A Note from Jim and Shirlyn Allen

No excuses, but from the time of the last post to this blog until now, we have returned from our two year Mission over the Seminary and Institute that covered parts of three Missions in Brasil. With adjustments in front of us that many in that position have to deal with, Shirlyn and I have now visited with our seven children and their families from Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Idaho, and our parents in their 90's from Arizona to Wisconsin, all done in a newly acquired car. So now, with at least part of our life calming down we have considered the purposes of this Blog after the April Conference. 

There are three major areas that seem most relevant to us from the perspective of Senior Citizens, Parents and Grandparents: 

1. Empty Nesting and Retirement (although retirement does not show up in the scriptures) 
2. Families with Children at Home
3. Life in a Country (and World) in Chaos 

We will read the talks as usual but will pull out of the relevant talks, some of the advice, actions, potential blessings, and dangers addressed therein. Putting these categories into lists will be helpful in using them as points to ponder. They will be helpful for Family Home Evenings, Life Planning, and Drawing Closer to the Lord. 

This blog was initially intended only as an incentive to ponder and report on each Conference Address for the possible benefit of our family and a few others. It has not received much attention out side of this purpose as it has not reached the attention of the search engines, however, it did get the attention of Joseph Walker of Deseret News. I have included here the relevant quote from his article:

"President Henry B. Eyring's priesthood talk inspires, motivates and comforts"

"Another full-time missionary, James Russell Allen, also reported drawing strength from President Eyring's talk. Upon returning home from a 23-month mission to Fortaleza, Brazil, with his wife, Shirlyn, Allen was concerned about finding ways to serve the Lord after his mission was over. In his blog, he expressed appreciation for the way President Eyring "helpfully gives us a list of service we can consider wherever we are in this quest to … have the gift of eternal life with God.""

By Joseph Walker , Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, March 27 2012 5:00 a.m. MDT

As usual listening to this April General Conference was again the highlight of this past six months.  That's not to say that getting reacquainted with our family and meeting new "Grands" and other new family members hasn't been wonderful as well.

The counsel given us was so inspired and relevant for our day that we wanted our blog to reflect that in our postings for the next six months.

Thomas S. Monson - Dare to Stand Alone

President Monson shared the results of a Notre Dame survey off 230 young adults:

• Regarding questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas and the meaning of life they did not even have the categories or vocabulary to respond well.
• When they were asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two thirds could not answer or even explain what a moral dilemma was.
• Most said that moral choices are just a matter of individual taste. ‘It’s personal.’ or ‘It’s up to the individual. Who am I to say?’
• Rejecting authority, many went to the other extreme. ‘I would do what I thought made me happy or how I felt.I have no other way of knowing what to do but how I internally feel.’
• Opinion was that the majority of the young adults had “not been given the resources - by schools, institutions [or] families - to cultivate their moral intuitions.”

Those in that Priesthood Meeting should not have these struggles. We have been taught God’s laws and they are unchangeable. So his question to us in that meeting was; “Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone?”

In my experience, we all will be challenged in unexpected ways to stand firm when others are espousing or demonstrating another path. There are an infinite number of choices presented in even attractive ways, but almost always there is guidance to stand firm for the correct principle or doctrine when we are confronted with this type of moral question.

President Monson as a young navy recruit had to face a dilemma regarding the definition of being a Mormon. That would be a great story to use in a Family Home Evening or Home Teaching discussion as it demonstrates that we will not usually know when the decision will be required in a public setting but we should already know how to respond as he did.

We will all have opportunities to answer the question Elder Monson received one day in Dallas on a bus. “Is there anyone on this bus who knows anything more about the Mormons?” It will never be the same but we need to be ready with our answer. For this we are being prepared and sent throughout the world. That is were the Spirit will stand with us and we will know once again that it is true.

Henry B. Eyring - Preparation in the Priesthood: "I Need Your Help"

Returning home from our 23 month Senior Mission, my wife and I can look back and say “Yes we had been prepared” but before arriving in Brazil, we were not so sure. The foundations of experience were there and turned out to be needed in ways we could not anticipate. Now, facing a more complicated “assignment” of serving after this mission we are grateful for our past “preparation” in facing new challenges. So, Elder Eyring helpfully gives us a list of service we can consider wherever we are in this quest to receive the Second Comforter, which is to have the gift of eternal life with God.

• Being Teachers
• Wise and Loving Fathers
• Members of a Quorum
• Being Missionaries

How then does He prepare us for these areas of service?

1. “He calls people, young and old, who may appear to worldly eyes, and even to themselves, to be weak and simple.”
2. “The Lord has given us the opportunity to prepare by something He has called “the oath and covenant [of] the priesthood.”
3. Because of aging, “...service will become more challenging with time.” This natural occurrence “...will take more and more self-discipline every day of our lives.”

His examples of preparation can be referred to in this talk whenever we are called to be the preparers in whatever situation mentioned above we may find ourselves. The Lord needs our help and we need to prepare and be prepared when the opportunities are given.

Brother Eyring has a special gift that helps us when we hear him or read things he has written such as “Draw Closer to God.” He was prepared for his calling as an Apostle and is helping us be prepared to prepare others. Thank You Elder Eyring.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf - Providing in the Lord's Way

Elder Uchtdorf emphasized this principle: “While it is important to have our thoughts inclined toward heaven, we miss the essence of our religion if our hands are not also inclined toward our fellowman.”

And then; “In a similar way, our spiritual progress is inseparably bound together with the temporal service we give to others.”

Then he recounts the experience of Spencer W. Kimball and his request for money to help with the recovery of a flood in the Duncan Valley in Eastern Arizona. “This isn’t a program of ‘give me’ they said. This is a program of ‘self-help’” The other side of the story was that the Church didn’t send money, they sent three great men who didn’t just “tell” they showed how the program worked. They taught the people the principle and the people built the fences and moved the hay and whatever activities that were needed to overcome the challenge. They did it in the Lord’s way and that is he way we must learn.

Since this was a talk given to the Priesthood of the world, he wanted both the Melchizedek and the Aaronic Priesthood to be involved in caring for those in need. It is not temporal, it is spiritual. The young men from my Father's Ward helped clean up the yard of my parents home. Yes, the yard looked much better after their service, but the blessing was not limited to Dad and Mom, it entered the hearts of the Aaronic Priesthood youth which is part of the process of preparing us to receive life eternal. It demonstrated to them a part of life they will need, that of Self-Reliance. They could do this thing for ones in need and therefore they can themselves be self-reliant in their own account.

Having served in the Welfare Program for a three year period, I was blessed by the spirits of our members who came to the Storehouse to learn and to help and then to serve those in need. 

It is not for us to just make a monetary contribution to this program, it is for us to be involved in solving the problems of need that surround us each day in whatever part of the world we happen to be. Rich or poor, we need each other. 

Remember the great promise from the Book of Isaiah: “If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually.”

W. Christopher Waddell - The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Shirlyn and I are at the end time of our 23 month mission as a couple. Ours was certainly different from the missions of the younger elders and sisters, but it was no less important in the Lord’s plan for us and for those who were influenced by out time here. We have effectively had our exit interviews with the two men most responsible for us, we are grateful for their assertions that our time has been of great value. Like the story in this talk about the less-active returned missionary meeting a serving missionary of the very family in Spain whose father the less-active returned missionary had baptized. That father was the only baptism that the less-active had baptized during his mission to Spain. 

The Lord sends missionaries by inspiration and directs their steps. We do not know the end results. We often think of the sixteen families who were baptized into the Church in the formative years after the Restoration. Who were the missionaries in those years whose long-ago missions started the snowball of missionaries who have served from those families until now? How did they fell about those baptisms?

Missionary work is always difficult and filled with challenges as President Monson taught. “Missionary work is difficult. It taxes one’s energies, it strains one’s capacity, it demands one’s best effort. … No other labor requires longer hours or greater devotion or such sacrifice and fervent prayer” We now look forward to some results of our mission as promised to all:

❑ The gift of faith.

❑ The gift of testimony.

❑ The gift of understanding the role of the Spirit.

❑ The gift of daily gospel study.

❑ The gift of having served our Savior.

❑ Gifts carefully packaged in worn scriptures, tattered copies of Preach My Gospel, missionary journals, and grateful hearts.

We understand the requirements of continuing to seek and use those gifts after our sacrifice. 

While the balance of Elder Waddell’s instruction involved preparation to serve, we are grateful for having had this wonderful experience and now look forward to a time to share in unknown ways, those gifts that have been given to us.

Keith B. McMullin - The Power of the Aaronic Priesthood

This quote from George Q. Cannon and reiterated by President Monson embodies the purpose of this talk: “I want to see the power of the Priesthood strengthened. … I want to see this strength and power diffused through the entire body of the Priesthood, reaching from the head down to the least and most humble deacon in the Church. Every man should seek for and enjoy the revelations of God, the light of heaven shining in his soul and giving unto him knowledge concerning his duties, concerning that portion of the work … that devolves upon him in his Priesthood.” I added the bold to emphasize. In every great talk there is a list of actions, and here is the list contained in this one:

• Pray for the mighty change in your life.
• Study the Scriptures
• Desire more than all else to know God and to become like His holy Son.
• Put away childish things.
• Shun profane and foolish chatter.
• Flee all evil.
• Avoid contention.
• Repent where needed.

And then, the promised blessings:

❑ You will gain these qualities, courage, trustworthiness, humility, faith and goodness.

❑ Friends will admire you.

❑ Parents will praise you.

❑ Brethren in the priesthood will depend on you.

❑ Young women will adore you and become even better because of you.

❑ God will honor you and endow your priesthood service with power from on high.

In our family now we have several young men who are now being prepared to receive this holy Aaronic Priesthood. I pray that they will be ready to begin their lifetime of service at that special day.

Jeffrey R. Holland - We Are All Enlisted

Elder Holland is a one-man recruiting station. Speaking for the most part about the young men present in the largest priesthood gathering ever. He wants them and us to open our mouths and use the power of our priesthood. He asks our youth to “stay within the lines” so that they can continue in the game without stepping out of bounds - to stay  worthy. Stay active and be clean he says so that when you open your mouth to ask others to live the high standards of the Gospel, the words will come with the power of the Spirit of God.  

This call for “tens of thousands of more missionaries in the months that lie ahead” is a real need. We have witnessed in this area what happens when missionaries are lacking. For almost a year, one district here was left without our missionaries and the Church floundered with the young, inexperienced leadership. When the mission had enough new missionaries, the work re-commenced and the meetings began to fill up again. You are needed everywhere in this world. 

He also challenged the Melchizedek Priesthood to engage. “...don’t smile and settle back into the comfort of your seats.” Every couple that comes to serve will have an impact. Not in the same way that the young missionaries have with their daily family to family walk, but the influence of a couple, married and being the examples of gospel living will give a quiet testimony of the living, breathing reality of the restored Church. They “bring a maturity to the work that no number of 19-year-olds, however good they are, can provide.”

So, get out here brethren. Don’t wait for your sweet companion to prod you to do this. Go see the Bishop and get the papers filled. There is a work for you now.

Again, one of the great missionaries of this generation has gotten “in our face” and asks us with love to serve.

L. Tom Perry - Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear

I began this post right after reading about a new survey done objectively about members of the Church. It seemed well done and accurately as possible it presented results that for the most part were encouraging and positive in presenting who we are. We have had the great opportunity to make friends here in Brasil who know very little or nothing about the Church. Usually they know nothing about us as we are serving in areas where the Church is new and congregations are small. In presenting a copy of the Book of Mormon to these people who are not members of the Church as we say our goodbyes to them, they have been ecstatic about the gift, removing it from the ribbon and wrapping and opening it. Commitments to read it were the general result. Since we are not called to be proselytizing missionaries here, we leave them with our testimony written inside and our prayer that when they see those young men and women two-by-two at their door or in their neighborhood to please welcome them to hear more.

Now, Elder Perry asks us to use these ideas on our own:

• Be bold in our declaration of Jesus Christ.
• Be righteous examples to others.
• Speak up about the Church when people ask.
• Remember when we are hesitant that “. . . perfect love casteth out fear.”
• Use the internet and the social media to reach out and share our religious beliefs.
• In speaking about the Church, don’t try to make it sound better than it is.

Now is the day to follow this advice and counsel. It is the day that the world is being challenged to know about the Savior and to bring their lives into line with His teachings by receiving the ordinances and doctrines.

We honor Elder Perry for this reminder to remember our covenants in this matter daily.

D. Todd Christofferson - The Divine Gift of Repentance

Elder Christofferson’s discourse gives us two lists that can be used to ponder and move our lives in the direction of Eternal Life. The first list is the one that the world tells us to use and believe, while the second list is the one that Christ presented for our happiness and progress in this life and the next. I paraphrase this first list, Korihor’s list as follows:

• There can be no atonement made for the sins of men.
• Every man fares in this life according to the management of the creature.
• Every man prospers according to his genius.
• Every man conquers according to his strength.
• Whatsoever a man does is no crime.
• No need for repentance of our sins.

As the world and most churches preach versions of this list, it is our blessing to understand this second list and adhere to it:

1. The invitation to repent is an expression of love.
2. Repentance means striving to change.
3. Repentance means not only abandoning sin but also committing to obedience.
4. Repentance requires a seriousness of purpose and a willingness to persevere, even through pain.
5. Whatever the cost of repentance, it is swallowed up in the joy of forgiveness.

I am thankful for this summary which was so well presented in the Book of Mormon in the Stories of Nehor and Korihor for our benefit. I for one, struggle with the fact that those people we get to know and love, often have bought in to the philosophies that lead to the “easy life” without the need for our own participation in the quest for divine acceptance.

Thank You Elder Christofferson.

Can you find ways to teach this principle to the youth of our families?

LeGrand R. Curtis - Redemption

The pattern of the redemptive gift given us was well explained in this talk, but the real meat of it was the focus on stories where inactive members were brought back into activity. No matter how active any of us are, I believe we have all been redeemed or rescued at some point in our membership. Every story could be analyzed and documented if we ponder our life. It might come at a time that work took us away from family and Sunday activity. That pattern can and sometimes does let activity slip into arguments within and maybe with family members, justifying this new state.

Since redemption stories are very sensitive and personal, I’m confident we will not hear most of them recounted in a talk from the pulpit. They may occur in the quiet of a Bishop’s office or in the personal prayers in a closed room. But that gift of Redemption is there for all of us it we ask the right question and seek the answer. That change of course may be inspired by another person as the stories in this talk were. But we can be sure that we can start the process at any time by asking in prayer what new course we should take. The answer will come because of this promise that He paid the price for us and to claim that gift is up to us. 

The other side of Redemption is peace, happiness and at the end, the gift of the Second Comforter.

When we hear this message, we may not be the one it was given for personally, but we are usually the one who is being asked to participate in the Redemption of another by our calling, our visit, our invitation or perhaps just our friendship without judging.

We must be grateful when we become part of one of these stories of Redemption during our service. 

Thank You Elder Curtis for this reminder.

Carl B. Cook - It Is Better to Look Up

Be careful if you ride in the elevators of the Church Office building. You cannot know who you will meet there. As Brother Cook told us, many leave that building with a very heavy weight on their shoulders and the response while considering this may be to look down. If you encounter President Monson on the elevator it would certainly be better to be “Looking Up.”

We encounter here in Brasil, many who are looking down, both figuratively and actually. There is a heavy weight for many here with money problems, health challenges and lack of purpose or education. On the other hand, there are these groups of members of the Church here who are “looking up” every time we see them. These are the ones who have decided to accept the offer of having the companionship of the Holy Ghost in their lives. They support one another and carry out their callings just like it is happening across the world.

If we pay attention, we will find as he has that; “We will come to realize that most of what we worry about is not of eternal significance—and if it is, the Lord will help us. But we must have the faith to look up and the courage to follow His direction.”

In our time on earth we will follow paths that are different for each of us, but then we find out that:

❑ Most of our worries do not end up as significant as they seemed while passing through them, and;

❑ The Lord will help us, usually in unexpected ways with tender mercies realized later.

So the challenge to us is to “LOOK UP” and take President Monson’s attitudes of:

• CAN DO
• WILL DO

I appreciate Elder Cook’s reminder of this simple principle and I’m thankful for my wife Shirlyn who practices this everyday.

Ian S. Ardern - A Time to Prepare

Time usage is always a challenge and in this talk we are reminded of the importance of proper and wise usage. I remember well when our Stake President, James King invited one of the contemporaneous teachers of time management, Charles Hobbs to present his approach and usage of the tool Daytimer to the Stake. It was so well received that later he came again for a second presentation. As in this talk, we learned to prioritize, schedule and calendar to use our time more wisely. As the years passed others stepped forward, refining the use of the tools which many Church members used. It became so endemic that in any meeting you would see us with our planners, often in place of the Scriptures. Now with computers, it is even easier for most of use to use a tool if we are around computers every day.

His talk did not focus on the tools but upon the conscious use of the precious time we are given. He gave us some general lists that might be used to evaluate the time and activities we are using each day:

Some Suggested Uses:

❑ Research Articles

❑ Conference Talks

❑ Ancestral Records

❑ Receive e-mails, Facebook Reminders, Tweets, and Texts

Some Suggested Potential Time Wasters”

❑ Electronic Games

❑ Cyber Acquaintances

❑ Distracting and Destructive Pursuits

❑ Addictive Internet Browsing

I would like to add that if you have a particular personal goal or activity it is now the greatest blessing to use computers or other electronic devices to make our tasks more efficient. You can easily find them with a little searching. Just the fact that I am using the computer right now to summarize my reading of this talk is evidence of this. I find the talks on the Church website here: https://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/ then to make my summary before posting I am using MacJournal, an Apple program which allows me to set up various journals at one time and post to them when needed for an editable document, saved by date and tags personal to me. I will mention one more tool when you need to work on specific tasks on a computer. I use another Apple program called My Little Pomodoro to set up a timer that pushes me to complete each stage of a task before the allotted time such as 25 minutes before a break. You can find that program and its use here: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ . Don’t worry, this part is free.

I know that paragraph was not specifically on point as far as his talk, but inspiration sometimes intercedes. So to conclude this post here are two quotes of his that I love:

1. Time is never for sale; time is a commodity that cannot, try as you may, be bought at any store for any price. Yet when time is wisely used, its value is immeasurable. On any given day we are all allocated, without cost, the same number of minutes and hours to use, and we soon learn, as the familiar hymn so carefully teaches, “Time flies on wings of lightning; we cannot call it back”
2. With the demands made of us, we must learn to prioritize our choices to match our goals or risk being exposed to the winds of procrastination and being blown from one time-wasting activity to another. 

Thank you Elder Ardern for bringing this extraordinarily important topic to the fore.