Message 22 August 2011

Message—22 August 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

We received a letter from Sister Janell Keith and her daughter Mellony, who are members of our ward in Provo.  They teach a primary class and there were only two children who attended the class the week before last.  One of the children was a young man; the other was a young lady.  The young man said he wanted to be a missionary and knock on doors and teach the gospel to people.  The young lady said she did not want to be a missionary, but she did want to tell other people stories about Jesus.  We wrote a letter back to Janell to share with the class.  In the letter we encouraged the young man to have faith and tell his friends and neighbors about the gospel and share his testimony with them, and set a good example and he would be doing what will help him be a good missionary, and this will also help him prepare to be a full time missionary when he reaches the age of 19.  We told the young lady that she should share stories about Jesus with her friends and neighbors and she would be doing what missionaries do.  The message for both of them and for each of us, is that we are all missionaries by our example; and we can also be missionaries by just opening our mouth and share gospel messages and thoughts and our testimony with the help of the Spirit.

Saturday we had the opportunity to attend a meeting where a message was given by President Christianson, our mission president, which he gave to a group of members and missionaries from the Freedom Branch near Arcade NY.  These people traveled to the Sacred Grove to hear the President’s message.  Some of them had never been to the Sacred Grove; they were blessed to feel the Spirit while there in the Sacred Grove.  The Freedom branch was one of the first branches of the church organized after the church was organized in Palmyra.  In D & C Section 106; the first verse tells that Warren Cowdery, who was Oliver’s older brother, was to be the presiding high priest in the Freedom area.  The church has had members there since that time, but it is still only a branch, the people in the area have not been receptive to the gospel.  Satan has stirred up the hearts of enough people there in the area that there has not been much success over the years.  There is some success in baptizing people, but not very many.

We were invited, along with the elders in Brockport, to have dinner with a family in the Brockport ward with the last name of Arrington.  Brother Arrington is related to Leonard Arrington’s family.  Brother Arrington gave us each a one inch square of a piece of wood from a tree which he was asked to cut down about 40 years ago, which was along the edge of the Sacred Grove.  The Church History Museum had asked 40 years agothat a few limbs from the tree be cut and sent to Salt Lake to be used in a Temple Square Visitor Center display showing the Prophet Joseph Smith kneeling in the Sacred Grove.  The large limb was arranged so it appeared to be a tree in the background of the display.  The rest of the tree was used in some other ways at church history sites.  Brother Arrington was given permission to have one of the branches; and that is what he cut up in to the one inch squares.  Brother Arrington said the tree rings of the tree they cut down showed the tree was a little over 150 years old.  If you add the 40 years since it was cut down, that would make the tree over 190 years old.  So it was probably a very small seedling in 1820 when the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith.  Having this piece of wood is just a little nice thing to have.  The real significant thing is that we know the Father and Son appeared to Joseph Smith and began the events of the restoration of all things in these last days.  We know this really happened just as Joseph described.  We also know the Book of Mormon is true, as well as the other revelations the Prophet Joseph received.  We know President Monson is the Lord’s prophet today.  We sustain him as the prophet as well as the other 14 prophets, seers, and revelators who direct the affairs of the church by revelation.  We are being greatly blessed in our service here in the Rochester Mission.

We hope all the grandchildren who start school this week, and a few in the next week or so, will be diligent students and study and learn all they can so they can be better prepared for the rest of their lives to work and provide for themselves and their families.  We hope those with health problems will be blessed with healing power from Heavenly Father through the Savior and that they will be restored to full health according to the will, and timing of the Lord.

There were tender feelings for Sister Jensen and I on July 29^th  (Maxine’s parents were sealed in the temple) and also on August 19^th (Richard’s parents were sealed in the temple) as those two dates are the 80^th wedding anniversaries for our parents.  We felt their love and thought of them and all they have done for us to bless our lives and help us become who we are today.

We love all of you very much and appreciate all the ways we have been blessed by our associations and relationships with each of you.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine