Finding Joy in Christ

Finding Joy in Christ

by President Steven J. Lund

This is a talk by President Steven J. Lund whom is the Church Young Men General President. He shared about his youngest son Tanner Christian Lund, taught him and his wife Sister Kalleen Lund a timeless lesson in finding joy in Christ shortly before cancer claimed his young life.

One Sunday, 12 years old Tanner climbed out of bed and dressed himself and prepared himself to go to the Church to fulfil the assignment to pass the sacrament. His mother assured him it was not necessary as someone else in the Church could do that for Tanner, while he should stay home and rest.

“Yes,” he said, “but … I see how people look at me when I pass the sacrament. I think it helps them.”

“It seemed that every eye in the chapel was on him, moved by his struggle as he did his simple part. Somehow Tanner expressed a silent sermon as he solemnly, haltingly moved from row to row—his bald head moist with perspiration—representing the Savior in the way that deacons do. His once indomitable deacon’s body was itself a little bruised, broken, and torn, willingly suffering to serve by bearing the emblems of the Savior’s Atonement into our lives.”

Tanner’s commitment to serve the Lord and others signalled an “unspoken miracle.” He answered the call to “enlist in God’s battalions and join in the work of salvation and exaltation.”

The sacramental symbols point to the gift of the Redeemer.

“We contemplate the bread that He once broke — and the bread the priests before us are, in turn, now breaking. We think of the meaning of  the liquid, consecrated then and now, as the sacrament prayers solemnly pass from the mouths of young priests into our hearts and into the heavens, renewing covenants that connect us, in that moment, to the very powers of Christ’s salvation.”

“The Savior’s mission has always and forever been to serve His Father by saving His children.

And the surest way to find joy in this life is to join Christ in helping others.”

And this lead to the Children and Youth program which inspired by this.

“All Children and Youth activities and all Children and Youth teachings are about helping  young people become more like Jesus by joining with Him in His work of salvation and exaltation.”

Basically, the Children and Youth program was based on the scripture Luke 2:52,

“Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

It focus on 4 aspects or areas which is:

Spiritual “Favour with God” – You can grow spiritually by showing your love for God and your willingness to live the gospel.

Social “Favour with…man”. You can grow socially by showing love to all people.

Physically “Grew in stature”. You can learn to work and take care of your body, your mental health, and God’s creation.

Intellectually “Grew in Wisdom”. You can study in school, learn new skills, and improve your talents.

President Lund mentioned that,

“Our youth cannot wait for the world to right itself before they come to know the Savior. Some are making decisions even now that they would not make if they understood their true identities—and His.”

“Moms and dads, your sons need you to support them now as passionately as ever you have in the past when they have been about lesser things like badges and pins.”

My heart was sunken when I listened and read these sentences, as I am not so upkeep with the goals that both children need to set for 4 of the areas above. It is so difficult to ask and check on them to set goals. They seems like not motivated at all for doing it. Sigh…

President Lund ended his talk by talk to the youth,

“And to you of the rising generation, I testify, as one who knows, that you are beloved sons and daughters of God and He has a work for you to do.”

“As you rise to the majesty of your stations, with all of your hearts, might, mind, and strength, you will come to love God and keep your covenants and trust in His priesthood as you work to bless others, beginning in your own homes.”

“I pray that you will strive, with redoubled energy worthy of this time, to serve, exercise faith, repent, and improve each day, to qualify to receive temple blessings and the enduring joy that comes only through the gospel of Jesus Christ…”

I have been inspired to do it myself as I started my physical goal to get fitness and I hope by doing so, able to motivate them doing the same for their own.

I know that if I continue to do and work by example to them, it will craft into their mind and remind themselves that their mother was doing it and they will do it one day in the near future.

I am grateful for the gospel in my life, and keep doing it and applying it, by small and simple things, are great things brought to pass.

Christmas Eve Dinner 24 Dec 2020

There have been quite sometimes that our family did not have a proper tradition Christmas Eve dinner for the past few years. Most of the time, our family would be traveling during the Christmas season at the end of the year.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic just swept through the whole earth, most citizens worldwide are restricted from traveling abroad. Alvin has not cooked a turkey for a while. The last one should be at the Puchong branch Christmas party at church in 2019.

This year we celebrate the eve with Brother Felix and Sister Joyce's family at their house. We brought over to their home and had our Christmas eve dinner. Alvin baked the roasted turkey. I cooked a mushroom soup and fresh green salad.

Alvin prepared the turkey starting from noon. We baked for almost 2 hours and made sure it is juicy. Then he prepared for the gravy of the turkey as well. It looks so lovely and yummy!

It has been a while since our families had dinner together. We had an enjoyable dinner. Sister Joyce prepared mashed potatoes, garlic bread, and baked grille ribs. 

 

After the dinner, we watched our branch virtual Christmas eve presentation online. It was pretty fun to see ourselves in the video presentation this evening. We have our chit-chatting all evening till we left for home.

Our family has an enjoyable and wonderful Christmas eve with Brother Felix and Sister Joyce’s family.

Christmas Caroling Special Number

Here are Sister Jennifer and Brother Tesh. Especially make this video combining of both couples for the music celebration! It is indeed so sweet of her and the efforts and her time that she put in.

Seek Christ in Every Thought

I think what I like most about this talk are the examples that Elder Soares uses. He shared an experience of a faithful woman that she awakened on one particular morning,

“… an an improper thought that she had never experienced before unexpectedly entered her mind. Although it caught her completely by surprise, she reacted against the situation in a split second, saying to herself and to that thought, “No!” and replaced it with something good to divert her mind from the unwelcome thought. She told me that as she exercised her moral agency in righteousness, that negative, involuntary thought immediately disappeared.”

I was caught in surprise that not only me, that others too have experienced these experiences too! And most of the time, I experienced it during when I have doubts or struggles in the midnight of 3.26a.m.

Sometimes I want to try to analyze and figure out “what is wrong with me that I would have such thought?” Sadly, that usually just cuases me to focus more and more on the inappropriate thought much more. Thus, I know that it is the temptations that the Satan would wants me to do.

What I did with these thoughts most of the time are mentally tell the thought or myself “no”, and replace the thought and then replace the thought by praying, singing a hymn, reading scriptures, redirecting my focus back into a worthy talk, listening to uplifting music, etc.

“Despite our continuous efforts to seek out the Lord, inappropriate thoughts may penetrate our mind. When such thoughts are permitted and even invited to stay, they can shape the desires of our heart and lead us to what we will become in this life and eventually to what we will inherit for eternity.¹⁰”

Another example that Elder Ulisses Soares use is Prophet Joseph Smith,

“During a particularly difficult time when Joseph Smith and his fellow prisoners in Liberty Jail did not have freedom in anything except for their thoughts, the Lord provided helpful counsel and a promise to them that are extended to all of us:

“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men [and women], and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; …

“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth.”¹³

In doing so, holy thoughts will continuously adorn our minds and pure desires will lead us to righteous actions.”

Another example is a man who entertained inappropriate thoughts and made tragic decisions as a result returns to full fellowship in the church.

“… when we resist the little temptations, which often come unexpectedly in our life, we are better equipped to avoid serious transgressions. As President Spencer W. Kimball said: “Seldom does one enter into deeper transgression without first yielding to lesser ones, which open the door to the greater. … ‘A clean field [does not] suddenly [become] weedy.’”¹⁸”

Elder Soares ended his talk by the last examples of how Jesus Christ exemplified the importance of constantly resisting everything that might dissuade us from realizing our eternal purpose as in Matthew 4:10-11.

“Can you imagine, my brothers and sisters, what would happen if we were to derive strength and courage from the Savior and say, “No” and “Get thee hence” to unvirtuous thoughts that very first moment they come into our minds? What would be the impact on the desires of our hearts? How would our resulting actions keep us close to the Savior and allow the continued influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives?…”

“I know that by following Jesus’s example, we will avoid many tragedies and undesirable behaviors that might cause family problems and disagreements, negative emotions and inclinations, perpetrating injustices and abuses, enslavement by evil addictions, and anything else that would be against the Lord’s commandments.”

I know that I could not deny the existence of the Satan’s temptation, but I also know that to believe in Jesus Christ can help me doing it. As what Elder Soares said,

“… Applying these principles in our lives requires more than a mere belief; it requires adjusting our minds and hearts to these divine principles.

Such adjustment requires a daily and constant personal effort, in addition to reliance on the Savior, because our mortal inclinations will not disappear on their own.

Fighting against temptation takes a lifetime of diligence and faithfulness. But please know that the Lord is ready to assist us in our personal efforts and promises remarkable blessings if we endure to the end.”

I just feel all these General Conference talks are so in time for me, and every talk I learned something that helps me repair my weaknesses. I can able to improve so much if I just change a thing at a time each time forever, and I know I can become better.

Seek Christ in Every Thought

by Elder Ulisses Soares

Virtual Christmas Caroling #4 ~ The First Noel

Here is Alvin’s solo ^^

Eyes to See

Eyes to See

by Sister Michelle D. Craig

Seeing God’s Hand

Sister Craig started her talk by sharing what we commonly learn about the story in the scripture – about a young man helping the prophet Elisha. The young man was worried because their city was surrounded by the enemy and it did not look like there was any way to survive the upcoming battle. The prophet Elisha said to the young man,

“Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”

Isn’t that reassuring? I feel so overwhelmed with all the battles I take on and face during the day. Some pretty nasty battle wounds and some defeats hurt more than others. Often times I forgot that I am not fighting these battles alone.

Some battles don’t even need to be fought! As I gain ore experience, I am learning it is important to pick my battles. When I stand firm and choose the right and stand firm at the beginning as what Elder Bednar talked in his talk “We Will Prove Them Herewith” what has Elder Holland counselled to young adults, “Choices have to be made. Not making a choice is a choice. Learn to choose now.”

I am also learning that I do not have to fight alone because I have family and friends on both sides of the veil that will help me.

However she has opened her eyes with a new lesson to learn:

“There may be times when you, like the servant, find yourself struggling to see how God is working in your life—times when you feel under siege—when the trials of mortality bring you to your knees. Wait and trust in God and in His timing, because you can trust His heart with all of yours. But there is a second lesson here. My dear sisters and brothers, you too can pray for the Lord to open your eyes to see things you would not normally see.”

This is the question or prayer that I had never think about. What are the things that I can pray for the Lord to see the things I do not normally see?

Then the answers were Sister Craig explanations on the following;

Seeing Ourselves as God Sees Us

“Perhaps the most important things for us to see clearly are who God is and who we really are—sons and daughters of heavenly parents, with a “divine nature and eternal destiny.”²

“Ask God to reveal these truths to you, along with how He feels about you. The more you understand your true identity and purpose, soul deep, the more it will influence everything in your life.”

There were so many times that the Lord reminds me in the midst of my challenges that I am a daughter of God. All those moments brought peace and comfort to me. And gave me strength to press forward even not knowing what would be placed in front of me.

One thing I know is that: The Lord shall prepare a way that I may accomplish the thing because He knows I can handle it. He put the trust in me that I can do it, even I do not have such faith and trust in myself.

Seeing Others

“Understanding how God sees us prepares the way to help us see others as He does. Columnist David Brooks said: “Many of our society’s great problems flow from people not feeling seen and known. … [There is a] core … trait that we all have to get … better at[, and that] is the trait of seeing each other deeply and being deeply seen.”³

“Jesus Christ sees people deeply. He sees individuals, their needs, and who they can become. Where others saw fishermen, sinners, or publicans, Jesus saw disciples; where others saw a man possessed by devils, Jesus looked past the outward distress, acknowledged the man, and healed him.⁴”

“Even in our busy lives, we can follow the example of Jesus and see individuals—their needs, their faith, their struggle, and who they can become.⁵”

“As I pray for the Lord to open my eyes to see things I might not normally see, I often ask myself two questions and pay attention to the impressions that come: “What am I doing that I should stop doing?” and “What am I not doing that I should start doing?”⁶

I realised that I do not have much experiences on seeing others, most of the time I was too concern about my own trials and challenges that made me lost sight about the people around me. I only consider my sufferings and pains, my eyes would not be able to see others around me.

Suddenly I have a thought that: there is a reason why my calling as Relief Society President came along. The Lord wants me to learn to open my eyes to see things and seeing others when I serve the sisters in the Church.

When I get to know the each sister in the Church, I started to learn that not only me whom struggle with my own challenges, sisters that I serve to also have their own trials and afflictions.

Some struggled with mental illness and depression. Some are single and others had large families, while still others struggled with infertility or divorce. Some are fluent speakers and impressively literate, while others struggled to put together a coherent sentence.

But there is one thing in common that I recognize, is that they all are committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to build the kingdom of God. I can see the faith in their daily doings, in the things they make with their hands and the relationships they develop with every sisters in the branch and with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

When I worried about children’s future education, certain sisters would came into my mind and reminded me of think of ways to improve the children studies.

When I saddened and felt heartache with my relationship, certain sisters reminded me that I still can hope and trust the Lord that everything is in His good hand and He knows what is the best for me and my family.

When I was nearly give up for my calling, certain sisters stood next to me, helping me and teaching me to expand my heart and ability to love and serve, just as they had done to others.

Little did I know, Relief Society sisters strengthen me just like how they strengthen each other.

I know that this is only a very small part of how I seeing others, but may be not deeply enough.

Seeing God’s Errand for Me

“As with all gifts the Father so willingly offers, seeing deeply requires us to ask Him—and then act. Ask to see others as He does—as His true sons and daughters with infinite and divine potential. Then act by loving, serving, and affirming their worth and potential as prompted.”

“As this becomes the pattern of our lives, we will find ourselves becoming “true followers of … Jesus Christ.”⁸ Others will be able to trust our hearts with theirs. And in this pattern we will also discover our own true identity and purpose.”

One of the reason being called is to run God’s errand. Most of the time I think I am just like the priest or the Levite on the road to Jericho – one who looks and passes by.

Seeing others as Jesus sees them deeply and seeing God's errand for me is something I have to pray for the Lord for myself. I like how Sister Craig ended her talk:

“I witness that Jesus Christ loves us and can give us eyes to see—even when it’s hard, even when we’re tired, even when we’re lonely, and even when the outcomes are not as we hoped.”

“Through His grace, He will bless us and increase our capacity. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, Christ will enable us to see ourselves and see others as He does.”

“With His help, we can discern what is most needful. We can begin to see the hand of the Lord working in and through the ordinary details of our lives—we will see deeply.”

I am grateful for the General Conference study plan that I found on internet, that it indeed guide me and direct me to know the things that I need to focus in each talk at one time, and at the designated period what I have going through.

Virtual Christmas Caroling #3 ~ We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Here is our Yu Family caroling ^^