Provo MTC

Provo MTC
At the flags by 19M

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Having Eyes to See the Seachange

On May 14, 2013, Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife, the former Wendy Watson, were the MTC Devotional speakers. During that Devotional, Sister  Nelson said, “Pray to be led to those whose ancestors pray for you on the other side of the veil. They are eager to receive their ordinances; ask for angels to help you.”

I was especially interested in and touched by her words because of my own remarkable experiences while doing family history research. I knew the truth of those words.

After she spoke, Elder Nelson underscored her words when he stated: “Ancestors are praying for you to find their posterity. The Spirit of Elijah is on your side. People on both sides of the veil are praying for the missionaries.” He went on to suggest that the missionaries enlist the Family History Consultants in the wards they serve in to help investigators to find their ancestors.



I was astonished. Uniting family history work with missionary work was a new and unique vision. However, these Devotional talks by Elder and Sister Nelson turned out to be a mere glimpse of things to come.

About one month later, on June 23, 2013, a Worldwide Leadership Broadcast from the MTC occurred, titled “The Work of Salvation.” In that broadcast, we were presented with an enlarged vision of “hastening” the Lord’s work with Church members and missionaries working together. (“Hastening the Work of Salvation—a united effort in conversion, retention, and activation” is available on lds.org for your edification!)

Fast forward to February 4, 2014.  The MTC Devotional speakers on that date were Elder David F. Evans, executive director of the Missionary Department, and his wife, Mary. Elder Evans began his talk by mentioning that he had had a meeting that day with Missionary Council members, including Elder Russell M. Nelson, Elder David A. Bednar, Bishop Gérald Caussé, and Elder James B. Martino. The rest of Elder Evans’ talk gave us a glimpse of what had been discussed in that meeting.



He spoke of “new things” happening in our world that would present challenging conditions and situations for the missionaries in the mission field.  He said they would be called upon to defend the family and traditional marriage, and they must be prepared to answer unique questions of the soul.

Almost as an aside, he shared that two general authorities had been somewhere in the world together the previous week when they were warned by a strong spiritual impression that they should not proceed to their planned destination. The important part of it was that the Spirit had warned them and that they had  heeded that warning, not knowing what might have occurred. It was a “type” for the missionaries to follow—to recognize and trust in spiritual impressions that would keep them safe.

He also shared a person experience. He said that some years earlier the “eyes of his understanding were opened” in a “most profound experience” that “changed forever” the way he felt about his wife and children, so that ever after he tried harder with his children. Here was another “type” for the missionaries to follow—to seek life-changing understanding that would help them to live  according to God’s will.

Elder Evans admonished the missionaries to embrace truth, cling to truth for safety, and that these truths will resonate with sincere seekers of truth.

That we live in perilous times can readily be seen. That the Lord is not surprised by world events, and that He inspires His chosen servants in the things that they should do is also readily seen. Our day was foreseen. The safety and well-being of ourselves, our families, our fellow Church members, as well as that of society as a whole, depends on our heeding the promptings of the Spirit and the counsel and teachings of the Lord’s servants.

At the end, Elder Evans suggested that there would be “additional training coming” . . . . ~PLH

[My husband's "take":]
I Have No Desire to Perish

Two scriptures have come to my mind during the last little while. The first comes from the writings of the prophet Amos:

Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

The import of this particular passage to me during the last little while will become apparent momentarily.

One of the most delightful aspects of serving at the Provo Missionary Training Center has been the frequent appearance of the General Authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the past year, Pat and I have been able to attend the Devotionals held on Tuesday evening, take copious notes on the addresses given by the Brethren and their wives, and then have the opportunity to mutually share what we have learned with one of the Districts in our Branch. I always come away from these evenings edified and more determined to live as I ought to, according to the light and knowledge which has just been abundantly given to me. The Brethren have also visited the MTC on other occasions when I have been instructed directly as a member of a Branch Presidency. I have been grateful for the guidance, and I have invariably been benefited when I have taken the counsel to heart.

The instruction has been timely. One of the most apparent aspects of the activities transpiring at the MTC has been the number of changes that have taken place. When we were first called to serve in our Branch, we were housed on the Main Campus, one of sixty branches that had been established there. Adapting to our new surroundings was a challenge but we achieved that with some grace. Someone asked me what it was like serving with the missionaries. I replied that it was like coming out of retirement and being called as a Bishop on the same day. We have been fully occupied. In the beginning we had to learn a considerable amount of policies and procedures, some of which we had never encountered before in our service in the Kingdom of God. These were specialized instructions and guidelines that had come about as the MTC had grown and expanded. In the process of time, we mastered these and were feeling somewhat comfortable.

Then a new set of guidelines came about with new manuals for both the missionaries and for their ecclesiastical leaders. Much was the same, but some changes revealed an improved approach to the whole process of preparing missionaries for their fields of labor. The number of branches at the MTC had increased to over one hundred. About this same time, the leadership of our Branch changed. The president with whom we had served for six months was released and a new President sustained. The first counselor was released to become the President of another Branch, requiring another counselor to be sustained. There was a flurry of activity as all of us began to adjust to our new circumstances. Administrative assignments changed and I soon found myself deeply immersed in learning heretofore unknown aspects of how a Branch should function. About the same time, our Branch was reassigned to the West Campus; all of our meeting places and times changed radically. In some respects, we were once again starting at square one. As time passed, other changes took place, all about the time we had just finished absorbing the previous changes. We found ourselves almost in a constant state of flux. It was a little unnerving, but we pressed forward in faith.

Throughout all of these disorienting events, there was a steadiness. Underpinning all that was going on were the calming voices of the General Authorities and the Mission Presidency. They assured us, with convincing evidence and not platitudes, that they understood what was going on and that there was a purpose to all that was transpiring. We were counseled to hold fast to the rod of iron, as it were, and continue in our assignments. They also assured us that the changes and adjustments that had been going on were not going to cease any time soon. In every instance these assurances have proven to be justifiable, and our trust and confidence in the midst of seeming turmoil has increased and strengthened. On reflection, I would not choose to have any of the episodes changed one whit.

For one like me, who is decidedly a conservative of the classic type, the fluctuations of our assignment have been just a little disturbing. At the heart of the matter, however, the reason why we persist in our callings, is the principle of preternatural vision, the ability to see through the seeming chaos to the goals that divine providence has mandated for our time and place. We have been strengthened and sustained by those whom we love, those who gladly serve us, until our own eyes have been appropriately opened as theirs already are. What more could anyone hope for in such an assignment? I am grateful beyond expression that there are yet three years remaining to us that our spiritual horizons might continue to expand.

The second scripture came into my mind as I have contemplated what might have happened to us had we chosen to ignore the counsel we have been given during the past year, if we had succumbed to the flurry of activity instead of finding refuge in the revelations being poured out upon those who preside in the Church and Kingdom of God.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18)
 

May we always find refuge in the word of the Lord, for whether by His own voice or by the voice of His servants, it is the same. ~PNH


1 comment:

  1. I love the fact that you guys have taught me the idea of listening to the spirit and acting accordingly my whole life. It's nice hearing it again. :)

    ReplyDelete