First Presidency Message July 2016
This is my own "unpacking" of this message. I do not speak for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Read, ponder and pray to be taught personally what this message means for you.
John Linford was 43 the age represents “now”. If the story were of a child or aged person it would have represented the past or future. when he and his wife, Maria, and three of their sons made the decision to leave their home you will have the same decision to make. You will want your family to come in Gravely, England, to journey thousands of miles to join the Saints in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. you will be asked to make a journey to gather with the saints They left behind their fourth son, who was serving a mission, some of you will still have missionaries serving sold their belongings, follow the prompting to sell you belongings and took passage in Liverpool aboard the ship Thornton. Your ship will be “the good ship Zion”
The journey by sea to New York City,
and thence by land to Iowa, proved uneventful. If you
leave when first asked, it will be relatively “uneventful” if you are prepared.
Troubles began, however, shortly trouble begins
shortly after the first invitation to gather after the Linfords and
other Latter-day Saints there will be saints who leave “late”
who had sailed on the Thornton left Iowa City on July 15, 1856, as part
of the ill-fated James G. Willie handcart company.
The harsh weather and arduous travel
if you leave “late” or unprepared, you will face winter
conditions and your trip will be much harder took their toll on many in the
company, including John. He eventually became so ill and weak that he had to be
pulled in a handcart. By the time the company reached Wyoming, his condition
had deteriorated significantly. A rescue team from Salt Lake City arrived on
October 21, just hours after John’s mortal journey ended. He had died early
that morning near the banks of the Sweetwater River. Not
everyone will survive
Was John sorry he had traded comfort
and ease yes, you will be trading perceived comfort and
ease for struggle, privation and hardship for the struggles, privations,
and hardships of taking his family to Zion? But you are
bound for Zion.
“No, Maria,” he told his wife just
before he died. “I am glad we came. I shall not live to reach Salt Lake, but
you and the boys will, and I do not regret all we have gone through if our boys
can grow up and raise their families in Zion.”1 No price is too
high to seek for yourself and your children, the blessings of Zion.
Maria and her sons completed their
journey. Many will complete the journey. When
Maria passed away nearly 30 years later, she and John left behind a legacy of
faith, of service, of devotion, and of sacrifice. We
honor those who die in the journey by living lives of faith, service, devotion
and sacrifice.
To be a Latter-day Saint is to be a
pioneer, you will be a pioneer; it’s part of your
heritage and destiny for the definition of a pioneer is “one who goes
before to prepare or open up the way for others to follow.”2 Those who leave
first will be the real pioneers as they prepare the way for others to follow And
to be a pioneer is to become acquainted with sacrifice. You will sacrifice and sacrifice, from the moment you decide to prepare,
then to leave, then to share, then to endure…Although members of the
Church are no longer asked to leave their homes to make the journey to Zion, Right now. Zion is all over the world. We don’t “go to Zion”
right now, we “become a Zion person” so that when Zion is once again a center
place, we’ll be worthy to enter. they often must leave behind old
habits, longtime customs, as we repent of old habits,
longtime customs (which are often weaved with the “false traditions of our
fathers” and “the philosophies of men, mingled with scripture” which lead to
unbelief in “true doctrine” and real faith and real power in the priesthood,)
we become clean and sanctified and “pure in heart” – Zion and cherished
friends. Most of your cherished friends will not choose
to go. You’ll have to leave them. Some make the agonizing decision to
leave behind family members who oppose their Church membership. Many of your family will not go. It will be an agonizing decision
to leave them. You will see going as part of your church membership and
covenant. They will oppose this, even as they claim to be members in good
standing and faith. Latter-day Saints move forward, however, praying
that precious ones will yet understand and accept. You
will move forward, praying they will yet understand and accept and “learn
obedience by the things which they suffer.” Knowing they will suffer is what
makes leaving them so agonizing.
The path of a pioneer is not easy, Your path will not be easy but we follow in the footsteps of the ultimate Pioneer—even the Savior—who went before, showing us the way to follow. This is the path of discipleship, to be willing to go where the Savior went and suffer as He suffered.
“Come, follow me,”3 He invited. You will follow Him, even “through the valley of the shadow of death”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life,”4 He declared. You will trust that following Him is the only way; that He is the only Truth, and that in Him only is there life…eternal life.
“Come unto me,”5 He called. You not only follow Him, you go TO Him. You walk WITH Him. Pray about how to really do that. It’s more than you think or have been taught in Sunday School.
The way can be trying. Expect this. Adversity will bring faith and strength and refinement. Some find it difficult to withstand the mocking and unsavory remarks of foolish ones who ridicule chastity, honesty, and obedience to God’s commands. The “great and spacious” building is full of those who mock, and ridicule. See them as foolish, not wise. Hold fast to chastity, honesty and obedience to all of God’s commandments. The world has ever belittled adherence to principle. This is not new. Know your scriptures and recall their lessons when you feel tempted to believe the lies of those who mock.
When Noah was instructed to build an ark, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man.” We are there. These are our days. Every family has been counseled for many years (like Noah) to prepare for adversity by building an ark. You are responsible “to provide for your own needs to the extent possible” (see Sept2014) Have you done it? You are prepared if you:
- have a supply of food, clothing, and where possible, other necessities of life
- have consecrated your time, talents, skills, compassion, materials and financial means to the Lord
- are prudent ( means “wise, sensible, thrifty”) in your planning
- conservative (means “moderate, or cautious) in your living
- have prepared for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances
- are modest in your expenditures
- avoid excessive or unnecessary debt
- pay off debt as quickly as you can to free yourself from this bondage
- save a little money regularly to build a financial reserve
- are prepared for emergencies
- have perfected your skills
- live providently (means “showing foresight, providing carefully for the future”
- have a reserve supply on hand
- obey the commandments of God
- are responsive to the teachings of the prophets
- are prepared to give of your substance to the poor and needy
- are square with the Lord (means “settled your debts; honest)
- are prepared for uncertainties
- are ready for when “the time for decision arrives; for the time for preparation will be past”. The only decision that this can apply to is the decision to leave for places of refuge. At that moment, you will not have time to “go and purchase oil”. Up until that time, you can decide to store food or save money and then follow through and prepare.
the foolish populace looked at the cloudless sky so many still believe there is no rain coming and then scoffed and jeered—until the rain came. The rain will come. You are not moved by the unbelief of others because you are acquainted with the revelations of God and believe all His words will come to pass.
On the American continent long centuries ago, to the people living in America, this is your warning! people doubted, disputed, and disobeyed our country is filled with people who doubt the word of God; who argue with time honored beliefs and traditions based on the Bible, who disobey the covenant the people who live here are under to worship God and keep His commandments until the fire consumed Zarahemla, the earth covered Moronihah, and the water engulfed Moroni. These covenant curses are prophesied and will happen. Jeering, mocking, ribaldry, and sin were no more. Evil seeks to silence truth, but in the end, it is Evil that will be silenced. They will have their say until their cup is full. They had been replaced by sullen silence, dense darkness. The patience of God had expired, His timetable fulfilled. God’s patience is almost at an end. Our cup of iniquity is almost full. The timetable of God will be fulfilled as written in scripture.
Maria Linford never lost her faith despite persecution Persecution is coming. Do not lose your faith. in England, the hardships of her journey to “the place which God … prepared,”6 Do not lose faith even though there will be hardship in your journey. God has prepared places of safety for His saints; those who know His voice – “whether by mine one voice or the voice of my servants, it is the same” will respond and go and the subsequent trials she endured for her family and the Church. There will be many trials. Endure them for your family and for the Church.
At a 1937 graveside ceremony dedicated to Maria’s memory, Elder George Albert Smith (1870–1951) asked her posterity: “Will you live true to the faith of your ancestors? …Will YOU live true to the faith of your ancestors? Do strive to be worthy of all the sacrifices [they] have made for you.”7 You must strive to be worthy of all the sacrifices they have made for YOU.” You will do that, in part, by living and maybe even dying, for the cause of Zion, as they did.
As we seek to build Zion in our hearts, Zion must be built FIRST in your own heart, for Zion IS the pure in HEART in our homes, then build Zion in your families in our communities, live in love with your neighbors and in our countries, never forget your civic duties may we remember the resolute courage Resolve now to move forward in courage, for it will be needed and abiding faith live in faith as you move forward through the mists of darkness and the sanctifying trials that will come of those who gave their all You too will be asked to give your ALL that we might enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel, realize and live in the blessings available to you in the restored gospel with its hope and promise never forget hope and promise as you go through the prophesied tribulations. The hope is of the sanctification that comes through continual repentance as we allow the Holy Ghost to cleanse us from all unbelief and iniquity (generational sin) through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
(for more on being a modern day pioneer and our invitation to gather to places of safety see: "A Summer with Great-Aunt Rose"
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