Iowa's beginning to Fall - October 21, 2013

I'm only joking... Iowa is staying where it is. But it is starting to get cold.

 

A sister who will be departing on her mission in the next couple of weeks to the Arizona Mesa Mission spoke in church yesterday. She spoke of two of the inevitable things about the Plan of Salvation, falling and Christ's love. It was a fantastic talk with great insights. A few insights from her talk:

• "Falling is an imperfect state."
• "We must live our lives standing."
• "Christ's love will never be against us. It will always be for us."
• "Don't be stuck in a state of denial."

Repentance is the key to getting back up after we fall. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said in the Priesthood session of the October 2013 General Conference:

"When I was young, falling and getting up seemed to be one and the same motion. Over the years, however, I have come to the unsettling conclusion that the laws of physics have changed—and not to my advantage.
Not long ago I was skiing with my 12-year-old grandson. We were enjoying our time together when I hit an icy spot and ended up making a glorious crash landing on a steep slope.
I tried every trick to stand up, but I couldn’t—I had fallen, and I couldn’t get up.
I felt fine physically, but my ego was a bit bruised. So I made sure that my helmet and goggles were in place, since I much preferred that other skiers not recognize me. I could imagine myself sitting there helplessly as they skied by elegantly, shouting a cheery, “Hello, Brother Uchtdorf!”
I began to wonder what it would take to rescue me. That was when my grandson came to my side. I told him what had happened, but he didn’t seem very interested in my explanations of why I couldn’t get up. He looked me in the eyes, reached out, took my hand, and in a firm tone said, “Opa, you can do it now!”
Instantly, I stood.
I am still shaking my head over this. What had seemed impossible only a moment before immediately became a reality because a 12-year-old boy reached out to me and said, “You can do it now!” To me, it was an infusion of confidence, enthusiasm, and strength.Brethren, there may be times in our lives when rising up and continuing on may seem beyond our own ability. That day on a snow-covered slope, I learned something. Even when we think we cannot rise up, there is still hope. And sometimes we just need someone to look us in the eyes, take our hand, and say, “You can do it now!”"

Sometimes we need the love of others to fully repent. Preach My Gospel says "repentance includes forming a fresh view of God, ourselves, and the world." To form a fresh view of hope, enthusiasm, and love. A fresh view includes forgiving ourselves and others. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said in his talk "Remember Lot's Wife," "The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future."

I love you all, may we get up and never look back. Look forward with an eye of faith, hope, charity and love, and to be built by commandment.

 

Love, 

Elder Zachary R McKenzie

Iowa Des Moines Mission

D&C 6:34, 36

  Doubt Not, Fear Not.