, died, that these free states in union might be born, in Thomas Jefferson’s incisive words, “To assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.” (“Declaration of Independence.”).”And this continues today - we were blessed to hear some experiences by Brother Colemere this month in Sacrament meeting. It is so important that we remember the people who have, and our, sacrificing so much today to protect the privileges that we have been given.
But I am also especially grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith and the leaders who gave so much to restore the gospel again on earth; and for the early members of the church who had so much faith and gave so much to establish the church here in the Salt Lake Valley. Every day I count my blessings for living in Draper and being a part of such a loving neighborhood and Ward.
President Hinckley reminded us, “Whether you are among the posterity of the pioneers or whether you were baptized only yesterday, each is the beneficiary of their great undertaking.” All of us enjoy the blessings of their efforts, and all of us have the responsibilities which go with that heritage. Then the question becomes, “Therefore, what?” President Dallin H. Oaks has counseled us that “It is not enough to study or reenact the accomplishments of our pioneers. We need to identify the great, eternal principles they applied to achieve all they achieved for our benefit and then apply those principles to the challenges of our day. In that way we honor their pioneering efforts, and we also reaffirm our heritage and strengthen its capacity to bless our own posterity and “those millions of our Heavenly Father’s children who have yet to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.” We are all pioneers in doing so.”
It is my hope that we can spend some time individually and as families reflecting on the blessings and freedoms that we enjoy based on our ancestors’ sacrifice, and that we may live up to their examples and continue to be good missionaries, and, like the pioneers, have the courage and the consistency to be true to the faith and endure to the end. May you all be blessed as our children go back to school, our works continue to evolve, and things continue to “get back to normal” – and may you all be safe and healthy.
Brother Jeff Dunn
Over the past few weeks as I’ve reflected upon the words spoken at Conference and our current state within society, I can’t help but think about the talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He states: “Two thousand years ago, the Savior warned that in the last days there would be “wars, and rumors of wars,” later stating that peace would be taken from the earth…”
Elder Holland continues by saying: “Brothers and Sisters, we do see too much conflict, anger, and general incivility around us. Fortunately, the current generation has not had a Third World War to fight, nor have we experienced a global economic crash like the one in 1929 leading to the Great Depression. We are, however, facing a kind of Third World War that is not a fight to crush our enemies but a conscription marshaling the children of God to care more about each other and to help heal the wounds we find in a conflicted world. The Great Depression we now face has less to do with the external loss of our savings and more to do with the internal loss of our self-confidence, with real deficits of faith and hope and charity all around us. But the instruments we need to create a brighter day and grow an economy of genuine goodness in society are abundantly provided for in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot afford-and this world cannot afford-our failure to put these gospel concepts and fortifying covenants to full use personally and publicly.”
We have an incredible Ward that demonstrates the love and caring for each other expressed in Elder Hollands talk. As hopefully COVID slows down and becomes less of an inhibitor for interaction, let’s continue to reach out to our family, friends, neighbors and those we may not know yet, and help those in need. This is a perfect time to remember what Elder Gong states: “Our journey to God is often found together.”
As your new Bishopric, we look forward to getting to know each of you better and serving with you this upcoming year.
Bishop Lewis
There were a number of tremendous talks given during the last general conference. I should like to highlight one that touched me deeply in a very personal way. I suggest that we all go back and study Elder Andersen’s talk titled “The Personal Journey of a Child of God” Here is a short excerpt—“The Lord has said, “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.”While we weep, we also rejoice in the glorious Resurrection of our Savior. Because of Him, our loved ones and friends continue their eternal journey. As President Joseph F. Smith explained: “We can not forget them; we do not cease to love them. … They have advanced; we are advancing; we are growing as they have grown.” President Russell M. Nelson said, “Our tears of sorrow … turn to tears of anticipation.”We Know about Life before BirthOur eternal perspective not only enlarges our understanding of those who are continuing their journey beyond mortality but also opens our understanding of those who are earlier in their journey and just now entering mortality.
Each person who comes to earth is a unique son or daughter of God. Our personal journey did not begin at birth. Before we were born, we were together in a world of preparation where we “received [our] first lessons in the world of spirits.” Jehovah told Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.”Some may question if life begins with the formation of an embryo, or when the heart begins to beat, or when the baby can live outside of the womb, but for us, there is no question that spirit daughters and sons of God are on their own personal journeys coming to earth to receive a body and experience mortality.As covenant children of God, we love, honor, nurture, safeguard, and welcome those spirits who are coming from the premortal world.”As you read the words of The Lord as presented to us in conference, may His spirit guide you to the messages that were meant for you.
Brother Mike Martin
Hello 17th Ward, Neighbors, and Friends,
I have been thinking a lot about how blessed we are to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. Whether blessed with great faith or simply a small seed of faith, we are blessed because of it. Those blessings come in many forms-it's a healthy exercise to consider what those blessings are.
Just prior to the Lord's mortal ministry closed, He said, "I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." Then He said, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17).
I believe this statement to be true! Whatever the difficulties we may find ourselves coping with, deep down there really can be a foundation of happiness-knowing "in whom [we] have trusted" (2 Nephi 4:19).
I pray our Father in Heaven will bless each one of you as you ponder the profound blessings sent directly to you from a caring and loving Heavenly Father. He loves you and in many ways that love is there for you and me in greater measure in our most trying times.
I love you all,
Bishop Taylor
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